Our 16th and final day was just driving, driving and more driving. We were packed up, breakfasted and checked out ready to roll at 8:30 local, 9:30 AM "our" time. With singularly unfortunate timing Marissa had an incipient migraine which she staved off with medications, but said medications also made her drowsy a lot of the time. She did manage to spell John for two good breaks during the long haul, interrupted only minimally for some food and/or drinks and/or gas.
On arrival in Columbus we popped quickly into Marsh for very basics, milk, cream, eggs, bread and an oven ready fresh pizza and we finally pulled into the driveway at 7:15 PM, 10 3/4 hours after starting. Needless to say we were exhausted & only removed the essential minimums from the van.
From start to finish we had driven a grand total of 2714.5 miles!
The next day we unloaded the van, sifted and sorted everything, made essential trips for mail, groceries and so on, shopped to restock Marissa's larder, cleaned/vacuumed the van interior, returned the back bench seat into the van, jam-packed Marissa's car with all her stuff so she could head home and John went out for the final fill of the van. Due to the station's programming limitations instead of a 10 cent/gallon reduction for a car wash (worth about $2.40) he got a free $10 deluxe car wash instead - a small victory! One final shop to fill John's fridge with perishables and the day was done, leaving only the catch-up necessary from being gone for 2 1/2 weeks at the end of the month.
All in all it was a great vacation, despite some weather worries the first few days, which were amply compensated by the glory of the rest of the days, and we all thoroughly enjoyed it.
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Monday, October 10, 2011
Northern Exposure III - 2011 - Day #15
Today we saw Door County as it should be seen. We were helped by the unseasonal and absolutely beautiful weather, sunny, gentle breezes but not too hot. We got going a little later than usual but were lucky insofar as a table was vacated just as we arrived at the crowded dining room. Breakfast was pretty decent and today we got waffles as well, even spicily flavored ones.
We took off northwards, crossed the bridge in due course and a few miles later turned due west until we hit the coast road, Bay Shore Road, which we had entirely to ourselves. It was a pretty, colorful road with glimpses of Lake Michigan and some very nice houses. At a point where they used to quarry the cliffs we found a delightful roadside park/boat launch ramp and stopped to look and then take Zoe for a decent walk all around it. We carried on, enjoying the road and eventually we were dumped out right in the middle of Egg Harbor, where we could actually find parking!
All three of us set off to reconnoiter the town on foot, taking it in turns to sit outside with Zoe while we checked out various places, noted our selections but mostly didn't buy. Then we moved the van to a couple of strategic spots, left Zoe, and did our serious shopping. Our last port of call was at a great supermarket where we not only bought lunch sandwiches and drinks but also cheese curds, fresh salsa, and quiches for dinner since we had a microwave in the room. We slipped down a sidestreet to a beach park, parked strategically in a shady spot overlooking the area as well as the bay & distant marina and ate our lunch.
Eventually we headed north, stopping part way to visit a very upscale gallery where prices for original art, or objets d'art, ran from around $400 to $50,000 - all a bit out of our league, but interesting to see. Then it was on to Fish Creek which was also loaded with many interesting stores from lower end to truly high. We toured most of them, with Zoe along all but the last little bit, continuing to contribute to the local economy. We ran out of legs and feet eventually and decided to call it a day, apart from one stop at country market on our way home. Once again we took the bay road from Egg Harbor down thereby avoiding traffic and enjoying the sort of autumnal prettiness we also see in Indiana, especially Brown County.
Our holiday is now done, apart from the horrendous drive all the way back to Columbus tomorrow. The last two days (starting from Iron Mountain) have raised our trip odometer reading to 2115 miles so far.
We took off northwards, crossed the bridge in due course and a few miles later turned due west until we hit the coast road, Bay Shore Road, which we had entirely to ourselves. It was a pretty, colorful road with glimpses of Lake Michigan and some very nice houses. At a point where they used to quarry the cliffs we found a delightful roadside park/boat launch ramp and stopped to look and then take Zoe for a decent walk all around it. We carried on, enjoying the road and eventually we were dumped out right in the middle of Egg Harbor, where we could actually find parking!
All three of us set off to reconnoiter the town on foot, taking it in turns to sit outside with Zoe while we checked out various places, noted our selections but mostly didn't buy. Then we moved the van to a couple of strategic spots, left Zoe, and did our serious shopping. Our last port of call was at a great supermarket where we not only bought lunch sandwiches and drinks but also cheese curds, fresh salsa, and quiches for dinner since we had a microwave in the room. We slipped down a sidestreet to a beach park, parked strategically in a shady spot overlooking the area as well as the bay & distant marina and ate our lunch.
Eventually we headed north, stopping part way to visit a very upscale gallery where prices for original art, or objets d'art, ran from around $400 to $50,000 - all a bit out of our league, but interesting to see. Then it was on to Fish Creek which was also loaded with many interesting stores from lower end to truly high. We toured most of them, with Zoe along all but the last little bit, continuing to contribute to the local economy. We ran out of legs and feet eventually and decided to call it a day, apart from one stop at country market on our way home. Once again we took the bay road from Egg Harbor down thereby avoiding traffic and enjoying the sort of autumnal prettiness we also see in Indiana, especially Brown County.
Our holiday is now done, apart from the horrendous drive all the way back to Columbus tomorrow. The last two days (starting from Iron Mountain) have raised our trip odometer reading to 2115 miles so far.
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Northern Exposure III - 2011 - Day #14
Our introduction to Door County, WI was --- mixed! The fact that the day was quite beautiful was a very mixed blessing. My first impression of Door was along the lines of imagine the Keweenaw but add a quarter million vehicles and a half million people to go with them, rather like a cross between Nashville, Indiana and Pidgeon Forge, Tennessee.
We rose and organized ourselves in good time and managed to beat the worst of the rush in the breakfast room, especially as we ignored the waffle-maker again. By 8:30 AM (Central) we were heading out on to the highway towards Norway in order to pick up the detour necessary to get us on the road to Green Bay. We made good time while listening to the latter part of "Sailing To Capri", and in fact got to the edge of Door County in excellent time and started up Route 42. We stopped at an upscale complex (candles/pets/food/"stuff") and browsed without paying the inflated prices but took advantage of their facilities. We carried on and shortly thereafter our "troubles" began.
Prior to that, but as we were getting close, we saw a billboard and then the store itself of wild birds supply and equipment. It was fabulously stocked with many wonderful bird houses and even more feeders but especially really inexpensive but good bird foods. Marissa bought a very attractive feeder for her house and John was, well, John, buying no less than 90 pounds of food, one bag of 50# oil sunflower and two 20# bags of the equivalent of "woodland"ready for his winter feeder set-ups, all for about 2/3rds of anything obtainable in and around Columbus.
It was a beautiful Sunday with many people having a holiday Monday to follow and it seemed as though every village (or whatever one calls those "named but unincorporated" settlements) was having a festival, or art show, or craft fair or something that made travel very much of a slow crawl and made all potential parking quite impossible. We slogged on and eventually traffic became more bearable but still anywhere that might have been interesting to stop and see was still impossibly short of parking. By now the scenery around the road was largely lovely and colorful, although a great deal more cultivated, especially including orchards, than had been the U. P.
At about the time our stomachs were flapping against our backbones we found an established restaurant, primarily hand-made-on-site pizza, with ample parking. We ordered a small pizza and breadsticks "to go" and sat outside in the shade with Zoe while it was made and cooked, and then ate it in the same place. We followed that up with superb Gelato each chosen from an huge selection all of which looked delectable. Then we carried on to the very top of the mainland (where it takes a ferry to go further) through pretty scenery but with Marissa fighting a headache. Unfortunately parking and opportunities to take picture were over-subscribed so we cut our losses and started to return.
With the best of intentions but lack of local knowledge John started a side trip in the hopes of getting out to a coastal bluff, but it became, as Marissa later pointed out, another Bataan death march! We followed directions to the park and started down the gravel road doing quite well until until we came to the first large fallen tree and the long line of parked cars. This necessitated about a 200 yard reversing experience just to find sufficient width to turn something as large as the van around! Then we parked and with an excited and frisky Zoe started to follow the road on foot. Although fairly easy to step/jump over, duck under, or circumnavigate we found 7 or 8 more trees across the road & other signs of storm-caused devastation. When the road ended an indistinct trail continued on downwards through the sweet-smelling pines, over roots and rocks and occasional patch of dirt to the water's edge. Once we could see the "beach", as inhospitable collection of rocky stuff as can be imagined, we decided to cut our losses and rather more slowly slogged our way all the way back to the van. We think even Zoe was glad to see it.
We continued heading downstate, so to speak, and as soon as the opportunity came to switch to Route 57 down the "other side" we took it and started to make good time. We stopped at a great store, but could find little to take for our supper, but Marissa indulged in an assortment of sweet and sour items in jars and bottles, some for gifts and some for her own enjoyment. We continued cruising down this pretty but sparsely inhabited road making good time until 57 and 42 combined ahead of the bridge and the next two miles or so were traveled at a speed of which a hiker would be ashamed. After the bridge things opened up and we soon found our hotel, OK but definitely a cut below the standard we usually enjoy given a choice.
John took a book to a restaurant in walking distance and waited a while to get carry-out of delicious patty melts with home-made chips and a "starter" of fried breaded cheese curds which were absolutely super. And thus ended our day.
We rose and organized ourselves in good time and managed to beat the worst of the rush in the breakfast room, especially as we ignored the waffle-maker again. By 8:30 AM (Central) we were heading out on to the highway towards Norway in order to pick up the detour necessary to get us on the road to Green Bay. We made good time while listening to the latter part of "Sailing To Capri", and in fact got to the edge of Door County in excellent time and started up Route 42. We stopped at an upscale complex (candles/pets/food/"stuff") and browsed without paying the inflated prices but took advantage of their facilities. We carried on and shortly thereafter our "troubles" began.
Prior to that, but as we were getting close, we saw a billboard and then the store itself of wild birds supply and equipment. It was fabulously stocked with many wonderful bird houses and even more feeders but especially really inexpensive but good bird foods. Marissa bought a very attractive feeder for her house and John was, well, John, buying no less than 90 pounds of food, one bag of 50# oil sunflower and two 20# bags of the equivalent of "woodland"ready for his winter feeder set-ups, all for about 2/3rds of anything obtainable in and around Columbus.
It was a beautiful Sunday with many people having a holiday Monday to follow and it seemed as though every village (or whatever one calls those "named but unincorporated" settlements) was having a festival, or art show, or craft fair or something that made travel very much of a slow crawl and made all potential parking quite impossible. We slogged on and eventually traffic became more bearable but still anywhere that might have been interesting to stop and see was still impossibly short of parking. By now the scenery around the road was largely lovely and colorful, although a great deal more cultivated, especially including orchards, than had been the U. P.
At about the time our stomachs were flapping against our backbones we found an established restaurant, primarily hand-made-on-site pizza, with ample parking. We ordered a small pizza and breadsticks "to go" and sat outside in the shade with Zoe while it was made and cooked, and then ate it in the same place. We followed that up with superb Gelato each chosen from an huge selection all of which looked delectable. Then we carried on to the very top of the mainland (where it takes a ferry to go further) through pretty scenery but with Marissa fighting a headache. Unfortunately parking and opportunities to take picture were over-subscribed so we cut our losses and started to return.
With the best of intentions but lack of local knowledge John started a side trip in the hopes of getting out to a coastal bluff, but it became, as Marissa later pointed out, another Bataan death march! We followed directions to the park and started down the gravel road doing quite well until until we came to the first large fallen tree and the long line of parked cars. This necessitated about a 200 yard reversing experience just to find sufficient width to turn something as large as the van around! Then we parked and with an excited and frisky Zoe started to follow the road on foot. Although fairly easy to step/jump over, duck under, or circumnavigate we found 7 or 8 more trees across the road & other signs of storm-caused devastation. When the road ended an indistinct trail continued on downwards through the sweet-smelling pines, over roots and rocks and occasional patch of dirt to the water's edge. Once we could see the "beach", as inhospitable collection of rocky stuff as can be imagined, we decided to cut our losses and rather more slowly slogged our way all the way back to the van. We think even Zoe was glad to see it.
We continued heading downstate, so to speak, and as soon as the opportunity came to switch to Route 57 down the "other side" we took it and started to make good time. We stopped at a great store, but could find little to take for our supper, but Marissa indulged in an assortment of sweet and sour items in jars and bottles, some for gifts and some for her own enjoyment. We continued cruising down this pretty but sparsely inhabited road making good time until 57 and 42 combined ahead of the bridge and the next two miles or so were traveled at a speed of which a hiker would be ashamed. After the bridge things opened up and we soon found our hotel, OK but definitely a cut below the standard we usually enjoy given a choice.
John took a book to a restaurant in walking distance and waited a while to get carry-out of delicious patty melts with home-made chips and a "starter" of fried breaded cheese curds which were absolutely super. And thus ended our day.
Northern Exposure III - 2011 - Day #13
This day was supposed to (and probably did) set all time records for high temperature for the date and was only saved by the very stiff breeze which lasted until sundown. This must be the first time we have stayed here over the weekend days and the place is crowded with parents and children. We joined the herd and managed to have an adequate breakfast without joining the lomg line for the single, slow, waffle maker.
Three Hammonds plus Rita stopped by and we followed them a little way out into the country on the other side of Norway to an apple orchard. They did not pick, just bought - a sack of bruised ones for Jerry to feed to deer, a peck of eaters for young Sam to eat alone, and some cooking ones for Carol & Rita's use. We followed them back to Norway and separated. We ducked in to the amazing quilting and fabrics store & gift shop. I browsed, resisted temptation, and went and joined Zoe in the van. Marissa finally emerged with a big bag of enough hard-to-find supplies to last her, literally, a year or two.
Knowing our time was limited (as cold picnic lunch would be served by Rita strictly by the clock) we limited ourselves to a great browsing store that also serves as a coffee shop. We again resisted temptation for hard goods (although I almost bought a lovely book of photos, but rather similar to several I have already) but we did succumb to an exotic coffee and equally exotic cookie each. Our last stop was at a bank with an ATM where we were able to replenish our virtually depleted supply of cash and can again feel comfortable at all the places that don't want plastic.
We raced back to the campground to join them all for lunch as some of them had not yet finished, and for the next several hours we socialized in every possible permutation and combination of groups and one on ones, taking occasional strolls to keep Zoe from getting too bored. Zoe had again shot herself in the foot. Initially left free to wander in a great deal of space on the first afternoon she had slipped away, made her way at least 100 yards to the entry and proceeded to walk up the road - giving Marissa a string of heart attacks before being recaptured. Thereafter she was leashed all the time.
In the early evening with the cats in the house and Zoe in lock-down in the camp store we headed back into town to a very nice restaurant for a triple Dutch treat (i.e. by family, as Carol's boys came too) dinner. Apart from the "vegetable" combination Marissa and I ate identical delicious meals from the higher end of the menu, a nice change after so much "road food", even including dessert.
Back at the campground Jerry lit a fire and we all sat around it beside the RV enjoying the flames and chatting in a desultory manner pretty much all as a group. It made a great finale to the day. However, all good things must come to an end and with everybody feeling drowsy we embarked on the round of handshakes and hugs and said goodbye to each other for probably another year. This is the 44th year of our friendship!
As we prepare to leave Iron Mountain for Door County, WI the odometer stands at an even 1809 miles.
Three Hammonds plus Rita stopped by and we followed them a little way out into the country on the other side of Norway to an apple orchard. They did not pick, just bought - a sack of bruised ones for Jerry to feed to deer, a peck of eaters for young Sam to eat alone, and some cooking ones for Carol & Rita's use. We followed them back to Norway and separated. We ducked in to the amazing quilting and fabrics store & gift shop. I browsed, resisted temptation, and went and joined Zoe in the van. Marissa finally emerged with a big bag of enough hard-to-find supplies to last her, literally, a year or two.
Knowing our time was limited (as cold picnic lunch would be served by Rita strictly by the clock) we limited ourselves to a great browsing store that also serves as a coffee shop. We again resisted temptation for hard goods (although I almost bought a lovely book of photos, but rather similar to several I have already) but we did succumb to an exotic coffee and equally exotic cookie each. Our last stop was at a bank with an ATM where we were able to replenish our virtually depleted supply of cash and can again feel comfortable at all the places that don't want plastic.
We raced back to the campground to join them all for lunch as some of them had not yet finished, and for the next several hours we socialized in every possible permutation and combination of groups and one on ones, taking occasional strolls to keep Zoe from getting too bored. Zoe had again shot herself in the foot. Initially left free to wander in a great deal of space on the first afternoon she had slipped away, made her way at least 100 yards to the entry and proceeded to walk up the road - giving Marissa a string of heart attacks before being recaptured. Thereafter she was leashed all the time.
In the early evening with the cats in the house and Zoe in lock-down in the camp store we headed back into town to a very nice restaurant for a triple Dutch treat (i.e. by family, as Carol's boys came too) dinner. Apart from the "vegetable" combination Marissa and I ate identical delicious meals from the higher end of the menu, a nice change after so much "road food", even including dessert.
Back at the campground Jerry lit a fire and we all sat around it beside the RV enjoying the flames and chatting in a desultory manner pretty much all as a group. It made a great finale to the day. However, all good things must come to an end and with everybody feeling drowsy we embarked on the round of handshakes and hugs and said goodbye to each other for probably another year. This is the 44th year of our friendship!
As we prepare to leave Iron Mountain for Door County, WI the odometer stands at an even 1809 miles.
Friday, October 7, 2011
Northern Exposure III - 2011 - Day #12
This was a traveling day primarily but also a pleasant, if rather windy "partly cloudy" day. We rose at dawn (which doesn't happen until 7:30 AM up here) had coffee and breakfast and then proceeded to "break camp" steadily but without excessive haste. Getting the full-size mattress we had brought down for the duration back up the steep staircase was a challenge but we succeeded. We systematically returned the cabin to the "unused" condition, everything washed up, floor vacuumed, fridge emptied, etc and packed all our "stuff" back into the van, before reluctantly saying farewell to our home away from home!
By 9:30 we were moving, first over to Lake Linden and then around Route 26 to the Hancock-Houghton bridge. Heading up the hill out of Houghton we filled up with gas and then made the two hours-odd cruise down the Keweenaw and across much of the U.P. listening to a book on disc. Marissa was thrilled, as traffic slowed, to actually see a bear lumber across the road. John missed it completely! We turned off the main road and headed down to the Bond Falls park for the usual look-see & photographs, the first time in three tries Marissa saw them in sunshine rather than in gloom and/or rain. On leaving we checked out the well-stocked tourist shop but only John bought a couple of things, a mug and a loon.
We continued heading south, turned on to Route 2 and started heading east. In due course we reached Wink's Woods store. Marissa picked up some dip mixes but for the first time in some 10 visits over the years John walked out empty handed! Failing to find any suitable food sources we chose to delay lunch until we could get to the far side of Iron Mountain and the source of the U.P.'s very best pasties, The Pasty Oven on the road to Norway. We both enjoyed most of a large pasty each, John's with rutabaga and Marissa's without, and Zoe enjoyed the remains! Heading back we stopped at our motel, checked in early and got the best pet room (right by the outside door), but didn't move in just carried on driving and on out to Summer Breeze campground for a happy reunion with Rita and Bob Stevens and (their daughter) Carol and Jerry Hammonds. The remainder of the day was largely conversation with some mutual show and tell mixed in and a delicious dinner. Eventually plans were made for tomorrow and we returned to the hotel to get ourselves a bit organized and caught up.
By 9:30 we were moving, first over to Lake Linden and then around Route 26 to the Hancock-Houghton bridge. Heading up the hill out of Houghton we filled up with gas and then made the two hours-odd cruise down the Keweenaw and across much of the U.P. listening to a book on disc. Marissa was thrilled, as traffic slowed, to actually see a bear lumber across the road. John missed it completely! We turned off the main road and headed down to the Bond Falls park for the usual look-see & photographs, the first time in three tries Marissa saw them in sunshine rather than in gloom and/or rain. On leaving we checked out the well-stocked tourist shop but only John bought a couple of things, a mug and a loon.
We continued heading south, turned on to Route 2 and started heading east. In due course we reached Wink's Woods store. Marissa picked up some dip mixes but for the first time in some 10 visits over the years John walked out empty handed! Failing to find any suitable food sources we chose to delay lunch until we could get to the far side of Iron Mountain and the source of the U.P.'s very best pasties, The Pasty Oven on the road to Norway. We both enjoyed most of a large pasty each, John's with rutabaga and Marissa's without, and Zoe enjoyed the remains! Heading back we stopped at our motel, checked in early and got the best pet room (right by the outside door), but didn't move in just carried on driving and on out to Summer Breeze campground for a happy reunion with Rita and Bob Stevens and (their daughter) Carol and Jerry Hammonds. The remainder of the day was largely conversation with some mutual show and tell mixed in and a delicious dinner. Eventually plans were made for tomorrow and we returned to the hotel to get ourselves a bit organized and caught up.
Northern Exposure III - 2011 - Days #5 thru #11
Our last night in Munising became quite interesting! While continuing to rain heavily the winds kicked up to 50 MPH or more, our plastic patio chairs and side table took off for parts unknown and water started to find its way in over the patio door and drip down. The front desk gave us some old towels to put down to keep it contained & minimize carpet wetting. After we had swum and hot-tubbed (chatting with a former resident who had grown up here and was used to family reunions in Calumet in the Keweenaw) we brought additional towels back from the pools.
At around 10 o’clock the entire hotel lost power (except emergency exit signs), pretty much dictating bedtime, although Marissa’s Kindle has a light. Right after we had each in turn fumbled our way to the bathroom around 2:00 AM the power came back and all the lights came on and suddenly seemed very bright. After we had reset the clock we settled down for sleeping part 2. By the time Zoe demanded to be taken out for her own morning bathroom break the rains had stopped and the winds had died down to merely “windy”.
The power had been on long enough for them to present the usual excellent breakfast although the breakfast room was more crowded than usual. Neither hurrying nor wasting time we organized for departure, brought the van up to the closest available spot and loaded up. We shot down into town and parked just outside the Internet Cafe there and Marissa checked weather, etc (the hotel network was up but they had lost their internet connection in the storm). We then started westwards and in between the two M towns pulled into a lay-by and took some pictures of a very rough lake, reminiscent of an early trip with Maria resulting in a picture that was our computer "wallpaper" for years. I think we took from the very same spot.
The whole journey was a struggle for me driving. Not only was I fighting fierce winds in a very large vehicle, but the skies could not stay consistent for what seemed (endlessly) more than 45 seconds at a time, from nothing & squeaky wipers, to "full-on" and everything in between. From that perspective it was a very tedious drive. As we approached Marquette Marissa suggested a side trip to Presque Isle where we not only saw an ore boat at the loading dock (first time one had actually been there since Maria & my very first time there). In various places wave action was spectacular and a great many pictures were taken from which to make a subsequent choice.
Eventually we headed back to the main road and in view of the weather conditions make no more stops until halfway down the hill at L'Anse closing in on Baraga. We stopped for a quick lunch of burgers and fries, slipped around the bottom of the bay and topped up with "cheap" (i.e. no-tax) gas on the "Indian Reservation". We cruised up the lower Keweenaw, slid through Houghton, over the bridge, up the hill in Hancock and stopped at Pat's Foods IGA where we shopped for basic supplies for the next 24 hours. Then we cruised up to Mohawk, turned off and headed to Gay and followed the necessarily detailed directions to our home away from home cabin, Loot's Lodge, which was simultaneously a wonder and a disaster!!!
The wonder was its location, the disaster was that it also had lost electrical power in the big storm and since everything, including water, relied on electricity we became instant pioneers. Soon after our arrival the "cleaning lady" arrived back with clean sheets from the laundrette and told us that she had called in our outage and had been assured they were "working on it"! After some debate we decided to chance that it would be fixed before we became desperate (the optional outhouse was indescribable & impossible) so we moved in and immediately set about lighting the wood stove so that we would at least have heat. We investigated the place & its surroundings, much to Zoe's joy although she blotted her copybook by disappearing for too long at one point & may have to pay for it by being leashed hereafter.
As the light started to fade we heated some pasties & gravy on the now scorching hot wood stove and prepared ourselves, despite the early hour, for going to bed in total darkness - and out here it is DARK! However, just as the light was fading Marissa heard the beeping of a reversing truck and shortly afterwards WE HAD POWER! The water pump kicked on, the toilet refilled, the fridge started to run and lights galore provided brightness. Now we could relax and settle in properly. We can also download pictures to the PCs, etc, but of course can no longer upload anything to the Internet, so anyone reading this will be seeing slightly "old news".
Saturday was a much prettier day with lots of sunshine and some diminution of the wind, in fact as Marissa photographed the dawn mist was rising off the lake. The cabin is an odd mixture. It has a great kitchen, decent Master bedroom, reasonable living room, somewhat scary stairs, a scary dormitory upstairs and a minuscule bathroom. Marissa has elected to sleep down by the stove on a sofa bed and after the first night we have dragged down a full-size mattress from upstairs to supplement it, making a reasonable bed. We are hoping it will stay cool enough that bathroom time can be minimized!
In due course we headed out, retracing our initial route through Gay to Mohawk but then turning up the peninsula to Phoenix where we turned off down to Eagle River. Our first stop was at North Country Crafts which was poorly stocked as in our usual chat with proprietress Bonnie she told us they are retiring and will close for good as soon as this season ends. They will still use the home behind as a summer place and invited us to call and say hello on any future visits. We did manage to find a few small things to purchase. Then it was down to the beach to exercise the hound although John was frustrated as the drainage stream, normally just a trickle, was wide enough and deep enough to limit our range, but we still had good run/walk.
We headed on to the monk-run Jampot, bought some jams and fancy muffins for home and here, looked at Jacobs Falls and then went on along the coast to Eagle Harbor, parking on the lighthouse side for a general look (little had changed) and a photo or two before heading inland and eventually down the main road to Calumet. We cruised an assortment of shops but only bought in Copper World and even there not as much as in prior years, but it was nice to look. We moved from ancient to modern and the huge Pat's Foods IGA there where we took our time buying a week's supply of potential breakfasts and dinners - our "big shop" for the duration - as we assume we will be out for lunch most of the days as the weather forecast is very encouraging.
Back at the cabin we ate our sandwiches & salads then settled down for a reading and somnolent afternoon. After tea we essayed forth and took a long hike along the beach, much to Zoe's delight. It was a good day.
Sunday was the kind of weather day we had hoped for and expected. Lots of sunshine, comfortably cool temperatures and not much wind. Today we headed up the peninsula on this side. We first stopped at a delightful rest area, beach, rocks, trees, etc seen several times before but always just in passing. We carried carried on to Lac La Belle, stopping briefly at Haven falls, pretty, but not much flow at this time of year. Then it was on to Bete Gris Bay beach where we walked and Zoe romped for a while, her second significant beach run of the day.
Back in the van we cruised through the "pretty" right on up to Copper Harbor, took a side trip to Manganese Falls, small, noisy and very deep in a narrow ravine. John took a couple of pictures before Marissa donned her "Maria hat" and decreed no further exploration on the treacherous paths with no guard rails! We then took a dirt road through some pine forest but a road closed sign spooked us and we turned around and ran back into town. We picked up some supplies, including sandwiches for lunch, found a pretty spot to eat them, returned, parked, and then did some touristy shopping (looking but not buying) on foot but eventually lost interest. This time we took the "other side" coast road cruising along through Eagle Harbor to Eagle River where we parked and Zoe had her third (and last) major romp of the day. Once home she gave every sign of being exhausted!
We returned to our cabin by the shortest (but still significant) way only to find that just one wall, the one with windows and patio door looking towards the lake, has suffered the Invasion of the Flies! We commenced a fly Jihad and in due course had achieved spectacular success ending with a vacuum cleaner canister full of dead and dying flies. The wood stove was again lit as the evening boded to be cool and we settled into our usual relaxed holiday routine.
Monday - For no particular reason all three of us slept a good hour later than usual so we made a pretty late start to the day's adventures, once again in cool sunshiny weather. We headed over to Lake Linden (the city) and made a mini tour during which Marissa spotted a store called Copperland Arts Crafts, about one third of which is a studio in which two or three artisans make a lot of what they sell. We browsed, and before we left I had bought a large and a small wall decoration (one for show, one for the "trips taken" passage wall) and Marissa had bought one.
Next door was a gas station and a large supermarket. We topped up (always a good idea up here) at the one and bought sandwiches and salads for lunch in the other. Then we headed to the bottom of the top (i.e. the southernmost point of the peninsula after the H-H bridge) the hamlet of Jacobsville and the public shoreside park there. After eating our lunch we walked along the breakwater between the main lake and the inland waterway, quite rough to one side and dead calm to the other all the way out to the navigation light - a distance that surprised us by being much further than it looked! As we neared the end Zoe decided it was too cold (the breeze was quite fresh along there) and sat down in protest and shivered, so she was carried back cuddled to a warm human, each of us carrying her about half the way. Back on the sheltered beach she regained her joie de vivre and scampered about, free of restraint for quite a while.
We returned to L.L. and went on to Laurium, found the Laurium Manor, paid a small fee to take a self-guided tour and did so. It is an early 1900's mansion, 4 stories, 45 rooms and 13,000 sq. ft. It has been restored and doubles as a high-end B and B as all bedrooms, including the staff's, had attached bathrooms. It was very interesting to see. Once we were done we called it a day and headed back to our cabin to light the stove ready for the evening and generally relax, apart from a late afternoon beach walk.
Tuesday - This was yet another gorgeous autumn day. Part of this day's "adventures" really were such. We took our side coast road until it joined US41 and then on to Copper Harbor. After some minor shopping we headed up to the official end of paved US41 (1994 miles from Miami, FL) but carried on up the decent graveled county road for a while before turning onto a track and bouncing our way down to the parking area (room for 3 vehicles!) for the Mary Macdonald Preserve (of the Nature Conservancy) and the start of the trail to Horseshoe Harbor. The trail surface was about equal parts dirt, tree roots and rocks, but passable. We reached the cove (not a harbor at all) and spent some enjoyable time in splendid isolation on the rocky beach and the rocks, enjoying the sunshine and silence.
Eventually we staggered back to the van, largely uphill, and then bounced our way back to the gravel road, down to 41 and on into Copper Harbor. Deciding we wanted a change to cold sandwiches for lunch we found a restaurant willing to give us carry out of hot sandwiches which we thoroughly enjoyed while overlooking the little park beside the visitors center. We checked out the remaining tourist shop and are now done with Copper Harbor from whence we embarked on the hill climb up the Brockway Mountain Drive which was very pretty. We parked at the top, took the usual ritual pictures, although the hazy day did not allow good long views, and John finally found a suitable memento of Copper Harbor in the small isolated gift shop up there.
We went down the other side, joined the coast road and cruised along all the way to the Jampot Bakery to replenish our supply of the truly delicious, Monk-baked, muffins for our breakfasts. Then it was on to Eagle River and the usual afternoon Zoe beach romp. We took the "coast road" out and down to Ahmeek, also a very pretty drive, and turned back up a little way to Mohawk where we stopped at the surprisingly well-stocked Superette and while in there decided to get tomorrow's lunch supplies as we plan to stick around the cabin for a day, just taking it easy.
Before we left and still after we returned we could hear heavy machinery running as it appears a nearby unimproved lot is being cleared and leveled no doubt prior to some sort of construction. However, it does look as though they are done so we should have a peaceful day tomorrow.
Wednesday - Although only appearing a little breezier at the cabin the wind must be up out on the lake as we have had wonderful crashing breakers all day long. Apart from a couple of threatening clouds appearing and then disappearing the day has remained pleasantly "partly cloudy". This has been our "day of rest" and the van hasn't moved at all. Everything has been done in a leisurely manner will small reference to the clock. We took a beach stroll in the morning then sat and read, when not dropping off for an extended late morning nap. In mid afternoon John took a couple of walks, a shorter one with Zoe who after a while made it very clear she had no interest in going further without Marissa! In fact we seem to have burned off much of Zoe's reserves of abundant energy. The second walk was a local exploration with much retracing of steps since the side lanes are like a delta branching and branching into many dead ends. Eventually the yard of an unoccupied cabin was snuck through and a return was made along the beach. We sat at the end of the "lawn", watched the waves, drank cups of tea and generally relaxed. It's been a lovely, peaceful, restful day. However, in the end our restlessness got the better of us and embarked on a tour of local exploration, the nearby mini-park and a beach area somewhat further afield, finally being driven to return home by a combination of hunger and sunset.
Thursday - Our last day in the Keweenaw was a perfect autumnal day. It is also the peak of color up here, almost everything turned but few leaves actually fallen as yet. We started off by taking a couple of new-to-us roads and the colors were magnificent. From Lake Linden (city) we headed to US41 and on towards Calumet looking for a place that apparently no longer is in business. We stopped in one or two places that caught our eye and then did a motor tour of Calumet but nothing there (other than where we had already shopped) seemed worth stopping to check out. We continued on up and stopped at the "snow thermometer" noting that this past winter was close to the least snowfall since they started keeping records.
A little further on we stopped at a combination Information and Local Crafts store and after much browsing John bought an attractive birdhouse largely crafted from driftwood - he must have been suffering from spending withdrawal! Our next stop was Eagle River, where the falls are almost non-existent at this end of a dry year, and down to the beach for a long walk (humans) and a very long, fast, erratic excursion (Havanese). From there we took the coast road and eventually found the "short-cut" to the one-lane, unpaved, lengthy Bumbletown road to Gratiot Beach. If we had known how to recognize an agate when it reached up and bit us we could have joined the few other people there as that beach is supposed to be a famous source. However, by that far into the afternoon food seemed more appealing so we bounced our way back and on to Ahmeek, getting a buffalo meat hot dog and an ice cream sundae each. Thereafter we meandered our way back to the cabin to take the rest of our time here nice and easy.
As we load up to start the run from the cabin to Iron Mountain the odometer is at 1559.3 miles for the trip so far. Pictures taken during the days described above will be added to Flickr at a later date.
At around 10 o’clock the entire hotel lost power (except emergency exit signs), pretty much dictating bedtime, although Marissa’s Kindle has a light. Right after we had each in turn fumbled our way to the bathroom around 2:00 AM the power came back and all the lights came on and suddenly seemed very bright. After we had reset the clock we settled down for sleeping part 2. By the time Zoe demanded to be taken out for her own morning bathroom break the rains had stopped and the winds had died down to merely “windy”.
The power had been on long enough for them to present the usual excellent breakfast although the breakfast room was more crowded than usual. Neither hurrying nor wasting time we organized for departure, brought the van up to the closest available spot and loaded up. We shot down into town and parked just outside the Internet Cafe there and Marissa checked weather, etc (the hotel network was up but they had lost their internet connection in the storm). We then started westwards and in between the two M towns pulled into a lay-by and took some pictures of a very rough lake, reminiscent of an early trip with Maria resulting in a picture that was our computer "wallpaper" for years. I think we took from the very same spot.
The whole journey was a struggle for me driving. Not only was I fighting fierce winds in a very large vehicle, but the skies could not stay consistent for what seemed (endlessly) more than 45 seconds at a time, from nothing & squeaky wipers, to "full-on" and everything in between. From that perspective it was a very tedious drive. As we approached Marquette Marissa suggested a side trip to Presque Isle where we not only saw an ore boat at the loading dock (first time one had actually been there since Maria & my very first time there). In various places wave action was spectacular and a great many pictures were taken from which to make a subsequent choice.
Eventually we headed back to the main road and in view of the weather conditions make no more stops until halfway down the hill at L'Anse closing in on Baraga. We stopped for a quick lunch of burgers and fries, slipped around the bottom of the bay and topped up with "cheap" (i.e. no-tax) gas on the "Indian Reservation". We cruised up the lower Keweenaw, slid through Houghton, over the bridge, up the hill in Hancock and stopped at Pat's Foods IGA where we shopped for basic supplies for the next 24 hours. Then we cruised up to Mohawk, turned off and headed to Gay and followed the necessarily detailed directions to our home away from home cabin, Loot's Lodge, which was simultaneously a wonder and a disaster!!!
The wonder was its location, the disaster was that it also had lost electrical power in the big storm and since everything, including water, relied on electricity we became instant pioneers. Soon after our arrival the "cleaning lady" arrived back with clean sheets from the laundrette and told us that she had called in our outage and had been assured they were "working on it"! After some debate we decided to chance that it would be fixed before we became desperate (the optional outhouse was indescribable & impossible) so we moved in and immediately set about lighting the wood stove so that we would at least have heat. We investigated the place & its surroundings, much to Zoe's joy although she blotted her copybook by disappearing for too long at one point & may have to pay for it by being leashed hereafter.
As the light started to fade we heated some pasties & gravy on the now scorching hot wood stove and prepared ourselves, despite the early hour, for going to bed in total darkness - and out here it is DARK! However, just as the light was fading Marissa heard the beeping of a reversing truck and shortly afterwards WE HAD POWER! The water pump kicked on, the toilet refilled, the fridge started to run and lights galore provided brightness. Now we could relax and settle in properly. We can also download pictures to the PCs, etc, but of course can no longer upload anything to the Internet, so anyone reading this will be seeing slightly "old news".
Saturday was a much prettier day with lots of sunshine and some diminution of the wind, in fact as Marissa photographed the dawn mist was rising off the lake. The cabin is an odd mixture. It has a great kitchen, decent Master bedroom, reasonable living room, somewhat scary stairs, a scary dormitory upstairs and a minuscule bathroom. Marissa has elected to sleep down by the stove on a sofa bed and after the first night we have dragged down a full-size mattress from upstairs to supplement it, making a reasonable bed. We are hoping it will stay cool enough that bathroom time can be minimized!
In due course we headed out, retracing our initial route through Gay to Mohawk but then turning up the peninsula to Phoenix where we turned off down to Eagle River. Our first stop was at North Country Crafts which was poorly stocked as in our usual chat with proprietress Bonnie she told us they are retiring and will close for good as soon as this season ends. They will still use the home behind as a summer place and invited us to call and say hello on any future visits. We did manage to find a few small things to purchase. Then it was down to the beach to exercise the hound although John was frustrated as the drainage stream, normally just a trickle, was wide enough and deep enough to limit our range, but we still had good run/walk.
We headed on to the monk-run Jampot, bought some jams and fancy muffins for home and here, looked at Jacobs Falls and then went on along the coast to Eagle Harbor, parking on the lighthouse side for a general look (little had changed) and a photo or two before heading inland and eventually down the main road to Calumet. We cruised an assortment of shops but only bought in Copper World and even there not as much as in prior years, but it was nice to look. We moved from ancient to modern and the huge Pat's Foods IGA there where we took our time buying a week's supply of potential breakfasts and dinners - our "big shop" for the duration - as we assume we will be out for lunch most of the days as the weather forecast is very encouraging.
Back at the cabin we ate our sandwiches & salads then settled down for a reading and somnolent afternoon. After tea we essayed forth and took a long hike along the beach, much to Zoe's delight. It was a good day.
Sunday was the kind of weather day we had hoped for and expected. Lots of sunshine, comfortably cool temperatures and not much wind. Today we headed up the peninsula on this side. We first stopped at a delightful rest area, beach, rocks, trees, etc seen several times before but always just in passing. We carried carried on to Lac La Belle, stopping briefly at Haven falls, pretty, but not much flow at this time of year. Then it was on to Bete Gris Bay beach where we walked and Zoe romped for a while, her second significant beach run of the day.
Back in the van we cruised through the "pretty" right on up to Copper Harbor, took a side trip to Manganese Falls, small, noisy and very deep in a narrow ravine. John took a couple of pictures before Marissa donned her "Maria hat" and decreed no further exploration on the treacherous paths with no guard rails! We then took a dirt road through some pine forest but a road closed sign spooked us and we turned around and ran back into town. We picked up some supplies, including sandwiches for lunch, found a pretty spot to eat them, returned, parked, and then did some touristy shopping (looking but not buying) on foot but eventually lost interest. This time we took the "other side" coast road cruising along through Eagle Harbor to Eagle River where we parked and Zoe had her third (and last) major romp of the day. Once home she gave every sign of being exhausted!
We returned to our cabin by the shortest (but still significant) way only to find that just one wall, the one with windows and patio door looking towards the lake, has suffered the Invasion of the Flies! We commenced a fly Jihad and in due course had achieved spectacular success ending with a vacuum cleaner canister full of dead and dying flies. The wood stove was again lit as the evening boded to be cool and we settled into our usual relaxed holiday routine.
Monday - For no particular reason all three of us slept a good hour later than usual so we made a pretty late start to the day's adventures, once again in cool sunshiny weather. We headed over to Lake Linden (the city) and made a mini tour during which Marissa spotted a store called Copperland Arts Crafts, about one third of which is a studio in which two or three artisans make a lot of what they sell. We browsed, and before we left I had bought a large and a small wall decoration (one for show, one for the "trips taken" passage wall) and Marissa had bought one.
Next door was a gas station and a large supermarket. We topped up (always a good idea up here) at the one and bought sandwiches and salads for lunch in the other. Then we headed to the bottom of the top (i.e. the southernmost point of the peninsula after the H-H bridge) the hamlet of Jacobsville and the public shoreside park there. After eating our lunch we walked along the breakwater between the main lake and the inland waterway, quite rough to one side and dead calm to the other all the way out to the navigation light - a distance that surprised us by being much further than it looked! As we neared the end Zoe decided it was too cold (the breeze was quite fresh along there) and sat down in protest and shivered, so she was carried back cuddled to a warm human, each of us carrying her about half the way. Back on the sheltered beach she regained her joie de vivre and scampered about, free of restraint for quite a while.
We returned to L.L. and went on to Laurium, found the Laurium Manor, paid a small fee to take a self-guided tour and did so. It is an early 1900's mansion, 4 stories, 45 rooms and 13,000 sq. ft. It has been restored and doubles as a high-end B and B as all bedrooms, including the staff's, had attached bathrooms. It was very interesting to see. Once we were done we called it a day and headed back to our cabin to light the stove ready for the evening and generally relax, apart from a late afternoon beach walk.
Tuesday - This was yet another gorgeous autumn day. Part of this day's "adventures" really were such. We took our side coast road until it joined US41 and then on to Copper Harbor. After some minor shopping we headed up to the official end of paved US41 (1994 miles from Miami, FL) but carried on up the decent graveled county road for a while before turning onto a track and bouncing our way down to the parking area (room for 3 vehicles!) for the Mary Macdonald Preserve (of the Nature Conservancy) and the start of the trail to Horseshoe Harbor. The trail surface was about equal parts dirt, tree roots and rocks, but passable. We reached the cove (not a harbor at all) and spent some enjoyable time in splendid isolation on the rocky beach and the rocks, enjoying the sunshine and silence.
Eventually we staggered back to the van, largely uphill, and then bounced our way back to the gravel road, down to 41 and on into Copper Harbor. Deciding we wanted a change to cold sandwiches for lunch we found a restaurant willing to give us carry out of hot sandwiches which we thoroughly enjoyed while overlooking the little park beside the visitors center. We checked out the remaining tourist shop and are now done with Copper Harbor from whence we embarked on the hill climb up the Brockway Mountain Drive which was very pretty. We parked at the top, took the usual ritual pictures, although the hazy day did not allow good long views, and John finally found a suitable memento of Copper Harbor in the small isolated gift shop up there.
We went down the other side, joined the coast road and cruised along all the way to the Jampot Bakery to replenish our supply of the truly delicious, Monk-baked, muffins for our breakfasts. Then it was on to Eagle River and the usual afternoon Zoe beach romp. We took the "coast road" out and down to Ahmeek, also a very pretty drive, and turned back up a little way to Mohawk where we stopped at the surprisingly well-stocked Superette and while in there decided to get tomorrow's lunch supplies as we plan to stick around the cabin for a day, just taking it easy.
Before we left and still after we returned we could hear heavy machinery running as it appears a nearby unimproved lot is being cleared and leveled no doubt prior to some sort of construction. However, it does look as though they are done so we should have a peaceful day tomorrow.
Wednesday - Although only appearing a little breezier at the cabin the wind must be up out on the lake as we have had wonderful crashing breakers all day long. Apart from a couple of threatening clouds appearing and then disappearing the day has remained pleasantly "partly cloudy". This has been our "day of rest" and the van hasn't moved at all. Everything has been done in a leisurely manner will small reference to the clock. We took a beach stroll in the morning then sat and read, when not dropping off for an extended late morning nap. In mid afternoon John took a couple of walks, a shorter one with Zoe who after a while made it very clear she had no interest in going further without Marissa! In fact we seem to have burned off much of Zoe's reserves of abundant energy. The second walk was a local exploration with much retracing of steps since the side lanes are like a delta branching and branching into many dead ends. Eventually the yard of an unoccupied cabin was snuck through and a return was made along the beach. We sat at the end of the "lawn", watched the waves, drank cups of tea and generally relaxed. It's been a lovely, peaceful, restful day. However, in the end our restlessness got the better of us and embarked on a tour of local exploration, the nearby mini-park and a beach area somewhat further afield, finally being driven to return home by a combination of hunger and sunset.
Thursday - Our last day in the Keweenaw was a perfect autumnal day. It is also the peak of color up here, almost everything turned but few leaves actually fallen as yet. We started off by taking a couple of new-to-us roads and the colors were magnificent. From Lake Linden (city) we headed to US41 and on towards Calumet looking for a place that apparently no longer is in business. We stopped in one or two places that caught our eye and then did a motor tour of Calumet but nothing there (other than where we had already shopped) seemed worth stopping to check out. We continued on up and stopped at the "snow thermometer" noting that this past winter was close to the least snowfall since they started keeping records.
A little further on we stopped at a combination Information and Local Crafts store and after much browsing John bought an attractive birdhouse largely crafted from driftwood - he must have been suffering from spending withdrawal! Our next stop was Eagle River, where the falls are almost non-existent at this end of a dry year, and down to the beach for a long walk (humans) and a very long, fast, erratic excursion (Havanese). From there we took the coast road and eventually found the "short-cut" to the one-lane, unpaved, lengthy Bumbletown road to Gratiot Beach. If we had known how to recognize an agate when it reached up and bit us we could have joined the few other people there as that beach is supposed to be a famous source. However, by that far into the afternoon food seemed more appealing so we bounced our way back and on to Ahmeek, getting a buffalo meat hot dog and an ice cream sundae each. Thereafter we meandered our way back to the cabin to take the rest of our time here nice and easy.
As we load up to start the run from the cabin to Iron Mountain the odometer is at 1559.3 miles for the trip so far. Pictures taken during the days described above will be added to Flickr at a later date.
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Northern Exposure III - 2011 - Day #4
This was a day when the forecasters were all too correct, perhaps even a bit optimistic but wisely we read and acted accordingly, heading, or should I say waddling, out immediately after consuming way too much irresistible breakfast. Our first stop was Wagner Falls, a small but attractive one (that Marissa has yet to see in sunshine!) along a good and part-boardwalk trail without too many steps. It made for a nice start to the day's activities.
Staying with the falls theme for a while we next went to Munising Falls and were surprised to find the visitors center actually open. The charming ranger inside, unusually one actually familiar with the rare Havanese breed, told us this was the last day open for 2011. After chatting, we headed on up the trail eventually separating so John could take the high road (with its multiplicity of steps) for one view and "the girls" could take the much more gentle low road for a different view (one John had seen many times before).
With unpromising skies we decided to hurry back to Miners Beach to give Zoe a chance to get her exercise for the day, a move with which she had no quarrel at all! We stayed on the river side and having reached it found Zoe became quite fascinated and spent a good while playing in the area where it merged with the Lake, needless to say getting thoroughly wet all over in the process. As the sprinkles became more noticeable we headed back to the van and returned to town in ever-increasing rain.
We checked out a few gift shops, most being uninteresting but one showing promise especially in an excellent selection of Dickens Village buildings and accessories. Two in particular appealed, a beautiful but rather dear church and a Fish & Chips shop, but we couldn't remember if it had been purchased in St. Charles back in the spring. We went and checked a couple of markets and bought sandwiches & desserts for lunch which we took back to the hotel. We sat on the patio while the maid finished up the room and watched the serious rain move towards us gradually obscuring our view of the bay, the Pictured Rocks coastline and even the nearby Grand Island. We retreated inside, ate our lunch and settled down to an afternoon of reading books.
Later an Internet check of Dickens Village stuff reminded us what had been bought earlier, so John dashed out through the raindrops and drove back to the store, splurged on the two buildings plus an item that had caught Marissa's eye. Come the season this years Dickens Village set up is going to be impressive! Since the rain never has let up an order has been placed for delivery to the hotel obviating the need for any further excursions.
Although notes will be taken, after this no daily online blogging or posting of pictures will be possible for the next week as tomorrow we head for the Keweenaw and splendid isolation in our cabin. A few pictures have been taken today and added to the UP set that may be found here.
Staying with the falls theme for a while we next went to Munising Falls and were surprised to find the visitors center actually open. The charming ranger inside, unusually one actually familiar with the rare Havanese breed, told us this was the last day open for 2011. After chatting, we headed on up the trail eventually separating so John could take the high road (with its multiplicity of steps) for one view and "the girls" could take the much more gentle low road for a different view (one John had seen many times before).
With unpromising skies we decided to hurry back to Miners Beach to give Zoe a chance to get her exercise for the day, a move with which she had no quarrel at all! We stayed on the river side and having reached it found Zoe became quite fascinated and spent a good while playing in the area where it merged with the Lake, needless to say getting thoroughly wet all over in the process. As the sprinkles became more noticeable we headed back to the van and returned to town in ever-increasing rain.
We checked out a few gift shops, most being uninteresting but one showing promise especially in an excellent selection of Dickens Village buildings and accessories. Two in particular appealed, a beautiful but rather dear church and a Fish & Chips shop, but we couldn't remember if it had been purchased in St. Charles back in the spring. We went and checked a couple of markets and bought sandwiches & desserts for lunch which we took back to the hotel. We sat on the patio while the maid finished up the room and watched the serious rain move towards us gradually obscuring our view of the bay, the Pictured Rocks coastline and even the nearby Grand Island. We retreated inside, ate our lunch and settled down to an afternoon of reading books.
Later an Internet check of Dickens Village stuff reminded us what had been bought earlier, so John dashed out through the raindrops and drove back to the store, splurged on the two buildings plus an item that had caught Marissa's eye. Come the season this years Dickens Village set up is going to be impressive! Since the rain never has let up an order has been placed for delivery to the hotel obviating the need for any further excursions.
Although notes will be taken, after this no daily online blogging or posting of pictures will be possible for the next week as tomorrow we head for the Keweenaw and splendid isolation in our cabin. A few pictures have been taken today and added to the UP set that may be found here.
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Northern Exposure III - 2011 - Day #3
This was a much prettier day and the kind we hoped for and expected when we made our original plans - low sixties temperatures, cooling breezes and abundant sunshine. We are about a week earlier this year and fall colors are running about a week later than usual so this Munising area is pretty but not the blaze of autumn colors it was last year.
We let the first rush clear the breakfast room before we arrived to find yet another splendid breakfast of all kinds of choices and something new. Instead of the rather slow waffle-makers they now have a machine that pops out fresh cooked pancakes on demand in less than a minute - what a treat!
The morning was devoted to all things Miners - M. Beach, M. Castle, M Falls! We headed out of town a little, filled up with gas, made an abortive attempt to get Marissa a more suitable pair of beach footwear, missed a turn, recovered after a long run down a very foggy tree-surrounded road and reached the Lake. First stop was the beach and a flagrant display of abundant energy by Zoe who seemed like she was on a sugar high. We became pretty exhausted just plodding along, the soft sand is very hard going. First we walked east, away from a teacher and two tyro kayakers getting a lesson, then back and on down to the exit of the Miners River. Zoe finally ran out of gas and went from wind sprints to gentle jogging and exploring, our clue to move on.
We made a quick visit to the Visitors Center, took ritual pictures at the overlook to Miners Castle, and then headed to the start of the Miners falls trail. Since pets are verboten we left Zoe to recover in the van and abused our own bodies up and down small hills and finally down a lot of steps to the Miners Falls overlook platform. The falls, coming out of brilliant sunshine down into a narrow gorge, were well worth the trip, especially once we had the platform to ourselves. Returning we moved somewhat slower.
We headed back to town, bought a superb 2-person Italian sandwich to share and headed to Sand Point to sit overlooking the water and eat. Following in her mother's footsteps Marissa adopted a gull to feed right up against the van. We started walking Zoe on the beach, but clearly her heart was no longer in it except for investigating whatever it is dogs find to sniff so we all piled back in the van, returned to the hotel and went into serious energy recovery mode.
Later we took the road in the Marquette direction, found the Rest Area & beach (just one of several) we used last year and made another long gentle walk there in the late afternoon sunshine. Zoe did a lot of investigating but largely at jogging speed rather than sprinting - she's learning! Back in Munising we found Muldoon's Pasties still in business (and still excellent) so we bought both a main course and a desert pasty each (apple for me, pumpkin for Marissa) came back to the hotel and settled in for the duration. We did take some pictures today, a selection of which may be found on Flickr by going here.
We let the first rush clear the breakfast room before we arrived to find yet another splendid breakfast of all kinds of choices and something new. Instead of the rather slow waffle-makers they now have a machine that pops out fresh cooked pancakes on demand in less than a minute - what a treat!
The morning was devoted to all things Miners - M. Beach, M. Castle, M Falls! We headed out of town a little, filled up with gas, made an abortive attempt to get Marissa a more suitable pair of beach footwear, missed a turn, recovered after a long run down a very foggy tree-surrounded road and reached the Lake. First stop was the beach and a flagrant display of abundant energy by Zoe who seemed like she was on a sugar high. We became pretty exhausted just plodding along, the soft sand is very hard going. First we walked east, away from a teacher and two tyro kayakers getting a lesson, then back and on down to the exit of the Miners River. Zoe finally ran out of gas and went from wind sprints to gentle jogging and exploring, our clue to move on.
We made a quick visit to the Visitors Center, took ritual pictures at the overlook to Miners Castle, and then headed to the start of the Miners falls trail. Since pets are verboten we left Zoe to recover in the van and abused our own bodies up and down small hills and finally down a lot of steps to the Miners Falls overlook platform. The falls, coming out of brilliant sunshine down into a narrow gorge, were well worth the trip, especially once we had the platform to ourselves. Returning we moved somewhat slower.
We headed back to town, bought a superb 2-person Italian sandwich to share and headed to Sand Point to sit overlooking the water and eat. Following in her mother's footsteps Marissa adopted a gull to feed right up against the van. We started walking Zoe on the beach, but clearly her heart was no longer in it except for investigating whatever it is dogs find to sniff so we all piled back in the van, returned to the hotel and went into serious energy recovery mode.
Later we took the road in the Marquette direction, found the Rest Area & beach (just one of several) we used last year and made another long gentle walk there in the late afternoon sunshine. Zoe did a lot of investigating but largely at jogging speed rather than sprinting - she's learning! Back in Munising we found Muldoon's Pasties still in business (and still excellent) so we bought both a main course and a desert pasty each (apple for me, pumpkin for Marissa) came back to the hotel and settled in for the duration. We did take some pictures today, a selection of which may be found on Flickr by going here.
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Northern Exposure III - 2011 - Day #2
The weather was the dominant feature of this day also, but in weird ways. We didn't rush, but after a truly excellent breakfast to set us up for a good while we headed out in good time - right into the fog! Gradually the microscopic suspended moisture droplets morphed into real drizzle and then downright rain. About halfway across the U.P. as we headed north we noticed that significant color was appearing amongst the conifer's green. We passed through a soggy Paradise and then things became weird. In the last half mile to Whitefish Point the rain ceased.
We elected to do the "beach thing" first in just very mild damp and this was where Zoe's vacation truly began! Apart from a pair of birdwatchers in the far distance we had acres and acres of beach entirely to ourselves so we could release her to rush about hither and yon - and boy, did she ever! We took a few pictures and Marissa took a video of Zoe which is in her Flickr and her blog. Eventually we returned to the complex and after a quick look around put the exhausted Zoe in the van and headed for the coffee shop and the gift shop - in which latter John made his first significant personal purchase, a hunter green fleece with a fairly discrete little Whitefish Point Lighthouse logo.
We then started back towards Paradise and within 500 yards were back into the rain again. We stopped at a large and excellent craft and quilting store (an oddity in so small a town), spent some time but did not buy. Then we headed west. In the light of the unrelenting rain we elected to take a pass on the Falls, after all we had done both Upper & Lower in each of the last two years. A good and wet while later we again pulled into a shore-side area, the town of Grand Marais and lo and behold, as we did so all precipitation stopped! We did a mini-tour in the van, found a restaurant/bar that made really, really excellent paninis and got our lunch "to go" so we could park beside the water and eat.
Next move was to find a beach access and yet again we had the undisturbed space to let a delighted Zoe free. We did notice however, that the earlier warp speed was down closer to half-warp speed! With inadequate footwear Marissa made for a nearby set of steps and John & Zoe hustled as light rain began again back to van & over to get Marissa. We continued west on the newly paved (and now both pretty and excellent) county road 58 until we got to the Au Sable Falls parking area, during another lull in the rain. The sign said 300 yards, but neglected to mention that it was 200 horizontal and 100 vertical, virtually all in steps. The falls are spectacular but just as we arrived at the bottom (without hats and coats) it started to rain again, so we took some hurried pictures and began the heart-straining ascent back to the van.
We decided to abandon sightseeing for the day and headed, through constant heavy rain, along the 50-odd miles to Munising. As we passed the "All things Miners" turn-off (about 10 miles from town) the rain abruptly stopped and by the time we reached the town the roads were bone dry! We checked in to our usual motel and were able to unload and organize ourselves in brightness, and by the time we were firmly settled in we could actually see some patches of blue sky and sunshine from our room's patio overlooking the Lake.
I have heard of "lake-effect snow" for years, but this was my first experience of "lake effect rain suspension"!! Somewhat to our surprise we racked up a solid 234 miles today and already have 782 for the first two days. Some pictures have been posted to Flickr and added to the UP2011 set which may be found here.
We elected to do the "beach thing" first in just very mild damp and this was where Zoe's vacation truly began! Apart from a pair of birdwatchers in the far distance we had acres and acres of beach entirely to ourselves so we could release her to rush about hither and yon - and boy, did she ever! We took a few pictures and Marissa took a video of Zoe which is in her Flickr and her blog. Eventually we returned to the complex and after a quick look around put the exhausted Zoe in the van and headed for the coffee shop and the gift shop - in which latter John made his first significant personal purchase, a hunter green fleece with a fairly discrete little Whitefish Point Lighthouse logo.
We then started back towards Paradise and within 500 yards were back into the rain again. We stopped at a large and excellent craft and quilting store (an oddity in so small a town), spent some time but did not buy. Then we headed west. In the light of the unrelenting rain we elected to take a pass on the Falls, after all we had done both Upper & Lower in each of the last two years. A good and wet while later we again pulled into a shore-side area, the town of Grand Marais and lo and behold, as we did so all precipitation stopped! We did a mini-tour in the van, found a restaurant/bar that made really, really excellent paninis and got our lunch "to go" so we could park beside the water and eat.
Next move was to find a beach access and yet again we had the undisturbed space to let a delighted Zoe free. We did notice however, that the earlier warp speed was down closer to half-warp speed! With inadequate footwear Marissa made for a nearby set of steps and John & Zoe hustled as light rain began again back to van & over to get Marissa. We continued west on the newly paved (and now both pretty and excellent) county road 58 until we got to the Au Sable Falls parking area, during another lull in the rain. The sign said 300 yards, but neglected to mention that it was 200 horizontal and 100 vertical, virtually all in steps. The falls are spectacular but just as we arrived at the bottom (without hats and coats) it started to rain again, so we took some hurried pictures and began the heart-straining ascent back to the van.
We decided to abandon sightseeing for the day and headed, through constant heavy rain, along the 50-odd miles to Munising. As we passed the "All things Miners" turn-off (about 10 miles from town) the rain abruptly stopped and by the time we reached the town the roads were bone dry! We checked in to our usual motel and were able to unload and organize ourselves in brightness, and by the time we were firmly settled in we could actually see some patches of blue sky and sunshine from our room's patio overlooking the Lake.
I have heard of "lake-effect snow" for years, but this was my first experience of "lake effect rain suspension"!! Somewhat to our surprise we racked up a solid 234 miles today and already have 782 for the first two days. Some pictures have been posted to Flickr and added to the UP2011 set which may be found here.
Monday, September 26, 2011
Northern Exposure III - 2011 - Day #1
The two words for today have to be "miles" and "rain"!
We pulled out of the driveway at 7:20 AM under gray skies but no rain and with a promising brightness soon to be visible to our north. Getting coffee and breakfast burritos at Taylorsville we turned north and just hammered away. Despite rush hour traffic we made good time and crossed the Michigan border before making our first stop. Marissa took over the driving and we continued racing north, although by now through intermittent mist and occasional rain.
However, we reached Uncle John's Cider Mill complex about 12:30 during a dry period. We walked around a little, doing the necessary, took turns in the gift shop, returned Zoe to the car and headed into the real store to pick up Honeycrisp apples, fresh brewed cider, cheese curds and assorted delicious cookies. Marissa returned to the van with the stuff while John ordered home-made tomato soup & grilled cheese on apple bread - odd but delicious! Since it started pouring with serious rain she returned with a golf umbrella for the lunch run back to the van. We headed out though more intermittent precipitation but a low gas reading coincided with a sleepy period for Marissa so we stopped, filled up, and changed drivers again.
From then on it was just miles, pretty miles, but miles, seriously degraded by ever more continuous and heavy rain. For the first time in all our crossings we traversed Big Mac in wind and pouring rain, which didn't do much for views or photo-ops! Once across we reached our hotel, in the rain, in about one minute. We have the first room closest to the doggie exit. Within a half hour the rain ceased, for good as it happened. John and Zoe went exploring on foot for a while. A little later we all got in the van, went to Pere Marquette National Memorial Park (where over the years the trees have grown largely obscuring the one-time excellent view of the bridge). We had a nice walk there and then ran down the hill to almost water level for another view and a little exploration. Having found Susie's Pasties closed (for the season?) we headed down into the old town of St. Ignace for a little tour and on our way back stopped at what was virtually an old-time diner to get two pastie dinners to go, which we thoroughly enjoyed back in the room. We have enjoyed the hot-tub/jacuzzi but found the main pool a little two chilly for us. We have both posted some pictures on Flickr and Marissa has done a pictorial blog as well. Finally parked for the night the van odometer shows an even 547 miles. The JFP Flickr pictures may be found at here
We pulled out of the driveway at 7:20 AM under gray skies but no rain and with a promising brightness soon to be visible to our north. Getting coffee and breakfast burritos at Taylorsville we turned north and just hammered away. Despite rush hour traffic we made good time and crossed the Michigan border before making our first stop. Marissa took over the driving and we continued racing north, although by now through intermittent mist and occasional rain.
However, we reached Uncle John's Cider Mill complex about 12:30 during a dry period. We walked around a little, doing the necessary, took turns in the gift shop, returned Zoe to the car and headed into the real store to pick up Honeycrisp apples, fresh brewed cider, cheese curds and assorted delicious cookies. Marissa returned to the van with the stuff while John ordered home-made tomato soup & grilled cheese on apple bread - odd but delicious! Since it started pouring with serious rain she returned with a golf umbrella for the lunch run back to the van. We headed out though more intermittent precipitation but a low gas reading coincided with a sleepy period for Marissa so we stopped, filled up, and changed drivers again.
From then on it was just miles, pretty miles, but miles, seriously degraded by ever more continuous and heavy rain. For the first time in all our crossings we traversed Big Mac in wind and pouring rain, which didn't do much for views or photo-ops! Once across we reached our hotel, in the rain, in about one minute. We have the first room closest to the doggie exit. Within a half hour the rain ceased, for good as it happened. John and Zoe went exploring on foot for a while. A little later we all got in the van, went to Pere Marquette National Memorial Park (where over the years the trees have grown largely obscuring the one-time excellent view of the bridge). We had a nice walk there and then ran down the hill to almost water level for another view and a little exploration. Having found Susie's Pasties closed (for the season?) we headed down into the old town of St. Ignace for a little tour and on our way back stopped at what was virtually an old-time diner to get two pastie dinners to go, which we thoroughly enjoyed back in the room. We have enjoyed the hot-tub/jacuzzi but found the main pool a little two chilly for us. We have both posted some pictures on Flickr and Marissa has done a pictorial blog as well. Finally parked for the night the van odometer shows an even 547 miles. The JFP Flickr pictures may be found at here
Northern Exposure III - 2011 - Preamble
Similarly to last year the exact timing was dictated by the American Cancer Society's Relay For Life Midwest Division Annual Conference. However the difference was that it was to be held in Fort Wayne, Indiana, which meant Marissa could attend while leaving John & Zoe in Columbus. The plan was for her to join the van-load of attendees from Evansville and around as they passed through Edinburgh/Taylorsville heading north on I-65 on the Thursday, attend the conference and be dropped off at the same place on Saturday evening. Sunday would be dedicated to final preparations - shopping, packing, and packing up the van ready for an early start on the Monday.
This year we recognized differences in lifestyle and planned accordingly. Maria had always preferred to travel with lavish amounts of food and drink iced down in multiple coolers as well as boxes and baskets and rarely straying from the van in which we picnicked. With Zoe (and our) bladder limitations we found we frequently strayed from the van and bought such meals as we needed where and when we needed them - which resulted in a lot of wasteful discarding of previously prepared food. This year, aside from an assortment of room temperature snacks and small emergency amounts of room temperature drinks we will haul no food substituting extra amounts of cash.
An empty cooler will accompany us so that suitable cool & dairy supplies can be transported safely the final few miles on the day we move into the cabin we will occupy for a week.
All preparations went smoothly and by the middle of Sunday everything not needed overnight was packed in the van, despite intermittent rain all day, requiring a lot of vehicle moving to have the van backwards in the center of the garage. After a relaxing afternoon Michelle, Don & Ziggy came over for a puppy play-date and general socialization. They went and got some delicious Indian food to treat us all and even later we all went out to be treated to ice cream. Sometime after they eventually left a big thunderstormy weather system started to pass over and lasted for a good part of the night.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Spring Fling 2011 - Day 20 (and Last)
Despite an extremely comfortable bed I awoke early and after luxuriating for a while got up at a gentle pace ready for my last leg. The breakfast was great with many delicious choices, in which I indulged a lot. I was on my way in good time but well into daylight. Portia got me on to the Interstate system in short order & guided me well, especially the tricky bit around Louisville until I shut her down on approaching Seymour. Much of the trip was relatively scenic, the high hills of Tennessee and Kentucky eventually giving way to horse farm country. The run was relatively short, just 320 miles from hotel to home.
My timing was good. Just as The Brick had fed me as I was leaving nearly three weeks ago I decided they could feed me on my arrival back, and they did! I came on into town via Rte 11 and picked up a big bag of mail from the Post Office. Then it was on to CVS to get new Rx refills, which they filled while I was next door in Marsh getting all the perishables I will immediately need and also two bunches of carnations in Maria's memory as yesterday would have been her 68th birthday.
The van is emptied, the bird feeders have been refilled, and a picture of part of my forsythia hedge has been taken, as it is in full bloom all around my back garden. A few daffodils are blooming but most of them, and my tulips, still have a long way to go. Now I am ready to start sorting myself out indoors, and there is a lot to be done.
From pulling out of my driveway to returning to it I accumulated a grand total of two thousand, five hundred and sixty (2560) miles and much as I love my van, apart from a quick trip to get the oil changed and the tires rotated, I will be happy not to be in it again for a while. End of story!
My timing was good. Just as The Brick had fed me as I was leaving nearly three weeks ago I decided they could feed me on my arrival back, and they did! I came on into town via Rte 11 and picked up a big bag of mail from the Post Office. Then it was on to CVS to get new Rx refills, which they filled while I was next door in Marsh getting all the perishables I will immediately need and also two bunches of carnations in Maria's memory as yesterday would have been her 68th birthday.
The van is emptied, the bird feeders have been refilled, and a picture of part of my forsythia hedge has been taken, as it is in full bloom all around my back garden. A few daffodils are blooming but most of them, and my tulips, still have a long way to go. Now I am ready to start sorting myself out indoors, and there is a lot to be done.
From pulling out of my driveway to returning to it I accumulated a grand total of two thousand, five hundred and sixty (2560) miles and much as I love my van, apart from a quick trip to get the oil changed and the tires rotated, I will be happy not to be in it again for a while. End of story!
Monday, March 21, 2011
Spring Fling 2011 - Day 19
This was my "Holiday Day" of the return trip. Yesterday was making miles and tomorrow is the final dash for home, but this was a day to enjoy, and it was full of highs and lows, or ups and downs, puns intended! Without undue haste but not wasting time I left my "adequate" hotel, good for a quick crash but once again reminding me that I like things a little more upscale when there is a choice.
The first two hours were dull, in all respects. The sky was a solid dark gray and the landscape was boring, but almost simultaneously thereafter the clouds diminished and then departed and the scenery became interesting and largely remained so for the rest of the day. Throughout the day I couldn't help thinking of a contrast - Maria would have had an ear-to-ear smile the whole day while enthroned behind the wheel weaving her big van left and right and up and down, while Rita (with Bob driving the RV) would have been so white-knuckled that her fingers would have fallen off. It was that sort of driving, interesting and spectacular. I had the smarts to fill up at SC Exit #1 and noticed that at the next exit the price was up over 20 cents/gallon, which is real money with a tank of my size!
As Portia was guiding me to the center of Gatlinburg I made an emergency stop at a Mc D's and by a lucky quirk, after a bit of a wait (which got me a free apple pie) got a fresh-off-the-grill Angus burger & also fresh-from-the-basket fries to eat in the van at my leisure with my iced coffee. Gatlinburg 20-30 years ago was pretty ghastly & now it is 20-30 times even more ghastly! After crawling through and trying not to throw up my lunch at the people & tackiness I stumbled on a Smokey Mountains National Park Visitors Center, with parking! I got a good recommendation to drive w-a-a-y up to Newfound Gap for the views and bought a CD of whatever peaceful and melodic "mountain music" was being played in the background. I'll enjoy that en route home tomorrow.
I spent rather more time up hill (mountain?) and down dale than I intended as after being at the gap with many, many others I attempted to go to Clingman's Dome but the road was still winter-closed so I went a long way with a frustrated Portia who could not find any connected roads to use to turn me around. (It's a pity she doesn't have an "find a way to turn round & go back" expression!) As a result I did rather more climbing and descending than I had intended, but with so many streams and waterfall and vistas and cliffs along the way I really didn't care!
Eventually I was on the last leg of this day and discovered that if Gatlinburg was ghastly then the now-much bigger Pidgeon Forge should really be blasted off the face of the earth!!!!! Hideous and overcrowded barely scratches the surface of the horror that it is. I think a week in gaol would be better than a week there! Anyway I eventually was guided to a Hampton Inn in Knoxville, which had my reservation for a very nice room and the desk clerk gave me a recommendation to a nearby restaurant for a delicious dinner, further enhanced by using his name/recommendation in order to get a free dessert!
One way and another I covered 418 miles today and am now at 2240 since leaving home. It has been a good day, but I will be glad to be finally sleeping in my own bed tomorrow night.
The first two hours were dull, in all respects. The sky was a solid dark gray and the landscape was boring, but almost simultaneously thereafter the clouds diminished and then departed and the scenery became interesting and largely remained so for the rest of the day. Throughout the day I couldn't help thinking of a contrast - Maria would have had an ear-to-ear smile the whole day while enthroned behind the wheel weaving her big van left and right and up and down, while Rita (with Bob driving the RV) would have been so white-knuckled that her fingers would have fallen off. It was that sort of driving, interesting and spectacular. I had the smarts to fill up at SC Exit #1 and noticed that at the next exit the price was up over 20 cents/gallon, which is real money with a tank of my size!
As Portia was guiding me to the center of Gatlinburg I made an emergency stop at a Mc D's and by a lucky quirk, after a bit of a wait (which got me a free apple pie) got a fresh-off-the-grill Angus burger & also fresh-from-the-basket fries to eat in the van at my leisure with my iced coffee. Gatlinburg 20-30 years ago was pretty ghastly & now it is 20-30 times even more ghastly! After crawling through and trying not to throw up my lunch at the people & tackiness I stumbled on a Smokey Mountains National Park Visitors Center, with parking! I got a good recommendation to drive w-a-a-y up to Newfound Gap for the views and bought a CD of whatever peaceful and melodic "mountain music" was being played in the background. I'll enjoy that en route home tomorrow.
I spent rather more time up hill (mountain?) and down dale than I intended as after being at the gap with many, many others I attempted to go to Clingman's Dome but the road was still winter-closed so I went a long way with a frustrated Portia who could not find any connected roads to use to turn me around. (It's a pity she doesn't have an "find a way to turn round & go back" expression!) As a result I did rather more climbing and descending than I had intended, but with so many streams and waterfall and vistas and cliffs along the way I really didn't care!
Eventually I was on the last leg of this day and discovered that if Gatlinburg was ghastly then the now-much bigger Pidgeon Forge should really be blasted off the face of the earth!!!!! Hideous and overcrowded barely scratches the surface of the horror that it is. I think a week in gaol would be better than a week there! Anyway I eventually was guided to a Hampton Inn in Knoxville, which had my reservation for a very nice room and the desk clerk gave me a recommendation to a nearby restaurant for a delicious dinner, further enhanced by using his name/recommendation in order to get a free dessert!
One way and another I covered 418 miles today and am now at 2240 since leaving home. It has been a good day, but I will be glad to be finally sleeping in my own bed tomorrow night.
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Spring Fling 2011 - Day 18
The day started sunny and went through partly cloudy to partly sunny, to cloudy, to showers and eventually back to partly sunny, not such a bad thing for driving. After a typical start to the day and a nice substantial breakfast I loaded the rest of my stuff in the van along with a very substantial picnic lunch that Jean prepared for me. The goodbyes were said & hugs taken all around and lots of thanks in both directions & I finally pulled away right around ten o'clock in the morning, much as I had expected.
The journey was smooth and I didn't once have to say "shut up, Portia"! Much of it was Interstate, but a big chunk of it wasn't, which slowed me down a bit. The whole drive, though, was flat and boring, with a surprising (to me) amount of traffic for a Sunday. I made three stops, one at a rest area for coffee in and out (lousy machine coffee); once at a McDonald's where I used the purchase of an iced coffee the excuse for a long respite in their parking lot eating my picnic and reading while sitting in a middle row seat for a change of position; and finally at a gas station where I stayed just beneath the $75 limit.
The hotel (and once again I had been tricked into reserving through AND paying a third party) is not one I would choose for a multi-day stay but is adequate for crashing for a night and playing with the laptop. "My share" of our driving in the Tampa area had added about 140 miles, so I figure today's run was right around 430 miles, as the overall trip odometer reading stands at1822 miles.
I figure it must be a southern redneck macho thing that on three lane highways the outer two lanes are very busy & the inner lane virtually empty. I frequently passed long lines of center lane traffic on the inside. Weird!
The journey was smooth and I didn't once have to say "shut up, Portia"! Much of it was Interstate, but a big chunk of it wasn't, which slowed me down a bit. The whole drive, though, was flat and boring, with a surprising (to me) amount of traffic for a Sunday. I made three stops, one at a rest area for coffee in and out (lousy machine coffee); once at a McDonald's where I used the purchase of an iced coffee the excuse for a long respite in their parking lot eating my picnic and reading while sitting in a middle row seat for a change of position; and finally at a gas station where I stayed just beneath the $75 limit.
The hotel (and once again I had been tricked into reserving through AND paying a third party) is not one I would choose for a multi-day stay but is adequate for crashing for a night and playing with the laptop. "My share" of our driving in the Tampa area had added about 140 miles, so I figure today's run was right around 430 miles, as the overall trip odometer reading stands at1822 miles.
I figure it must be a southern redneck macho thing that on three lane highways the outer two lanes are very busy & the inner lane virtually empty. I frequently passed long lines of center lane traffic on the inside. Weird!
Spring Fling 2011 - Day 17
This nice but warm day was a day of tidying, in many senses. First it was "loose ends" indoors with me installing the newly painted coat/hat racks where Jean wanted them & Pete in the workshop. Then it was outside for some tidying of hoses and the like. At Jean's insistence we eschewed any seriously heavy work like major pruning/uprooting of shrubs since I would start traveling the next day and they take off a couple of days later. However, sessions with the gas-powered blower were not deemed to be heavy so while Jean was at the hairdresser and other places a very significant session of leaf-blowing took place, the end result making an enormous improvement to the appearance of the most-used area of the yard, driveway, etc.
After a late and leisurely lunch I seriously reorganized my "stuff" and put as much of it as I would no longer need in the van, to make the final packing for departure easy the next day. After that I plotted the first part of my route northwards and made a reservation for the night based on the assumption of a mid-morning departure.
This was a day of a "super moon", a full moon closer to earth than it has been any time in the last seventeen years, so in the latter part of the evening we went out for a look. It was brilliantly bright, completely overwhelming the capabilities of Jean's and my little pocket cameras, despite our trying a variety of settings.
After a late and leisurely lunch I seriously reorganized my "stuff" and put as much of it as I would no longer need in the van, to make the final packing for departure easy the next day. After that I plotted the first part of my route northwards and made a reservation for the night based on the assumption of a mid-morning departure.
This was a day of a "super moon", a full moon closer to earth than it has been any time in the last seventeen years, so in the latter part of the evening we went out for a look. It was brilliantly bright, completely overwhelming the capabilities of Jean's and my little pocket cameras, despite our trying a variety of settings.
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Spring Fling 2011 - Day 16
This was a multi-part day. The weather continues to be great, but we are all noticing a gradual day-by-day increase in temperatures, so my departure tomorrow seems well-timed. While Jean prepared breakfast I chivvied Peter into joining me to prepare some coat racks for painting. After we had eaten, Peter set up to spray paint them in a series of light coats while I took a step ladder and a chainsaw and cut down a number of significantly large branches that all hung downwards and made access to the big shed very annoying and inconvenient, subsequently dragging the debris to the now-enormous brush pile.
The next portion of the day made contrast in the meaning of words, depending on circumstances. To me, going to picnic in "a nearby park" means somewhere 5 - 15 minutes away. To P&J the phrase means 45-60 minutes away, but another 45 minutes closer than any other! As a result we were more than ready to eat when we had found a nice shady spot in Lettuce Lake Park (so named for a water plant that resembles lettuce leaves above water level). After eating we all relaxed, read, and in my case napped, twice I think, but not for too long at a time. Eventually we left Pete, whose legs were bothering him a bit, and Jean and I walked both sides of the figure of eight-shaped extensive boardwalk weaving along the lake shore through the swamp and mangrove trees. The lake is a temporary enlargement of the very sluggish Hillsborough river.
We made our way back, through some heavy Friday afternoon traffic and dropped Peter off for his last long therapy session before heading for the house. I found myself in the strange position of room furniture arrangement consultant, as their small family room needs serious work and they have a lovely, but largely unused main sitting room. Later we returned to pick up Peter and then I treated to a soup and salad-or-sandwich supper at the nearby very large Panera Bread store/restaurant. Back home much of the remaining evening was spent with Jean's and my computers side by side, sharing things and testing out things.
The park was not a particularly photographable subject, but I have posted a few shots on Flickr that may be seen here.
The next portion of the day made contrast in the meaning of words, depending on circumstances. To me, going to picnic in "a nearby park" means somewhere 5 - 15 minutes away. To P&J the phrase means 45-60 minutes away, but another 45 minutes closer than any other! As a result we were more than ready to eat when we had found a nice shady spot in Lettuce Lake Park (so named for a water plant that resembles lettuce leaves above water level). After eating we all relaxed, read, and in my case napped, twice I think, but not for too long at a time. Eventually we left Pete, whose legs were bothering him a bit, and Jean and I walked both sides of the figure of eight-shaped extensive boardwalk weaving along the lake shore through the swamp and mangrove trees. The lake is a temporary enlargement of the very sluggish Hillsborough river.
We made our way back, through some heavy Friday afternoon traffic and dropped Peter off for his last long therapy session before heading for the house. I found myself in the strange position of room furniture arrangement consultant, as their small family room needs serious work and they have a lovely, but largely unused main sitting room. Later we returned to pick up Peter and then I treated to a soup and salad-or-sandwich supper at the nearby very large Panera Bread store/restaurant. Back home much of the remaining evening was spent with Jean's and my computers side by side, sharing things and testing out things.
The park was not a particularly photographable subject, but I have posted a few shots on Flickr that may be seen here.
Friday, March 18, 2011
Spring Fling 2011 - Day 15
It could be said that this was the day I "sang for my supper", repaying hospitality with a hard day's work. The evening before we had agreed that as Jean needed to make lots of phone calls, arrange a trip to Boston to her sister, and take on a variety of domestic chores we would make this an undiluted work day.
After our efforts the day before the big outdoor priority was to get the "outer" of two hedges that were severely cutting into their pathway to the front door under control. We briefly tried just a heavy pruning, but it was so old and ugly that we decided to eliminate it completely.
The day was again beautiful, if a little warm (mid-80's). The heavy arm-protecting shirt was abandoned in favor of a T-shirt at our lunch break. The work was hard, but we paced ourselves, periodically gathering wagon loads of debris and transferring it to the brush pile at the bottom of the garden and also sitting in the shade and consuming plenty of cold liquids. We also took a significant break for lunch, but did not nap.
By the end of the day we had the satisfaction of everything in that area looking many times better than it had before and that the top priority "major job" outdoors was now completed. The task would have required, had Pete tried to do it alone with his gimpy legs, many days that he currently does not have available.
Needless to say we all had an early night. It is hardly a subject for photographic art but a few before and after pictures were taken and loaded on Flickr and may be found here.
After our efforts the day before the big outdoor priority was to get the "outer" of two hedges that were severely cutting into their pathway to the front door under control. We briefly tried just a heavy pruning, but it was so old and ugly that we decided to eliminate it completely.
The day was again beautiful, if a little warm (mid-80's). The heavy arm-protecting shirt was abandoned in favor of a T-shirt at our lunch break. The work was hard, but we paced ourselves, periodically gathering wagon loads of debris and transferring it to the brush pile at the bottom of the garden and also sitting in the shade and consuming plenty of cold liquids. We also took a significant break for lunch, but did not nap.
By the end of the day we had the satisfaction of everything in that area looking many times better than it had before and that the top priority "major job" outdoors was now completed. The task would have required, had Pete tried to do it alone with his gimpy legs, many days that he currently does not have available.
Needless to say we all had an early night. It is hardly a subject for photographic art but a few before and after pictures were taken and loaded on Flickr and may be found here.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Spring Fling 2011 - Day 14
Unusually for me I woke soon after four AM and having solved the immediate nose/mouth/bladder problems found myself totally unable to fall back to sleep, aggravated by the fact that we had agreed on an early start. Before eight o'clock we were heading to Tampa and the Aquarium's dock. In "payment" for docking facilities the Aquarium gives a Port of Tampa water tour once (and sometimes twice) a week, free but reservations needed.
After a somewhat disorganized start we embarked on the tour. The actual port (handling the greatest tonnage of any Florida port by a wide margin) is actually 23 miles from the mouth of Tampa Bay and its big bridge. In addition to its docking/unloading facilities it has a very large ship repair operation with a variety of dry-docks. They also pointed out, on an island man-made over decades from dredged debris (and large enough for a private plane/helicopter airport) a dog park with an unusual feature, a beach! Zoe would have loved it!
The tour lasted over 1 1/2 hours and was surprisingly interesting. After disembarking next to a restored Liberty Ship (whose only voyage in decades, after restoration was a sentimental crossing of the Atlantic, and up the Thames to London & back) we went to Ybor City, formerly a major center for cigar making, still very Cuban-flavored, and after major decline is largely restored for tourism. We had a very nice lunch outdoors under an awning (fried oyster sandwich for me) before heading home.
We then all napped! After awakening I was feeling energetic & volunteered my "legs" for any jobs/yard work. First Jean came & helped/directed with the movement way down the yard of trash for pick-up & brush for the pile, and then Peter substituted bringing a chain saw & hedge clippers. We made an impressive amount of improvement, working together until almost dark and burning off our excess energy.
As usual, we took photos, mostly rather distant for pocket cameras, and a selection have been posted on Flickr, found here.
After a somewhat disorganized start we embarked on the tour. The actual port (handling the greatest tonnage of any Florida port by a wide margin) is actually 23 miles from the mouth of Tampa Bay and its big bridge. In addition to its docking/unloading facilities it has a very large ship repair operation with a variety of dry-docks. They also pointed out, on an island man-made over decades from dredged debris (and large enough for a private plane/helicopter airport) a dog park with an unusual feature, a beach! Zoe would have loved it!
The tour lasted over 1 1/2 hours and was surprisingly interesting. After disembarking next to a restored Liberty Ship (whose only voyage in decades, after restoration was a sentimental crossing of the Atlantic, and up the Thames to London & back) we went to Ybor City, formerly a major center for cigar making, still very Cuban-flavored, and after major decline is largely restored for tourism. We had a very nice lunch outdoors under an awning (fried oyster sandwich for me) before heading home.
We then all napped! After awakening I was feeling energetic & volunteered my "legs" for any jobs/yard work. First Jean came & helped/directed with the movement way down the yard of trash for pick-up & brush for the pile, and then Peter substituted bringing a chain saw & hedge clippers. We made an impressive amount of improvement, working together until almost dark and burning off our excess energy.
As usual, we took photos, mostly rather distant for pocket cameras, and a selection have been posted on Flickr, found here.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Spring Fling 2011 - Day 13
This day was slightly more "partly cloudy" (which was a good thing) and also slightly warmer, but still very pleasant. The day's objective was Myakka River Sate Park which is also in the Sarasota area. Jean & Peter were a bit disappointed as their decade-old memories of earlier visits were of lots of water/large lakes, huge numbers of alligators, and few people and today's realities were exactly opposite on all counts. The shorelines have retreated at least 100 yards all around, alligators are few and far between and there are vast numbers of people!
We managed to park (slightly illegally, like many others) near the lake and enjoyed another leisurely picnic. Later we moved into the shade for a relaxing afternoon, somewhat apart from the crowds, relaxing and reading. We visited one of the huge new concession buildings, three times in my case, once to buy a memento mug, once to buy three cups of ice cream for our dessert, and once to buy a Christmas tree ornament, all apart from the obvious reason for going there!
We drove through much of the properly paved portion, largely along one edge and eventually headed home for a late dinner. As we were finishing Jean got the feared phone call to confirm that a cancer-wracked sister has been given but 2 to 4 months, which led to somber discussions of cancers in general, and of the sad deaths that eventuate. In the short term they are making no changes to plans, but a definite pall was cast on the day.
Not a lot of pictures were taken, but a few have been uploaded to Flickr & may be found here.
We managed to park (slightly illegally, like many others) near the lake and enjoyed another leisurely picnic. Later we moved into the shade for a relaxing afternoon, somewhat apart from the crowds, relaxing and reading. We visited one of the huge new concession buildings, three times in my case, once to buy a memento mug, once to buy three cups of ice cream for our dessert, and once to buy a Christmas tree ornament, all apart from the obvious reason for going there!
We drove through much of the properly paved portion, largely along one edge and eventually headed home for a late dinner. As we were finishing Jean got the feared phone call to confirm that a cancer-wracked sister has been given but 2 to 4 months, which led to somber discussions of cancers in general, and of the sad deaths that eventuate. In the short term they are making no changes to plans, but a definite pall was cast on the day.
Not a lot of pictures were taken, but a few have been uploaded to Flickr & may be found here.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Spring Fling 2011 - Day 12
Although this was again a beautiful day weatherwise we chose to make it a "domestic day". While Jean went to be frustrated by endless waiting at the License Branch Peter and I replaced both a deadbolt and a full lockset on their primary outside door, then investigated the inoperative one on their front door, concluding that it was not fixable & would eventually have to be replaced. We also worked on the lawn tractor/mower, including running cable out to the shed to put the battery on charge. Later in the day I mounted their kitchen fire extinguisher in a strategic place and also mounted a hangar on a stucco pillar on their enclosed patio.
In the afternoon Peter went for his extensive physical therapy session and after dropping him we filled the van, or almost filled it as I was again cut off at the $75 mark! Jean & I then went for our brisk two laps around the same large pond as before before going to pick Pete up. I raised the subject of length of stay and was firmly told (later reiterated by Peter) that I would be welcome to continue staying in the house after they leave for Cincinnati sometime next week - I won't of course, but I am going to stay on for a while.
Peter is capable of many things but is much too easily distracted, not only by something that catches his eye, but equally by something that catches his ear which may result in him wondering why, two hours later, he has a tool in his hand! Jean is very appreciative of my ability to keep him focused on the task at hand and the both of them are enjoying revisiting places in this area that they enjoy but without a forcing excuse somehow never get around to seeing
In the evening I acted as a second pair of eyes and supplier of encouragement (having done similarly myself) while Jean fought her way through renewing the van, camper, and trailer license plates, making them legal again. This was not a day for photo opportunities, so there is no link to this edition.
In the afternoon Peter went for his extensive physical therapy session and after dropping him we filled the van, or almost filled it as I was again cut off at the $75 mark! Jean & I then went for our brisk two laps around the same large pond as before before going to pick Pete up. I raised the subject of length of stay and was firmly told (later reiterated by Peter) that I would be welcome to continue staying in the house after they leave for Cincinnati sometime next week - I won't of course, but I am going to stay on for a while.
Peter is capable of many things but is much too easily distracted, not only by something that catches his eye, but equally by something that catches his ear which may result in him wondering why, two hours later, he has a tool in his hand! Jean is very appreciative of my ability to keep him focused on the task at hand and the both of them are enjoying revisiting places in this area that they enjoy but without a forcing excuse somehow never get around to seeing
In the evening I acted as a second pair of eyes and supplier of encouragement (having done similarly myself) while Jean fought her way through renewing the van, camper, and trailer license plates, making them legal again. This was not a day for photo opportunities, so there is no link to this edition.
Monday, March 14, 2011
Spring Fling 2011 - Day 11
This was yet another beautiful day and tempted us to a third straight "day out". I had noticed yesterday that the Emery's Honda Odyssey minivan was wearing license plates that expired two weeks ago, so this was a good opportunity for me to be the driver and show off my van!
We went down to Sarasota and to the Marie Selby Botanical Gardens. MS had been a wealthy wife with a deep love for gardens and exotic trees and plants and bequeathed the estate on her passing 35 years ago. We basically spent the whole day there, seeing all that was there at a gentle pace. After doing the conservatory with a variety of less-common orchids on display we bought salads and sandwiches for lunch and ate outside in the shade of a huge banyan tree. We then made a leisurely tour of the gardens, which are like a peninsula with water on three sides. Near the end, in one of the old buildings (a converted home) was an exhibition of very colorful wall decorations (called masks, but not meant for covering the face) all carved from solid balsa wood logs by talented Central Americans and brightly painted. All had been for sale and the vast majority had sold for prices from around $300 up to nearly $700. We did not buy!
We cruised the gift and the flower shop which had many beautiful exotics, largely but not only orchids, but all I bought was a cactus for my kitchen window cactus planter. It is lovely to have opportunities for trips out like this but the travel time does consume quite a bit of the day. Once we were back Jean made dinner and afterward we continued sharing our daily pictures and then moved on to showing each other our older photos. My taking of my Qoop "albums" has proven to be an excellent idea. A small selection of today's pictures have been posted on Flickr, and may be found here.
We went down to Sarasota and to the Marie Selby Botanical Gardens. MS had been a wealthy wife with a deep love for gardens and exotic trees and plants and bequeathed the estate on her passing 35 years ago. We basically spent the whole day there, seeing all that was there at a gentle pace. After doing the conservatory with a variety of less-common orchids on display we bought salads and sandwiches for lunch and ate outside in the shade of a huge banyan tree. We then made a leisurely tour of the gardens, which are like a peninsula with water on three sides. Near the end, in one of the old buildings (a converted home) was an exhibition of very colorful wall decorations (called masks, but not meant for covering the face) all carved from solid balsa wood logs by talented Central Americans and brightly painted. All had been for sale and the vast majority had sold for prices from around $300 up to nearly $700. We did not buy!
We cruised the gift and the flower shop which had many beautiful exotics, largely but not only orchids, but all I bought was a cactus for my kitchen window cactus planter. It is lovely to have opportunities for trips out like this but the travel time does consume quite a bit of the day. Once we were back Jean made dinner and afterward we continued sharing our daily pictures and then moved on to showing each other our older photos. My taking of my Qoop "albums" has proven to be an excellent idea. A small selection of today's pictures have been posted on Flickr, and may be found here.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Spring Fling 2011 - Day 10
This was the day we went to the Fort De Soto park on a barrier island (but reachable by road and bridge). To J&P's disappointment its definition as the #1 beach in the country in 2005 immensely increased its popularity & instead of just a day or two camping reservations are now up to 6 months out. There are also vastly more day trippers, such as we were this day. The old fort itself is undergoing massive restorations and is closed to the public, but we went primarily for the beach.
It is a fair drive, but not a difficult one. Being a Saturday the beach was busy/crowded but nothing like it is going to be in the upcoming spring break weeks. The sun shone brightly all day, but when staying still the cool breeze made the addition of a coat or fleece wise. We set up and picnicked in the grassy part close to the huge parking area, then we packed up, grabbed some portable seating and headed for the beach, settling in fairly close to the edge to absorb some rays as the saying goes. A full stomach & relaxation had it's inevitable effect and it didn't take me long to doze off for a nice nap.
After I woke we left Pete behind a pile of chairs (acting as a windbreak) with his newspaper and Jean and I took a nice long walk all around the beach perimeter as far as the protected area (for ground nesting birds) one end and a minor bay entrance the other end ending at the back by the facilities where we bought cups of ice cream for dessert for the three of us.
Eventually we took our leave, making short stops at a fishing pier, the (closed) fort, and the tip of the island with a good view a long way across the water to the bridge, easily seen with the eye but not so much by our cameras. By the time we were getting close to home it was after seven so we went to a local family-owned authentic Spanish restaurant and all had a delicious meal, each of us walking out with at least 45% of our serving in a doggie box as they were way more than any of us could eat all at one time.
It was a very nice day, enjoyed by us all. I have weaned the pictures we took down to a reasonable number and posted them on Flickr, findable here.
It is a fair drive, but not a difficult one. Being a Saturday the beach was busy/crowded but nothing like it is going to be in the upcoming spring break weeks. The sun shone brightly all day, but when staying still the cool breeze made the addition of a coat or fleece wise. We set up and picnicked in the grassy part close to the huge parking area, then we packed up, grabbed some portable seating and headed for the beach, settling in fairly close to the edge to absorb some rays as the saying goes. A full stomach & relaxation had it's inevitable effect and it didn't take me long to doze off for a nice nap.
After I woke we left Pete behind a pile of chairs (acting as a windbreak) with his newspaper and Jean and I took a nice long walk all around the beach perimeter as far as the protected area (for ground nesting birds) one end and a minor bay entrance the other end ending at the back by the facilities where we bought cups of ice cream for dessert for the three of us.
Eventually we took our leave, making short stops at a fishing pier, the (closed) fort, and the tip of the island with a good view a long way across the water to the bridge, easily seen with the eye but not so much by our cameras. By the time we were getting close to home it was after seven so we went to a local family-owned authentic Spanish restaurant and all had a delicious meal, each of us walking out with at least 45% of our serving in a doggie box as they were way more than any of us could eat all at one time.
It was a very nice day, enjoyed by us all. I have weaned the pictures we took down to a reasonable number and posted them on Flickr, findable here.
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Spring Fling 2011 - Day 9
The major event of this day was a trip to the other side of Tampa Bay and over to the coast to the town of Tarpon Springs. We finally got going in the latter part of the morning and didn't return until the evening. The day was bright and sunny, but breezy, and once at the coast cool enough to make wearing a jacket or fleece wise.
The old city of Tarpon Springs is centered around the sponge fishing industry, and similar to the U.P. which was largely populated by Cornishmen & other north European miners, was started by Greek sponge fishermen. It is now a tourist haven (trap?) with two dominant themes, sponges and Greeks. It is still a center for sponge fishing as most of the shops can attest, and it is also hugely into Greek food of all kinds.
With strategic pacing and resting Peter was able to walk further this day than he apparently has been able to do for months. We absorbed sponge knowledge and history (I had never realized how ignorant I was on the subject) and wandered about the touristy/marina part of town. We had lunch at a restaurant that claims it is scheduled to be part of a Food Network show in a couple of months, and it was good. We took a look at, and into, a number of the shops (which didn't seem to be quite as tacky, by and large, as one might expect) but beyond a bakery to get a dessert treat (Kok or baclava) and a couple of sponges for P&J temptation was largely resisted, except for a couple of different specialty soap shops (sorry, Carol!).
We eventually left and managed, with some judicial map reading, to fake out their Garmin enough to route us back across the causeway dividing inner Tampa Bay instead of the inland route we were guided to use on our outbound journey. All in all it was a very nice and interesting day, enjoyed equally by P&J who until having the excuse of a visitor to make the effort to go there hadn't actually been back for some 10 years!
A large number of pictures were taken between us, and shared in the evening, and some of them have been uploaded to Flickr and may be found here.
The old city of Tarpon Springs is centered around the sponge fishing industry, and similar to the U.P. which was largely populated by Cornishmen & other north European miners, was started by Greek sponge fishermen. It is now a tourist haven (trap?) with two dominant themes, sponges and Greeks. It is still a center for sponge fishing as most of the shops can attest, and it is also hugely into Greek food of all kinds.
With strategic pacing and resting Peter was able to walk further this day than he apparently has been able to do for months. We absorbed sponge knowledge and history (I had never realized how ignorant I was on the subject) and wandered about the touristy/marina part of town. We had lunch at a restaurant that claims it is scheduled to be part of a Food Network show in a couple of months, and it was good. We took a look at, and into, a number of the shops (which didn't seem to be quite as tacky, by and large, as one might expect) but beyond a bakery to get a dessert treat (Kok or baclava) and a couple of sponges for P&J temptation was largely resisted, except for a couple of different specialty soap shops (sorry, Carol!).
We eventually left and managed, with some judicial map reading, to fake out their Garmin enough to route us back across the causeway dividing inner Tampa Bay instead of the inland route we were guided to use on our outbound journey. All in all it was a very nice and interesting day, enjoyed equally by P&J who until having the excuse of a visitor to make the effort to go there hadn't actually been back for some 10 years!
A large number of pictures were taken between us, and shared in the evening, and some of them have been uploaded to Flickr and may be found here.
Friday, March 11, 2011
Spring Fling 2011 - Day 8
The day started with a bang - literally - as a very loud thunderclap directly overhead woke me betimes, although being accustomed to such things both Jean & Peter slept on through the storm. The day was pleasant and relatively quiet. I am beginning to understand why projects take a long time here. The plan to replace a doorlock & a deadbolt never actually got beyond opening the package & reading the instructions, a combination of mutual AAADD and conversations, and meals quietly overtaking our good intentions.
In the afternoon Pete had to go for some extensive physical therapy and after dropping him off Jean & I returned to a local large pond/small lake and proceeded to walk all around it twice, at 20 minutes/lap. It contained a lot of lillypads all very close to blooming and a wide variety of water birds, herons, egrets, spoonbill, cranes, ibis, coots and anhinga, a bird I had never seen before.
After dinner I introduced Jean to Facebook, which consumed us in setting her up to such an extent that Pete retired to bed and left us to it! It has been a pleasant and relaxing day.
In the afternoon Pete had to go for some extensive physical therapy and after dropping him off Jean & I returned to a local large pond/small lake and proceeded to walk all around it twice, at 20 minutes/lap. It contained a lot of lillypads all very close to blooming and a wide variety of water birds, herons, egrets, spoonbill, cranes, ibis, coots and anhinga, a bird I had never seen before.
After dinner I introduced Jean to Facebook, which consumed us in setting her up to such an extent that Pete retired to bed and left us to it! It has been a pleasant and relaxing day.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Spring Fling 2011 - Day 7
After a good night I had the usual excellent juice, yogurt, eggs biscuits and gravy, and waffles breakfast. I/they had a hard time getting "club" credit for my stay & they were unable to tell me what the night cost as it turned out I had unknowingly booked through Travelocity - to my mind almost a scam - when I thought I was calling Country Inns - no wonder there only appeared to be 4 rooms! I'll know better next time.
Portia did a great job of getting me to my destination the quickest way, but it was still a long run again. Three observations - trucks eschew the right hand lane whenever there are more than two; on three-lane sections universal speeds, right to left, are 74.9, 75, 75.1; and I-10 has almost 100 miles of not being near enough to any towns for there to be either food or refreshment actually at the exits. By the time I could actually see the Golden Arches & Gas signs from the highway I was running on fumes - it took $90 to refill the van! By the time I wanted to stop again I was headed south and things were more normal. I forced myself to take a "leisurely" McD's lunch to stretch the legs and have a change of position.
Finally, after 1249.1 miles from home and at 3:20 in the afternoon Portia got me to the end of the unmarked lane. Bouncing down the unmarked lane I had no trouble finding the house:
Of course, at the time it was just the flag! We took pictures later!
It is warm, but not unbearable here. Jean & Pete seem to be delighted to see me. Apart from when we were eating the large & delicious meal Jean had cooked constant talking was the order of the day, apart from Pete showing me his well-equipped but cluttered workshop (actually a garage but who needs more than a car-port down here). After dinner we continued talking until bedtime and 99% of the conversation covered our mutual reminiscences of the period 1939-1950. With a 9-year advantage over me Pete held the lion's share of the conversation, but then he always was more loquacious than I am.
Portia did a great job of getting me to my destination the quickest way, but it was still a long run again. Three observations - trucks eschew the right hand lane whenever there are more than two; on three-lane sections universal speeds, right to left, are 74.9, 75, 75.1; and I-10 has almost 100 miles of not being near enough to any towns for there to be either food or refreshment actually at the exits. By the time I could actually see the Golden Arches & Gas signs from the highway I was running on fumes - it took $90 to refill the van! By the time I wanted to stop again I was headed south and things were more normal. I forced myself to take a "leisurely" McD's lunch to stretch the legs and have a change of position.
Finally, after 1249.1 miles from home and at 3:20 in the afternoon Portia got me to the end of the unmarked lane. Bouncing down the unmarked lane I had no trouble finding the house:
It is warm, but not unbearable here. Jean & Pete seem to be delighted to see me. Apart from when we were eating the large & delicious meal Jean had cooked constant talking was the order of the day, apart from Pete showing me his well-equipped but cluttered workshop (actually a garage but who needs more than a car-port down here). After dinner we continued talking until bedtime and 99% of the conversation covered our mutual reminiscences of the period 1939-1950. With a 9-year advantage over me Pete held the lion's share of the conversation, but then he always was more loquacious than I am.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Spring Fling 2011 - Days 5 & 6
These two days represented the end of one phase and the start of the next. On Monday morning Marissa went to the library and John played "househusband" and generally got things ready for the Tuesday departure. We went to lunch at Tequila's Mexican restaurant and had a surprisingly good meal, stopping on the way back to fill up the van and get a bake-it-yourself pizza for the evening. The pump snapped off at exactly $75, either a coincidental good sign or a maximum setting per card swiping, but the van was full.
The afternoon was lazy, mostly watching DVDs with a break to take Zoe for her first "outing" in several days, which she clearly enjoyed. Marissa went back for the second part of her split shift and the evening thereafter was calm and pleasant.
I woke early Tuesday, to Marissa's displeasure as little "ears-like-a-bat" hears every minuscule sound, but the bottom line was that I was pulling out of her driveway at 7:00 AM (8:00 EST) with 292.1 miles on the odometer. The morning was dull, but dry and not too cold. "Portia" was confused by the changes to the Lloyd Expressway & had to "recalculate" to find the bridge without taking me along the waterfront. The Ohio is in serious flood already, edge of water to edge of water being an immense distance, but not affecting bridge or roadway. More road construction also had Portia confused later on but the situation was self-correcting, but I must remember to see if I can update the GPS when I get home.
At 10:30 (EST) I stopped for a stretch and a fancy McCoffee prior to weaving my way through the Nashville interstate system. I slogged on until almost 1:00 when I fortuitously stumbled on a Love's with both a Subway for a sandwich and a McD's for a coffee, both of which were consumed in the back of the van, semi-recumbent, while I read and forced myself to take a decent break. It started to sprinkle as I subsequently filled up with gas and no sooner had I returned to the highway than it rained at varying intensities, but mostly very hard, for all 90 miles remaining to Birmingham, where it stopped just before a mess of road construction was encountered. Luckily it was not bad going south, but the northbound traffic looked to be in real trouble. Subsequently the day improved both in temperature and in sunshine.
In Montgomery I switched from hot lattes to iced, but still McD's. Thereafter it was just a steady slog on to Dothan, to my easily-found hotel and comfortable room. My travel time, stops included, had been 9 hours and fifty minutes covering 561 miles. The van has made longer trips, but always with two or more drivers. This was the longest run it has made with a single, companion-less driver, kept alert by an eclectic mix of CD's all the way from grand operatic arias to Patsy Cline & everything (not modern) in between.
Dothan, apparently, has the highest per-capita rate of both motels and restaurants in the land, very largely catering to transients, such as myself. Reluctant to enter the van again today I was pleased to find several restaurants within 150 yards, and chose Ruby Tuesday's to which to take my "date", Ms. Kindle. I indulged in a leisurely fashion over a really excellent meal, blue cheese flavored cole slaw, tilapia topped with many large shrimp and covered with a spicy parmesan sauce and a baked potato, and a fruit and yogurt based parfait for desert. I'm on holiday, I've driven a long way, and who was to stop me?
I kept wondering why "Portia" always seemed to be an hour off with her ETA until I entered the hotel and found that yea, verily, it is CST here - who knew? Now all that remains is a nice soak in the hot-tub/whirlpool & some peaceful reading. All in all a good day.
The afternoon was lazy, mostly watching DVDs with a break to take Zoe for her first "outing" in several days, which she clearly enjoyed. Marissa went back for the second part of her split shift and the evening thereafter was calm and pleasant.
I woke early Tuesday, to Marissa's displeasure as little "ears-like-a-bat" hears every minuscule sound, but the bottom line was that I was pulling out of her driveway at 7:00 AM (8:00 EST) with 292.1 miles on the odometer. The morning was dull, but dry and not too cold. "Portia" was confused by the changes to the Lloyd Expressway & had to "recalculate" to find the bridge without taking me along the waterfront. The Ohio is in serious flood already, edge of water to edge of water being an immense distance, but not affecting bridge or roadway. More road construction also had Portia confused later on but the situation was self-correcting, but I must remember to see if I can update the GPS when I get home.
At 10:30 (EST) I stopped for a stretch and a fancy McCoffee prior to weaving my way through the Nashville interstate system. I slogged on until almost 1:00 when I fortuitously stumbled on a Love's with both a Subway for a sandwich and a McD's for a coffee, both of which were consumed in the back of the van, semi-recumbent, while I read and forced myself to take a decent break. It started to sprinkle as I subsequently filled up with gas and no sooner had I returned to the highway than it rained at varying intensities, but mostly very hard, for all 90 miles remaining to Birmingham, where it stopped just before a mess of road construction was encountered. Luckily it was not bad going south, but the northbound traffic looked to be in real trouble. Subsequently the day improved both in temperature and in sunshine.
In Montgomery I switched from hot lattes to iced, but still McD's. Thereafter it was just a steady slog on to Dothan, to my easily-found hotel and comfortable room. My travel time, stops included, had been 9 hours and fifty minutes covering 561 miles. The van has made longer trips, but always with two or more drivers. This was the longest run it has made with a single, companion-less driver, kept alert by an eclectic mix of CD's all the way from grand operatic arias to Patsy Cline & everything (not modern) in between.
Dothan, apparently, has the highest per-capita rate of both motels and restaurants in the land, very largely catering to transients, such as myself. Reluctant to enter the van again today I was pleased to find several restaurants within 150 yards, and chose Ruby Tuesday's to which to take my "date", Ms. Kindle. I indulged in a leisurely fashion over a really excellent meal, blue cheese flavored cole slaw, tilapia topped with many large shrimp and covered with a spicy parmesan sauce and a baked potato, and a fruit and yogurt based parfait for desert. I'm on holiday, I've driven a long way, and who was to stop me?
I kept wondering why "Portia" always seemed to be an hour off with her ETA until I entered the hotel and found that yea, verily, it is CST here - who knew? Now all that remains is a nice soak in the hot-tub/whirlpool & some peaceful reading. All in all a good day.
Monday, March 7, 2011
Spring Fling 2011 - Days 3 & 4
The weather eliminated any guilt from making these two very quiet & relaxing days. It rained, at varying intensities all day Saturday and although Sunday was dry it was still unpleasant as it remained in the mid-30's all day and the wind blew strongly, discouraging any outside activity that was not essential. Both days were spent in reading, watching TV series on DVD, some PC activity, and eating - pleasant, but hardly stirring stuff.
Saturday evening was spent at the Country Club as guests of the Library Board President in attending a "roast" of a much-loved local figure (& former library board president himself) who was about to retire after a lifetime in education, much of it as the Junior High School principal & through whose school the vast majority of the attendees had passed. It was a successful charity fund-raiser and actually both amusing and enjoyable even to an out-of-towner and a city "newcomer" (eight years down here doesn't qualify as anything else!).
Sunday's "out-of-house" experience was to make two laps of the proposed upcoming 5K circuit, the first to check the route and make a couple of off-setting changes, and the second to "proof" the 3.1 mile distance. That was followed by a supermarket run to get the ingredients for the delicious pot-roast we enjoyed in the evening.
Saturday evening was spent at the Country Club as guests of the Library Board President in attending a "roast" of a much-loved local figure (& former library board president himself) who was about to retire after a lifetime in education, much of it as the Junior High School principal & through whose school the vast majority of the attendees had passed. It was a successful charity fund-raiser and actually both amusing and enjoyable even to an out-of-towner and a city "newcomer" (eight years down here doesn't qualify as anything else!).
Sunday's "out-of-house" experience was to make two laps of the proposed upcoming 5K circuit, the first to check the route and make a couple of off-setting changes, and the second to "proof" the 3.1 mile distance. That was followed by a supermarket run to get the ingredients for the delicious pot-roast we enjoyed in the evening.
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Spring Fling 2011 - Days 1 & 2
The first day was mostly good. The early morning routine, rise, mall-walk, coffee & newspaper, and breakfast was quite normal, the morning weather was decent and the final stages of preparing to leave the house for a while went smoothly (and 95% correctly!) Mid-morning sunshine suggested taking the riverside "scenic route" & accelerated the time of departure. However, a late weather alert warned of floods bringing the realization that the Ohio River may well be in flood & closing sections of the river road, plus the clouds moved in completely obliterating any further sunshine. Pulling out of the driveway with the odometer at zero the decision was made to simply go for the speedy route.
First stop was The Brick in Jonesville for their excellent bean soup and even better (if messy) hamburger deluxe. Thereafter it was just a speedy dash all the way to Marissa's in Mount Vernon. There was a great deal of water everywhere & all rivers and creeks were very high. The drive was 217 miles.
Zoe was my welcoming hostess and seemed to be very pleased to see me. I settled in and waited to see Marissa who could only stay a little while as she had three meetings back-to-back taking much of the late afternoon and evening, justifying my arrival today to "dog-sit".
After she had left I went to set up my laptop and ran into the first trip crisis which quite spoiled my evening. Briefly distracted while packing away the laptop in Columbus I had forgotten to pack the computer battery charger! Wild ideas of a round trip to get it, or a return home for a night between here & heading south did not appeal. However, knowing Marissa wanted to install a new router & test it I chose to save what battery capacity I had. After Marissa returned & we discussed it after making our plans we decided to see if I couldn't obtain a generic replacement in Evansville.
Saturday's morning weather was iffy at best, but all forecasts indicated that it would deteriorate later and be really nasty for the next 72 hours. We made a decently early start towards Evansville, grabbed some breakfast when we got there and started shopping. In Michael's Marissa bought my choice of a tapestry that will eventually grace my house, in the going-out-of-business Border's I bought a number of CD's for my listening pleasure while driving south and back while she bought a DVD or three, and then in Best Buy we got her router and my universal PC charger.
We then moved on to the zoo, virtually deserted on a cool, wet school day. We made a pass through their fully enclosed and warm Amazonia and enjoyed all the orchids that had been temporarily integrated therein. We then proceeded to give ourselves a good work-out by walking the entire zoo, which while not large as zoo's go is built in a very hilly area. As the old joke goes, it felt like it was "uphill, both ways"! Out timing was good as for 98% of our walking it was merely damp & we were close enough to dive back into Amazonia while a short, sharp shower inundated the area. After it stopped we made our way out, headed back through Evansville, stopped for a fast-food lunch and then a quick shop for food supplies (mostly for breakfasts) and then back home, through the now-steady rain, swinging down by the waterfront to see that the Ohio River is already well above flood stage.
The router is set up and works, the laptop is on charge/mains power, and after a successful day we settled down to watch some of the episodes of our last set of DVD's of NCIS, the 7th season.
A few pictures have been posted on Flickr & may be seen here.
First stop was The Brick in Jonesville for their excellent bean soup and even better (if messy) hamburger deluxe. Thereafter it was just a speedy dash all the way to Marissa's in Mount Vernon. There was a great deal of water everywhere & all rivers and creeks were very high. The drive was 217 miles.
Zoe was my welcoming hostess and seemed to be very pleased to see me. I settled in and waited to see Marissa who could only stay a little while as she had three meetings back-to-back taking much of the late afternoon and evening, justifying my arrival today to "dog-sit".
After she had left I went to set up my laptop and ran into the first trip crisis which quite spoiled my evening. Briefly distracted while packing away the laptop in Columbus I had forgotten to pack the computer battery charger! Wild ideas of a round trip to get it, or a return home for a night between here & heading south did not appeal. However, knowing Marissa wanted to install a new router & test it I chose to save what battery capacity I had. After Marissa returned & we discussed it after making our plans we decided to see if I couldn't obtain a generic replacement in Evansville.
Saturday's morning weather was iffy at best, but all forecasts indicated that it would deteriorate later and be really nasty for the next 72 hours. We made a decently early start towards Evansville, grabbed some breakfast when we got there and started shopping. In Michael's Marissa bought my choice of a tapestry that will eventually grace my house, in the going-out-of-business Border's I bought a number of CD's for my listening pleasure while driving south and back while she bought a DVD or three, and then in Best Buy we got her router and my universal PC charger.
We then moved on to the zoo, virtually deserted on a cool, wet school day. We made a pass through their fully enclosed and warm Amazonia and enjoyed all the orchids that had been temporarily integrated therein. We then proceeded to give ourselves a good work-out by walking the entire zoo, which while not large as zoo's go is built in a very hilly area. As the old joke goes, it felt like it was "uphill, both ways"! Out timing was good as for 98% of our walking it was merely damp & we were close enough to dive back into Amazonia while a short, sharp shower inundated the area. After it stopped we made our way out, headed back through Evansville, stopped for a fast-food lunch and then a quick shop for food supplies (mostly for breakfasts) and then back home, through the now-steady rain, swinging down by the waterfront to see that the Ohio River is already well above flood stage.
The router is set up and works, the laptop is on charge/mains power, and after a successful day we settled down to watch some of the episodes of our last set of DVD's of NCIS, the 7th season.
A few pictures have been posted on Flickr & may be seen here.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Spring Fling 2011 - Preamble
Following a welcome if unexpected phone call from long time friends, during which an invitation was extended, the idea of Spring Fling trip, during the doldrum days of late winter, began to take root and rapidly moved towards becoming a reality.
Two portions quickly became certainties, a very long weekend (Thursday evening thru Tuesday early morning) with Marissa for one of her 3-day weekends combined with a "split shift" Monday, then two long days of driving and a stay with Jean & Peter Emery in central Florida. The third objective, a visit with Rita & Bob Stevens near Mobile, Alabama rapidly became iffy as it rained in Nevada towards the end of February.
With luck, entries about the highlights of the period away from Columbus will appear in this forum.
Two portions quickly became certainties, a very long weekend (Thursday evening thru Tuesday early morning) with Marissa for one of her 3-day weekends combined with a "split shift" Monday, then two long days of driving and a stay with Jean & Peter Emery in central Florida. The third objective, a visit with Rita & Bob Stevens near Mobile, Alabama rapidly became iffy as it rained in Nevada towards the end of February.
With luck, entries about the highlights of the period away from Columbus will appear in this forum.
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