It's The Journey

The Green Flash

2011-12-04T21:24:00.000-08:00

The reason for green flash optical phenomena lies in refraction of light (as in a prism) in the atmosphere: light moves more slowly in the lower, denser air than in the thinner air above, so sunlight rays follow paths that curve slightly, in the same direction as the curvature of the Earth. Higher frequency light (green/blue) curves more than lower frequency light (red/orange), so green/blue rays from the upper rim of the setting sun remain visible after the red rays are obstructed by the curvature of the earth.
Green flashes are enhanced by mirage, which increase the density gradient in the atmosphere and therefore, increase refraction. A green flash is more likely to be seen in clear air, when more of the light from the setting sun reaches the observer without being scattered. One might expect to see a blue flash, but the blue is preferentially scattered out of the line of sight, and remaining light ends up looking green.
With slight magnification a green rim on the top of the solar disk may be seen on most clear-day sunsets, although the flash or ray effects require a stronger layering of the atmosphere and a mirage, which serves to magnify the green for a fraction of a second to a couple of seconds.

Bruce and I are at Venice Beach California. We are taking a cruise through the Panama Canal that leaves south of here. Tonight we watched the sun set at the beach on the Pacific Ocean and saw the green flash. We've seen the flash several times when we lived aboard Arcadia. When a sailor sees the green flash it means safe travels for him. It is amazing and exciting to see this phenomena. We should have safe travels on our cruise.

Winter weather

2011-11-05T09:59:00.000-07:00

Bruce and I had a bit of an adventure yesterday. On our way over to Sedona via highway 40. (Mother Road RT 66) we experienced some fierce wind. It was gusting to 50 miles per hour. We heard this shake, rattle and roll so pulled over to discover our awning was about to unwind. Bruce secured that and we got back underway. We thought all was well but driving in that wind was a bit unnerving so we decided to stop in Flagstaff for the night or so. We toured around the town which reminded us of Ithaca NY without the hills. That evening as we were relaxing and the storm that was predicted was beginning, thunder and rain, Bruce noticed rain dripping in from the air conditioner duct on the ceiling. We got towels and pots to collect the rain. Bruce decided to go on the roof and investigate. Seems one of those shakes, rattles or rolls we had heard was the cover to the air conditioner blowing away on RT 66. Should we just buy the cover or replace the entire air conditioner that is 13 yrs old?
We woke up to four inches of snow!!

Catching up, Again!

2011-10-25T14:01:00.001-07:00

This is the third time I have tired to catch up with this blog!! Either the connection was bad or I did something wrong but it just wasn't working.

As usual the summer flew by. We had two baby showers and one wedding shower plus the wedding in Sept. Of course we were gone for the last five weeks of it. In August we went to Europe. First few weeks we were in Italy with my family. We did all the must see spots. Roma, Pisa, Venice, Milan and I really enjoyed Lake Como.
We also visited the smaller towns in Italy where the real people live, not the tourist traps. One highlight of the trip was a dinner we had at Banfi Winery. The food was awesome!! This restaurant inspired Cornell to open Banfi's at the university in Ithaca. Bruce and I then flew to London were we met our friends Dick and Sara. We had a great time and also saw the must see places. Big Ben, Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, Trafalger Square,Buckingham Palace and the changing of the guards. We went up in the Eye of London at night, for a beautiful view of the city. London is a great city and it was easy to get around using their public transportation. One day and of course one of many, we decided we needed a beer. So we walked into this bar and I noticed everyone in there was a guy. It didn't cross my mind until the bartender brought it to our attention that it was a gay bar. We said it doesn't bother us, can we still get a beer? He said yes and we sat outside on the patio. LOL!!! After spending a week in London we flew to Ireland for a week. Dick wanted to find his roots. We rented a car and drove up to Derry where Dick did his research. We then drove the Giants Causeway to Belfast, across the country to Galway to see the Cliff's of Moher, Kylemore Abby, and then headed back to Dublin. Along the way we stopped at smaller towns to explore. We spent about three days in Dublin, in the Temple Bar area. I had visited Dublin in 2004 when Keith was in the Special Olympics. We got back to NY on Sept.7 th.

Bruce and I are now on the road again in our motorhome. Our first major destination was Albuquerque NM, where we went to the Balloon Fiesta. We met our friends there and she decided it would enhance the experience if we were part of a chase team, instead of just watching the balloons go up, so we signed on as crew. This meant getting up at the crack of dawn or before and hurrying up to wait. It was worth it because I got a ride in Sarah the Witch hot air balloon. I am afraid of heights but was not about to pass up this experience. It was so beautiful, peaceful and quiet. The view was awesome over the Rio Grande River!! Seeing tons of balloons below me all blown up and ready for flight was quite the sight, and then seeing balloons floating around us was pretty cool. Before the landing the pilot instructed us( another 14 yr old girl also came along)to keep our knees bent and to put my camera away, because it will not be a soft landing and that we would bounce along for a bit until someone on the chase crew could grab us. When we landed we both went hysterical laughing. The landing was easier then I had thought. We had a very experienced pilot who has been doing this for years. As part of the crew we were invited to the gatherings after the morning launch. These included lunch with margaritas, champagne, pina colladas and beer. We then had to be ready for the evening launch and helping to ready the balloons. It isn't easy and takes a lot of crew to get a balloon up.

Bruce and I are now in Utah visiting the national parks. We are staying as far north as we dare until the weather changes and then we'll head to Tucson for the winter. We really enjoyed the Rincon Country West Resort that we stayed at last winter so are going back for five months.

On Dec. 5th we are going on a two week cruise through the Panama Canal and ending in FT Lauderdale FL. We'll drive up to Palm Bay and spend Christmas with my parents.

There I did it!! Hopefully I won't neglect this blog anymore.

Caravan to Big Bend Texas

2011-03-06T19:58:00.000-08:00

So Uncle Peter, Kaye, Bruce and I met up in Tucson AZ. We spent a week there and then headed to Big Bend Texas. We planned on leaving Rincon West Resort at 9 am. Bruce was concerned about how our new cruiser would tow, so of course he was awake at 5am thinking that over. At around 7:30 am he hooked up the tow bar and then discovered the cable that hooked the lights up from the motorhome to the car was too short by about 14 inches. Oh well, we'll take a chance that no one would run into the back of us or a trooper would notice no lights. By 8am we were parked in front of Uncle Peter's lot ready to go. LOL!! They were surprised to see us an hour early, needless to say. At 9am we headed out and first stop was fuel for both of our rigs. Bruce had been scouting out the best price for the past week or so. We knew just where to go. We pulled in and discovered they don't take charge cards. Just cash or debit. No biggie. Now when you fill a big rig it is pretty pricey, and the girl said that the machine would take up to four hundred dollars. We couldn't get it past one sixty so had to fuel up and feed the stupid machine some more money. In the mean time Uncle Peter was pulling up and some guy was coming from the opposite direction heading for the same pump. Uncle Peter was waving at him to stop and the guy kept coming. When Uncle Peter slammed on the breaks cabinets opened and dishes flew out. Guess he lost a plate, a mug and things flew. He was pissed!! This was the most fun we've ever had fueling up!!
We then headed for Campers World. It was on the way and Uncle Peter had some gift cards burning a hole in his pocket. He found some stuff he needed. While we were shopping around Campers World Bruce thought to use an older cable that was longer and change the attachment on the end so we would have lights and at 11 am we were headed out of Tucson. The day or so before Kaye had found a rest area we could stop at, the first night out on the way to Big Bend. So here we are resting up for tomorrows leg of the journey.
It's suppose to be in the low nineties in Big Bend. Yikes!!

Patience

2011-03-05T19:01:00.001-08:00

“Patience is a virtue, Possess it if you can, Often found in woman, Never found in man”

Rincon Country West RV Resort Quilt Show

2011-02-21T12:12:00.000-08:00

I can't keep up with these ladies!!! Their quilts are amazing and they actually get them done in a timing fashion. I like the smaller table toppers because I can get them done in two or three days. I must say though, that they are inspiring me to go bigger. In fact I have my fabric for a kaleidoscope quilt that I plan on making. There was a class on this that I couldn't go to because I was hiking. I went in and checked out what they were up to and then found the directions by Googling it. I have the best of two worlds.

The Cactus Quilters have three projects that they work on throughout the season. Comfort quilts for anyone sick in or out of RV Resort. They make blind baby quilts for the School for the Blind. Some of these quilts go to Phoenix and Flagstaff AZ. The third project is making dog beds for the Humane Society, here in Tucson.
I've helped with all but doggy beds. Well, that isn't true. I have donated scraps for them to use and this morning I found seat cushions I thought would be good for dog beds and gave one to them.

Tucson Gem and Mineral Show

2011-02-19T08:39:00.000-08:00

For two weeks, from Jan.29-Feb.13th the city of Tucson is a mecca for gem and mineral collectors, wholesalers, jewelery makers or anyone else wanting to buy, sell or just browse among a bazillion gems, minerals and huge boulders. Vendors came from all over the world. I wonder how much it cost to ship a boulder from Africa!! There are tents set up in parks and parking lots, hotel rooms are taken over, with beds removed or stacked in a corner, so the dealers can display their treasures. The final weekend was in the convention center for retail sales. That cost ten dollars to get in, so after browsing around for two weeks we passed on that. Needless to say we bought some gems and minerals. It really is addicting and just amazing what nature can produce.

Edward Wallis Hoch (1849-1925)

2011-01-28T14:51:00.000-08:00

There is so much good in the worst of us,
And so much bad in the best of us,
That it hardly behooves any of us
To talk about the rest of us.

Pima Air and Space Museum

2011-01-28T08:26:00.001-08:00

Bruce and I are spending two months, at least, in Tucson AZ. We found an RV Resort with all sorts of activities. Bruce is in the lapidary shop and I've been quilting. I joined the Zumba group and we've been hiking in beautiful parks with the hiking group.
There are lots of points of interest in and around Tucson. On Wednesday we visited the "boneyard" and the Pima Air and Space Museum. We spent just about all day exploring. Yesterday, we hiked up to Hutch's Pool in Sabino Canyon. Beautiful!!!

2011-01-10T20:45:00.000-08:00

Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we are here we might as well dance!

St.Augustine

2010-12-14T18:23:00.000-08:00

"The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page"

Arizona The Grand Canyon State

2010-12-10T19:56:00.000-08:00

On Dec.4th Bruce and I met his high school buddy and his wife in Maricopa AZ. It's 20 miles south of Phoenix. We dry camped in the AK Chin Harrah's Casino for three days. On Sunday we drove three hours up to Sedona, where we took a jeep ride up into the mountains. We ate red dust and our kidneys were rattled but we had an awesome time.

Something to think about.

2010-11-27T17:13:00.000-08:00

Be who you are and say what you feel, because those that matter don't mind and those that mind don't matter.

Someone sent this to me, and I thought it was a good way to look at things.

Turkey in a trash can

2010-11-25T15:22:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Today we went to a dish to pass Thanksgiving dinner at the campground we are staying at. I have never heard of cooking a turkey in a trash can but it was good. I think it could have cooked longer but it was nice. I just wonder where all the juices go that you need for the yummy gravy. I think this method is for campers who don't want to heat up their motorhomes with a turkey cooking all day.

Last year a fried turkey, this year a turkey in a trash can. Who knows what they will think of next!! I must say I think I like the old fashioned turkey in an oven method best.

New Mexico Land of Enchantment

2010-11-24T19:59:00.001-08:00

We decided to drive a hundred miles south to Carlsbad Caverns National Park. We hiked down 800 feet and were still 1650 feet above sea level. Needless to say we took an elevator back up to the surface. This cavern isnt the prettiest we've ever seen but they are the deepest. They have since found deeper caverns at the same park.

These are the only aliens we saw in Roswell New Mexico

Palo Duro Canyon State Park

2010-11-21T17:30:00.000-08:00

Palo Duro Canyon is the second largest canyon in the USA. It's located south of Amarillo TX. The canyon is 120 miles long, as wide as 20 miles and more then 800ft deep. The rim is 3500 ft above sea level. There are more then 30 miles of cycling, hiking and bridle paths. During the three days(11/18-20) we spent in the park, Bruce and I hiked all of them or just about. We also did some Geo-caching and found ten caches. Hopefully, our pictures will show how lovely this park is.

After three nice days in the park, we headed out. We needed to stop at the dump station. While Bruce took care of that I decided to sweep the car out and accidentally locked the keys in the car. We only have one set of keys, so had to call AAA to help us out. That took a good three hours because first time we called they thought we were at a different park and they didn't get our number right to call us back. To make matters worse we couldn't find Bruce's wallet. After searching high and low and asking if it was turned in, I remembered I had stuck it under the car seat so while we were hiking it was out of sight. Thank goodness I found it!!!

We are now in Roswell, NM. There are green martians all over the place!! Tomorrow should be interesting.

Still trying to catch up on this blog!!

2010-11-15T18:22:00.000-08:00

As Bruce and I are meandering west we stopped in the town of Helen Georgia. Thirty years ago they decide the town needed to be revitalized to bring in tourists. The whole town was done to look like an alpine village. They have the longest Octoberfest in the country. It lasts two months. Bruce and I spent two days Oct. 30 and 31st eating brats, drinking beer and singing German beer songs. Yes we actually sang, because Bruce knew the important words from his army days in Germany. Defending our country by making sure no one else got any beer.

As we were wandering around the town we went into a lapidary shop. They make jewelry out of rocks. She told us about William Hollands School Of Lapidary Arts about six miles from our campground. Bruce decided we should check it out. They were on their last week of classes for the season. We decided to take some classes and were lucky they had some openings. Bruce took a class in silver casting and made a couple of rings and necklaces and I took a class in seed beading. I learned some stitches and made some necklaces, bracelets and a pair of earrings. They even had some campsites on the property, so we moved there to be closer.

After leaving Georgia we stopped in Alabama at the Unclaimed Luggage store. Bruce bought himself a camera and I bought two books.

Next stop was Memphis where we went to our favorite BBQ, The BBQ Shop. We had our usual and bought some to freeze. You never know when the craving for The BBQ Shop will strike.

We decided since the weather was still reasonable we would head a little north and go to Branson MO. There we saw three shows. The Oak Ridge Boys-excellent, a group called SIX also very excellent. This group of six brothers, who by the way all own a brand new camaro with SIX across the side, sing a cappella. They are amazing!!!

The Oak Ridge Boys sound as awesome as they did years ago!! I loved the long white beard.

Iceland

2010-11-11T07:53:00.000-08:00

Me and a Troll

The above photo is a glacier. Very cool site!!

Our tour guide Neil Mac Mann. He went to Iceland thirty years ago from Ireland and stayed. He speaks Icelandic very well.

Iceland is green and Greenland is ice

2010-11-08T15:27:00.000-08:00

After a busy and eventful summer we are underway. Our busy summer included one funeral, very sad, three weddings, a new roof and many visits with friends and family. I especially enjoyed my time with our granddaughters, daughter,son and Jack (a dog).

Our first trip was a cruise to Iceland. We flew to London, rented a car and drove to Southhampton England. On the way we stopped at Winchester. We couldn't get into the cathedral because the BBC Antiques Road Show was there.

We arrived in Southhampton and spent one night at White Star Inn. It had been owned by the same company that owned the Titanic and other ships.

Our cruise was nice but we had the crankiest bunch Ive ever seen on a cruise ship. There were three altercations between all the senior passengers. Two of them were phyical fights where a guy ended up on the floor. The other a women hit a guy with her purse and he punched her in the face. Yikes!!! Have to watch out for those old people.

I am so far behind on my blog that I am just going to post the pictures I've taken. I especially enjoyed Iceland. It is so amazing because of it's geographical features. THe temperature there was 55 degrees and sunny. It only felt cold when the wind blew.

Bruce and I are in Memphis TN and heading up to Branson MO for three days. We descovered they have a week long Veteran's Day celebration. Hopefully we can get to see a show and the parade on Thursday.

Happy 30Th Birthday Keith!!

2010-05-31T11:21:00.000-07:00

WELCOME TO HOLLAND!
by Emily Pearl Kingsley

I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability - to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel.

It's like this . . . When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous vacation trip - to Italy. You buy a bunch of guidebooks and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum, the Michelangelo David, the gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It's all very exciting. After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes and says, "Welcome to Holland." "Holland?" you say. "What do you mean Holland? I signed up for Italy! I'm supposed to be in Italy. All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy." But there's been a change in the flight plan. They've landed in Holland and there you must stay.

The important thing is that they haven't taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place full of pestilence, famine and disease. It's just a different place. So you go out and buy new guidebooks. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met. It's just a different place. It's slower paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you've been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around, and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills, Holland has tulips, Holland even has Rembrandts. But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy, and they're all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life, you will say, "Yes, that's where I was supposed to go. That's what I had planned." The pain of that will never go away, because the loss of that dream is a very significant loss. But if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy, you will never be free to enjoy the very special, very lovely things about Holland.

Killing two birds with one stone

2010-05-10T06:19:00.000-07:00

I think we are getting obsessed with Geaocaching!!! Bruce and I are in VA now. Yesterday we decided to go geocaching again and found one on the Appalachian Trail. We drove about 22 miles along the Blue Ridge Mountains, to get to the trail that led to the geocache we were searching for. We then had to hike the trail for over two miles to find the cache. Along the way we met a couple of people hiking, saw some pretty flowers and the scenery was awesome, as usual along the Blue Ridge Mountains. There are some Lookout Points we stopped at on the way back down.

This is the first time we hiked any park of the AT and it was really nice. Geochacheing and hiking the AT was neat.

Treasure Hunting using GPS

2010-05-02T13:29:00.001-07:00

Or Geocaching using a GPS instead of a map with an X on it. Bruce and I spent three hours today finding six caches in Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park. This is a very lovely park 10 miles south of Gainesville, FL

The first step is to log onto www.geocaching.com and type in the zip code for where ever you want to find some caches. We found lots of them in the general area. Then you need to transfer the coordinates from the website to your GPS. There are also some clues as to where the cache is...under a palm tree, on the ground covered with leaf debris, past house under tree, or under a dead oak tree.

A cache is a container with stuff in it. The container could be an ammo box, plastic food containers that lock shut, or even a rusty can. The stuff can be anything from small toys, stickers, pencils, Mardi Gras beads(LOL that is what I leave), or just about anything that is not X rated. You can take whatever trinket you want, as long as you leave a trinket behind. There is usually a little notebook for logging when you found the cache, your name, what you took and what you left.

What we found in all of the caches today, were Travel Bugs. These are bought by someone who puts them in caches and then when found by some else, they are taken to another cache. The TB has a registration number on it and you can log on and find out where it was started, where it has been and how many miles it traveled. You actually need to post(on the Geocaching site) where you found the TB and where you may be taking it. Some of the TB's have been in circulation for years. I found an alligator that is apparently in a race to somewhere. The TB that traveled the farthest was from Washington State and British Columbia. We found one from Maine, NC, CA, MI.

Geocaching is a great way to get outdoors and enjoy the hot, humid weather that has finally arrived in Florida. The only thing that makes me uncomfortable are the bugs, spiders, ticks and things that bite you when hiking around in the brush.

Heading north

2010-04-29T13:43:00.000-07:00

Bruce and I have started to head north for the summer. Our first stop was The Ocala National Forest. We went to Salt Springs where I swam in the Fountain of Youth that was thought discovered by Ponce De Leon. The water was crystal clear and refreshing. The amount and variety of minerals found here are not found anywhere else in America.

I have a new outlook on Florida. Once you get away from the traffic, malls and tourist traps it really is a beautiful state!!

President Kennedy

2010-03-31T19:59:00.000-07:00

On March 26 my grandmother turned 96 years old. The old pictures came out and I thought this would be fun to post. Great Uncle Alec was commissioned to work on one of the fireplaces in the White House for President Kennedy. He was a marble worker from Italy.

Great Aunt Clara was upset, because when Jackie Kennedy came to join in the picture she stood next to the President and Aunt Clara had to move over. Aunt Clara wanted to stand next to the President. She is on the right, behind Jackie Kennedy. I also remember it being told that while Uncle Alec was working on the fireplace, Jackie Kennedy came to shake his hand. He didn't want to because they were dirty from working, but Jackie didn't care.

Animal Kingdom Orlando FL

2010-03-27T15:11:00.000-07:00

Dick and Sara from Ithaca

Bruce and I had some friends from Ithaca meet us in Orlando to visit Animal Kingdom. We had a great time. Went on the Safari Ride three times. Decided to put a real Safari on our bucket list for the future with our friends.

Swamp Cabbage Slaw

2010-03-05T10:34:00.000-08:00

Tough outer layers of the Hearts of Palm

2010-03-05T10:31:00.000-08:00

Preping swamp cabbage

2010-03-05T10:29:00.000-08:00

Florida The Sunshine State

2010-03-01T06:47:00.001-08:00

Bruce and I just spent four days at a rally for Country Coach owners. The Nor'easters. We are at the River Bend Motorcoach Resort in Labelle FL. We've been through here on our boat during our cruising days. It was fun to return to our old haunt. The resort is on the Caloosahatchie River and we remember passing by it on the boat.

This weekend was the 44 th Swamp Cabbage Festival in Labelle. We went to the parade, armidillo races, lawnmower races and saw one mower t bone another and one of the riders broke a leg. I just had to sample some swamp cabbage slaw and pickled swamp cabbage. Swamp cabbage is hearts of palm from the sabal palm tree. The sabal palm tree is the state tree in Florida. I guess I can say that I "ate a tree".

We decided we like it here at the resort and have always liked Labelle so are staying three more days. Labelle is old Florida, with orange groves and wide open spaces.

What a conundrum!!

2010-02-27T19:47:00.000-08:00

OK, We are hanging out with most people who are our age or ten years older and 20 pounds heavier than we are.( I will always continue to fight the weight gain,) I just cannot explain how I feel. I am in their age group, but don't feel as if I am at that stage yet. They can suck down a bottle of wine or a pitcher of beer as fast as I can. They are lots of fun and have done the same things we have done. We've met people who have lived on boats, have pilots licenses, ride bicycles, scuba dived, have grandchildren and have age spots on their faces.

I am torn between joining this group and admitting I am one of them or thinking I am just not there yet.

Fat Tuesday!!

2010-02-16T16:53:00.000-08:00

Not only is it Fat Tuesday or in French, Mardi Gras but it is also my birthday. We went to 3 parades in 3 days and caught 47 pounds of beads. Bruce is calling me the "Bead Whore". Today we actually saw a sticker with that on it. I discovered being next to kids or very loud agressive people cuts down on your chances of getting beads and other goodies thrown your way. This morning I wasn't taking any chances so I made a sign "It's my birthday". It actually worked. This morning at the ZULU parade everyone is after the coveted painted coconut. One of the guys saw my sign and threw the coconut to Bruce. Unfortunately, he fumbles and someone behind him got the coconut. Oh well !! Maybe next float I would get one. Next float comes along and I am waving my sign and yelling Coconut!! Coconut!!! No coconut, but someone on the float sees my sign and sends me a stuffed ZULU mascot!! It was so exciting!!

After lunch we walked down Bourbon Street, which was mobbed. People on balconies were throwing beads to those below. I really wanted a feather boa. I took out my birthday sign and started yelling, " can I have a boa?". The guy motioned for me to flash him and needless to say I ran away. Guess that's the only way to get a boa because my sign didn't impress this guy.

We had a ball and would come back here again. What a birthday experience this day was!!

Louisiana Sportsmens Paradise

2010-02-14T08:44:00.000-08:00

Who dat? Who dat? Who dat say dey gonna beat dem Saints?

More Kites

2010-01-31T17:20:00.000-08:00

Went back to the Kite Festival today. I take back what I said about the bigger kites just getting them up and nothing else to do. It's a challenge getting them up and then occasionally they fly around and get tangled together. They are heavy when filled with air.

Go Fly a Kite

2010-01-30T14:56:00.000-08:00

Bruce and I went to the South Padre Island Kite Festival. It was pretty cold and windy. I never thought about it being too windy for flying a kite but it was for some of the kites. There were groups that came from as far away as Oregon and Canada to fly their kites. One of the groups was a five man one women team called the I Quad. They flew their kites in a synchronized routine to music. Very cool!!! Their control was amazing. Some of the kites were so big that they were tied to the tailgate of the car. Once the kite was in the air there was really nothing to do. I liked watching the smaller kites doing their routine. Seemed like more of a challenge. Afterward we went to a different beach and flew one of our kites. It "seams " I may be sewing up some kites for us to play with.

Howdy Partner

2010-01-29T20:05:00.000-08:00

Bruce and I are still meandering around southern Texas. We've spent a lot of time in the Rio Grande Valley. A few days ago we went to a bull riding competition in the town of Mercedes. It was pretty cool, although I hated to watch the guys get thrown off of the bull. A few of them were stomped on or chased by the bull. Most of the younger guys wore helmets and padded vests for protection.

What do you call a bull that is taking a nap?

A bulldozer. LOL!!!

We've been to a couple of wild life preserves for bird watchers. (Bentsen Rio Grande State Park and Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge) Those bird watchers are serious. They have all sorts of cameras with telescopic lenses and they hide behind blinds to wait for the birds to arrive. Have you ever heard of a green jay? Either have I, but we saw a few and they are pretty. We saw a bunch of chachalacas and if anyone ever calls you a chachalaca it's because you talk too much. They say 80% of the red head drake from Canada and northern USA spend the winter down here in the Laguna Atascosa Refuge. The parks are pretty and have trails to walk or ride bikes on. The American Bird Conservancy designates the refuge as a "globally important bird area".

Just about every town has a flea market and we've gone to a few. The one we went to in Mercedes was mostly Mexican. They sell lots of used clothing, new clothing, fruit and veggies and the usual junk. We've been eating lots of tacos and found a very tall Mexican making some authentic tacos. I say very tall because it seems that most Mexican men are short. Anyway his tacos were really good. We bought the usual ground beef tacos but he had us try a fajita taco, which was awesome. Of course we had to buy two more. Mexicans don't put cheese on their tacos. He put cilantro and onions on. I usually don't like cilantro but these were really good. We listened to some music at this market also. They call it conjunto music. It's like polka music with a Mexican twist. There is aways an accordion in the band.

Since Mexico is just across the Rio Grande we decided we should venture over the border. It's easier to park the car and walk over. It only cost a quarter each way, and the US checks passports on the way back. It was interesting. All the venders wanted you to check out their stuff. I found the tin ornaments I wanted. We had a nice lunch in a recommened restaurant that was filled with tourists. Mostly older retired people. We bought a bag of Churros from a street vender and his wife. These are fried dough type things with sugar on them. I also found what they call milk candy. This is condensed milk and sugar cooked to a soft ball stage with pecans on it. I might try to make this some day.

Tonight we are at South Padre Island and are going to a kite festival tomorrow. I'll post picture of kites tomorrow.

Quote for today

2010-01-23T13:48:00.000-08:00

Life isn't fair
But it's still good

I saw this on a sign this morning and thought it was a good quote. I especially wish younger kids could learn this lesson, they might be happier.

The Other Woman

2010-01-21T20:23:00.000-08:00

Her name is Garmin "sita" and she saved our marriage. Usually the "other woman" destroys marriages, but not this one.

I must have some kind of mental block when it comes to directions, although I have noticed some family members who have issues with directions also. Maybe it is an inherited disability. Bruce just thinks I don't pay attention. I kind of like that reason because that leaves room for improvement. Years ago when we took flying lessons and I had to read charts, Bruce thought that my map reading skills had improved. I probably got good at it because I didn't want to crash into a radio tower or a tree. Driving around you just get lost and have to turn around a few times. No biggy!!! No pressure!!!

With Garmin "sita" we just push her buttons and she tells us where to go. She is sometimes wrong herself, which is even better because then I can blame our wrong turn on her. Instead of Bruce and me telling each other to go to !#@%, we let Garmin "sita" tell us where to go!!

Lansing NY, Lansing MI

2010-01-09T09:12:00.000-08:00

I recently discovered that Lansing MI was named after Lansing NY.( I've lived in Lansing NY for over 20 yrs) I thought this was an interesting fact.

The North Log Cabin, the oldest in Tompkins and Cayuga Counties and one of the oldest in the country, was reassembled in Myers Park this summer. It was originally built in 1791 by Thomas North. The family played a part in American history since the Revolutionary War. Two of Thomas North's grandsons moved to MI where they named their new home Lansing. I Googled Lansing MI history and this is what I found. I was hoping Lansing MI was named after Lansing NY for a more romantic reason !!!

The area that is now Lansing was originally spotted by explorer Hugh Henward in 1790 while canoeing the Grand River.^[7] The land that was to become Lansing was surveyed in 1825 in what was then dense forest. There would be no roads to this area for decades to come.^[8]

In the winter of 1835 and early 1836, two brothers from New York plotted the area now known as REO Town just south of downtown Lansing and named it "Biddle City." All of this land lay in a floodplain and was underwater during the majority of the year. Regardless, the brothers went back to New York, specifically Lansing, New York, to sell plots for the town that did not exist. They told the residents of Lansing, New York that this new "city" had an area of 65 blocks, contained a church and also a public and academic square. A group of 16 men bought plots in the nonexistent city and upon reaching the area later that year found they had been scammed. Many in the group too disappointed to stay ended up settling around what is now Metropolitan Lansing. Those who stayed quickly renamed the area "Lansing Township" in honor of their home village in New York.^[8]

I just have to wonder!!

2009-12-10T17:01:00.000-08:00

How did 1 and 1/2 retirees, and I say 1/2 because Bruce worked longer than I did. Oh!!! but wait, I worked longer as a domestic engineer than he did. So how did 2 1/2 retirees. LOL I get an extra 1/2 , deserve a "semi" carefree life style that we have. I say "semi" because we still have children, parents, family and friends to think of and worry about. Not to mention getting back to the Starlight Theartre for our 2 dollar margaritas by 5 pm. We are driving along the Rio Grande River, on the Mexican border in our convertible mustang, Bruce in his Tilley style hat, me in my baseball cap, with the top down, wearing our old lady fitover sunglasses. I just have to laugh!!!

I guess it's a dirty job and someone has to do it!!

Big Bend National Park

2009-12-08T09:10:00.000-08:00

Maderas Del Carmen /Rio Grande River

Bruce and I have been in the park for almost a week now and plan to stay another week or so. We've hiked miles, had a snow storm and saw lots of wild life. Luckily, we didn't see the mountain lion that a fellow camper ran across, while they were bike riding. Needless to say they turned around and rode the other way. They told us that a friend of theirs was attacked by a lion while they visited the park.

The park is the size of Rhode Island so we moved from one campground to another to hike other trails. One hike we've gone on took us from a mile high down to 4000 ft. This was the hike to see the Window. That was a hike that we obviously went down, that is until we had to hike back up. It sounds harder than it was but it was a gradual incline. Along the way we came upon a paisano as the Mexicans call them. It's a roadrunner to us. The guy thought he was hid by his camo. He would walk ahead then stand dead still. We would walk a little closer and he would walk ahead and stand dead still again. That went on for awhile until he decided to scurry into the brush. I managed to get a few pictures. When we see them on the road they are moving quite fast to get across the street. Driving along the roads in the park we saw javelinas. They resemble pigs but are not related. Another hike we took was 8 miles round trip to Hot Springs. When we got there several people were sitting or had their feet in the hot pool of water. Of course I had to put my feet in. The water is 108 degrees and felt so good after the hike to get there.

We are so close to Mexico we can see it across the Rio Grande River. In the tourist info stations there are figures of roadrunners, plants, scorpions and walking sticks (made of a sotol plant) that the Mexicans make out of copper and beads to sell. The money goes towards a school in the town of Boquillas Del Carmen. Along the trail, we see they leave some to sell. It is illegal and I wonder how they get across and leave the things there. I didn't see any money in any of the containers. We went to an overlook to see the town of Boquillas and were looking at the items there. We left and Bruce saw a guy looking up over some rocks. He then went over to see if we had left anything for him. He even waved to us. I only know of two towns where it is legal to cross to and from Mexico in this area. Presidio and Del Rio. I think the town is desperate. There wasn't much to it that we could see.

We found a really funky restaurant here in the town of Terlingua TX. It's called Starlight Theatre because it was an old theatre. Monday night is buy one get one free hamburger and fries. Home made and very delicious. Margaritas for 2 bucks everynight from 5-7 pm. 1 dollar tacos which we have yet to try. How can you go wrong!!!

PS We tried the tacos tonight and they were yummy!!

I love Christmas Decorations

2009-11-29T11:02:00.000-08:00

2009-11-29T11:00:00.001-08:00

2009-11-29T10:57:00.001-08:00

2009-11-29T10:56:00.001-08:00

Gaylord Texan

2009-11-29T10:43:00.000-08:00

Everything here is made of ice. It took twelve hour days for about five weeks to complete the sculptures. Even the ice was sculpted to look like ice. It was nine degrees in the room and the hotel gave us blue parkas to wear.

TEXAS The Lone Star State

2009-11-18T06:53:00.000-08:00

Just meandering through small towns, heading to Dallas to meet the kids for Thanksgiving. Stopped in Paris TX for a night and found the Eiffel Tower Texas style. I love it!!!

Arrowhead Mines

2009-11-13T19:20:00.000-08:00

Today we went to Arrowhead mines to find some more quartz crystal. When we got there we were given all kinds of instructions concerning safety, where to dig and what to look for. The guy noticed that I was wearing Bruce's army shirt and asked if I was in the service or Bruce. It was Bruce of course. He then went on about how he admires all the men who serve the country and thanked Bruce. He handed Bruce this cluster of quartz as a thank you. We spent four hours digging around and didn't find anything as big as this but did find some smaller quartz. Maybe I'll make some jewelry out of it.

Hot Springs

2009-11-12T18:48:00.000-08:00

Hot Springs has a lot of history behind it. It was almost "Vegas" untill Roosevelt came in and cleaned up the sex, drugs, crime and illegal gambling.
Hot Springs National Park is surrounded by city in some areas. It was the first park type federal reservation in 1832, the smallest National Park and will be the first on a new series of quarters that will be minted. We took a walk along Bathhouse Row and went for a tour of the Fordyce Bathhouse.

There are 47 springs in the park and the water rises from the ground at 143 degrees. We saw people filling jugs from a fountain for that purpose. Most of the springs are capped to prevent contamination. The hot waters were used for medicinal purposes until medication was developed.

You cannot come to Hot Springs without the experience of a mineral bath. So yesterday I went to Buckstaff Bathhouse www.buckstaffbaths.com for my mineral bath. When you check in they lock your valuables up and hand you the key. Next you are taken to a dressing room where you undress and are wrapped in a sheet Roman Style. The first step is the hot whirlpool bath. The water is kept at 100 degrees and the whirlpool is started. After 20 minutes your attendant comes in and scrubs your legs and back. She then wraps the sheet around you and you go sit in a sitz bath for 10 minutes. Of course the sheet is just covering the front of you. Next step is the vapor cabinet. It is literally a box you sit in with your head out. The attendant wraps a sheet around the opening so the steam doesn't get out. After five minutes of dripping sweat and vapors you are taken out. Next stop is where the attendant wraps extremely hot towels around your shoulders, back, and legs. She also puts an ice cold towel around your face. I felt like a mummy and once the towels cooled down I think I figured out why babies cry to get their diapers changed. You lay there on a lounge for about ten minutes. Some people fall asleep at this point. Each step was more awesome then the one before!!! Finally the last step was a needle shower. Just a rinse off, I guess. All the equipment here is from 1912. I couldn't help but wonder what famous person sat in the same tub as I did.
The attendents have 100 hours of training which includes CPR. She told me some people pass out.

After my mineral bath Bruce and I hiked up to the observation tower, took the elevator up and got a birds eye veiw of Hot Springs.
"I think I could live here"

It's a Small World!!!

2009-11-12T18:07:00.000-08:00

What are the chances of climbing a mile up a mountain to go rock- hounding for quartz crystals and who should be sitting there, but a young man from Rocky Point LI NY. One town away from where I came from. When we said hi and asked how they were doing, I thought I heard the LI accent. He said he almost moved to Ithaca for awhile but didn't. His parents fought to keep the power plant in Shoreham from going on line and said he liked North Country Road. A friend of his has a gem shop on Broadway in Rocky Point.

Mt Ida, Arkansas is the quartz crystal capitol of the world. Today we went to the reclaimed mine of Crystal Vista to try our hand at rock hounding. A local miner and the Forest Service worked together and instead of rehabilitating the old mine site they made it into a recreational area for the public. They stabilized the slopes and planted grass seed to prevent erosion. Anything you find is yours to keep but you cannot sell it. Tomorrow we are going to a commercial mine to dig around some more.

Pinnacle Mountain State Park Arkansas

2009-11-09T16:10:00.000-08:00

This is Pinnacle Mountain that we hiked up yesterday (Nov.8 09). We started at 300 ft above sea level and hiked up to 1011 ft above sea level. Some of it was a challenge. I had to get on my hands and knees to get up over some boulders because my legs are to short. It sounds scarier than it was. We hiked up the east side and hiked down the west side which was easier to do. Then we had to hike 2 miles around the base trail to get to our car.

Today we did an easier hike of about three miles round trip on mostly level ground. We started playing around with the camera and took close ups of nature. It was fun getting really close to get a pictures of the different textures.

Tomorrow we are heading to Hot Springs. There are therapeutic springs here. Maybe I'll get in one, to ease my aches from all the hiking we did.

William J.Clinton Presidential Center Little Rock AR

2009-11-06T15:40:00.001-08:00

Today we visited Little Rock AR and spent about two hours in Clinton's Presidential Center on the Arkansas River. It isn't the prettiest but it was bright and very interesting. Presidents have quite the challenge being in office. There is a special exhibit of gifts about 12 Presidents have received during their term in office. Art work, sculpturs, sneakers and cowboy boots with the Presidential seal on them, ivory carvings, jewelry, and a pin John Jr left at the grave of his dad. There was even a drawing of the map of the United States from the 1700's painted in Hungary

I've never been in a Presidential library. I think I'll go whenever we are near one of them. They are very educational.

Hiking and Biking in Arkansas

2009-11-05T15:14:00.000-08:00

Big Dam Pedestrian and Bike Bridge

Bruce and I took an 18 mile bike ride today that included this bridge. It is the second largest pedestrian and bike bridge in the US. It challenged my fear of heights only slightly. I stayed in the center. The bridge is spectacular!! It crosses the Arkansas River from Little Rock to North Little Rock over the Murray Lock and Dam.

Bruce and I also did some hiking at Pinnacle Mountain State Park. It took us 30 minutes to hike up .75 of a mile only to find some guys who had done it in 15 minutes. They live in the area and hike the trail every other day.

Arkansas The Natural State

2009-11-01T15:46:00.001-08:00

Our first stop in Arkansas was West Memphis. It's on the west side of the Mississippi River, across from Memphis TN. We stayed at a campground 200 feet from the Mississippi River. There were huge barges passing and it reminded me of our cruising days when we did Americas Great Loop. "One whistle or two whistles". When we met a barge we needed to call and ask which side he wanted us to be on. One whistle was starboard or right side, two whistles was port side or left side. It was their choice usually, because they had to get around the corners and are less maneuverable than our catamaran. Trust me we went where we were told.
In the morning we were awakened by torrential rain and wind. The wind was making the motorhome move and that reminded me of some rough anchorages we had experienced, hoping that the anchor would hold through the storm.

The next three days we stayed at the Ozark RV Park in Mountain View. Mountain View is the Folk Music Capitol of the world. Every where you go around town someone is picking or strumming on a guitar, violin, bass and other string instruments I didn't recognize. This was especially true during the Beanfest. The reason we came here was to visit the Beanfest and Outhouse Races. This was a hoot!!! or should I say "toot". It has been going on for 27 years to get tourists in the town. On Saturday morning they have 20 or more kettles started with 1800 pounds of pinto beans. Different groups in costumes prepare their recipe to be judged. Some costumes there were Elvis, Hippies, Mickey Mouse, Nurses, An Indian, and Squirrel Hunters. After the judging everyone gets as many beans as they can eat or want.

We learned that the Foodnetwork channel was there. Adam Gertler was there during the races and he rode in an outhouse. His show is "Will Work for Food". After the races he interviewed the winners using a plunger as a mic. He is pretty funny. He is from Commack LI and went to Syracuse University.

The courthouse front steps had lots of Folk Music groups and we watched the Ozark River Cloggers.
It was sunny beautiful day for a Beanfest and Outhouse Race.

Frog Legs!

2009-10-26T08:19:00.001-07:00

OK, so Bruce and I are in Mississippi now at Harrah's Casino Mid-South RV Park. We decided to go over and check out the casino for the fun of it. We are not big gamblers, especially Bruce. Wandering around the casino we came across Paula Dean's Buffet. We hadn't planned on eating there but a women tapped me on the shoulder and gave me a buy one get one free coupon. We avoid buffets for obvious reasons, but this was our chance to try Paula Dean's food. Mississippi has the highest rate of obesity in the country and now I know why. I tried to choose the least toxic food. So much of it was fried from chicken to fish to okra to dill pickles and even fried green tomatoes, which I love, but scrape off the coating. If it wasn't fried it was swimming in butter. Speaking of swimming or should I say leaping, they had frog legs on the buffet. I saw a man fill his plate and had to ask what they taste like. He said chicken and I would be surprised at how good they are. They aren't fishy. Bruce proceeded to put one on my plate. I walked around adding a few other items, looking at those frog legs. They were kind of grossing me out. I didn't let any other food touch the frog legs. By the time I got to my table I was totally grossed out and told Bruce I cannot eat those. He took them off my plate and put them on a pile of plates on the table next to us. I know I said I wanted to try different foods around the country, but I guess I draw the line at amphibians that croak in the night and leap during the day.
Ribbitt!!! Ribbitt!!!

Mississippi is the Hospitality State

Things I like to learn

2009-10-23T16:19:00.000-07:00

I've decided it would be fun to learn something regional as far as food is concerned in each state we visit. If it's all natural the better. I try to avoid as much processed food with all those toxic chemicals added as possible.

In Kentucky it was the bourbon they produce and especially the American Honey Bourbon. I know alcohol is toxic, but all they add to bourbon is water.

In Tennessee I have discovered a wild grape. They are called scuppermong or muscedine. These grapes are native to southeastern US. Bruce and I had gone to a Music and Molasses Festival at the Tennessee Agricultural Museum, where I had a chance to try some. They are much bigger than the grapes we get in the grocery store. The skins are very tough but the meat is so sweet.

At the festival I also learned about sorhgum syrup. In some regions people call it " sorhgum molasses" but molasses refers to a sweetener made from sugarcane or sugar beet cane production not sorghum cane. It's used on biscuits in the morning.

Tennessee The Volunteer State

2009-10-21T16:40:00.000-07:00

Tennessee got its motto Volunteer State, from the fact that the state provided the most volunteers for the War of 1812 and the Mexican War.

We arrived in TN on the 17th of Oct. and the first place we went was The Grand Ole Opry. I didn't know it is the country's oldest running live radio show. They haven't missed a radio program since 1925. The radio announcer stood to the side and every ten or fifteen minutes he had to read a commercial. The sponsers were Dollar General, Humana, Bass Pro Shops and Cracker Barrel.

I expected the theater to be more glamourous then it was, but it was nice anyway. The show was in four 1/2 hour sections with each having a host. The only performers I knew where Rider's in The Sky and Vince Gill. We enjoyed all of them.

Kentucky Unbridled Spirit

2009-10-16T18:23:00.001-07:00

How could we spend three days in Lexington KY, "The Horse Capital of the World" and get nothing but these photos of fake horses. Not to mention I took them in Louisville KY not Lexington!! Oh well, at least we saw lots of horses. In fact we spent three days at the Kentucky Horse Park Campground. We hadn't planned on three days but were told an Endurance Race was going on. This race was in preparation for the 2010 ALLTECH FEI World Equestrian Games. We've never been to a horse race so we thought here is our chance. Unfortunately, we woke to pouring rain and decided to leave. We headed to Elizabethtown KY. Kentucky is known for their bourbon distilleries. The limestone that filters the water as it seeps through is suppose to make nice bourbon. Our first distillery was Wild Turkey. We had an extensive tour of the distillery and learned the process of bourbon making. We were able to stick our fingers in the fermenting tubs and taste the mash at different stages of fermentation. They went from sweet to sour. We also got to sample the high wine(moonshine) about 130 proof. At the end of the tour we got to sample a smidgen of Derby Pie with honey bourbon on it. Yummy!! I love honey, so just had to get myself a bottle of American Honey Bourbon. It's sweeter and goes down real smooth. The photos alongside are of Wild Turkey Distillery. Next day we toured Jim Beam. All we got to see was a seven minute video and did get two shots of their bourbon and a piece of bourbon chocolate. My favorite way to get a taste of bourbon!!!
Our next stop was Louisville KY. Here I found The Little Loomhouse. This is a group of three 19th century board and batten cabins. They are listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Kentucky State Historical Site, and Louisville Landmark. They teach weaving here and preserve the work, research and collection of master weaver and author Lou Tate Bousman. I went in and had a private tour by one of the ladies. I told her my story of the Little Spinning Wheel I wanted when I was a kid, for Christmas. You know how TV makes stuff look real. It turned out to be plastic, of course, and mom just didn't know what to do, because that's all I wanted for Christmas. I don't think I ever made anything on it. She had me repeat my story to another woman who came in. The Esta house was the first place that the Happy Birthday song was sung.
Bruce decided we should go to the Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory. Out side the museum is a 120 ft, 68,000 pound steel bat. It is a replica of the bat Babe Ruth used.
Our last stop in Louisville was at Glassworks. We watched some glass blowing and wandered around the shop. Very pretty things.
Today we are in Park City where Mammoth Caves are. We took a 4 mile 41/2 and hour tour of the cave. It's not pretty but is the biggest cave in the world. Tomorrow we are going on Lantern tour which is 3 miles and takes 31/2 hours. We haven't seen the sun in days and it is chilly if not cold, so going down 270 ft below the ground is nice. It's warmer and dry.

Tamarack The Best of West Virginia

2009-10-09T16:51:00.000-07:00

Every state should have a place like this. Just off of I-64/77 at exit 45 is this wonderful place. It is a showcase for West Virginia's cultural heritage and traditions. It has West Virginia made juried arts, foods and agricultural products. Bruce and I bought a yummy BBQ sauce and had a delicious lunch. I had to have their green fried tomatoes with swiss and bacon and Bruce had a bowl of chilli. There was anything you could want from quilts, wooden kitchen utensils, furniture, art, clothes, ornaments, wine, food stuff, pottery and coal figurines.

New River Gorge Bridge

2009-10-09T16:21:00.000-07:00

New River Bridge was completed in 1977. It is the longest single arch bridge in the world. At 876 feet above the river it is America's 2nd highest bridge. Once a year, the third week of October, the bridge is closed for six hours. Extreme sport fanatics gather in Fayetteville. Hundreds of BASE jumpers, rappel teams and highline riders leap, jump and descend from the bridge while 200,00 spectators watch. Yikes!! Bruce and I hiked and drove around this park and saw beautiful views of this bridge.

2009-10-09T15:59:00.000-07:00

Wild, Wonderful West Virginia!!!

Bruce and I have spent several days camping in West Virginia. We've hiked, biked, walked and drove visiting the sights. The trees are beginnning to change and are beautiful. Tonight we are camped in Milton WV and had severe storms passing through. There were tornado warnings for this county. I couldn't decide if I liked it better on a boat or in a motorhome if a tornado passed through. Luckily I didn't have to experience one in a motorhome because the warning had expired.

Heading south

2009-10-04T20:18:00.000-07:00

My bus is prettier than your bus!!!

After the Special Olympics State Games yesterday Bruce and I headed out for parts unknown. Our first stop was Attica, to check on his mom's house. We couldn't get into the driveway so I called the neighbor and asked if we could park there for the night. Ray used to own the bus company for the schools but now leases the property to another company. Bruce and I were getting settled when someone knocked on the door. It was the manager of the buses. He used to be the chief of police in Attica. How do you go from the chief of police to managing a bus garage? Anyway, someone had called him and told him we were there. The Robbins name has pretty big clout in Attica, so we were good to go. It saved me a couple of speeding tickets years ago. Oh! You're Al Robbins daughter -in -law? OK slow down.

Next morning Bruce went to pick some beets from the field behind the bus garage. When I saw he had picked two full grocery bags I thought we were going to start our own farmers market from the motorhome. He gave one bag to Pat and Ray. Thank goodness!!!

Tonight we are at Keystone State Park in PA.

Medals Awarded

2009-10-03T18:10:00.000-07:00

Keith, Paul and I don't know the other guys name receiving their medals!!

2009-10-03T17:55:00.000-07:00

It's not only about the athletes!! Janet,Barb and I had fun making pennants and decorating hats with foam stickers at the Olympic Village. Hey!! Why not. The athletes weren't playing with them so we did.

Special Olympic Fall Games 2009

2009-10-03T17:16:00.001-07:00

My son Keith participated in the Special Olympics Fall Games in Seneca Falls NY. The weather was perfect for a cycling competition. Keith came home with two silver medals. The 1st was the 15k road race and the 2nd was a 5K road race. He said he just couldn't catch Paul. Paul trains by riding 90 miles a week and participated in a fund raiser for his training club where he rode 200 miles in a couple of days. Lance Armstrong may have had a hard time catching him!!! NOT!! But Paul is good.

Our new dinghy

2009-07-01T19:41:00.000-07:00

I learned that people on motor homes call the vehicle they have either a dinghy or a towed. Well, today I, Bruce, Jordan, and her friend Nicole, drove to PA to pick up our new dinghy. Since we've been on a boat I think I will call our vehicle a dinghy. It's a 2001 convertible Mustang GT. It looks gray but is a pretty brown color. Not a color I would have normally chosen but I really do love it. It's a good color for fogey's like us. Troopers won't notice us as much as they notice red or yellow sports cars. When we stopped for lunch the young waitress asked if that was our Mustang and asked what size engine it had. I have a feeling teenage kids are going to be our best friends now!!! It sure is fun to drive but I am very careful about the speed I drive. Not to mention I had two teenage girls in the car with me and all they think about is driving fast.

2009-06-19T18:30:00.001-07:00

We spent a night at a truck stop with the big boys. I feel very save surrounded by these rigs.

A view from the top

We did some hiking in the badlands and had to climb this ladder.

The Badlands South Dakota

Mount Rushmore

This is what Crazy Horse will look like when finished.
Bruce and I feel this is a very ambitious project
The sculptor died in 1982 ans 7 of his 10 children and his wife are completing it.
It is being sculpted in Black Hills South Dakota.
Sculptor Korczak Zionlkowski was asked to sculpt it by Lakota Chief Henry Standing Bear.
"My fellow chiefs and I would like the white man to know the red man has great heroes, too."

2009-06-19T18:28:00.000-07:00

Snow caps in Wyoming

2009-06-19T18:27:00.000-07:00

Chillaxing after a hard day driving

2009-06-17T18:54:00.000-07:00

June 8th Bruce and I celebrate 35 years.

It's official, Arcadia is sold. We got a decent price and as it stands now, we will bring her down to NYC in the fall where they will take her back to FL.

They are changing her name to Betty Lou. I get to keep the rug with Arcadia on it.

I cried!! But time to move on to new adventures.

On June 15 th Bruce and I flew to Whidbey Island Washington to pick up our new motor home.
I was pleasantly surprised by how nice the coach is. We bought it sight unseen, except for photos on E Bay, I was still a little nervous. I know pictures are worth a thousand words but I was anxious to see for myself.

Our first camp ground was in Ellensburg WA. Along the way we saw this Wild Horses Monument. The Wild Horses Monument is a piece of roadside art along I-90 in the deserts of Central Washington on a bluff above the East side of the Columbia River. The monument pays tribute to the wild mustangs who roamed these areas in days past. The wild horses, which are made of welded steel plates, are the work of Spokane artist David Govedare.

Interesting thought

2009-05-26T07:07:00.000-07:00

Light travels faster than sound. That is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.

Home Sweet Home!!!

2009-05-07T08:40:00.000-07:00

Arcadia arrived back in Ithaca on May 5th 2009. After 4812 and almost 10 months. We've been as far north as Machinaw Island Michigan and as the far south as La Belle Florida. Completing America's Great Loop was really cool. We had crossed our own wake in the Gulf, but making it back to Ithaca where we had started last year on July 19th 2008, turned out to be even more exciting.

We'll be here now for the summer, enjoying all that I love about Ithaca and being with my kids and granddaughters.

Who knows what will happen in the fall. As Bruce always says," that's too far away to worry about now".

May 5, 2009 Arriving Home

2009-05-07T08:00:00.000-07:00

This is the inlet to Cayuga Lake from Ithaca and the Treman Marina. The two towers on the hill are dorms at Ithaca College.

This is Mud Lock or Lock 1 on the Cayuga Seneca Canal System. There are only four locks that get you from Cayuga Lake to Seneca Lake. We've gone over there a couple of times. This time we just kept heading south down Cayuga Lake to Treman Marina where Arcadia lives in the summer.

These are remains of the original canal system.

This is some of the debris that we need to watch out for in the canal. Luckily this was off to the side. Sometimes it collects either at the entrance to the lock chamber or as we are exiting the chamber. Not good for props!!!

2009-05-04T16:03:00.000-07:00

A birds nest in a cozy spot. This is the top of the cable we wrap a line around to hold us when the lock lifts or drops.

The Erie Canal System will take us four days this season. The locks are open from 7am to 5 pm. That cuts down on travel time. It's running smoothly even though the new system is driving the lock tenders crazy. They need to write down the permit number of the boats using the system and enter it into a computer system. They also have to mow the lawn and maintain the locks. One lock tender wanted to know when they would have time to do the lock maintenance with the extra paper work. Yesterday at lock 19 the lock tender was mowing the lawn and didn't see or hear us on the hand held so we had to wait to lock through. We lost a lot of time because of that. The picture on the top left is a section of the old canal system next to lock 2 in Waterford NY. Tonight we are in Baldwinsville NY at Lock 24. One more lock to go and that puts us into Cayuga Lake tomorrow. We should be home by evening.

The dam next to lock 7 on the Mohawk River

The Erie Canal System

2009-05-01T17:09:00.000-07:00

Today we locked through the Federal Lock in Troy NY. We thought this lock would be open before
May 1 st but were mistaken. The Erie Canal system opens for the season on May 1st. So we hurried up to wait 2 days for the lock to open. We found a nice anchorage 24 miles south of the lock and spent 2 nights there. It was nice to relax for awhile. We've made record time getting home this year. We left Florida a week later then past seasons and were 3 days further south in Florida. Our 400 miles in 3 days pushed us ahead. We also only had 2 days where the weather held us up.
Tonight we are in Waterford NY. Lock 2. These next 5 locks are called the "Flight of Five" because from lock 2 to lock 6 is only a mile and a half and takes 2 hours to get through. This is the gateway to the canal system. We actually made it here in time for the ceremonies opening the canal. There really wasn't much fan fare and we thought they would have cake to share but there wasn't.

The photo shows us just below lock 2 on the town dock. We'll be ready tomorrow at 7 am to continue on.

A Glorious Passage

2009-05-01T16:24:00.000-07:00

After a glorious passage of 400 miles in three days we reached NYC. We left Deep Creek in the Dismal Swamp in VA on the 25th of April. Stopped in Norfolk for fuel and then went off shore into the Atlantic Ocean. On the 26th of April we stopped in at Cape May NJ for fuel, water and fresh fish from the Lobster House. These were three days of perfect sea conditions. The winds and the swells were from the south east and we rarely saw more then 15 knots and most of the time they were ten or less. Not good for sailing but I am a fair weather sailor and would rather motor then be nervous about winds that are too strong. We did have both head sail and main sail up for some time. This made up for the four miles of gale force winds in the Albemarle Sound that we had to deal with.
When going under the George Washington Bridge on the right is a little red lighthouse. It's the Jeffery's Hook Lighthouse in Washington Park . I've seen it a few times and thought it was so cute. I've since learned the story behind the lighthouse. There is a children's book where the lighthouse is encouraged by the bridge to continue to provide a beacon to the river, but in real life the bridge makes the lighthouse obsolete. In 1947 the lighthouse was deactivated but the children spoke up and kept it from being demolished. The book is written by Hildegard H Swift.

Our First Squall!!!

2009-04-22T10:56:00.000-07:00

Believe it or not Bruce and I experienced our first squall. I would rate it second to the tornado we had experienced last season. Yesterday(4-21-09) we did 90 miles (the current was nice to us) so we would be in a good position to cross the Albermarle Sound in NC. This Sound can get very nasty if the winds are from the west. Of course we checked our weather for this morning and figured if we left at the crack of dawn, as usual, we would be able to get across the twelve miles of the sound before the wind picked up. The winds have been very calm in the morning and the forecast for the afternoon is when they were suppose to pick up. This was not to be!! About four miles into the trip Bruce said, "we are going to get hit with a storm", so we got the head sail down just in time. The winds picked up and the rain came down. We saw gusts to 42 miles an hour. I don't think we have ever seen that in our five years of traveling. Bruce wasn't sure he should tell me how high the winds had gotten, but I was glad to hear they were only 42 miles because I was thinking they were about a bazillion miles an hour. My kayak flipped over but is tied to the boat, but my paddle and a spare bumper that were in the kayak went overboard. The cover on the dinghy was blown partially off and the straps holding the dinghy secure, let lose and we lost one of those. We heard the coast guard annouce severe weather moving through with gusts to 30. Yeah right!! I wanted to call and inform him they were more like 40.
Our speed was only between one and two miles an hour and we had the Sound and twenty more miles to go to get to Elizabeth City NC. We decided to turn around and go into a marina where we had just fueled. There was a Canadian boat we had talked to and his wife was glad we came back. Sitting here secured at the dock we can hear the wind howling away and several other boats have come in. I think we made the right decision. Besides we have free WiFi and real showers. Sorry no pictures but I was too busy holding on to get the camera. Besides, how do you get a picture of gale force winds.

Forced March home!!!

2009-04-20T18:18:00.000-07:00

Arcadia is moving north as fast as she can!!! We've been doing around 70 miles a day. Unfortunatly, the weather gets colder the more north we go. There were a couple of chilly mornings when I didn't want to get out of my cozy bed. If I wait for my morning hot flash, which are getting few and far between (so I can't depend on them) I can jump out of bed, get dressed and by the time I cool down my morning routine is done and I am ready for the day. Bruce would be up at 5 am. Anywhere from 5:30 to 7:30 I would hear the motor start and the chain from the anchor hitting against the boat. I felt a little guilty not helping, but then again, I always cook the dinner.

Today we went past Camp LeJeune in NC. The Firing Range can be closed for an hour if they are firing across the ICW. A military vessel would block the ICW. Today was the first time in the six years we've gone past, that we saw anything going on. There were three armored personnel carriers that were going across the ICW. I thought they were going to prevent us from going north but they just waved at us and waited for us to pass.

Today the weather was nasty so we only went 40 miles. During my turn at the helm the rain and winds arrived. Yuck!!! At least it wasn't cold and I had my foul weather gear on and only my feet got wet. We decided to go to a marina because the weather is suppose to bad tonight. More rain, wind and possibly hail. Things are pretty uneventful at this point in our trip, and hopefully it stays that way.

America's Great Loop

2009-03-25T09:42:00.000-07:00

It's official!! We have crossed our wake on March 23, 2009 at 1:30 in the morning completing the loop we started on July 19th 2008.

Our friend Fred, in Ithaca ,thinks we should call it complete when we get there, since we started there the summer 2008. However, people take years to complete the loop. Since we've been this far up the west coast of Florida previous years, I'm going with that. We can also celebrate with Fred when we get home.

Montserrat Volcano

2009-03-25T08:32:00.000-07:00

Ok... This is the final posting of our five week cruise in the Caribbean with our friends then on to our current travels.

On Feb. 16, my birthday we headed south from St.Kitts past Montserrat. It was an awesome way to spend a birthday. Sailing past the volcano and seeing first hand the devastation caused by the eruption over ten years ago, was quite the sight. There is a two mile safety zone that we needed to obey and trust me we obeyed it. The cruising guides suggest sailing down the east side so that smoke and ash don't land on you, but since the volcano wasn't spewing, we got adventurous and sailed down the west side. We listened to Chris Parker, the weather guy and he didn't mention any volcanic activity. The picture shows the ash covered houses.

We stopped in Guadeloupe WI for one night. Took a walk in town next morning for fruit and veggies. We tried to check into customs but no one was around, so we gave up. We left here at 10 am and headed for Les Saintes and spent about ten days here. These French Islands are like living in a fairy tale. The only way we could get EUROs was to buy a loaf of French bread using a twenty dollar bill. The banks were closed because of the French Islands strike going on at the time. Otherwise we were happy here hiking and touring the island.

Next and final stop was St. Lucia. This island is know for it's Pitons and beer named after the pitons. Here we visited a collapsed volcano which was amazing. The steam comes spewing out of the street gutters a block away and the sulfur smell was worse then a rotten egg.

The day(Mar. 9th)before Bruce and I left to come home we decided we might want to try zip lining. If you know me at all, you know I do not like heights. I've been on a few roofs reshingling and it is not fun. We had rented a car for touring this island, so the four of us drove to the Rain Forest Sky Rides place. The guy said no zip line today because there weren't enough people. Oh well, I was actually dissappointed. Instead we took a walking tour through the Rain Forest which was nice but all the trees sounded the same. I was impressed with the incense tree that makes the incense for churches and a pretty red and black seed they call donkey eyes. Anyway, after that hike we got a free rum punch. It sure came in handy!!! Bruce saw that a bunch of people came in for zip lining and he asked if they had room. Before I knew it I was put in my zip gear and on a tranopy up through the rain forest. It was beautiful. These guys kept us moving from one tree to the next and after the second zip I stopped shaking and actually enjoyed the scenery below. The worst was standing on the platforms around the trees 150 ft above the forest. Even worse was having to step up on the edge and get fastened to the zip line for the next zip along. We went from 1500 ft to 1300 ft in ten zip lines. After our ten zip lines we hikes back up and took the Tranopy back down. That's when Bruce gave away my second coupon for another free rum punch. Bummer!! Zip lining was the highlight of our trip not to mention the volcanos.

2009-03-13T18:02:00.000-07:00

We didn't think we'd stay long in St Martin. We arrived on Jan. 21st and here we are five days later with no plans to leave. We anchored on the Dutch side of the lagoon on a nice large watery lot,increased fees, or rumors thereof, driving most boats over to the crowded French side. The weekly anchorage fee is $20 and Lee had lots of errands on this side and thought it was well worth it. We've probably made as many dingy trips over to Marigot on the French side as here, but it's all doable. Sunday we headed over to watch the practice carnival parade. We were ready by two with info on the route, but not the time. We climbed up to Fort Louis, a good vantage for a first sighting of the approaching parade. By 3:30 we were ready to go down and approach the parade. It was a little different from small town NY parades, mostly large flat bed trucks with mountains of sound equipment that manipulated your heartbeat in what felt to be a dangerous manner, followed by mostly teenage t-shirted dancers. The exception was very foreign, around 40 potbellied dancers in grotesque smiling masks of French politicians, doing choreographed dances of back slapping, handshaking, . The stuffed white shirts and neckties contrasted with the obviously teenaged hipswivelling lower bodies, hilarious. We tried to decide how this could be translated into Spencer's parade. Every Tuesday the village of Grand Case throws a street party along its ocean fronted main street. It's known for restaurants and we spent the first hour reading every menu we passed. The decision was made to go back to the missionary sized pot of paella simmering in front of one restaurant, but it's wonderful smell drew in so many people they were fully reserved. We headed across the street to La California, funny name for a French restaurant. The waitress must have taken lessons in being French, she was so lively and bubbly we were charmed, so lucky there was a table for us, on the deck right next to the water. Lee said it was the same view we have from the boat every day. We had lobster pizza!!! and crepes and that wonderful liquor they bring you at the end of the meal. She even made a souvenir picture of us. We had taken the dollar bus from Marigot, bumper to bumper traffic every Tuesday, but at least we didn't have to deal with parking. At the end of the evening we found a similar little 12 passenger bus and rushed aboard to take the last four seats. We impressed the other passengers with boat and island stories until the bus pulled into a parking lot and everyone else got off to jump in their cars. We went from savvy travelers to laughing stock in a matter of minutes, our little bus had turned into a parking lot shuttle without our realizing it. A little negotiation turned it into a two dollar bus and we made it back to Marigot only a little humbled by the experience. Wednesday was the cruisers' get together at a beach bar. We met up with Ron and Debbie, owners of one of our sister boats, and went on the our other must-eat experience, Lal's Indian restaurant. We ordered six entrees and passed them around, meaning, now we have to go back and reorder our favorites. Now that we have the eating out of the way, we'll get on with the rest of our explorations. We did find a beach and neighborhood for our morning walks, something we didn't know about two years ago. I hope every island we revisit yields similar new experiences. There was a perfectly good sign in the windshield of that bus that said "Marigot".

2009-03-13T17:47:00.000-07:00

We just dropped anchor in Simpson Bay lagoon, St Martin, after arriving outside last night near midnight. The bridge opens twice a day and we lined up this morning with some ten boats, not nearly as many as two years ago. The five-story megayachts are also fewer in number. We left Virgin Gorda in the BVI's around eight yesterday =morning, our third attempt at the infamous Anagada Passage, AKA the "Oh My God A". The current and constant trade winds make it difficult for boats heading east. Even though we had no more than ten knots of wind, there were still confused seas and Lee spent most of the passage out of commission with sea sickness. Thank goodness we had Bruce and Nancy aboard, experienced catamaran sailors, since I'm worthless also in those conditions, due to sea phobia, not sea sickness. We had tried to leave twice while Marcelo's parents were aboard. His mom really wanted to make the passage; I'd rather have a root canal. Each time the weather window closed on us and we gave up. Lee felt bad (in more ways than one) that I was spending my birthday crashing along. I considered it a present just to have it behind us at the end of the day. I was very surprised when Bruce and Nancy pulled out a rum cake when we anchored and Lee produced presents. It'll go down as a memorable birthday.
I am cheating a bit here because I am posting Sherry's boat trip news but considering I was there I figure it's good. I decided to throw in some facts about what the passage is. Hope it isn't too boring. The Anegada Passage is
channel in the West Indies, connecting the Atlantic Ocean with the Caribbean Sea; it is 40 miles (65 km) wide and separates the British Virgin Islands (west) from the Leeward Islands (southeast). It has the greatest depth (more than 7,550 feet [2,300 m]) of any channel in the eastern Caribbean. The passage is one of the two through which subsurface water enters the Caribbean (the other being the Windward Passage).

2009-03-13T17:28:00.001-07:00

Next day we went to Virgin Gorda and stopped at The Baths. This was really neat. We basically waded amoung these huge boulders. There was even an area under some boulders that I swam in.
We anchored in Leverick Bay and that evening went to the marina to watch the Jumbies. These guys were really good. They danced around for about an hour on these stilts then in the end a couple of the guys went over to the pool and fell in. They were very cool.

The BVI's St Thomas

2009-03-13T16:40:00.000-07:00

Bruce and I were invited to join our friends on their 38 ft. catamaran in the BVI's. On Jan.28th we flew out of Fort Lauderdale to St.Thomas. Since we were in St. Thomas we decided to spend the day there and see the sites. We booked a B&B called the Crystal Palace. The B&B has been in the same family for five generations and got it's name from the fact that it was the first place in St. Thomas to have glass windows. It was beautiful and once you sit on their varanda with your complimentary drink, you are hooked. Why go anyway else. We had an awesome few of Charlotte Amalie Harbor.
The proprieters where from Michigan where they also have a B&B. Both families grew up together. They were filling in for the owner for a few weeks.

Auntie was making her famous rum cakes which you can get in Ohio also. Bruce asked her "how much rum do you add", and she said "if I told you that, I would have to kill you". we bought one as a birthday cake for our hosts.

2009-01-27T12:30:00.000-08:00

A leg in our journey... From Appalachicola FL to Tarpon Springs FL

After having fun watching the dolphins we had a slight problem. About two thirds into our 24hr trip in the Gulf of Mexico from Apalachicola to Tarpon Springs, our motor finally gave out. (Bruce planned on rebuilding the motor soon) Bruce managed to keep it limping along for awhile but decided it had it and shut it down. Good thing we are a sailboat. We hoisted the sails and sailed the rest of the way, about 60 miles. The wind went from very light to making me nervous. I was nervous because we were fifty miles from shore and no radio contact at all. When we reached Tarpon Springs, we anchored near shore in what we thought would be a protected area, but that was not to be. All night we rocked and rolled with the waves slamming the bottom and the wind howling. Thank goodness our anchor held because there would be nothing we could do if it dragged other than throwing out another anchor. This morning we called Sea Tow to tow us into the marina where we will fix the motor next month. When I think about it now, this was not so bad. We have been lucky in our cruising days.

Arcadia

2009-01-23T12:39:00.000-08:00

This is our 34 ft. catamaran that we live on full time. We've been in three countries (USA, Canada, Bahamas), two Finger Lakes (Cayuga Lake,Seneca Lake), three Great Lakes (Lake Ontario, Lake Huron,Lake Michigan), the Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, The ICW,The Erie Canal System, the Trent Severn Waterway and many rivers and bays.

Welcome to my Blog

2009-01-23T09:07:00.000-08:00

I've decided to create a blog because AA kept harassing me to do it, so here it is and I think it will be fun. So check back often to follow us on our travels.