Still didn’t see Joe. OK I am no longer a fan of Penn State, if Joe wouldn’t come see me I am not going to cheer for him anymore. The leaves are still pretty as we head south on more narrow winding roads.
To get to Falling Waters you first have to go to Nowhere, turn left to SomePlace, the right into Whatyoucallit and then after another 50 miles on noname road you finally arrive. Serious it is in the middle of nowhere. It was developed as a retreat from the city and they accomplished that goal.
Falling Waters is the most fantastic houses I have ever seen. It has to be on your bucket list. I have seen the photos, read the article but I had idea how great it was going to be. It may be one of the most perfect houses I have ever seen. Well there was that little thing about not being able to stand up in some of the rooms; apparently, the family who owned it were short people. Overlooking that, the views in and out of the house are amazing. Each bedroom has its own bath and terrace. There are cantilevers everywhere. Balconies, rooms, bookcases, shelves, desk, everything is cantilevered. The setting in the woods is unbelievable. It is perfectly sited in the rock outcropping taking advantage of the stream and views of the valley. Can you tell I really liked it?
Charleston, West Virginia is a nice town with a river running thru the middle of town. We walked a restaurant near by to celebrate Carole’s Birthday.
Today we are on a mission to get home. Nothing but driving. Wonder if Fuzzy Butt our cat will speak to us when we get home.
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Friday, September 24, 2010
Lake Placid – State College
A killer day. Nine hours of driving and only 2 hours on interstates. We wound around down and thru every small two lane road in New York and Pennsylvania. That was the bad news.
We had the most beautiful drive we have been on ever! The leaves on the west side of the mountains where in full color. I think we may have hit the peak color for a lot of the area we went thru. The road winds thru the woods with little lakes every few miles. I wanted to stop get some birch bark, build a canoe, paddle of across the lake and look for a moose or bear.
We happened across the Museum of the Adirondack, which is totally in the middle of nowhere. I would have loved to spend a bunch of time there because they have one of the largest collections of Guide Boats in the existence. We didn’t even try to go because I knew I would be lost. I did go thru the museum store and buy a bunch of books I didn’t have. Carole found some of her china in the store and they had a couple of pieces she didn’t have. We both left happy but I would like to go back some time and spend several hours checking out the boats. If you don’t know what a Guide Boat is you need to Google it and check them out. They are basically canoe that you row.
I expected Papa Joe to greet us as we entered State College but I guess he must have been busy. I think I am going to give up on football. Joe doesn't welcome me and Nick doesn't call me at half to ask for my advice.
On today to see Falling Waters, one of Frank Lloyd Wright’s designs.
We had the most beautiful drive we have been on ever! The leaves on the west side of the mountains where in full color. I think we may have hit the peak color for a lot of the area we went thru. The road winds thru the woods with little lakes every few miles. I wanted to stop get some birch bark, build a canoe, paddle of across the lake and look for a moose or bear.
We happened across the Museum of the Adirondack, which is totally in the middle of nowhere. I would have loved to spend a bunch of time there because they have one of the largest collections of Guide Boats in the existence. We didn’t even try to go because I knew I would be lost. I did go thru the museum store and buy a bunch of books I didn’t have. Carole found some of her china in the store and they had a couple of pieces she didn’t have. We both left happy but I would like to go back some time and spend several hours checking out the boats. If you don’t know what a Guide Boat is you need to Google it and check them out. They are basically canoe that you row.
I expected Papa Joe to greet us as we entered State College but I guess he must have been busy. I think I am going to give up on football. Joe doesn't welcome me and Nick doesn't call me at half to ask for my advice.
On today to see Falling Waters, one of Frank Lloyd Wright’s designs.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Burlington – Fort Ticonderoga – Lake Placid
There are Dunkin Donuts on every corner in the Northeast so we figured we need to check one out for breakfast. We walk in and there is a line with about 20 people. To give a quick overview the coffee is good, the donuts are adequate, nothing like a good hot Krispy Cream.
The drive to Fort Ticonderoga is nice, thru large farms with field of corn and mega barns. The road is along the lake and you can see it over the farms. We cross the lake by ferry and we timed it perfect. We drove on and they shut the gate behind us. We are behind a school bus. Why do kids always wave? I told Carole that this was a bad omen, those kids are going the same place we are. We get to follow the bus all the way to the Fort, which actually made finding it quite easy.
The history of the Fort is much more real when you see it that when you read about it in history books. Starting in 1759 the French and British, well that is probably much more detail than I need to go into. What was interesting is a family named Pell saved the Fort from destruction. It is probably relatives of the founding fathers of Pell City. If you are ever this far north it is worth a visit of course Carole and I love to tour old forts and read all the signs.
The GPS wanders us all thru the New York roads to get to Lake Placid. We made most of the trip on very narrow two lane county roads. That was not all bad because the scenery was great. We got into several nice patches of color. One section of the road had waterfalls along side and a canopy of colored leaves above.
As we are entering into Lake Placid there are these two towers we see in the distance. We debate what type of industrial operation is going on there. Looks a lot like the towers around coalmines. They are two concrete towers with what looks like conveyors running down from them but they look way to steep. Then we see the sign to the ski jumps. Those people have to be totally crazy to go up and ski off those things. I have seen a lot of Olympic ski jumps on TV but I had no idea of the magnitude of what they were jumping from. I have a whole new appreciation now.
The town of Lake Placid is neat. Beth you should have come here much nicer than Stowe. There are lots of little shops on the edge of the lake. There is one boat house that is unbelievable. I would guess there is some pricey real-estate in the area.
The hotel we are staying in would not meet Michael standards. Luckily it is only one night. For those of you who don’t know our measure of hotels has always been on the Michael Standard. When he was about 3 years old we stayed in a motel and it want to leave because it wasn’t nice enough. So from then on we have always based the quality of the hotel on the Michael Standard. May there is something about mountain hotels because the one he wanted to leave was in Gatlinburg.
Today we head south. We have about 9 hours of driving ahead of us. OK Carole stop snoring, get up and let’s get moving.
The drive to Fort Ticonderoga is nice, thru large farms with field of corn and mega barns. The road is along the lake and you can see it over the farms. We cross the lake by ferry and we timed it perfect. We drove on and they shut the gate behind us. We are behind a school bus. Why do kids always wave? I told Carole that this was a bad omen, those kids are going the same place we are. We get to follow the bus all the way to the Fort, which actually made finding it quite easy.
The history of the Fort is much more real when you see it that when you read about it in history books. Starting in 1759 the French and British, well that is probably much more detail than I need to go into. What was interesting is a family named Pell saved the Fort from destruction. It is probably relatives of the founding fathers of Pell City. If you are ever this far north it is worth a visit of course Carole and I love to tour old forts and read all the signs.
The GPS wanders us all thru the New York roads to get to Lake Placid. We made most of the trip on very narrow two lane county roads. That was not all bad because the scenery was great. We got into several nice patches of color. One section of the road had waterfalls along side and a canopy of colored leaves above.
As we are entering into Lake Placid there are these two towers we see in the distance. We debate what type of industrial operation is going on there. Looks a lot like the towers around coalmines. They are two concrete towers with what looks like conveyors running down from them but they look way to steep. Then we see the sign to the ski jumps. Those people have to be totally crazy to go up and ski off those things. I have seen a lot of Olympic ski jumps on TV but I had no idea of the magnitude of what they were jumping from. I have a whole new appreciation now.
The town of Lake Placid is neat. Beth you should have come here much nicer than Stowe. There are lots of little shops on the edge of the lake. There is one boat house that is unbelievable. I would guess there is some pricey real-estate in the area.
The hotel we are staying in would not meet Michael standards. Luckily it is only one night. For those of you who don’t know our measure of hotels has always been on the Michael Standard. When he was about 3 years old we stayed in a motel and it want to leave because it wasn’t nice enough. So from then on we have always based the quality of the hotel on the Michael Standard. May there is something about mountain hotels because the one he wanted to leave was in Gatlinburg.
Today we head south. We have about 9 hours of driving ahead of us. OK Carole stop snoring, get up and let’s get moving.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Bethel to Burlington
We stayed at a great B&B last night, had a great breakfast this morning and then off to the west. Well it was generally west but we zigzagged back and forth across the mountains. First we went west to Gorham, then south to Conway, then west to Woodstock, north to Stowe then southwest to Burlington. We spent about 8 hours to go 3 hours.
We went around Mount Washington. We thought about going to the top but everyone we talked to recommended against it unless you needed that merit badge to get your Eagle. It is a dirt road to the top and generally, the weather is terrible, so we decided to see it from the road around the base. We are still a couple of weeks early for the color of the leaves to hit their maximum color. We did find patches of some color change. It was a beautiful drive along the side of a stream with mountains on each side. It even had a few switch backs along the route. I guess since we are early there wasn’t a lot of traffic, although the tour buses have started to show up.
Stowe was a place we had to visit. It is a special place for our niece Beth and her husband Taylor. Ok now we have been why in the hell do they like that place? It is like Gatlinburg. Just your typical tourist trap, with one tee shirt shop after another. Really, Beth you can do better than that.
On tomorrow to Fort Ticonderoga and Lake Placid.
We went around Mount Washington. We thought about going to the top but everyone we talked to recommended against it unless you needed that merit badge to get your Eagle. It is a dirt road to the top and generally, the weather is terrible, so we decided to see it from the road around the base. We are still a couple of weeks early for the color of the leaves to hit their maximum color. We did find patches of some color change. It was a beautiful drive along the side of a stream with mountains on each side. It even had a few switch backs along the route. I guess since we are early there wasn’t a lot of traffic, although the tour buses have started to show up.
Stowe was a place we had to visit. It is a special place for our niece Beth and her husband Taylor. Ok now we have been why in the hell do they like that place? It is like Gatlinburg. Just your typical tourist trap, with one tee shirt shop after another. Really, Beth you can do better than that.
On tomorrow to Fort Ticonderoga and Lake Placid.
Monday, September 20, 2010
Cruising the Coast of Maine, Marital Aids and on Westward.
I have a lot of catching up to do. We had “NO” internet or phone service for a week. Man was did I have a case of the DT’s. We were finally able to log on to the internet last night and go our phones to working tonight.
The cruise was uh, how am I going to put this, well, it was different. Our cabin was about the same size as the small bathroom, in our house, without the shower. The bunk was 6’-1” long, so you don’t have to do the math that is about 5” too short. There were two heads and one shower for 28 people. Carole and I had two showers all week. We were so cold all week there wasn’t a danger of breaking a sweat so there wasn’t much of a need to take one. OK that is the bad part. The good part was the sailing was really good. We had a mix of weather some sun, some clouds, some heavy wind and some light wind. (It was cold all of the time.) It was interesting to see how the boat sailed with all of the rigging and lines. The boat had no engine so we sailed everywhere. They did have the capacity to put in a small boat to push the big boat and would do that sometimes when leaving an anchorage or shifting the boat in an anchorage. Most of the time we sailed into and out of the anchorages. The captain’s goal was to take us to places we couldn’t get by car. The 1st night out we stayed at Swan Island, then back to the rendezvous with 14 other schooners at the wooden boat school. The 3rd night we were at Isle Au Haut, which is supposed to have the smallest post office in the US. The 4th night we had to run for cover from a storm and were anchored in a cove at Castine with about 8 other schooners. The storm passed to the south and with the protected anchorage, we only saw about 25 knot winds. The last night we were in a pretty little cove at Islesboro. We saw the boat at 10 knots several times during the week, with 7 to 8 knots being common. (For you non sailors that is hauling ass.) The boat even with all the sails up and at 10 knots had very little heel and a comfortable motion.
Just before the boats entered the anchorage at the wooden boat school, they were all sailing around each other. I have some really great action shots of them sailing (about 430 to be exact). So be careful if you tell me you want to see some photos.
You know I don’t talk about people but I am going to have to ask you to pray for some of the people of that boat with us. They were just too weird. Maybe we just hit it wrong but there were two other couples who hadn’t been on this schooner before. All of them picked the same week each year to go sailing and we would not have been able to go this week if someone hadn’t died. How do I know that? They had the funeral for one of them on Saturday morning and spread the ashes in the sea.
Oops, I almost forgot Michael wanted me to talk about the food. The food was really good. There were a couple of young girls who did all of the cooking on a wood stove. (I think their mothers must drive them to work they looked so young.) We had fresh baked bread every meal. Typically breakfast was either pancakes, French toast or eggs with some type of breakfast meat, bacon, sausage, ham, etc. and fruit. Lunch was mostly a hearty soup and salad. Suppers where some type of meat, pasta, vegetables with fresh bread and pies. It was all very good. When you consider they were doing it all on a moving, rocking, heeling wood stove it was damn excellent.
The trip is something I am glad we did but it isn’t something I want to do again at least in this life time.
Both of us caught colds from someone on board. For some reason we both snore when we have a cold. So I would snore for a while and wake Carole up, she would punch me and I would wake up and roll over. Then she would snore and I would wake her up. And then we would do it all over again. So our main trip on Sunday morning was to go to Wal-Mart and purchase some Marital Aid (Ear Plugs). Last night we both had the first good night’s sleep we have had in about a week. It was wonderful. Hot showers, shaving, clean hair, comfortable bed. It was just wonderful.
Today we left the Brooklin Inn. (Highly recommended and yes I do want to do that again.) We drove across Maine. The GPS took us on some roads that I swore we were lost. It was a beautiful path thru the mountains, along streams and glacier lakes. The leaves are just beginning to turn so every few mile we would hit a patch of brilliant red leaves.
Tonight we are in Bethel Maine at a B&B. We are the only guest. The couple we are saying with are very nice. Staying in B&B is a cool way to travel.
OK I left out tons of details. Maybe I will have time to go back and fill in some details later.
The cruise was uh, how am I going to put this, well, it was different. Our cabin was about the same size as the small bathroom, in our house, without the shower. The bunk was 6’-1” long, so you don’t have to do the math that is about 5” too short. There were two heads and one shower for 28 people. Carole and I had two showers all week. We were so cold all week there wasn’t a danger of breaking a sweat so there wasn’t much of a need to take one. OK that is the bad part. The good part was the sailing was really good. We had a mix of weather some sun, some clouds, some heavy wind and some light wind. (It was cold all of the time.) It was interesting to see how the boat sailed with all of the rigging and lines. The boat had no engine so we sailed everywhere. They did have the capacity to put in a small boat to push the big boat and would do that sometimes when leaving an anchorage or shifting the boat in an anchorage. Most of the time we sailed into and out of the anchorages. The captain’s goal was to take us to places we couldn’t get by car. The 1st night out we stayed at Swan Island, then back to the rendezvous with 14 other schooners at the wooden boat school. The 3rd night we were at Isle Au Haut, which is supposed to have the smallest post office in the US. The 4th night we had to run for cover from a storm and were anchored in a cove at Castine with about 8 other schooners. The storm passed to the south and with the protected anchorage, we only saw about 25 knot winds. The last night we were in a pretty little cove at Islesboro. We saw the boat at 10 knots several times during the week, with 7 to 8 knots being common. (For you non sailors that is hauling ass.) The boat even with all the sails up and at 10 knots had very little heel and a comfortable motion.
Just before the boats entered the anchorage at the wooden boat school, they were all sailing around each other. I have some really great action shots of them sailing (about 430 to be exact). So be careful if you tell me you want to see some photos.
You know I don’t talk about people but I am going to have to ask you to pray for some of the people of that boat with us. They were just too weird. Maybe we just hit it wrong but there were two other couples who hadn’t been on this schooner before. All of them picked the same week each year to go sailing and we would not have been able to go this week if someone hadn’t died. How do I know that? They had the funeral for one of them on Saturday morning and spread the ashes in the sea.
Oops, I almost forgot Michael wanted me to talk about the food. The food was really good. There were a couple of young girls who did all of the cooking on a wood stove. (I think their mothers must drive them to work they looked so young.) We had fresh baked bread every meal. Typically breakfast was either pancakes, French toast or eggs with some type of breakfast meat, bacon, sausage, ham, etc. and fruit. Lunch was mostly a hearty soup and salad. Suppers where some type of meat, pasta, vegetables with fresh bread and pies. It was all very good. When you consider they were doing it all on a moving, rocking, heeling wood stove it was damn excellent.
The trip is something I am glad we did but it isn’t something I want to do again at least in this life time.
Both of us caught colds from someone on board. For some reason we both snore when we have a cold. So I would snore for a while and wake Carole up, she would punch me and I would wake up and roll over. Then she would snore and I would wake her up. And then we would do it all over again. So our main trip on Sunday morning was to go to Wal-Mart and purchase some Marital Aid (Ear Plugs). Last night we both had the first good night’s sleep we have had in about a week. It was wonderful. Hot showers, shaving, clean hair, comfortable bed. It was just wonderful.
Today we left the Brooklin Inn. (Highly recommended and yes I do want to do that again.) We drove across Maine. The GPS took us on some roads that I swore we were lost. It was a beautiful path thru the mountains, along streams and glacier lakes. The leaves are just beginning to turn so every few mile we would hit a patch of brilliant red leaves.
Tonight we are in Bethel Maine at a B&B. We are the only guest. The couple we are saying with are very nice. Staying in B&B is a cool way to travel.
OK I left out tons of details. Maybe I will have time to go back and fill in some details later.
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Mystic – Old Sturbridge Village – Maine
My job in the morning when we are traveling is to go get coffee and bring it back to the room. On my trip this morning, I was riding in the elevator with a guy on temporary assignment from Boston. At first, I thought he was from a foreign country. We were able to communicate but it was a struggle for me. I am sure if he was blogging he would have some things to say about me. When we got to Sturbridge Village, the lady at the ticket counter started talking and I must have had a strange look on my face. She said, “You need me to slow down don’t you”. I told her it would be greatly appreciated. These people talk funny. Old Sturbridge Village is a recreation of an 1830 village.
All of the people were in full dress costume. We stopped and talked to guy working in a garden for a long time. We had a great discussion about squash and insects that kill the plants. We had a real problem with them this year, so thanks to our new BFF, next year I will dig a place to plant them and fill the hole with hot soapy water to kill the eggs. Maybe next year we will have another bumper crop of squash. He had a beautiful copy of beets and carrots going. He was getting paid to do what he loved. Just how cool is that?
They were having a competition of Drum and Fife Corps today. It was a lot of fun for a while but after several hours of listing to drums, it was beginning to wear on me. I have some nice video clips from our camera. I tried to upload it but failed. I may try again when I can get a high speed connection.
One of the reasons I wanted to go to Sturbridge was to see the furniture. The furniture was featured in several “New Yankee Workshop” programs. I have lots of photos of different pieces of furniture to use for inspiration.
It was about three hours on to Maine. It is hard to judge distances here by looking at maps if you are used to looking at Alabama’s state map. We were in four different states today. The whole area is small and when you look at a map it may only be 20 miles between points. That being said, you can find a traffic backup every now and again. So far we have been lucky and only been slowed up a couple of times and not for long.
Tomorrow we will be on to get on the Mary Day (www.schoonermaryday.com) for a week of cruising. I am not sure if we will have internet connections until we get back next Saturday. If the blogs stop, you will know why.
Friday, September 10, 2010
Mystic Seaport
Our first visit to Mystic Seaport was 34 years ago. We were on our way to see the Tall Ships come into Newport in 1976 and we saw it off the interstate. We drove back down for the day and had a great time. Little did I understand the significance that it would have on the Wooden Boat movement over the next 30 years. I doubt they knew either. The curator for the museum was a guy named John Gardner. He wrote several books (I have all of them) and documented many of the wooden boats still in existence. They have been able to obtain all the designs of many of the deceased wooden boat designers. Many of the designs have never been cataloged. I have purchased a couple of plans that I found out they had by accident. Many of the designed are listed on line but if you may just have to call them to get what you are looking to find.
Ok I am going to reveal a character fault. I love plans. Just like a good book, you can read plans and mentally escape to another place. I have purchased and studied plans of boats I will never build. It so interesting to visualize what the designer intends. And then to visualize how the builder will build the design. It must be an engineer thing.
There have been a long list of people who worked and studied here. Today we met one very interesting man. He started to work here 52 years ago today. He worked re-caulking the Charles W Morgan in 1974, which was the last time it had major work done on it. We talked to him for about 30 minutes. He knows many of the people I have met thru the years at the Wooden Boat School. He was one of those random people that you come across that make your life more interesting.
For those of you who are don’t have a clue, Mystic is a historical recreation of an early whaling community. Like a Williamsburg for us sailors. It is the home of the Charles W. Morgan the last surviving whaling ship. Currently the ship is out of the water for about a five year restoration project. They are using some volunteer labor, some paid labor, and even with the volunteers, the cost for the work is over six million dollars.
We spend most of the day in the seaport before heading out to see what else we could find. We found a lobster pound. Carole’s favorite food “LOBSTER”!! She is soooooo happy.
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Hershey – Hyde Park – Mystic
It is about a four-hour drive from Hershey to Hyde Park. We didn’t have a clue so we were surprise when the trip went right thru the mountains. There are almost no evergreen trees so give it a few more weeks and it should be beautiful.
We cross the Hudson River at Poughkeepsie and head to FDR home. Well you know that FDR is the holy father of all Democrats, so Carole is making a trip to Mecca. I was able to get her photo sitting beside FDR and Eleanor. I know it may be the high point of her life.
The house is OK, nothing to write home about. It is 22,000 sq ft with lots of little rooms. It is nearly 200 years old and was remodeled and added on to several times mostly by FDR. Actually, the house is not in very good shape. There are some foundation issues that reflect thru the house, probably due to adding a third floor without modifying the foundations. I started to give them a business card and tell call me. The grounds are nice and there is a great rose garden where FDR is buried along with Eleanor and his two dogs.
Maybe if we hadn’t just visited one of Jefferson’s homes it would have been more impressive. I still suggest if you get a chance to visit it, do so. The park service did a good job of portraying FDR and his Presidency. He was a very interesting person and charismatic leader. He apparently really enjoyed people and made each of them feel special. They talked a lot about how he managed a public life after developing Polio.
Then back in the car for three more hours to Mystic. It was good to see the ocean again. We had started taking it and eating seafood for granted. The oil spill has limited our access to the to both we are looking forward to floating again on Surprise.
It is very different traveling in September as compared with traveling in the summer. There are no crowds and no kids. The crowd is much older. Our tour groups have been small and I have only seen a couple of kids at any of the stops. Now I am trying to decide if is better to deal with kids or a bunch of old farts who can’t get around and slow down the tour group.
Traveling this time has also been very different. We have the GPS that tells us where to go. You don’t have to worry about missing a road sign and winding up on some dead end road. We also have the Ipad with a wireless network in the vehicle. Those of you who know Carole well know that she likes to ask lots of questions. On one trip with Tony and Kaye we limited her to three questions a day. So on this trip when she asks a question I just say, “Why don’t you Google that and see”. We have asked Google about a lot of stuff as we ride along. We also have our satellite radio so we can enjoy the same radio station all day. Of course, we both have full time access to email and phone calls thru our Blackberries. Does this mean we really are high tech rednecks? Actually, the only issue is keeping everything charged up. We had to go to Wal-Mart and buy a plug strip to have enough plugs in our hotel rooms.
We cross the Hudson River at Poughkeepsie and head to FDR home. Well you know that FDR is the holy father of all Democrats, so Carole is making a trip to Mecca. I was able to get her photo sitting beside FDR and Eleanor. I know it may be the high point of her life.
The house is OK, nothing to write home about. It is 22,000 sq ft with lots of little rooms. It is nearly 200 years old and was remodeled and added on to several times mostly by FDR. Actually, the house is not in very good shape. There are some foundation issues that reflect thru the house, probably due to adding a third floor without modifying the foundations. I started to give them a business card and tell call me. The grounds are nice and there is a great rose garden where FDR is buried along with Eleanor and his two dogs.
Maybe if we hadn’t just visited one of Jefferson’s homes it would have been more impressive. I still suggest if you get a chance to visit it, do so. The park service did a good job of portraying FDR and his Presidency. He was a very interesting person and charismatic leader. He apparently really enjoyed people and made each of them feel special. They talked a lot about how he managed a public life after developing Polio.
Then back in the car for three more hours to Mystic. It was good to see the ocean again. We had started taking it and eating seafood for granted. The oil spill has limited our access to the to both we are looking forward to floating again on Surprise.
It is very different traveling in September as compared with traveling in the summer. There are no crowds and no kids. The crowd is much older. Our tour groups have been small and I have only seen a couple of kids at any of the stops. Now I am trying to decide if is better to deal with kids or a bunch of old farts who can’t get around and slow down the tour group.
Traveling this time has also been very different. We have the GPS that tells us where to go. You don’t have to worry about missing a road sign and winding up on some dead end road. We also have the Ipad with a wireless network in the vehicle. Those of you who know Carole well know that she likes to ask lots of questions. On one trip with Tony and Kaye we limited her to three questions a day. So on this trip when she asks a question I just say, “Why don’t you Google that and see”. We have asked Google about a lot of stuff as we ride along. We also have our satellite radio so we can enjoy the same radio station all day. Of course, we both have full time access to email and phone calls thru our Blackberries. Does this mean we really are high tech rednecks? Actually, the only issue is keeping everything charged up. We had to go to Wal-Mart and buy a plug strip to have enough plugs in our hotel rooms.
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Roanoke – Popular Forest – Hershey
Out on the road by 8:30, now that is really 7:30 Alabama time, so Ms. Carole is struggling. As it turns out that was too early. We arrived at Popular Forest before it opens and have to find a parking lot to sit in for about 15 minutes.
Popular Forest was Thomas Jefferson’s private retreat. It was placed on a hill overlooking a 5,000 acre plantation. Lots of money is a wonderful thing. You can Google it and find out all sorts of information. It was almost lost to commercial development but thanks to some dedicated people, it was saved. The building had been remodeled several times so it had lost most of the character Jefferson had designed. It hasn’t been opened very long and is still going thru renovation. They had to tear down much of the renovations before they could start back. It is typical Jefferson, very planned, greatly thought out and perfectly detailed. The building is sited to take advantage of the sun. You can imagine Jefferson sitting looking over the estate enjoying a good book. If you get a chance to see it, I highly recommend it. Actually, Carole and I are planning to go back in a few years to see how they are progressing with the preservation.
The way in is a dirt road and you come up over a knoll and get a just a glimpse of the roof. See then photo. They did a great job with the entrance the only way it could have been better is to have made you ride a horse in. The other photo is the front view of the building.
I love the details in these buildings. The details of the door, window and trim are; well you just have to see them in person to appreciate the details. I would like to be able to spend more time seeing how they ingrate the details into the buildings. I think it would have been fun to have been a finish carpenter and build the details with hand planes. OK I know I am really weird.
Then it on to Hershey, PA. The Hershey Hotel is really something. No we aren’t staying there it was way too expensive for this trip. Maybe we can make the trip when we leave our 5,000 acre for a fortnight. Sorry no photos it was after dark before we arrived.
Popular Forest was Thomas Jefferson’s private retreat. It was placed on a hill overlooking a 5,000 acre plantation. Lots of money is a wonderful thing. You can Google it and find out all sorts of information. It was almost lost to commercial development but thanks to some dedicated people, it was saved. The building had been remodeled several times so it had lost most of the character Jefferson had designed. It hasn’t been opened very long and is still going thru renovation. They had to tear down much of the renovations before they could start back. It is typical Jefferson, very planned, greatly thought out and perfectly detailed. The building is sited to take advantage of the sun. You can imagine Jefferson sitting looking over the estate enjoying a good book. If you get a chance to see it, I highly recommend it. Actually, Carole and I are planning to go back in a few years to see how they are progressing with the preservation.
The way in is a dirt road and you come up over a knoll and get a just a glimpse of the roof. See then photo. They did a great job with the entrance the only way it could have been better is to have made you ride a horse in. The other photo is the front view of the building.
I love the details in these buildings. The details of the door, window and trim are; well you just have to see them in person to appreciate the details. I would like to be able to spend more time seeing how they ingrate the details into the buildings. I think it would have been fun to have been a finish carpenter and build the details with hand planes. OK I know I am really weird.
Then it on to Hershey, PA. The Hershey Hotel is really something. No we aren’t staying there it was way too expensive for this trip. Maybe we can make the trip when we leave our 5,000 acre for a fortnight. Sorry no photos it was after dark before we arrived.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Pell City to Roanoke
I wasn’t planning on blogging this trip but several people asked me to. I think there is a contest going on to see how many grammatical mistakes I can make during the trip. So, you will have to find out who is in charge of pool to get in the mix.
Today was a pretty boring day. Just lots of windshield time. We have a couple of days like this but most of the other days will be at least a few hours of seeing something and then on the road.
OK there are always a couple of moment. We did see a car that belongs in white trash repairs. See the attached photo. I think I will submit it to the site and see if gets published. I don’t know if you can read the tag number but the last three digits are SOS. There just has to be some irony there.
Then there was buying gas. We stop at a Shell station and I use the credit card reader and start pumping gas. It pumps a couple of gallons and quits. Then this Indian (dot not feather) comes running out accusing me of stealing gas. I think that stealing gas was two of the twenty words of English he knew. I finally get that I owe $5.00. I ask if I give him my credit card can I fill up. No! $5.00!! OK dude here is $5.00 in cash. I drive across the street and put in $75.00 of gas. I would join one of those ultra right wing groups that says, if you don’t speak English go home, but my English isn’t exactly perfect. I figure he will abuse enough customers that market place will take care of his business and he will go back to working in tech support for Dell.
Monday, August 30, 2010
The Great Volvo Adventure
Last Wednesday Carole and I were in Tuscaloosa. She was visiting with her mother and it was my first day of classes at “The” University. I am teaching the senior design project this year but more on that later. When we got ready to leave to come home, we had to bring a bunch of sacks of stuff with us from Carole’s mom for Jackson’s and Preston’s birthday party this weekend. Honestly, I don’t know why we had to bring it, Carole’s mother was coming to the party. Why couldn’t she just bring it? I have learned to pick my fights and this wasn’t going to be one of them. The Carole remembers there is something else that she was supposed to bring. I tell her to go back and get it but she doesn’t want to. She says it will take her another thirty minutes to get in and back out. So we head down the hill out of the neighborhood.
When we get to the traffic light, I hear this noise from her side of the car like “phew” only drawn out southern style like “pewshu”. I though “is she that relieved to be leaving her mother, did they get into a mother daughter fight”. Carole asked what was that noise? I told her I thought it was her breathing a sigh of relieve. Well that is what I thought, I actually accused her of farting. We laugh about it and, just pass the issue off as a random noise you here in towns.
On to the interstate and a few miles up the road we are adjacent to a truck with a bad tire. I have already changed lanes to pass because I don’t want that tire coming apart and damaging the car. We hear a whop, whop, whop noise. Carole is getting more concerned that something is wrong with the car. If she hadn’t got those hearing aids a few weeks ago she wouldn’t have been able to hear any of the noises. I point out the tire on the truck and we head on home.
After we pass the truck then whop, whop, whop again. Oh crap, I just got pull in with a tow truck last week in the other car; my luck can’t be that bad. Then we hear the whop, whop, whop again coming from the right rear. The car is driving OK so we pull off at the next interchange. Tires are OK. I feel all around the tire for knots and bad places but these are almost new tires. I get down on hands and knees and look under the rear, then again in the front. Carole is looking under the side. We can’t find anything. It must just be some trash we picked up and when we slowed down it fell off.
So back on the interstate again. Everything is fine, then, whop, whop, whop, pewshu. Then again whop, whop, whop, pewshu. Carole is freaking. Damn, I knew those hearing aids where going to cause me troubles. What can be back there that could cause that problem. The only thing I can think of is the gas cap. I know that pressure builds in the tank and it can cause your check engine light to come on if it isn’t tight. Yea, that bit of knowledge cost me a hundred buck to find out a few years back. It has to be the gas cap that isn’t screwed on tight. Carole filled the car up last and bless her heart she doesn’t even know which way bolts and screw turn to tighten. So off the interstate at the rest stop and tighten the gas cap.
So back on the interstate again. Everything is fine and I am the cool car mechanic husband who can fix any problem. Then whop, whop, whop, pewshu. Then the same thing several more times. Well it has to be something with the gas cap that is the only thing back there. Maybe it is cross-threaded or the gasket has a kink. So off at the next interchange. Take the cap off and put it back on. Push hard and crank down on that sucker so I want have to do that again.
So back on the interstate again. Everything is fine and I am breathing a sigh of relief, this has really been a strange problem. Then whop, whop, whop, pewshu. Then whop, whop, whop, pewshu but louder. Now I am beginning to wonder if we are going to make it home. The Volvo dealer in Pensacola, where we bought the car has a good service department. I pick up the cell phone and call Pat the service manager. When they connect me to Pat, I get someone else, “Pat is busy can I help you”. So I describe the whop, whop, whop, pewshu sound. “Man I never heard anything like that; you need to talk to Pat.” Thought, duh isn’t that who I called. Repeat the whop, whop, whop, pewshu sounds to Pat. “That is weird, there is nothing that can make that kind of sound.” He does say there is a canister back there that traps vapors off the gas tank and filters the air. It is a pollution thing. Maybe something has broken on it, a hose has come off, but it shouldn’t make noises like that. Then the famous dealer words; “You are going to have to bring it in.” I explain that I will have to schedule a time and call for an appointment. In my head is “like shit man you are in Pensacola and I am in Birmingham how in the hell am I going to get the car to you anytime soon. What if it breaks down while driving two hundred miles to Pensacola?” Carole and I start comparing schedules. When can we get the car to a dealer in Birmingham? “Damn living is a small town is a pain in the ass sometimes.”
It is our forty-second anniversary and we think if we are going to celebrate our anniversary by walking home, we need to stop somewhere good for dinner. We pull in to the Galleria for dinner. After dinner as we are getting back in the car I ask Carole what is in those package back there. “Oh just some toys for the boys.” “Is there anything that can make noise?” “I don’t think so.” Would you open them up to see?” The first one is a little dump truck. Then she picks up the second package. “Whop, whop, whop, pewshu.” Thomas the Train chugging along and letting off steam.
We get a good laugh about it. Apparently when we hit a bump it would move the toy just enough to activate it. After we put it back in the car, it didn’t do it again the rest of the way home.
The next day I called Pat and told him how he could diagnose Volvo noises when they sounded like Thomas the Train. He died laughing and said it was the funniest thing he had ever come across.
There has to be a moral to this story. I just don’t know what it is.
When we get to the traffic light, I hear this noise from her side of the car like “phew” only drawn out southern style like “pewshu”. I though “is she that relieved to be leaving her mother, did they get into a mother daughter fight”. Carole asked what was that noise? I told her I thought it was her breathing a sigh of relieve. Well that is what I thought, I actually accused her of farting. We laugh about it and, just pass the issue off as a random noise you here in towns.
On to the interstate and a few miles up the road we are adjacent to a truck with a bad tire. I have already changed lanes to pass because I don’t want that tire coming apart and damaging the car. We hear a whop, whop, whop noise. Carole is getting more concerned that something is wrong with the car. If she hadn’t got those hearing aids a few weeks ago she wouldn’t have been able to hear any of the noises. I point out the tire on the truck and we head on home.
After we pass the truck then whop, whop, whop again. Oh crap, I just got pull in with a tow truck last week in the other car; my luck can’t be that bad. Then we hear the whop, whop, whop again coming from the right rear. The car is driving OK so we pull off at the next interchange. Tires are OK. I feel all around the tire for knots and bad places but these are almost new tires. I get down on hands and knees and look under the rear, then again in the front. Carole is looking under the side. We can’t find anything. It must just be some trash we picked up and when we slowed down it fell off.
So back on the interstate again. Everything is fine, then, whop, whop, whop, pewshu. Then again whop, whop, whop, pewshu. Carole is freaking. Damn, I knew those hearing aids where going to cause me troubles. What can be back there that could cause that problem. The only thing I can think of is the gas cap. I know that pressure builds in the tank and it can cause your check engine light to come on if it isn’t tight. Yea, that bit of knowledge cost me a hundred buck to find out a few years back. It has to be the gas cap that isn’t screwed on tight. Carole filled the car up last and bless her heart she doesn’t even know which way bolts and screw turn to tighten. So off the interstate at the rest stop and tighten the gas cap.
So back on the interstate again. Everything is fine and I am the cool car mechanic husband who can fix any problem. Then whop, whop, whop, pewshu. Then the same thing several more times. Well it has to be something with the gas cap that is the only thing back there. Maybe it is cross-threaded or the gasket has a kink. So off at the next interchange. Take the cap off and put it back on. Push hard and crank down on that sucker so I want have to do that again.
So back on the interstate again. Everything is fine and I am breathing a sigh of relief, this has really been a strange problem. Then whop, whop, whop, pewshu. Then whop, whop, whop, pewshu but louder. Now I am beginning to wonder if we are going to make it home. The Volvo dealer in Pensacola, where we bought the car has a good service department. I pick up the cell phone and call Pat the service manager. When they connect me to Pat, I get someone else, “Pat is busy can I help you”. So I describe the whop, whop, whop, pewshu sound. “Man I never heard anything like that; you need to talk to Pat.” Thought, duh isn’t that who I called. Repeat the whop, whop, whop, pewshu sounds to Pat. “That is weird, there is nothing that can make that kind of sound.” He does say there is a canister back there that traps vapors off the gas tank and filters the air. It is a pollution thing. Maybe something has broken on it, a hose has come off, but it shouldn’t make noises like that. Then the famous dealer words; “You are going to have to bring it in.” I explain that I will have to schedule a time and call for an appointment. In my head is “like shit man you are in Pensacola and I am in Birmingham how in the hell am I going to get the car to you anytime soon. What if it breaks down while driving two hundred miles to Pensacola?” Carole and I start comparing schedules. When can we get the car to a dealer in Birmingham? “Damn living is a small town is a pain in the ass sometimes.”
It is our forty-second anniversary and we think if we are going to celebrate our anniversary by walking home, we need to stop somewhere good for dinner. We pull in to the Galleria for dinner. After dinner as we are getting back in the car I ask Carole what is in those package back there. “Oh just some toys for the boys.” “Is there anything that can make noise?” “I don’t think so.” Would you open them up to see?” The first one is a little dump truck. Then she picks up the second package. “Whop, whop, whop, pewshu.” Thomas the Train chugging along and letting off steam.
We get a good laugh about it. Apparently when we hit a bump it would move the toy just enough to activate it. After we put it back in the car, it didn’t do it again the rest of the way home.
The next day I called Pat and told him how he could diagnose Volvo noises when they sounded like Thomas the Train. He died laughing and said it was the funniest thing he had ever come across.
There has to be a moral to this story. I just don’t know what it is.
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