Turkey & Worcestershire Sauce

We had a visitor! Other than squirrels and chipmunks, this is the first sign of wildlife I've seen up close. About 3 weeks ago we did see a turkey (maybe the same one) across the camping area from us but up-close is different!

He first caught my attention when he jumped onto the picnic table. The next thing I knew he was on top of our rig! (Did I mention in the Montana post that turkeys can fly?) Chickens can't and yet these big birds can. Amazing.



After a while he got off our roof but got onto the pickup. He spent considerable time pacing back and forth and looking into the cab, as if there were something in there he'd really like to check out. Eventually, he jumped onto the top of the cab, sat down and rested for quite some time.

How do you pronounce Worcestershire Sauce? I've always struggled with that. Well, no more; now that I know how to say Worcester. (I learn these things from listening to the radio.) Would you like to know how to pronounce city names like: Worcester, Gloucester, Leominster and Peabody?

Worcester is pronounced Woo-ster; which rhymes with booster. Now, doesn't that make the sauce easier to pronounce?
Gloucester is pronouned Glue-ster; which also rhymes with booster.
Leominster is Lemon-ster; yes, like the citrus fruit.
Peabody - now this is fun; to pronounce this one, say the three letters P B D with emphasis on the P.

There are a few other nuances in this area, spoken by long time residents but I'd have to say that, by and large, our country is losing a lot of it's regional uniqueness. One park ranger said we are becoming more and more homogenized. That's for sure!

I'm looking over a 4-leaf clover that I've overlooked before...

Well, not really 4 leaves; but it has a catchy tune, don't you think? I know - it's weird to write about clover. But, these are different... they're purple! Do you have purple clover where you live?

For our Las Vegas friends - clover is a common weed found in lawns in most parts of the country. Lawns are a living green carpet of grass, usually in place of gravel or sand, which needs regular watering and mowing. If you need a definition of mowing, let me know. ;-)

When I was growing up, we had clover in our lawn but it had white flowers and the flowers were much smaller these.

Navigator

See the little map on the dashboard? That's our newest toy. It's part GPS and part back seat driver. We named "her" Kit in honor of that 70's show about the talking car. This little gadget is so much fun. We enter an address or choose a point of interest in a particular town and it takes us there one turn (or bear right/left) at a time. The fun part is that she seems to have no interest in taking us via major roads. Instead, she seems to prefer the most direct route and therefore, leads us through the most interesting places. We've seen some beautiful sights we would have not seen otherwise.

One day it led us to a roadblock where a bridge was out. We took a right and Kit recalculated the route. Come to find out, we were only about a 1/2 mile from a main route, one that we had been on a few miles back. But we saw some of the most beautiful landscapes because of that little "short-cut".

It's hard to believe Kit knows what she's doing sometimes because we'll be traveling along in the general direction of our destination when she'll tell us to turn onto a tiny little obscure street. What! Can this be right? Sure enough, several twists and turns later we arrive at our destination. I have no idea if it's the faster way but it sure is more fun!

Sometimes we like to tease her. We'll tell her our destination and then we'll not follow directions. She stays quiet calm and recalculates our route. She'll say, "In 100 yards, turn right". When we don't, she'll recalculate again and give us new directions. She never gets frustrated or loses her cool. She must be related to Spock because she doesn't show any emotion!

In the photo above, I was on my way to Nashua (rhymes with Joshua). Within 5 miles of leaving the house I had no idea what road I was on. Nashua is only about 15 miles away but we never took a road I had seen before. I had no idea where I was. Sure enough. She took me right downtown. Actually, this time she did let me down. She took me to Main St when I wanted Daniel Webster Hwy. Come to find out (later), they are one and the same street but the address I wanted was about 4 miles away. It just goes to show we can't trust her 100%. We'd better carry some maps in our car just in case.

By the way - speaking of driving - what's happening with the price of gas in your area? I saw $2.21 for regular today. Up until that, we've been seeing $2.25 fairly often. Feel free to add your comment by clicking the comment button.

Vermont

There was a threat of rain on Friday when we headed for Vermont. It turned out to be a mostly dry but cloudy day. It's a good thing we went though because it rained in earnest on Saturday.

Some of the things we did were things we did 5 years ago. We went to Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream. Five years ago we arrived in the afternoon and learned there was a wait of an hour or two to take a tour. We had to skip it then. This time we arrived early in the day and had no trouble getting in. As it turns out, the tour was just okay. Truthfully, the tour we took of Dreyer's in the Oakland, CA area was a much better tour.

We went to an Apple Cider "factory". This is apple harvest season so they were actually making cider by cold pressing chopped up apples. Oh - fresh pressed ice cold apple cider is so very yummy. Have you ever wondered what the difference is between cider and juice? According to these people, cider is 100% apple, while juice has water, sugar, or something added.

Then we stopped at a glass blowing shop and watch the artisans at work.

Then, we found a 5.5 mile bike path (one way) and went for a ride. Much to our surprise, there was a covered bridge at the end of the path. It was a great ride.

As you can see from the photo, autumn continues to arrive. Each day it seems that more and more trees are turning colors. The ones that started turning first are already losing their leaves. Some areas are more advanced than others. I think the peak may be in a couple weeks, but we'll see.

From there, we headed for a Morgan Horse Farm (don't ask me why it's not called a ranch). Believe it or not, this too is a National Historic Site. We called ahead and were told the last tour was at 3:30. We arrived about 3:20 to find that the 3:00 tour was late so they combined the last two of the day and started 10 minutes before we got there. We joined it in progress but missed whatever they had to say about the grounds and basically got an introduction to Morgan Horse blood lines, which was not the most interesting thing to us. The barn itself is magnificent (built in the late 1800's). The horses are beautiful. We saw many in their stalls but the bars on the windows prevented any contact beyond stratching a soft nose here and there.

Saugus Iron Works (sub-title "Curl Up and Dye")

Saugus Iron Works is not really all that exciting. Interesting, yes; but not exciting. Let me give you a quick synopsis. It's the first industrial iron manufacturing plant in the new world. It dates back to the 1600's. It was very progressive but, even so, it wasn't profitable and only operated for two decades. It did pave the way for other iron works though, so it wasn't all a waste. The buildings that are on the site now are reproductions.



There are a couple interesting side topics I'd liked to include in this entry.

Occassionally, we'll see an old home that is painted black - or very dark brown. The photo at the left is a good example. These buildings were at Saugus Iron Works. Paul Revere's house was this color too. What is interesting it that one of the buildings at Saugus was not painted. It was singed and it turned out almost the identical color. I can't find any proof but maybe this is what was done to wood to preserve it before paint was practical. It's just a theory. Check out the photo to the right.




Another interesting thing in this part of the country is granite curbs. Concrete curbs are extremely rare, while granite curbs are everywhere. For some reason I thought it was a left over practice, that is, until we saw some brand new ones in a construction zone. Here's a photo of a middle aged curb.

Anyway... here's the interesting part. Oops... I should be including this in the next blog on Vermont; but, I'll cheat. In one small town
in Vermont, we saw white marble curbs!! That was amazing.

I'm sorry; I didn't get a picture of it. To make up for it, I took this photo of a sign that made me laugh. Maybe it'll make you laugh too.

Okay - Now Boston

Since we skipped Boston yesterday, we headed back there again today. It's only about 45 miles from here. We got there about 8:30am and we took our bikes with us. The first thing we did was bike (and walked where it was too congested) the Freedom Trail. Have you ever done the Freedom Trail? If so, then you know about the red bricks or red paint on the sideway to lead the way. It's starts at a visitor's center in Boston Commons, in front of the State House. It goes by several historic locations including the Old North Church where the signal ("One if by Land and Two if by Sea was given") . Here, you see Paul Revere's house with the brick trail in front.

I think this house was painted when it was restored but we learned something interesting later in the day. These dark houses (we have seen several like this) are dark because the wood has been burnt. It's intentional. I don't know why. I'll try to find out more and let you know.

At the end of the trail is the USS Constitution; or, Old Ironsides. This ship is one of the original 4 ships commissioned by President George Washington in 1797. Navy sailors are still stationed on her and they take her out several times each summer. (For lots more pictures, check out my online photo album.)

I love Boston - not so much to live in but to visit. After the Freedom Trail we rode our bikes around Boston in general. I love the city, especially the architecture. The Charleston district is very 1600's with gas lights, narrow brick streets, and boot scrapers built into the stoops. The brownstones are very pretty, on streets with park-like medians. People seem to know how to make great houses here!

In an earlier post (around New York I think) I mentioned the houses being cute. I've tried taking some photos but the they just don't do them justice so I haven't posted them. Well, in Marblehead, MA there are about 200 homes built prior to the revolutionary war and about 800 built in the 1800's. Amazingly, they don't look very much different from the typical houses we see here. I'll put a photo here, but again, check out our photo pages at http://travelingturtles.myphotoalbum.com/.

Boston, but then; not Boston.

When we left the house this morning we had Boston in mind, but never got there. We first went to Lexington to buy a couple loaves of Great Harvest Bread. There in Lexington is a wonderful bike trail which, in total, is 11.2 miles (from Cambridge, through Lexington, to Bedford). We opted to ride as far as our parking meter would allow - about 1.5 hours round trip. I think we turned around in Arlington.

It was late enough in the day by then that we decided to skip Boston and headed for Salem instead, which is North of Boston. Rather than visit the witch related sites we choose instead to visit the Salem Maritime National Historic Site. We learned all about Salem's early history as it related to the bustling merchant trade ships.




After that we walked around the town and found the city's oldest cemetery. Inside we found gravestones dated 1750, then 1717, and then 1692! Capt. Richard More was a Mayflower passenger and died at the age of 84 years old in 1692.

Hints of Autumn

Tonight, we're supposed to have our first frost of the season. Even without a frost, the trees know it's Autumn. It's odd how even parts of leaves will turn red. Sometimes, we'll see a very green tree with a very red section. Does anyone know why some parts turn red before others? Tomorrow, it'll be interesting to see how much it changes.

This is off subject but I'm curious; what is the price of gasoline doing where you live? Maine has the lowest gas prices we've seen in a long time. Sam's Club in Bangor had regular gas for $2.48!

Mainely Maine

This last week-end we were Mainly in Maine - mostly visiting Acadia National Park and Bar Harbor (Ba Haba) although we stayed in Bangor. For the most part, weather was beautiful. There was a big thunderstorm on Saturday night but there was sunshine on both sides of it.

But, I get ahead of myself. On the way to Bangor, Maine we took a side trip to visit a "Pick Your Own Blueberries" farm. It was officially closed for the day - and nearly for the season, since only one variety is still bearing. Even so, we got to see blueberries on the bush, close up.

Then, we stopped to see the State Capital building in Augusta. The last time we visited it, apx 5 years ago, it was undergoing restoration and we couldn't see the interior. So as not to bore you with photos of state capitals (you see, we've also visited Concord, NH and Hartford, CT in the last couple weeks and have photos of those too), I'll only post Maine's interior dome. It's not much when compared with other domes but is still interesting.

Acadia National Park is nice but I have to say that there are many places along the CA coast just as pretty. Take Pt. Reyes, for example. It's a beautiful place. One unique thing about Acadia is the Carriage Roads, built just for non-motorized modes of transportation (i.e. horse & carriage, horses, bicyclers, and hikers). Finally, we were going to use our bicycles, purchased while still in Las Vegas from a retired bicycle enthusiast in our RV park. I hadn't gone very far (up hill I might add) when my rear axle pulled out of the frame. A helpful couple stopped and loaned Larry a pair pliers. Larry reinserted the axle and tightened the bolts. A few feet further up the hill the same thing happened. At the same time, Larry's bike was having severe brake challenges. We knew that this same hill we had just come up we'd have to go back down and it was going to be dangerous without proper brakes. So, Larry hauled my ailing bike back to the car - physically, while I meandered my way down the hill taking photos as I went of mushrooms and leaves and other things that caught my eye. I'll load a bunch of Maine photos to my online photo album. Check it out: http://travelingturtles.myphotoalbum.com/

Then, we proceeded to the nearest Wal-mart, purchased two new bikes (gave away the old ones to a teen-age boy and his Mom), went back to the park and had a very successful and enjoyable ride around a lake. It was a good size lake and quite a work-out for someone who isn't used to riding.

House Hunting over Labor Day Week-end

What?!! You might say. Why? Where?

The answer to "why" is because the price was so low that we just had to see it in person. The answer to "where" is Nashville. Well actually, about half-way between Nashville and Bowling Green, KY.

A real estate agent has us on her radar as prospective buyers if she can find something cheap enough. She emailed us last week with a listing for a very small, bank-owned home on sale for $34k. Since Larry had a free plane ticket and a free hotel room to use, we decided to use it for that.

Now, you're asking... Did we buy? No. Not yet. We're still talking. Maybe we'll make an offer and maybe we won't. The house isn't livable so it would be a project to work on over time. Fortunately, we have a place to live so that's not a big deal. What we have to decide is if we want to take on the challenge and if we want to be attached to a specific place.

I'd love to share some photos with you but I left my camera in the rental car when we climbed into the agents car. He (the agent's husband) took photos and gave me a floppy disk but neither of our computers take a floppy. Wal-mart probably has a way of transferring them to a CD but right now it's not worth the effort.

As a result of looking at that house I have about two dozen flea bites. If you're one of the few I've already told about this then the total number of bites has increased since then. I discover more every hour. Hopefully, I didn't bring them home with me! When I discover a new one I cover it with a little round band-aid so I won't scratch them. I'm beginning to look polka-dotted!

You wouldn't have believed the fleas. The agent is the one who discovered them because he was wearing light colored pants. They didn't show up so much on our blue jeans; but, they were there - in hordes! I mean, thousands!! We ran outside and jumped and slapped and brushed, over and over again. We'd knock them off and they'd jump on again so we'd slap, brush and move to a new spot and repeat. I'm sure we were quite the spectacle if anyone was watching!

New Hampshire State Fair

The State Fair happened over Labor Day week-end not far from Manchester. It was small but, at least to me, it was quite interesting. Larry might tell you otherwise if you ask him. ;-) There was a sheep dog demo which I found far more interesting than a competition because the handler explained the commands and showed what the dogs could do, using mulitple dogs at once. Here, two dogs move two goats (who have never been worked before) through a chute. Here, the Billy is defending the Nanny.


Then, there was a competition that I did enjoy - this one of draft horses pulling increasingly heavier loads. The 11 teams started out pulling 1300 pounds and the winning team pulled something like 3500 pounds. The photo didn't turn out well but maybe it'll give you an idea of the effort and strength the two horses put into their task. They would pull with such enthusiasm that their front feet would come completely off the ground as they threw themselves into their harnesses. You can kind see it in the light colored horse if you use your imagination.