Zippin' Around (and a "small world" story)

As you know, from the last posting, I went with Larry on his business trip last week. We first flew to Nashville in order to drive to Atlanta (because Southwest Airlines doesn't fly to Atlanta). The next day we drove back to Nashville to catch a flight to Tampa. However, we had a couple extra hours in our schedule to do something different.

We decided to drive to Turtletown, Tennessee!! What a fitting place for Traveling Turtles, wouldn't you say! It's about an hour from Chattanooga, very close to the North Carolina border. The drive was beautiful as we drove along a lake and then along a river where autumn is still approaching peak color.

As it turns out, there isn't much to Turtletown. There were plenty of country homes in the area but not much in the way of business.


A post office is about the only thing open. There is a good size school but it appears to be closed. Ducktown, about 10 miles away, is where the businesses seem to be thriving.

Tampa was a repeat city for us but Ft Lauderdale was new - at least for me. You may have enjoyed some of the sights had I taken some pictures but I didn't. It all seemed like repeat and I wasn't motivated to use the camera. Sorry ya'll.

On Saturday we went to Colonial Williamsburg. Now that was interesting. This is the actual site of the colonial town and includes 88 of the original buildings. We learned about certain trades such as blacksmithing, book binding, shoe making, saddlery, wheel making and more along with details of how life was back then. Then, of course, there were the turbulent times just prior to the revoluntion.
Here's a photo of a brick kiln. What is unique is that the kiln is built once a year using the bricks that they have made all summer. It takes five to six weeks to build the kiln and several days to get the fire up to full heat. It burns for about a week before they seal the ends and let it cool down for several weeks. Finally, they'll take the whole thing apart and repeat it again next year. The outside is skimmed with mud to help hold the heat inside. For more photos, check out http://travelingturtles.myphotoalbum.com/ (but look tomorrow because it takes hours to download and I'll do it tonight).

Finally, at the end of the day, we headed back to our car via the visitor's center. That's when I saw someone I thought I knew. I looked twice and I still wasn't sure. I thought hard to remember her name. This would be going back 6 years and more to when we lived in Santa Rosa. Laura and their son went to Santa Rosa Christian School together from Kindergarten to 8th grade. I remembered Paul's name just fine. It took me a moment to remember his last name and finally his mom's first name.

She and I talked often in the parking lot at school. We both went to Bible Study Fellowship. We went on field trips together. Ah yes! I remembered her name and hurried to get within calling distance and called her. She looked up; it was her!! The first thing she said was "What are you doing here?". That's exactly what Larry's cousin said to us we when ran into her at a public pool in Washington. The four of us chatted for a while, catching up on what we've been doing for the last six years. It truly is a small world after all.

On Sunday morning we had breakfast with some friends (and distant relatives) who live in Virginia. They graciously drove an hour from home to meet with us. We had dinner with them 5 years ago when we made our first trip back East. We could talk for hours so of course breakfast just wasn't long enough - but at least it was something.

By the way, we are definitely in the "South" now. Larry heard someone cheerfully say to someone else, "Ya'll have a good rest of ya'lls week." That is my salutation to you; uh, I mean to ya'll.

Along the way

We're making progress. Saturday we drove from New Hampshire to Virginia. It wasn't our plan to make it all in one day but it was so easy. We were in 8 states on one day! NH, MA, CT, NY, NJ, DE (Delaware), MD (Maryland), PA and VA. Wait! That's 9 states.

For dinner we went to the two well-known Philly Cheesesteak Sandwich shops. Pat's and Geno's are across the street from each other. The streets in the neighborhood are quite narrow with cars parked on both sides. There is room for only one car on the one way streets. KIT (our navigator) took us through without a hitch. The locals are nuts! They parked their cars in the crosswalk or wherever they pleased while they purchased their sandwiches. The lines were long but that means it's good, right?

Larry bought a sandwich at Pat's and I bought one at Geno's. We order the same sandwich - a provolone with onions; or "wit onions" at Pat's. Here's our humble critique: both sandwiches were identical; both were nothing special. The meat is not seasoned, the onions undercooked, and the cheese was skimpy. But, we had the original and now we can say we have!



The next day we went to the home of Thomas Jefferson: Monticello. The grounds are beautiful, the home is unique and the tour was very good. I'd have to say though that I learned more about the man himself at the visitors center that we visited 5 years ago. Unfortunately, I didn't take my camera on the tour so I have no photos of that for you.

Today, I'm in Atlanta, tagging along with Larry on his business trip. Later today we'll fly to Tampa. Tomorrow we fly to Ft Lauderdale. It will probably be a week before you see another post. Until we meet again...
Happy Trails to you.

Last Day in New England

Tomorrow morning we pull out. It may be a while before you see another post; but, keep your eyes open just in case. We're taking 3 weeks to get from here to Florida and we're doing some fun things along the way. Larry has some work to do and will be flying out from different airports along the way. I'm going to go with him on one of his trips.

Although today was prep day for leaving we took a couple hours off and finally used this golf course we've been parked next to for two months. Larry played and I caddied. Here's some shots:



PS That's our rig in the background.

Before & After

Before (late Aug.) & After (mid-Oct.)

That dark red tree behind our rig is an Oak. I've only known Oaks to turn brown. The red quickly turns to brown but the overall effect is red.

These trees are the latecomers. They just started turning during this last week - way behind many others.

The short red tree is a Sumac.

Some of the prettiest sites have been in our own neighborhood. This is just down the street. We are so blessed to be able to enjoy these views.

"Mt Greylock Nature Ramble"

There was a special on TV recently about New England in the Fall and one of the features was a community hike up a "mountain". Larry and I thought it would be fun to join 3000 other people for a hike.

We got up early and drove 3.5 hours to Adams, Mass. We didn't see any crowds and there was plenty of parking. We began to wonder if we somehow missed it. But, there was a shuttle bus so we climbed aboard. It took us up and up. I began to wonder if the hike was down only. But, it dropped us off at the trail head where a few others were and we started walking. We walked steadily up and up and up. The trail was moderate but long. We walked uphill for an hour and a half (without stopping!!) and finally made it. Come to find out, this is the tallest "peak" in Massachusetts. It's all of 3,500'. While I'd have to differ with their definition of "mountain", I would agree that the hike it just as serious as a hike Yosemite.



Remember "Kit", our navigator device? You would think, wouldn't you, that "she" would take us the same path going and coming? Not!! On the way there, she took us via Interstates as much as possible. On the way home, she took us back roads with about 1 mile of Interstate. Amazingly, it took about the same amount of time. The best part was seeing all the beautiful countyside.

These are a few of My Favorite Things

Just in case I've haven't told you... my favorite horse is the Clydesdale. Today I had the opportunity to hug a Budweiser Clydesdale in Merrimack, NH. This is probably the cleanest horse I've ever had the occasion to kiss. :-) Once a month, for only a couple hours, Budweiser gives the public access to these magnificent horses. Tom is small for a Clydesdale but we won't hold that against him.

On the Budweiser grounds we saw lots of Monarch Butterflies who apparently love these daisies (or Asters or whatever they are).

Leaf Peeping

Hello everyone!

The fall season is progressing quickly now. It's getting really pretty here in Southern New Hampshire so it's time to head out and see the sights! Yesterday we headed for the coast and then North into Maine a little. We ate at the same lobster place in Yarmouth that we ate at 5 years ago. (Remember Laura?). It strikes me as so odd to order and eat lobster outside and have it served on a paper tray.

Today we headed North to the White Mountains. The Maples are lovely but the Aspens (or Birch; I don't know which) were leafless already. They seem to grow taller than the Maples so entire hillsides had a grayish overtone from all the bare branches. On Thursday we had rain and wind (high winds in the night) which I believe have knocked a lot of leaves down sooner than would otherwise happen. Once we got onto smaller roads and actually into the trees the Aspens didn't spoil it anymore and it was wonderful. Sometimes, when the sun shines just right, some trees appeared to glow.

If truth be told, I think Vermont is prettier than New Hampshire. It seems to have more open area and vistas. So, we didn't spend the whole day in the White Mountains, we also went to Vermont! Cabot Cheese (in Cabot, VT) has won every award there is to win in the cheese world and we heard they have Horseradish Cheddar. So guess where we went! We got the best cheese factory tour we've ever had and tasted the best cheddars ever. Even I liked the Horseradish Cheddar because it had the flavor without the kick. Another favorite of mine was Chipotle Pepper Cheddar. Yummy!

We finished the day back in the White Mountains with a long bike ride. First we tried a trail but it was suited for only experienced mountain bikers. After dealing with lots of rocks, sticks, mud and steep inclines we decided to go back and ride a quiet blacktop road instead. We thoroughly wore out our legs and gave our hearts a good work-out with about a two hours ride. (Please note, in the photo at the right- that is a "mountain" in the background.)

Can you believe that we'll be leaving here in a week? Originally, our plan was to stay through the end of October but the RV parks says they're closing and we must go. We feel we've seen the best of Autumn and are ready to move on - or will be by the end of next week. We'll take about three weeks to get to Florida so there will be plenty to see along the way.

Maybe tonight I will add more photos to our online photo album. If you are so inclined, check out http://travelingturtles.myphotoalbum.com/.

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.