tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33678359417918165512024-03-13T09:37:13.752-04:00adventures of an unfinished travelerno matter where you go, there you areCeceliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02905698015490986022noreply@blogger.comBlogger98125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3367835941791816551.post-2382841840911429692014-06-29T13:05:00.001-04:002015-04-02T11:05:56.427-04:00the case of the manatees at crystal riverA long time ago, my sister, myself and our two neighbors created an Animal loving club (or something?) in which we each chose an animal mascot and made membership cards. Anne's chosen creature was the manatee. That's pretty much all I remember about that club. But the point is, that Anne loved manatees. Loved them then and still likes them a lot now. Upon browsing Groupon for a fun activity to do (besides Harry Potter world; more on that later) while Anne and the Mollys were visiting, I came across a discounted manatee snorkel tour. "What? You can swim with the manatees? That sounds so awesome! Book it!"<br />
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After doing some research on the activity, it turns out its a very popular winter activity in Florida. The waters of Crystal River area stay a consistent temperature of 72 degrees year round, so when the Gulf waters dip during the winter months, the manatees flock to the river and become a tourist attraction all on their own. When spring hits, they head back out to the Gulf. The prime manatee season is December-March. Manatees are friendly creatures so there was pictures and photos of tourists snorkeling and scuba diving with them and being able to touch and interact with them. It looked terribly exciting and since we'd be visiting the second to last weekend in March, I figured though there may not be a zillion manatees, we'd at least see quite a few. And snorkeling no matter where is always fun!<br />
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The tour left early in the morning so we were up before the sun. The small tour office was only a short drive down the road but we definitely got a little lost with bad GPS address problems. We found it after a few U-Turns and after signing the appropriate waivers, walked down to the dock with Captain Ned and our snorkeling gear. When looking at Crystal River on the map, it is HUGE! and thankfully it looks mostly preserved through the State Park foundation. You could probably spend days upon days exploring all the nooks and crannies in a kayak or other small boat. However, as we were part of a commerical business, we stuck to the public waters and explored all the canals and small waterways off King's Bay looking for the manatees. As all the canals have residences built along them, going in and out of them felt a little invasive but it was a lovely tour overall. Ned though, was not a tour guide. He was a boatman, so we didn't learn much.<br />
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After having no success whatsoever in finding the manatees, Ned took us to the entrance to a cove-like place. You could tell it was a popular place to explore as other manatee boats were anchoring at the entrance as well. Seeing as those all had plenty of people on them, I cherished that our tour was private. Ned informed us that if we swam up the little tributary, we'd come to a cove of crystal clear waters that is famous for having upwards of a hundred manatees in it during the prime season. Eager to get in the water and do something, we threw on our fins and goggles and hopped in. In all honesty, it was freezing and I had to force myself in the water. I was hoping that since the outside temperature was about the same, the water would feel warm and I would have no problem jumping in. It did not and I had major problems. But I did it. Anne however, had no problem.<br />
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Snorkeling is an interesting watersport to quickly dive into. While fins are the best thing in the world in easing the exertion needed to swim, it certainly takes a moment to accustom yourself to breathing only through your mouth and having your breath be amplified greatly due to your ears being submerged underwater. It took a minute or two for me to feel completely comfortable but the further up the tributary I went, the more natural the breath pattern became. The water was truly crystal clear. Coming from New England where the ocean is as far as you can get from clear, when you get to experience such see-through waters, it's fascinating to behold. You can see straight to the bottom, side to side...all around.<br />
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Once we made it to the cove we quickly peeked around for manatees and much to our disappointment, not one was chilling anywhere in the cove. However sad we were though, the cove was a sight in itself. It was serene, with different corners to explore and all sorts of natural aspects to look at. There were tree limbs along the bottom and different areas were deeper than others. There were even bubbles coming out from the floor in one section. Since we hadn't had any manatee luck so far, Anne snapped some great photos of just us under the water which turned out really cool. <br />
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Once we'd finished up in the cove, all of us swam back to the boat and tried to warm up as best we could while Ned drove us over to the other side of the bay to continue our search. This side of the bay had less homes along the edge of the water which was lovely but the water was NOT clear. It was murky and brown so when Ned finally spotted a manatee and told us to hop in, I was frightened. Not because of possibly encountering a slimy snake or other aquatic being, but of hitting the manatee head on. When we put our faces under the surface, our visibility was maybe a foot. If the manatee was swimming in our direction we would have no idea it was coming. And Ned was no help; he kept attempting to shout instructions at us that proved increasingly futile. Once he lost sight of it he had us come back to the boat so we could gain a better idea of where Mr. Manatee headed. </div>
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By that point I was done in, freezing and shivering, and could not fathom going back in the water again, no matter how much I wanted to interact with Mr. Manatee. Soon after, his backside popped up swimming along the surface; Anne and O eagerly jumped back in while L decided to stay in the boat with me. Anne was determined to touch that manatee if it killed her. From the boat we actually had a good vantage point of where he was and could direct the girls towards him. Ned however, was not good at giving directions, as we had learned the previous time in the water, so we did our best to counter his directions. It was a success! Though brief, and through murky waters, both Anne and O got to touch Mr. Manatee before he swam off for good, bringing an end to our morning escapade at Crystal River.</div>
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Looking back, it truly was an awesome morning filled with fun memories and stories to retell over the years even if it wasn't filled with hundreds of manatees. It is something I would definitely want to try again, but next time I'll go in January. Tho there were a lot of people online who said they'd seen lots of manatees as late as the end of March, the winter of 2012 was unseasonably warm so I believe that due to higher temperatures, the manatees went back to the Gulf earlier than normal that year, hence why we had so much trouble scouting one out. But, we did find the one, and Mr. Manatee, well he was a good one.</div>
Ceceliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02905698015490986022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3367835941791816551.post-50361181585540257462014-06-29T10:39:00.003-04:002014-06-29T10:53:17.444-04:00friends in floridaFrom Aug 2011 - May 2012, I had the fortunate, and wonderful opportunity to work at an internship in Orlando, Florida. It was a fantastic 10 months; and while the professional experience was full of learning and laughter, the time spent living in the city afforded me the chance to explore a state I knew little about. My previous travel tales in Florida were minimal; a family vacation to Disney with a trip to Cape Canaveral, another (short) Disney trip in addition to the Everglades, and a week in Naples as a last hurrah with my best friends before graduating high school. Okay, so looking back, maybe they weren't that minimal. But having the chance to live in Orlando did provide me with the ins and outs of being a full time Floridian as well as being able to spend beautiful sunny days at local state parks, and gallivanting off on weekend trips with visitors. Because when you're friend is in Florida, who doesn't want to visit and escape the cold winter of New England?<br />
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The end of March proved to be the best time for my sister and best friends to come down as it was Anne's spring break; and as I was not running a show, had my weekends completely free. So it was then that she, and my two best friends, L and O, flew down. It also happened to be when "The Hunger Games" was released, so what better timing than that? After a long day at work, I picked them up at the airport, and we headed off to a midnight showing filled with tweens, teens, young adults and fabulous Hunger Games nail polish (courtesy of Anne.) The movie was awesome and we all had a blast!<br />
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Up semi-early the next morning, I took the gals to the Orlando Repertory Theatre, my then-current home of employ. We attended a rousing field-trip performance of "Lyle the Crocodile" which was spectacularly produced (just as all the Orlando Rep shows are); and I found it quite fun to actually see the show from the audience as I had only previously seen it from the set change POV whilst roaming the hallways backstage. After the curtain went down, my besties got a backstage tour where I showed them the wings, set pieces, SM office (with puppets) and scene shop. Before long, we were off and headed towards Crystal River, FL.<br />
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After lunch at Grannie's restaurant, we arrived at the hotel and since it wasn't super late in the afternoon, took full advantage of the Florida sun by laying poolside for a few hours. Ahhhh, just what the vacation doctor called for. Dinner was at a lovely restaurant next to the hotel where we enjoyed a tasty outdoor meal complete with mosquito bites. For dessert, the neighboring ice cream store was the perfect bookend to our day. Exhausted after the long, adventure filled day we easily fell asleep, eagerly anticipating the manatee tour the next morning.<br />
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<br />Ceceliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02905698015490986022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3367835941791816551.post-37766737937150466562013-06-13T13:09:00.002-04:002013-06-13T13:09:23.918-04:00Mt. KineoI think my favorite thing to do is hike. I've gone to the summit of Little Spencer Mountain three times, and as exhausting and difficult as it is, its one of the best hikes in the area. Big Spencer Mountain and Tom Young Cliffs are other local "big" hikes and the camp itself has multiple little trails to explore. Since I've hiked all of those trails in years past, this past summer I was adamant about finding something new, and difficulty friendly for my whole family. We settled on Mt. Kineo because it was closer than the other options, has different difficulty trails, and is a highlight of this region in Maine.<br />
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Mt. Kineo is not a very tall mountain but the combination of its beautiful 700-ft cliff face and the fact that it is a peninsula in Moosehead Lake make it very unique. There is a golf course, one of the oldest in New England, and some homes on the land as well. Our little Prius was unable to make it the "backroads" way where you park on the side of the road and walk about a mile until you come to the mountain so we were forced to go the long way around; back to Greenville and up the western side of the lake until we reached the Ferry terminal. It's about a 10-15 min ride across the lake. It was very windy but I think that was only on the water because on land it was a perfect summer day: partly cloudy skies, a nice breeze and mid 70s.<br />
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Upon departing the ferry you have to walk about 3/4 of a mile to the Indian Trail trailhead. We hopped on and immediately started ascending the cliff-side of the mountain. It was definitely on the difficult side; steep and rocky. Lots of the trail involved climbing over large faces of rocks using hands and legs. It was really fun for me, but much harder on my mom. The entire way up the Indian Trail your vantage point is of Moosehead Lake and the farther you ascend the viewpoint gets bigger and better. When you get to the point where the Bridle Trail meets up with the Indian Trail, there is a spectacular overlook.<br />
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Since there had been so much climbing done to get to this point, Mom and Anne were pretty beat so they decided to rest for a bit then start the descent down the Bridle trail whilst Dad and I continued to the summit. We would then meet them back at the dock. From the overlook to the summit, the trail is fairly flat with little ups and downs as it takes you through a wooded forest. It was very nice and soon we were at the summit, denoted nicely but the old, but still climbable, fire tower. Its a little creaky and you can feel it move in the wind a bit, but it still felt very safe. The entire railing it carved with people's initials that have then rusted over. It's very neat. <br />
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Even thought the views on this hike had been terrific, nothing beats what you can see when your high above the treeline; a complete 360 degree vantage point. The entire lake spans before you in all directions and mountains upon mountains are seen in the distance. We could see Little Spencer and Big Spencer as well as a sliver of the pond on the other side of a small hill. The trees are dense and fill the land; it's hard to believe there are any roads down there at all. Clouds moved over and around us and we could see where the wind was at its peak down on the lake. It's places like these where there is nowhere else to be but at peace. <br />
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Ceceliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02905698015490986022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3367835941791816551.post-55464530105988620162013-03-11T20:57:00.000-04:002015-06-21T21:57:29.406-04:00it feels like home to meWhen I was two, after the birth of my sister, my parents planned for our family to take an early autumn vacation in Maine. I don't remember where we were intending to go originally, but the place we had booked either closed or cancelled...something that forced us to find new lodging. Although I was only a toddler at the time, I firmly believe it was one of the best things to happen to us as it led to our discovery of <a href="http://www.spencerpond.com/">Spencer Pond Camps</a>, one of the prettiest, most serene, peaceful places I've ever been to. Throughout my childhood, we made it a bi-annual tradition to return there over the summer, bringing various family and friends along the way, and take in nature at its most raw.<br />
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Spencer Pond is located about an hour north of Greenville, ME. You drive up the east side of Moosehead Lake for about 30 min before the road turns to dirt and you wind your way through logging territory for another 30 min following the red signs pointing to camp. Little Spencer Mountain looms over as you look out for animals such as deer, moose, rabbit and pheasant amongst a plethora of others. The driveway is on the left and its still another 1/4 mile through thick woods before seeing the small parking lot and infamous wooden Moose cutout on the gate.<br />
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The camp sits on Spencer Pond, which is much smaller than Moosehead Lake but still large enough that you can fill a whole day boating around on it. There are 6 waterfront guest cabins, ranging in size from 2-8 persons. There is also the main office cabin where the owners live. Sabotowan, the first and largest cabin was our Spencer Pond home for 7 wonderful visits; however, our most recent visits have put us in Lunkers, Bemsis, Cricket and Moose. Sowangan/Skip-Wiley is the smallest and only cabin us Chapmans have not inhabited.<br />
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The cabins are all wonderfully cozy and intimate with books lining the shelves, old maps and pictures hanging on the walls, and games hidden away in cubby holes. The kitchens are stocked with all of the dishes, utensils, pots and pans you need, and the refrigerator is run by a propane tank on the exterior of the cabin. Water must be pumped in from either a well or the lake depending on your cabin. As a kid, one of the first things you learn is how to prime a water pump in the morning. <br />
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There are an infinite number of activities to be done in and around the camps. Hiking, canoeing, kayaking, birdwatching, swinging, fishing, berry picking, laying about in hammocks, reading, puzzles. Even when its pouring rain outside, entertainment is available. Bemsis, Lunkers and Moose each have their own dock whilst Cricket, Sabatowan and Skip Wiley share the large one at the main "beach." There is an understanding amongst all guests that Spencer Pond is not a party place; even in the daytime, really loud noise and lots of ruckus is frowned upon. And after dark there is a strict quiet time policy.<br />
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Spencer Pond is like a second home. It doesn't matter than I've only ever been 10 times, it's something that has always been with me in my life. It's somewhere where I know I can find peace and solitude without the pressures of this crazy, hectic society we now live in. With no electricity and only a smidgen of cell phone service, you can shut off the fast pace and crank up the relaxed one. And I've been able to share it's experience with my family and best friends, introducing them to this special little world in the Great North Woods and creating memories to last a lifetime.<br />
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Ceceliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02905698015490986022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3367835941791816551.post-55439074043828587052012-03-31T15:20:00.000-04:002013-03-11T14:24:16.512-04:00travel and change of place impart new vigor to the mind - senecaWell, I've made it. 18 months later and I'm finally on the last entry to my cross country summer road trip of 2010. Though most of the posts for this journey has been out of chronological order, I've purposely saved the last post for the adventures of our last few days on the road. As we ventured back into the northeast there wasn't as much on our To Do list since this was more local to home and we'd been to the different regions before. Just as the first day and a half of travel was straight driving to get out of the northeast, the last 4 days was visiting family and friends with a couple sight seeing stops in between.<br />
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From the Great Smoky Mountains, our first stop was in Williamsburg, VA. My dad's brother and his wife live there and my cousin had come up for the evening from North Carolina to have dinner with us. It was quite nice and relaxing after spending the last few days in theme parks and campgrounds. The next morning we wanted to see historic Williamsburg since Molly had never been there before and so my aunt and uncle offered to take us to breakfast and show us around. It was funny getting their version of the tour versus one provided by the park; it was truthful and honest to say the least. And it was free so that is always a plus :)<br />
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We left around noon for Washington DC via Chincoteague Island off the coast of Maryland. I thought I had done my research fairly well but I didn't realize how much of a detour visiting would be and how little there was to do if you weren't going to the beach. We wanted to see the wild ponies as we both had memories of the books about the ponies. But as they are wild it's not guaranteed you'll see them. As we drove towards the visitors center we could see a couple in a distant field. The visitor center had that salty ocean smell to it which definitely reminded us of home.<br />
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We wanted to explore more so we opted for a short loop hike that offered a lookout to one of the common pony viewpoints. Bad decision. End of August means humidity and mosquitoes. And these were more the size of gnats so they were super super annoying. The only way to avoid being eaten alive was to run. But neither Molly of I are runners, or even in shape so it was like stop and go running with lots of panting. Wearing flip flops made it no less easier. The viewpoint was nice, but due to the attack of the biting bugs we certainly couldn't enjoy it. I don't think there are words to describe how swarmed we were and how all of them were biting. From the lookout we could see the same 2 ponies from earlier and they were just as far away; small brown and white specks in the distance. Getting a picture was no easy feat as I was forced to bounce from foot to foot to keep moving to avoid getting more bites than I already had. It was kind of like channeling Dory from Finding Nemo, "Just keep moving, just keep moving."<br />
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After running back to the car and praising our sanctuary from the bugs, we set off for Arlington, VA where Molly's sister Erin had recently moved to begin teaching at a local elementary school. Because Chincoteague ended up being a longer detour than I expected we ended up arriving a few hours later than planned. But we were still able to have a pretty good evening catching up and visiting.<br />
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We parted the next morning as Erin had to work and we had a day planned of sightseeing our nation's capital. We drove over to the National Mall and was on the lookout for parking. We pulled into the first garage that said public not realizing it was also a government building, US Agriculture or something. Anyway, the car had to be checked for weapons and/or explosives and the kind security guard discovered our camping hatchet in the trunk. We apologized and asked to be pointed in the direction of a different garage. One was just around the corner luckily. The garage fee here, plus all the tolls we paid the day before driving was the first foray back into the cost of living in the northeast. We'd been so "spoiled" for the last four weeks being in cheaper areas of the US.<br />
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As we walked towards the mall we passed by a building that's important but I can't remember the name, the front of the White House, and what I swore was the FBI building because it looked like the one on "Bones."<br />
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We officially "started" our tour of the National Mall at the Vietnam Memorial and after passing through there, the Lincoln Memorial. I had been there years ago with my family but Molly had never seen it. To be honest though, at that point I was more thankful for its public bathroom than anything else.<br />
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It was a gorgeous, albeit hot, day and we enjoyed our stroll along the reflecting pool towards the World War II memorial. I hadn't been there before so that one was really neat.<br />
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We walked by the Washington Monument, saw a small group of Amish and then took a right to get to the Holocaust Museum. The Holocaust Museum is a free museum and I had tried to go there on a college trip but they only admit a certain number of people per hour per day so they don't have overcrowding. We were able to get in this time and took the elevator to the top and began our historical education. A lot of the information and artifacts I'd either seen before or knew of but no matter what, being surrounded by all of it including video footage of the camp liberation and the American soldiers clean-up is just horrific and depressing. And unfortunately for me I tend to get really into dramatic, horrific events and feel like I need to read and learn everything possible. So I go home and invest myself for about a week until I get too depressed and have to stop. We were able to really go through all the exhibits and spent a good amount of time there, both glad we decided to come. <br />
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Late that afternoon we drove up I-95, paid all the ridiculous tolls and arrived at my college roommate's apartment where we had a very nice dinner and caught up on life before heading to bed and dropping her off at work the next morning. We then hit the road for our last driving journey together and arrived back at my house in Cohasset around 2pm. It was nice to be home of course but definitely strange in a way, especially since I in no way wanted to unpack, clean camping stuff and do laundry.Ceceliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02905698015490986022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3367835941791816551.post-38987478127420539532012-03-04T15:31:00.000-05:002015-06-21T21:57:05.410-04:00AVOID HIKING BETWEEN 10AM AND 4PM!Visiting the Grand Canyon in the middle of August is one word: hot. I guess its more than one word as it's also grand, breathtaking, a wonder of the world and so much more. But in August, the defining feature it that it's hot. Not only do you feel it, but the warnings all around the park in regards to the heat and taking care of yourself never let you forget it. And lucky for us, we were to arrive at Grand Canyon National Park smack dab in the middle of August.<br />
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Two of the main South Rim hiking trails that dip into the canyon are the Bright Angel Trail and the South Kaibab Trail. There's also the rim trail which is a few miles long and has numerous viewpoints of the canyon. As I'm all about doing as much as possible, we did just that, portions of all three trails.<br />
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Our first day we opted for the more modest South Kaibab Trail which was listed as less difficult trail for the best views. And it would be a good warm up for the harder hike the next day. Our turn around point was to be Cedar Ridge.<br />
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As the guide had said, it ended up offering better views than the Bright Angel Trail. The hike was really nice and not too hot. Shade was always preferable to sun but we started early enough in the morning that the midday sun was never a huge problem. I really liked Cedar Ridge and sitting on either side of it offered a spectacular view. You really feel like you're a part of the canyon and not just an observer from the edge.<br />
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After lunch we headed out to walk along the Rim Trail. I think we hiked 2-3 miles before deciding we were tired enough to hop on the bus back to our car. The Rim Trail is certainly an excellent option for those who aren't able to handle the strenuous hiking of the canyon trails. You get to see multiple areas of the canyon, you can see the Colorado River at a couple points and the camera opportunities are infinite.<br />
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On day 2 we headed for the Bright Angel Trailhead. This is the main trail down to Phantom Ranch, the National Park's lodge in the center of the canyon. It is not advised to hike down to the river and back in one day, and we weren't equipped to backpack down there, spend the night and return so we opted to hike to the Indian Garden stopping point and then return.<br />
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The hike down wasn't so bad. It's steep and a little harsh on the knees but not super stressful. The worst part was having to step to the side to let the donkey groups down, and then having to walk over the donkey poop in the middle of the trail. It's hard to hike when you smell donkey poop for at least one or two switchbacks.<br />
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Indian Garden was quite nice but for an ending point it offered no views of the canyon itself, because it's IN the canyon. The walls rise up around you and it's tempting to keep going down rather than turn around. We rested in a grove of trees amongst multiple groups of donkeys and people resting up before continuing on their journey either into or out of the canyon.<br />
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In terms of the heat, it lived up to the hype that's for sure. We left early as advised by the park so you avoid hiking in the high suns of the afternoon, but apparently we didn't go early enough because it was scorching by the time we were ascending back up. It took us 3x as long to get out as it did to get down which is torturous enough before you add the beating sun to the equation. But we took it in stride, one step at a time, one switchback at a time. There was little shade to hike in so we took our rests in whatever shade could be found. <br />
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The Three Mile Resthouse was a godsend since we could sit on benches in the shade, recuperate and refill our water bottles. The only thing bad about it was that it reminded us we still had 3 miles to go before reaching the rim again. Given the heat, and the difficulty of the trail, this hike was
all about our endurance and accomplishment of making it out alive. <br />
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In total, I think it took us 6 hours to get to Indian Garden and climb back out. We got back to camp around 2pm, ate food and sat down. We read books, soaking in the gorgeous weather and the elk wandering through the campground and didn't move again until sunset. I was sore to say the least!<br />
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<br />Ceceliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02905698015490986022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3367835941791816551.post-77384677834090120962012-01-14T23:30:00.001-05:002013-03-11T12:33:50.974-04:00if delicate arch has any significance it lies, I will venture, in the power of the odd and unexpected to startle the senses and surprise the mind out of their ruts of habit - edward abbeyAfter completing our Grand Canyon Excursion we drove up into central west Utah to one of my favorite places of all on the trip, Arches National Park. We only spent a night and a full day there but man, I wish we'd had more time, perhaps another day or two. We did get to explore quite a bit but there was so much more I wanted to see. I really hope to go back and explore Arches more as well as the other parks in Utah that look so wonderful.<br />
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We stayed at the Devil's Garden Campground, which definitely tops my campground list. It only has 27 sites, and ours was towards the entrance so it was isolated from everyone else. And in the campground every site is super unique as it's built amongst the rocks and formations. No destruction of nature there. We got to the park around 4pm, and after seeing some of the great rocks, we arrived at the campsite just as the sun was riding close to the horizon. Experts now at putting our tent together in a flash we popped it right up, and then immediately began climbing the nearby rocks. The large sandstone rock next to our site afforded us a spectacular view of the park's surrounding lands and the arch formations in the distance. We watched the sun set and enjoyed a nice relaxing evening.<br />
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One thing I read multiple times in researching for this trip was that it isn't recommended you hike in the middle of the day when the sun is blazing because in arid climates such as the desert-like conditions of Arches National Park, in the middle of August it gets HOT! So we were up and at 'em bright and early to begin hiking. Our first destination was an area across the way from the campground which had multiple trails and at least a dozen different arches.<br />
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This hike was particularly fun because it was a little more free form and involved climbing up a huge rock formation as part of the trail. When we got to the top though, we couldn't find the cairn trail marker so we followed what we thought were tracks. It was really pretty and there was such a variety in the landscape. But we soon became confused about why there were no other people around when we'd seen plenty a little ways back. But since there were scattered footprints, we thought we must be going in the right direction.</div>
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We were wrong.<br />
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As we got deeper into the rocks and came to an obvious dead end we decided it was time to turn back. That was an adventure for sure; making sure we went back in the same direction and climbing rocks not really meant to be tracked upon. Shhhh, don't tell the Rangers. However, in taking the path less traveled, we got to see some great sights, such as the fourth picture below. A really spectacular place to be.<br />
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After returning to the point where we had split from the trail we finally found the cairn we'd missed, and there were all the other vacationers hiking along in that direction. Wish they had been there when we went by the first time... Cairns are extremely sensible for trail markers, as they incorporate natural elements instead of paint or plastic ties. But in a place made up of and surrounded entirely by rocks and sand, I will say they are not the easiest thing to recognize. Or, I'm just a failure.</div>
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Because we ended up exploring off trail for so long, and we were getting tired, we opted to head back and not continue the original hike to see more of the arches. I'm kind of bummed we missed out them, but we still had a blast doing our own thing. Back at camp, we ate lunch and settled in for a bit of afternoon reading. Once the afternoon heat died down we planned to head over to the infamous Delicate Arch. Boy, were we in for a treat.<br />
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A few things to note: 1) When we visited the park center the previous afternoon I vividly recall looking at the weather report. Hot and sunny with the most minimal chance of rain. 2) The ground at our site was fairly hard and even with a hammer we could not get the tent's stakes more than a few inches into the ground. But we figured it would be fine; the weather was so nice that it didn't need to be secured.<br />
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So after lunch, we were reading and relaxing, only to feel the wind start to pick up. We looked up and saw a large, dark cloud looming in the distance. Rain was coming. As the dark gray clouds moved closer and closer, we decided to put everything, including ourselves, in the car and wait it out. Better to let it pass before going off to hike in it. It didn't take too long for it to start; the wind picked up a little more and the rain pounded down. This was no passing afternoon shower; this was a full blown rain storm.<br />
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After a little while, as the center of the storm hovered over, the tent started to shake and sway quite a bit. We kept a close watch on our poor little temporary home and I still can't believe what we saw. In the midst of the wind blowing all directions, the tent kept being smooshed together like an accordion, though it seemed to weather fairly well. Sitting in the car, we kept pondering how wet our pajamas and pillows would be once it was all over. At some points it was hard to believe there was anything inside the tent at all. As the winds intensified, one giant gust blew past and the tent went flying over on its side. Molly and I bolted from the car, pulled it back up and secured it as best we could with rocks. Weight was the only thing that was going to help us now. <br />
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As we ran back to the car a few fleeting thoughts passed through my head: 1) If we hadn't decided to take a long lunch break, we could have come home to an empty site. 2) Based upon the exterior appearance I had no hope that our belongings inside were dry. 3) Thank goodness we'd put the fly on in the middle of the previous night.<br />
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The storm didn't last much longer and no other major dilemmas arose after it almost took our tent away. Miraculously, everything except a single sweatshirt was dry.
When the tent had been accordion-ing, it had pushed all our stuff to the
middle and kept it away from the soaked sides. Looking back, it may have saved us the trouble if we'd packed the whole tent up with the rest of our stuff when we saw the impending storm. But then again, if we hadn't we wouldn't have had such a great time watching it all unfold.<br />
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After securing the tent as
best we could, we felt confident enough to go on to Delicate Arch. And after all the hassle with the tent, the storm turned out to be a good thing. The hike to Delicate Arch is not shaded and you mainly walk across a massive, open, stone face. I remember reading at some point that it is a hike best done at sunset and it is typically a very high temperature hike. The rain, however, ended up cooling the air tremendously. It dropped from around 95 to 75-80 and the crisp, cool air smelled like rain. It was a spectacular atmosphere for a sunset hike; completely and utterly wonderful.<br />
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My words will never do Delicate Arch any justice so I won't even try. But it is truely one of nature's phenomenons and a very peaceful, serene place (even with all the visitors).<br />
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And just as we did some exploring earlier in the day, there was opportunity for <span style="color: #0000ee;">a b<span style="color: #0000ee;">it of </span></span>climbing here as well.<br />
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As we packed up the next morning, I wished we were staying longer so we could explore the Fiery Furnace and the numerous other formations we couldn't fit in to our busy schedule. Had I known Arches would become one of our favorite places I most certainly would have. <br />
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<br />Ceceliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02905698015490986022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3367835941791816551.post-61986435122491575612011-10-06T19:59:00.000-04:002015-06-21T21:44:50.105-04:00wade in the waterBesides Graceland there wasn't anything else in Memphis that Molly or I were dying to do. We'd done a little research during our trek from the Grand Canyon but as we were trying to spend as little as possible, we wanted to find a cheap and interesting place. My aunt had recommended we go to the Slave Haven Underground Railroad Museum but there was also the Civil Rights Museum which is in the same building that Martin Luther King Jr. was shot. Decisions, decisions. Beale street was another option but that was going to be a drive-by. Neither of us cared <i>that</i> much to pay for parking and then walk in the scorching heat.<br />
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I think because of admission price we decided to head to the Underground Slave Museum which turned out to be a very good choice. However, as we never went to the Civil Rights Museum I can't say for sure that it was better. It took us a little while to find the museum and we were about to give up when we finally found it. There wasn't a distinct sign or anything to set it apart from the other homes in the the neighborhood but we somehow found it. Inside the back entrance was a collection of homemade trinkets and books relating to the Underground Railroad and Slavery. We purchased our ticket and was led into the front room whose walls were covered in quilts, pictures and prints. We were told to look around here and the other room while we wait for the "tour" to begin.<br />
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We ended up being the only ones on this tour so it was nice and personal. It began with our guide sitting with us and giving us a background on the house and its significance to slaves' escape during the 19th century. The house, owned by a white man whose name I can't remember, allowed passage of escape to numerous African-American slaves becoming a hero to many. He did own slaves himself but it was to maintain the image of fitting in with other white people so no one would become suspicious of his doings. Our guide was terrific. She told us stories, explained how they passed messages in quilts and songs, sang to us and made us feel quite at home. After the chat she took us down to the basement to show us the escape passage out of the house. They entered like anyone else would but then crawled through a teeny little hole in the basement and hid under the back porch until nightfall when it was safe to escape. All of the artifacts hanging up were fantastic and really added to the vibe of the museum. It was a great little non-commercial place I'd highly recommend to anyone in the Memphis area.<br />
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Afterwards we decided to drive by the Civil Rights Museum to see the iconic former hotel where King Jr. was assassinated and then do the driving tour of Beale St. The museum was nifty and they've worked to make it look frozen in the 1960s. Beale St. was a failure as it was barricaded off from driving down. Oh well, we did get a nice picture of it.<br />
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So that was the end of our day in Memphis. Before heading back to Mississippi and our wonderful hotel we stopped at the local AAA office to pick up Universal Orlando tickets with a small discount and decided to ask the attendant if she had any local food joint recommendations. She did, and it was a place only about a mile from the hotel so definitely not out of our way. It was a great recommendation and had an abundance of items you don't see on many New England menus. Fried catfish, fried green tomatoes...and plenty more. Now I'm not a big tomato person but the fried green ones were pretty tasty. And the catfish wasn't bad either. Ceceliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02905698015490986022noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3367835941791816551.post-80519784594610416652011-10-06T00:18:00.000-04:002015-06-21T21:42:16.435-04:00as long as i live, i'll hear waterfalls and birds and winds sing - john muirCalifornia is a huge state filled with a wide variety of landscapes and people. It has beaches, deserts, mountains and forests of all kind. Molly and I stayed in the <a href="http://cece2087.blogspot.com/2011/02/clearest-way-into-universe-is-through.html">northern half of the state</a> before making our way down the east side towards <a href="http://cece2087.blogspot.com/2011/03/yea-though-i-walk-through-valley-of.html">Death Valley</a>. Between visiting friends of Molly's in Berkeley and Death Valley we spent a wonderful day and a quarter in our first established National Park, Yosemite. We arrived in the south side of the park at Mariposa Grove to walk amongst the Giant Sequoia trees. These trees were probably just as tall as the grand redwoods but they were overall much larger because of their enormous girth. We opted not to hike the whole trail because it was getting late so we didn't see the tree you could drive a car under but we did see plenty of great giants.<br />
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The campsite I'd chosen was a non-reservation one up along the ridge south of the valley. It was nice, small, quiet and had some really cool boulders all around. We chose a spot, set up camp, made some quick food (which we then put away in the provided bear-proof container) and headed to bed. Like Yellowstone, Yosemite's evening temperatures are fairly low (I think it's the mountain thing) therefore we piled on a few layers before sleeping and set aside others as back-up. The only problem was keeping our faces, especially the nose, warm. In the morning we woke early, cleaned and packed up camp (something we were becoming experts in), and headed out for the overlook called Glacier Point. Here you get outstanding views of the infamous Yosemite Valley which includes the Half-Dome and Yosemite Falls. The view was amazing and I'd definitely recommend driving to the overlook if you ever get a chance. It's a little "out of the way" if you want to spend a lot of your time in the Valley where most of the tourist activities are; but it provides an overlook of one of America's most beautiful landscapes.<br />
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We then drove a little ways down the road to one of the multiple hikes within the park. It was really nice, bringing us through meadows and forests and by boulders and finishes with a climb up a rock face. We spent a bit of time at the top just enjoying the coolish weather and excellent views from the top.<br />
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We then traveled down into the valley to see if we could do one of the small, easy hikes to the bottom of Yosemite Falls, the highest measured fall in North America. The water flow wasn't super full as it was the end of summer and it tends to be much lighter at that time of year. However, the valley was PACKED! And I don't even think it was the highest tourist time of year. The valley though is very narrow so there is limited, limited parking. And its super congested. So we opted not to try and maneuver through all the people and settled for a stop by the river where Molly waded in the cool water. <br />
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Our exit out of the park to <a href="http://cece2087.blogspot.com/2011/04/looking-at-list-i-made-awhile-back-of.html">nowhere's ville camping</a> was along the northern road to the eastern exit. Although we drove by overlooks and stops, we opted out of them and only made one short stop at the Tuolumne Meadows. There wasn't too much to do since we weren't hiking so we didn't spend long at the ranger station. We were both fairly tired with a few more hours driving ahead of us so we popped back in the car to finish out the day.Ceceliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02905698015490986022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3367835941791816551.post-61024851524540496602011-10-01T22:08:00.000-04:002015-06-21T21:24:41.032-04:00i could never stay long enough on the shore - helen kellerAnd continuing right along with our adventures in Oregon (except for Astoria because I already <a href="http://cece2087.blogspot.com/2011/01/goonies-never-say-die.html" target="_blank">covered</a> that) I move onto our 2 days driving along the beautiful, mixed-weather coastline. We spent the good part of our first day in Astoria and Ecola State Park and after completing our Goonies Tour, we hopped in the car and drove on down to Cape Lookout State Park which is right on the beach. We arrived at sunset, and it was so cloudy and rainy that darkness was settling fast. We set up the tent, walked quickly down to the beach and back, but it was cold and wet so we thought bed would be better. <br />
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In the morning we discovered that the clouds hadn't cleared but the rain had at least stopped. We strolled again down to the beach and though there wasn't much of a view we did appreciate feeling the ocean air again.<br />
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After packing up the gear we headed back into town, had a lovely breakfast at a cute cafe and found Oil Can Henry's, a drive-thru oil change chain along the west coast that was recommended to us by someone we'd encountered. I'd never been through a drive through oil change before and after Henry's I don't know how any other place will maintain its high standard. We didn't have to get out of the car, the two gentlemen workers explained everything very clearly, they gave us USA Today to read while they did the oil change, they were very nice and entertaining and best of all, they wore cute little uniforms.<br />
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With the car all refreshed we hopped onto US 101 and our first sightseeing stop was the Devil's Punch Bowl in Newport. The clouds had cleared a bit and it was a nice little stop to stretch our legs and look down at a fascinating geological formation.</div>
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Another great stop we made was at Devil's churn, a narrow inlet in Lincoln City. It can be very dangerous and waves can spurt high in the air. It was quite windy and I really liked the trees that were permanently shaped in that direction with the side facing the ocean stripped of any life.<br />
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Back in the car and on the road again the drive was very nice and didn't always hug the coastline but there were quite a few times when we drove by just ocean. The section of 101 in Florence near the Sea Lion Caves is one example. We luckily found a parking space right next to the Cave center and not down the road. The building is a very small containing only a small gift shop and ticket window booth. After purchasing your ticket you head down and have two options: the elevator down to the cave or the exterior overlook of outside the cave. We went down first. The elevator drops you down quite a ways and you exit right into a wet, cold cave. The view of the sea lions is small and gets crowded quickly so you have to wait your turn to see the animals.<br />
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Unlike an aquarium, the sea lions are not in captivity. They are all wild and the cave is their natural habitat so this attraction provides a safe lookout point for both the animals and the spectators. The sea lions weren't doing much on their rock. Lying and sleeping for the most part except for one guy who was bobbing his head a bit. It was really cool but since they're fairly far away, binoculars would have been a nice addition. Inside the cave there is also a wooden stairwell you can go up to see a lighthouse across the way.<br />
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Back to the elevator and up the hill we then took the trail down a slope to a lookout of the exterior of the cave. You can't see the physical entrance but there's a long portion of rock where tons and tons of sea lions are lounging about and sunbathing. I liked these guys better as they were a little more active. Multiple lions were slithering in and out of the water, playing with each other and entertaining themselves. It was nice to see animals I would never see at home interact in their natural habitat and not in one created for them at an aquarium.<br />
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Our last stop before finding a hotel in Brookings (the last town before the California border) was the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area. South of Florence this area is a section of the coastline which has sand dunes for miles and miles and miles. We pulled up to no section in particular, just the first one we came across after entering. It was fairly empty and no one was there to swim and sunbathe. The temperatures were chilly and the sun had once again disappeared behind a layer of clouds. We took out our bottle of Atlantic Ocean water and Molly ceremoniously dumped it into the Pacific. I then filled it back up to bring home to the Atlantic.<br />
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We then spent some time individually wandering the area. I loved the look of the untouched sand, or the sand only affected by wind. The ripples were wonderful, and to see so much area that no human had stepped on for quite some time was really beautiful.<br />
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Last but not least, after a wonderful stop and a beautiful overlook where the sun was prevailing in the sky, we arrived in Brookings, OR.<br />
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Although it was a very long day of traveling and exploring, we still had the energy to grab a quick dinner at DQ Grill and Chill and walk along the local beach at sunset. It was gorgeous! All the beaches throughout the day were calming and peaceful, a great way to decompress and relax.</div>
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Ceceliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02905698015490986022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3367835941791816551.post-17355821693264761582011-10-01T19:34:00.001-04:002013-03-11T12:35:05.961-04:00a-b=cFor a 5-week adventure across the grand Unites States of America, Molly and I did fairly well with not having any problems. The check engine light did come on a few times but we determined it was from the drastic climate changes so nothing to worry about...And then there was Portland, OR. Now don't get me wrong, Portland is a beautiful city and I have nothing wrong with the city itself. I don't have any hard feelings against the city, just at a certain cop on a motorcycle.<br />
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Let me backtrack just a little. Molly and I arrived in Troutville, OR after a lonnng, lonnng drive from Yellowstone Park, through Montana, Idaho and across the vast, open lands of Eastern Washington and Oregon. Although I found it dreadfully boring at the time (I think because it was such a long day), I am shocked at the landscape of Oregon and how there is a city like Portland that is so green and splendorific and then 200 miles east it's like the Great Plains of the Midwest.<br />
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The next morning we met up with Mark and Morgan (my sister-in-law) for breakfast and caught up with how their honeymoon in Hawaii went as they'd only returned a few days before. We then headed downtown so I could take Molly to Powell's Books, an excellent, fantastic, massive used book store. It has the atmosphere of a small business, cute bookstore but it's twice the size of Barnes and Nobles. We're both a sucker for used books so its right up our alley and we spent an hour or two browsing around. <br />
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As we still had a busy afternoon planned in Astoria, we departed around 1030 and hopped on the highway headed west. I don't remember if I've mentioned it before but we completed this trip with no GPS and a road atlas that was 10 years old. So sometimes in busier places or ones with bad signage we didn't always get onto the correct roadways. I don't remember how it happened, but we ended up getting off the highway by accident so we had to turn around and sidetrack to get back to where we wanted to be. So we're going through the backroads and finally arrive at a T-intersection that plops us right back on the state highway we'd accidentally got off. Cars are zooming by, and on the green we take the left and Molly accelerates. Not even 10 seconds later we see the flashing lights. So we pull over and the cop comes up and does the routine. Asks us if we know the speed limit, which we don't because we'd only been on the road for mere seconds. I don't think we'd even passed a speed limit sign yet. He points to one right in front of us and says we were going 52 and a 35mph zone. As we're waiting for the cop to come back from writing us a ticket we notice that cars passing us by are certainly not going 35 mph.<br />
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The worst part of it was that when he gave us the ticket and asked us if we had any questions, we said "no" and went on our merry way. When I finally got around to reading the ticket he'd marked us as going 52mph in a 35 mph zone (as told to us) yet also marked it as 21-30 miles over the speed limit, which determined, in part, the amount we owed. 52-35=17!!!!!! So much hate!!!! And since we weren't going to be in the state to go to appeal in court we had to write a letter to mail in. And as we were on the road up until needing to be in court, we couldn't wait until we got home and had a computer to type it. So the State of Oregon received a nice handwritten note from us regarding our cop's complete lack of basic math skills. (It didn't really say it like that but it did mention that we were charged unfairly).<br />
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So that was our experience in Portland. I don't like cops in Portland. Ceceliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02905698015490986022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3367835941791816551.post-15970303245646963912011-08-28T23:19:00.000-04:002015-06-21T21:17:07.848-04:00bigger than rhode island and delaware combined...its yellowstone national parkJumping all the way back to our visit to Yellowstone National Park, I haven't discussed all that we did on our first day there. The night before was all about showering, setting up camp and going to sleep. Inside the tent we ate leftover pasta and potato salad by flashlight then headed to bed (a little later than usual, around 830pm.) For our first day in such a big park there was much to do and little time to do so. We spent the morning at Yellowstone Canyon, midday at the hot springs, and the late afternoon taking a driving tour of the northern loop of the park.<br />
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The canyon was gorgeous and one of my favorite parts of the trip. Now the Grand Canyon is certainly grand, but in a way it's just so big and the walls that jut out from the Colorado River eroding down make it hard to see it in all its expanse. Yellowstone Canyon was a big canyon as well but much much much smaller than the Grand Canyon and I think it had a lot more character to it. The coloring of the walls were varied and gorgeous and the constant views of the lower Yellowstone Falls (both upper and lower) were just phenomenal.<br />
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We hiked down the stairs installed on the southern side, climbed back up and then walked along the rim down to Artist's Point. Great views were in store all along and it was just a wonderful sunny day. There's a trail on the other side that goes all the way down into the canyon which I would have loved to do but it was an all day hike which we didn't have the time for. For next time...<br />
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After Artist's Point we followed a trail along to some of the ponds in the area and it looped back to the parking lot. As we were the only ones on the trail it was quiet and serene and the area was quite diverse landscape-wise. We passed some small mud pots and many warning signs to stay on the trail. No bears were encountered and the last bit took us through a huge meadow back to the parking lot.<br />
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Now a side note on weather. Although it was sunny and very very nice out, the heat in northwest Wyoming isn't dreadful like the Midwest or the desert. By midday it gets in the 80s but what's so surprising is how cold it gets at night. That first night we were not prepared and both Molly and I woke up in the middle of the night to add a couple of layers of clothes. The following nights we were prepared with <i>only</i> two pairs of sweats, a long sleeve shirt, socks, hooded sweatshirt and a camping sleeping bag keeping us warm. In the morning it wasn't as frigid but was still chilly so we'd change and then throw sweats over our clothes before heading out for a hike. However out on the hike, depending on whether you were in the shade or sun, you could be hot one minute and cold the next so until about noontime it was a constant battle over whether or not to keep the sweatpants on or not.<br />
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After the canyon hike we drove over to the Hot Springs and explored that area. There were some elk hanging out in front of one of the buildings and some lady was being really really stupid and walking very close just to get a picture...even though there were numerous signs saying "do not approach the elk."<br />
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Speaking of stupid, there was a lady and her family walking up one of the boardwalks along the hot springs and her hat flew off her head onto the sulfur-y, water-y ground where you're not supposed to walk. She kept prodding her adult son to go and get it. We saw them later and she was wearing the hat that had been sitting in all the nasty water so I don't know how they got it but ewwww.<br />
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The hot springs are just that, hot springs and they were of all shapes and sizes. And really different from the ones in the geyser basins as discussed <a href="http://cece2087.blogspot.com/2011/02/geysers-galore.html">here</a>. My words don't do it justice so take a look at the pictures showing off the colors and wonders of the hot springs.<br />
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After the hot springs we made our way driving around the rest of the northern loop of the park. Taking a slight detour off the main road, we took a scenic drive which I hoped would give us some wildlife to look at but no such luck. However, there were some fantastic views that certainly made it worth the extra time driving 15 mph.</div>
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Ceceliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02905698015490986022noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3367835941791816551.post-10389008530954060822011-07-26T23:59:00.000-04:002015-06-21T21:15:39.706-04:00goin' down the bayou, takin' ya all the wayNew Orleans was one of the few places neither Molly nor I had been. For my American travels, the southeast was always one of the places I'd never really been to except for Florida so when plotting details out, I made sure we both got to experience the South. We left in the morning from our hotel at the Harrah's in Mississippi, went to Dunkies in the casino and headed down to New Orleans. Because we were on the western edge of the state and the interstate runs down the middle, it wasn't any faster for us to take the interstate versus state highways; and as we learned at the beginning of the trip, state highways were preferable.<br />
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We entered New Orleans from the West on I-10 and even spending time on the sliver of highway that is made up of concrete columns over the bayou showed us we were somewhere we'd never been before. We checked into our hotel, chose a place to dine in the French Quarter, got a little lost getting there but soon parked and began our stroll down Bourbon St. Now, I'm not a party girl by any means so the appeal of Bourbon St. doesn't attract me in any way but I see why people love it so much. Sure it was Friday, but the bars were hopping and tons of people were strolling the streets with their beverages. It was crazy thinking this wasn't for an event, just a typical Friday night. The restaurant was nice and I ventured out of my comfort zone to try "local cuisine" of fried catfish, shrimp and oysters. The oysters were the most disgusting thing ever, but the rest wasn't bad. Molly had jambalaya which she really enjoyed.<br />
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We spent the rest of the night in watching the start of Harry Potter weekend and planning our adventures for the next day. Although I really wanted to see the bayou and go on a swamp tour, we didn't have enough time as it takes a half or full day commitment and prior reservations. Neither of us knew much about what N'Orleans had to offer so we took the pamphlets from the hotel up to our room and devised a plan. There are multiple plantations around the city open for tours and so we chose to visit Destrehan Plantation since it was on the inexpensive side and wasn't that long a drive from the city. It was really neat and Molly and I both really enjoyed the tour. We got to see the rooms, furniture, and even got a little seminar on tools used back in the 19th century. I found the mini lecture to be fascinating because certain tools were almost exactly the same as today in how they work but are a little more jazzed up.<br />
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The plantation was large and still maintained a lot of the original land. They had slave cabins, kitchen outbuildings, a really heavy marble bathtub, elaborate furniture and even the guides were dressed in period outfits. Loved it all. The huge oak trees littering the yard were also fascinating additions to the plantation. Really made us feel like we were nowhere near home in culture and history. It also gave me a bit of perspective because I knew of southern plantations with slaves etc but for some reason never thought it went as far as Lousiana. I just assumed Louisiana was separated and not a state or something...I really have no idea why I thought it but I did.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"front" view side from street, but it was really the backdoor</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">interior of kitchen</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">slave cabin</td></tr>
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After the plantation we headed back into the city, and back again to the French Quarter because let's face it, we were tourists and that's where tourists go. We got beignets at Cafe Beignet and they were tasty as can be. We walked down the streets towards St. Louis' Cathedral and took a look inside. It was sort of strange how it was the only church we went to on our whole trip while I went to dozens in Europe. Just showed me how the appeals of America are quite different than that of Europe. Though I wasn't enthralled with the interior of St. Louis I really liked the exterior, especially when juxtaposed to the surrounding architecture and plant life. Fun fact: though called the French Quarter, the style of architecture that defines its appearance is actually Spanish. Fun Observation: Bourbon St. is dead, and a completely different entity during daylight hours. We overlooked the Mississipi, the largest river in the US which by this point we'd crossed 3 times so far, and watched a saxophonist play in the scorching heat. Which led us to return to our car and make the rest of our N'Orleans tour a driving/air conditioned one. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">cafe beignet</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">bourbon st. during the day</td></tr>
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We drove through the Garden District Area which is west of the French Quarter and contains a vast variety of homes. Large or small, gorgeous or ugly, expensive or cheap...the garden district had it all. And it had that old city charm that I love where no neighboring homes looked the same because it wasn't built as a development. Gorgeous. Finally, we drove through the Ninth Ward, still suffering from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina which hit 5 years before. There's been some definite rebuilding of the area but you can still see the effects the hurricane had on this city.<br />
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For the evening, we got take-out from the hotel restaurant and watched Harry Potter. Molly had wanted to go on a ghost tour but I didn't really want to spend the money on something that wasn't taking us anywhere private. Just public places while telling old folklore. She understood, and thought it was pretty lame so we spent the night in. Our time had been well spent and we were ready for the long trek the Orlando the next day and by watching Harry Potter weekend we were preparing ourselves to spend the next few days with him.Ceceliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02905698015490986022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3367835941791816551.post-54964024671699772812011-07-11T23:40:00.000-04:002015-06-21T21:05:57.291-04:00the "eat fast food and sit in a car for 8 hours diet"<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">Food is an important part of any trip. While I was traveling Europe I took the cheap route of buying bread, cheese and other small items at mini-marts and rarely eating at actual restaurants in order to save money. Trekking cross country was a little different because Molly and I didn't want to live off of picnic food everyday, and certain items we'd need to keep cold would cost us money from purchasing ice at least once a day. Camping was a little different and we bought specific dry meals or something like hot dogs that would keep fairly well and were also easy to make. We tried Mac&Cheese but with no milk or butter, it was pretty terrible. Therefore, the majority of the time we were eating at one of two places: a local cuisine restaurant/cafe, or a fast food joint. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">Besides fast food, which I will talk about below because we ate a wide variety of it, Molly and I did our best to eat the local cuisine of whichever place we were traveling through or visiting. We ate fried green tomatoes and fried catfish (Yum!) at a great restaurant in Mississippi. I had fried oysters (Blech!) as part of a a seafood platter in New Orleans. And our most memorable of experiences was the cafe we had lunch in as we traversed across Nebraska. Driving from Omaha, NE to the Badlands National Park, the interstate heads north along the borders of Iowa and Nebraska before heading West on I-90 across South Dakota. Interstates are constantly high speed limits however you don't see much of the places your driving through and there are sooooooooo many trucks. After taking state highways through Missouri, Kansas and Nebraska during our super long "Little House on the Prairie Day" we decided to take them as much as possible in the future. Though slower at points when you drive through towns, the speed limits are that of the interstates for much of the time. It was a great decision and we really got to see much more of the Midwest than if we'd chosen the Interstate. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">The little towns you pass through along State Highway 275 are really really little. Some have only 3-5 streets off the main road and not every place has a gas station. In one of these teeny little towns we found a teeny cafe. We walk in and every single person in the restaurant turns and stares at us. We quietly mumble "2..." and the owner/sole waitress lets us know we can sit anywhere. Its carpeted and the tables are all different sizes; they look like ones set up for bingo night at a community center. It was a surreal experience. All the patrons knew each other and were wondering where other regulars were. It was so crazy. The perk of small places, especially in lower income areas, is that everything is really cheap but still really good. And it was. Although we we went to a few other smaller restaurants/cafes in other states, nothing was as teeny and crazy as that cafe in Nebraska.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Fast Food Heaven</b></span><br />
Here in Massachusetts we have fast food joints but they're all the standard ones: McDonald's, Burger King, KFC, Taco Bell and Wendy's. We don't have Arby's, Popeyes, Braums, Sonic etc...so as we headed west, and explored so many new places, we explored all these new options for food. Sonic was the top choice with its wider menu range including mozzarella sticks and slushies and you don't have to get out of the car. Although we were already living in the car quite a bit, getting out for take-out fast food wasn't worth it. We ended up at Sonic whenever we could and some locations were in the middle of nowhere. Molly had Popeyes at one stop which was new to her and she enjoyed it. And after constantly protesting Arby's because, according to Molly, they "took over Dunkin Donuts" we ate their chicken and curly fries. Molly quickly regretted not going there sooner.<br />
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Sonic may have been a favorite of mine, but Braum's was the most spectacular of places. A small chain only located in the states of Missouri, Kansas Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas, it's technically an "ice cream and dairy store" but really it is a whole lot more. The stores are the same size of a standard McDonalds or Burger King but instead of just the food counter and seats, there's a huge ice cream freezer and a corner of the store is a mini-grocery store. Not a mini-mart but a mini-grocery store, with produce and everything. A small selection of items of course, but pretty cool nonetheless. I got chicken fingers, fries and a good size ice cream for $4...that's just amazing. And it was really good. I kinda wish we'd stopped here earlier in the trip when we passed signs in Missouri and Kansas but the logo is an ice cream cone so I didn't know it had real food. We eventually ended up at one in Oklahoma. <br />
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What was nice about the fast food was that it was a) fast, and we weren't delayed terribly because of meals and b) cheap, which was always important on a budget. Yes it's not the healthiest food in the world but we were exercising quite a bit in the National Parks so I think it balanced out. We were also never eating large quantities of said meals. I actually ended up losing a little weight over the course of the 5 weeks and jokingly thanked the "eat fast food and sit in a car for 8 hours" diet when we returned home.Ceceliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02905698015490986022noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3367835941791816551.post-61459388318199833662011-06-22T17:14:00.000-04:002015-06-21T20:58:54.317-04:00movie magic is movie magic - ben kingsleyAlthough Harry Potter world was the reason we traveled down to Florida and visited Universal Studios, it certainly wasn't the only highlight of our 2 days roaming about the park. Almost every ride we went on was fantastic, and except for a few, we re-rode them all 2 or 3 times more.<br />
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The Incredible Hulk is the first coaster to the left as you enter Islands of Adventure and it's a fast ride but a really fun one too. There was a little wait and we went into the "front row only" line so it took a little longer. But the advantage of being in the front made it worth it. Lots of loops and spins and fog.<br />
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Making our way around the Marvel section of the park we then rode Dr. Doom's Freefall. Molly and I have both been on numerous freefall rides similar to Dr. Doom, and Dr. Doom just didn't hold up. I don't know if it was shorter in height, shorter in time or what...but it wasn't terribly thrilling. We passed on Spiderman 3-D cuz I have bad memories of getting nauseous during 3D/Moving visual attractions and Molly didn't care about it either. We also passed on Dudley Do-Right's Riptide Falls....or whatever the name is. You get really wet on that ride.<br />
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We then went to the <a href="http://cece2087.blogspot.com/2011/01/harry-yer-wizard.html">Wonderful World of Harry Potter</a> and after leaving that section of the park rode the Jurassic Park ride twice. This one was really exciting. Jurassic Park is a favorite of both Molly's and mine and seeing all the dinosaurs from the movie combined with the set elements was really fun. Like Disney, those kind of rides which tell a story really suck you in.<br />
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Universal definitely does them differently, and I think I'd give the edge to Disney, but there are still some excellent rides to choose from. We spent the latter 3rd of the day in the Universal Studios side and was really sad the Mummy ride was closed. But we did Twister, an experience of how-to special effects, battled Jaws, spent 20 minutes with Homer Simpson and family, and rode the Hollywood Rip-Ride Rockit. Jaws was a little cheesy but fun and the Simpsons was really neat but about 2 minutes too long because my stomach started acting up. The Rip-Ride Rockit is a new coaster in the park; the concept for it is that each person gets to choose a song (from a small selection) to listen to during the ride and it films you as you scream your little heart out. And instead of just being able to buy a picture at the end, you can also purchase a DVD. I wasn't a huge fan of this ride. When you're traveling at fast speeds I don't like wider chairs that allow your head to shake back and forth a lot more. The Rip-Ride Rockit does this so I didn't like it very much.<br />
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The following day was spent mainly in the Universal Studios side, but we did re-visit Islands of Adventures to see Harry, Ron and Hermione again as well as wander through Seuss-Landing (kiddie rides) and watch the Sinbad stunt show (which totally stole a line from Star Wars).<br />
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In the Studios we rode the Mummy coaster 4 times (sooooo amazing!) and waited a LONG time for Disaster but it was really neat and definitely not a waste of time. We fought Aliens as a Men in Black trainee (a ride totally not worth the really long wait), saved E.T. a few times (a great, magical ride!) and saw a make-up show. We also rode the Rip-Ride Rockit again and my phone fell out of my pocket. Lost forever.<br />
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Ceceliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02905698015490986022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3367835941791816551.post-80585980714358035072011-06-20T19:43:00.000-04:002015-06-21T20:54:15.749-04:00boof-falo, the boof-falo<div style="text-align: left;">
The midwest, specifically the prairie and grasslands, is home to the American Bison. And although not a true buffalo, most people I know call them buffalo. Driving out west you expect to see them at some point or another especially when you visit National Parks that work at preserving their living conditions. Badlands National Park and Yellowstone National Park are two excellent examples and buffalo sighting locales. While we were at the Badlands we didn't see any on the main road but after driving 20 min off a dirt road to the area highlighted on the map as being Buffalo territory we were not disappointed. And there were even quite a few young ones grazing and roaming about.</div>
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Now a quick flashback story that sets up part of our buffalo experience in Yellowstone. When I went cross country with my family way back in 1996 my mother became famous for not having the camera cocked (because way back then you needed to do that to advance the film), and missing a great photo opportunity when a buffalo walked right in front of our van. I've told that story so many times that I think everyone knows it by now. So, back to present day. Molly and I are entering Yellowstone after a long day of driving across Wyoming from the Black Hills. As we're approaching the road that's part of the main loop we see a buffalo up ahead in the middle of the road. Now buffalo have the right of way. Not because they're animals but because if you scare or piss them off they will trample you and your car. So we stopped and let it go about its business. I got the camera out and just as it crosses in front of the car....I fail to take a picture. I took one, and I honestly have no idea what happened, but what came out was a picture of the dashboard. I, like my mother did 15 years ago, failed at taking a picture at the perfect buffalo photo op.<br />
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Thinking this was going to be it for up close and personal buffalo I was a little sad but we continued on towards the campground. Turns out we planned our arrival poorly, but spectacularly too. Poorly because we hadn't showered in 3 days and it took a long time to get to the campground because of traffic. But, the traffic was due to all the buffalo out and about during dinner so that was a sight to see as we continued to pass groups in the distant fields or solo ones running alongside the road. This time we got some great pics and it was amazing, and a lil scary to be so close to such large, and interesting creatures.<br />
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Turns out being in your car is a lot less scary than up close and personal which we discovered on our second day in the park. As we made our way around the park toward the Geyser Basin we stopped at the mud pots first. There's a short walk along the boardwalks from the lower pots to ones situated up the hill and as we're ascending, this foreign man comes walking down with his group and pointing up the hill says "boof-falo! the boof-falo!" Excited, intrigued and entertained, we continued up the hill and discovered what he meant by "boof-falo." There they were, a small herd lazying about the mud pots; some were rolling in the dirt, others were mothers caring for their young. And then there were the males trying to find a mate. Not only were they chasing down females but they were battling other males. One gentleman even chased the others over the boardwalk, right in front of us! We were about 15 feet away from being trampled by 3 angry, horny buffalo.<br />
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Being this close and scared out of our sneakers we were wary about continuing around the loop. We could see others up ahead close to the boardwalks and both Molly and I were hesitant to approach not knowing if they were males or females, nice or angry. The crazy ones had run off in that direction as well so in all it was a nerve-wracking experience navigating our way back to the car. We made it and that was the last of the boof-falo...til next time.Ceceliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02905698015490986022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3367835941791816551.post-68807162958493379602011-06-19T20:17:00.000-04:002015-06-21T20:50:10.818-04:00saw the ghost of elvis...down in the jungle roomUpon choosing Memphis as one of our destinations, Graceland instantly became #1 on our to-do list. First because Molly L went through an Elvis stage in high school and still has a love for "the King." Second, it was the only tourist site we knew of in Memphis off the top of our head. Anyway, we started off our one day in Memphis with a tour of Graceland and the accompanying exhibits. We got our ticket, hopped on the bus, received our audio guides and enjoyed the short ride across the street and through the gates of Graceland.<br />
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The tour happens every 10 min or so with groups of 10-15 people, each with an audio guide (automatically included with the ticket purchase). It's pretty much self-guided except there are people standing by doors and herding each small group into the rooms as they finish taking pictures and listening to the information. No visitors are allowed upstairs because that maintains the "private" area of the Presley family. The first room to the right has the longest couch EVER. It's like 15 or so feet long. And white. <br />
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I'm pretty sure each room hasn't been touched since Elvis passed away in 1977. Nothing has been updated in terms of decoration and such things like carpet have been meticulously maintained and cared for. After the living room you get to see Elvis' parents' bedroom, then the dining room. You pass through the kitchen which looks like it was taken straight from the 1970s, appliances included. Then you get a glance of the Jungle room before being led downstairs to the basement where all the recreational/party rooms were.<br />
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There is a room with mirrors on the ceiling and 3 different TVs all playing separate stations because Elvis liked to watch the news on every channel. There's a bar and then the next room includes a billiards table and the walls and ceiling are covered in an interesting and expansive piece of fabric.<br />
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Led back upstairs, you arrive in the Jungle room. As we finish the tour of the house I think about how its called Graceland Mansion but it doesn't really feel that big. Felt like a typical size Cohasset house to me.<br />
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The rest of the tour consisted of going through all the buildings Elvis had on his land. There's the office in the back, and fields where horses still roam, another building with a whole museum inside consisting of jumpsuits, memorabilia, merchandise, records, Grammys and a whole lot more. And finally the barn which has another lounge room where Elvis spent his last day and a huge room full of records and more outfits.</div>
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Last but not least you're led to the poolside graves of Elvis, his mother, father and grandmother. There's flowers galore and plenty of color from posters and tributes and gifts left behind by fans. There's even more posters alongside the paths to the bus stop where you finally get a good view of the mansion from out front. Back at the main complex there's a plethora of gift shops, places to eat and even more exhibits highlighting Elvis's fame, his foray into the movies, love of automobiles and all sorts of other things. You can also walk through his plane which like the mansion is a step back in time.<br />
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Ceceliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02905698015490986022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3367835941791816551.post-73435184873467871992011-05-31T22:04:00.000-04:002015-06-21T20:46:03.361-04:00so come with me, we'll go and see the big great smoky mountainsOur last leg of the journey began with driving up the east coast from Orlando; first stop, Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The park lies along the border between Tennessee and North Carolina with plenty to do in both sections. However we stuck to the Tennessee side, particularly the area of Cades Cove where we set up camp for 3 nights. We got there mid-week and as it was the end of the summer, the campground was fairly empty compared to other national parks we'd visited earlier in August. We had no neighbors near us so that was kinda nice. No RVs to be suffocated by. Arriving at sunset we set up camp, quickly and efficiently as we were now experts at it, and went to bed.<br />
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While planning this particular visit, there were a lot of options for horseback riding and as a childhood pastime of Molly's she really wanted to go. So we set out on an hour long horseback ride through the woods of Cades Cove. It was very peaceful though I was sad we saw no animals. Molly was happy cause she really really didn't want to see a bear. Later we took a drive through Cades Cove stopping along some of the old houses and churches of the original settlers of the area. It was really neat as it was the first national park I'd been to that had a former town and such. As we were about half way around the loop, we took a short hike to Abram's Falls. It was really gorgeous and like the rest of the Cove, really peaceful and serene. Not terribly tall, the falls were thick and full as they fell into the pool beneath. <br />
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Continuing on the Cades Cove Loop Road towards the Visitor Center we saw lots of cars pulled over and people on the side of the road looking into the trees. There was also a ranger hanging about. As we drove up we joined in the fun and learned there was a small black bear sleeping up in the trees. After a little pointing and squinting we both saw the bear and Molly liked it because he was asleep up high instead of eating us alive in our tent.<br />
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By the time we finished the loop it was already getting to be late afternoon. Since this was the last campsite we were going to be at and had yet to have a campfire (we'd been conserving costs by not purchasing firewood and we were just so tired every night that we were asleep sometimes before it was even dark out) our goal that night was to make a fire. So Molly went off with the hatchet and brought back wood that had fallen or been broken off trees and we collected a good size pile of wood. But no luck in making the fire since it refused to stay lit for more than 5 minutes or so. At least we tried...this was the night we also decided to make mac&cheese from a box with no butter or milk...bad decision. <br />
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Day 2 began with a terrific bike ride throughout Cade's Cove. As we had been driving through the cove the previous day we drove by plenty of bikers and thought it would be awesome to do too. Luckily the campground had a bike rental place that was really affordable so we hopped on and took off. It was a great ride and the 11 miles was much easier than I had expected since I'm not an "in-shape" person.<br />
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The neatest thing was passing by a couple park rangers who were looking off into the woods, one with a massive shotgun, and telling us to "just keep moving, folks." Apparently there was a wild hog in the woods and they're very very very dangerous and unpredictable so they have to shoot them. We never heard a gun shot so they probably didn't end up doing so, but I thought the whole situation was pretty cool. Another highlight of the biking was exploring more of the homes and churches the homes along the loop because we weren't having to pull off, stop the car, get out etc... <br />
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After the fantastic bike ride we headed over to the observation tower at Clingman's Dome which offers a great, sweeping view of the mountains. The hike up the sloped road was long and a little steep but the view was worth it. You could definitely see where the name "Great Smoky Mountains" came from; although there were only friendly cumulus clouds in the sky, there was a gentle fogginess hanging over the mountains.<br />
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Our afternoon activity to finish out our time in the Mountains was a hike to Laurel Falls. It was pretty easy with smooth terrain and paved all the way making it accessible for strollers or wheelchairs. The falls were very nice, small but quite pretty. I wanted to explore the area more, and I think Molly did too, but there were a ton of people so we opted for sitting and gazing at the beauty instead.<br />
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The Great Smoky Mountains proved to be a great National Park and I would love to return and explore more of the area since the park is HUGE. No bears coming into the campsite but we had a mother dear and bambi stroll through one night. And shower facilities would have been nice too but we made do with a sponge bath in our makeshift shower area.<br />
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Ceceliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02905698015490986022noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3367835941791816551.post-41451536276642636012011-05-02T14:12:00.000-04:002015-06-21T20:39:52.817-04:00bad lands, bad lands, whatcha gonna do?Straight from Wikipedia...Badlands:<span style="color: black;"><span style="color: black;"></span></span><span style="color: black;"> a type of dry </span>terrain <span style="color: black;">where softer sedimentary rocks and clay</span><span style="color: black;">-rich </span>soils <span style="color: black;">have been extensively eroded</span><span style="color: black;"> by wind</span><span style="color: black;"> and water</span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water" style="color: black;"></a><span style="color: black;">. It can resemble a malpais</span><span style="color: black;">, a terrain of volcanic rock. Canyons, ravines, gullies and hoodoos</span><span style="color: black;"> and other such geological </span><span style="color: black;">forms are common in badlands. They are often difficult to navigate by foot. Badlands often have a spectacular color display that alternates from dark black/blue coal stria to bright clays to red scoria.</span><span style="color: black;"></span><br />
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After trekking through Nebraska which was an interesting adventure all on its own, we arrived at Badlands National Park in Southwestern South Dakota, about an hour or so east of the Black Hills. There are only 2 campgrounds in the park, and one has no water, so we were really hoping that the main camping space had some empty sites since its first-come first-serve. Thankfully it did, and our driving was done for the evening. The sun was setting fast so we strolled over to a formation people were climbing all over and it had a great view to watch day turn to night.<br />
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Once the sun was gone, but before it got too dark, we pitched the tent. There were 2 crickets right on top of each other that were really cool. It was nice to see them alive and not being butchered by our car. <br />
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We spent the evening browsing the gift shop, using the wi-fi, checking in with our parents and laying out on the plains star-gazing. When the nearest town isn't for miles the stars illuminate the night sky like you wouldn't believe. One of nature's wonders for sure.<br />
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Next morning we woke, packed up the car and headed out on our drive through the park. We had to fit in Mount Rushmore later in the afternoon so we purposely didn't plan on any long hikes, though they certainly would have been fun. There was one short hike we took that was neat as it took you along an overlook then up close to the formations, through the woods and ended in a meadow-y area. Fantabulous. With no clouds in the sky and the weather not blazing hot we couldn't have asked for a better day. </div>
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The drive through the park has a ton of pull-overs, stops, overlooks...you name it. We stopped at the main ones each offering a unique viewpoint. In a way, all the erosion looks the same, but they're all different in shape, size, color. They could be red and round or tan and sharp. The flora around was also beautiful. Most of the park is grass and plains, but we saw sunflowers, white flowers I couldn't tell you the name of and others.</div>
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The fauna was also a sight to see since we don't have prairie dogs and buffalo in New England. Yes, we do have deer but no matter what, being close to wildlife is exciting. The prairie dogs were the first we saw and there were plenty of holes scattering the earth with the animals running in and out of their underground compound. Just as cute as I remembered. We also saw a herd of buffalo, babies included, in a section of the park known for their roaming. It was about 20 minutes down a dirt road but well worth the drive. <br />
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Ceceliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02905698015490986022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3367835941791816551.post-74903825685849961212011-04-24T19:04:00.002-04:002015-06-21T20:35:33.574-04:00miscellaneous #1Looking at the list I made awhile back of what I wanted to share about Molly and I's road trip, I just can't pick one item to venture into. Do I jump to the last few days when we were in Virginia, or the time spent in the southeast? Hmmm...at this very moment, I just want to talk about it all. Don't have time, or space, to do that now but I will make this post about a few "little stories" that don't really have a home any place else.<br />
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<b>Roaming Wyoming</b><br />
As we spent the day venturing across Wyoming, the scenery was pretty spectacular. The landscape went from flat plain to forest and mountains back to plains. And finally back to forest and hills again in Yellowstone.<br />
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One of the really interesting places Rt. 14 led us through was Big Horn National Forest. At one point in particular there was a series of switchbacks leading us along the sides of mountains and past plenty of "watch for falling rock" signs. Speed limits of 25-30 mph, 15 around the bends and if the car veered even a little, there wasn't much edge to keep you on the road. It was hard to admire it all from the car, especially since I was driving, so we pulled over at one overlook to admire some of the hidden gems of America.<br />
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<b>Down in the Valley</b><br />
Looking at a list of state run campgrounds and finding their locations on Google maps<b> (</b>regular view) totally doesn't prepare you for what these campgrounds are. My assumption was that after we left Yosemite and began the drive down towards Death Valley that the numerous campgrounds along the way were all going to be in the woods/mountains and all cute. Well, I was wrong. Almost immediately upon exiting Yosemite the terrain on the East side of the Sierra Nevada Mountains is rough and barren. It's as if the plains and the desert had a baby. The first campground we came to was completely empty. We couldn't even find the real entrance, or we did and there just wasn't distinctive camp sites. Or people. It was creepy.<br />
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Alas the next one we arrived at had people at it but it was one of those things I have only imagined in books. The highway is completely surrounded by rough land with mountains running along the sides a mile or two away. The color palette here is tan, sand and sage. And as your driving through all this barren land you come across a patch of bright green about half a mile off the road. That's the campground. There's a little creek and about 15 trees, no running water...a permanent outhouse is affixed and the wind makes sure you know where it is. It was so strange being there. I'm not skilled enough at describing things to explain it, but it was like walking into a movie or something. It was primitive, yes, but there was something else about it.<br />
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<b>Four Corners</b><br />
When I went on vacation with my family back in 2001 to the Southwest United States, Four Corners was amongst the many sights we saw. But because it is so iconic, and its remote location wasn't out of our way at all, I felt it was important for Molly to "be in four places at once." The four states that make up Four Corners are Colorado, Utah, Arizona and New Mexico. The monument is not very big but very American with state seals and flags marking each state's corner. It is about a quarter mile off the road, and besides getting your picture taken and browsing the souvenir stands run by the Navajo Nation, there isn't much else to do. So it was a quick stop for us and once again, we were on the road again. <br />
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Ceceliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02905698015490986022noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3367835941791816551.post-22562410707806858682011-04-17T21:04:00.000-04:002015-06-21T20:32:29.912-04:00viva las vegas!I'm not a party girl, nor a person who likes to drink a lot...or someone who likes spending money, so why would I want to spend part of my vacation in Las Vegas? Well, $30/night for a hotel room in the Stratosphere Hotel and Casino (one of the big strip hotels) is quite an incentive. Unlimited rides up to the tower and 2-for-1 unlimited rides on the extravagant "theme" rides on the top were also nice gifts included in the hotel price.<br />
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After spending the day in Death Valley we arrived in Vegas around dinner time. We entered the city by driving up the strip to our hotel and that was it for our Vegas Strip experience. Just from the drive-by though, I give Vegas great credit for making each hotel unique in design, accurate in its representations and bringing back great memories of Europe for me with the Venetian and Paris hotels. The exterior of the New York New York hotel was my favorite cause you couldn't tell which were hotel room windows and which were just part of the hotel's exterior design.<br />
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Walking into the hotel lobby/casino of the Stratosphere, it was a quite a sight for me. I'd never been in a casino before so my knowledge of them was limited to when <i>Friends</i> went to Vegas or the beautiful heist of <i>Ocean's Eleven</i>. Check-in took a half hour and I was surprised to see so many kids around. Las Vegas is sometimes thought of as an adult playground, so why would families choose to vacation here? It's not any cheaper than Disney World...I don't know, but if I were a kid, I'd rather be somewhere else.<br />
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Out itinerary had us staying 2 nights, and our plans non existent beyond the hotel reservation. We went to IHOP for dinner, a long 2 block walk from the hotel, and then spent the evening relaxing and watching some TV. We'd stayed in a few hotels so far but none were as nice as the Stratosphere and it was just nice to feel like we weren't roughing it for the entire trip. The beds certainly were a nice break from the tent we'd been in the last few days.<br />
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Next day, we spent an hour or so poolside and the skies were that impeccable bright blue. It was beyond relaxing in the sun, but with the powerful Vegas sun shining down, an hour was all we had in us.<br />
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We then grabbed a discounted lunch (courtesy of the hotel) which was too big for one meal so we saved the rest for dinner. Next was one of our two trips to the top of the tower. The Stratosphere tower is about 1150 ft tall which is about 2/3rds the size of the CN Tower and about 1/3 larger than the Space Needle. The elevator ride was crammed but quick, and we exited at the observation deck. Outside it was windy but the view of the Vegas strip and the surrounding neighborhoods was quite pretty.<br />
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After a little navigational issues in finding the correct entrances to the rides, we first braved "Insanity," a thrill ride shaped like a claw that spins you around while dangling riders over the edge. It actually wasn't that scary dangling over the edge, but they only spin you one direction and I don't do well with that kind of ride. So when that was over, once was enough and my stomach took a minute or two to settle. Next was "XScream" which is like the front of a roller coaster that shoots you over the edge, but stops before you really go over. I liked the premise but wasn't a fan of the ride. Maybe it was because we were in the back row so we didn't get the feeling we were supposed to, but who knows? The last ride, "The Big Shot" was AMAZING! This is where the unlimited rides deal came in very handy. Similar to many amusement park rides, "The Big Shot" is the 4-sided tower like ride that either shoots you up then drops really fast, or brings you up slowly before dropping you and bringing you back up again. This one shoots you up first and that thrill of going up that fast so high up was so completely awesome Molly and I couldn't get enough. That evening when we went back to view Vegas at night, we went on "The Big Shot" like 4 or 5 times. <br />
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Besides spending time chilling in the hotel room during the afternoon and eating our leftovers for dinner, we did dabble in a little gambling. It was Las Vegas after all. And we came out on the "plus" side after winning $10 in "Deal or No Deal"! Gambling is something think I could get quite addicted to if it were fake money, but since it's not, stopping after our big win was quite easy. We tested out a couple of games and learned the basic logistics of them, but they really need an instruction manual. Especially when you go into a casino thinking that games that look like slot machines still involved pulling a lever to play. We didn't go near any of the card tables.<br />
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Ceceliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02905698015490986022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3367835941791816551.post-70056927377432456422011-04-09T23:49:00.000-04:002015-06-21T20:25:43.939-04:00the mountain of our fore fathersAfter the awe-inspiring formations of Badlands National Park, we drove west into the Black Hills. The landscape differences between the two locations was incredible. One minute you were in the plains of the midwest and the next, you're driving around mountain curves surrounded by tall, thin pine trees. Our first destination was Mt. Rushmore. If you don't know, Mt. Rushmore is a granite mountain top with the busts of 4 presidents (George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Teddy Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln) carved from the stone. I'm not sure of the reasons the artists decided this location, in the Southwestern corner of South Dakota was a good destination for their masterpiece, but alas there it was determined they carve. Well, it was really more like blasting with dynamite and then carving, but it took time, effort and skill nonetheless.<br />
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The site is now owned by the National Park Service and contains a large amphitheater, exhibits on the bust construction, and a small area on Native American culture. And of course, multiple gift shops. The walkway leading to the overlook of the mountain is lined with 4-sided columns. Each side had a stage flag waving from the top, and carved lower, the name and date of admission into the Union.<br />
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It was a gorgeous day and we took time wandering the exhibit halls and reading up on the creation of Mt. Rushmore. We then strolled along the walking path which takes you right to the base of the mountain and here we took a peek at the teepee and other Native American artifacts out for viewing. <br />
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It was a beautiful day; sunny and not excruciatingly hot. We couldn't have asked for better weather. I'd been to Mt. Rushmore once before with my family way back in 1996 and my only memory is from the family photograph we have so visiting it again was pretty cool and I felt fairly patriotic. It didn't take long to complete our visit so by early afternoon we were already heading out to find our campground in the Black Hills. We also tried to visit Jewel Cave but unfortunately all the tours were sold out. It worked out though and we spent a very relaxing evening in our tent and caught up on much needed sleep.Ceceliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02905698015490986022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3367835941791816551.post-13978319876233426122011-03-23T18:24:00.000-04:002015-06-21T20:22:43.420-04:00it is the sweet, simple things of life which are the real ones after all - laura ingalls wilderOur time in St. Louis was short; early the next morning we ate a quick breakfast, packed up the car and were on our way west towards southwest Missouri to the home of Laura Ingalls Wilder. Though her childhood is chronicled in her "Little House" book series, her home in Mansfield, MO is where she spent her later years with her husband and children and is where she wrote her series.<br />
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The town of Mansfield is quite small and the Wilder house is located a mile or so from the downtown area. We arrived and the next tour wasn't for a little while so we took our time browsing the small museum which housed a great number of treasures from Laura Ingalls Wilder's past. There were photos, drawings, toys, clothing, kitchen utensils, books...you name it. Items were organized starting with Laura's childhood on the prairie, through her marriage to Almanzo Wilder and through her later years as a writer, and even had a lot of information regarding her daughter Rose's writing career. <br />
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The tour then began with an informational and background video followed by a lovely tour through the small farmhouse. Explanations of the furniture, kitchen appliances, design, architecture were all quite interesting and I thought the guides did a great job with everything. The group had a hard time squeezing into the small rooms but it never became claustrophobic. After the tour it was suggested to check out the house down the road where the Wilder's lived for a short period, but moved back to the original house because Laura didn't like the larger one. However, since we still had quite a bit of traveling to do for the day we opted out on that visit and instead visited the Wilder's graves before heading out of town.<br />
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Continuing west, we traveled into Kansas where we subsequently got lost. Note to future travelers: when searching for a cabin in the middle of Farmland, USA don't trust GoogleMaps. Where we were was the definition of middle of nowhere Farmland, USA. Where I had thought we needed to go turned out to be really far from where we actually wanted to go. Luckily, Molly was able to access limited internet on her phone and looked up the actual directions to the "Little House on the Prairie" cabin from their website. This was something I probably should have done instead of relying on GoogleMaps getting their address correct in a land where streets are called "County Rd 4100."<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">example of road signs in southeast kansas</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the roads of Farmland, USA</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-g_Oe0Q2a3_w/TYptVvBIvxI/AAAAAAAAB-Y/9GgSolWF9tQ/s1600/P7290161.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-g_Oe0Q2a3_w/TYptVvBIvxI/AAAAAAAAB-Y/9GgSolWF9tQ/s320/P7290161.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">kansas, you name your gas stations well</td></tr>
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Although we were only on Day 3 of our trek, this "failure" on my part didn't make me very happy but it was only 1 of 2 blunders we really incurred. I know people get lost all the time and we didn't even have a GPS, or recent map for that matter, but I still felt bad about getting us lost on roads that weren't even paved. I knew Molly really wanted to see the cabin and the prairie, but we were also losing time in getting to our housing in Omaha for the night. I had thought we'd be arriving around 930 or 10pm, and now it was looking like 11 or 1130. Since it was a college friend of my mom's we were staying with and we didn't want to make her wait up, this part of the afternoon was lousy for me with deciding what to do. Looking back it probably wasn't that bad of a situation, but I get anxious and nervous over schedules and keeping people happy and such.<br />
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Finally at the cabin, we made it there with 5 minutes to spare before closing. It really is just a cabin on the prairie; free admission and there's even the cutest little post office and school house to go into as well. There's a gift shop as part of a neighboring farmhouse and miles of fields and farms to look out over. Bales of hay littered the land and it was quite picturesque.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-esKAoLtE0bc/TYps6HNR0WI/AAAAAAAAB9w/h0VL5Of1q_c/s1600/100_3700.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-esKAoLtE0bc/TYps6HNR0WI/AAAAAAAAB9w/h0VL5Of1q_c/s320/100_3700.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">replica of the "little house on the prairie"</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">travel wagon</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-Ci1qPVybqb4/TYps_0rLE8I/AAAAAAAAB-E/0LvcuJifxCU/s1600/100_3715.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-Ci1qPVybqb4/TYps_0rLE8I/AAAAAAAAB-E/0LvcuJifxCU/s320/100_3715.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"welcome to sunny side"</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">inside sunny side schoolhouse</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">wayside post office; was in use until the 1970s</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">farmland, USA</td></tr>
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Our "Little House on the Prairie" tour was now concluded and all that was left for the day was to drive north through the back highways of Kansas and Nebraska. Based on where we were, the interstate option may have looked faster but because it was out of the way to get there, the mileage was longer so taking them would have been no faster. And as we had quickly learned to hate the massive 18-wheeler trucks, we wanted to avoid the interstates as much as possible. Taking the back highways was really quite fun for the most part and driving through all the different towns was a great way to see "Small Town, USA" One town was having some sort of event like a rodeo or something that seemed to attract many of its citizens. Molly and I also discovered the wonder that is Sonic in one of these small towns. More on Sonic and other fast food discoveries later. <br />
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The drive up to Omaha was pretty uneventful until the sun set. From then on it was all delirium and craziness. Doing our best to stay awake, we'd run out of music to sing along to and topics to talk about so we resorted to singing songs from the old "Wee Sing" kids videos. We performed the whole repertoire from "Wee Sing in Sillyville" and touched upon some of the numbers from "Grandpa's Magical Toy Shop." Added to the singing delirium, we were also killing thousands of crickets by the minute. I think some of the carcasses are still on Molly's car. It was an interesting night to say the least but we did make it to Omaha around 1130 and Sandy, my mom's friend had graciously stayed awake to let us into her house. Just like the night before, Molly and I went to sleep so fast you would have thought we hadn't slept in days.Ceceliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02905698015490986022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3367835941791816551.post-68898349816689634502011-03-18T09:15:00.001-04:002011-03-21T13:19:09.404-04:00feeling hot hot hotFinally in St. Louis, a little less than half way across the country from our homes in Massachusetts, there wasn't much we planned to do besides visiting with my family who live there. Probably the most famous icon of St. Louis, and maybe even the Midwest, is the Gateway Arch so we pulled off the highway and headed through the park along the Mississippi River to see the massive architectural wonder up close. Depending on the line and price to ascend to the top, we weren't sure how long to spend but after just the short walk from the parking garage the one thing we did know was that whatever we did should be INSIDE! Except for Death Valley, I think our day in St. Louis was the hottest of the entire 5 weeks. I can sustain a lot of heat since I don't sweat much, but depending on humidity and breathability level, there's only so much I can handle. And this day was just on the edge of being unbearable.<br />
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The wait to get into the arch was at least an hour so that was now out of the question. We gazed at the arch, walked to the top of the hill to look over at what I think was the State House and then strolled down to the waterfront overlook. The sun's reflections on the arch were pretty spectacular especially with all the Arch's unique lines and angles. I had some major flashbacks to being around 12 years old and seeing the Air Show on that very same lawn during one of my summer vacations.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-A_j70DYOHV8/TYLUOa2qJmI/AAAAAAAAB88/oC8MyYOlYes/s1600/P7280139.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-A_j70DYOHV8/TYLUOa2qJmI/AAAAAAAAB88/oC8MyYOlYes/s320/P7280139.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-qXu1PJ6ft4k/TYLUHvyjz3I/AAAAAAAAB8o/UecPq5nUdlw/s1600/100_3670.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-qXu1PJ6ft4k/TYLUHvyjz3I/AAAAAAAAB8o/UecPq5nUdlw/s320/100_3670.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-UlHQEIa9Few/TYLUJYo-npI/AAAAAAAAB8s/nKkinQEFPPU/s1600/100_3671.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-UlHQEIa9Few/TYLUJYo-npI/AAAAAAAAB8s/nKkinQEFPPU/s320/100_3671.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-0YL79xqybOg/TYLUK4O0AFI/AAAAAAAAB8w/s13E3d7txHQ/s1600/100_3672.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-0YL79xqybOg/TYLUK4O0AFI/AAAAAAAAB8w/s13E3d7txHQ/s320/100_3672.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-cLMOCsnrSlQ/TYLUL5-lUgI/AAAAAAAAB80/cavRty-x-AU/s1600/100_3690.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-cLMOCsnrSlQ/TYLUL5-lUgI/AAAAAAAAB80/cavRty-x-AU/s320/100_3690.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-_mstavy5G-Q/TYLUP29tkZI/AAAAAAAAB9A/0Has2dwWWMU/s1600/P7280154.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-_mstavy5G-Q/TYLUP29tkZI/AAAAAAAAB9A/0Has2dwWWMU/s320/P7280154.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>At my grandma's house we dropped our bags off, grabbed a bite to eat and pondered what to do next. Our evening plans consisted of dinner and then taking my cousins to the Muny's production of "The Sound of Music." But since it was only early afternoon there was time to kill. My aunt suggested the zoo since it was free so we headed into Forest Park and into the zoo. We didn't last very long though. Between the excruciating heat of the day and being terribly tired from driving 1200 miles in a day and a half, it was hard to stay on our feet and interested in the animals. The animals also decided it was too hot to be out so almost all were hidden somewhere in their habitats. <br />
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After the zoo, I took Molly to Ted Drewes, the famous custard place in St. Louis. We got some to go and then spent the rest of the afternoon at Grandma's house. She treated Molly, my cousins and I to dinner, then we headed over to Forest Park (again!) where the Muny is located. The Muny is the largest outdoor theater in the United States seating 11000 people with about 1500 being given away for free every performance. Each summer they perform 8 professional musical productions, each for a week. Throughout my time visiting my family in St. Louis during the summer I've seen a handful of shows there so I thought it would be something fun to show Molly. Our week was "The Sound of Music" with Ashley Brown, the original Mary Poppins on Broadway, playing Maria. The sets and costumes were wonderful but without binoculars you can't see too much detail from the free seats. The people on stage are teeny-weeny. The show was pretty well done for the most part, but the movie will always surpass the stage version in every way. <br />
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We arrived home late and couldn't fall asleep fast enough. It had been a really, really long and HOT day. I don't think I've ever fallen asleep faster than I did that night.</div>Ceceliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02905698015490986022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3367835941791816551.post-75164315760067167322011-03-13T18:56:00.000-04:002011-03-13T18:56:43.032-04:00tower of the devilAlong our way across the grand state of Wyoming, we stopped at Devils Tower National Monument. Residing in the Northeast corner of the state, we arrived mid-morning after departing from the Black Hills. Devils Tower is one of those really astounding natural landforms that really makes you wonder how in the freaking world it got there. Surrounded by low, low hills, Devils Tower is a very prominent fixture in the area. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-hy5SYl06XLE/TX07A2QTudI/AAAAAAAAB8U/FjIxhaqZejg/s1600/P8010343.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-hy5SYl06XLE/TX07A2QTudI/AAAAAAAAB8U/FjIxhaqZejg/s320/P8010343.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Winding up the hill to the "base" of the tower, there was a prairie dog village to stop by. The lil creatures were quite cute and I could only imagine what their labyrinth of tunnels must look like underground. After parking we checked out the teeny museum where it explains the geological history of the "Tower" and where it's name came from. Originally, the Native Americans gave it a name that related to a bear, but it was an 19th century expedition leader who changed its name due to a misinterpretation of the multiple Native American terms.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-_xytvDNBkqc/TX0625OfbeI/AAAAAAAAB78/4o8MZTz-EDM/s1600/100_3813.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-_xytvDNBkqc/TX0625OfbeI/AAAAAAAAB78/4o8MZTz-EDM/s320/100_3813.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>All around the base are massive rock fields, some larger than others, yet all were so tempting to climb. There was a sign saying rock climbing was forbidden past a certain point, and I completely mis-interpreted it. I thought they meant all the rocks, not just the vertical ones leading to the top that you need a permit and rock climbing gear etc. for. So we "sneakily" climbed on them as we took the short hiking path around the base. It was a lot of fun. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-Kxo6YaMWmtg/TX064OJfJLI/AAAAAAAAB8A/xLjEYa_FYUY/s1600/100_3818.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-Kxo6YaMWmtg/TX064OJfJLI/AAAAAAAAB8A/xLjEYa_FYUY/s320/100_3818.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-SmG9otZ5msM/TX065Jpr-RI/AAAAAAAAB8E/bfpnt1ybWdg/s1600/100_3821.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-SmG9otZ5msM/TX065Jpr-RI/AAAAAAAAB8E/bfpnt1ybWdg/s320/100_3821.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-kBQWOQnsJh0/TX07DCcp7wI/AAAAAAAAB8Y/J3aCG1ifvEI/s1600/P8010360.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-kBQWOQnsJh0/TX07DCcp7wI/AAAAAAAAB8Y/J3aCG1ifvEI/s320/P8010360.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />
As the morning progressed, the clouds cleared and the sun came out. It was really beautiful and we took our time appreciating every angle we could get of the miraculous, monstrous geological formation.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-y5oDp88cOPE/TX07EhuG_kI/AAAAAAAAB8c/V_IYiJYdI5Q/s1600/P8010364.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-y5oDp88cOPE/TX07EhuG_kI/AAAAAAAAB8c/V_IYiJYdI5Q/s320/P8010364.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-hnmB8Uf6xLY/TX066BRQU4I/AAAAAAAAB8I/nTozv79hZyY/s1600/100_3832.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-hnmB8Uf6xLY/TX066BRQU4I/AAAAAAAAB8I/nTozv79hZyY/s320/100_3832.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>A neat thing to see was climbers shimmying their way up the sides of this thing. I don't know how they were doing it, but it was crazy watching them make their way to the top.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-eUFTCrCLFLA/TX0666EKm4I/AAAAAAAAB8M/i-htaPvjWQA/s1600/100_3833.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-eUFTCrCLFLA/TX0666EKm4I/AAAAAAAAB8M/i-htaPvjWQA/s320/100_3833.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/--FRI_hpfZtY/TX0672FbuII/AAAAAAAAB8Q/E2q0WPPcs5Q/s1600/100_3839.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/--FRI_hpfZtY/TX0672FbuII/AAAAAAAAB8Q/E2q0WPPcs5Q/s320/100_3839.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-9fgBoy62cx0/TX07GBgotEI/AAAAAAAAB8g/6N1an8yVloU/s1600/P8010365.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-9fgBoy62cx0/TX07GBgotEI/AAAAAAAAB8g/6N1an8yVloU/s320/P8010365.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>As we completed the loop trail, we saw lots of people climbing on the "front" boulder field. There was even a Ranger down below watching all the people exploring. Here, I reread the "climbing is forbidden" and saw how I totally misunderstood it before. You could climb up until the tree line, then it became "permit-only" hiking. So we took off our flip flops, and Molly in her sweatshirt and leggings and me and in my Old Navy sundress swiftly climbing the large, very rectangular, rocks. We made it to the top quickly and another hiker we passed even complimented us on our skill with lack of footwear. We took some time at the top to look out at the view and I tried to comprehend the natural wonder of this place. The boulder field was great to look at and it was a fantastic place to be.<br />
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</div>Ceceliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02905698015490986022noreply@blogger.com0