A Very Quiet Summer

Not too much went on this summer, we stayed pretty close to home. Short of a few trips to the casinos to deposit our yearly donation!

We have become docents at our zoo. Docents are educators, yep that's what I said educators. We spent January - March attending Saturday classes to learn all the things expected of us. So exactly what do we do? Well, we basically are ambassadors for the Little Rock Zoo. Among all the wonderful exhibits there, the zoo has an education department, as all zoo's have. Within the department are what are termed "education animals." These animals include, Parrots, Macaws, Rabbits, a Tortoise, Ferrets, a Fan-Tailed Pigeons, a Hedgehog, a Woodchuck, Domesticated Rats, Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches, a Bearded Dragon (lizard), Prickly Sticks, a Sinaloan Milk Snake, a Albino Corn Snake, Ball Pythons, a Blue Tongued Skink, a Speckled King Snake, a Chilean Rosehair Tarantula, and others!

Our function is to take animals and introduce them them to different groups. These groups may include church groups, library programs, school programs, pre-school programs, Boy/Girl scout functions, birthday parties, local functions, etc.

So not only are we sharing the experience of wildlife with a very eclectic audience, we are educating ourselves as well.

Most people consider a zoo a zoo, a place where animals are locked up for people to bring their children to see. Our zoo is fortunate to have some wonderful exhibits which are designed to be as natural as animals habitat as can be. Our zoo touts a wonderful Penguin exhibit, and this year a baby penguin was hatched, not a common occurrence in captivity. A baby gorilla was born this year. The Crowned Cranes gave birth to four little ones. All exciting happenings at any zoo. Our new Cheetah exhibit is doing well, however, aside from the usual diet fed to mom and daughter, we have found that our cats are gaining weight due their success in controlling the squirrel population!

I guess I could go on and on, but I am sure you are already bored. Needless to say, I am sure you can feel our excitement in our new found love of volunteering at the zoo.

My Review of Custom Messenger Bag

Originally submitted at Timbuk2

Customize your own Messenger

Custom Messenger Bag

Great Bag

By tawcat from Little Rock, Arkansas on 6/4/2012

 

5out of 5

Pros: Durable , Roomy , Good Strap Length, Comfortable , Attractive, High Quality, Lightweight 

Best Uses: Extended trips , Commuting, Day Trips, Computer, Airplane travel 

Describe Yourself: Practical

Was this a gift?: No

So this is the second Classic Messenger I've purchased. My first was an XS and the new one is a small. However, don't let the term "small" influence your visual picture.

The XS is just the right size, which for the first few uses was in fact perfect. Then I had to add stuff! After my last trip with it I decided to upgrade to the next level, small. When it arrived I immediately opened the package and began sizing it up. I did good by adding the grab strap.

This bag is going to be absolutely perfect. Enough room to carry my iPad, my small DSLR, my point and shoot, all the other little things I carry like medications, snacks, extra batteries, and whatever else my wife tells me to carry!

I would recommend Timbuk2 to anyone looking for a quality bag.

(legalese)

San Diego, California

Last year at a charity silent auction our bid won round trip tickets for two to wherever American Airlines flew, to include Mexico and Canada. One would think that Alaska being one of the fifty US States would be included in the "wherever." Wrong! We could choose anywhere in Canada or Mexico, but they would not fly us to Anchorage! So Lee got her little head going and decided on San Diego.

I know, you are probably saying to yourselves, "why San Diego?" Well, a few reasons. One Lee had never been there, and two, San Diego touts one of the largest and best zoos in the world. Recently becoming docents at our local zoo, we figured it would be a great education for us. On the day of our flight we arose early. Have to be at our little po-dunk airport at least an hour and a half before we fly. I guess I really shouldn't dis our little airport, after all it has been renamed as the "Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport." Still, there are only twelve gates, so an hour and a half is a bit unrealistic, but rules are rules. Took all of like fifteen minutes to process in, check our bag, and get through screening. Now we have an hour and fifteen minutes to waste. At that hour the coffee shop and Burger King are the only eating places open. We board and the plane departs on time. Arrive DFW with plenty of time to grab a bite to eat before our flight leaves for San Diego. Our flight is boarded, everyone seated, flight attendants prepared the aircraft for takeoff. Now theres a good statement. From the cockpit the Captain announces, "flight attendants prepare the cabin for takeoff." Kinda gives the visual of flight attendants scurrying about, checking this and checking that; ensuring the aircraft is a-okay to make the flight! In actuality they walk down the aisle telling people to fasten their seal belts; put the seat backs in the upright position; announcing every two rows turn off all electronics, if it has an on/off switch, turn it off; and closing the overhead bins. I just have to add this, why do they give the safety briefing after the cabin is prepared for takeoff? The first part of the briefing is a demonstration of how to fasten your seat belt, you'd think this would be done prior to them telling you to fasten your seat belt! Just an observation. The cabin is secured and we ready to pull away from the gate. At that moment the Captain announces, "folks due to a storm, the airport has shut down ground operations, should be just a few minutes and we'll be on our way." An hour later we are told if there is no other lightening strikes within ten miles of the airport for the next fifteen minutes we'll get the go ahead to go. Damn, a lightening bolt pierces the sky. Another announcement informs us that if we desire to leave the aircraft we can; however, we will not be allowed back on this flight and will have to make arrangements for a later flight. About two hours and we are told we are pulling away from the gate, but there might be sixty to seventy planes ahead of us for take off! "Flight attendants ready the cabin," oops, wait, ground operations have been shut down once again. Yes we are still sitting on the plane at the gate. Finally, end hour three, we are given the go ahead. Kudos to our pilot, this guy is not waiting around. He pulls back from the gate and taxis his plane to the runway, we are in first place!!!! Off the ground and airborne, three hours and seven minutes later we are on the ground in San Diego. Cab to our hotel, the Hotel Solamar, a Kimpton hotel. Excellent staff, super room, perfect location, everything pretty perfect. The hotel is located a block from Petco Park, one and half miles to the USS Midway, and a block from restaurant avenue. We kinda threw our stuff in and headed out. Initially we were to be in SD at noon, however with the three hour delay and a three hour flight we are now approaching the seven o'clock hour. And we're starving!! Remember, not only did the delays mess us up, be we gained two in the process due to time zones. So to us it's like nine at night. The hotel staff tells us to walk one block and we'll find a plethora of restaurants. First stop "The Wine Bank," yes they have Jameson!!!! We are on Fifth Avenue in downtown San Diego. Oh my gosh, so many choices. Italian, Thai, Seafood, Steaks, Irish Pubs, Pizza places, you name it, it's on Fifth! Neat part, all the restaurants have a menu posted outside, so as we walk, we peruse menus. It all sounds and smells soooo good. We happen upon Croce's, a familiar name. This happens to be owned by the late Jim Croce's wife, who is also the Executive Chef. What the heck, we're hungry and the place looks quaint. We are seated. Memorabilia everywhere and music by Jim Croce fill the air. The menu was rather limited, but this is always good as we don't have many choices to ponder over. Our dining staff, Leslie, answered a few questions and we ordered. Lee opted for the Roasted Free Range Chicken while I ordered the Swordfish. Hey the worse that can happen is we stop for pizza on the way back to the hotel. Well, after spending five nights in San Diego, Lee and I both agree that Croce's was the best dinner meal we ate. A satisfying portion cooked to absolute perfection. On the way back to the hotel we had to stop at the Ghirardelli Ice Cream and Chocolate Shop! Like after the meal at Croce's we needed something to eat. But it was chocolate, and theres always room for chocolate!!! Spent a day at the San Diego Zoo,

did not expect so many folks on a week day, found out SD has like six weeks of Spring break! Even though it was busy we had a ball. We were told a couple of hours would be ample enough time, five hours later we still had not seen everything. A good excuse to go back some day. Lee put her big girl panties on and gave in to a tram ride across the zoo grounds. I guess the ride lasted maybe fifteen minutes, Lee got to see a beautiful skyline, while I snapped pictures to get that aerial view effect. She is so afraid of heights! Dinner at "The Field." An Irish pub setting and were told most of the decor was brought over from an old Irish pub in Ireland. The food was well prepared and very healthy portions. Lee had pointed out all the beer they had on draught. On closer inspection, many of the tap handles were inverted Irish Whiskey bottles, mounted on the wall! They were set in a pourer which operated much like a drink dispenser at a fast food place. Basically the whiskey was on draught as well!!!!! On the way back to the hotel we bypassed the Ghirardelli shop; however, we did not make it past Heavenly Cupcake! This was a quaint little shop that specialized in, well, cupcakes. Lee bought two to bring back to the hotel for dessert later. More about Heavenly Cupcake to come. Next day we boarded a ferry for Coronado, about a fifteen minute ferry trip. Lee had read that we had to go to the Hotel Del Coronado, something about it being the oldest hotel and the tradition was to have a drink and render a toast to the hotel. The hotel is located fifteen minutes from the ferry landing. We chose to walk and turned left instead of right off the ferry. Little did we know we were following the bike trail. After walking for about an hour, we finally arrived at trails end. Hmmm, where the hell is this hotel? So we walked a bit more and finally ran into someone that told us the hotel was still like three miles away. Finally we arrived. Had a very nice lunch on the patio at the Sheerwater restaurant, very nice view, nice lunch and a good rest for our feet. After lunch we headed towards the ferry landing. Next ferry left at 3:30, we walked briskly, but decided we weren't going to make it. As the landing came into sight, to our delight the ferry was still there. We had like two minutes to make it. We literally ran the last block, and boarded the ferry right behind the ferry Captain, made it by "that much." I bet Lee and walked seventy-five miles in our five day stay, not counting the zoo or the museums. For dinner we chose the Ocean Room. Not bad at all. And again the portions were very large. Had these been restaurants at home, we could have taken "to go" boxes and would have had enough food for three more meals. Okay, your guess, where do think we stopped on the way back? If you said Heavenly Cupcake you would be correct! This time I got a cupcake as well and enjoyed it the following morning with coffee. As we were paying for our delights, the clerk handed Lee a little flyer, she explained from 4pm to 9pm the second Wednesday of each month they have a tasting. They create three new flavors and bake up mini cupcakes. When you arrive they give you the three mini cupcakes and a ballot. You try each one and rate them one, two, or three. The one that receives the most number one votes, is featured as a full sized cupcake of that flavor for a day. Last month, the Girl Scout Mint Cookie flavor won. The owner contacted a friend that had a daughter in the scouts and asked if he could buy some thin mint cookies. The friend said sure, how many, the cupcake guy says eight hundred dollars worth!!!!! Cool idea. Morning arrives. Big day ahead, USS Midway in the morning and a Padre's game at three-fifteen. The Midway is one and a half miles from the hotel, we walk both ways! The USS Midway was awesome, unbelievable of the role she played during and in US conflicts. After the Midway we headed to The Fish Market just a few blocks from the Midway. It truly is a fish market selling fresh fish daily. They also have two restaurants in the market. We decided to have lunch. All I can say is Yum-O. This was the best lunch we ate in SD. Lee opted for the freshly battered fried clam strips and I bet there must have been a pound of them.

I ordered a cup of New England style clam chowder and the fish tacos. The clam chowder was the best I have ever eaten, being a Massachusetts boy that says a lot; and the fish tacos were OMG good! On a schedule so we couldn't linger. Walked back to the hotel, rested fifteen minutes and it was off to the Padre's game where they were hosting the Arizona Diamondbacks. Luckily Petco Park is a block and a half from the hotel. Entered the park, bought, our now traditional, t-shirt and hat, and we were off to find our seats. Section 107, Row 16, Seats 22 & 23. Perfect seats right on the first base line. Had a traditional hot dog and beer around the seventh inning. Score, Padre's losing one to nothing. I suggest we leave to beat the crowd, not that we had anywhere to go. Lee suggests we wait until the eighth inning is over. Fine. Bottom of the eighth, Padre's put a guy on first, next batter gets up to the plate, first pitch he smacks a four hundred feet home run! Score two to one, Padre's go on to win their only game in the three game series!!!! Dinner tonight is at Ciros Pizza. Not the best pizza in the world, but pretty good and very reasonable price wise. They have a daily special two slices of pizza and a soft drink, $6.95; or two slices and a beer for $8, can't go wrong. After pizza, you guessed it, Heavenly Cupcake. Hey we have a duty tonight, we have to vote for the next featured flavor. The place is busy, well duh, free cupcakes! We make our way to the counter and we are given our three mini cupcakes. Flavors this night were, Banana Split, Neopolitan, and Orange Dreamsicle. Our first choice was the Banana Split. I think Lee would actually move to SD just for Heavenly Cupcake. We turned in our ballots, purchased our dessert and breakfast and headed back to the hotel for a restful night. Our last day. Wow how time flies when you walk a mile! Today we head to Balboa Park to enjoy a few of the museums. Our first stop is the Veterans museum that we find closed due to a broken water main, bummer. So we head to the Museum of Natural History. They have a Titanic exhibit celebrating the hundredth anniversary of the sinking. The Titanic was a bit disappointing, thought there would have been a few more historical accounts of that terrible evening. All in all it was okay for what was on display. Stopped at The Prado at Balboa Park for lunch. Not a bad little lunch. I had the turkey burger, had it not been for the avocado and jalapeño pepper it would not have had much taste. Lee had a chicken salad salad, fresh greens etc with a dollop of chicken salad. She also ordered the Sangria, my gosh, it was served in tumbler sized glass. After lunch it was off to the Museum of Man. Very neat place, many exhibits and very clean. I thought it was better than the Titanic. Overflowing in culture, we catch a cab and head back to the hotel. Need to pack, our flight is at eleven in the morning, but remember that two hour prior to flight time arrival requirement. Figure we can catch our breath a bit before we head to Little Italy for dinner. Dinner plans change, Lee decides she is too tired to trek through Little Italy, so we settle on a restaurant close to the hotel. We choose Lou & Mickey's. Second best dinner in SD. Again I ordered fish along with two half orders of sides, grilled asparagus and creamed corn; Lee ordered a roasted ravioli entree and shared the sides. The servings were more than ample. Lee's ravioli dish could have fed three adults and the half orders of sides would have been plenty to compliment the ravioli. Superb atmosphere, a very nice dinner to say the least. Tonight we skip Heavenly Cupcake:( A note must be made about the folks we met/ran into while in SD. We never encountered a rude person. Everyone was friendly and helpful. While dining at Lou & Mickey's a younger couple with two boys were seated next to us. We were seated in kind of a booth/table combination. So we were fairly close to the young family. Everyone nodded and said hello and exchanged some small talk. They were headed to the ball game after dinner. The usual exchange of "where are you from, do you eat here often etc" take place. They order. When their meal arrives, they display the same reaction we did, oh my goodness, that is a lot of food. The child's order of mac & cheese could have served a small army. I think one of the boys had a burger. The mother ordered something that was covered with a red sauce. I had to ask, chicken parmesan was the answer. First it looked delicious, second there was so much of it. She offered us a taste, we said thank you, but we are like stuffed. Next thing we know, the dad is passing a plate with silverware to us, saying there is plenty, please try it. Glad we did, it was so good. My point of the above, these folks were indicative of everyone we had met. Very few folks in Arkansas would be sharing their dinner with folks they just met. Our trip was wonderful, San Diego is on our list of places we need to return to. The flight back was uneventful and the comfort of our bed was well received! Photos are posted at this link: Click Here

New England Adventure

Well once again we've loaded up the car and headed out in the direction of New England. We are hoping the aftermath of hurricane Irene does not affect us too much.

On this trip we plan stops at Hanover, PA; Philadelphia, PA; Mystic, CT; Old Sturbridge, MA; the Boston, MA area and a Boston Redsox game; we plan a short drive into both New Hampshire and Maine. Once we leave the Boston area we will head west through upstate New York to Niagara Falls. From Niagara Falls we head north into Canada, proceeding on to Toronto. We'll spend a few days in Toronto and then head south to Waterford, IN where we will visit with friends for a few days.

From Indiana we head for home. Not sure yet what we'll do between Waterford and home, but you can bet Lee will come up with something.

Here we are day two. Arrived Hanover, PA safe and sound. We made Knoxville, TN last night, one missed turn, damn GPS!

Nashville was the worst part of the drive. When we hit Nashville it was three-thirty in the afternoon and raining. You'd a thought it was rush hour, where do all these people come from? Obviously either no one works or there are a bunch of folks making an exodus to Nashville to make it big!

No real sight seeing yet, that begins tomorrow with the Synder's Pretzel and Utz Potato Chip plants. No cameras are allowed at the pretzel place, obviously pretzels have more secrets than we thought.

Today we passed through Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and Maryland. Crossed the Shenendoah and Potomac rivers. Passed by the location of Meade's Headquarters and Harper's Ferry. And we are officially in the north as we have crossed the Mason-Dixon Line!

Some neat names: the towns of Rural Retreat and Max Meadows; A Mother's Hunger State Park, and many more. And here I thought the Arkansas towns of Pickles Gap, 56, Toad Suck, and Oil Trough were weird.

I told Lee I wasn't sure why she wanted to do these drives, she's either sleeping or reading, so she never sees anything along the way. Next time we fly!

So ends day two!!!

Day three began with a wonderful breakfast served up by our B&B host, Bruce. After breakfast it was off to the Snyder's of Hanover pretzel factory. What an operation. Would you believe eight tons of pretzels are produced every hour. They go through 250,000 pounds of flour a day. They installed 16,000 solar panels on twenty six acres which produces thirty percent of the power used by both the factory and the headquarters building.

Then it was off to tour the Utz potato chip factory. Equally as awesome. They produce something like 32,000 pounds of chips an hour. And for every pound of chips, four pounds of potatoes are used. Utz is still a family owned business serving all fifty states. All the product they produce in a day is shipped within twenty four hours. They adjust production in accordance with demand so chips don't sit in the warehouse. They also use 100% cottonseed oil, so the chip is lighter and more flavorful.

After our tours we of course visited the outlet stores, so now our once empty trunk is now filled with chips and pretzels.

More fun to come tomorrow, the rain is supposed to ease up so maybe we'll get to do some outside stuff. End day three!

Day four. I must begin with if you know us, you know we are not the average tourist. Today we drove to York and attended the State Fair in York. Why you ask? Well it happens to be the oldest state fair in the USA. It started way back in the 1700's. So pretty significant.

The weather actually played fair and by mid afternoon the sun peeked through and brought a bit of blue sky.

We missed the birthing of a lamb by about twenty minutes. Bummer, but, the pig was ready to give birth to ten to twelve piglets within minutes. We waited and watched to no avail. Six hours later still no piglets:(

We got very interested in the goat competition. Milking goats that is. We learned that this particular breed of goats is judged on the the size of their mammory, how well they walked with what we thought was a very full udder. Then the arch of the back and other factors played into who won. Another interesting tidbit or should I say observation, is that they pee first and then poo!!! LOL. I know TMI.

All in all we had a good day at the fair. The highlight was getting a stellar deal on a new mattress. Yes, you read right. We bought a new mattress at the Pennslyvania State Fair. How crazy is that, but I remind you, we are not the average tourist. I mean you be the judge, seeing the Liberty Bell or buying a new mattress!!!

We have eaten at some great eateries and some not so great. So far, we are having a great time. Stay tuned to tomorrow, Gettysburg on a Segway!!! You gotta love us. End day four.

Day five. This trip surely does not have the flair our Alaska adventure had. No hay bales, moose, or bears. No heads carved in mountains or hail storms in Deadwood! So we are having to struggle to make the blog worth the read.

Today we drove to Gettysburg, y'all know where thats at or have at least read about the battle. Some say it was the turning point in the outcome of the Civil War. We spent the day and it was a very good day. Our initial plan was to take a tour on Segways. The weather being so unpredictable, we decided to do a double-decker bus tour. How silly, the last open bus tour leaves at 10 a.m. The closed bus was running, hmmm, nope not for us. We were instructed to start our days adventure at the visitors center. So thats where we headed.

Turned out to be the best thing for us to do. We purchased tickets to watch a film, a History channel presentation narrated by Morgan Freeman. The film was followed by a Cyclorama. This was absolutely awesome. Narration as well as sound effects were added. It was as if we were present on the battlefield. Goosebumps for sure. After this moving experience we proceeded to the museum. All I can say is, if you've never been here, you need to come.

There was so much to see, but we got hungry and needed lunch. So we headed back into Gettysburg proper, had lunch at The Pub & Restaurant, and then walked Gettysburg square. Drove up to the National Cemetary, walked the hallowed grounds and walked across to Cemetary Hill.

As we walked, one could not help but to visualize the bloody battle. Then we drove the twenty-six mile loop of the battlefield of Gettysburg. I hope to get some photos posted soon, as they will surely tell the story better.

We had a nice dinner and returned to our B&B to prep for our departure tomorrow. We resigned ourselves to watch the movie, "Gettysburg" before bed. Hanover, PA was a very nice stop. Tomorrow we head to Philadelphia. End day five.

Day 6. Day six began with a wonderful breakfast at the B&B, then we packed and headed for Philadelphia. We had a few stops semi-planned, but it being Sunday, most were closed.

One stop we did make was the Apple Store in Lancaster, PA. About a month ago I bought Lee a tablet, not an iPad. She nor I have been impressed with it, so I decided it was time to move her to the world of Apple. She is now connected and is installing apps!!!

After Apple it was off to Philly. Fairly easy drive and arrived our B&B two and a half hours early. The inn keeper was accommodating and checked us in. Luggage etc in room, we headed to the Eastern State Penitentiary. The facility shut down in 1970 and is now a historic site. We spent a few hours there. What an interesting place. Al Capone once was a guest here, his cell was quite a sight.

After our tour we had dinner at Jack's Firehouse, located in an old firehouse, a neat place and the food was great. After dinner we returned to the B&B and chilled. Tomorrow we tour some Constitution stuff, will try to locate Tun's Tavern, birthplace of the US Marine Corps. Tuesday we head to Mystic, CT.

So far we're having a great time. End day six!

Day 7. Where to start. Our adventure started by getting on the wrong trolley. The trolley driver was great, told us we were going in the wrong direction, so he flagged down the trolley going in the direction we needed to go, told him we already paid, which we had, and let us off so we could hop on the right trolley.

We got off at City Hall, the original Philadelphia City Hall. We went into the visitor center and signed up for the tour. We were given instructions on where to go and what time we needed to be there. So off we go. I think both Lee and I thought we were going to do like a historical tour of City Hall. Wrong, wrong, wrong.

We get up to the 7th floor and follow the "red" line to the tour starting point and wait for our time slot to be called. A uniformed guard comes and calls our time. Shows us to an elevator where five of us cram in. He closes the door, hits the switch and we proceed to go up. And up. And up. Past the clock towers, the elevator has windows so we have a great view of the metal super structure. And up!

Finally the elevator stops, the door opens and we are greeted by "watch your head" signs. We walk out and follow a small passage way to a door. Holy crap! We are 40 stories above the city!!! Had it not been a little hazey, I believe we could have seen Russia!

OMG, the view. We could see the entire city and more. So, although it wasn't quite what we expected, it turned out to be an awesome experience.

From there we walked to Independance Hall Center. Philly has so much history. Toured the Philadelphia Mint, no photos allowed, bummer, saw Ben Franklin's grave, Penn's Landing, etc. Had a Philly Cheesesteak sandwich at Campo's and walked some more.

Needless to say this was a great stop for us. Didn't get to see all we wanted to, one day just doesn't afford the time to get it all in. But, we got a very good taste of Philly, a taste we'll savor for years to come.

Tomorrow will bring the worst part of the trip for me. Heading to Mystic, CT and have to negotiate the Cross Bronx Parkway in New York. I cannot tell you how many times in my life I have driven the Cross Bronx, and each time I hated it more. Probably haven't driven it in fourty years, still I dread it. Needless to say I'll get through it and all will be good. Tomorrow nights dinner, Mystic Pizza!!! End day seven.

Day 8. Arrived Mystic safe and sound. Lee said the experience of the George Washington Bridge and the Cross Bronx Parkway is plenty to last her a lifetime.

We did laundry and headed to eat. Had a wonderful dinner at S&P Oyster House right on the seaport, tomorrow we'll do Mystic Pizza. After dinner, guess where we went? Oh come on, you can do better than that. A hint, something Lee really likes to do. Okay, I guess I'll tell you, we went to the casino. Surprised!!!

Tomorrow we have a big day. Will tour the Seaport and Museum and the Aquarium. If time allows, we'll drive down to the Coast Guard Academy. Not sure what else Lee has on tap. At some point we'll pop in on some of my old friends, folks I've not seen since the mid-seventies. All in all it's been a good trip. End day eight.

I attempted to post a link to a few photos, but it failed. So if you really want to see the few pics I have up, go to photobucket.com and search tawcat, that should bring you to my main album page, from there look for New England Adventure. Otherwise you'll have to wait til we get home.

Day 9. As you know, we are not your average tourists. Started the day at Kohl's. Before we left we watched the weather forecast for each city we'd be in. Not sure what happened, but the weather hasn't turned yet, so we needed shorts and short sleeves!

After coming back to the hotel and changing we headed for Mystic Seaport and Museum. What we figured would be a one day affair, will turn into a second day tomorrow. We'll also do the Mystic Aquarium tomorrow. Still have some running around tomorrow. UPS store to send a box of stuff we bought back home. We just don't want to have a trunk full of stuff going across the Canadian border.

Then we'll pack up and be set to leave Friday morning. Seems we've been gone a long time. End day nine.

Day 10. Good day. Started by going the UPS store and sending stuff home! Then we headed for the Seaport. Another two hours touring there before we felt we had seen all we wanted to see. Off to lunch.

Lunch consisted of "slices from heaven" at the now famous Mystic Pizza. The pizza was great, a quick trip to their gift shop and we were off to Mystic Aquarium. The aquarium opened in 1973, I was still living here then. I remember my first visit there, wow the place has really expanded. Great exhibits. We had a good time, got to pet sting rays and sharks.

Tonight, we pack for tomorrows drive to Sturbridge, MA. Almost at our half way point. Life is good.

Remember I mentioned we had to go and buy shorts. Temps tomorrow, low in the thirties with frost; high of sixty-seven, go figure!!! End day ten.

Days 11 & 12. So we arrive Auburn, MA before noon, so we proceed to Old Sturbridge Village, spent about four hours touring the way the early settlers lived in the 1800's. So far we've had a great time. Last night, something special happened, I won't go into great detail, but it was a very very special evening. My son, Jeff, who I have not seen in twenty-six or so years, came to meet us in Auburn. We had a very nice visit. Dinner wasn't that great, Chuck's Steak House and MargaritaGrill, somehow they are touted as Auburn's number one place to eat. (gag)

At any rate we had a wonderful visit and hope that we don't wait another twenty-six years. Late visit, we said goodnight at about two-thirty, yes, morning!

This morning Lee and I hit the road en route to Newton, MA. Again it was a short drive, so we decided to go into Salem. The witch capital of the world. I think one either believes in ghosts and witches and such or they don't! We spent about four hours walking around. You know Salem is the home of "The House of the Seven Gables.". Pretty eerie to say the least. Needless to say, I checked the car before we departed. Made sure we didn't have uninvited guests hiding in the trunk or back seat!!!!

Left Salem, arrived our B&B, went to dinner, and now chilling and planning tomorrow. Looks like we will drive through New Hampshire and Maine tomorrow. Looking forward to eating lobster in Kittery, ME. Then back to the B&B, Monday we head into Boston for the day, and taking in a Boston Red Sox game Monday night. They play the Orioles, look for us, we'll be above the Red Sox dugout!!!

Tuesday we begin our trek west!!! End day eleven and twelve.

(Note: I'll proof and edit when we get home; sorry for all the errors.)

Day 13. Had a wonderful day, temps in high sixties to low seventies. We took a drive to York Harbor, Maine. Had a wonderful lunch at a little seaside restaurant. They served steamed clams, like I mean real steamers, like the ones I grew up with. Yum-O!!! I followed that up with a lobster roll, fresh steamed lobster in a large hot dog roll, OMG, it was sooooooooo good. Lee opted for fried clam strips, enough food for four prople between us. Full as ticks, we headed to Nuble Point. Beautiful place, lighthouse and all. Of course we had to stop for ice creams at Brown's, one of those places that everyone tells you, "you have to stop and get ice cream there!". Talk about good!!!

On the way back we stopped at the Kittery outlet mall. Believe it or not we got out of there with just a magnet!

Back to B&B and getting ready for dinner. Quiet evening tonight, have to rest up for our day in Boston tomorrow!!!

End day thirteen.

Day 14. Beautiful day in the Boston area. We started out figuring out what "T" train we needed to take into the city. Then, what stop. Finally off the subway and in the middle of Bostonians busily walking here and there. We figure out how to get to the visitor center and proceed. With maps and brochures in hand we leave the visitor center en route to the Freedom Trail. After several blocks we realize we are going the wrong way! So we turn around and head back. The Freedom Trail is pretty interesting if you like looking at old houses and buildings. Places like Paul Revere's place and the old North Church, to name a few. We decided to lunch in little Italy, and then scurry back to the Robert Gould Shaw memeorial to meet our tour guide for the Black Heritage Trail tour.

Our guide shows up, a very interesting gent, dressed in a US National Park Services uniform. He introduces himself as Horace Sheldon, eighty- seven years old and the oldest person with the USNPS. Try to picture him. Probably five foot two; very grey hair bunched together in the back fashioned in a small ponytail; small little beard, also grey; and supported by a short cane on the right side. And very gnome-esque. Needless to say a very interesting gentleman. This is a ninety minute tour, up and down Beacon Hill several times. The man could walk. He was very interesting and very intelligent, knew his history for sure. At one point he addressed the group saying, "I can get you to the museum in time to view the little sixteen minute film, or you can hang out here with me. And you're going to learn a helluva lot more from me."

How can you refuse!!!!! Probably the best guided tour we've taken to date.

After the tour we made our way back to the "T" and jumped on the train headed for Fenway. Did you know Fenway will be one hundred years old next year!

Got there in plenty of time to have dinner before we went to the game. I'll address the restaurants at the conclusion of the trip, just a hint, the meal was fantastic.

We had great seats behind the Red Sox dugout. The stadium was packed, on a school night. The Sox have not been doing well, I think they lost like eight of the last nine games. No matter, we were in Fenway Park. Well, we are convinced they were saving this game for us, Boston slammed the Orioles with an eighteen to nine victory. Go Sox!!!!

Took a packed train to our stop, made our way back to the B&B around eleven-thirty. Gathered things in preparation for our departure and then to bed. End day fourteen.

Day 15. Rise and shine, shower, a bite of breakfast, pack the car and head out. A day of rain:( Oh well, could be worse. On the way we took a little side trip. Pulled off the highway to stop at a Polish bakery I used to go to when I was a kid. As long as I'm here, figure I'd give Lee a short tour of my childhood. I left the Springfield area in 1964, I was so surprised of how well I remembered my way around.

No problems finding my old home, my grandmothers house, my old schools, which are no longer there, it was a fun walk (drive) down memory lane.

Okay enough goofing off, time to hit the road and head west. Arrive Schenectady, NY. Only one night here, just a stop to do laundry, have a good nights sleep and head to Niagara in the morning. So far the trip has been fantastic. End day fifteen.

Day16. Uneventful drive from Schenectady to Niagara Falls. Arrived with enough time to visit the Falls. Just a totally awesome experience. I doubt there are enough words to describe Niagara Falls. One cannot fathom the amount of water that passes over the falls. One of the Park Rangers told us that 675,000 gallons of water fall at the point of Horseshoe Falls every second! The Falls are identified by several different areas, each with it's own features. So as the ranger continued, billions and billions of gallons of water pass over the falls every hour.

Totally impressed by this Wonder of the World, we could not help to take notice of the force of the water above the falls. I could go on and on, but I've said enough, once the photos are posted you'll see what I'm saying.

We enjoyed a nice dinner and then made a stop at the Seneca Casino, pretty amazing and pretty busy. Nope didn't hit a big jackpot so back to the hotel. End day sixteen.

Day 17. Still no WiFi:( Had a nice breakfast at the Inn restaurant then headed for Toronto. Stopped and marveled at the Canadian side of Niagara Falls. Sadly I have to admit that the Canadian side is far nicer than the US side.

En route to Toronto we took a short side trip to visit a few of the Canadian vineyards. Who knew this region had so many vineyards. Lee sampled a few wines, I was driving! After the vineyards it was back on the road Toronto bound.

Easy drive. Found our B&B, ummmm, didn't look like a good neighborhood at all. But, all is well, kinda reminds us of the Quapaw Quarter in Little Rock. We walked downtown, about a mile and a half, to meet friends we had met on a cruise. We had a wonderful meal at a neat Greek restaurant. After dinner Steve and Lorraine gave us a short walking tour. There is as much downtown Toronto underground as there is above ground. The area is known as the PATH, Google it, you'll be amazed. After, they drove us back to the B&B, sure would have loved to be a fly in car on their drive home. LOL.

Tomorrow we'll tour part of the city and then we'll drive out to Steve and Lorraine's for a cook out, can't wait. It's late, so time to sleep. Life is good. End day seventeen.

Day 18. Today we headed into downtown Toronto. We took in a bit more of the PATH, stopped by the Hockey Hall of Fame, and walked Toronto's underground. Pretty awesome. Then came the rain! We walked back to our B&B in the rain. About a two mile walk, needless to say we were drenched. Lee attempted to dry clothes with her hair dryer, didn't work. Luckily we were going to Lorraine and Steve's for dinner and could use their dryer!

Headed to dinner. We had such a great time at Lorraine and Steve's. They were such great hosts. Steve grilled steaks to perfection and Lorraine prepared several great side dishes. We left full and with dry clothes!!! End day eighteen.

Day 19. After a fun night, it was up early and on the road headed for Waterford, Michigan. A good drive, we stopped somewhere in Canada for lunch. Found a little place called Kathy's Country Cooking, figured we'd give it a shot. We walked in and sat down. After several minutes of being ignored we decided to leave. I mean we were not even acknowledged, while others that sat down after us were being served. So needless to say I have no raving recommendation for Kathy's!

We arrive at Susan and John's in Waterford, Michigan. Susan prepared a wonderful turkey chili for dinner. Not sure what time we went to bed, we sat up and chatted and laughed and laughed till we hurt. End day nineteen.

Day 20. Susan and John had a full day planned. First stop Yate's Cider Mill where we indulge in fresh apple cider and hot homemade doughnuts. Then it was off to Frankenmuth. This is a little town founded by a dozen of German monks way back when. A very neat place. After walking around all the little shops for a few hours we decide to have our "big meal" of the day at the Bavarian Inn. The food was fantastic, traditional German fare. Needless to say we left full as perverbial ticks! Then we headed to one of the neatest stores ever, Bronner's Christmas Shoppe. This place has every Christmas item one could ever think of or could ever want. After a full day we headed back to the house and chilled the rest of the evening.

Short note, Susan was thrilled in finding "salt rising bread.". Not sure what this is, but it was special. End day twenty.

Day 21. What an interesting morning. First, no power! Not sure what happened, but the entire neighborhood was without power. Second, it was raining and third, this one we have to laugh about. Remember the note about the salt rising bread, well it seems Milo, Susan and John's Tibetan Terrier decided the bread was tempting. Somehow he managed to get a loaf off the table. Only three slices were left. Poor Milo. He may have thought it was a good idea at the time, but his tummy was not happy with his decision. Poor baby vomited on the carpet and to feel better he jumped up on Susan and John's bed. That didn't help, he vomited all over the bed!!!!! Poor poor Milo, we felt so bad for him.

We packed, got everything into the car, and we all headed for breakfast. After a wonderful breakfast at Bob Evans, we hit the road. Our trek home has begun. Spending the night in Indianapolis at a Drury Inn! Tomorrow next leg towards home. End day twenty-one.

I'm guessing this is like day twenty-three. We are home!!!!!!! Short entry for the day as we have a lot to do. Need to unpack, go buy groceries etc. We arrive home a bit after noon. We could have made it in last night, but figured the last hundred-fifty miles would be grueling. And it would have put us on the road about thirteen hours or so and put us at the door around nine in the evening. Wouldn't be fair to the animals to walk in and go to bed. In the next day or so I'll finish up the blog, get links to pictures posted, get mileage stats posted and do the restaurant reviews. Also have to do all the TripAdvisor reviews for the places we stayed.

Great to be home!!!!!! End Our New England Adventure!!!

Okay, finally have all the photos posted, you can go to this link "New England Adventure", this will bring you to the main album, from there you can navigate to the sub albums.

Some stats of the trip: miles traveled - 3,978.5; gas mileage - 30.31 mpg, once again we took Lee's VW CC; traveled through - seventeen states and Canada - Arkansas, Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Missouri, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia, and Ontario, Canada; stayed at - eleven hotels/B&B's and John and Susan's; slept in - twelve different beds, not counting the ones we tested at the fair.

Hotels/B&B and restaurant reviews will be posted on TripAdvisor instead of in the blog. If you are interested in reading these reviews go to TripAdvisor.com and I believe you can search Lee's nick, punkinlr, and it will lead you to all of our reviews.

Thanks to all who have followed us through our adventure. We had a great time and we hope you did too! Until next adventure, love and hugs!!!

Farewell to Annie Laurie!

It seems a new chapter in our lives has begun. After thirteen years of boating together, we have sold our Annie Laurie.

Why? Well if you've kept up with our travel adventures, you can see that we've put quite a few miles on the rubber of our cars. Pretty hard to be hundreds, if not thousands, of miles away from home and get home for a weekend on the lake!

The decision was not an easy one. Our Sea Ray 320 was our dream boat and we spent many an hour aboard her. She has found a new home on our local lake. Her new family includes three young children, so she will not be lonely. We trust she will grace her new family with as much fun as we had aboard.

For us, our travels continue. We are planning a drive to New England, followed by a Savannah, Georgia adventure. After that, well we've just not planned that far in advance yet.

Our New England adventure will carry us through Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, New York, Canada, and Michigan. Watch the blog for daily postings once the adventure begins.

The Wonders of Nature

Over the past several months I have been watching web cams and live streams from two separate locations. One is the Decorah Eagles site and the other the Norfolk Botanical Gardens site. The latter is now being broadcast by the Wildlife Center of Virginia.

In both instances, three eggs were laid and three hatched.

These sites are amazing. We had the opportunity to watch two sets of adult eagles lay eggs, tend to the nest and the eggs, and then watched the hatch. All I can say is awesome.

First the Decorah eagles. The diligence of the parents is absolutely phenomenal. I am sure there are photos and possibly a few videos of some of the rigors Iowa weather brings. On one occasion the nest was filled with snow. Momma eagle kept adjusting her body to shelter the eaglets from the extreme conditions. The babies have left the nest. Not totally. They are in the process of fledging and it is such a joy to watch them winger-cize and to hop from nearby branches. This morning I had the joy to watch one take flight. It hopped off the branch and took flight, a short fly around and back to the branch. In just a short few days they will all fledge and for the most part be gone from the nest. For about three months after fledge the eaglets, as well as the parents, will return to the nest periodically. Mainly to feed as their hunting skills need to be honed. Momma and papa eagle will continue to bring food. Eventually, they'll be gone, in hopes that the parents return once again to the nest in the fall to start yet another family.

The link to the Decorah Eagles is here: .

Sadly the Norfolk eagles weren't quite so lucky. On April 26th, the mother eagle was out hunting and was hit by a US Airways commuter plane as it attempted to land at the regional airport. A joint decision was made by the Virginia Wildlife personnel and the Norfolk Botanical Gardens staff to move the eaglets to the Wildlife Center of Virginia (WCV).

The decision was based on a single parents ability to provide enough food for the developing eaglets. So on April 27th the eaglets were moved. The WCV had to construct a new enclosure to house the eaglets. And have since added a flight pen to the enclosure. The Norfolk eagles are doing fine and seem to be doing all the things they need to do to be released into the wild in late August.

It surely has been an education watching these babies develop. Being able to observe all they go through is just wonderful. The way the parents tend to them and watch over them. The WCV staff are being very careful so as not to allow the eaglets to form bonds or to become dependent upon human intervention.

If you have never experienced an eagle encounter, I encourage you to visit the sites. Looking forward to Fall and hopefully two new families of eagles.

The Norfolk Botanical Gardens eagles link: .

Enjoy.

Celebrity Eclipse

We left cold snowy Arkansas on the 21st of January heading to Miami. Arrived Miami about an hour late due to tarmac delay to de-ice the wings in Arkansas. We left bitter cold to arrive at a very rainy, but 77 degree Miami.

Spent the night at the Holiday Inn Downtown, across from Bayside and about ten minutes from the cruise terminal. We've stayed here before, not a five star hotel, but very clean and accommodating.

Friends from Ohio were flying in as well. After check in we all headed to Bayside. Grabbed a mid-afternoon snack and walked through all the stores and headed for dinner at Lombardi's. After a filling dinner, we headed to the CVS pharmacy, to buy wine for the cruise. Amazingly CVS has a nice selection of wines. After CVS we headed back to the hotel.

Saturday morning began with a nice breakfast, followed by a quick repack and hailing a cab.

Got to the pier and cruise terminal without incident. A quick check-in, no hassles at all. Followed by a short wait to board the ship. On board we walked the ship a bit and then selected "The Bistro on 5" to have lunch. Most things on board are included in your cruise fare, however, ships have specialty restaurants that require an additional fee. Bistro on 5 was an additional $5 per person, well worth it as it wasn't crowded and offered a nice selections of made to order sandwiches and salads.

While having lunch the announcement came over the PA that guests staterooms were ready. So after lunch we went to our cabin. Our cabin was next door to our friends, which made things convenient. Cabins were very roomy and our balcony was one of the largest due to its location on the hump. This is where the ship extends out a bit, quite nice.

The ship is very well laid out and navigating throughout the ship is rather easy. The ship in all has sixteen decks. Deck two has the medical clinic as well as the gangway for getting on and off the ship in ports. Deck three hosts the Guest Relations and Shore Excursion desks and the Grand Foyer. Deck four and above host the gift shops, bars, restaurants, spa, theater, and Café al Bacio & Gelateria. Guest cabins are on all decks.

Our ports of call were Grand Cayman, Cozumel, Costa Maya, and Roataan, Honduras. We got off at the latter three, foregoing Grand Cayman. Grand Cayman, although very nice, requires the ship to anchor out beyond the reefs and then tender its passengers to shore. Tendering is not our favorite thing to do, as many times the water is rough and you end up bobbing up and down for the twenty or so minute ride in.

Costa Maya found us at our favorite haunt, Pez Quadro, where the girls got massages on the beach, like $25 for an hour, and John and I sat and drank beer. After the girls were done we ordered lunch. Pez Quadro is clean and the food is great. John had a super deluxe nacho plate, Susan had lobster tacos and Lee and I shared a combo plate. After lunch we walked the shoreline and caught a cab back to the ship.

We were supposed to take an island tour in Roataan, but Susan was not feeling well, so Lee and I got off and shopped the local area.

Cozumel found John and Susan swimming with the dolphins, while Lee and I took a Salsa and Salsa tour. This is the same group we did this tour with in Matzatlan in 2007. And it was equally as fun. Check out their website at salsaandsalsa.com, you can also find them on Facebook.

The ship was great. We dined in the Moonlight Sonata, which is the main dining room, three of the seven nights aboard. The other nights found us sampling the specialty restaurants. Qsine, which is very unique and a dining experience that took a bit over three hours. Murano's, probably our favorite. The presentation very personal, as some meals and desserts were prepared table side. Lastly was the Tuscan Grille, an Italian Steakhouse. Very elegant and the food pretty darn good. As stated earlier, each of the specialty restaurants required an additional per person fee which I think was like $30 per person.

The ship also offered the Mast Grill where one could enjoy burgers, hot dogs fries, Polish sausage, onion rings and more. And the Oceanview Cafe which was a buffet, and open for each meal. Not your usual walk down a long serving line, rather they had several islands with each island offering a different cuisine. Everything from eggs to order, Belgian waffles, stir fry, sushi, salads, carved meats, smoothies, desserts and a lovely ice cream bar. I'm sure I'm missing something, but you get the idea. Also offered is the AquaSpa Cafe, and yes, by the name you've guessed that serve up the healthy foods. We walked by a few times, but never sampled any of the offerings, although it all looked so good. But hey, we were on vacation, who thinks healthy!!!!

The one show we saw was great, a female impressionist. She sang with the voices of Cher, Celine Dion, and Michael McDonald to name a few.

The ship was pretty spectacular and believe this or not had lawn. Yes real grass! They had golf putting, bocce ball and even had a picnic on the lawn. Very serene just sit on the lawn and watch the sea go by. They had a Solarium that was adults only which they enforced and it offered a very nice quiet place to read and relax.

I think it was the day we were Roataan that we decided to take in a movie while on board, we went to see Social Network.

The most interesting bars were the Molecular bar which specialized in drinks created a mixologist, the liquid nitrogen was the neatest. The Martini bar and Crush were very cool. Crush was a table with ice that specialized in vodkas. Every flavor, brands etc. Quite entertaining to say the least.

Many different clubs and lounges, too many to mention individually.

The only complaints were the dance venues. The best music was by the D'Revalations and most of the time they performed in the Grand Foyer 3. Dance floor not big enough and the down staircase basically led to the middle of the dance floor. There was a Big Band hour performed by the ships orchestra, however, they didn't play any Big Band, so just not sure why they labeled it a Big Band Dance Hour. The Sky Lounge, which had a wonderful dance floor was seldom used except for theme stuff, and then the place of course was packed.

Overall the cruise was great and we surely recommend it. Usually on ships past, everything gets quiet by eleven, not the case with this ship. At one in the morning the ship was still alive with activity. So Celebrity must be doing something right!!!!