OFF ON A ROAD TRIP

Not wanting to let any grass grow under our feet, we’re off once again, only this time it will be without the RV. We are actually going tent camping for a month, with B&B’s and motels interspaced at timely intervals. This time it will be in Southern Utah, New Mexico and Arizona, many places we’ve been before and some new ones too. We were able to obtain a permit for a hike to The Wave near Kanab. We were unsuccessful in attempts a couple of year’s ago (read about it here: http://tinyurl.com/43n8ud ) but we were able to obtain a permit on-line by entering a monthly lottery. Out of about 800 people each month trying to get a permit, 10 people are given permits for each day, so we lucked out. You can read about The Wave here: http://tinyurl.com/the-wave

Since we were heading to Utah to see The Wave, we figured we might as well make a real trip of it. So here’s our itinerary, which, as is our custom, could change on a whim:

First up is Zion, for about 6 days, then its east to Moab. In Moab we managed to obtain a permit for the White Rim Trail, a 100 mile 4 WD trail in Canyonlands National Park. Next Grandstaircase Escalante National Monument before hike to The Wave. After The Wave, its’ south to Canyon de Chelly in Northeastern Arizona, and Chaco Canyon across the border in New Mexico. Next its' on to Albuquerque to visit friends for a couple of days before heading back west for a one night stop at the Grand Canyon. Finally a couple of nights at a B&B in Prescott, before heading home.

Since the RV is staying at home this trip, we needed a new camp kitchen. I had lots of fun, designing and building the one shown here. Fits nicely in the back of the 4-runner and holds all the essentials.

To be continued……

FISHING TRIP OF A LIFETIME, NORTH TO ALASKA

SITKA LIGHTHOUSE

About a year ago, a friend of mine, Gary, called and asked if I was interested in getting together a fishing trip. He suggested perhaps somewhere in Canada because he had a friend who had returned from there with lots of fish. He called me because I am the resident trip planner. Actually he wanted someone else to do all the leg work and since I was going to be that person, it allowed me to pick the place I wanted to go. After considerable research, mostly on the Internet, I settled on Frontier Charters in Sitka, Alaska. The prices were cheaper than Canada and you didn’t have to mess with going though customs. The trip chosen entailed two travel days and four full days of fishing.

Frontier Charters is a full service outfit. The trip included, meals, lodging, fishing license, fish processing and packaging for the trip home. We lucked out with the airfare, purchasing it last October we saved about $300 per ticket over the current prices. Although I offered to include others in the trip, we ended up with just three of us. Friend Gary, son Eric and myself.

We arrived in Sitka in the early afternoon and were met at the airport by Justin who got us checked in to our hotel for the 1st night. Subsequent nights would be at the lodge. With the afternoon free, we explored Sitka along with the numerous cruise ship passengers who crowd the small town each day. For dinner, Justin arrived and took us to the lodge for the first of many fine meals prepared by “D” the lodge chef.

The next morning at 5:50 am, the lodge van picked us up and took us to the docks. There we were assigned our boat, the Arctic Diver and met Captain Dan who would be our guide for the next four days of fishing. Also on board was Mike who made our fourth fisherman. Although the boat can accommodate six fishermen, Frontier Charters only assigns four fishermen to each of their boats. Captain Dan explained the ground rules and we got under way.

We headed out of Sitka Harbor into open water. Sitka is situated on the west coast of Alaska and not on the Inland Passage. Consequently the water can get rough, but we were pretty lucky as most of the time we experienced calm seas. Only one day was I glad I got a prescription for seasick patches with seas running around four feet. Most days it would take 45 to 60 minutes to get to the fishing grounds, with Captain Dan using the GPS to locate his favorite spots. When fishing for Salmon, we used the mooching technique. Dan, using his fish finder, would tell us how deep the fish were and we would drop the bait down though the fish and back up again. Salmon fishing was just so-so, with only seven Silvers caught in four days.

When we fished for Halibut, we fished off the bottom with a huge hook baited with various fish parts. The leader on this set up was a ¼ inch nylon rope. We fished in water anywhere from 150 to 350 feet deep. 350 feet is a long way to drag up a big fish. It’s actually a long way to drag up any size fish, as we soon learned. Patience is the key in catching Halibut. It was really hard not to grab the pole and the first sign of a bite. As Captain Dan would tell us on numerous occasions, “wait, wait, not yet, wait” and when the fish pulled hard, “reel, reel, REEL, REEL, REEL”. Sometimes the fish was not hooked, but when it was you pulled hard and for what seemed like forever, until finally when you thought you couldn’t last any longer, the fish was finally on the surface.

Some of the fish we struggled to bring up were not what we were looking for. Ling Cod was one of those. When the first Ling Cod was brought up, by Mike, who by the way brought up lots and became known as "Ling Cod Mike", we all looked at the fish and exclaimed, “Wow, that’s a big fish!” Unfortunately they are not in season and had to be released. When they are in season they have to be between 30 and 35 inches. So when the next on was brought up, “Oh, it’s another big Ling Cod!” And so it went, “another @#%*&^& Cod” and more “*#^&%$ Cod, and more and more. Throw in the same number of sharks and you begin to get tired.

Every so often the right kind of fish decided to grace us with their presences and we managed to get our fair share of Halibut. Eric caught the biggest, weighing in at 63 pounds. I hauled one up weighing around 52 pounds. Altogether the count was 12 between the four of us. Throw in 4 Yellow Eye, a kind of Red Snapper, and 60, yes 60, Black Bombers, better known as Black Sea Bass, and it adds up to a lot of fish.

The Black Bombers were really fun to catch, and easy. Using an artificial lure, Captain Dan told us to see if we could drop it to the bottom. We never made it. A fish was on every time, with the lure never reaching bottom. One day the four of us caught our limit of 5 fish each or 20 fish in 20 minutes.

The most exciting catch I got was a King Salmon. This fish really puts up a fight, taking line time and time again. Dan estimated it weighed around 30 pounds. Too small to keep, it had to be released. Can you believe it, 30 pounds is too small!

The lodge was really nice with staff to match. The food was great, with Chef “D” preparing some really fantastic creations like shrimp wrapped in prosciutto. Each fisherman prepared their own sack lunch with ingredients that included thanks to Chef "D", fresh baked homemade bread and cookies. The boats, 27 foot Seasports, came equipped with the latest GPS plotters, color depth sounders and radar and quality fishing gear. On top of all that the folks at the lodge vacuum pack and flash freeze the catch before packing it in insulated boxes for the flight home.

Special recognition goes to Captain Dan who displayed an enormous amount of patience in schooling us flatlanders. He did everything from finding the fish, baiting the hooks, bringing the catch on board, cleaning and filleting too many fish to count, not to mention reminding us to, “REEL, REEL, REEL, REEL”.

We all had a great time, bringing home a little over 200 pounds of fish between the three of us. Would we do it again? Gary says he can cross off Alaska fishing from his bucket list, but adds he wouldn’t trade the experience for anything. Eric wants to go back, but would like to include some freshwater fishing. As for me, when do we leave?

http://www.frontiercharters.com/

ALASKA FISHING PHOTOS PART I

SITKA HARBOR

MAKING LUNCH

CHEF "D"

FRONTIER CHARTERS LODGE

ALASKA FISHING PHOTOS PART II

THE CAPTAIN

THE CREW, ERIC, DANA, MIKE, & GARY

THE BOAT

DINNER!

ERIC WITH THE BIGGEST FISH (63 LBS)

"SMALL" KING SALMON

MIKE, DANA, GARY & ERIC

GARY, CAPTAIN DAN AND %&$*@!%^ COD

KYLE - 16 GRAMPA - 2

A couple of months ago, son Gary asked if we wanted to go camping in the Eastern Sierras with him and his family. He was planning a trip in July to Robinson Creek just outside of Bridgeport, a spot our family has been going to for years. In fact when I was a small boy, it was at Robinson Creek where I learned to fish and where, as luck would have it, that I caught my first fish. As our children grew, they all in turned learned to fish and caught their first fish in Robinson Creek. Now Gary wanted to take his son Kyle to the same creek to continue the tradition.

It’s about 450 miles from our home to Robinson Creek, so after arraigning for appropriate financing to pay for the gas, we headed out after the 4th of July weekend. After an overnight stop in Bishop, we arrived in the late morning and set up camp at Crags Campground, one of 5 forest service campgrounds on Robinson Creek. Our camp was about 100 yards from the creek and a short distance from Lower Twin Lake, another great fishing spot. Both Robinson Creek and the Twin Lakes, receive a weekly plant of trout, ensuring that at least most people will catch something. Actually both Upper and Lower Twin Lakes produce some trophy trout, but most of the catch in the lakes and the creek is what I consider as “pan sized”.

Gary took Kyle to both the creek and the lower lake for his for his introduction to the thrill of landing a fish. Actually both Gary and Kyle released most of the fish they caught, keeping only enough for dinner. I learned from Kyle that if you don’t catch a fish, then you’re a farmer. I was lucky enough to rise to the level of fisherman and avoid the farmer label, but as evidenced by the title of this blog entry, I was a lot closer to being a farmer than Kyle.

A GREAT RECIPIE FOR TROUT

Make a rub out of curry, Old Bay Seasoning, Montréal Steak Seasoning, salt and pepper.
(Put other kinds of seasonings in the rub according to your taste)
Lightly coat the fish inside and out with olive oil
Coat both inside and outside with the rub.
Place fish in tin foul lightly coated with olive oil.
Place sliced garlic cloves, sliced onions and sliced lemons both inside the fish cavity and on top of the fish.
Rap the fish in foil and cook over Barbeque or fire for about 15 minutes (depending on size of fish) turning once.

Turns out Kyle loved the fish but his father wouldn’t eat any. What a farmer!

NOT A FARMER

THREE GENERATIONS

SOME MORE PHOTOS OF THE EASTERN SIERRAS

AN EARLY RV

A VISITOR TO CAMP

ROADSIDE FLOWERS

BODIE GHOST TOWN

A DIFFERENT KIND OF JOURNEY

For those of you that know me know that I’ve been overweight for years. That’s putting it nicely, actually I’ve been fat since the early 70’s. Medically speaking I was obese. I carried my weight well so most people really never knew how much I actually weighed. I used to try to fool myself by saying it was “fighting weight”, but over the years, my weight continued to rise until in this past January I weighed 308 lbs. Yes, that’s right, it’s not a typo. How many of you could have guessed that?

Actually 9 months earlier, after a physical, I decided to finally get serious about getting rid of all those extra pounds. A couple of things pushed me to finally get serious and do something. One was a photograph of me taken on a flight to Maui. I looked terrible with a big fat face and neck. The second incident was another airplane ride a week after returning from Maui. I was flying to New Mexico and in order to get the seatbelt buckled, I had to suck in my gut. I was not about to suffer the embarrassment and ask for an extension.

I was lucky that up to that point, I was still relatively healthy. No high blood pressure or Diabetes. I was also pretty active until I injured my shoulder in 2006, then I put on more pounds. With corrective surgery in May of 2007 I figured now was the time to make my move. Those two airplane rides did it for me.

My health insurance carrier is Kaiser Permanente and my doctor told me about a weight loss program they had at their “Positive Choice Wellness Center” in San Diego. It’s a liquid diet involving “Opitfast” protein shakes. They don’t just give you the shakes and send you on your way, but you’re required to attending a weekly meeting (read group therapy), weigh in each week and take a blood test every two weeks. The program which is medically supervised lasts 20 weeks or longer, depending on how much weight one needs to loose. You initially meet with a nurse for body weight and measurements, and decide on a weight loss goal. They are pretty realistic and the goal is arrived at taking into consideration your weight, health and age. For me the goal was 200 pounds, a loss of 108 pounds! A pretty daunting figure, but if I wanted to live long enough so my children had to change my diapers, it was now or never.

I actually tried to start the program in July of 2007, but because of our upcoming trip to New England in the fall, they wouldn’t let me. They said I had to commit to at least 6 months, so the start of the program had to wait until January.

By the time January rolled around, and having gained more while in New England, I was really motivated to get started. The first meeting of the program was really just a get to know the other participants meeting. That’s the day I weighed in at 308 lbs. On the occasion of the second meeting, you get what’s going to be your “food” for sometime to come. You get five protein shakes and two instant chicken soups (broth) for each day for a total of 510 calories a day. NO FOOD. You go cold turkey. No turkey either, just liquid. Oh, you do get to drink at least 3 to 5 quarts of water a day! I don’t know about most of you, but for me that’s a whole lot of water. In fact as it turned out that was the hardest part for me. I got a lot of exercise in during the night with about 5 visits to the bathroom each night.

The shakes come in three flavors, orange, vanilla and chocolate, so the first morning I figured I would go with orange, you know, breakfast drink. It was pretty disgusting and I had to gag it down. Luckily you are allowed to enhance the flavor of the shake with sugar free syrups, so right after that first “breakfast”, I headed to the local Smart and Final and bought several flavors of Torani Syrups. By adding an ounce of syrup to the shake it not only made them palatable but very tasty.

The first two days on the diet I had a headache, but believe it or not, I wasn’t really hungry. In fact I was never hungry during the entire program. The shakes are really quite satisfying and by using different flavored syrups I had enough variety to make it interesting.

After a week on the supplement, the true test came when I weighed in. 12 pounds lost the 1st week. Wow, this stuff really works. But would I keep with it and would it keep working? The second weigh in, 6 pounds, the third 7 more pounds. With these kinds of results, it was easy to keep motivated. One of the things we did in our group was to sign in each week with our weight loss for the week. Everyone in the group agreed that this exercise helped to keep you honest. Speaking of exercise, it was walking for me. At first I experienced some weakness and got out of breath walking up hills, but within about 4 weeks I was walking 4.5 miles a day, hills included, 6 to 7 days a week. I later modified this to four days a week walking to riding my bike for 1 hour twice a week.

With the addition of exercise, the weight continued to come off until after 24 weeks I had lost 105 pounds, within 3 pounds of my goal. When I was within 10 pounds of my goal, I was able to start a transition back to solid food. 3 ounces of lean meat for the 1st week, and then gradually adding, salads, vegetables, fruit and the rest of the food groups, while cutting back on the shakes.

Now that I’m within 3 pounds of my goal of 200 pounds the next phase of the program begins. The maintenance component lasts 10 additional weeks and is probably more important than the actual diet. During this time participants are taught how to read food labels, what food to buy, how to cook it, and maintaining a healthy diet and lifestyle.

The difficulties I experienced during the diet phase were insignificant in relation to the results. Some of the minor problems were, bad breath, go figure, you don’t eat anything and you get bad breath, constipation, again, no food but you’re constipated, and being really cold. I was so cold at times that when in the car, I would turn the heater on full blast even though it was in the 70’s outside. Being around food and others while they were eating really didn’t bother me. In fact I even cooked dinner on several occasions for family and friends. But the aroma of food, oh those smells. You know, garlic, Mexican, barbeque, that was the most difficult part.

Some good things about the diet were that you didn’t have to decide what to eat each day and food preparation was a breeze. Also there are no dishes to wash. One of the fun things was running into people I hadn’t seen since I started the diet. Many times they didn’t know who I was.

Now the most important part and perhaps the most difficult. Keeping the weight off. I’m determined to do just that.

Here's a link to the Kaiser's Positive Choice Wellness Center with more information about the weight loss program.

http://www.positivechoice.org/

BEFORE AND AFTER

On the left on the way

to Maui.

The one on the right was

taken today.

THIS IS GETTING TO BE FUN

WING ON WING

I think I could really get into this Sailing thing. Since I’ve already registered in the Intermediate Sailing class during the summer session, it must be serious. I must say it’s been some of the most fun I’ve had going to school. I got my grade for the first class and scored an “A”. Of course everyone else in the class got “A’s” also. With my past college grades that should bring my GPA up to 0.75.

My Instructor, Dave allowed Cathie to go with us when the class was held on his boat. My motive here is to get her to like sailing too. I might be needing someone to crew. Speaking of crew, Dave has asked me to crew on two races so far. I asked him why he would want someone with as little experience as me to crew for him during a race. He said, “Well, you’re retired” meaning I’m available and work doesn’t get in the way. I was still flattered that he asked me.

The first race, called a beer can race, was held in the evening and is a biweekly event put on by the Coronado Yacht Club. The term “beer can race”, I am told, comes from someone throwing a beer can overboard and boats in the race having to sail around it. Because that’s a big no-no in today’s day and age, the race course is set up utilizing buoys in the bay as navigation points. In the late evening when the race is held, there is very little wind, so it’s a slow race where strategy on the part of the captain plays a big part. We came in 5th out of a field of 12 boats.

The second race held by another Yacht Club in the northern part of San Diego Bay covered a little over 7 miles. This time we faired better crossing the finish line 3rd in our class. The wind on this day varied from no wind at all to a nice stiff breeze. At times we were actually dead in the water due to the lack of wind. So far my duties have been handling one of the jib sheets (rope), adjusting the jib to get the most efficient power out of the wind. Do I know what I’m doing? Well, I know more than I did several months ago, but other more experience crew members have to provide me with direction by giving me subtle hints as to what I should do. This is usually accomplished by yelling at me, which seems to work.

At the end of the second race, Dave told me he was including me in the crew for all the beer can races, which I’m looking forward to. Dave didn’t say why he was including me. I would like to believe it's because I performed so well, but it's probably because I'm retired and available.

In the above photo we are “wing on wing”, meaning the jib sail to one side and the main sail to the other to take advantage of the wind behind us.

GAS PRICES TOO HIGH? GO SAILING

Well, it’s been awhile since we’ve reported any new adventures. We’ve been staying close to home keeping the home fires burning. With no major trip scheduled, I figured the best use of my time would be to further my education. So I decided to return to college and enrolled in Southwestern College’s beginning sailing class.

As I discovered sometime ago, the college has an aquatic center at Silver Strand State Park where one can take sailing, kayaking, surfing, and outrigger canoe classes. My sailing class consisted of 6 students, some of who had some prior sailing experience. I had none unless you count sailing on my uncle’s boat when I was 9 years old. We received our instruction in Hobie Ones, a single hull sloop with retractable center board. After spending the first class learning how to rig the boats, the second class meeting saw us on the water for the first time.

Our instructor, Dave along with his teaching assistants taught us the proper techniques for tacking, jibing, docking and my favorite, the man overboard drill. The idea is to maneuver the boat into position to pick up the man overboard. As it turns out, this is not as easy as it sounds, especially in a boat being powered by sail only. By using a buoy as the man in the water I attempted many times to maneuver the boat in such a way that it would stop next to the “man”. The first time I was too far away, next I sailed right past the buoy, several times I ran into the buoy going over it with the boat. Usually I wasn’t close enough to the “Man” to rescue him. Hopefully he would still alive and could swim over to me to be rescued. The lesson here is, if you ever go sailing with me stay in the boat and out of the water.

The last four classes are held on Dave personal boat, a 34 foot sloop. Students rotate around the boat with everyone getting to learn each station, such as operation of the winches that trim the sails and taking over at the helm. This is by far the highlight of the class, sailing around San Diego Bay getting to take command of the boat. I’ve enjoyed this foray into higher education so much that I’ve already registered for the summer session, intermediate sailing.

I’m not the teachers pet, but Dave has invited me to sail with him in a race which I am really looking forward to, but that’s another adventure.

At the Helm (With Dave looking on)

WE"RE HOME

SOME PHOTOS FROM THE TRIP

THE REAL MAID OF THE MIST

COG RAILWAY, MT WASHINGTON

THE NORTH END, BOSTON

IT'S ELVIS AT GRACELAND!!

SUNSET ON I-8

HEADING HOME, SORTA

Southwest from Pennsylvania we drove for three days, two of which it rained, through western Maryland, West Virginia, Kentucky and into Tennessee. We stopped south of Memphis, electing to stay in Tunica, Mississippi so I could play some poker at the casinos. We were close enough to Memphis to partake in some great BBQ, which we did.

So far on this trip, and on previous trips, we have visited many homes of our past presidents. While in Memphis we figured it was time to see the King's home, so we paid a visit to Graceland. Actually once you get over the price of admission, it was really pretty interesting. Besides the mansion and grounds, there is a auto museum with cars owned by Elvis, two of his airplanes and several other exhibits. They are into making money though. Each time you exit an exhibit, you exit into a gift shop.

We are now in Alma, Arkansas where our next door neighbors have a second home. While here, the refrigerator in the RV quit working and parts take several weeks to get here. We've transferred all the food into an ice chest and have decided to head home from here, with a stop in the Dallas area to see friends. We should be home sometime around the 5th or 6th, cutting our trip short by a couple of weeks. Cathie can't wait to see the grand kids as she misses them terribly and I miss them too.

All in all it's been a really good trip, even though we were somewhat disappointed with the fall colors in Vermont and New Hampshire. We explored new territory, visiting lots of historic sites and managing to stay within budget. There are no new trips planned as of yet, but we'll find some excuse to hit the road before too long.

PENNSYLVANIA

WE FOUND SOME COLOR

We’ve been watching the fires on the TV, Internet and with updates from the kids, we are keeping abreast of what’s going on at home. So far our house is safe as is the rest of our family. We hope all is well with all of you.

We are currently in Pennsylvania in Amish country around Lancaster. Beautiful farm country, with picturesque barns and farm houses. We hired a local guide for a personal tour of the area which was very informative. On Saturday we decided to venture out on our own. Although we have seen lots of Amish folks riding in their horse buggies and working on their farms, the tourist far out number them. This past weekend the main roads were clogged with tour busses and PEOPLE WHO DON’T KNOW HOW TO DRIVE. The local shops were so crowded we gave up and decided to wait out the weekend. Out in the countryside, some of the local Amish farmers sell everything from produce to quilts. It was at one such farm that we found the best soft pretzels we have ever had. We washed them down homemade root beer, some of which we purchased and took with us.

The Amish people do not like the have there picture taken, nor do they like to be asked. Photos from the distance, where they cannot be recognized seem to be ok. We managed to get a shot of a combine in the corn field. This was right next to our RV park. It was something to see their plows and combines pulled by teams of up to six horses through the fields. Although the equipment was being pulled by horses or mules, the machinery itself might be powered by a gasoline engine. Another interesting thing we learned was that they didn’t have phones in their homes, but a many people share a phone placed in a wooden phone booth placed in someone’s yard for outgoing calls only.

Near Lancaster is Gettysburg, so we spent one day there. We took a driving tour of the battlefield we was very interesting. The battle which lasted 3 days covered and enormous area. Today a National Park, the battlefield is dotted with hundreds of monuments to those who fought and died there.

Tomorrow we get on the freeway and head southwest heading through Maryland, West Virginia and Kentucky ending up in Memphis Tennessee. I hear somewhere that they have good BBQ there. Gotta get some.

Heading South

USS CONSTITUTION

BOSTON'S NORTH END

SOME INTERESTING BOSTON ROAD SIGNS

WHEN DOES THE SEASON OPEN?

HOW DID THEY KNOW ABOUT MY WAIST?

Had some rain in Portland and the weather is getting a little cooler. Still not too bad. On our second day in Portland while eating breakfast, I broke my tooth while eating toast. I started calling around and after about eight tries finally found a dentist that could see me. Got to his office and they called me right in. The dentist, John Paul was very young but seemed to know what he was doing. He repaired the tooth with a ceramic filling and was done in about an hour. When I got back to the trailer, Cathie was flossing her teeth and a crown came off. So, since I already had an in with John Paul I called him up and luckily got an appointment for the afternoon. It’s a wonder that they didn’t think Cathie and I weren’t slugging it out. Anyway it was pretty much a wasted day, except for John Paul who has my credit card number.

From Portland we continued south to the Boston area. We stayed in a state park south of the city. We stayed out of Boston while the Red Socks were playing, but on Sunday we drove in and toured the USS Constitution, the one thing we missed when we were here in the early 90’s. One of the things I didn’t know about the Constitution, is that it is still an active duty US Navy ship and is staffed by active duty sailors. They dress in period uniforms and give the tours and I am sure are required to polish all the brass on board.

Afterwards we walked across the Charles River into the North End, Boston’s Italian section. We found a great restaurant for lunch (dinner), with the portions so big, the leftovers we took back to the trailer fed both of us the next night. After lunch and at the recommendation of a fellow diner, we stopped at Mike’s Pastry Shop for some great cannolis.

As I write this we are in southeastern Connecticut, where we will spend a couple of days before heading to Pennsylvania.

http://www.ussconstitution.navy.mil/


http://www.mikespastry.com/cannoli.html

Some Photos For Your Enjoyment

SUNRISE ON CADILLAC MOUNTAIN

CHURCH IN VERMONT

CRAZIES AT SUNRISE

MAINE FALL COLOR

PEMAQUID POINT LIGHTHOUSE, MAINE

CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE MOOSE KIND

ACADIA NATIONAL PARK

THE BEST COLOR YET, I-95

MAINE LIGHTHOUSE

While heading east on US 2 in the northern part of New Hampshire, we were clipping along about 55 mph, only 5 mph over the limit, when all of a sudden a rather large bull moose came charging at full speed out of the forest just ahead of us and to the right. Something must have spooked him because he was really hauling ass. With his nostrils flaring, we could see his breath in the cool morning air. The size of our rig must have deterred him from crossing the highway and causing major damage to him and us, for at the last second he turned left as I swerved left. The dirt was flying as his hoofs dug in to the soft earth at the highways edge. As he passed to our right heading west, and his antlers just missing our side mirror, we made eye contact with each other. We could see the whites of his eyes and the look of terror in them. I’m sure he saw the same in ours.

After getting our breathing back to normal, we continued on, arriving in Bar Harbor by mid afternoon. Bar Harbor owes its existence to Acadia National Park, which basically surrounds the town, and the cruise ship industry. It is in a beautiful setting with the downtown business district encompassed in 5 blocks of restaurants and tourist shops, and Main Street ending at the wharf. Everyday two cruise ships arrive in the early morning and by 10 AM several thousand passengers have disembarked and jammed themselves into those 5 blocks. It is human gridlock, with blue haired ladies crowding into the shops buying t-shirts for the grand kids, while grandpa stands outside in the middle of the side walk blocking traffic.

The national park is on Mount Desert Island, with the 1500 foot Cadillac Mountain at its center. The park is really beautiful with forested seaside cliffs and some fall colors. The area was once, and still is, the summer home to the rich and famous. John D. Rockefeller had a home here and between 1913 and 1940, built forty-five miles of carriage roads so his horse carriage did not have to compete with automobile. Today the roads in the park are open to hiking, biking and horse drawn carriages. There is a modern road to the top of Cadillac Mountain for some great views. One is told that sunrise at the summit is a must. For those of you who follow such things, it was at sunrise on Cadillac Mountain where Jenna Bush accepted a proposal of marriage. So one morning we got up at 5 AM and drove to the top so watch the sunrise. We had a beautiful red sky and with the cruise ships arriving below which made the early hour worth it. I was going to ask Cathie to marry me, but I was afraid her answer wouldn’t be the same as Jenna’s, so I didn’t press my luck.

We’ve had rain the last couple of nights and it’s getting colder, with temperatures in the 50’s during the day. The weather up to this point, except for some occasional rain showers, has been unseasonably warm for this part of the country. So it is here at Bar Harbor, that we make another right turn and start heading south. While heading towards Portland, Maine, we saw some of the best fall colors of the entire trip, along I-95 of all places.

http://www.nps.gov/acad/

http://www.gomoose.com/index.php

WOW, TWO POSTS IN TWO DAYS!!!

THIS IS WHAT ALICE FOUND FOR US TODAY

Ok, so I was wrong. Today while out and about looking for covered bridges and fall colors, we found both. It was completely by accident. If you have ever used a GPS for getting from point A to point B, you know you can program it several ways to get to where you are going. The fastest route or the shortest route. The shortest route is what I used today, which many times takes you through back roads. Today we followed the GPS’s directions, I call her Alice, and we were instructed to travel on highways, secondary roads, dirt roads and cow trails. At one point the road became a 4 wheel drive route causing us to turn around. What the shortest route and Alice did do was find us some good color, with reds and yellows. I also discovered that all the photos you see of the fall colors here in New England, must be doctored. The photos are all so vivid, unlike what we are seeing with the naked eye. What we see is beautiful, but it’s not what the tourist bureaus advertise.

I was not wrong about the Vermont drivers.

ATTENTION CHILDREN AND SIBLINGS (Others if you’re interested)

I’ve changed the rules in the Count the White Horses Game. I learned this game as a child while traveling on vacation. Its purpose was to keep us occupied and perhaps being less trouble for our harried parents. For those of you who don’t know about this game, it goes like this.

You count the white horses you see on your side of the car. If you pass a cemetery and it’s on you side, you loose your white horses. At the end of the game the one with the most white horses win. Exciting, uh?

The new rule only applies in the northeaster part of the country. That’s because here there are lots of dead people, thus cemeteries. There are hardly any horses, let alone white ones. So here we count cemeteries and loose them when we see a white horse.

GARAGE SALE, MT WASHINGTON AND IDIOTS

COVERED BRIDGE

MT WASHINGTON VIEW

BEST OF THE COLOR

One day we drove to Warrensburg, New York, about 80 miles from Burlington to what was advertised as the “world’s largest garage sale”. Each year the town turns its main street into a swap meet. The street is about 2 miles long with people selling everything from new clothing, to antiques, to just plain junk. We parked at one end of town and followed the hordes for the next 4 hours, walking up one side of the street and back the other. In addition, all the fair food was there, with funnel cakes, corn on the cob, and Barbeque. We passed on the street food and managed to get a seat in a small café for lunch. We got away pretty cheap, just buying some yard art and lunch.

Still in Vermont as I write this, but we have moved eastward to St Johnsbury. We are in a nice RV park on the Moose River, just outside of town. The park is full as fall is one of the busiest seasons with folks coming from far and wide to see the fall colors. According to the foliage report, we should be experiencing peak color in this region. I really hope they are mistaken because I’m not impressed with the colors we’re seeing. I’ve seen better color in the Eastern Sierras. We keep hoping it will get better, but so far we’ve been disappointed.

Today we drove into New Hampshire and took the toll road to the top of Mt Washington. It seems that in this part of the county, if there is a mountain, some private company will build a road up it and start charging for the privilege of driving up it. The road to up Mt Washington was built in the 1850’s and had been in private hands since. The road is about 8 miles, paved most of the way, and has an average grade of 12%. Once at the top, the view extends into Canada to the north, Maine to the East and New York to the West. This is if it isn’t cloudy. We were lucky in that the mountain itself was clear, but in three directions we looked down on the clouds.

I haven’t complained very much about things in this blog, but I just can’t help myself any longer. The drivers in New England are IDIOTS! They drive their Volvos and Subarus as though any curve taken at more than 10 MPH will cause a roll over. And Vermont is the Green Mountain State. These people drive as though they have never seen a mountain. I thought that perhaps I was being a little harsh, but then I got my driving instructions for driving up and down Mt Washington.

Official Mt Washington Auto Road Driving Instructions:

DRIVING UP: “Lowest gear with an automatic transmission is usually shown by symbol “1”, “L1”, or “L” on your shifting lever indicator.”

DRIVING DOWN: “Driving down in lowest gear will cause the engine to act as a brake and
help to slow you car's decent. You may notice that the engine sounds loud, or is running very fast – this is normal and is not cause for alarm."

IDIOTS

http://www.mountwashingtonautoroad.com/

http://www.warrensburggaragesale.com/

SOME PHOTOS

FALL COLORS

FROM THE KAYAK