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August 29, 2007 Sorry to be so out of touch for so long. I might have taken a bit of a hiatus while at home in Michigan. It was a busy time and I discovered no matter what your intentions are when you visit home you will never do all of the things you intend to do on one visit, even if its 3 weeks long. I did manage to ride the Holland Hundred Bike ride, (68 miles = 100km go me!) with my good friend Tom. Mom and I took a trip up north to the Leelanau Peninsula. We stayed at a lovely B&B called Traditions. I was able to revisit Fishtown and we toured the Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes National Park. And my friend Stephanie and her husband Steve had their first baby, Griffin. Mike’s parents visited my parents in Holland, we won them over with the beach. I went over to Milwaukee to join Mike’s family way the heck up north in Wisconsin for their family vacation. After a final pack of the car in Holland I headed to Ohio to visit my older brother and his family. We went to the Sweet Corn festival near Fairborn, Ohio. I got to ride the John Deer train with my niece Grace, what a treat. And finally I was ready to head home. However, I had one more important stop to make. My grandmother died while I was in Michigan so I headed up to Dearborn where the services celebrating her life were to take place. It was a blessing that she passed on, and as our family got together it was clear that she left behind a very loving and caring family. We learned lots of things about her that we didn’t know before and that made us appreciate her and what she has passed on to us even more. I’m finally back in Tiverton, RI where I belong as some might say. Its good to be back, I have been biking and driving around getting to know old haunts again. I’m almost settled in and soon it will be time to hit the keyboard and get some of these images out into the world. One of my goals with this project is to get a show up in several galleries. I should probably say a gallery, but I’m shooting the moon as they say in the game of hearts, and aiming high. We’ll see. …… I’ll be adding more photos to the locations that don’t have galleries yet. I’ll try to keep you posted about what is new. There are some new galleries up in the Colorado section right now. Thank you for all your emails along the way. It was nice to know someone was reading this (especially with it being kind of wordy) and looking at the photography.
Grand Teton photos posted today (July 19, 2007) Been working hard here in Holland, Yellowstone and Hiawatha Trail photography was just posted (July17,2007) |
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July 8, 2007 Home Sweet Home, sorry to use the cliché, but it really is nice to get home to Holland, Michigan. Mom and I had a nice afternoon on the beach, it was windy and sandy, but the waves were gorgeous and the lake was warm enough for me to swim in. I arrived yesterday after a quick tour or northern Michigan. I left Minnesota and cruised through Michigan’s U.P. Hwy 2 was my route and the lake was my scene, not too bad for full day drive. My destination was Hessel, MI, on the south eastern side of the U.P. I was meeting up with Jim Sullivan and his friend who were to pick me up and take me to Mackinaw City. Jim’s sailboat was there and I had signed on to go from there to back to Hessel onboard the mighty W.O.S.O.K.I. (We Are Spending Our Kid’s Inheritance) with Jim’s wife Deb. I have done a few wed. night beer can and iron genny races with Jim a couple summers ago and I was looking forward to a nice lazy cruise past Mackinac Island and down the waterway to Hessel. We left on Fri. morning and headed out the breakwall at the marina. The wind was not looking to promising but Jim was being optimistic and very hopeful. Deb however curled up with a book not really expecting to uncover the main sail at all. At one point Jim, got excited when he saw 4 knots of wind, he said his rule was 5 knots to move the boat by sails. So we uncovered the main and pulled it up, then did the same with the headsail. We made an amazing 1.5 knots for a little while and then Jim had to face it, it was time to take down the sails and turn on the motor. After we got settled in at the dock, Jim and I took a little dinghy ride down the shoreline and through some of the islands in the area. What a special place? There are little classic runabouts zipping around everywhere and the shoreline is dotted with cottages and boathouses. There were loads of people out on the water enjoying the weather. We had a nice dinner that evening, I finally go to have some good ole Lake perch, must be in Michigan! I left yesterday to cruise down the coast of west Michigan to head to Holland. I stopped in Traverse City and had a quick bike ride down the main drag to peak in the touristy shops and restaurants. Then I continued a little out of my way up the Leelanau Peninsula to Sutton’s Bay. I stopped there to get lunch and poke around a bit. My lunch had Traverse City dried cherries on it. Yummy! My next stop was Leland, I had read about a place called Fishtown there and wanted to check it out. Believe it or not there used to be commercial fishing on Lake Michigan. The fisherman in Leland worked out of a couple rows or shanties on the waterfront. When the fishing industry started to go south, one fisherman whose family had been fishing there for years decided that a part of history needed to be saved. Bill Carlson started buying up the shanties one by one and refurbishing them with original materials. He then rented them out to various vendors and eventually created Fishtown. Today there are several souvenir shops, a pottery studio, a restaurant and the ticket booth for the ferry to Manitou Islands. It’s a fun place to visit because there is still fishing paraphernalia lying around and the shops are still surrounded by boats. There are several charter boats that take people fishing on the docks. The Carlson’s still have a shop there that sells fresh fish from Lake Michigan. The also have there own special smoked trout pate’ and sausage. I picked up some fresh trout and the pate’ to bring home. Both turned out to be wonderful treats.
And so last night I arrived at home just in time to join my parents for a fun Fundraising Dinner at Oxbow, School of Art and Artist’s Residency. I ran into my good friend Tom Nelis, (he says hello to Tim and Dan of the Biloxi crew) And we had a few good laughs. Today, mom and I had a lazy morning with my younger brother and some chocolate chip pancakes. Afterwards mom and I headed to the beach for some more laziness. Ahhh its soooo good to be home.
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July 4, 2007 Visiting Eagan, MN near Minneapolis/ St Paul has been a blast. I’m have been staying with my cousin Jack and his family, Jen and two boys Jack, 5, and Brendan, 3. Its been fun to see what boys there age are into. Little Jack surrounds himself with anything having to do with dinosaurs and millions of toy dinosaurs. He has puzzles and books too. He can also tell you all kinds of facts about dinosaurs that you didn’t know you wanted to know. Did you know that the dinosaur with the long neck has a long neck so it can eat large plants and that it eats rocks to help break up the leaves in it stomach. Who knew? Sorry I can’t remember the name of that particular dinosaur. I’m sure if I asked Jack he would know. Brendan is into trucks, especially, emergency vehicles. Maybe it has something to do with his dad who is a volunteer firefighter in Eagan. We read a whole book together on emergency trucks and what they do. It also included helicopters and Coast Guard boats. We went to a town called Stillwater yesterday. The boys got to play in a very cool playground called the Teddy Bear Playground. All the playthings were especailly neat for kids. There was a tree fort, train, schoolhouse, tugboat, and a giant spider web to play in. What more could a kid want. Well Jack and Jenn know, they want ice cream from a place that serves kids sizes that are supersized. Jack had to cut the server off on his crazy scooping so Jack and Brendan could manage their cones of Superman Ice cream. But the Ice cream was delicious! We then headed down to the river front so we could look across at Wisconsin and see the riverboats go under the bridge. It was a gorgeous evening and we all enjoyed the walk along the river. I liked driving through the town too,peeking in all the interesting shops and restaurants.
Today for the fourth we took a mini road trip up to Duluth, MN to see the big ships come through the break walls and under the bridge. Jack used to work on the Presque Isle, which at the time was the largest freighter on the Great Lakes. We toured a freighter and wished that Jack had been our tour guide instead of the extremely dry guide that we did have. It was fun to see the engine room, the deck with the hatches, and the cargo hold. Its really amazing the amount of space down there.
We also walked out to the pier heads to watch a couple ships come in under the bridge. Brendan’s favorite part was the bridge, he knew the bell that sounded when the bridge was going up and absolutely had to be where he could see it. Little Jack’s favorite part was chasing the seagulls around the lawn near the bridge.
Big Jack and I had a chance to wander through the museum that is also near the pier heads. I liked seeing all the ship models of the different kinds of cargo hauling ships that have sailed the Great Lakes. I also liked the model of the Edmund Fitzgerald. which sank mysteriously and suddenly years ago. (remember the song?) It was at a the bottom of a glass case with a glass shelf about half way up with a Coast Guard Ship on that with a rope going down to the model. The model is in two halves just as the ship sits on the bottom today. The bow half stands upright while the stern half is upside down and at an angle to the other piece. I’m crazy about Lake Michigan and the rest of the Great Lakes area, so I really liked this museum and all its maps and models. Tomorrow I’m heading across Wisconsin and through Michigan’s Upper Penninsula to meet some friends to go sailing near Hessel, Mi. I’m expecting a long ride but I’m excited to be getting back to Michigan, hurray!
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July 1, 2007 I’m spoiling myself this evening. I was able to use some credit card points for a free hotel room at a nice place in Sioux Falls, SD. The drive to Minneapolis from the Badlands area is a hike so I decided to split it up and take it easy. I’m in a plush Fairfield Inn with a nice white down comforter and nice carpeting. Carpeting counts when you are staying in cheapo places most of the time. The visit to Mt Rushmore this morning was a treat. The park is laid out nicely and people are able to move through all that there is to see easily. The heads themselves are pretty amazing, especially since they are barely half way completed. Seeing the plaster sculpture in the studio at the park showed lots of details that haven’t been added to the mountain statues. There are hands, jackets, buttons and other details that haven’t even begun to surface on the mountain. There is a short boardwalk that follows a trail that runs around the front of the presidents, this is a great way to get a look at them from several different vantage points. The museum has all kinds of photos, facts and tools that tell the story of Mt Rushmore. Even a short movie helps describe what it took to carve what is carved and all the plans for the final product. It was a fun visit and I had seen enough by the time I left, good thing because the crowd was starting to arrive.
My next stop this morning was the Badlands National Park. I got a very blunt reminder today of just how bad the Badlands are. It was sizzling hot at the park today. Its in the middle of nowhere surrounded by stark prairie on all sides. The Badlands formations sort of drop down and rise up from the prairie at the same time forming soft rock formations that look like cousins to Bryce Canyon in Utah (see gallery way below to get the idea). The colors are muted and not nearly as vivid as those at Bryce. I did manage one short hour long hike to a the end of a small canyon that led to a notch in a cliff that looked out over…… you guessed it prairie. By the time I got back from that I was soaked in sweat. I hopped in the car, cranked the AC and drank straight from my gallon jug of water. My shower this evening was heaven. All in all I liked the Badlands, but I really felt silly going at this time of year. It’s an obvious place to go to in the fall or spring, but definitely not any time near the summer.
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June 30, 2006
People in Colorado seem to be inherently fit. They have to be all of their activities revolve around mountains and you can either go up then or down them. Going down is always fun, but you usually have to go up first. The stop is Vail was to celebrate the wedding of Mike’s brother and new sister-in-law. They had a destination wedding and were celebrating with more family and friends with a little back yard party at a friend’s house. Most of Mike’s family made it and it was fun for everyone to get together. The party was fun and the food was awesome. However, I think my stomach is not happy with farm raised salmon these days and I spend the next day in bed. While I was recovering, Mike went hiking with his parents and whacked his toe on a large rock. The next day with a swollen toe and an uneasy stomach we ventured into Vail for a small stroll around the village. We also stopped to see the famous Vail Photographer Jack Affleck. Jack is the loving brother of Joyce Black who I used to work with in the Team Black days. It was fun to chat about shooting ski photography and also shooting “the dream” of beautiful people at all the Vail resort areas. Jack is a busy guy, and it was nice of him to take some time out to chat. Thanks Jack! (http://www.japhoto.com/) We did recover and managed to join the locals in some outdoor activities. We did some gorgeous hikes. We borrowed a bike from Mike’s brother and went bombing down the Vail Ski Mountain. Mike clocked us at about 27mph on his GPS, I’m not sure I believe him. I think we were going faster.
We toured through the town of Minturn and found a climbing spot up in the mountains behind it. The drive there was really the main attraction. We also rented a bike and joined Mike’s super fit brother for a grueling up hill ride to get to some breathtaking rides through the Aspen groves at the top of the mountain. I’m talking a full 45min. of lung burning (for those of us from sea level) leg shaking, mind-boggling uphill pedaling. But it was worth it when we got to the top.
We caught up with some friends of Mike’s from Harken in Frisco, Co and decided to spend our last night in Colorado down there at the Frisco Lodge. This gave us a chance to explore another town for a bit before heading back to the airport to drop Mike off. I’m now in Hot Springs, SD at the Historic Log Cabin motel in a tiny little log cabin of my own. Tomorrow I’m planning on visiting Mt Rushmore early in the morning and then heading to the Badlands National Park and then moving on towards Minneapolis/St. Paul. One more thing about visiting the mountains near Vail. As a person whose getaway is large bodies of water, the mountain walls of the valley along I-70 seemed limiting in a way. I realize that you can go in, around, and over them in a variety of different ways, but in a way I felt closed in. I wonder if a person from the mountains feels something similar when they visit coastal areas that are surrounded by water.
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June 22, 2007 Steamboat Springs was a wonderful stop (sorry guys I can’t lie, even if you want to keep it a secret) and a great visit with some good friends. Skip and Cathy live on a sailboat during the winter and rent out their condo to skiers in the winter. This will be their second summer in Steamboat and they are thrilled to be in on all the happenings around town. Steamboat Springs is situated in the Yampa Valley. The Yampa river runs through it and there is plenty of fly fishing going on. There are also endless hiking trails up the surrounding mountains and ski hill. The people here are also a little crazy about bike riding. We took a gondola up the ski hill to see the view of the area. We hiked down and woke up some strange muscles on our way down the 3 mile switchbacks. We also got to see some kids heading down the mountain on their bikes, hmmm… fun idea! The community also has a lot going on. One night we went to see a pair of Bluegrass bands (The Infamous Stringdusters and Crooked Still) at what is called the Strings on the Mountain pavilion. The pavilion is set up with a stage and a little bar outside of it. They have a full schedule of entertainment for the rest of the summer and I’m sure that Cathy and Skip will be in attendance at a bunch of them. The Stringdusters proved to be tons of fun and had everyones toes tapping, Crooked Still came in a close second with their wonderful musicians, but the lead singer left a little bit to be desired. Altogether it was a wonderful evening with wonderful music.
The Stringduster dobro player. www.thestringdusters.com, Check these guys out!
Our second musical event took us to the bottom of the famous ski jump (Olympic athletes train on it year round!) where we watched the Whalers tear it up. (yes Bob’s Whalers) The people watching was awesome and at the end of the concert I think about half the crowd left on bicycles. It was funny to see everyone pick up a bike and ride off into the night. Steamboat was really a great stop. There is tons to see in the area. We took a nice drive up through the ranchland north of Steamboat Springs and turned around at an honest to gosh General store. We looked around to see what the locals buy and found a nice selection of sandwiches, pies, and other desserts. Skip found some jam to try out and we contemplated some of the items placed in the store for tourists such as Elk Droppings (chocolate candy). We toured downtown and ducked in and out of some of the galleries and clothing shops. One shop boasted having sold Levi’s since the 1800s, I’m sorry to say that their selection these days is pretty limited. We also stopped in a leather store and Kathy dreamed about her future biker girl jacket. The jackets and coats in the store were beautiful and the price matched them a little too well. We ended that day with milkshakes and lunch at a 50s style diner.
I really loved Steamboat Springs, maybe it was the town, maybe it was Skip and Cathy’s wonderful hospitality, or maybe I have a little place in my heart for little mountain towns. I drove down to Vail (actually Avon) to meet up with Mike’s brother, John, and check out our rental house for the week. I get to pick Mike up tomorrow and his whole family arrives to help celebrate John’s wedding. Should be a fun time. I can’t wait to see Mike!
Sacramento Photos are up and some of the images from Portland are up too! |
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June 18, 2007 I did get to see Old Faithful erupt. I was actually more impressed with all the hissing and smoking the geyser did after it erupted. I was went through one of the other thermal areas with several other geysers, those things are all so cool. They have brilliant colors and they are oohhhh so tempting to touch, but apparently the temperatures are well above boiling so its not really a good idea. I held on tight to my camera to make sure I didn’t get too curious. I think I got some interesting photos of them too. Old Faithful
Other fun things to see in Yellowstone were the animals, and I’m talking about the guys with the long lenses pointed into fields just waiting for the wildlife to strike a pose. They looked absolutely hysterical, and yes I did snap a photo of them. I couldn’t help it. I also felt kind of sorry for the poor bear that was being stalked by these guys. She had her two cubs with her and they were trying to cross the street that was jammed with traffic staring at her. I think she was trying to get away from all the commotion. I sort of took the theory that I should just snap my photo and let the beat get on with its self. This theory didn’t pay off in magnificent wildlife photos, but I felt that if I needed those I should hike into the backcountry and earn my fantastic wildlife photos.
I really enjoyed Yellowstone more than I enjoyed Yosemite. Things were more spread out and that made the people in the park more spread out. This was a nice treat. I also think that I have seen less images of Yellowstone and therefore got to see things with my own eyes for the first time rather than through Ansel Adams lens first (Although he has a great eye to see things from).
I took one long hike up part of Mt Washburn and got to see some gorgeous views of the park in several directions. The wind at the top of the switchbacks that I hiked was pretty nasty and that’s one reason I didn’t go all the way up. One thing about visiting these national parks in Wyoming is that they are enormous. I hear you can fit a couple Rhode Islands in Yellowstone. So that tells you something about how long it takes to get from place to place too. I wanted to see a few more things in daylight so that was another reason to head down early. By the time I was actually aimed at my campsite it was twilight and lots of bison and elk were out grazing in the clearings along the park road. There was one bison eating dinner in the other traffic lane. That made the drive back interesting. My next camping adventure was Grand Teton National park. The drive through Yellowstone to Grand Teton was mostly rainy until I got to the Tetons. Driving down the main drag in Grand Teton gave me views of snow topped peaks that were surround by thick forests which were surrounded by sagebrush fields. It’s quite a drive. In a way Grand Teton is prettier than Yellowstone. Probably, only because Yellowstone is still recovering from a huge forest fire that happened in 1985, there are slivery burned groves everywhere. I camped near Jenny Lake and took the shuttle across the lake to hike up to Inspiration point. The view was good and the climb up was pretty intense too, it was a very small trail along a narrow rocky cliff. I kept climbing up into Cascade canyon behind inspiration point and it went through groves of trees and then opened up into meadows of rocks, wildflowers and a quickly moving stream. It would be fun to have the time to hike the entire 12 mile loop through the canyon. I really enjoyed Grand Teton also.
Today I packed up early and hit up a few more scenic spots for some views of the Teton with morning light. Then I headed down the road through Jackson Hole, across Wyoming, and then straight down an empty country road to Colorado. This road went pretty much through the middle of nowhere, but I did pass part of the Oregon Trail.
I’m staying with my friend Skip his wife Cathy in Steamboat and they seem very excited to show me how cool Steamboat is. Can’t wait to tell you all about it. June 15, 2007 Driving out of Seattle was a very scenic drive. Especially, because there were crazy looking rain clouds throughout the sky as I drove through the mountains. My plan was to stop in a little town called Alberton and stay at the Ghost Rails Inn Bed and Breakfast. I only thought I would stay one night, but when I was looking at the website for the B&B I noticed a link to the Hiawatha Rail Trail nearby in Idaho. My drive through Idaho was really pretty so I started to think about staying one extra night in Alberton so I could ride the rail trail. Alberton used to be an old railroad town. The crew exchange motel used to be the Ghost Rails Inn. The owners have historical photos of the building and the town all over the walls. It’s sort of fun to think that you are sleeping somewhere, where the old railroad crews used to sleep, kind of creepy too.
The Hiawatha Trail turned out to be worth staying an extra night for. The trail starts as a gradual downhill and immediately you go through an old railroad tunnel that is 1.7 miles long and very dark and cold. I had a bike light on and they are required for this trail, but it seemed so week compared with how dark the tunnel got. When I saw the light at the end of the tunnel (literally) I was really relieved. The trail is a gravel trail that runs along an old railroad bed that used to be used on the Milwaukee Hiawatha route. I have heard the Hiawatha still runs, not sure if that is true or not. You get to ride right on the edge of steep mountain sides and go over old trestles high about the valleys and through dark tunnels that go through the mountains that were to big to get around. When I ride and take photos along the way I use a larger camel back that is actually a small back pack. I can fit a body and two lenses or one extra lens and a flash. It still gets to be a hefty pack with the water, snacks, and sometimes an extra layer of clothing. I stopped to take a photo on a trestle and I heard someone behind me say “Whao we look way too much alike right now,” I turned around and there was a girl with a blond ponytail under her helmet wearing the same back pack I had. She asked if I was a photographer, I said yes, then asked her that same, she was too. She pulled out a canon digital camera with a 70-200 on it. She introduced herself as Diane Kulpinski. She usually does sports photography, but was on a little trip around the area. We rode together for awhile and traded stories. She had biked across the country with her father for 3 months. I was interested in how she packed everything on the bike especially, the camera gear. It was fun to have a biking photo buddy for a little while. Here 's the website to the trail. http://www.skilookout.com/hiaw/
After the ride I cruised around on the back roads in the area and found some great photos. I drove to Yellowstone this morning via Bozeman, Mt. which was a fun little town to drive through. I’m planning to check out some of the gysers this afternoon and even try to catch Old Faithful erupting. |
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June 13, 2007 Seattle can be a wet and icky place or it can be pleasantly sunny with a few puffy clouds hanging around. I got lucky on my first day in Seattle to have some sunshine and a few puffy clouds. I decided to head to the Pike Market on the waterfront. My friend Addie from High School agreed to meet me there for an afternoon of people watching and mouth watering fruit. We met up in a sea of people and went to watch the famous fish throwers. We got there just in time to see a group of very girly girls get handed a bunch of very large slimy fish. The fish seller pretty much just shoved them at them when they tried to just stand in front of the fish for a photo. It was pretty funny and of course I needed a photo too. The market was also full of bright flowers including tons of calla lilies. The fruit stand were sagging with ripe peaches of various varieties and there were also tasty Ranier Cherries. Which were amazing. Addie got a bag for her husband and let me taste one. I needed some for myself. The market was mostly indoors which made it tricky to photograph. But I do have photos of the girls with the fish!
My hosts in Seattle are friends from Boston, Danielle (actually went to high school in Michigan with her too) and Chris. When I told them the dates I was coming they said “well we have a campsite reserved on Orcas Island, you won’t mind just coming with us will you” Heck no! The weather report was less than favorable so I used my new talents and found us a tiny cabin on the water to rent for two nights at the North Beach Inn (www.northbeachinn.com). Its nice to split a tab for a room. The Inn was built in the 1920s and there haven't been too many renovations since. The decor was very campy and made all of us laugh. The kitchenette looked like it had been ripped out of an old RV. There was a fireplace in the living room/bedroom, we tested out some s'mores on that we we arrived. We also had lots of friendly bugs to keep us company. So it was like camping, but not in leaky tents. The weekend turned out to be very rainy and blustery, so we were very happy not to be camping. However we weren’t too happy to not be able to hike comfortably. I know there are some people out there saying “what a bunch of wimps can’t hike in the rain” Well it was cold and windy too…We did find a 40th Anniversary BBQ at the local Hardware store. Danielle made us stop to check it out and we found out these people really know how to have a good time. They had a nail driving competition, tape measure competition, and a hula hoop competition. I did participate in two of the competition. Guess which ones?!!
It was hard to top the Hardware store BBQ, but we did stop by a sculpture park that was neat and then went and cozied up by a fire in one of two local taverns. The rain started to clear as we played cards in the tavern so we headed back to our cabin with thoughts of a beach bonfire. Chris whipped up a lovely fire in the BBQ and we had some kielbassa and hot dogs. Chris also made a great bonfire on the beach and we enjoyed it till the tide came up, then we transplanted it further up the beach and enjoyed it some more. Yummy s’mores too! We toured the rest of the island on Sunday and got in a quick kayak tour before getting on the ferry back to Anacortes. Back in Seattle I spent the next two days touring around Seattle and Danielle and I went out to Redmond to visit Addie’s pizza shop. The shop is called Pizza Schmizza and yes they can make a pizza, almost any way you want it too! I’m at a tiny B&B tonight called the Ghost Rails Inn Bed and Breakfast ( www.ghostrailsinn.com ) in Alberton, Montana. I was planning on heading to Yellowstone tomorrow, but there is a scenic bike ride about 30 minutes away in Idaho called the Hiawatha trail. It goes over old train trestles and through tunnels with lots of scenic views. I think I might have to stay tomorrow and ride it and just get an early start to Yellowstone on Fri. Its nice to be flexible. All the best, Marianne San Francisco Images and Yosemite images are now up! |
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June 7, 2007 I’m in Seattle now, and Portland or the area around it was great. My Oregon adventures included Fishing, Mt. Biking, hiking, and Windsurfing, all excellent things to do in Oregon. My friend Natalie is in Newberg, Or and is a helicopter pilot. So my trip was off to a great start after an evening flight over the city of Portland. Natalie was a fun pilot and even did a little showing off for me by flying through small ravines with rivers at the bottoms of them. It was a fun challenge to shoot out of a helicopter. Kinda crazy too.
I caught my first fish in the Lewis River in Washington state near Washougal, just north of Portland. Natalie’s boyfriend is one of the best guides in the area and we were lucky enough to have him take us out with the guys. As soon as he gave me the down low on the rod, the reel and the bait we dropped it all in the water. Less than ten seconds later I asked on of the guys if my rod looked like it was supposed to look when a fish had the bait. He said “yup, that’s exactly was it look like.” Steve, our fearless guide was able to help me reel it in far enough for him to get the net under it and bring it onboard. I had caught a beautiful Chinook salmon! I have to admit, I was getting excited about dinner. Nothing else was caught that afternoon, but it was a gorgeous day on the water. I guess that what fishing is sometimes. Steve also guides for shad fish and sturgeon. He is one of the best in the area and his easy manner makes it fun to be on the water with him. He took us for a little ride after our fishing session and it was clear he had had a good day. Check out Steve’s other happy catches at www.stevesoutdooradventures.com. These photos are going to make your mouth water.
My Mt. biking adventure was probably a bit ambitious for my skill level and I was really hating it for the first uphill 12 miles, but the downhill single track 12 miles at the end was pretty amazing. So were all the views of Mt. Hood along the way. Out of the millions of trails around Mt. Hood I tried the Surveyor’s Ridge Trail. Yikes! It started out 12 miles up hill on a gravel road, twisting and turning up through some hills around Mt. Hood, it gave me some great views of Mt. Hood. Once to the trailhead at the top, I had to take a little break and refuel with some snacks. Then I hit the trail. The first downhill on the single track was fun until it immediately went steeply uphill. My legs felt like they were going to fall off. Most of this trail was rewarding downhill singletrack with some technical rocky sections and then grueling uphills climbs. Again, there were some really great views of Mt. Hood and as I finished the trail around sunset they just got even better. I felt like a superstar for making it through the whole trail, but also a little silly for taking on something that might have been a tiny bit too tough for me.
One of my requests while visiting Natalie was to head out to the coast of Oregon. So on sun. we headed out to see the coast and visit Drift Falls via a hike through old and new growth forests. The drive took us through scenic country roads lined with farm stands and fields of produce. When we got to the coast it was covered in what people call the marine layer, or fog. We made out way through the fog to our trailhead for the hike and found sunshine again. The hike was very pretty and quiet, when we got to the waterfall there was a cable bridge that crossed over the river that flowed into the same river where the waterfall landed. After crossing the bridge we made our way to the bottom of the waterfall. The water was pretty chilly, but we decided that we needed a bit of refreshment anyway and jumped in and out very quickly!
The windsurfing adventure was one I was actually a tiny bit nervous about. I didn’t want to relearn things that Mike had already taught me but I wanted to be able to learn new things to help me sail better. I found Hood River Waterplay online, and JaK who runs the show there was a great teacher. He was able to figure out what I could do and what I needed to learn very quickly and was also able to prescribe a board and sail that I could easily learn with. I felt a little wimpy with the tiny sail that he picked for me, but I was thrilled that I could handle it effectively and sail fairly well with it. There are lots of options for lessons in the Gorge (this is the famous area on the Hood River where all the windsurfing and kiteboarding happens) I’m sure they all have their advantages, but JaK and HRW really knew how to teach well!
Thanks for the photo JaK! Seattle should be a fun stop. I’m staying with my friends Danielle and Chris. Tomorrow we are heading up to the San Juan Islands to do some exploring there. The forecast is for rain, so hopefully we can explore without getting to cold and wet. Now that I’m north again, I think the shorts and tank tops might have to take a small hiatus.
San Diego galleries are now up!
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Bryce Canyon and Kodachrome Basin photos are also up. I have also added some thumbnails and I'll get those photos up as soon as I stop touring around. ha ha ha FYI: Surf Diva photos are up in the San Diego entry. Lots of Smiles! May 29, 2007 Point Reyes on the way to Sacramento (sort of)
The Trumbull’s in Folsom, Ca. know how to have a good time. I arrived late in the evening on wed. after a really nice drive up through Point Reyes National Park and then east through Sonoma and Napa valleys. We had a nice dinner and planned our weekend. Stan and Donna were very welcoming and let me take over a small table in their office with my laptop and hard drives. Thurs. I got to join Stan for his rehearsal with his Barbershop group called the Folsom Harmony Express. These guys were hilarious. It was like being in a third grade classroom where all the kids are whispering to each other and telling jokes. Included in the weekly news announcements were tasteless jokes and a few silly limericks. All in all they sounded great and have a really good time sounding great together.
Fri. I visited Old Town Sacremento for the start of the Jazz Jubilee. I caught the end of the parade and a few acts that were performing in the streets afterwards. One was the Ophir Prison Kazoo band and Temperance Society. These were a bunch of guys dressed as prison convicts with other additions to the uniforms. You’ll see when you see the photos. The other group was the Petting Zoo. Their slogan is “ We bang trash”. The group was made up of three guys and a bunch of trash cans, recycling bings, and glass bottles. They had also added some metal dustpans and baseball bats to the mix. It was loud and fantastic!
That evening the whole clan minus one son came over for a visit. They were a fun bunch full of jokes about each other. The grandkids showed off their skills on the diving board. The best was the 5 year old with his life jacket that kept bobbing him up out of the water after jumping off the board. Sat. we took a trip up to Tahoe to see the sights and visit with Stan and Donna’s son Craig. The drive around the lake was lovely. Emerald bay sparkled in the sunshine and was dotted with all kind of small boats including some old wooden boats. Then we stopped and poked our noses around a boatyard that restores, builds, and cares for wooden boats.
We finished that day off with a long drive back down to Folsom. I got to experience the kind of damage tire chains can cause to highways. Not pleasant. Sun. I took a little trip with one of the daughter-in-laws Katrina and her daughter Kelly. We went to Coloma, where the Gold Rush started. It was fun to poke around and see all the old buildings. We visited several little shops and liked our friend Russell the best. He was kind enough to show us his special gold nuggets and let us feel how heavy they were. We got a full education on gold and pricing and measuring it. After all that we wandered down to the river to see what we could dig up. Kelly found a few pieces of fool’s gold and gave them to me to keep. We took them back up to Russell to show off, and he showed us how to tell if its fake. He put a flake in the bottom of a gold pan and smeared it. I must have looked sad to not have my souvenir because he gave me two teeny tiny gold bits in exchange.
That afternoon we visited the lake nearby Stan and Donna’s house to try to use Donna’s old windsurfer. I managed to get it rigged, but the wind was very light and the lake was very crowded, not a good combination. But the kids had a great time trying to balance on the board. Donna, Stan and I ended the day with some pizza and beer. I took their photo in front of their house the next morning before they took off for one of Stan’s Barbershop group performances. Then I packed up my things and headed for Portland. It was a really fun visit and the Trumbull’s did a great job of showing me around and they were also excellent hosts. Thank you sooo much Stan and Donna and the rest of the Trumbull clan!
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May 22, 2007
Ooooh its been sooo nice to catch up with my cousin Rachel. We always have such a good time together, but we are terrible at keeping in touch. As promised we went to the Farmer’s Market on the Ferry wharf on Saturday. It was a veggie lovers heaven. All the fruit and vegetables looked so fresh and colorful. There were tons of tomatoes, peaches, strawberries, lettuces, artichokes, and more and more……There was also a several meat stands that were selling local meat from animals that haven’t been fed hormones or other strange things. We got the fixings for a mushroom risotto and one very large ugly tomato. Dinner ended up being great that night. Sunday we went to my Aunt Re’s apartment for a late brunch. It was also nice to catch up with my Aunt. She fed us a yummy frittata with peppers and onions and a nice assortment of pastries. This was great fortification for our adventure for the rest of the day. We headed down Rt. 1 to Santa Cruz. Several people had mentioned that I should stop there and see it. The drive down was great. We passed a beach that was loaded with kiteboarders and windsurfers. They were jumping waves like it was going out of style and it was really fun to watch and photograph them. Those photos will have to try to speak for themselves. We made it to Santa Cruz and strolled down the beach and the boardwalk and had fun watching all the crazy people. The boardwalk had carnival rides and carnival snacks including deep fried twinkies. We didn’t spend too long in the chaos. We found a couple of burritos to go and found a beach to watch the sunset at while we ate our dinner.
Monday turned out to be a special day. One of the Bay Area moms that took the Surf Diva clinic in San Diego has a daughter that is going to do the big swim from Alcatraz to San Francisco. She wants to raise money for the sister school to hers in South Africa. She wants to help feed the kids when they are on holiday from school or on the weekends. Apparently the government funding provides funding for food while it is in session, but the kids often go hungry during the weekends or during school vacations. Monday evening I met with Andrea and her daughter Isabella to photograph them at the beach that they have been training at. Isabella was very enthusiastic about her adventure. I asked her is she was always this adventurous and she said she really isn’t the adventuress type. When Isabella decided to do this race, her mom thought that if Isabella was going to do the swim she wanted to do it too. They have been training together in a local pool in Marin and also at the beach at the Aquatic center in San Francisco. The Race is in June and Isabella hopes to raise enough money to feed the school kids in Africa for half the weekends in a year. I’ll add a PDF to her flyer and how to help with donations when I get the info. I’ll also add photos of this enthusiastic pair shortly.
Today I took a little trip across the bay to see Sausolito. I really liked the crazy houseboats over there. It was also nice to walk along the waterfront and see all the other boats. This evening Rachel and I caught up with my friend Scooter from Boston. It was fun to see someone from home. We had a nice dinner at the Stinking Rose (refering to Garlic and lots of it!) A friend of Scooter’s from his college days also joined us. It ended up being a bit of a motley crew but we had a really good time together. I’m off to Sacramento tomorrow to stay with Stan and Donna who are cousins of Mike’s parents. From our planning emails it sounds like it will be a lot of fun. |
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May 18, 2007 My trip to Yosemite had some yin and yang to it. The scenery was beautiful. The people were many. The light was amazing and it was hard to be in the right place at the right time for photos. I planned on one night outside the park so that I could get in the park early get a campsite and then see as much as possible. My advice to anyone that is going to visit Yosemite for only a day or so is to take one long hike and forget about trying to see all the important sights. I made that mistake myself and traveled with the crowds to all the sights. If you want to loose the crowds and see some beautiful scenery you need to get on the trails for a couple of hours. When I got up in the area I stayed in Groveland at a B&B called the Charlotte Hotel. It was sort of like stepping back into the Wild West. I had a claw foot tub and an antique wrought iron bed with a cozy quilt on it. I got up early and headed into the park. I planned on getting a campsite at Camp #4, it’s a first come first serve campground that is famous for the climbers that come to the area. It took a about a ½ hour after entering the park to get to the campgrounds. I finally chked in and put up the tent and headed out on my bike with my cameras on my back. The paths for bikes were confusing and often were just on the road with all the traffic, which sort of took away from the wilderness experience. By the end of the day I was all set with the crowds and headed up a trail to Vernal falls to catch the light at the end of the day. I was a just a few minutes later than I wanted to be, but I got lucky enough to catch a wonderful rainbow next to the falls. I planned an early morning this morning and packed up quickly so I could get some sights with early light on them. Also a tricky endeavor because the Yosemite Valley is in fact a valley. I found a great spot to shoot El Capitan and then drove up to Glacier Point for a spectacular view of the valley. The light had gotten to high in the sky to get any amazing shots, but I took some anyway and ended up being happy with them in the end. (Thank you Canon 5D). I started leaving the park around 11:45 and didn’t actually get out till about an hour later. My next stop was San Francisco to see my cousin Rachel (hurray!) The drive was nice, I went through California’s produce county. I purchased some of the best roadside strawberries I have ever had. I drove through tons of orchards and even a wind farm. I got here about 7pm and Rachel and I took a nice walk to catch up on each others lives. Tomorrow we are going to the Farmer’s Market on the Ferry Wharf downtown. Yum produce! Photos from New Mexico are now up, see below.
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May13, 2007 San Diego was a sunny and fun stop. My mom came out to meet me and we had a good time covering a few sites and just vegging out at our little studio beach apartment. We made it to Old Town, Balboa Park, and the Seaport Village. We loved all the history in Old Town and all the historic building they had set up there. It was fun to see all the gardens especially the Japanese Friendship Garden and the Botanical Garden in Balboa Park. We also cruised through the photography museum, but they were changing exhibits and there was only one gallery open. It was an interesting study on narratives through photography by different photographers. Balboa Park, Botanical Gardens
And of course we did get in a late afternoon at the beach. It was nice to spend some quality time with my mom and also have a little R&R. Mom even made us delicious omelets I also got to continue my happy people project in San Diego. I had the opportunity to spend some time with the Surf Diva instructors. I had heard about the school and that it was run by women for women and I thought that the idea a female school in a male dominated sport was pretty cool. Also, when you are in CA you should go surfing, dude! ( www.surfdiva.com ) I was able to spend the weekend with the Divas and Divos (There were guy instructors and I guess that’s what they were) photographing them teaching various groups of people to surf. There was a special Mother’s Day clinic where kids of any age could bring their parents to class for free. This turned out to be a fun and diverse group of all ages. They had a ball and a few were able to stand up on the boards. Another group was a group of women from Marin County near San Francisco who were kindergarten mothers. This was their second year of leaving the kids at home for Mother’s day weekend and taking a surfing clinic in San Diego. Some were return surfers and others were trying it for the first time. Every one of them had a great time. These guys were serious about having as much fun as possible. All through the morning you could here them cheering each other on as they tried to stand up on the longboards. It was a privilege to be able to photograph all of them. Wait till you see these photos! I’m heading to Yosemite next. Not sure I can compare with Ansel Adams but we’ll see what we get, I’m excited!
Here's the photography from the Surf Diva Clinics.
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May 5, 2007 Hurray, We’re engaged! Hope you all liked Mike’s entry. I was very surprised and I was most definitely speechless, but in a good way! The ring is gorgeous, the view from the cliff we were on was fantastic, and of course Mike was wonderful too! I know everyone is anxious for details like dates and all that, you’ll just have to wait till I get back to RI. I didn’t leave ABQ right away. My future husband detected a low hum in the front end of my car and suggested I get it checked out before heading out across the desert to Utah. Probably a good plan, especially if you have a support team like Sarah and Rol at Adobe Nido. Sarah offered to come pick me up if Ford needed the car for more than a couple hours. They were very backed up at Ford and I managed to get in one more nights sleep at the Nido. Sarah and Rol couldn’t have been more helpful. If anyone goes to ABQ and you need a place to stay look up Adobe Nido, it’s worth every penny and Rol and Sarah are worth more. I didn’t get my car back till late the next day. Mike remembered that some of his parents friend were in the area and offered their home if I needed a place to stay. So off to another abode I went. Eddie and Melita retired straight from the mid west to ABQ, so it was like a slice of home to be able to spend an evening chatting with them. Melita sent me off to Utah the next day with a few slices of her banana bread, yum! I stayed two nights at Kodachrome State Park, and yes it might have been because of the name. The drive there was gorgeous. Scenic 12 through Utah is a really stunning drive. I spent a day at Bryce Canyon, which is also stunning all by itself. I did the entire drive and also did a small hike down into the canyon. I was really awed by the scenery and all the hoodoo’s and canyon rock formations. The hiking trail went deep into the canyon on a narrow pathway that led around and through lots of the formations. At the end it was a trudge up a steep hill with small switchbacks that brought me up to a gorgeous view of what is called Bryce Amphitheater. The colors were amazing. It snowed a little bit which gave everything a hazy look. Towards the end of the day the sun popped out for a little bit, then it really started snowing and I decided I should start heading west for San Diego. On the way I got to drive through Zion National Park. I’m kind of embarrassed to say that I didn’t stop. It was really amazing going through it a t dusk, I can only imagine what it looks like during the evening or early morning. I was anxious to get west a little so I could shorten my drive to San Diego the next day so I could meet my mom at the airport this evening. We are staying in a little beach studio apartment in La Jolla. It’s about two blocks away from the ocean and I’m getting excited about some beach time and a few margaritas. I’ll tell you all about it soon! I’m going to let the photos do most of the talking here. So hang tight I’ll get em’ up real soon. Until then. Here are the photos finally! The park websites are underneath the images.
http://www.utah.com/stateparks/kodachrome.htm
http://www.nps.gov/zion/
PS. Photos in the Lubbock entry have been added! check out Palo Duro Canyon, what a cool place!
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April 29, 2007 (BIG NEWS HERE!) (entry by Mike Lee)(I'm going to try something different with the photos here too, I'll just put up a thumbnail for now until I get caught up with the other photos. Let me know how you all feel about this.) We followed the path through the woods on the way to where we were told was a hot spring. The trail ran through a woods of tall pine with a stream far below at the bottom of the canyon, which was very different from the thick vegetation of the New England woods. All around us were smallish peaks that were still snow covered, but a reminder that the weather can turn in an instant especially this time of year. At 8,000 feet the trail should have been strenuous, but we were headed downhill the whole way. We were fully aware that the hike back up the trail was going to be tough, but we pressed on knowing there was a hot spring we could slip into at the end of the trail. Halfway down the trail there was a fork in the path; one that went on to the hot spring and the other to an overlook above the canyon. Daylight would be fading soon, and the weather looked as though it could easily turn into a spring snow storm, yet we decided to take a moment to check out the overlook. This was a moment that would change our lives forever. The day before, I had arrived at Albuquerque NM late at night and even later if you consider my brain was on Eastern Standard Time. Marianne had the smarts to book us a B& B rather than trying to deal with a tent late at night. That proved to be the best move of the whole trip. Before the trip we had found there wasn’t as much helpful information on NM on the web, as we had hoped, so planning out our trip was somewhat difficult. Finally I just gave up and decided that we were going to just do whatever came to us because Ma & I have always had good luck in the past going this route. My rough plan was to go south to a small set of mountains for no other reason than it was south. However, Rol owner of the B&B Adobe Nido who does a lot of outdoor activity, said we really ought to go north to the Jemez Mountains. This is the beauty of not having any plans, so we figured why not; Jemez here we come. (www.adobenido.com, best B&B in ABQ!)
On the way out of town we stopped at the local REI and talked to the stores rock climbing guy for some tips on where to climb in the Jemez. He couldn’t have sent us to a more perfect spot for the kind of climbing we wanted to do. Later on down the road as we entered the Jemez Mountains we made a quick stop at the visitor center and chatted with a very friendly native American Indian woman who also sent us to a mountain side campground that turned out to be only a couple of miles up the road from our rock climbing location. She was also the one who told us about the hot springs near our campground. Our theme of the trip was turning out to be, don’t plan anything, be flexible, and talk to the locals for the best things to do. Back at the overlook we carefully inched our way to the rocky ledge to have a look down. The view couldn’t have been more stunning. Far bellow there was a stream with rapids that we could hear hundreds of feet above on our overlook. On the other side of the canyon wall there was strange brownish rock formations that were tall cone shaped. Farther up the canyon wall were peaks that were just recently dusted with a light snow. Ma’s camera quickly appeared and rapid clicking noises from her camera followed for the next few minutes. On our journey through the forest of tall pines and elevated peaks I was feeling a little like Frodo the ring bearer. (I had been watching the Lord of the Ring trilogy before I came to NM, sorry) In my mind I knew I was never going to get a place as spectacular as this for what I was about to do next: I called out to Ma to put down her camera and come sit next to me on the rock. As I reached into my pack she assumed I was going to pull out my little camera to take a portrait of the two of us sitting on the rock, but she assumed wrong. Instead I pulled out a ring I had had made especially for her, and asked if she would marry me. Her mouth opened wide, but no words came out. I waited and waited which felt like hours, and asked, “Is that a yes?” Her head nodded yes, but still no words came out. Our lives were changed forever The Spot: (and more Jemez Mts. photos)
pics are here! The next two days we rock climbed and hiked in the Jemez mountains. The climbing was perfect for our skill level and it was easy to get to. Unlike most climbs where you need to pack your gear up a trail for an hour or two, this wall was 50 yards from where we parked the car. All we had to do was throw our gear out of the car and carried it over to the grassy area near the wall. It felt fantastic to get out and climb again because we hadn’t done it in a while. The sun was warm, but not too hot, the sky at that altitude was a deep blue, and there was a sheep ranch across the road. The climb was just challenging enough for us to keep it exciting, but the interesting thing we noticed was the rock was very sharp. At the end of the day our hands were very raw. A few days later we discovered on the backside of where we climbed was a huge crater probably 20 miles across, so that meant the sharp rock we were climbing was a kind of volcanic rock. Two days later we decided to move on to a campground just above the Santa Fe area, but before hand we took a pit stop at a nice hotel to regroup and get cleaned up a bit before the next round of camping.
Our next few days of camping took place at Hyde Park just up the road from Santa Fe. Being located that close to Santa Fe was nice because we could be tourist for a day and take in a little of the western art town, buy a few groceries, try on a few cowboy hats, and rent a mountain bike. Some of the pretend artists from Santa Fe also liked the location of the park because while we were there they had a questionable art show through out the campground. This particular state park really went out of its way to make a nice campground. The camping area was elevated almost like a little deck in the pine forest. Also, it had a little roofed shelter, opened on one end, which we tucked our tent into. This proved to be the way to go when a cold icy thunderstorm came down the valley the next day, and all we needed to do was sit back and enjoy it and not worry if anything is going to get soaked or blown away. We discovered the mountain biking in Santa Fe was not really to our liking. In New England we are used to a lot of big rocks surrounded by black mud, but most importantly we are at sea level. Trying to ride at our regular pace at 8,000 feet was a struggle and soon we became grumpy because we were not riding to our ability. We also had a hard time navigating the tight switch backs on loose stones and still stay upright. I am sorry to say the M&M Mountain Bike Exploration Team didn’t give it a fair try and gave up on it. I am certain there are fantastic trails in New Mexico, just not the particular one we chose to ride. Lately I have been hinting to Ma that maybe she should shorten her journal entries a bit. Now I see the problem. There are so many interesting things that happen in one week you can’t possible write about all of it and what you do write gets a little long. I apologize for this entry being as lengthy as it is, but we had BIG news we wanted to share which I wasn’t going to tell in just one sentence. I can’t tell you how excited we are about getting married and being able to spend the rest of our lives together because we are each others very best friend. How cool is that to be married to you best friend! Madrid, an old mining town taken over by crazy artists, on the way back to ABQ from Santa Fe
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April 22, 2007 My legs are ready to fall off from Mt. biking. My friend Richard and I have been Mt. Biking maniacs in Palo Duro Canyon this weekend. Palo Duro Canyon is just south of Amarillo and north of Lubbock, TX by about 2 hours. Palo Duro Canyon photos
I left Dallas on tues. and went through the boon docks to Lubbock, TX. My friends Richard and Val both assured me it would be the flattest place I’d ever been. Richard told me to bring a ventilator. I headed north out of Dallas as fast as I could and once I got out of the traffic I just kept on going. About half way to Wichitaw Falls I realized that I needed to be going west and I was very much going north. I consulted my map and found a few back roads that took me back west and south to my intended highway. The ride was beautiful. I went through the famous 6666’s Ranch and got to see some small canyons along side the highway. Once rest stop had a great view of a smaller canyon and it was even wireless. I did not set up shop and get geeky with my laptop, but I did think it was funny that someone might need wireless in the middle of nowhere. I don’t even think I had cell phone reception there.
When I got to Lubbock, it was great to see Richard. We immediately went to an Irish pub for some tasty beer. He and I have spent some time in English pubs in London, so this was the best thing we could find in Lubbock. While I was visiting I got completely introduced to west Texas life. We went to the Caprock Café, which is a total buffalo burger, chips and queso, and beer joint. You can almost imagine a pair of swinging doors in the doorway opening and a real cowboy coming through with his six shooter ready to bust his biggest enemy…okay well maybe thats a bit much. But you get the idea, right? There were several signs on the walls that Richard pointed out that I thought were worth mentioning here. One was “No Scars, no stories” the other was from a song and it was “The road goes on forever, and the party never ends.” Richard also put that song on a CD for me. We also went to a hip and trendy bar called Wild West. I was really impressed with the amount of guys that knew how to two step really well. Guys where I come from barely dance at all. (Sorry boys) It was also a show of belt buckles, cowboy boots, western hats and of all things baby doll dresses. It was really quite the western fashion show. Wild West "Fashion Show" and fun! Lubbock doesn't allow liquor or beer sales inside it's city limits unless its in a restaurant. So just outside the city limits there is a strip of liqour stores all lit up with neon lights. Pretty jazzy!
After all that Richard made sure I saw the trendier parts of Lubbock by taking me wine tasting and to a wine bar for western style tapas: stuffed jalapenos, and artichoke dip with corn chips. Then it was also time for a bit of outdoor adventure, which is how we ended up at Palo Dura Canyon. It was some of the most challenging and fun Mt. biking I think I have ever done, and the scenery was awesome. We only took a few spills and had a lot of laughs. “ No scars not stories” right? Lubbock was great and it was wonderful to spend some time with an old friend. I’m off to Albuquerque tomorrow to meet up with Mike. Hurray! We are spending the first night at a B&B in ABQ ( I will no longer spell out Albuquerque, it drives me nuts) called Adobe Nido. I’m looking forward to the in room jet tub. All the best, M. PS, I’m going to ask Mike to write the journal entry for New Mexico, so it should be extra fun to read. Ranching Cultural History Museum (another classic Texas attraction in Lubbock)
Ransom Canyon, housing developement. Just outside of Lubbock, it serves as a bedroom community for Lubbock.
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April 17, 2007 The ride up to Dallas was fantastic. I headed northwest out o Austin and took hwy. 281. The road rolled through the hills of blue bonnets and farms. There was a kitschy little tourist stop complete with expensive antique wagon wheels and any kind of smoker you would like. There were rocking chairs and the famous star of Texas. The stop was made complete with a tiny little restaurant with bbq, burgers, and ice cream. Out front was the largest rocking chair. The next tourist destination, heading north was Hico. Hico is an old western style town, complete with one of many Billy the Kid Museum’s. The ride abruptly became less entertaining as I headed into Fort Worth and Dallas afternoon traffic. Highway 281 in photos
I managed to make it to my friend Val’s with a little help from a police officer as I headed down the wrong way on a oneway road trying to turn around. Once at Val’s place I told her I was no longer driving in Dallas.
Dallas Traffic: My visit to Val’s was really all about a little relaxing. We had some great Mexican food, shopped at a fantastic grocery store, made some wonderful dinners, drank yummy wine, ate tasty appetizers, and had a ball catching up on life. We also visited the stockyards in Fort Worth. This was definitely a tourist oriented place. The shops are all tricked out with western gear and fake western facades. The best part of Fort Worth was the cattle drive (more like a stroll) through town. A bunch of longhorns were guided down the street at a slow pace by a group of cowboys and cowgirls. We finished the day off with some fajitas and margaritas at Joe T. Garcia’s. The room that we were ate in was where they usually put celebrity’s who are looking for some privacy. We were told Garth Brooks and Joshua Grayson had both dined in our little dining room over looking the courtyard. Fort Worth: click the photos for more...
My visit with Val was great. It was wonderful to catch up with a friend who I haven’t seen in years! We had a great time laughing, cooking, and just hanging out. As usual I headed out of town on the backroads to head for Lubbock, TX to see another friend from school in London.
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April 10 ,2007
Austin was a lively city or maybe it was the hostel that was so lively. Either way, Austin was a fun stop to make. The weather wasn’t ideal for photos, but the nightlife provided some fun things to photograph. I spent one day touring by foot and ended up at the Texas State Museum. This museum is a great way to find out what Texas is all about. It traces Texas history and gives you a good idea of what kind of people live in Texas. There were plenty of little films to watch and exhibits to read about. One of the films was about how Texas has been portrayed in Hollywood. Another exhibit I really enjoyed was a photographer who recently traveled to the ranches in Texas with a truck and a utility trailer that he had turned into a darkroom for tintype photographs. He used a large format camera and did the photography the old fashioned way. The images were telling and the tones on the tintypes were gorgeous. The photographers name is Robb Kendrick, here is a link to his site: http://www.robbkendrick.com/ The museum is thorough and really well done. Link to the site for the Museum: http://www.thestoryoftexas.com/ And then there is the Austin nightlife. Austin is known as the Live Music Capital. The hostel was nice enough to have a white board where the posted where to find music that night. One night a group of us hostelers went to see some country western at the Continental and another night I visited Antone’s for some blues. The hostel was a great place to meet people and that made going out on the town that much more fun. I also did a mini road trip to the west of Austin. I drove out to Fredricksburg via Johnson City. The drive was gorgeous. The Texas state flower the Blue Bonnet was in bloom all along the highway. I heard it’s a crime to pick them or hurt them. They call this area hill country and there are certainly hills that roll along covered with cactus, brush, and blue bonnets. It was even a pretty site to see a bunch of cows grazing among the blue bonnets. It was also fun to drive through all the small towns. Most didn’t have the usuall suspects as in their shops. They all looked like local places that had probably been there for years. Remember when you went to the local pharmacy instead of CVS or Wallgreens.
I’m off to Dallas tomorrow and I plan on staying off the major hightway and taking State Hwy 281 up toward the west and then a little bend back east through Fort Worth to Dallas. Should be fun. |
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April 8, 2007
Happy Easter! Yesterday was my last full day in New Orleans and it was rainy and cold. I dug out a sweater from my box of warm clothes. I headed to the aquarium and the IMAX theater to see the Hurricane on the Bayou movie. It was gray day so that made it a nice day to be inside. The aquarium was a zoo of kids and families. Still fun to see and its always fun to watch the kids watching the fish. The Hurricane Movie was really something. It was centered around the environmental effects of the hurricane on the bayous surround New Orleans. Check out the website for more and if you have the opportunity to see this, you must (not should). http://www.hurricaneonthebayou.com/ When I left the theater so I decided to check out the famous Café Du Monde for on order of beignets ( French donuts loaded with powdered sugar) and a hot chocolate. Apparently I wasn’t the only one with this bright idea and the place was packed to the gills With powdered sugar covered tourist. It was a pretty fun scene. I took a taxi back to the B&B and wondered if the driver had evacuated with his taxi. In the evening I met up with another connection, the daughter of a friend in Newport. We hit up the music scene. The band was full of brass and blended in a lot of hip hop and rap. I loved the brass, but could have done without the hip hop. It would be fun to visit New Orleans with the only goal being to experience the music, but one would have to become a night owl. This band didn’t get going till about 11:30. It was a fun experience and I look forward to my next trip to New Orleans some day. I went to Easter Mass this morning at St. Theresa of Avila. The church was about a quarter full. I wondered if the parishioners all went to the Easter Vigil Mass or if the congregation wasn’t all back in town yet. After mass I headed west to Austin, TX. The drive up 71 was fantastic. The highway was lined with wildflowers and cattle ranches. Even on a cloudy day it was a fun drive. There were tourists pulled over and taking photos of themselves playing in the wildflowers. I’m staying at another Hostel, the Hostel International Austin. More on that later, I’m going to test out the pillow now. M.
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April 6, 2007
The Fairchild House website: http://www.fairchildhouse.com/
When I arrived in New Orleans yesterday at the Fairchild Bed and Breakfast on Prytania St. A cousin of a friend from Newport met me to take me on what he called the destruction tour. John lives in New Orleans and was very kind to put up with all my questions about the hurricane, evacuating, and what was going on now in New Oreans. He was even kind enough to look past the fact that I didn’t know who Fats Domino was (…on blueberry hill…got it?) The tour was heart wrenching, breaking, and twisting. I think I took all of 3 photos, so I’m sorry to say there won’t be a photo gallery for that tour. It was just to much to take in. The telling signs of the inspection marks on the garage doors and the waterline still visible especially on white homes really drove home how horrible the situation was here. Much of the debris has been cleaned up but there are still many houses still standing with gaping windows and doors, they look like spooky Jack ’o lanterns without any light inside them. At the end of the tour we went and picked up John’s wife Tana, and headed to La Fete for some tasty New Orleans’ cuisine on the Bayou. The food was delicious! John and Tana were great company, they too have done quite a bit of traveling so it was fun to share stories. Thank you for a great day John and Tana! I spent today wandering around the French Quarter. The area looks like it was barely affected by the hurricane. It is up and running, full of activity and crowded with people. The street performers and taro card readers lined the square around St. Louis’ Cathedral. Some begging for tips and a few just having a good time in the sunshine. I had the original Mufaletta from the Grand Central Italian grocery on Decatur St. I only had a half but it took care of lunch and dinner all at once. The half was piled with salami, cheese, and “olive salad” and of course smothered in olive oil. It was a good day in New Orleans. There is a lot here to take in, there was before the hurricane hit, but now there is some depth to the people you see on the street. You wonder if they are living in a FEMA trailer, or if they got stuck on a rooftop, or if they lost everything they had. I came back to the B&B at the end of the day to do some photography for the Innkeeper. And now I think I’ll make it an early night, I seem to have a lot to think about.
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April 5, 2007
There are angels at Our Mother of Sorrows in Biloxi, MS. There is Bunny who is the parishes outreach coordinator. She helps coordinate all the volunteers with who and what needs help rebuilding homes and lives. She does it with enthusiasm and a huge smile on her face. She ran bingo night on wed. with pizzazz and style that no one else could pull off. Then there is the pair of angels that are have been living in an RV on the church grounds since just a couple weeks after the hurricane. Tim and Dan have helped Father Steve (who arrived at his new post just in time for the hurricane) with all kinds of details. They helped get lights going and generators hooked up. The helped makes sure the volunteers that came had ample floor space to camp out on. They fixed up the porch on the rectory and got a shower going for the volunteers too. They have also kept amazing records with a digital camera. A bunch of us were lucky enough to be able to see most of their photos one evening when Dan put them up on a projector. What a treat! Those photos will be really important in the future for everyone to remember what happened and how people helped out. It was also amazing to see what the church looked like after the storm and to see what the Our Lady of the Lake parishioners and other volunteers have accomplished. Apparently, the church was condemned by FEMA and everyday some one kept coming by to say that the church was going to get torn down. Everyday the volunteers kept getting more and more repairs done and soon FEMA stopped showing up and Our Mother of Sorrows is standing proud. During my stay in Biloxi I heard lots of hurricane stories. Probably too many to post hear. But I’m going to ask if any of the volunteers have any stories to share to please send them to me at Marianne@mariannephotography.net I’ll post them on a special page. I think they are all worth reading. I’ll share one story here. St. Michaels Church is very close to the water in Biloxi and is no stranger to flooding. During Hurricane Camille two irish priests had just started preaching at the church and didn’t know what to make of the storm. The found themselves in the church on the altar on top of six steps with the water rising. Finally the water rose over the top of the altar and they swam to the two statues of Mary and Joseph that were mounted on the wall opposite the altar. Both hung onto the statues and road out the storm and flooding with out being washed away. Hurricane Katrina ripped the statue of Joseph right off the wall. Yesterday was a half day of work and I spent the afternoon with Frank and Joan Kearney. We visited St. Michaels and got a good tip on a place to get some great seafood in Ocean Springs. After a little tour ing around the rest of Biloxi we headed on down to Taranto’s Boiler in Ocean Springs. I attempted to take care of an enormous tray of crawfish and barely made dent. I’m off to New Orleans today. I’m a little nervous about visiting the destruction there, but I think it is worth seeing and remembering. All the best, Marianne
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April 3, 2007
Its nice to see familiar faces and hear voices from home. I’m in Biloxi, Miss, now. I met up with people from the church in Holland, Mi. that I grew up in. A group of them have come down to help a parish down here get back on their feet. Groups have been coming from Our Lady of the Lake in Holland, since Katrina devastated the area. Our Mother of Sorrows was under 16’ of water after the hurricane. There is a plaque on the wall in the chapel that shows were the waterline was. Its great to see Frank and Joan Kearney. They have known me since I was a little girl. Joan and I were on a team together for workcamp through church when I was in high school. We also have done lots of youth ministry work together when I was in high school. Its great to be able to spend some time with them and all the other volunteers from Our Lady of the Lake. Along the highway to Biloxi from Ft. Walton Beach it was hard to pick out signs of Katrina. But as soon as I took the exit off the highway it was obvious. Lots of boarded up houses with twisted awnings. Driveways lead up to empty grassy lots. Small piles of rubbish and broken bits line the streets. Its truly amazing what these people have been going through. I’m sure I don’t really need to go further with all this. But WOW, really WOW. I arrived in time to see them group unload altar furniture for the chapel at Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos. One of the parishioners from Our Lady of the Lake built all new altar furniture for Our Lady of Sorrows and Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos. Next I headed over to the church hall to see what was happening there. Classrooms were being put up to support the growing number of Spanish as a second language classes, wooden fences were being put up around the air conditioners to decrease the threat of them disappearing. I joined in on the project and got to play with an electric screwdriver. I also walked across the street to Our Lady of Sorrows. Flowers had been planted and inside a new confessional was being fitted into one of the back alcoves. It was here that I saw the plaque where the water level was. The line was well above my head and I had to wonder what it must have looked like after the storm. The pews must have been picked up and dropped every which way. The hurricane happened in August and by Thanksgiving the first group from Our Lady of the Lake was in place and pulling out rubble and starting to rebuild. Since then Our Lady has developed a strong relationship with the Our Mother of Sorrows Community. This evening we played Bingo with the parishioners. And let me tell you it was one heck of a game with prizes, the bunny hop, and also a special round of last man standing. Who knew you could do so much with Bingo. The parishioners also cooked out on their grill for us. They served up yummy burgers with all the fixin’s, including jalapenos. I’m looking forward to tomorrow and hearing more stories about what has been going on. Marianne
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April 1, 2007 Fort Walton Beach Yacht Club, Spring into Liquid Regatta
I finally have gotten on the water again. I even got to drive a boat again. I’m in Fort Walton Beach, Fl. A shop called Liquid Surf and Sail was hosting a regatta with the Fort Walton Yacht Club called the Spring into Liquid Regatta. I got put in touch with the owner of the shop Bobby Nabors through my friend Josh at Windsurfing Magazine. It turns out that my visit to Ft. Walton Beach happened to coincide with this regatta. I emailed Bobby and asked if I could shoot the regatta for him. So here I am. The regatta is a combination of Windsurfers and small dinghies. There were lasers, sunfishes, and a couple of Hobie Cats. Bobby runs the regatta with some help from the yacht club. The first day of racing started with some pretty strong winds. The windsurfers were putting up there smaller sails and the dinghy sailors were getting ready to get wet. The wind was up to about 15-20 knots when the races started and everyone had to work hard on all legs of the race. One o the Hobie Cats did a lovely pitch pole for everyone. Several of the Windsurfers gave up after one leg of the first race, and two of them ran into each other. Today was the second day of racing. It started out rainy and still but the wind picked up in the afternoon and they were able to get a couple more races off for the dingy boats. The people here are a friendly bunch with lots of different characters. Just sitting in the bar with some of these people you can easily see how diverse the group it. One guy was a dental student, there was real estate guy, anther guy was getting ready to take his family to Hawaii, and o course the extremely laid back Bobby. All of these guys had two things in common, windsurfing/kiteboarding and Bobby. The guys all know what gear each other has. They can talk about who has what board and who is getting what new sail and who sold that old sail to the other guy. Bobby’s shop is successful and probably due to his network of friends in the area and his friendly personality. He started the shop when he was 22, about 4 years ago. He is also a guy with a lot going on. During the regatta he was also in the midst of moving his entire shop to another building across the parking lot from his original shop. He has opened another shop in Miami and I believe there is another one in the works somewhere. He was also pretending to nurse an ankle in an air cast. He was trying to skate the half pipe on a skateboard. He was under instructions to stay off it and by the end of the weekend someone asked him when he could get off the air cast and he said “probably never at the rate I’m staying off it.” That’s all for now, Marianne
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March 29, 2007 Some days you get lucky. Some days you don’t. Today was a lucky one for me. I got the very last campsite at the St. Joseph’s Penninusla State park on the Cape San Blas penninsula. The campsite is right across the road from the beach. As I type right now I can hear the waves on the Gulf of Mexico. I got hear just in time to see the sunset, complete with dolphins jumping around the waves close to shore. Does it get much better? It doesn’t, so I found a couple on the beach and asked them to take my picture. They turned out to be a very friendly couple from Quebec. They spoke mostly French, but we got our photos taken and I told them I would come by later to give them my business card so I could send them photos. (Did I mention I’m listening to waves right now and it’s not on a clock or an ipod or a stereo) I did stop by and we had a nice conversation in broken English and French. Lou and Mary Belensky had traveled to Texas for the winter and are heading back up to Canada by way of a beach and some relaxation. They too had gotten lucky to find the last campsite that would fit their fifth wheel trailer and that would keep them for 7 nights. I think they have found a perfect spot to relax on a beach.
http://www.floridastateparks.org/stjoseph/default.cfm So I guess I should tell you how I got here. My three nights at the Falling Waters State park turned in to four and I did in fact get some photos taken care of. Most of the photos from St. Augustine are now down the page near the entries for St. Augustine. I visited the Florida Caverns state park in Marianna, FL. I couldn’t really resist going to Marianna anyway. The caverns were small but there was really quite a scene down there with all the stalagtites and stalagmites and all the other “–ites.” I also got to meet a nice couple at the campgrounds named Joel and Kathy. They are from Sarnia, Ontario. I used to drive through Sarnia on the way to Rhode Island from Michigan. It’s just over the Michigan border from Port Huron. They had spent the winter in Lake Placid, and it was their first winter as RV dwellers. They have a 35 (correct me if I’m wrong Joel) foot custom trawler that Joel finished himself after purchasing the hull. They cruise that around Georgian Bay up near Manitoulin Island during the summer months and decided they needed winter adventures in warmer climates. Joel was happy to spend up to three days a week golfing. Joel is also one of those fix it guy types. He fixed some lights at a tikki hut at their campgrounds once and a woman said to him “ I can’t believe there are people like you who can do that sort of thing.” I ran into them when I went up to the Caverns later in the week , they had moved on to a site there. Joel was fixing the wash machine so they could do their laundry. They were a lot of fun to spend time with and I hope I can catch up with them again in the Georgian Bay somehow.
I spent a lot of time organizing the next couple of weeks for my trip. I managed to get an opportunity to got to Ft. Walton beach for the weekend to shoot a Windsurfing Regatta. I even get to camp out at the yacht club which is pretty much on the water. Not too bad eh? I’m very excited to be able to get out on the water. I also found lodging for my stay in New Orleans. I’ll be staying at the Fairchild Bed and Breakfast. The innkeeper is happy to have me do some photography of her Inn too. I’m looking forward to spending Easter weekend in New Orleans. However amongst all this planning I decided I really wanted to go back to Apalachicola for some oysters. I have an extra day between leaving Falling Waters and when I need to be in Ft. Walton beach. So I headed on down without any idea of where I would spend the night. I visited Apalachicola, got my oysters, had a really nice stroll through the town again. Then filled up with gas at the local Piggly Wiggly and headed west on 98 with my fingers crossed. I knew I could make it to St. Joseph's Penninsula State park by sunset but whether or not they had a spot was the big question. Every time Mike and I have tried to check availability for campgrounds in Florida they have been totally booked so to try to waltz into one minutes before the end of the day and expect to get a spot is pretty nuts. But luckily they had one spot left for just one night. Perfect. And by the way I’m still listening to the waves.
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March 25, 2007 Shell Island Fish Camp. I was really interested in camping up near Marianna, FL. at the Florida Caverns state park. However, during the month of March I think one needs to actually plan ahead for camping and probably any other kind of accommodation too. So I checked in with my headquarters, Mike Lee in Tiverton, RI to find out what my other options were. He started checking around at other campgrounds and I was able to do a little Google work myself. And that’s how I found the famous Shell Island Fish Camp. Now, I will admit I certainly had my reservations about staying at a fish camp. I contemplated stopping at a thrift store and getting a disguise to look like a man to try to blend in. It was the cheapest place I could find and it had a room open. So off I went to St. Marks, south of Tallahassee right on the St. Marks river that feeds into the gulf. I pulled up to the Fish Camp to a show of small fishing boats being pulled out of the water by a forklift and lifted to their dry storage suites. Ha ha, that sounds fancy. This place was not fancy, but pretty well run. There were literally boats and fisherman everywhere. The place was buzzing with activity as all the guys (and some gals too!, without disguises) came back from a day of fishing. I found my way to the office down near the docks and checked in. The room turned out to be clean and even a little cozy. I was very relieved. I walked back out to the docks to check out the scene again. This time I met Randy. Randy had just bought an old 1970 something Tartan from an insurance company. It had been damaged a bit in a hurricane, but other than that itdidn’t look too bad. Randy told me that he had two other boats tied up at the marina, he said “ Some people collect wives, I collect boats!” Randy was also kind enough to offer my some bug spray. Thank you Randy. I cleaned up and decided that the bugs were really out in full force and there was no way I was going to sit outside and make myself dinner. I headed to what seemed to be the only place to go in town, The Riverside Café. Now that I type that I think the name should have been a good clue that it might be hear water and more bugs. Sure enough, the restaurant was right on the river and all outdoors. There was a can of bug spray on the counter with a sign that said “Bug spray is for your convenience, please spray outside so it doesn’t get in other people’s food” Good advice. I finished my dinner of wings and a beer. Then a group of fisherman who had seen my car at the Fish Camp decided that since I had Rhodey plates that I should hang out with them because one of them used to live in Connecticut. They were working on some plates of oysters so it didn’t take much convincing to join them. The group had been coming here together for years. There was a father son duo, another guy who used to live in the area, another who had just moved to Atlanta from Conn. (he didn’t have the uniform fisherman’s shirt yet either), and the last guy was the guy with all the goofy smiles. He offered to let me stay in his hunting cabin up in the Mississippi delta. I passed on that offer. It was a lively night with lots of jokes and stories. It was fun to have some company for an evening. I managed an early morning and cruised around to St. Mark’s lighthouse this morning. It was a gorgeous clear morning, with lots of bugs. So I didn’t stay long. In a round about way I was aiming for Falling Waters State Park just west of Marianna, FL. I’ll be staying here for about 3 nights. I’m hoping to see the caverns at the Caverns park and also the spring there. I’m also hoping to get some pictures taken care of too. But wait I need to tell you about the drive here this morning. I followed US 98 west across the gulf coast. Wow!!!! What a beautiful drive. There are a few little towns and villages along the way and the whole coast is lined with a beautiful white sand beach. As you drive along you can see the sandbars scattered around and the horizon is dotted with smaller islands. The gulf coast is definitely on my list of places to revisit and spend more time at someday. My favorite towns were Appalachicola, Eastpoint, and St. Joe’s beach. I did take photos as I went. So you will all get to see bits of it. Time to get to bed, Good night, don’t let the bed bugs bite!
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March 23, 2007
I visited Sanibel Island today. I had two goals to lounge on the beach and to get some shells. Sanibel Island is really well known for its shells. I managed to achieve both of my goals. The shells weren’t as spectacular as I had hoped but it was fun to look for them. And I found my favorites, the broken ones that were pretty cool to me. While lounging on the beach I watched several dolphins swim by and lot of fish jumping around in the water. I also jumped in and found the water to be colder that I thought it would be. Sanibel Island’s beaches are covered in a soft brilliant white sand and shell mixture that is almost blinding. The Island is speckled with small groupings of colorful shops and restaurants. There is even a special Chapel by the Sea. Captiva Island is connected at one end of Sanibel and it is more of the same. One my way to Sanibel I got a chance to think about some of the people I had met at the hostel. There was an Aussie girl who was staying for another month and was volunteering at the hostel in exchange for her bed. She had been traveling around the states for quite awhile. Part of Jess’s work had included gardening the day I met her. My first roommate was a girl from Napier, New Zealand, named Tamara. She was also traveling on her own using the USA’s not so wonderful public transportation. She said it took her three hours to get from Ft. Lauderdale to Miami. By the time she got there, she said she really didn’t want to be there anymore. The last roommate that I had before I left was a girl named Melanie who was from the south of England. She was traveling on a one way ticket around the world. She had been at it for about 6 months and I think she said she had four more to go. She had started in Vietnam, doing some volunteer work and had continued on to Australia, then South America, and now up to Florida, then on to cross the states and up to Calgary in Canada. I am so impressed that so many females are taking on the earth on their own to feet. Melanie said that she only gets lonely once in a while because there are so many neat people to meet at the hostels. The tour guide, Ransom, is actually a guide in Alaska. He takes people to see the glaciers on their surrounding lakes, they go in a 30 ft. canoe with their guides giving them directions. It was Ransom’s first summer in the Everglades and I think he had a good time. He was a very enthusiastic guide, and was cool enough to admit when he didn’t know something, but also smart enough to figure out which info we were interested in. He’ll be driving up to Alaska soon to start the season up there. Sounds like a long drive to me. It would be fun to try to meet up with him somewhere along the way. I also met a couple from Traverse City, MI. They had been camping and canoeing in the Everglades and Key West (they told me I wasn’t missing anything down there). Mary Anne was on her way home via the airlines, and Gary was going to take his time heading back up to Michigan. Although he did say that he had to make it home in time for Mary Anne’s birthday. One of the best parts of the hostel experience is meeting everyone as they come and go. Everyone has been somewhere different and has different travel goals. I’m spending the night with a friend from my Cruising World Boat of the Year days. Judge Peter Wormwood’s girlfriend has agreed to let me stay on her couch. It will be nice to catch up with Peter and meet his girlfriend, Cindy. PS Cindy and Peter were great. The pancake was great too, THANK YOU!!!!
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March 22, 2007 The Everglades Hostel sort of sits in the middle of nowhere on the outskirts of Homestead, FL. There are a few local Mexican shops around and some gas stations to service the people on their way to the Keys. However, the hostel is centrally located to a lot of activities. Since I didn’t get to Key West I decided to go to Key Largo to get a snorkeling fix. I have heard that some of the best snorkeling in the states is around Key Largo. There are several large coral reefs and some shipwrecks that make up a national park. I got on a sailing cat that did snorkeling tours. It was blowing about 15-20 kts. When we headed for the reefs. The ride was pretty choppy, but in a cat it wasn’t too bad. The first mate said if we were lucky we might get to sail on the way back. When we picked up the mooring ball at the first reef we were to visit the crew let us loose and off we all went, eager to see some fantastic colors. Well all we saw was a bit of color through a sandy haze. The swell had kicked up all the sand. which didn’t really help the colors look their best. I swam around for a bit, but I have to admit I was a little disappointed. I did see some cool fish lurking in small crevices hiding from the swells and snorkelers. It was also quite a beautiful day despite the wind. It was also a bit chilly, but it was nice to be on the water. After the snorkeling trip I headed over to the land based part of the state park and had a nice walk through the mangroves. I was able to use my little camp burner to heat up a little dinner and eat it by the beach at the park. Not a bad day.
Today, I opted for the Everglades tour run by the Hostel. Owhnn told me when I arrived that the guides that run the tours are the only professionals around the place. I was on the trip with three other hostelers and our guide. Ransom, proved to be enthusiastic and yes, professional too. It was great to have such a small group. We did a few short hikes through hardwood hammocks, prairies, and a cypress dome. The cypress dome had a few woodpeckers chasing each other around the plants in the trees. It was fun to try to catch them with my camera. The cypress dome is usually filled with about six inches to a foot or more of water. There hasn’t been enough rain this year so it was pretty dry. In the middle of the dome was an alligator hole. We were able to see three baby alligators but we didn’t see the mother. We also got to do some canoeing. Or rather I got to get canoed around so I could take photos. A big THANK YOU, to Ransom for letting me slack on my paddling duties to take photos. One or the paddles we took went through a small channel in the mangroves and popped us out into a large bay. We snugged our canoes up into another little pocket in the mangroves for lunch. Not a bad way to see the Everglades. The second paddle, was actually part of a marked canoe trail. This one went through more mangroves but also through some larger ponds. This time we saw lots of alligators and even a crocodile. There were lots of birds too, heron, egrets, and other water birds. The water was low here to so we found ourselves either pushing our selves through the murky mud with our paddles or doing a speed paddle up to the shallow spot to help propel us through. We continued our trip all the way down to Flamingo, where there is a small marina and some campgrounds. I would love to come here by boat and rent a conoe and tour around for awhile. You can actually do some canoe camping in the Everglades. There are several campsites along the waterways and also chickees, which are raised platforms above the water that you can sleep on. We finished off the day with a stop at Robert Is Here fruit market. This place has become quite the intitution in Florida City. Apparently Robert started as a small boy with a little fruit stand and today he really is still there still selling fruit and some other yummy things from the area. You can also get a tamarindo shake if you like. But maybe you’d want some hot boiled p’nuts instead.
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March 19, 2007
Dinner with Mark and Tania was a lot of fun. The other two crew members from the yacht joined us and we had a lot of laughs. I met them for lunch this morning then headed south. I had originally planned to stay in Key West, but there is not a bed to be had there. It is also spring break and I’m not sure I’m up for battling the crowds. So I opted to go to a hostel in Florida City. Its called the Everglades Hostel. Florida City is a strange little place at the junction of the Florida Tpk and Rt. 1, if you turned right at the light instead of going straight to Key West you end up in Florida City. There is a Walmart, Home Depot, fast food, and a small smattering of local shops. Owhnn. who runs the hostel is extremely laid back and lots of fun. When I came into the lobby, there was a black phone on the desk that said to pick it up to reach a staff person. I picked it up and Owhnn answered and asked if I would like to take a break in the courtyard with them. So I went back outside and walked around to the garden gate and found Owhnn and a volunteer lounging around a table. I sat down and joined the conversation. The garden is full of all kinds of things. I think I’ll just have to post a photo for you. It has a very whimsical feel to it. This may help . Eventually she checked me in and assigned me a bed. Inside the hostel is just as whimsical as the garden. www.evergladeshostel.com Long hallways divde the building in half on the first and second floors. along the hallways rooms seem to be tucked into the corners. There is a seperate building for the common area, kitchen and computers. The garden has a small screened in garden room and there are tables and chairs all over the place, even a hammock. Owhnn said they a chunk of their garden due to hurricanes. There is a large group of students here from Illinois doing an Alternatice Spring break. There are also lots of other international travelers. The other girl in my room was from New Zealand. The amazing thing is that lots of these people are traveling using american public transportation. Its pretty impressive. I feel pretty spoiled to have my car. Off to Key Largo tomorrow.
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March 18, 2007 Well, the sea shanties at the Taberna were so fun that I ended up there again for St. Patrick’s day singing too. But lets back up. As I said in the previous entry I had a bit of a chance to catch up because of the rain. When it cleared I biked over to the state park on Anastasia Island. My local tour guide John came and met me there and we took a nice bike ride down the beach. All the while watching the sky, it was starting to look stormy again. Its really amazing how the sky can change so quickly in Florida. The beach was really pretty. Low dunes lined the inland edge of the beach. On the other side of the dunes were more marshy grass areas and remnants of the former inlet. We felt a few raindrops as we headed back to John’s truck. Our plan was to go and eat some pizza and then visit the tavern for some Sea Shanties. The singers were dressed in period clothing (18th century?) and all had pewter, leather, or stoneware mugs. They were an enthusiastic bunch. We had plenty of beer and laughs. St. Patty’s day turned out to be a fun day also. I got up early again and got some shots of the city from the Bridge of Lions. Lots of sailboats were pulling up anchor and leaving the harbor. It was a nice morning to be getting underway, there was a nice stiff breeze and clear skies. I hope they had safe passages. Conrad at the Pirate Haus served up some special pancakes with green shamrocks in them. Staying at the Hostel was a fun experience. I have stayed at Hostel’s in Europe about 7 years ago when I was living in London. Surprisingly Hostels are almost the same experience in the states. I’m finding out that there are actually quite a few of them around. Conrad and his partner Elaine run the Pirate Haus with a comfortable laid back atmosphere. It’s a small enough place that you do get to meet everyone staying there and you’d get to know a few too. I stayed in the all girls dorm room and had several different roommates during my stay there. It was interesting to get to know them. Many were on spring break but there was a women there visiting her granddaughter in St. Augustine and another girl who had just started school and was looking for an apartment and work in the city. I’ll write more on the hostel life as I go, I’ll be staying at another one down in Florida city to visit the Everglades and check out Key Largo. Here’s the link for the Pirate Haus. www.piratehaus.com John and I went back to the fort specifically to see the cannon get shot off. John also showed me the other cannons at the fort and we talked about the history of them. One particular canon that john himself had volunteered to clean for the park has a canon ball stuck about 2 ft. into it. Unfortunately the cannon is pointed to far over the walls to see. But John explained to me that this was a way to make sure that the enemy would not be able to use a gun if they were to get a hold of it. You would do this if you were under attack and the enemy got close enough to take your guns. (I’m pretty sure I got this right, if not, I’m sure John will email and I’ll replace what I wrote) Another part of a cannon sits in one of the rooms on the first floor of the fort. The section was blown off a cannon that didn’t fire right during a battle. The cannon blew up killing its gun crew. The piece of the gun was found during an archeological dig in the moat around the fort. Next John and I drove down to Matanzas State park. Matanzas is a really stunning beach that is virtually unblemished by any high rises or gaudy hotels. You can drive on the beach. It was windy and a bit chilly that day, but we saw one group who had parked their mini van so that it blocked the wind for them. Pretty smart spring breakers if you ask me. There is another fort at Matanzas that is accessed by ferry. The park sevice runs the ferry for a small donation. In the parking area for the park there are large live oaks that have sort of been pruned by the wind. It is pretty amazing to see them all leaning with the dominant wind direction. We walked the shoreline and saw lots of sand crabs, some pelicans, and a heron. We also saw a few members of the human species running around with a metal detector. We contemplated buying some of the Spanish coins that are for sale as souvenirs and planting them in the sand so we could watch the discovery. We decided that would require waiting around for them to discover them and decided against or scheme. The ranger also told us that using a metal detector in a state park is illegal. http://www.nps.gov/foma/ That evening, one of the other girls in my dorm room and I decided to head to the Taberna for some lively Sea Shanties. The boys were quite boisterous for St. Patty’s and we had a wonderful time. The place was packed and I believe there might have been a bit of grog around somewhere too. One thing that I will remember about St. Augustine is how excited people in St. Augustine are about their history. There were a variety of ages in the shanty singers, Conrad who flipped pancakes for us in the morning was also a certified guncrew and fires off the canons at the fort, Elaine is also has some sort of powder certification for muskets and canons. It seemed that most of the people I met were involved in reenacting the history of the town is some way or another. I think this will be something that will make St. Augustine uniquie among all the places I visit. I left early this morning to head to Lauderdale by the Sea to see my friends Mark and Tania who are working on a yacht there. I’m off to meet them for dinner now. All the best, Marianne
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March 16, 2007 Well its finally raining outside so that means its time to update the website. After Savannah I headed to Jacksonville to visit a friend there and then decided to head back to Tybee and spent some time photographing Jim Stephens at Underground Boardworks. He was nice enough to save a board to shape for the afternoon when I arrived. I got to see the board take shape from a boxy blank. Jim used to be a commercial airline pilot and decided to retire in GA. He was surfing on all his old board from California and decided that the boards didn’t really work well with the type of waves that are found on Tybee. So he decided to make a new one. He stopped by the local Kayak shop to find out if they could sell his old boards for him. The owner said sure and asked where he got them. When Jim told him he made them, the owner asked if Jim could make some boards with the kayak stores logo on it. Jim said “sure” and his board business started. Jim says one of the things that truly makes him happy is when he is out surfing and sees other people on his boards having a good time. Jim's website is www.undergroundboardworks.com He usually posts a surf report and you can find out if Jim is working at the shop or at the beach.
Jim Stephens at Underground Boardworks photos
After my afternoon with Jim I headed to St. Augustine, Fl. I’m staying at the Pirat Haus Inn and Hostelodge, which is a hostel run by a couple a pirates and with lots of piratey character. The steps that go up to the hostel have a nice piratey sea chanty painted on them. And all the signs are in Pirate speak. They even make special pirate pancakes. You’ll have to come and stay with them to find out what that is all about. I have also had a special tour guide here. John is the stepfather of a friend of mine who gave me a grand tour the evening I arrived. John is a huge fan of St. Augustine and has been coming here since he was 8. He is genuinely excited about all the history that has taken place here and all the people involved. We took a walk around St. Augustine’s famous fort the Castillo de San Marco and John told me all about the canons and how the fort was never over taken by the enemy. He says there are even canon balls still stuck in the walls. The next day when I tried to brave the crowds during the day I appreciated my evening tour with John. The school groups had invaded St. Augustine and there numbers kept growing all day long. But it’s a great town to people watch in and the weather was fantastic. I toured the SpanishVillage Living history museum. The living parts of it were doing musket demonstrations, metal smithing, carpentry, and also working with leather. In between school groups I was able to get some of them to do some demonstrating for me and the camera. All the reenactors were happy people who were very knoweldgable about the local history. After the village I decided to brace the 4th graders and try the fort. www.historicstaugustine.com I made it inside the fort and loved the views from the top of the fort the best. If I was into military artillery I think my favorite thing would have been all the old canons everywhere. I tried to imagine the noise when all them lobbing out canon balls at the same time. The fort was a pretty key place at a very strategic location. The gulf stream runs right on past St. Augustine and back in the day the gulf stream was used to give ships a boost up and over to Europe. Most ships tried to stop in St. Augustine as the last stop before making the big crossing. Because all of this was going on there were lots of pirates around and the commercial vessels needed to be protected. The fort also protected the Spanish town from the English who wanted to consolidate there land in the new world. The forts history is extensive and I won’t get into it all here. But here is a good link with lots of information http://www.nps.gov/casa/ In the next day or so I hope to visit the beaches and I believe John and I are going to go and listen to some authentic sea chanties at the Spanish Village living history Museum Taberna de Gallo. Yes the museum has its own tavern. Should be fun. I’ll have to let you know how it goes. Its great to hear from you all, thanks for emailing, All the best,
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March 5, 2007 My last day in Savannah was a great day. A friend in Newport had given me her cousin’s info so I could get in touch when I got to Savannah. He was away over the weekend but we were able to meet up on Sunday. We met up downtown and had a nice brunch at the Firefly Café with some tasty sake Bloody Mary’s. Then we headed out to Bonaventure Cemetery, this place was featured in the movie “In the Garden of Good and Evil” We strolled around for awhile and then decided to get back to where we parked, so we strolled around some more and finally found it. All the azaleas are starting to pop out so it was a very pretty place to stroll around for awhile. We finished off the day with some grilled catfish. Tom was nice enough to let me stay the night at his place, so I was able to get laundry done, take care of a wet tent, and get some work done on photos and words. I’m in Jacksonville now and soon heading to St. Augustine. Keep checking back for more photos. This weekend should be a work weekend for me so hopefully we’ll get caught up. Keep your fingers crossed.
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March 3, 2007 Savannah has probably been one of my stranger stops. I decided to try camping for a couple of nights. After one night it started raining so I pulled out the foul weather gear and took down the tent. I ended up staying at a place called the Savannah Pension. The reviews on the place weren’t so hot, so I was not expecting much. It ended up being just fine. Its in an iffy part of town but the owner easily points you in the right direction to stay out of trouble. Its also probably the cheapest way to stay in Savannah and be close to downtown. The same day I took down the tent in the pouring rain I witnessed a horrific accident when I stopped to get gas. I won’t go into details, but it shook me up for the rest of the day. (if you really need details, email me). So my time in Savannah sort of started off on the wrong foot. But there were a lot of things about Savannah that helped get things back on the right foot. It’s really a gorgeous city. The architecture is really amazing. The Spanish moss is EVERYWHERE (yes I shouted that). The azaleas are just a starting to bloom so there are bits of color all around. The city streets are laced with squares, which are parks where Savannah really shows off her finest. The landscaping is pretty, usually there is a statue of some sort in the middle and brick pathways running through them. The trees in the squares and along the streets make Savannah a very shadowy city, it give it a very mysterious feel. I went on a Creepy Crawl tour that was supposed to be a ghost tour of several pubs. The pubs were cool to see and the beer was good to especially in the “to-go” cups. The ghost stories were just so so. The tour guide was from (drumroll please) south Boston and even though he had been in Savannah for a long time he was still dropping his R’s left and right. About 15 miles out side of Savannah there is a small beach community on Tybee Island. It hasn’t been invaded yet by all the high rises and fancy restaurants. There are a few funky surf shops that sell all the tacky swimsuits, cheap shell jewelry, and shot glasses. In the back of the shop there are might be a surfboard but who knows….. I did manage to find a true down to earth Surf Shop on Tybee Island. Jim Stephens runs Underground Boards out of a pair of small buildings on a little side street of colorful shops. When I discovered the shop he was helping a friend buff and polish a board. There were a couple other people there just hanging out. They were all bummed out because the surf was next to nothing that day. I stuck around longer than I thought I would and listened to a few good stories, some about surfing and some about birthday cakes in cigar shops. It was a very comfortable place to be and just chill out. The guys kept saying that any minute someone might show up with beer. Jim admitted that the shop is really a good excuse to have a place to hang out. One of the buildings is a store and sells beach shoes, some clothing, but mostly surfboards, surf movies, surf books, and wax. Jim is probably what some people might call a Soul Surfer (Anybody seen the movie North Shore?) He is into surfing purely for the enjoyment of it. There is no competition in it for him. The other building is divided into two small rooms one side for shaping and the other side for everything else. There are surfboards on shelves waiting to be shaped or painted. Jim also organizes surfing trips with is buddies. I’m assuming these people are probably his customers too. He was heading to Florida to organize a trip to Ecuador with a friend who is Ecuadorian. Otherwise I might have spent a day with him in the shop. But, he did give me the name of two guys like him in the Jacksonville, FL. area. On the way to Tybee Island photos:
Tomorrow I’ll be meeting with a friend’s cousin. I think we’ll do a little bit of touring should be fun. That’s all for now, M.
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Feb. 27, 2007 My visit to Charleston was pretty relaxing. I stayed with my friends Jeffrey and Liz at their house on Johns Island. It’s a farmhouse that was built recently to look like it was built a very long time ago. The floors are all reclaimed floorboards and there is a great big fireplace in the “keeping” room. The two dogs Otis and Mylo really top off the cozy farm feel. There is a lot to do around Charleston and I had a hard time narrowing it down to what I could manage during my stay. I spent time wandering around the battery where all the gorgeous, porch fronted homes are, I even caught a sunset there. I also wandered around town a bit and found where all the tourists hang out. I was really interested in the women on Meeting St. making sweet grass baskets. Apparently it’s a tradition that has been handed down to these ladies from their African ancestry. Sweet grass, pine needles, and other grasses that grow in the area are wound together with strips of palm in various patterns and shapes. The women were happy to let me take photos of the baskets, but not so keen to get their pictures taken. Liz mentioned going out to the ladies that set up stands on Hwy. 17 N going out of Charleston. I went to visit them and it was the same story. But I did buy a nice basket this time. Jeffrey and I stopped by The Spirit of South Carolina project over at the Charleston Maritime Center. The boat will be is modeled after a pilot schooner and will be used as a school ship. The boat will be an educational tool for school kids in the Charleston area. It will go on educational trips from daysails to longer excusions to Bermuda. More on the project at the website. I'll also add photos soon. (www.scmaritime.org). Former solo sailor Brad Van Liew and his wife Meaghan have been working like crazy to get funding for this project to get off the ground. While we were there they turned on the engine for the first time. Brad was very excited that he was there to see the prop start spinning while he was standing right next to it. Usually he is in an office when these things happen. The project sounds like once it gets off the ground it will be a very cool thing for kids to get to experience.
I went on a pretty kayak tour down Quenby creek with Nature Adventures (www.natureadventuresoutfitters..com). Kathy the owner was my guide and knew just where to look to find wildlife. It definitely made the adventure more fun to be able to spot turtles, herons, hawks, egrets, alligators and other wildlife. Our trip took us through the old rice fields that were created by the slaves. We stopped at an Pompion Hill Chapel for lunch. This church was used for the film The Patriot. Kathy does all kinds of other kayak tours around the Charleston area. I had a hard time deciding which tour to take. Now I want to go back and do them all with Kathy. Kathy also suggested a visit to Beidler Forest before I left.
Food is also pretty important around Charleston. One night Jeffrey, Liz, and I took care of a Fruitte de Mare platter at a place called Rue de Jean. (www.39ruedejean.com). The crab was great, so were the oysters, clams, shrimp, pomme frittes, and enormous crème brulee. Liz and I also enjoyed a really tasty merlot …something Red Patch. The three of us also scored another good meal with our friends the Van Liews. Great steaks, yummy salad, and ooooh that eggplant dip was really yummy, Thanks Meaghan and Brad! Saturday afternoon I took a little road tour with my friend Andrew (aka Bam Bam). We toured the new developments on Daniels Island. I then asked him to show me something old. So we headed to Folly Beach and dug into two buckets of local oyster clusters and a dozen of the select oysters on the half shell. We sat outside and enjoyed a couple tasty beverages with our crustaceans. Liz was also a great cook and hostess. While I was there we had shrimp stir fry with rice noodles, and another night she whipped up some yummy crab cakes. Thanks Liz! My last night in Charleston I decided to try out the Charleston Not So Hostel. It was pretty nice as far as hostels go. They were in the midst of some staff changes so things were a little disorganized. But I will say the bathroom was clean and that’s definitely important. The hostel happened to be right near a restaurant called The Hominy Grill. I had a wonderful meal there of Shrimp and Okra Beignets (fried with goat cheese), and a shrimp creole (sautéed shrimp in a red sauce with jasmine rice). I was the only one out on their patio, probably cause it was a tiny bit cool out. But it was a clear night and the moon was right over my head. It was quite the romantic evening. Next time I think I’ll bring a romantic date. (www.hominygrill.com) I’m looking forward to another visit to Charleston someday in the spring when everything is just starting to bloom. I’ll add photos of some of the other places that I visited while I was there. The photos will tell the story on their own. Send me a note if you want to know more. ….. I have added some more photos below. (Melting Pot) And we’re off to Savannah!
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Feb. 21, 2007 I left my comfortable abode in Chapel Hill today after a really great visit. Ken and Jen were wonderful hosts and their new house is great. I caught up on lots of photos. If you look through the journal you’ll see that I have added photos to some of the entries. Still not completely caught up, but we’ll get there. Jen and I did some serious relaxing with some serious exercise while I was visiting. We got in a nice run at a community center. It was a really pretty wooded path. Afterwards we cruised through a great gourmet grocery called Southern Seasons. I think we might have put on the calories that we burned off just looking at all the wonderful food. This place had everything and everything was “high end” I pretty sure you say that with a southern accent too. Everything looked really tasty and elegant and had a price tag that was just as fancy as the food. There was an entire counter for chocolate and I managed to get away without going broke. Our other food adventures included a nice home cooked meal by Ken and Jen, and fondue at a restaurant called the Melting Pot. If you have never been to a fondue restaurant it’s a must just for the experience. It was a four -course meal, First course: cheese with a other special ingredients like scallions and sake melted into it, served with various breads and vegetables to dip. Second course: salad, just like in a regular restaurant. Third: A boiling broth was put in the pot and we were given a platter of raw meats and fish to cook in the broth, this also included a pile of veggies. Yum! Then the fourth course: chocolate! Dark and white swirled together, with pound cake, brownies, strawberries, bananas, pineapples and marshmallows to dip. The waitress mixed everything up for us right at the table.
As for the exercise, the three of us went to Durham and picked up part of the American Tobacco trail with our bikes. It’s a Rail Trail project that is sort of in progress. We were able to ride about 6 miles of it back and forth. It’s a lovely trail with tall trees lining either side and it runs right through the countryside. Gorgeous. I also braved a bike ride through Ken and Jen’s neighborhood, which is situated on a big mountain. There were some serioius hills, one of which I couldn’t make it up and another which I ended up traversing the street because I couldn’t ride straight up it. But those down hill rides after the climbs were a blast. Yes, I was wearing a helmet. Another thing Jen introduced to me was all the growth and urban sprawl happening in the Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill area. The thing I found the most interesting were the developments that had their own “downtown” within them. I also noticed that one of the malls we visited was less like a mall and more like a “downtown”. In the neighborhoods houses, townhouses and sometimes, even condos circled this “downtown”. It made me wonder if at some point the old real downtown will disappear. Rent is high in Chapel Hill and apparently they are very particular about what can be allowed as far as what kind of business. So the strip malls make their own downtown and the neighborhoods have their own too, where vendors can enjoy a more reasonable rent and still be outside a mall. I’m sure there is more to this, but the whole thing really fascinated me. It will be interesting to compare this sort of thing as I travel around the county.
I’m in Charleston now and don’t have a regular internet connection here. So you might have to wait for the next update. But I will tell you I’m staying with some good friends in a suedo (maybe faux is a better term) old farmhouse. Hope this wasn’t too much, its great to hear from all of you, keep those emails coming, and let me know if I’m not telling you enough or if I’m telling you way too much. All the best, Marianne The Duke Gardens in Durham at Duke University:
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Feb. 16, 2007 The rest of my visit in Wilmington was great. On Valentines day I spent the morning watching the surfers off of Johnny Mercers Pier in Wrightsville Beach. Then took a nice drive down to Carolina Beach. When I got back to Wrightsville the sun had come back out so I headed to the beach again. Jimmy and I celebrated with a huge pile of Chicken wings at a restaurant called Wild Wing. They were the best wings ever!!! We stopped at Wendy's for frosties and headed to a walk on the beach. It was chilly but there were tons of stars out. I'm hiding out in Chapel Hill, NC at the moment. I'm planning on spending my weekend catching up on photos so everyone can see them and also finally getting some Mt. Biking in. Thats all for now, keep checking back this weekend for photos. I'll put them in the entry that they relate too. All the best to everyone! Marianne
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Feb. 13, 2007 Today was a special day. I had the opportunity to spend the day photographing the “Kids Making It” Organization in downtown Wilmington, NC. Two goals of this organization are to bring at risk kids in off the street and get them excited about a project that they produce. They do this by teaching kids woodworking skills and helping them build projects of their choice. They can even choose to sell their goods in the store. The project of choice this year has been pens. The students are making beautiful pens using a lathe machine, a small kit, and some nice finishing compounds. Several pens went to the Mayor’s office and the students whose pens went there received personal Thank you notes addressed to them at the shop. The pens are meant to be gifts to Japanese government visitors. Jimmy Pierce started the program to give kids a chance to get off the streets and get excited about something. Jimmy’s energy around the shop is pure fun and I think he really enjoys being one of the kids too. Jimmy is assisted by Lorraine who helps with art related projects and Jeff who helps in the shop and with grant writing. He also has a whole crew of volunteers who show up everyday for the different classes. The afternoon class that my brother Jimmy and I visited almost had more volunteers than kids. The classes are very loosely structured, each student is allowed to work on a project of their choice. The volunteers help make sure the project is doable and that it can be completed in the amount of time available. One student brought in a drawing complete with measurements for speaker boxes to put in the back of his Nissan. The volunteers helped him measure out wood and cut it on the table saw. They fit the pieces together and the student had a grin a mile wide on his face. Jimmy Pierce offered to let him use some stainless steel screws on it to jazz it up. One of the students who everyone calls “Pop”, is someone that all the kids look up to. He has been a student at the shop for several years. He is now 20 and has started working as the shop manager. He is on the clock organizing materials and also teaching other students. Pop is a unique bridge between the volunteers and the students. He knows where everything is around the shop, and knows how to solve basic problems that other students may have. Pop has been working on putting a portfolio of his work together so he can show off his handy work. The program runs entirely on grant funds, which means that they are constantly looking and asking for money. Jimmy hopes to one day be self sufficient and that the program will grow and the students will be able to take their skills outside of the classroom and be able to make a living off of them. But for now, he seems thrilled that the kids are in off the streets and having a great time. To find out more about this program check out www.kidsmakingit.org. For Photos Click the photo:
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Feb. 12, 2007 I have been in Wilmington, NC. Visiting my brother Jim. I arrived on Thurs. after an excellent drive through Hatteras. We headed out to the beach for some dinner and then came back into Wilmington for a walking tour. Wilmington is a very cool place to visit. There are ots of restaurants, bars, and even a reptile museum. Jimmy and I ended up seeing a live band called Yesterday’s Lovesong at a place called Whiskey. I spent the next day catching up on some photos and hit the town in the afternoon. The sun was out and it was really a lovely evening. We caught up with some of Jimmy’s friends for wings for dinner. I think I had the best wings of my whole life. There were sooo goood! Nice and spicy with different flavors and not too much breading on them either. After that we headed out to see the beach scene at Wrightsville beach. What a fun place! It’s like spring break there all the time. Only it’s the off season and only the locals are around these days. We crashed at one of Jimmy's friend's houses at the beach which meant I got a beach walk in the morning. Oh to live on the beach and be able to smell it and here it everyday. It reminded me of growing up by Lake Michigan in Holland, Mi. When I got back to the house the others had gotten up and we headed out for a yummy Saturday breakfast at a place called Jimbo’s. I finally got to try fried Okra. Its kind of a cross between friend zucchini and fried pickle, and despite what most people say about it, its delicious. Jimmy and I were tourists for the rest of the day and visited the USS North Carolina battleship which has found its final resting place in Wilington. In it's total of 5 years in service only 10 sailors were lost. Pretty amazing. It was the first battle ship to reach Pearl Harbor after the famous attack. Jimmy and I spent about 2 full hours climbing through her and I’m not sure we even saw everything. The ship had a cobbler, barber shop, print shop with darkroom, and (drumroll please) a soda fountain that served Ice cream! We spent the rest of the weekend playing at Wrightsville beach, this included dark n’ stormies, a boat ride down the intercoastal, steamed oysters, and a delicious meal of grilled sea bass. Jimmy is definitely living right down here. Wrightsville Beach photos:
I have been adding photos to the entries below and when I catch up I’ll add some up here too. Hope you all enjoy the photos. Marianne
On the road to Wilmington I passed by Camp Lejeune in North Carolina. I was interested in what was happening outside the gates. Click here:
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Feb. 6 2007 I decided to take the scenic way out of Annapolis and headed down the Eastern shore through what is known in that area as Delmarva (Del-Delaware, mar-Maryland, va-Virginia). This was a lovely drive through lots of farms and very rural areas. I took a quick cruise through Oxford and found a tiny little bayside town. Probably very nice in much warmer weather. At the end of Delmarva you have to go over and under the Chesapeake Bay entrance to get to Norfolk, Virginia. This is called a bridge tunnel and sure enough you go up onto a bridge and in the middle you plunge down into the sea. Well, into a tunnel actually, not the sea itself. You pop up on the other side for a little more bridge time before hitting the chaotic highway near Norfolk. Here's a web address for the tunnel: www.cbbt.com Here's a few shots from the Eastern shore and a few from the Bridge-Tunnel experience.
I spent the night in Virginia Beach. Two good things happened here, .35 Oysters at Harpoon Larry’s and a cheap hotel room at the Seagull Inn where I could see the Ocean in the morning. Virginia Beach is a very laid back beach community with all the regular taffy and t-shirt shops and a boardwalk. I left pretty early in the morning and some fishermen were on their way back into the Harbor. Did I mention it was about 19F this morning in Virginia Beach. Brrrrrrr….anyone else shivering? Scenes from Virginia Beach:
After leaving Virginia Beach, I treated myself to North Carolina’s Outer Banks. Complete with a stop at the Wright Brothers Memorial and the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse beach. I think Cape Hatteras is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. I know that it is one of the ugliest places that a lot of mariners have been, but from the safety of the beach it sure is pretty incredible. Because of my long stop at Hatteras, I got on the Hatteras to Ocracoke Island ferry to late to meet the ferry that goes from Ocracoke to the mainland (Morehead City). So I have found a neat little place called Blackbeard’s Lodge to stay in . I’ll let you know if I find any pirates hiding out here.
Its been so nice to hear from everyone, keep the emails and suggestions coming. All the best to you all, Marianne I'll add the photos soon!
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Feb 5, 2007 Catching Up The last few days in Annapolis were lots of fun. I made it to the Pledge of Allegiance at Chick and Ruth’s. Ted even uses a microphone and the whole restaurant cooks, waitresses, and everyone else joins in. I also got the opportunity to have lunch with a good friend from the boating mag. Biz. John Wooldridge (Yachting and Motorboating magazine). I was lucky enough to be invited to lunch with a friend of his who is helping to get the Annapolis Maritime Museum up and running. Jeff Holland, is also a famous Annapolitan (is that how they say it?) ukulele player in a band called "Them Good Ol' Arster Boys," He is heading to Ireland soon for a little tour, Guinness, and a few good Irish Jam sessions. The museum will focus on the Watermen of the area. It will be housed in an old Oyster canning factory in Eastport. More info on that can be found here. http://www.annapolismaritimemuseum.org Jeff took John and I through what will be the old cannery and it was pretty neat. I think the museum will be great! Here are some photos of Jeff, his dog Joe, and the Museum.
Next I have a confession to make. I stopped at the RV dealership that I kept driving by all week. I satisfied my curiosity and realized that yes an RV would be better than the little Escape that I’m in now, and no, I can’t afford it. But it’s nice to dream. Jim Wisniewski at Happy Travelers, Inc. was happy to show me what I have been missing. ( www.recreationworld.com ) Click on me and see if you can find my dream RV!
I was also able to take a quick tour of the Eastern Shore going North towards Rock Hall. There were lots of picturesque farmland and small towns. One in particular had an interesting house. In Centerville I passed a house whose lawn was covered in white flags (those little ones, used to mark things underground or for electric fences). In the middle of the flags was a small sign that said “Remember Them.” I did try knocking on the door to get the story about who “they” are, no one answered. I supposed maybe its good not to be told who exactly, there are a lot of people that need to be remembered these days. Cruising the Eastern Shore towards Rock Hall, MD.
My last night in the Annapolis area I drove up to Bel Air, MD to visit some friends of my families who knew me when…. Thank you to Didi and Rafe Salvatierra for a wonderful dinner. Didi used to quilt with my mother in a Quilt group in Holland, MI. Now she is quilting up a storm in Bel Air. Visiting Didi in her studio was a pretty inspiring thing to do. She has ideas all over the room and anything you pick up is a work in progress. There are colors everywhere. Here is a peak at what she is up to: Click here: Thats all for now, Marianne
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Feb. 1 2007 Today was an Annapolis Day. I left early to get breakfast at Chick and Ruth’s. (www.chickandruths.com) The locals call this place an Annapolis Institution. The owner Ted took over the business from his parents and keeps it as a genuine Ma and Pop diner. Everyone seems to know Ted, and Ted sure knows everyone. It’s the kind of place where someone actually says “Hello, grab a seat anywhere you’d like and make yourself at home”. It has all the classic breakfast dishes, plus sandwiches named after the important people at the statehouse. The Governor has breakfast there daily and the Pledge of Allegiance is also recited daily. For more on Chick and Ruth’s (www.chickandruths.com) Click here for Chick and Ruth's Delly photos, complete with Magic tricks from Ted.
After my breakfast adventure I toured around Annapolis on foot. I found some interesting architectural details and also found the Presidential Pet Museum. The Museum was started by a very enthusiastic woman named Claire Mclean. (www.presidentialpetmuseum.com), Claire was the Reagan official pet groomer. She happened to bring home some of Lucky’s hair one day and her mother make it into a collage. Since then she has been collecting any kind of presidential material that relates to their pets. Her collection out grew here home and now she wants to share it with the public. Click on Claire to see more photos of her Museum
There are a lot of people in Annapolis that have creative ideas and are very excited about what they are working towards. Annapolis Scenes click the photo below, (use your arrow keys to move from photo to photo. Or you can roll the mouse over the images. If you roll the mouse over the large image it will give you caption information. (Let me know if this gallery works better than the other one.)
Gallery Notes: Use your arrow keys to move from photo to photo. Or you can roll the mouse over the images. If you roll the mouse over the large image it will give you caption information. Let me know if this gallery works better than the other one.
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Jan. 31, 2007 I went into Washington, DC today and aimed myself at the Washington Mall. ( www.nps.gov/nama/ ) Most of the touristy things to do are right there, really handy. My first stop was the Washington Monument. It was easy to get a ticket and take the 70 sec. ride to the top. There were tiny windows at the top and you could see in all four directions. It was a sunny and fairly clear day with a just a bit of haze on the horizon. The views were pretty nice and it was easy to see things because none of the trees had leaves on them. On the way back down the monument they slow down the elevator so you can see commemorative stones donated by each state that line the inside of the Monument. Michigan’s is all copper and the heaviest of them all. Some of the states used different materials for their plaques. Hawaii used a crushed coral and another state used driftwood. Next I walked down to the World War II Memorial. There is a feeling of being in a very powerful place all along the Mall and here it is particularly strong. The Memorial stands tall and proud with tall stone slabs arranged in a circle. Each slab represents a state or US territory. From here I walked along the famous reflecting pool that is supposed to reflect the Washington Monument. In January it is emptied for cleaning so there was no water in it except for some puddles down the center near by was a sign saying “Skating Prohibited”. I wonder if people have tried. By the way the puddles were in just the right spot to reflect the monument. At the end of the pool is the Lincoln Memorial. What a great spot! The statue of Lincoln is pretty awesome in its size and the room in which it is placed is lined with tall Doric columns. It’s a place that has an inherent meditative quality to it. I have heard that a pigeon is usually perched on Lincoln’s head, but he must have taken the day off. I continued wandering around the mall towards the White House. The White House still looked quite grand in the winter. The lawn was beautifully trimmed up (nice and short for all you lawn enthusiasts). The landscaping also fit the season. Shrubs and other trees, which were wearing their winter leaves or needles, obscured dormant plants. Next I walked to the United States Capitol building. It was amazing to be looking at that building and think about recent decisions that have been made behind those windows and doors. The reflecting pool in front of the capital was filled with water and ice (even another “Skating Prohibited” sign). It was doing a great job of reflecting the Capitol Building. My last stop was the National Art museum. I won't bore you with details of all the art there. But the best thing I saw in there was a deaf tour group signing their way through the museum. It was a contrast to the other noisy school group I had seen earlier in the museum. The women leading the tour stood near a Mary Cassatt painting and signed a commentary on it. The students signed their questions and she answered in sign. Other students were signing amongst themselves. The only noise was a bit of giggling, so it must have been a fun tour. There are sooo many more museums around the mall that I’ll definitely have to come back and visit one day. You could spend days going through these and never see any other part of DC. On the way back to the Metro station I walked through the Hirshhorn Sculpture Garden. Every town should have its own sculpture garden. It was pleasant to walk through and imagine how a sculpture was throught up and put together. Even in the winter, and with the sun hidden by clouds by this time, it was a picturesque place to see. I ended the day with udon noodles and Saki to warm up. Someday I’d like to go back to the mall on a nice sunny warm day with a small back pack (by the way this almost never happens when camera gear is involved) with some snacks, a blanket, and a Frisbee. Maybe I’d duck into one or two more museums, but I’d mostly people watch and enjoy being in a place with so much history surrounding it. Marianne. |
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January 30, 2007 My drive down to Annapolis yesterday from Atlantic City was a real treat. I took a coastal road down the Jersey shore from Atlantic City to Cape May. It was a pretty scenic drive along tons and tons of beachy looking homes that had awesome views of the Atlantic. My car and bike got covered in salt spray on the port side. I had researched Cape May and thought that I would immediately see rows of old Victorian homes dripping with gingerbread woodwork on every line and corner. However, coming over the last bridge into Cape May I was met by a tidy looking fishing fleet crowding a couple docks along the waterfront. There was a huge fish market attached to a fancy restaurant called the Lobster Wharf. I poked my head into the fish market and they had everything under the sea in there. They even had things prepared in every which way imaginable. They had smoked bluefish, clams casino,oysters on the half shell, and salmon steaks that hadn’t been cut away from the fish yet. There were various kinds of rolls, baguettes, and other tasty breads. All kinds of sauces, relishes, lemons, and spices line the tops of the counters. At the end of the counter were lobster tanks with the remaining lobsters of the day laying exhausted at the bottom of the tanks. It would be hard not to find whatever you were looking for in here. Next I continued to drive close to the shoreline and found myself driving next to a beautiful beach on one side and quaint B&Bs, and grand looking summer hotels. Clearly there is no shortage of places to stay in Cape May. I found nice breakfast in a little place called Bella Verda Café. Then poked around through some of the antique shops. I took one last cruise by the beach and headed to the car ferry. The Ferry was a 90 min. ride across Delaware Bay. On this particular day in Jan. it was a pretty bumpy. You could even feel the boat hitting a couple big rollers. I’m sure the crew has seen worse. I went out on deck for a few minutes but it was pretty cold so I didn’t last too long. We arrived in Lewes, Delaware all in one piece. I cruised through a nearby state park then headed west to Annapolis. The road to Annapolis was really a nice treat too. There was all farmland and lots of farmstands that were closed for the season. Good thing because I never would have gotten to Annapolis, but I would have loaded up on fresh produce. I’m now based in Annapolis and will hopefully get out to Baltimore and DC. In the next couple of days. Hope you all enjoy the photos. All the best, Marianne |
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Photos of Atlantic City and Cape May, NJ (click on the photo) |
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Jan. 11, 2007 Well the day finally came and is one its way out. I have left Rhode Island to start my tour of the good ole' USA. It was a sort of sad good bye. It had seemed like the departure day was just something that I talked about, nvever that it would actually happen. But it has. The first stop is Atlantic City. I got into the city this evening in a haze of rain and something that might be called snow. I cruised around this strange city and checked out the light show put on by all the buildings with their glitzy trimmings. Getting into the city from highway 30 was like coming into the Boston Logan Airport. Each area of the city had a color code and a name, as I approached the city there were signs with which casinos were in each color coded area. Then the exits tell you where to get off the highway for each colored area. After my own haphazard tour of the city, I landed at a place called the Inn of the Irish Pub (www.theirishpub.com). The people were mostly friendly, I struck up a conversation with a pair of guys who had been setting up the stage for the Rockstar Supernova concert at the Borgata. After chatting with them it seems that those who work in the city don't live in the city. Most live about 20 minutes outside the city in "the woods". It turns out that southern Jersery is lots of beautiful wooded areas and farmlands. Another interesting thing about the city that I learned from these locals, was that the casinos haven't really done much in the way of getting the city itself into shape. There is still lots of poverty and lots of vacant lots and empty buildings around. This made me think of the Rhode Island Indian Casino proposal. I wonder it it would have actually helped the Indians or just helped the casino people. As fun as the city was I think I'll make it an early night and see if I can get some photos of the glitz at dawn. The fun part will be to see if I actually wake up. Tomorrow I'll head down the coast line towards Cape May and then continue on to Annapolis, MD. I'll get photos up soon.... Thats all for now, Marianne
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Dec. 11, 2006 At the end of January I'll be heading off on a tour of the United States. There are multiple goals to this trip, but one of the most important goals is to explore the United States with a fresh and honest approach. Using photography I'd like to record a portrait of America that is colorful and honest. I'm looking for inspiration through people who do something that they truly enjoy and who have a positive impact on their communities. Some of these people might be craftsmen, storytellers, families, artists, teachers, or anyone else who has an activity that makes them happy and leaves an impression on the people around them. As I travel I hope to find opportunities to show the American Landscape and its people in the best light possible. Places on my list so far.....
My Itinerary is very loose and I'm planning around a week in each place. Any suggestions of where to go are more than welcome. mariannelg@gmail.com
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Here it is! 
www.ghostrailsinn.com (check out this website)
Santa Cruz
more photos of this adventurous pair here
Yosemite Photos
no photos if you click. 
The Fairchild House Bed and Breakfast
