Rollin' Again...

Yesterday we waved goodbye quietly to all our old and new friends (who were probably still asleep or who should have been -- we left at 5:45 a.m.). We needed to get home to welcome guests the next day and, although Tillie is usually fairly reliable, she can sometimes decide one's vacation needs to be prolonged.

We decided to eat breakfast on the road and stop somewhere at a local restaurant. So we drove through first one town... and the next... and the next... Just as our resolve started to faulter and we thought we'd be forced to eat at a chain (Canadians seem to have this love affair with "Tim Horton's" or as they say, "Timmy's") we passed a general store with lots of cars. Only as we were passing did we see the fine print that it was also a restaurant. Tillie braked admiredly, turned on a something much larger than a dime, and we joined the other local supporters for breakfast. Actually it was so busy because a group of women were having a 40th birthday party for their friend. Who else would think to have a party like that before work? (I know some of you Dillon's out there will think they must have been absolutely nuts!)

Taking the back roads homes at a leisurely pace, we stopped in Petersboro to visit the Canadian Canoe Museum. Seemed like the thing to do since it was Canada's National Canoe Day (does the US have such a day?) and admission was free. They have a LOT of canoes.

Other than that I can't say we found much use for the camera. Although not exactly flat, most of Ontario is not very exciting geographically either. And, either we missed them, or there's not many first's or biggest's or smallest's or whatever around. Or perhaps Canadians just don't feel the necessity to advertise them.

So we arrived home just before dark - our guests arrived about half an hour later. Oops! I got my days confused. Luckily we'd left the house semi-ready before we left... and Tillie hadn't been in one of her moods...

House blessings...

Today, Thursday, was the last day of work for some of us. Others, not wanting to offend the Legion who had signed up to serve lunch on Friday and who were not planning to travel as far on Friday, are working another half day.

In spite of having to sit idle for a hour and a half to wait out a thunder storm, our team did pour the concrete for the second home (trust me, it looks just like the first – it’s just that I keep forgetting to take my camera to that site); the trusses are all up on the first house and several more sections of fence have been built. And it was not quite so HOT, especially if you were one of the lucky women who were building fence in the shade!

One of the traditions of Habitat is the dedication they have for each new homeowner before they move in. Those with the Care-A-Vanner group are seldom there when this dedication takes place. One of our group, Jeff, has taken to doing a “blessing of the home” at the end of each of the builds he and his wife do. The photo is our group giving our blessings to the new homes (both homes are duplexes). Joining us is the next door neighbor, the ladies from the Union Church who provided our lunch today, and a couple of local volunteers. It’s something we hope will become a tradition at other builds we do.

Tonight we pack up, enjoy a very long happy hour with all the left overs from last night’s fish fry (the local fish from the bay is white fish – ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS!) There wasn’t any fish left but we still have plenty of salads and snacks. Tomorrow we meander our way back home on the back roads. Who knows what we’ve find on the way…

Meltin'

When it reaches 30C one can officially melt! Supposedly tonight brings a bit of a cool down – we hope! Our Texas folks says it doesn’t even get this hot in Texas.

Photo 1 – John, one of the local regular volunteers, and his wife, Janet, invited us all to dinner at their place last night. Their lupines were gorgeous and I’ve added yellow lupines to my “must have” list.

Photo 2 – John & Janet’s side yard. Not only is their place beautiful but Janet is a first class cook. We all concurred this is adding up to another 10 pound build (10 lbs. on the hips…)

Photo 3 – The ladies fencing crew putting up the brackets so the men could hang the sections we made last week.

Photo 4 – The guy in the blue shirt next to the house on the right is the local rep to Parliament there for a photo shoot. (They got their photos before his tee shirt was soaked through like everyone else’s.) Hopefully the coverage will give Habitat as much good press and it gives him.

Sweatin' on Tuesday...

HOT HOT HOT!!! When they say the high 20’s C it doesn’t do the temperature justice especially when the humidity is approaching 100%. When summer started here, it took on a whole new meaning.

Photo 1 – Yes, some of us really were up at 5:00 a.m.

Photo 2 – The first of the second level floor joists goes up.

Photo 3 – Shortly before 2 and several more are up… The guys look far cooler than they felt!

Photo 4 – Quitting time – 2:00. We heard in the store on the way home they even let the quarry workers leave early because of the heat. By the way the young man coming towards the camera is Cedric. (I never met a real Cedric before – thought that was a name reserved for English novels.) At any rate, he works for the parks department at Niagara Falls. For his vacation this week he decided to spend it in Wiarton helping out with the Habitat House. Said he emailed all the Habitat projects in Ontario and this was the first one to respond. Lucky them, and us!

Back to work...

Photo 1 – House one now bare of the bracing. Folks were amazed that the bracing and scaffolding took three days to set up but came down in about two hours. It was even more amazing that it is all now up at house two in spite of the heat (high 20’s here today – that’s C, not F). Tomorrow is supposed to be hotter…

Photo 2 – The corner where we turn off the main drag in Wiarton. If you can read the signs almost everything is on Willie’s Way from camping to curling.

Photo 3 – I think these are supposed to be groundhog prints…

Photo 4 – Happy hour at the campground (pretty nice setup, eh?). Everyone voted to start work tomorrow at 7 rather than 8 so we don’t have to work as long in the heat of the day.

Exploring the Bruce...

Wiarton is on the Bruce Peninsula, hence the motto above. It is formed mostly by the Niagara Escarpment which runs unbroken for 465 miles from Niagara Falls up through the Bruce Peninsula. It’s basically a “big ridge”. Although not very high, it does have some impressive cliffs. We’re staying in a campground at the base of the escarpment and the houses we’re working on are on top of the escarpment. Although they’re only about 10 blocks apart at the most, the incline (about 2 blocks worth) is so steep that none of us are even tempted to walk.

With the weekend off, sightseeing was definitely in order. So another collection of photos to share from left to right…

1 – Eileen Vollick – who was she? Answer - the first licensed woman pilot in Canada and she was born and raised in Wiarton. At only 5’1” she had to use cushions on the pilots seat so she could see out the cockpit. Apparently she did a lot of stunt flying until she married at which time she gave up flying altogether (guess she thought marriage was exciting enough) and moved to New York where she spent the rest of her life.

2 – John has spent the winter building what definitely looks like a boat. But what does this guy have in mind?!

3 – John and me after he’s worked my fingers to the bone…

4 – I, on the other hand, am always on the lookout for a good name for John’s new boat…

5 – Ontario has 68 different varieties of wild orchids, 44 of which are found on the Bruce Peninsula. And you thought only Hawaii had orchids, didn’t you?

6 – This is “the grotto” - a formation left on the edge of escarpment. Supposedly, if you have really good lungs and don’t mind REALLY COLD water, there’s a passage under it to the other side. None of us tried it. Of course, none of us ventured down the rocks to the water either. Wimps one and all.

7 – This photo is for Phyllis. Jim, our team member from Vermont (on the right), likes to bring his motorcycle to ride. So what does this have to do with you Phyllis? One would never suspect Jim had both his knees replaced in January, even going up and down ladders and hiking over rocky terrain. (Just think what you’ll be up to in 6 months, Phyllis?!)

8 – Some of us on the northern shore which, by the way, is only half way between the equator and the North Pole. BIG world isn’t it?!

9 – One last photo of the rugged coast and beautiful water. Did I mention this area is the scuba diving capital of Canada?

Thursday & Friday...

The real Thursday and the rain was not to be. “Oh woe”, said our bodies; “Yeah!” said our minds. Today’s challenge – completing everything that needed to be done before the concrete could be poured.

Putting up Styrofoam blocks to be filled with concrete sounds like a piece of cake, and it is. However….. there’s all the other stuff that also has to be done. The framing for the

doors and windows has to be secured. Bracing and scaffolding has to be erected on every wall to secure it. The building has to be squared and righted. Holes have to be cut for pipes for dryer vents and air exchangers and the like. Exterior bracing has to be put in place. Brackets to hold the second level floor joists have to be embedded in the foam. Rebar has to be dropped into all the channels – that’s in addition to the rebar that goes horizontally with every layer of block. Foam has to be sprayed in all cracks around openings, both inside and out. I’m exhausted just trying to remember.

The group even worked an extra hour today. Can you believe this fool hardy group actually decided to cut into their happy hour?! One would think when you retire over achieving would be a thing of the past, but somehow it occasionally still has a way of reaching out and grabbing you. Bottom line – the cement truck is coming at 10:30 tomorrow, not Monday as planned.

We ate out……

And finally, it’s actually Friday and the concrete truck arrives. How many supervisors does it take to pour a wall? Actually those guys are just waiting their turn for a try at the nasty job of filling the wall or, worse yet, using the vibrator to make sure no air bubbles are left. They predicted it would take 5 hours to complete the job but the guys were very happy when it was done in three.

Meanwhile, back at the pavilion in the park, the fence crew took it easy enjoying the view of the bay in the shade. Don’t you love this scooter that came by? By the way, we did have an excuse for lounging around - we had to wait for the park manager to return to turn on the power. And someone had to be there to direct folks to the Friday’s farmer’s market…

Thursday, June 18

Another day, another collage. Actually, these are always a day behind because I write them at night and post them the next day on our way back from work. Starting at top left…

Jeff, the inventor of the drain pipe heat exchanger. It replaces a section of your drain pipe and recoups the energy from the hot water going down the drain. Supposedly recoups 70% of the energy lost. His company is donating one for each of the Habitat homes.

Happy hour got happier as Harriet, our yoga teacher, joined us. She tried to teach Juan the goddess pose but don’t think he quite got it (and almost didn’t make it up again!).

There was a classic car “cruise-in” next to the campground. Harriet we insisted we take Tillie over and enter it. As usual, Tillie was a real standout.

For my mother – a photo of the beautiful iris garden that is the front yard of a home a couple of doors down from where we’re working.

The next two photos are of the second duplex our team has also been working on. That house is now on hold until the cement is poured in the first house – which will take place on Monday as there is only enough bracing to do one house at a time. We were all hoping to have one house poured this week but rain is predicted for the next two days.

The fence building crew extraordinaire – Karen, Charmaine & myself. We built 5 today with only 35 sections left to go at this site and the same number at the other site. Of course if it rains the next two days, the fence building project may take a giant leap forward.

Old wagons in front of one of the houses in town. We think the one on the left may be a “low down” wagon like the ones that used to be built in Earlville.

Betty & Leo, our rebar cutting crew. Checking in at age 78, Betty is the oldest member of our team. This is her first build proving it’s never too late to try something new.

Wednesday, June 17

Since I know at least one of you eager beavers out there has googled Wiarton, I thought it was time to include a few pictures to make you all just a wee bit envious.

Top left – a homemade hamburg grill on wheels (hopefully John does NOT get any ideas!). By the way, that was lunch yesterday. They’re feeding us well!

Center top – the old train station that is now the welcome center in the park where we’re camping. It’s as beautiful inside as it is outside (although we haven’t been able to thoroughly check it out as they are never open after happy hour – maybe this weekend…)

Top right – If my camera lens was wider you might also have seen Tillie camped in this photo about 50 feet from shore (to the left, not the right). The “permanent” lady campers in the park have taken on the project of doing flowers along the shoreline path. A wonderful place to take a stroll (that is if you haven’t been wearing lead weight steel toed shoes all day!)

Bottom left – This is Canada’s famous Wiarton Willie who, on Feb. 2^nd, just like a groundhog we know in the states, comes out, searches for his shadow, and decides if Canada can breathe a sign of relief and only have six more weeks of winter. As opposed to Phil, Willie is a white groundhog (camouflage for the snow perhaps). And, while this may not be the best photo, locals tell us most folks never get to see him at all so this photo is a BIG deal.

Bottom center – Willie lives next to the library (just across the street from our campground) where all donations are gladly accepted. Who knew we would one day be sleeping just down the street from a famous groundhog?! How many of you can put that in your resumes?

Bottom right – A stone statue in our park is dedicated to the original Willie. The current Willie, by the way, is really a girl. (Perhaps that’s why there’s a comb – see first photo - next to her groundhog hole…)

By the way, our internet connection comes to us thanks to ReMax, the local realtor. Tillie did her usual slow drive-by of the neighborhoods but couldn’t find a stray, unsecured network. (John always gets nervous when I insist we try this. For some reason he thinks a slow moving yellow VW bus with the passenger holding a computer in her lap might put a Neighborhood Watch program on high alert…) Realtors, on the hand, WANT you to be able to look on line at the properties they have for sale. Keep that in mind when next you’re travelling…

Tuesday, June 16

The build continues with the blocks, bracing and scaffolding nearly all in place for the pouring of the concrete on Thursday or Friday. Half the crew, including Juan from Texas with the genuine Texas hard hat, started work on the second duplex.

It’s the end of the day and we’re all still moving. However, a decision was made early in the day that we would all go out to eat tonight. Yeah! Gives us a chance to find a wireless connection which, in case you haven’t noticed, have been rather hard to find in this community. The locals all say things like driving 30 miles to the nearest internet café…

Monday, June 15

Day 1 on the work site. Everyone up and at ‘em and ready to go. First job – outfitting the “have nots” with steel toed shoes and hard hats. Second job – yoga stretches compliments of Harriette (even the grumpy old men dared not deny Harriette and her stretches). Third job – safety video. Then a short devotional (just in case the video didn’t work). And it was out to the job site.

Allen, our site supervisor, gave us a fairly comprehensive training session on how to put together these Styrofoam blocks just in case some of us had flunked Leggos as kids. These houses are very energy efficient. The houses they’ve built to date using this construction have averaged $57 dollars (Canadian) per month for heating (a good portion of the year this far north) and hot water. As Allen said, the furnace in his 100 year old house costs $57 to even think about starting.

It was a lovely sunny work day in Wiarton. The group has decided 3:30 is quitting time. None too soon if the weight of my steel toes shoes has any bearing in the matter – perhaps there was a mix-up at the factory and they used lead instead of steel. It will be interesting to see if we’re as springy tomorrow as we were this morning.

Sunday, June 15

After spending the night with our friend, Pat, and planning trips (For some reason those trips

never involve Tillie, always planes. Is there a reason for that?!), we headed north to Canada. You will be relieved to know the great Niagara Falls is still there and that we decided NOT to go over in a barrel.

Wiarton (pronounced wire-ar-ton), where we were headed, is north of Niagara Falls on the eastern coast of Georgian Bay. We had never been to this area of Ontario before, but it is relatively flat farm land. Pretty in its own way but nothing in the way of photos to share with you. There are no main roads so there’s a lot of stop and go as you pass through the small towns. We did inhale deeply and Tillie kicked up her tires a bit more as we passed through Mount Forest whose motto on the sign coming into town is “High, Happy, & Healthy”.

Wiarton is a beautiful little town and our campground is right on Colpoys Bay. John already has his eye on the marina just down the bay that is filled with sailboats. But, alas, this is not a sailing trip. We’re here to help Habitat build two duplexes. The construction is to be Styrofoam block & concrete, a new method for most of us on the team. While we’re all excited and ready to get going early, there did seem to be a lot of foot dragging at the meeting last night that we work until 5. (Habitat Care-A-Vanners are more than willing to come early, but dipping into their 4:00 Happy Hour time is entirely another issue!)

Of course the other task is to find a wireless connection to stay in touch with you all…

Off to Wiarton!

At long last – Tillie is on the road again!

With the two of us…

With our tools (for working on the Habitat house we’re headed for)…

With our work clothes…

With our play clothes…

With a few cooking/eating items…

With our bedding for Tillie…

As a friend said to me once, “You’re going to spend two weeks in that?!!! With a man?!!!”. It’s true. Stay tuned.

Heading west to spend the night in Buffalo, Tillie decided once again to jiggle on by the Jello Museum without stopping. Where’s the fun in that? But John had his mind on Buffalo treats including beer battered hot peppers. Am not sure if this is what happens to a person after driving Tillie for four hours or the side effects of starting on one’s fourth hot, hot, hot pepper… Will he able to drive tomorrow? Stay tuned.

Pluggin' along...

For those of you who follow this blog you're probably wondering what we're up to now on the roque croquet court. Is it a weird lawn mower? Is it a rototiller? Is it a line marker? Is it some sort of new exercise machine (after all, we seldom actually PLAY croquet...)?

In real life the machine is an aerator/plugging machine. One walks behind it while it takes removes small plugs of dirt and spits them out. The theory is (I will admit there have been a LOT of theories developed in conjunction with this court...) the holes will allow the roots to expand thus leveling out the court and the sod. Anyway, Terry & John "plugged" (or is it "de-plugged"?) the court and spread lawn winterizer (special fertilizer) and 250 pounds of sand. It turns out that much sand is not that much. Supposedly the holes are supposed to be filled with sand -- didn't happen. (Oh well, I'm sure the squirrels will be happy as there are thousands of acorns in the park this year and the squirrels won't have to dig so many holes.) Now it's up to chief hydrologist, Fred, to keep the winterizer watered until winter. (With all this tender loving care can't you just envision a sea of oak seedlings next spring?!)

Of birthdays & wood...

How do you surprise an "experienced" birthday girl (cousin Judy - photo right) with a birthday party? It ain't easy especially when your husband (cousin John - you guessed it, photo left) says he's taking you out to dinner, then parks at the Emergency Squad/Fire House. Their community room is a GREAT place for a party!

Do you remember from blogs past, trees being cut from cousin John's woods for John's boat building? In case I didn't mention it before, cousin John is VERY experienced with tree cutting. All the lumber in their absolutely beautiful home (John & Judy built it themselves) came from their property. Since they finished their house, John has switched his skills/talent to furniture making. The latest addition to their ever growing furniture collection is this absolutely gorgeous "entertainment" center (it certainly kept cousin John entertained for months!). It's made from black walnut and ash from their property. While John was waiting for the lumber to dry naturally in his garage, he designed it in his head. If the sides look curved as well as the top it's because they are plus they're all dovetailed together (my mind won't even begin to grasp how one does that!). Even the handles on the doors and drawers were hand made. Notice the handle under the TV (John waited until flat screen TV's were available to begin this project). The bottom molding under the TV is actually a sliding shelf so the TV can be pulled out if needed. The counter top John took to his auto body shop and spray painted with anti-graffiti varnish that makes it practically indestructible. Good planning. Even though Judy is now another year older, she's still sometimes up for dancing on table tops...

A croquet love story...

Croquet mallets... Lest you think that John spends all his free time working on boats, that's just not true (even if it sometimes it seems that way...)

Even John will admit that sometimes he can be a bit of a scrounge as in "that's just too good to go to the dump"; "there will eventually be a good use for it", etc. (He blames this trait to some extent on his German heritage.) At any rate, it IS true that he often has squirreled away just the right "thing" for what's needed. His ability to find it is another issue.

Now about those croquet mallets... please note the ball hitting portion was made from bits of oak & walnut he laminated together (I probably would have used the scrapes for kindling long ago) and banded with brass. But the piece de resistance are the handles. They're made from broken pool cues. (Of course the fact they turned out so great does in no way support my cause to clean the "crap" out of our old barn!)

What does this have to do with romance & love? Well one of my sister's high school classmates was relating how her parents met over 60 years ago. Her mother grew up near Dallas, her father in the Ozark Mountains. There was little or no work in the Ozarks so Isam's cousin suggested he come to Texas and find work in the oil fields. One sunny Sunday afternoon looking for something to do on his day off, Isam went to the town park. There on the town croquet court was Opal, the love of his life. Isam & Opal were married (hopefully after playing several rounds of croquet) and moved to the Ozarks to raise their family. So if you're looking for a new love in your life, look no further than your nearest croquet court!

A new home for the Comets!

Remember the Comet sailboats "Have" and "Have Not"? Ah, such sweet memories!
- John taking a friend to Maryland with him to tow home "Have"... (Patty wouldn't go because her crystal ball foresaw pieces of "Have" flying off as they trailed it back to NY - how true that turned out to be!)
- Terry took a look at "Have" and, good friend that he is, acquired "Have Not" for John to work on instead because he thought "Have" a hopeless cause. (It is amazing how a few dollars instead of the word "free" can add so much solid wood to a boat...)
- The trip made (or attempted to be made) to the St. Lawrence in early spring to acquire "boat bottom" wood. (For some reason Terry's pickup just had to "kiss" that car ahead even if no one was going more than 10 mph - one example of Mother Nature's lake effect on highways...)
- Hours/years? spent by John in his workshop (Patty has grown to love his time consuming boat projects!)
- The memorable initial launching of "Have Not" (as Terry pumping vigorously from inside the boat asks John if he's sure it isn't pumping water in rather than out... did it really "sink" that day even if it was in only 3 feet of water?)
- A week later, the "real" launching after "Have Not" had time to "swell" (No sinking that weekend!)
- The initial launching of "Have" (no leaks in the seams but there was that cute little fountain caused by an errant drill bit hole - promptly fixed by John with a twig...) From there it sailed like a dream!
- One summer, two boats, one set of sails... (how does that work? it doesn't!)
- The big regatta at last - two boats, two sets of sails, wind, crew (a wee bit of bailing but no sinking!)

And then the BIG decision... what to do with two lovely boats that, in spite of the fun had, are just not quite right for Terry's camp? The solution... donate them to the Antique Boat Museum in Clayton, NY. When John & Terry first approached the museum they thought the museum would sell them at their fundraising boat auction. However, when Dan Miller (shown in the photo with the boats at the museum) took a look at them, the museum decided instead to use them initially to demonstrate and teach boat restoration and to educate visitors about the Comet class. Then they'll be added to their in-water fleet for sailing instruction. The boats were perfect because they were both originally built in NYS, are wooden and antique (1939), and they're a "size larger" than the other boats in their sailing instruction fleet.

If you've never been to the Antique Boat Museum it's well worth a trip www.abm.org/ ! They have absolutely beautiful boats on display. And, who knows, if you go next year you may actually see "Have" and "Have Not" being sailed in the waters in the photo. Needless to say, John & Terry, the Museum (and me) couldn't be happier!!!

And then it was croquet!

Just look at that court! (Admittedly, it's not putting green smooth, and we know it's a poor workman who blames it's tools, but, honestly, Murph really should invest in a better mower for Terry to borrow...)

At any rate the very first game of the season took place on Sunday (very fitting since Thousand Island Park was originally a church camp). The first six players were, from left to right, Terry (still practicing, not that it helped a whole lot...), John (still giving directions, not that it helped a whole lot...), Judy, Cousin John, Bruce and Leigh.

Needless to say there was a whole lot of discussion and a whole lot of fun on the new court. And who knew what to answer when someone walked up and wanted to know if they were playing roque or croquet? And don't forget backyard croquet with "poison".

It looked for a time as though John would be the winner when he became "poison" and was "killing" off balls right and left. With one ball left to go (Cousin John's) he took aim and sent his ball spiraling forward. It looked at first as though Cousin John was done for. Then John's ball veered slightly away, missing Cousin John's ball, and squarely hitting the end stake. (Those of you familiar with poison rules know this is instant death for a poison ball.) Winner of the first croquet game on the new court.... Cousin John!!!

Sail & Bail Regatta

Gee - another sailboat photo. How nice... However, this photo is downright amazing.



The blue Comet sailboat name "Have", circa 1939, was rotting in some one's backyard in Maryland before John "rescued" it. In fact, parts of the original boat may still be laying along the road as the boat tried to self destruct on the way to its new home. Let us say John put a LOT of new wood into "Have's" restoration. (John & Leigh are crewing that boat.)



The white Comet sailboat named "Have Not" , circa 1940, Terry bought for John to work on because he thought "Have" was a hopeless cause. It, too, needed work, just not as much. Those of you who have been reading this blog for some time might remember "Have Not" as the boat that tried to sink to the bottom when it was first launched 3 years ago. Lesson learned - old wooden boats need an "adjustment" period to allow the wood to swell so they don't leak. (Terry & Lloyd are crewing that boat.)



Last summer, "Have" made her debut in the water. Aside from a small drill hole in the hull that made her look like a whale before John plugged it with a twig, that launch was fairly normal. The only problem remaining - one set of sails, two boats.



This past winter another set of sails was secured and, walla, a regatta! If you're interested in a complete photo session (compliments of Bruce Moseley) go to the web album site

http://picasaweb.google.com/pattyjohng/FunInThePark

Table nouveau...

New tables today are mostly made in factories. Occasionally, however, one gets created with a bit more history behind it. Take the table in the photo for example. The table and the story have many parts but hang it there and, just like the table, it will eventually come together.

Years and years (and, ok, years) ago, we met friend Terry (that's a looooong story in itself...).

Many years later we replaced some of the studs in our house with a bay window. The house was built in the early 1800's so these were manly studs (4"x7"x9.5'). Too good to throw away, they have been used here and there for various purposes and the rest moved hither and yon.

Then came the building of our grape arbor (a.k.a. Temple of Cynthia) when we found 6 old porch columns in a salvage yard. Some of the circular "bits" couldn't be used so, of course, got stored and moved hither and yon.

Several years later a BIG storm came through central NY. Friend Bruce, then director of the Oneida Community Mansion House, let us know one of the historic pines had come down in the storm. As a fundraiser they were selling the planks from it and thought we might be interested. Is the Pope Polish? (He was then...) At any rate we ended up with a couple a planks which, since then, have been moved hither and yon.

Along comes this spring and the "restoring" of the croquet court at TI Park. After a hard day of rototilling and raking, what's left but an evening of good food and drink around a table? And since we were all friends it was only natural that we discuss how absolutely pathetic Terry's table was. Hydrologist Fred (the chief waterer of the court) decreed that 33" was the correct width for a porch table. (Fred is also now known in some circles as 33" Fred.) John remembers "the plank" and a table project is born.

Friends visit in June who like to go antiquing and what did we find but a set of old pool table legs. Who knows what stories they might have to tell and of course they met the chief criteria of being sort of funky and having been moved hither and yon.

Here the project may have stalled but, thanks to the boys (Win, Maverick, Dillon & Peyton) who spent last week with us, it found new life. John suddenly "had" to spend many hours in the workshop working on the table. Wonder why? Of course, Oletta was also there and was able to add a bit of design element to the legs deciding on the proper curve to be cut out of stud and where to place the round column bit.

Our local lumberyard planed the plank and added on some local black walnut to make the top Fred's required 33". John rounded the edges and varnished it within an inch of its life. The rest (with a few modifications on site and perhaps a couple more to come) is now history. If only tables could talk, or perhaps it's best they don't...

If you've made it this far, any suggestions for chairs????

Croquet Olympics

So what's wrong with this year's Olympic games? They forgot to include our croquet team! Or any croquet team for that matter. In fact, if Wicked can be believed, croquet hasn't been played at the Olympics since 1900. (What's with that?!!!) Our team has practiced HARD too!!! Oh well. I can guarantee you the air in Earlville is a lot cleaner and cooler than Beijing at the moment.

Team Earlville left to right - Ace in the Hole Dillon; Out of my Way Win; Someone has to be Second Maverick; Move over Boys Oletta; It's my Court (and my Rules) John; Watch Out Kathleen; and Little Boy Peyton. And just in case you're wondering, the US is well represented - NY, NJ & Texas!

Sweating at the beach...

Photo right - Ocean City in a heat wave... The photo was taken in early morning which explains the lack of people on the boardwalk that remains historic with businesses like Thrasher's french fries since 1929, Kohr Bros. frozen custard since 1919, Dolle's salt water taffy since 1910, and Dumser's Dairyland since 1939. These days you can also get their treats at other locations as well. Just our luck - there was a Dumser's about half a block from where we were staying (an easy walk even in the heat and well worth every ounce of sweat that was generated!)

The Keck/Grafer clan (brothers married sisters - photo is some of that clan) showed up in force for the softball game against the Berlinicke clan (no photo - they were the opposition after all...). In spite of the temperature and humidity vying for top billing (in the 90's) the game went on for two hours (11 - 1) and was finally called for lunch with the Keck/Grafer clan the winner! (They get to choose the location for the next game four years from now. Needless to say several are already petitioning for a cooler location!)

Rambo was still standing with all 4 tires inflated when we returned to NJ (miracles do happen!). Even more amazing he made it all the way back to NY with nary a complaint and even managed to keep his gas consumption in check (marginally better than an air craft carrier...). John wants the wood to be wet when he steam bends it, so Rambo also did his bit by continuing to leak in the intermittent rain storms. Wouldn't want the wood to get too dried out after all...

How to build a boat... and a table...

The first step, of course, is to convince your wife that probably the ONLY thing that will make you happy and keep you out of her hair when you retire is to have a workshop where you can go to work on boats, wooden boats. Choosing an appropriate plan is only a minor detail after that...
Next step? Acquire enough wood to build said boat. It helps if you have a cousin who has white oak in his forest and can somehow be talked into parting with a tree big enough to make a boat. Photo 1 -John & Cousin John selecting the tree and start cutting it down. Photo 2 - Tree does not make a clean break but hangs up on other trees. It helps if cousin in question has a ladder and a tow truck and can convince you the tree won't fall if you climb that ladder and secure a tow rope around the tree. This determines just how badly you want to build said boat. Patty visualizes widowhood. Photo 3 - In spite of the tow rope almost turning over the tow truck with cousin's wife, Judy, the tree remains uncooperative. Photo 4 - If at first you don't succeed, pull from the other direction. Walla - down it goes. No widows this time out. Photo 5 - What are the chances of the tree landing and balancing exactly on the stump? Tree is cut into 12 foot lengths. Photo 6 - Tow truck again proves handy in pulling those logs out of the woods. Photo 7 - Invite Andrew & his sawmill over to make a few passes through the log. Sweat! sweat! sweat! = a 90 degree day with 90% humidity. Photo 8 - It helps if cousin has heavy duty trailer to carry planks to Rambo. When Rambo refuses to accept planks longer than 12 foot, bring out the saw once again and cut them off. Sweat! To say deodorant failed long ago does not have to be verbalized. Photo 9 - Load planks into Rambo. Will he or will he not make it back to New York at the end of the weekend or will he have collapsed in a rusty heap by the time he's asked to roll out on Sunday? Stay tuned...


How a cousin builds a table...
First, it helps to be a fine woodworker with a friend who thinks of you when they take down a big black walnut tree in their yards. (It also helps to have some big boy toys such as a tow truck, dump truck, heavy duty trailer and backhoe...) Call in Andrew with his sawmill. Have Robbie drop by just as you're loading the log and have your cousin stick around. Photo 1 - log goes on sawmill. Photo 2 - Andrew, John, Robbie, John and "The Log"... Photo 3 - Log is too big for mill so parts of it have to be trimmed off. Did I mention SWEAT?! Photo 4 - End up with nice black walnut planks that will dry in workshop for a couple of years. We'll have a bit of wait to see that table but, trust me, it will be worth it!

Of hot dogs & rocks...

This trip it's Rambo's turn for a little outing. We're off to points south for a little wood cutting and John's family reunion. Multiple choice... Is Rambo along for the ride because - a) he has air conditioning as opposed to Tillie; b) we're planning to camp on the shores of Maryland; c) he's the most fuel efficient vehicle we own; or d) he's the only vehicle we own that could possibly cart 12 foot lengths of wood. The answer is d. (Oh, how I wish a. was also correct! As for b? - you'd have to be INSANE! as in HOT, SANDY, CROWDED! And one doesn't even want to think about c - heart be still as John fills the gas tank...).

On hot and humid days no trip through the Delaware Water Gap would be the same without a pit stop at Hot Dog Johnny's (born the same year John was which makes it old?...) Where else can you still buy a mug of buttermilk (I knew you wouldn't believe me so just look at the photo) or, in our case, a birch beer (they will also add ice cream to the birch beer if you want - we wanted). If you look on the far left of the second photo you'll see John behind Rambo with a giant hot dog on top. (That shot was purely unintentional - will have to work on it for next time.)

ONE of Cousin John's projects this summer (he can never have just one) was to remove the concrete retaining wall next to their basement door (some folks work out frustrations by pulling weeds, others use jackhammers - think I'll stick with weeds...). At any rate, in its place he built this absolutely beautiful retaining wall with rock from their property. I am sooooooo envious of that beautiful rock! Wonder how Rambo would do as a rock hauler?

Putt putting along...

It seems a trip this summer would not be complete without stopping to see how the croquet court is doing. Obviously, if Fred ever needs a reference as greens keeper he'll have no problem getting one from this blogger! Did you ever see a court so thick and lush? If I were a kid again, or perhaps a dog in a different life, I can just imagine taking a roll on that grass.

According to Fred, Terry has been trying different mowing techniques. The first time out was a diagonal mow. This last time it was just a straightforward up and back mow. Word has it the diagonal left a better result.

The next time I post, you should see a real croquet game on that court! I'm already practicing in my mind...

On to Quebec!

There's only one little problem about going from PEI to Quebec... there's not much exciting in between. Plaster Rock was about it in terms of New Brunswick highlights unless you want to starting beware of moose signs. (I took the photo from the gas station across the street and somehow didn't feel the need to go closer...)

Then on to Quebec City trying to remember our almost non-existent and very rusty French. However, it is Quebec City's 400th anniversary so how could we pass it by? Opting NOT to stay at the Fairmont Le Chateau Frontenac, we "chose" instead to camp in Tillie at a campground almost on top of the major highway. How were we to know the day we chose to visit was also the day Paul McCartney would be giving a free concert and everything - hotel, rooms, campsites had been booked months in advance? Over 200,000 attended in the city. And while we did take the ferry (sans Tillie) over to the city and spend the day sightseeing (we also enjoyed a beer in the bar of the hotel), we didn't stay for the concert. Instead, we took the ferry back to Tillie in Levee and watched it on the big outdoor screen there along with several thousand others. Tillie was by no means the only VW bus to come the show... Remembrances of days gone by.

Snapped this photo of the "security crew" with their bag of tricks trying to get someone's (probably someone with reservations...) car unlocked at the hotel. Service is everything! Or were they just trying to clear the way for the Paul McCartney motorcade that went by a few minutes later?

Quebec City is built on a "hill" and so is the city of Levee across the river. After walking/climbing around the Quebec City all day the last thing we wanted to do when we returned to Levee was walk. However, the tourist agent (a.k.a. torture agent) suggested it would be better to walk to a restaurant for dinner rather than drive. That meant "up" as everything is "up" from the river. Tillie was happy to avoid the climb but our legs weren't... This photo is looking "down". Needless to say it was taken AFTER dinner and AFTER our breathing returned to more normal proportions.

Now it's back to the states, that is if John can get his legs to move enough to shift Tillie's gears. Quebec hills leave you with something to remember them by.

Wrapping it up...

Friday, July 18

Paint, paint, paint - never enough time to complete a project. However, today was our last day and we were busy to the end. Photo 1 is one of our team leaders, Jan, and our local on-site supervisor, Steve. (I should have turned off the flash - that red is amazing! No dull, winter days in this house!)

Photo 2 - Since our group wouldn't be around for the house dedication, we dedicated the new shed and turned over the keys to the new homeowner family.

Photo 3 - The stool that John made (with so many volunteers there was a shortage of ladders so John cobbed together a stool from the scrap). Lisa & Briann felt "inspired" when on paint cleanup detail.

Photo 4 - The laminated floor was a final day project. You can tell John & Jim were putting a lot of thought into the project. Actually they were cutters extraordinaire answering that age old question - how many guys does it take to cut a piece of wood?

Photo 5 - No we didn't get red paint on our shirts. Those are the nice new ones the folks on PEI gave us as a thank you. We had a GREAT time, gained a little weight, made new friends, saw a new part of the world and are looking forward to the next time we can do this again.

Adding a bit of color...

The Gillis’, whose house we’re working on, have moved 11 times and each time into an apartment painted white. They also live on PEI where winter’s days are very short, cold, snowy & downright dreary at times. To say “the colors Natasha has chosen are BRIGHT” is perhaps the biggest understatement I’ve made in months. Today the “PP team” finished the little girl’s bedroom – 2 opposite walls & the ceiling purple & the other two walls bright pink.

The bathroom is bright school bus yellow (many comments were made during the day about using the left over paint to touch up Tillie). The boys’ bedroom is bright blue. Keith, one of the terrific local volunteers, gave the gals a hand with this room. The rest of the men were busy putting in trim and doors (their opinions of the color selections were perhaps why they opted out of painting today even though they all pitched in yesterday to help with the white primer…)

The kitchen is orange as is one wall of the living room. The other walls in the living room, the hallway, and the master bedroom are all going to be red. The red wall in the photo has one coat of paint. It will get a second coat to brighten it up a bit more. Anyone on PEI this winter who is feeling a need for color will only have to visit the Gillis’.

Keep meaning to show you my favorite sign in our campground. By the way, I’ve observed it’s the men who do the laundry (and perhaps the spelling….)

The women of PEI...

Lest you think we haven’t been working on the house, an update… Our crew finished the dry wall last week and the professional plasterers have been in mudding the walls, putting the final coat on Tuesday morning. We did take Monday afternoon off because it rained and we couldn’t do anything inside the house until the plastering was completed. A sunny Tuesday saw us back at work priming and painting the doors and all the woodwork before it is installed. Many hands make fast work. Lack of running water makes for messy hands – hence no photos to share.

Instead I’ll share a couple of photos/tidbits about some of the women on PEI. On the northwestern coast is the little village of Miminegash. Folks earn a living by farming, fishing and harvesting Irish moss from the sea with big work horses. The video we saw of the harvest makes you appreciate what hard, cold, wet & dangerous work it is. By the way, Irish moss is used to make carrageenan, a natural gel used as a thickener in everything from ice cream to toothpaste. Until recently they provided about a third of the worldwide demand. Then another plant was discovered in the Pacific that did the same thing and was easily farmed. Suddenly, this income stream is rapidly disappearing. To help, the women of the community formed a cooperative and opened The Seaweed Pie (sort of a sponge cake with a gelatin topping) Café and added a room telling Irish Moss. Now they’re also looking at developing their own products using the Irish Moss – their lotion is GREAT! And so is their food! Unfortunately, this year has added another obstacle – increased gas prices and lack of much else in that part of PEI other than a pretty coastal drive has meant a marked decrease in tourist business. We did our bit.

PEI raises some of the best oysters in the world (10 million) and while it’s not an “r” month, you can still buy them locally. The best we’ve had so far were in Stanley Bridge at a restaurant owned by one of the oyster “farmers”. And just up the road from there is the Sterling Women’s Institute Community Hall that hosts ceilidhs (pronounced k-lee – my theory is if you’re the first person to spell a word, then the spelling is right; otherwise how could you possibly get that pronunciation from that spelling?!). Anyway, ceilidhs are local music nights and the women at this institute host 5 a week during the summer. The Ross Family performed the night we went - terrific bluegrass. Now for the women… There are 100 chapters of the Sterling Women’s Institute across the island (the institute was founded in Ontario over 100 years ago). Thirty-five years ago the government asked them to “clean up” the island. As the women said, if you want something done right, they’re the people to ask. They’ve done a GREAT job too! We have yet to pass any place where there’s junk in the yard – everyplace is well cared for and tended. Way to go PEI women!!!

Move over Kansas!

Tillie has experienced the wind on the Great Plains. My current theory is the wind from there is only building up speed before it moves east to PEI. There's a reason why Canada and VESTA (they make the really big wind generators) both use PEI as a wind energy development and testing site. The generator in the photo is the largest in North America and is located on the north coast. We suspect there are many more “down” days for the generators because of too much wind rather than too little.

At our beautiful campground, the kite surfers

are out every day (what keeps them from becoming completely airborne is beyond me). Of course the fact that our net tent has yet to become airborne is another miracle. It wouldn’t surprise me at all to someday look out to sea and spot Tillie skipping across the water using the tent as her kite behind the other adventuresome folks.

For women readers, beauticians here are called hairstylists although any “style” other than windblown would immediately leave your head the minute you stepped out the door. Personally, I’ve been developing the wild hair look controlled only by my hard hat. It has also occurred to me that Anne did not wear her hair in braids because of her age – it was the wind!

The weekend off...

With the weekend off we decided to head to Charlottetown. After all, how could we be this close and not visit the site where the country of Canada was born in 1864? If I got the story right, the Maritime Provinces had decided to meet and discuss joining together. When representatives of the other provinces (they just happened to be meeting in Ottawa) heard of the meeting on PEI they decided to invite themselves. After a lot of political discussions around the table in the photo and a MUCH greater amount of partying, they verbally agreed to unite. The written details would take place in Ottawa a couple of months later. PEI’s legislative body still meets in a room this size in this same building, two months in the spring and the same in the fall. (Perhaps we should send some of our representatives up here to take lessons…)

Charlottetown is also home to Canada’s longest running musical, “Anne of Green Gables” (44 years). As the guide book says… it’s a must see; “you’ll enjoy it, and your friends will never have to know” (or will they?)

Ah! The food!

Thursday & Friday, July 10 & 11

The folks on PEI are feeding us VERY well. Our leaders told us at the beginning this was going to be a 10 pound build (you can expect to gain 10 pounds), but it looks like it may be a 15 pound build. Yesterday it was homemade scones fresh out of the oven. Today it was homemade muffins, still warm. And that’s only for morning break. John has been in his glory because they’ve grilled hot dogs the last two days for lunch (he will NOT get those at home) and lots of veggies for non hot dog eaters such as myself. Then, of course, there are the homemade cookies… And then comes afternoon break… It’s really a wonder we’re able to get any work done at all but it does insure we come back every day. The group shot is of our group (we’re most of the ones in the hard hats – guess we’re becoming so attached to our hard hats we don’t even want to take them off for lunch!) plus some of the local volunteers.

Even with all that food, we still manage to be hungry for dinner. The locals recommended Victoria by the Sea as a nice place to walk around and have supper (here dinner is the noon meal). It was charming (the roses live there). The haddock was some of the best we'd ever had. Last night the entire group went to one of the lobster suppers put on by the Legion - the lobster (whole) was served cold and delicious. Amazing we still had room for the fresh strawberry shortcake.

Back on the home front… the dry wall has all been hung thanks in large part to Pierre, the man on the ladder. He’s a professional and has been ABSOLUTELY GREAT to work with! I can’t believe John & I have hung so much dry wall and didn’t know so many of the tricks he showed us. No way do we want to do our house over again but, if we do dry walling on another Habitat build, we will certainly be able to do a better job.

Let's hear it for the women!

,Tuesday & Wednesday, July 8 & 9

Lots of volunteers doing things like insulation & drywall, not to mention the electricians & a plumber = crowded. Then there was the black goop used to seal the plastic to make this a very energy efficient house. The black goop had the amazing ability to multiply, to jump out at you no matter what you touched so we all ended up with black here and there. (Our leader had to send back to the camp for clean shorts and we had to make a trip back to the work site when we discovered John had some all over his arm). While this may have lead to many "internal" comments (this is a clean Habitat site after all) it did not lead to photos of the inside of the house.

So today’s photos are of the young women we have in our group building a storage shed behind
the house. Notice in the first photo the two story house in the background to the right. That was the first Habitat house built in Summerville and it was built entirely by women. Since 1999 Habitat
volunteers (men and women) have built 23 houses on the island. They have so many local volunteers that they have volunteers working in the evening as well as during the day. Per capita PEI comes in as the third most active in all Habitat projects in Canada.

Having gone to the theater last night to see the musical “Anne & Gilbert” (one cannot get far from the Anne of Green Gables theme) we forgot to get milk for breakfast (a good excuse to go out). We opted for a more traditional breakfast although we could have gotten French fries; or French fries with gravy; or French fries with ground beef and peas; or French fries with ground beef, chicken, peas and something else that I’ve forgotten. Potatoes are BIG here on the island. While we ate, Tillie felt much at home in the parking lot near her “cousin”.

Tillie by the sea...

Sunday, Monday, July 6-7, 2008

Linkletter Provincial Park is another of PEI’s beautiful parks and where we’ll be staying for the next two weeks. (We have yet to ascertain whether or not it is any relation to Art). If you squint really hard at the photo, to the right of Tillie in the distance is the new bridge that brought us to the island. The bridge is both a blessing (it’s easy now to get on & off the island instead of waiting hours for the ferry) and a curse (many more people are now coming to the island and things are quickly getting more commercial).

But the real reason we’re here is to help finish a house for the Gillis family of five. If our group does its job, the house should be finished in two weeks and the family moving in the beginning of August.

You may not suspect it, but fashion, even at a Habitat build site, is important. There was absolutely no question that Heather put the rest of us to shame. All of us ladies were VERY envious of her purple leather nail pouch not to mention her pink handled pliers and a pink razor blade knife. They were accented by her yellow gloves and tape measure. The orange hard hat each of us were issued by the site (Canada requires we all wear hard hats) completed her outfit perfectly. My first thought was Canadians must have it all over us Americans in terms of fashion (Heather’s from Ottawa) but it turns out all her accessories with the exception of the hard hat were purchased in Tennessee. Who would have thought?! (John has already grown quite fond of his orange hard hat but as of yet I don’t think he’s shopping for a purple nail pouch.)

The last photo shows the house we’re working on. The CBS was at the site today filming. This is the first time PEI has hosted a Care-A-Vanner build so they’re quite excited. Supposedly the film clip will be at the web site … www.cbc.ca/pei for 48 hours so take a look if you get a chance. (I took a quick look but couldn't find it. The clip aired both Monday night and Tuesday a.m.)

PS - I've had difficulty finding a wireless connection. This broadcast is being brought to you via the Linkletter Potato Warehouse - it even smells like potatoes in storage and is nice and cool.

North Cape Coastal Drive

Saturday, July 5, 2008

John's choice stop of the day, being an Idaho boy, was PEI’s potato museum in O’Leary. PEI gives Idaho a big run for its money in terms of potato production – red iron oxide soil vs. volcanic soil, am not sure who wins. The museum was very interesting but after about half an hour even John’s “potato fun meter” ran out. (And, yes, that is a giant potato in the photo. Fortunately, they had none for sale!)




My choice stop of the day was the beautiful Bottle Houses on the North Cape Shore. What we learned - it’s VERY important to have a good foundation. Mr. Arsenault built them on railroad ties and they only lasted about 10 years because of the frost heaves in this cold part of the world (sounds a bit like the chimney for our sugar shack). They’ve now been rebuilt on firmer footings surrounded by beautiful gardens. Inspiration for when we get home… (Yes, that is a giant flower sculpture in the photo. Unfortunately, they had none for sale.)

Points East Coastal Area

Friday, July 4, 2008

First, we owe our apologies to Tillie and her performance in the wind. It turned out that it was a very WINDY day everywhere. Normally the ride in the big ferry to PEI is relatively smooth but that day… let’s just say rumor has it they ran out of sea sick bags early in the voyage.

PEI really is the land of gentle rolling hills/farmland that goes down to the sea. Very beautiful and very unpopulated by US waterfront standards. The provincial parks where we’re camping are right on the ocean with red sand (due to iron oxide) beaches/shore land. They are beautiful parks lacking only internet service so these postings will be sporadic. PEI has its own style of lighthouse – the one in the photo happens to be the first one that received a distress signal from the Titanic so you know how far east we are.

We spent the first couple of days exploring the south and east end of island as that’s furthest from where we’ll be working. The slogan PEI uses is “the gentle island”. In fact, some villages marked on the map are so “gentle” that we drove right through them without knowing we’d been there (or perhaps PEI is just marking “villages to be”…). Cardigan proves no crossroads is too small to support a library. Actually Cardigan is a bit bigger than most and even had an internet café.

Farming on PEI doesn’t stop at the sea. Mussel farming is particularly big business. Those black dots on the water hold strings of mussels making themselves plump enough to make it to our tables. Seemed like a good business to be in until you realized they harvest them all year (that includes winter) long. The video clip we watched showed men (women don’t want to be liberated that badly) with snow suits & icicles frozen to their beards using chain saws to cut through the ice. One of them dons a wet suit (guess who drew the short straw last night?) and hops in the hole to locate the ropes of mussels to be harvested. If any of you are interested in winter employment, I’m sure there are always openings…

Thursday - Maine to Prince Edward Island...

Thursday, July 3, 2008

All day we were periodically reminded by yellow warning signs we were in moose country. Fortunately we did NOT see any unless you count the large 4 legged black BBQ I spotted at twilight at our campground for the night. Obviously, while my memory may sometimes fail, my imagination is still as sharp as ever.

Most folks going to Prince Edward Island (PEI) from the states take the coastal route. (Now we now know the main reason is NOT that it is shorter...) We opted to head north and take Route 6, crossing at Vanceboro. If you're into backwoods and desolation, this stretch of Maine is for you. Once we crossed into Canada, the land appeared a bit more hospitable. The town of McAdam was, and still is, a railroad hub with the lovely train station you see in the photo.

Once we got to Fredericton, the capital of New Brunswick (we know the capital building must be there somewhere but we missed it), we took the scenic road along the Saint John River – gives the Hudson a run for its money in terms of size. Then it was on the main Canadian highway from Jemseg to Moncton. Trust us – you do NOT want to break down on this road; you want to make sure your gas take is FULL of gas before venturing forth; you do NOT want to travel it in the winter or probably at night since there were lots of moose signs; you do NOT to want navigate it in Tillie on a windy day. We managed the first items but not the last. WINDY, WINDY, WINDY... poor Tillie was practically blown off the road. Not fun but it certainly kept John awake at the wheel.

After passing our last moose signs of the day (these flashing no less) just before the PEI bridge, we arrived on the island. Since crossing over we’ve seen no moose signs, our campground had no 4 legged BBQs, and the wind was blowing just enough to keep the mosquito's at bay.

Wed. - NH to Maine...

Wednesday, July 2, 2008

Heading toward Prince Edward Island, sort of that is as there's really no Tillie worthy direct route. Saying our goodbyes to Ginny, Steve, Ben & RB who sent us on our way well fed, we headed north to Route 2. Normally we might have taken diagonal back roads instead of I93 but that would mean going by Lake Winnipesaukee. The last time we’d been there Tillie “decided” to blow her engine and spent the summer there being pampered. We were afraid she’d get “ideas” again so made a wide berth.

We can now verify that “Old Man of the Mountain” is no longer there although one is encouraged to stop and look at where it was… We thought the excitement might be too much so headed on to Maine for lunch in Bethel. It’s a lovely little village and a good place to stop (and we can now tell a friend who grew up there that we’ve finally been there).

Our favorite stop of the day, however, was in Skowhegan, ME (see photo). American ingenuity! Where else can you go in the north, strip off, and get tan while your clothes are getting cleaned? Just think of this the next time you hear Skowhegan has again been blanketed with snow.

And then there was the “Family Consignment” shop in Howland, ME. I dreamed all night of families shopping for new relatives. Perhaps you'd like another kid or two or a slightly used mother-in-law? Howland is the place to go….

On the road in Tillie & heading to PEI

We're off again! In Tillie once again you'll be pleased to know. This time it's to Prince Edward Island in Canada to work on a Habitat Build (a real hardship post I'm sure).

As we're staying the first night with our friends in New Hampshire, we and Tillie have been this route before. I thought at first I'd write about Troy, the home of Uncle Same, since it's so close to the 4th, but then we came to Bennington, Vermont. They have all these wonderful "people" sculptures on the street doing ordinary things. The sculpture in this photo is the window washer, not the biker. My favorite sculpture is a man dropping trash in a trash can but it was on the other side of the road and impossible to get a photo of as we zipped along. You will just have to visit Bennington and see for yourselves.

Then is was on to the Molly Stark Trail/highway to travel through Vermont. Since we'd just had our VISTA reunion where we collectively could not remember the year we had had the reunion in North Carolina, I did not feel shy about asking John to refresh my memory as to who exactly, Molly Stark was. His reply... "that person who did something in the war". Now we're all enlightened.

A VISTA Reunion

40 years ago our government recruited young folks, mostly from college campuses among graduates not sure what they wanted to do in life, to address the problem of poverty in this country. It was also the time of the Vietnam War, so the fact that many draft boards gave a deferment for VISTA also helped with recruitment. Our friend, Karol, now refers to our efforts as "Johnson's failed war on poverty". The group John & I worked with was assigned to rural North Carolina.

Some things have not changed since then. Unfortunately, poverty still exists. However, those we worked with have remained life long friends. And we all still like to eat. This past weekend we hosted, along with our fellow VISTA, Judi & her husband Scott, our 40th reunion. (Let me tell you it did NOT seem like 40 years to any of us, probably since we all seem to have forgotten a lot that's gone on in those 40 years!)

In the photo, John & Karen & breakfast at the "pig pit". There's something about a little smoke and fresh air that makes breakfast taste just that much better.

Then came the pig - North Carolina was, and still is, BIG on "chopped hog" BBQ. There were not enough of us to warrant a "full hog" but after all was said and done we found the pork shoulders just as good, all be it the "production" element was not as dramatic.

And then the "group portrait" (my apologies to Ken who hadn't arrived yet when the photo was taken). Howie took the award for having come the farthest (Oregon) in the US; Zelda (London) for our transcontinental traveler; and Steve (Boise) for the longest time to get here (airline delays seem to be with us). When Steve's GPS unit on his rental car directed him up our seasonal road through the corn field at 2:30 a.m. he REALLY began to get nervous - as John told him when he called in a panic, "just think Steven King and keep driving". A good time was had by all!!!!

Sailing again...

See that little white spec out there in the middle of the river? That's the St. Lawrence River by the way and that's John & Terry on the first sail of the season. While it is really beautiful looking out that direction, they said it was even more beautiful looking toward the camera. A rain storm had just gone over and there was a perfect rainbow over the island.

I suppose I really should share that all was not totally calm on the boat. The boat had not been in the water since last year and wooden boats do need a few "adjustment" hours in the water to allow them to swell before they become water tight. Let's just say John & Terry's pumpin' arms got a fairly good workout on this little excursion. However, they made it safely back to shore and Fred did not have to be called away from his watering chores to man the rescue boat.

Steam bending...

Sunday was Canal Fest Day at Chittenango Landing Canal Boat Museum. John volunteers there helping build an 1800's canal boat. The boat is being built in sections, never to be joined so visitors can how they were constructed. Bus loads of school kids come every year to learn about the canal and the boats.

This Sunday John helped with demonstrations on steam bending wood. Thursday they asked him if he could also appear somewhat in costume. The weekend saw me putting the finishing touches on a somewhat authentic (thanks to the internet) canal builder's shirt. John tells me the demonstrations (and the shirt) were a success and that many good looking women asked to have their pictures taken with him. (I confess, after the first bend of the wood, I decided reading a good book back at the car was my idea of a pleasant way to pass a Sunday afternoon.)

Several blades closer to roque croquet...

As you will recall (especially if you look at the last post) the refurbished roque croquet court was left barren but seeded three weeks ago with only God & Fred to watch over it. All that green stuff you now see out there is due to marvelous Fred who has spent literally hours keeping the seed moist, removing fallen branches, re staking stakes, contemplating spring, summer, the lack of rain and generally developing his watering technique. Without Fred's dedication it is VERY doubtful if the park's court would be playable for the coming championship season. Don't be surprised to see names such as Tiger & Rocco appearing on this season's line-up.

However, the hot dry past couple of weeks did leave a few patchy spots on the court so another layer of seed has been added. Two mule team Terry & John provided the power to roll the court both to level it a bit more and to press down that new seed. No, your eyes aren't foolin' you, those are snow shoes. One thing croquet does is bring out man's ingenuity. When the earth was still soft a couple of weeks ago and the court appeared in need of more seed, Terry strapped on the snow shoes and sallied forth. (Apparently the idea was not a success as the snow shoes were quickly abandoned - whether from spectator laughter or because they were not needed has still to be determined by this reporter.)

And now the lawn sprinkler has been discovered (what will they invent next?!) and Fred's hand has been saved. The spray is wide enough to reach both sides so Fred only has to move it once. How many times will he have to remove the dog?

Croquet anyone?

Memorial weekend, 2008, Thousand Island Park...

It's true. Most folks go looking for at least a parade to commemorate the weekend. We on the other hand are always just a little different. We load up our rototiller and head north in search of a 100 year old roque croquet court in need of some tender loving care. Let's face it. Have you ever seen one? There just aren't many left. Our friend Terry, John & I decided it was time to either "put out" and restore the court in the Thousand Island Park or quit talking about it. (Believe me, it was awfully tempting after the first hour of working on it to change our minds and choose the second option...)

I took a LOT of photos (a good excuse to take a LOT of breaks) so you'd see what was involved. In the set to the right...
1) John breaks ground (notice the small pile of dirt at the far end)
2) John breaks more ground
3) The pile of dirt that will eventually go over the court looks bigger when you're closer...
4) Terry breaks ground
5) John & Bill celebrate finishing the hand edging of the court (notice the muscles on Bill and his youth - this will prove to be VERY important the next day!)
6) John continues to break ground
7) Terry breaks up more ground (did I not mention how wet the ground was when we started so the sod was very clumpy?)
8) Terry continues to break ground
9) 6 hours from the time we started, John takes one more pass before calling it a day.

Day 2 of our project the sun is still shining and the ground has dried out just enough to allow us to continue. After waiting for church to be over (Thousand Island Park is an old Methodist Church camp after all) and taking time for an energy building lunch, it's back to the court.
1) The big dig starts. The dirt from the pile (it now looks GIGANTIC) has to be distributed across the court.
2) With their wheelbarrows full are Terry, Bill & John (you might note that because of his youth, Bill was allowed to use the largest wheelbarrow...)
3) Break time (let's see... there was only two-thirds yet to go)
4) And lest you think I did nothing but take photos, that's me on the left. I had the task of spreading and leveling the dirt the guys dumped (and I kept up with them!)
5) We had one small pile too much (those are my feet - I just couldn't deal with standing any longer!)
6) The extra gets shoveled into the truck, taken away & we called it a day. (By the way, that's Fred on the left. In the next two weeks he's going to play a MAJOR role... read on.)
7) Day 3 - John drug the court to level it (I forgot to take a photo) but this is the finished product.
8) I'm spreading the grass seed & Terry is raking it in and doing an excellent job.
9) American Gothic and the Idaho Waterer.

Day 4 - One final check of the court. Looks pretty good doesn't it? Two weeks from now if Fred & Ruby remember to water it every day it should be nice and green. Two months from now we expect to see croquet and even roque croquet being played in the park again.

PS - Roque croquet is similar to croquet except you can also play off the sides of the court like you would in billards. (Oh dear! That probably means it requires more skill than our backyard game of croquet!) It was popular in the early 1900's and we hope it will soon be popular again, at least in the Thousand Island Park. If you see Fred & Ruby, remind them to keep watering....

Goodbye blue belt...

Today Sarah went on her walk without her blue belt (used to hang onto her in case she felt weak). She set a new record for herself in distance walking - 345 feet! I'm sure those of you who were even out here as little as a month ago will find that fairly amazing. Just another testament to the strong will and determination Sarah has always had.

Featured in today's photo op are Sarah, stage center; yours truly on the left behind the mask but, trust me, I'm smiling; and Uncle John, stage right trying out for the part of Doctor John (what is that white thing coming out of the middle of his head?!)

We leave tomorrow for NY but know when we see Sarah next (which hopefully will be sooner rather than later), she'll be skipping down the aisle, happy to be free of the hospital at last!

And she's off....

Sarah continues to improve... YES!!! While just two weeks ago, things seemed pretty low, now things are definitely going in the other direction. First the Occupational Therapist came to help Sarah start practicing deep (okay they weren't deep yet but they will be) knee bends (it seems some "old" forms of torture never go away!). Then they moved on to balance with Sarah holding on to the OT's shoulders. It looked as though they were teaching Sarah to dance again starting with the good old-fashioned box step. It was Sarah's "first date" so admittedly she was a bit shaky (sorry, the angle wasn't good for a photo opt).

A bit later the nurse came to take Sarah for her daily walk. For this outing, Sarah, too, has to suit up in one of those lovely yellow gowns (buy stock everyone - John & I alone have used half a case already). Sarah, however, got to accessorize her gown with that lovely blue belt (actually the nurse holds onto the belt just in case Sarah begins to feel unstable). Last week it took 3 nurses, one on each side and one behind with a chair to walk Sarah down the hall. Today she did a lap in each direction with only the nurse holding onto her belt for security purposes.

And, please, if you will, take special note of Sarah's GREAT smile. Sarah was born with a double dose of liking folks and they her. I am very happy to report this must have been the first thing she recovered as everyone around her obviously likes her. Her wit, too, is back in full force. Sarah has challenged us to a game of Scrabble - somehow I think we don't stand any more of a chance of winning than we ever did...

Great news in Boulder!

To those of you who don't know the whole story, this photo may not look too extraordinary. However, when you know that our wonderful niece Sarah, stage center, was as close to death as you can get in February and was just released to a regular hospital room after 9 weeks in ICU, you realize what an incredible thing it is that she's smiling and standing and recuperating nicely. It's also incredible that John has now doubled the amount of the time he has ever willingly spent visiting someone in a hospital and the week has just begun. By the way, the other guy modeling the latest in yellow gowns is Sarah's husband, Kenny, from North Dakota don't ya know. I was behind the camera, robed, gloved but with the added feature of a face mask to protect everyone from my horrible cold. Have you ever tried blowing your nose with a face mask on? It isn't easy!!!

More of New Zealand...

The older blogs now have photos added just in case words weren't enough... As always, I've ended up with a few extra. If you're interested, read on...

1. Instead of Good Humor we saw "Mr. Whippy" and "Mr. Cool" (we found their ice cream to be a bit "airier" than what we're used to). 2. It seems to be norm rather than the exception for a town of any size to have bowling (lawn) and/or croquet clubs. 3. A dairy barn on the south island - one would assume the climate must be milder than upstate NY! 4. A backpacker lodge (it looked neat but just think of all that snoring, let alone being the unfortunate person who has to stash their stuff on the top bunk!) These accommodations are all over NZ - affordable & clean. 5. Perhaps more our style (it also had a neat little porch on the back). 6. We saw these camper vans from Wicked Rentals everywhere and each one was painted differently. Our favorite was one that read on the back - "Bring back Monica Lewinski". 7. Flowers, flowers everywhere. When was the last time you saw a heather that big?! 8. A poor little penguin hiding under a camper. 9. Sand flies! - "art" at the dock in Melbourne Sound.

1. The John's inspecting what NZ calls a fuse box. NZ is wired 220. 2. A pretty house. 3. The longest suspension bridge in NZ - no longer in service. 4. Proper croquet form (I think) We'll have to start working on this technique. 5. Pretty mushrooms. 6. In case there was any doubt why John chose NOT to take up sheep shearing as a profession. 7. More flowers... 8 & 9. We just happened upon NZ's wooden boat show one rainy day.

1. The Mussel Pot in Havelock, the green lipped mussel capital of the world (is there a competition?). John & I had mussels. The less adventuresome had fish. 2. That is a REAL car covered in old corrugated metal roofing to fix a rust problem - art depicting New Zealander's ingenuity. 3. Sheep are everywhere although there are now just over 30 million (that probably varies somewhat this time of year with leg of lamb on many Easter dinner tables...) 4. If you invested in fencing in NZ you are now a VERY wealthy person. They say there's enough fencing there to circle the world 20 times. 5. Eggs (when not purchased at the farmer's market) are found in the market on standard shelving - not in the cooler section. You can get "barn eggs" or "free range eggs" and one assumes both are very fresh. 6. New Zealander's love their coffee and it is good, strong, expensive and everywhere makes it to order by the cup with espresso machines. Note the NZ "fern" on the froth in this "flat white" cup of coffee. 7. A pizza delivery truck. 8. A pukeko bird - the babies hatch with what look like full grown feet. 9. "Hound logs" - every grocery store and butcher shop have loads of pet logs for sale for your favorite pet.

1. There are plenty of public toilets everywhere in all shapes and sizes. And they're all clean, no graffiti. This one even had a small sink with running water so appearances aren't everything. 2. Fish & chips is the "fast food" of choice. It's cooked to order and they tell you what type of fresh fish they're using that day. 3. Burt Monroe that the movie "The World's Fastest Indian" was based on was from Invercargil. These are some of his bikes at one of the world's best hardware stores. 4. The motels all offer washer & dryers but encourage everyone to hang out their laundry. This is some of our laundry. 5. The train station in Dunedin. 6. One of the neat old cars we saw touring around. 7. Penguin crossing sign. 8. Train crossing sign. 9. Check your brakes sign (they should have also added the need to rope up!)

And just a few assorted things without photos...

- Doorknobs are generally at the 4 foot level - I can't tell you why...

- Most roofs are metal, a few tile...

- All lights are compact florescent

- All electrical outlets have on/off switches. It sometimes took a while to figure out the reason the stove wouldn't work was because the switch to it was turned off. New Zealander's are VERY consciencious about energy saving.

- Most homes are modest

- They are big on shared parks and hiking trails and they are all beautiful

- Homes have large windows, no screens

- Small cars (when is America going to catch on?)

- The people are extremely friendly

- No one speeds. The national speed limit is 100 km. and everyone obeys it. John saw an article in the paper about someone clocked at going 167 km. They expect to catch them & the fine will be $10,000. They are serious about the subject.

- Sheep is their biggest agricultural product. Dairy cows are next and then deer.

- No billboards except perhaps near Auckland. There will occasionally be a sign reminding folks to drive safely. "Drink, drive, die in a ditch" and "This road takes loved ones" are examples.

- Manure is referred to as "poo". For example I saw a sign at a farm for "Pony Poo, $1 a bag" and the stores sell "Sheep Poo" for your garden.

- Picnic coolers are referred to as "chilly bags"

New Zealand is a WONDERFUL place to visit! When you go, plan to stay a while to make the trip worthwhile.

Home all too soon...

After a relatively non-eventful flight from NZ (if you can call being shaken awake by turbulence whenever you started to doze uneventful) we landed in LA 8 hours "younger". Strange, but true, we left NZ at 7:35 p.m. on Tuesday and arrived in LA at 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday. Yesterday we flew on to NJ and today drove on to NY to find that dreaded word SNOW! After enjoying warm weather for the last month, it was rather a shock to the system, 8 hours younger or not!

Just to entice you to check out past blogs early next week, I'm posting a couple of photos now...

South Island....

and not to be outdone, the North Island...


Fishing...

A kiwi orchard...

And a little competition for Tillie, the VW...

We're off... almost

It's hard to believe our time in NZ has gone by so quickly. We spent our last couple of days touring north of Auckland going from the east coast to the west coast and back again. Everytime we think we've seen all types of scenery we find something new... this time the giantic sand dunes north of the Bay of Islands on the east coast. Absolutely incredible! Then we drove on to the last forest of virgin kauri trees - enormous, amazing! They're only 1500 years old or so and still growing. John is hugging one of the babies. Then it was back to the west coast again...

This morning we packed up, then spent a few hours at the Auckland Botanical Gardens- a great place to while away a few hours (much better than the next 12 hours we expect to spend on the plane!). The only good thing about the trip back is that we're leaving at 7 at night, today which is Tuesday in NZ, and arriving before noon on the same Tuesday in LA. I'm sure we'll feel younger for the experience!

Next blog will be stateside...

Northland...

So was the fishing successful? Yes, in that the John's can now say they went fishing in New Zealand and saw fish. And even though they didn't catch anything (the minimum size to keep was over 2 feet) they had a good time trying and supported the local economy.

Moving on to kiwi country we took a fascinating tour of a kiwi orchard. Unfortunately, we're just before harvest season (or perhaps I such say fortunately for they might have commandeered us into helping with the harvest - 20,000 laborers are needed for the 10 week harvest season that starts in April). All along we thought the kiwis we'd been buying in the markets were from NZ when, in fact, we've been eating Italian kiwis. Take a closer look at the photo to the left. The tall shrubs are windbreaks that you see planted all over NZ - it must be a VERY windy country! We never did see the machine that keeps them trimmed. To the right is the kiwi orchard. The crates through the opening are only a tiny tiny part of the crates that will be used for harvest. And the round thing to the left is the "kiwi cart" that you ride in for the tour (Tourism is BIG business in NZ!) The kiwi season lasts until the beginning of June and kiwis can be kept in cold storage for up to 8 months. NZ has the equivalent to a patent on golden kiwis so if you find those in the market you can rest assured they came from NZ.

We also visited Goat Island where NZ has one of its oldest marine reserves. Even from the rocky shore you can see scores of fish. If you have a wet suit and snorkel you can swim with the fish. It was beautiful and great fun.

A note to John & Judy's staff... we've found a new name for their collision repair business -- "Twinkle Tow Panelbeaters" (much more memorable than Red's Body Shop!)

Only two more days in NZ... the time has flown!

Casting practice...

Yesterday we drove the "Forgotten Highway" from Stratford to Turangi. Those folks who think the south island is the more beautiful of the two have probably not taken this route. The terrain is very different from other places in NZ with very steep but relatively short mountains ridged in circles with paths made by the sheep over years and years and years. (If you look close at those little white spots - those are sheep.) Lots and lots of sheep but very few people.
We stopped in Whangamomona - it declared itself an independent republic a few years ago - something about a feud between districts as to who got to claim them, so they just declared themselves independent. If you choose you can even buy a passport from them. Other than a cup of coffee and perhaps a meal at the hotel, there's really nothing else except scenery for a couple of hours in either direction. It's probably not more than 40 miles either way but the road is so narrow, windy, steep that it takes a looooong time to get any where. If you're looking for peace and quiet this is definitely a part of world you should consider!

Last night and tonight we're in Turangi, the "trout fishing capital of the world". We did have one the biggest rainbow trout I've ever seen for dinner last night. Over two feet long - I even had to cut off the head so it would fit on the grill. (Sorry to report that the John's did NOT catch him... it was a gift from our motel owner.) However, the men have been out plying the waters and have SEEN some fish thanks to the loan of some waders and proper outfitting by the shop across the road. Dry fly fishing is not really done here. Instead they use some sort of two fly system where one fly drops to the bottom and the other floats on top dragging the other along. They have 3 more hours left on this fishing license so we'll see what happens. WAIT! Is that Judy in the photo? Did she catch a fish?! I'll never tell...

The motels here are interesting - much different than we have in the states. We've been staying almost exclusively in what they call "2 bedroom units" that are like small apartments. Really very convenient for us. The shopping sections of towns are nice as well - what our downtowns were like 30 or more years ago before the US developed a love for malls. The buildings are interesting (a mix of styles) and the shops are locally owned although most things are expensive by our standards. Judy was just reading an ad this a.m. for a Kitchen Aid mixer - $899 NZ but that's still at least twice as much as we'd pay. Luckily we aren't in the market for such a mixer...

Underneath a volcano...

We have now arrived on the north island and spent yesterday in Wellington, the nation's capital. Took the train in from our motel as the stop was just behind our motel which made it very convenient (although a bit noisy at times in our room - okay it was a lot noisy at times in our rooms!) However, the motel was neat in that it was named for the "Bucket Tree" in the yard - one of New Zealand's protected, historic trees. This one, even though it looks like one tree, was at one time multiple cypress trees planted together. The result now is a gigantic tree and the "officials" keep the tree pruned so it looks like a giant inverted bucket. There were three cars, including ours, parked under it with room for more. A really magnificent tree.

Anyway, windy Wellington (very windy!) is charming. We spent most of the day in the Te Papa Museum, the country's national museum. Very unique both in terms of the building and the exhibits. They make an effort to display and educate on all things uniquely New Zealand. We were won over immediately by the sculpture display on the 6th floor which included a 1962 VW van (steering wheel on the right side of course) pulling a Westphalia camper. It wasn't Tillie's yellow but the nice green you see.

Today we've been traveling north to spend the night in Strafford underneath a volcano that hasn't erupted in 350 years which means it's long overdue to blow again. No one seems concerned so we aren't either. It does put us in easy driving distance of where the John's want to go fishing tomorrow. Judy & I have already decided we'd rather do laundry!

On to the north island...

For the first time since the first day we arrived we had rain which is good for NZ as many parts of the country are under a drought. The two John's once again came up with no fish so we relied once again on lamb for dinner. Judy & I went with them to take pictures but ended up never leaving the car and even then, we killed hundreds of sand flies that managed to enter with the doors were open. Sand flies are a bit like black flies and are AWFUL and bite!!! If you heard about two women going crazy in NZ in a car, that might have been us. We were semi-hysterical by the time the guys returned (they took the bug repellent with them...) Okay, I did find one photo of the guys (or should I say blokes) leaving the river they were fishing on after we left the lake. For some reason all the sand flies seem to have been at the lake and we weren't bothered by them here. (Of course the fish weren't bothered by the John's flies either...)

This morning we went to a wonderful farmer's market before coming to the ferry terminal. Fresh organic omelets, fresh fruit crepes, breakfast sandwiches with great bacon & veggies. And we loaded up on fresh fruits & veggies for the trip north. The produce down here has been
GREAT!!!

Still moving north...

You will be relieved to know we can now eat a kiwi properly... slice it in half around the middle (not stem to end), then scoop out pieces with a small spoon and eat it. Much, much easier and neater than peeling it.

We spent yesterday in Hanmer (spelled correctly I might add) Springs, home of thermal springs for the south island. It also has, as does everyplace in NZ, any number of walks & trails to take. Judy & I had our picture taken at the top of the hill on the edge of town just as proof that we actually made it to the top (a walk steeper and longer than we had envisioned!). Of course a good walk also gives you an excuse to "take the baths" and, if you're like Judy, enjoy one of their massages (it's a wonder we were able to peel her off the table once it was over, she was so relaxed!) We are all, of course, completely rejuvenated!). The town runs the baths and they do a very good job of it with several different soaking pools of different temperatures and different levels of minerals. We did most of them and John even joined the kids in the water slide portion (now we know where to send him every few years for a "redo").

Today we stopped at New Zealand's longest swinging foot bridge. I'm the one that's afraid of heights but this didn't bother me at all, I guess because the wire rope hand holds on either side were plenty study. John, however, was petrified and almost didn't do it. He's such a card that the rest of us had a hard time taking him seriously. (It took a couple of beers at the local hotel to set him right again!) I was even up for taking the chair swing back across the gorge (look to the right of the bridge in the photo to see someone just starting across) but $20 for a 15 second ride was too steep for my blood plus there was a 50/50 chance we might have to carry John back across....

Back on terra firma the John's are gearing up to do a bit more trout fishing. We'll see if we eat tonight or not...

Traveling north...

Good news for Karol... haggis does exist in Dunedin (although we chose NOT to imbibe!). And one brewery makes a type of beer named Brewski ( KK thought he had dibs on that name....) And there's always the statue of Robert Burns ("head" pigeon is optional...)

We had hoped to see Royal Albatross (BIG birds - they stand almost 4 feet high with wing spans up to 9 or 10 feet) but the winds weren't blowing well and apparently they need a LOT of wind to get airborne. However, we did see plenty of sea lions, enjoyed the beautiful coastal drive shared with an antique Jaguar group, all driving their cars with the hoods down. The road is probably narrower than it looks, hugging the shore for several miles without guardrails (not for the faint of heart...)

Yesterday we stopped for lunch at the Criterion Hotel, a very old pub in Oamuri and wandered around their wool district. Most of NZ's wool goes to China (doesn't everything?). The photo shows one of their wool warehouses and you can just make out the bales of wool through the doorway.

Last night we were in Timaru, a large port city. We were not all that impressed until we went for our evening walk and happened upon their croquet club (one of 3 clubs they have). Two of their members were having a round of croquet golf and invited us to watch. Looked like fun so perhaps we need to do a bit of leveling to our lawn back home so we can "give it a go".

Our friends Paul & Inez had highly recommended we take in the Pegasus Bay Winery for lunch so, closing our eyes to the prices today, we munched our way though the most enjoyable lunch we've had so far sitting at a table on their lawn on a beautiful day and enjoying a bottle of wine.

Springing along...

One cannot go to Queenstown without at least going to look at where bungy jumping started and watch a few of those crazy folks continuing the tradition. If fear of heights doesn't stop you then perhaps the tariff ($160 per jump) will. We watched 3 people (all women, all young whatever that means) jump. Another young woman jumped holding as tight as anyone could to her male tour leader. And another young woman chickened out (she did more than I would have done just by standing up on that bridge on the ledge). It was exciting to watch I must say.

On to beautiful Te Anau where we stayed on a lake for two nights so we could take a day cruise on the fiords at Milford Sound. If you take the word spectacular and notch it up ten fold it doesn't begin to describe the beauty of the sound. We were lucky as they were in a drought (their 8th day without rain - it rains about 190 days out of the year) and just had a pleasant cloudy day. Straight ahead in the photo is the small town of Milford Sound with it's own small airport. We were in awe of the pilots who were able to fly between the mountains and land their planes!

Driving out of their rugged, rain forest area we went the scenic route (not that everything in this country isn't scenic!) to flat Invercargil (where we had tried to get on a Habitat build but they already had enough volunteers by the time we called). This is the house the volunteers worked on - good job!

The tourist books don't give very high marks to the city but we found it delightful. It's filled with parks and their Queens Park in the heart of the city is fantastic complete with all sorts of gardens (the roses are spectacular right now), an honest to goodness croquet court, and even a small animal park for children. The kids were quite impressed with how much John could sound like a pig.

Leaving there we again took the scenic route along the coast through the Caitland area. For this trip, it's as far south as we will go (or have ever gone in our lives). Many of the settlers here (there still aren't many) were from Scotland. And you can see why since it looks very much like Scotland with great hills and pastures filled with sheep going down to the sea. They seemed to have forgotten how to make haggis (perhaps a good thing) since it doesn't appear on any menus.

We're now in Dunedin for the day before heading north along the eastern coast. Again we seem to very lucky in avoiding the rain!

Zigzaggin across New Zealand

Words cannot describe how beautiful and how diverse New Zealand is. Christchurch (like all the guidebooks say) is very English which they promote (don't look for us on the boat - we opted to "stroll").
After touring around Christchurch (John even took us to a bit of Sunday service in the cathedral where we learned not to "smack the kids"...) we headed to South Bay area to give the guys some driving experience on the hairpin curves on narrow roads on verrrrry steep grades. There are encouraging signs on all these roads - our favorite to date... "The Faster You Go, The Bigger Mess You Make". But the views have been spectacular (enjoyed more by the passengers than the drivers). Judy & I sit in the back seat so we can keep an eye on the "Keckerheads" -our new name for the John's because they both have the same Keck family head when viewed from the back (and they have matching hats of course).
Anyway we've gone from flat plains to dry, California type mountains that lead to the sea, west across Arthur's Pass that looks like something out of our west with pristine lakes and steep, sharp mountains, to the Tasman sea on the west coast and inland again to areas that looks like the dry country north of Boise with high mountains ending in lakes. The difference with all this is that everything is so close together. This morning we were at the foot of a glacier in what looked like the Alps (except for the giant ferns growing everywhere) and tonight we're in Wanaka which is hot and much more arid. In the photos, the bay above is on the east coast, then the mountains in the middle, and then the pancake rock formations on the west coast.

The other curiousity is the lack of people and traffic. Less than a million people live on the whole south island and 2/3 of the western part of the island is owned by the government. Therefore... almost no development, few houses or villages for that matter, no billboards, all the bridges are one lane (whoever gets there first goes first) but most times there's no one coming so it's no big deal. One bridge we went over was used not only for car traffic but for the train as well - one assumes the train has priority.
The food here is wonderful as everything is in season and we've been able to keep stocked with fresh fruit and veggies from local stands. The motels come equipped with kitchens so Judy & I have been cooking the dinners to save a few dollars as food is very expensive. For example the simple fish and chips lunch we had today was $13 NZ dollars = about $11 US & that's per person for only a single portion of fish and some fries. A beer is $6.50 or more out. So we're drinking in. (The photo is NOT fish & chips but one of the best salads I've ever eaten!)
Tomorrow we head toward Queenstown and Melford Sound.
PS - Fur from possums is used here to make sweaters, socks etc. (usually combine it with merino and/or silk). Possums are not the same as our opossums. These are hairy little beasts a bit bigger than a cat with soft fur.

We have arrived!!!

Spent the day in LA prior to leaving at the Getty... incredible buildings as well as the art it contains! (Sorry, Wynne - we didn't get to your exhibit in Culver City...) And, as you can see in the photo, John couldn't quite warm up to the idea of going au natural in the California sunshine!

Thought seeing all that art would wear us out so we would sleep on that verrrrrrrrry long (12.5 hours followed by another 2 hours) plane rides. No such luck (but did get caught up on all those movies we'd missed in the theaters...). We think "No Country for Old Men" will get the Oscar - you heard it here first (or maybe not...) (Resting on my laurels!) This photo demonstrates the body's reaction to spending all those hours on a cramped airplane!

Anyway, back here in NZ where it is now Sunday morning we are listening the beautiful cathedral bells before going to hear their choir. Yesterday when we arrived it rained and blew all day so we went to the Anarctica Museum. Saw some of the world's smallest penguins being fed (except for Tubby who weighed in at twice the others and insisted on being hand fed on land) (Am sure this photo makes that perfectly clear. Can you believe this was the ONLY photo I took there? Must have been jet lag...) To experience the arctic weather it was only 17F with the breeze blowing in the "experience room" (it was much colder than that when we left NY!!!) - we skipped that part.

And, since it was so rainy and we were so sleepy, we bought local lamb and veggies and cooked in - a wise choice. It was John & Judy's 45th wedding anniversary but they were pushing zzzzz's by 6.

Today it is beautiful, sunny and warm for exploring Christ Church. We can see already why everyone loves New Zealand.

And we're off...

It's hard to believe that only two days ago we were in New York where the morning temp started at a balmy 1 degree with a not-so-gentle breeze. New Jersey was better (15) plus we were lucky enough to take to the air before the dreaded snow/ice reached Newark. Judy & I and our two John's are now in sunny LA where we (Judy & I that is) can show off our newly polished toes and we can pluck fresh limes from our friends' backyard tree. Life is good!

Tomorrow it's off to New Zealand for adventures from the world down under!!!

Home again, home again...

Back to beautiful upstate NY. We even have a bit of snow (kids in Florida would be jealous), to make it even prettier. It was sunny yesterday when we arrived. However, the January "thaw" seems to have ended. In fact it was 14 F. and the wind was "blowin' a gale" as they say in Maine. It did inspire us to unload Rambo VERY quickly. We must have unloaded a bit too quickly, however, as there are still a few things missing. One thing about these campers is there's a thousand and one cubby holes to put things. Our friends with the big rigs who live in them full time tell us they know they have things packed away that they've never been able to find.

Aside from having the water to barn frozen (luckily John was able to thaw it quickly without any breaks!) and piles of mail (Aren't vacations supposed to be free?! What are all these bills?!!!), things are returning to normal. Even our cat finally came out of hiding after we'd been home several hours. He then proceeded to "talk" non-stop until the wee hours of the night when I finally sent him to the basement and shut the door. (A little time away from his food dish wouldn't hurt either as he gained about 5 pounds while we were away. The same is, of course, true for John & me as well!)

I can hear you already... but... this is the last post I'll make until the middle of February. Two of John's cousins and ourselves are going on a trip to New Zealand. No tour for us. We're renting a car and exploring the islands on our own. Even though I'm NOT taking the computer, I will try to post news from "down under" when internet connections are available. Until then... stay warm if you're in the north, or cool if you're in the south.

Going north!

In spite of those suspicious white things in the air and piles of it in places on the ground, it's good to be going north. And Pennsylvania is one of the BEST places to stop, especially if your Uncle Jules (isn't that a great name?!) and some cousins happen to live around Allentown.

All over the south we looked for sources for fresh food. You would think with the weather as mild as it is, there would be farmer's markets everywhere. While we did find some citrus stands, no where did we find a farmer's market. We had to come all the way back north to Allentown for that. While it is winter and not much is growing, they still have a wonderful market with several butchers, fresh fish, homemade sausages, pickles, locally grown mushrooms, homemade pretzels & dogs in blankets (photo), homemade potato chips & veggie chips, nuts, dried fruit, locally roasted coffee, and several fresh veggie vendors. It makes a heart (and a stomach) feel good! So we loaded up in anticipation of the last leg of our journey and home.

Will Rambo start this morning????

Ponies & Johns...

It turns out Chincoteague and Assateague Island National Seashore are even better in the daylight than we imagined at night. Perhaps not having been leveled by a major hurricane in the last few years has allowed them to keep their small seashore cottages that are each different from the next. No bigger than the next one or just like the next one condos here. Also, there seem to be no direct roads from the DC area so it must be most of those folks are choosing places closer to the city to go on weekends. We did hear a group of locals talking about "road rage" that hits Chincoteague during the summer on Sunday afternoons at the bridge when everyone is leaving. Winter is definitely the time to visit.
We did see some ponies at the seashore, lots of birds, miles of "peopleless" beaches (of course it was about 40 degrees and the wind was whipping... no place for wimps!) and walked the trail to the lighthouse. (Most of the trails were closed because of deer hunt in progress to control the deer population.) Can you believe the lighthouse used fish oil until the 1960's when it was changed to electricity to run its light? If we had known to pack our mud boots we could also have picked up oysters and dug for clams. Next trip.
After a quick stop at the NASA visitor's center (we never knew many of our rockets are launched from a NASA base near Chincoteague) we headed to St. Michaels to spend the night with Virginia and Cousin John. They're in their 80's and ALWAYS a delight to visit. When Virginia (known affectionately as "the queen") needed an operation this past spring, her neighbor's gave her a going away cocktail party (and another one when she got home).
Then it was off to spend the next couple of nights with Judy & Cousin John (on the other side of John's family). One weekend when we ALL got together, all Virginia, Judy & I had to say was "John" and we got all their attentions. Sometimes it certainly makes things easier! As John says, "you can never have too many johns".

Moving north...

Waving goodbye to Phyllis and Millie we started heading north a couple of days ago. We also left a very polite Florida. We know they're polite - instead of their highway signs saying "Fines doubled in work zones", Florida's signs read "Enhanced Penalty Zone".

Luckily we did not receive any enhanced penalties and made it to Savannah without incident. Savannah is just as beautiful as we remembered it from 30 odd years ago. Unfortunately we couldn't stay long, so once we enjoyed one of their "pretty good" trolley tours of the city (we MUST be getting old - we never would have considered such a thing 30 years ago!) and had dinner, it was back to Skidaway Island for our last night of camping. The state park there is beautiful (it does offer cable but no Internet - maybe next time). In the distance is John "dumping" the tanks of Rambo in anticipation of colder weather going north.

Yesterday it was on to Wilmington to visit our friends Dick & his wife Tommy. They have a neat home on the inter coastal waterway where Dick takes full advantage of what the sea has to offer. When was the last time you had crab and shrimp that your host caught off the end of their dock? It was delicious! This morning they took us a tour of the area. Frightening how much development is going on to make everything bigger and look the same. Fast disappearing are the quaint seashore cottages and little shops John & I remember when we lived in the area.

Heading north again today, John just had to make a quick stop for lunch at Moore's Bar-B-Cue (they spell it that way), our favorite BBQ joint in New Bern, NC. Their sign says they've been "doing it right for 61 years". We wouldn't disagree.

Tonight we find ourselves in Chincoteague, VA, the home of the wild ponies. If we're lucky we may just see some in the morning before we leave.

A little Florida coast...

Another beautiful sunny day in Florida and Phyllis took us on a general sightseeing tour of Melbourne and points south. I'm not sure what has wiped out more trees - the hurricanes in the past few years or the seemingly unstoppable development (bets are on the development). Even so, there are still some nice parks along the way.

Bet you're thinking that's the ocean in the background. Well, it's not. It's the Indian River. I always thought Indian River fruit was just a brand name for fruit. It never occurred to me it was a real river along which there are still some citrus groves in addition to the houses. You better look quick though. They may not be here long.

We did see the ocean and it's beach as well with a few white Northerns trying for sunburns and skin cancer. The ocean was rather rough today so even though our friend Leigh might have ventured in, John & I were more than happy to stay on the boardwalk.

Every city down here seems to have its fleamarkets and Melbourne is no exception with vendors too numerous to count. John did acquire a plane (the type you use with wood) and an extension for some sort for a nut tightener. Apparently there's some belt on Rambo that's loose and John thought perhaps he should take care of it. Personally, I'm not sure this is such a good idea because... a) Rambo has been running fine and b) John can't seem to find the part in the maintenance book nor can he figure out what it is supposed to do. Who knows what will happen when we get on the road tomorrow? It could be an exciting day. Stay tuned!

Packing up then off to the moon...

Our final day at the Habitat job site –we’re all still smiling (and even more surprising, we're still moving...) Photo 2 – the “ladies’ vinyl crew” (isn’t that a pretty wall behind us?). Photo 3 – A little roof work. Photo 4 – a little hole diggin’. We hoped to find some of those old Spanish coins but no such luck. However we did leave them with a hole big enough to burn the wood scraps. Photo 5 – more roof work. The guys told us it was HOT up there. These silver metal roofs increase the energy efficiency of the homes by 20%. The men can testify they reflect at least that much heat – they were dying up there. Photo 6 – a gopher turtle (about the size of a helmet). They dig very deep holes in the sand providing great homes for other wildlife. Where was he when the ladies were digging their hole?! Photo 7 – we didn’t quite get the roof finished but the men were more than happy to leave it for the next crew coming in. Photo 8 – BBQ brought in for our farewell luncheon. Photo 9 – Lest we all forget what the site looked like when we arrived on Jan. 2nd. Another family is much closer to having a decent, affordable home of their own.

We hated to eat and run but we needed to be off to visit our friend Phyllis in Melbourne. It was wonderful to be fed dinner and tucked early into bed, a king size bed at that. The bed itself probably has more square footage than the whole inside of Rambo. And there’s definitely an increased comfort factor in sleeping in a bed without “cracks” running horizontally through it.

In the morning we were treated to a pancake breakfast, southern style. Please note if you will, the big block of fat back (laying beside the grill on the little "ledge") used to season the grill. Gives a bit of extra flavor to the pancakes.

We had hoped for a shuttle launching while we were in Florida but it is not to be. However, we did visit the Kennedy Space Center… VERY interesting. As you know, I’m always looking for things that set records. The building where the space shuttle is prepared for launch does that in spades. It’s the world’s largest single story building (equal to a 53 story building – so tall in the inside that if wasn’t for the ventilation system clouds would develop). It has the world’s largest painted flag and the world’s largest logo and the world’s tallest garage doors.

In the last photo, John is eyeballing a copy of the vehicle used on the moon (perhaps he’s thinking of converting Rambo). John later took a simulated “launch” ride complete with G-forces (there’s NO hope for Rambo on that score - more than 1 G and he'd probably crumble into a non-recognizable rust heap) and went "to the moon". He may never be the same again....

Tiles & Eats...

We have a LOT of volunteers working on "our" build because it got listed as both a Care-A-Vanner build and an Open build. As a result they ended up with far more volunteers than expected. Sounds nice, but with too many folks there's sometimes a "want" of things to do. So when they asked for 5 volunteers to go to another house today to lay tile, John & I quickly raised our hands. (Of course the thought of getting out of working on the roof in the hot sun may also have swayed John somewhat.) The photo shows one of the prospective homeowners keeping the fellows on their knees. It worked. We got the entire house tiled before we left work for the day.

The local hospital treated the "tiling" volunteers to lunch. (This shot was taken while they were still able to walk. After working on their knees all afternoon I'm not sure how many of them are going to be anxious to climb the ladder to help with the roof. Don't look at me - I don't do ladders....) Back to the hospital - talk about spiffy! Both outside and inside it looks more like a conference center. It even has a grand piano in the main downstairs hallway. No hospital "smell" either. And the food wasn't bad - only vegetarian offerings. As we started to eat, a short lullaby was played over the intercom. Nap time came to mind but, no, they just play a lullaby whenever a baby is born.


Since this is our last night here, we all went out to eat at the Hotel Jacaranda built in 1923. (Somehow we managed to bypass Don Jose's Mexican Restaurant that advertises "Happy Hour 3 to 10"...) The hotel is the home of the local community college's culinary program and they serve dinners, buffet style. Because the spring semester has just started I won't take too many points off for the canned peas or the frozen strawberries in the shortcake (it is fresh strawberry season here after all). The hotel has been well maintained by the college and is a pleasure to visit. The piano player is also fantastic - plays only by ear but knows every song ever written. He plays at Kevin Costner's restaurant/bar in Deadwood, S.D. in the summer and down here in the winter.

So until tomorrow....

Hammers & Hens...

Another HOT day in the sun. Low 80's (most of us agreed we liked last week's cooler temps). The "boss" means it when he says "if you aren't sweating, drink water" (a rather disgusting thought but it does keep you from fainting. Photo 2 - the "ladies" starting the vinyl siding. Photo 3 - Break time (Yes!). The house next door to where we're working is vacant so it didn't take us long to learn it was much more pleasant sitting in the shade than out in the open. The one person in the photo who's in the sun is a Florida resident. Photo 4 - part of the "ladies vinyl crew". Photo 5 - the house at the end of the day. The black on the bottom is wire mesh being applied professionally by the stucco contractors.
Then it was off for some fun at Henscratch Farms. They have live bluegrass music on Wednesday afternoons. They also grow lots of things hydroponically including strawberries that are in season right now. The pots are suspended in the air and "stacked" - makes them VERY easy to pick. The hens are used for bug control and they're doing a fine job as far as we could tell. (Perhaps I should get some hens for my garden?!)

Dreamin'

Nothing against Rambo, but some (or I should say MOST) of our camping neighbors have better "living facilities" than what Rambo has to offer. So John starts the day, sipping coffee and enjoying thoughts of grandeur...

However, there are few restful moments for the guys during the day. They "get" to do the roof work. This starts out pleasant enough but things begin to heat up in the noonday sun and they're more than happy to call it a day at 1:30 when we pack up for the day. The lake looks more than inviting to those few left with enough energy to make it down there.

Hammocks & Hammers...

Highland Hammock State Park is just up the road from where we're staying. Can't you just imagine a bunch of palm trees strung with hammocks for lazing the day away? Well, forget that. Those of you more in the know than myself, already know there's another meaning of the word hammock. It's "a forest of broad leaf trees surrounded by pine lands or marshes". And at this state park it also means it's filled with alligators and turtles and snakes and herons and all sorts of things to look at (hopefully from a distance!) but not touch. (There's at least one alligator in photo 2...)

This park was started in 1931 and, although Florida opened four others the same year, Highland likes to say they're the first because they got their paperwork done first. Florida is also VERY lucky to have it as it truly gives you an idea of what Florida must have been like before all this development took place.

Even though the temp is again in the 70's again, it IS winter here so the broad leafed trees were bare. And the swamps are suffering from severe drought which may be why we saw so many alligators and turtles in the little bit of water there was.

An added plus in the park is the CCC museum. Sebring was depicted in some of the Civilian Conservation Corp recruitment films of the 1930's (but they left out the part about building a road through the alligator infested swamp!) We had only intended to stay in the park a couple of hours but ended up staying about five. (Of course, the wild orange ice cream they make in the park probably added at least a half hour to our stay.)

Today it was back at work at the build site and, although I took my camera, I forgot to take the data card... So you'll just have to visualize for yourselves how much hammering we got done.

A little sightseeing...

Back to those murals in Lake Placid...
A few years back, Lake Placid decided to have murals painted on the "blank" walls of the commercial buildings to make the town look better, draw tourists, and share the history of the area. They now have more than 40 murals and people come from all over to see them. One of the more clever things they've done is have the artists "hide" something in their work. So if you use the written guide that's provided, you learn something about the artist, what the scene depicts and what to "find" in the painting. It's a wonderful gimmick as it makes you slow down and really look at the mural.
Photo 1 depicts the turpentine industry active until the 1940's. Photo 3 is the cattle industry (there used to be so many cows they even had a "wild cow" problem). Photo 2 is Lake Placid's other gimmick. They're making their trash cans into "art" (wonder what the garbage collectors think about this...). This yellow car even has sound effects when you put trash through the window.
You can't go anywhere in this area without seeing oranges whether on the trees on being carried in big trucks (photo 4). Photo 5 - the store at one of the orchards. The honey bell oranges (VERY juicy & sweet) are ready now. They're only picked in January and aren't suitable for shipping so we'll enjoy them while we're here (sorry we can't send you any!).
Bok Sanctuary in Lake Wales was our destination yesterday. The gardens, bell tower & estate are through the generosity of Edward W. Bok (made his $$$ from Bethlehem Steel). The gardens were designed by Olmstead (designer of Central Park). Situated in the middle of the gardens is a 205 ft. carillon tower - a National Historic Landmark. We were there for a live concert. Very pleasant to stroll on the meandering paths listening to the bells. All of this sits on top of one of the highest points on the peninsula of Florida (something like 245' above sea level - they call it a mountain but probably most folks would define it as a bump...). In photo 7 are orange groves in the distance. And photo 9 - me next to something with BIG leaves (if plants grow leaves this big, what do the bugs look like?!!)

Day 5...

To make up for yesterday - lots of photos. Carl in photo 1 took on the task of nailing every 4 inches around the bottom of the building (scores of nails and a task John said the rest of the men were all too willing to "let" him do). Photo 2 - that's me in the front helping nail together the interior walls (Now be honest - you probably thought all I did was take photos....) Photo 3 - Adrian & John (not my John but as my John says, "there can never be too many John's") displaying their matching thumb bandages with smiles on their faces (they both claim they were pounding nails, just not always the metal variety). Photo 4 - interior walls are up and the roof trusses are going up. Photo 5 - an exterior view of the "backyard" (I still can not believe anything grows here!). Photo 6 - cement truck arrives to pour the porches. Photo 7 - view from the front. Photo 8 - wrapping it up for the day. Photo 9 - a view of the neighborhood (our house is "special" - it's the one with the tree!)

After work John & I and another couple walked around downtown Lake Placid looking at the murals (more about those tomorrow I hope). Lake Placid is the actual location of the house we're building. For your history lesson of the day...
In 1895 Dr. Melvin Dewey (who invented the Dewey Decimal System) built a summer resort for this wealthy friends in Lake Placid, New York. 35 years later (probably as his friends got older and wanted a warmer place to go in the winter) he "discovered" Lake Stearns in Florida. In "exchange" for building a water tower and getting the railroad to build a new depot, he got the Florida legislature to change the name to Lake Placid. He also built a sprawling lodge on Lake Childs and had that lake's name changed to Lake Placid.

Back to walking around.... As it was getting near dark we began noticing old school buses coming into town and unloading lots of migrant workers in this one section downtown. Then we began smelling food and discovered a small little Mexican grocery/bakery/eat in/take out store. Figuring those guys have GOT to be eating well we found our way in and had an absolutely DELICIOUS dinner of tamales, beans & rice, spiced beef, gazpacho w/shrimp. (We were still in our working attire so we fit right in.) Pat & Ann had been driving us to the work site all week so John & I wanted to buy them dinner (total bill $18.88 - that's for 4 - our generosity knows no bounds!).

Day 4...

Unfortunately.... I forgot to take the camera to the work site today. Just because it was 20 something (Florida's winter must be) this morning AND the wind was whipping AND everything in Rambo's refrigerator was frozen AND even the bottom of the orange trees were frozen... Enough excuses.

However, we did get more framing done and several of the interior walls built and a LOT of nails put in the sheathing (hurricane standards). It was also decided pouring concrete for the porches directly on the sand was NOT the way to go. So several "lucky" folks from our group (I was NOT among them thank you very much!) got the honor of digging 18 inch footers and setting concrete forms in those. And they got to do it for two houses to make it more efficient for the cement truck.

Back at the campsite... we tried out the BBQ pit. This is a REAL classy pit especially now that our group "rebuilt" the grates. Bob (our team leader who's turning the sausages) said he always likes to leave sites better than he finds them. So Monday after work, "the guys" took out the old grates that were warped. One of our team is a welder who just happened to bring his grinder and he cut the old grate out of the frame. Bob picked up new grating material and before the day way out it was welded in place. Bob fired it up the next morning to burn off the oil coating and when it cooled, seasoned it with cooking oil. In spite of today's cold weather, we tried it out this evening to great success. It makes our BBQ pit at home look VERY sorry. Please note this pit does NOT have a chimney so perhaps we don't need that stone chimney of ours that fell down after all. We'll see how ambitious we get next summer.

Dreaming of warmer weather...

Days 2 & 3...

Day 2 - New Year's Day was a holiday - a rainy holiday. John occupied part of his day trying to figure out where that pesky leak was coming from in the back of Rambo. It's on HIS side of the bed so I went and played games with the others. Frackle, Mexican Train Domino's, Pegs and Jokers... games we had never heard of but turned out to be fun (and lest you think that John spent the entire day staring at the back of Rambo, he did come over and try his hand at some of the games - of course the forecast for sun may have had something to do with it).

Day 3 - the rest of the photos. It was a COLD (about 40 this a.m.) and WINDY day, but we were on our "slab" by 8:00. This affiliate is VERY well organized and the site supervisors are terrific so we all had jobs to do and got quite a bit accomplished. Because this house is in the middle of an already existing development with deed restrictions, it is being built with two porches and an attached garage (unusual for Habitat). The ladies in photo 4 are leveling the ground around the framework part of our group built to form the front porch. The "soil" is nothing but sand (in fact, I'm beginning to think Florida is nothing but an over sized sand bar...) The slab for the porch will be poured right on top of the sand. No need to be concerned about frost heaves here.

The morning was spent building the walls and right after lunch we raised them. The plan is to stucco the walls half way up (to discourage termites) and vinyl the rest of the way. Photo 5 - how many men does it take to hold up a wall?

Last photo was taken at 2:00 when we quit for the day. Not bad working hours!

The Work Begins...

Bright eyed and busy tailed, our group was on the road to the job site by 7:30 a.m. (a stretch for some of the RV'ers who are used to sleeping until 9:00).

First task - build door & windows headers and frames for the house we'll be working on. The local affiliate is very well organized and had us doing this step on the site where another of the houses will be built. In the meantime, three of our team were at the actual job site laying out the walls so they'll be ready to be nailed first thing on Wednesday morning.

Second task - help move supplies from the second floor warehouse they had been using to a ground floor warehouse that was much easier to access. Stoves, refrigerators, range hoods (Whirlpool continues to donate ALL the appliances used in Habitat houses - not a small donation. This affiliate alone has built over 100 homes.) went on the first truckload (and it turns out that was the easy load.) Next came 5 gallon buckets of paint (Valspar donates all the paint used in Habitat houses - the affiliate pays shipping) - HEAVY! (I took photos...). Boxes & boxes & boxes of floor tile, windows (light in comparison) etc. etc. - enough for two more BIG truckloads. Robert, the big guy in the photo, was our supervisor (probably a good assignment for him since he's a prison guard so was very capable of seeing that we got the job got done).

By the time the trucks were unloaded we were all VERY glad our first work day was over. The Magnolia Retirement Home across the way looked awfully inviting!!!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! (you probably will not be surprised to learn that none of us stayed up long enough to see the ball drop...)

Camp Cloverleaf

Leaving the Gulf coast early this morning we again headed south and east. Zipped through Fanning Springs, the "Gateway to the Swanee". (John of course broke into song with multiple verses even but we didn't stop.) Next came horse country - BIG money somewhere! Then into the heart of Florida where there are still mile after mile of orange groves although it's obvious many of them are being wiped out to put in developments. Enjoy that US orange juice while you can! We kept thinking we'd pass a fruit stand on OUR side of the road, but guess they only cater to folks going north. Tomorrow we'll take a field trip and acquire some fresh fruit. (In case you're wondering, the fine is VERY steep for helping yourself, so even though there's an orange grove across the road, we'll acquire ours legally.)

There are 18 of us working on this Habitat build. Alan, the guy at the left on his "Sunday" motorcycle, is our site supervisor. They have all the materials ready for us to get most of a house done before we leave in two weeks. It sounds like this site is very well organized so building a house does seem possible.

As usual we have a real mix of folks - Michigan, Maine, Vermont, Minnesota, (looking to escape winter in the north) as well as folks from Washington, South Carolina, Texas. As far as camping, we're enjoying the 4-H camp owned by the U. of Florida. It is absolutely beautiful plus we have the run of the place. John & I took kayaks out this evening - couldn't have been more pleasant as the temp here was in the 80's. There's fishing from the dock, a game room with pool table, a complete kitchen, BBQ, great showers. And because New Year's is coming up, we have Monday afternoon and Tuesday off to do some sightseeing. Talk about a plum place to volunteer!

The Roads Less Traveled...

Rather than taking the most direct route to central Florida, Joe sent us on the scenic route to give us a taste of what Florida "used to look like". Of course we also got a taste of what much of the coast is turning into with its high rise condos on the beach, outlet stores, and general tourist shops. Passed through Destin that advertises itself as the "World's Luckiest Fishing Village" (the fishing part I can't speak to, but with at least 15 high rise buildings in site, when does it cease to be a village?!)

Next was Panama City Beach which advertises itself as having the "World's Most Beautiful Beaches" (which were hidden from view by all the high rises so I can only take their word for it).

However, once you passed through Panama City, you can take a lovely coastal route with miles of white sand beaches (yes, that's sand - not snow in the photo). When the beach and ocean isn't in view you drive through pine forests that are lovely (for the first 10, 20, even 30 miles but eventually get a little boring to be quite honest).

However, these roads are also what take you to wonderful little out of the way villages such as Apalachicola which is supposed to have the "Best Oysters in Florida" (and they were mighty good!) It is also the home of the Apalachicola Sponge Company that just reopened after 75 years. Sponges (the kind that live in the sea) were almost "wiped out" years ago by a red tide but have made a recovery. Unfortunately we didn't discover the little bit of info about the sponge company until well after we had left the town - otherwise we would visited it for sure.

Always on the lookout for boats in need of a little tender loving care, John thought this one had great possibilities (lucky for me Rambo is far too small to tow something like that home!). A name I saw on another boat which I thought might apply to this one (and a good many others...) is "Centsless"...

Tonight we're in Steinhatchee where an uncle & aunt of mine used to come for the winter. Steinhatchee, too, is way off the beaten track (24 miles to the nearest grocery) and is obviously a fisherman's paradise. Had wonderful mullet for dinner fresh off the boat. Did as the man said, fried up the backbone (the best part) and ate it like corn on the cob. He was right - it was the best part!

A lazy day in Florida...

As luck would have it (at least for John...) the local marine supply was going out of business so first stop was a "foraging" trip for John to look for bargains for the sailboat he's building. Two plus hours and many dollars later (WAAAAAAAAAAY after my fun meter had run out!) we could go on to something far more exciting.

Like Brian's Poboys - absolutely, hands down, the best oyster poboys I have ever eaten. Joe took us there a couple of years ago, and it was still just as good.

After a little sightseeing (and all that shopping excitement), we headed back to Joe's so John could take an afternoon nap. And then it was time for happy hour in Joe's back yard with neighbors Delores & Jerry. They're on "winter hours" so happy hour starts at 3:30... Need I say more?

It's quite warm here - note the green grass, sandals on my feet, the guys have on short sleeves (my long sleeve shirt is mainly to protect my arms from the mosquitoes of all things!). There was a short article in the "things to do" section of the newspaper this morning about the "Polar Bear Club". If you want to participate in taking a dip in the chilly Gulf (I doubt they will have to remove the ice here before jumping in...) on New Year's Day you'll be rewarded when you emerge with a hot bowl of black eyed peas (a traditional way to bring good luck to you in the coming year). To ensure that Rambo makes it back to NY in January, I planned ahead and bought my black eyed peas today. Have you got yours?

Florida at last...

Woke up this morning in Louisiana to the morning news. Lumberton just voted to make their county "dry" again. Suddenly there's a big outcry about not being able to buy beer and wine locally. They're protesting the vote in court saying the proposition wasn't presented correctly or something like that (it was early after all...) The town clerk in another town has gone on record as saying "they will only allow elections required by law" (did they have other types?!) When John's waffle got "stuck" in the waffle machine we decided it was time to head east again.

The Atchafalaya (try to say that 3 times without sneezing...) Swamp has to be crossed if you're heading to Florida but it is really neat as swamps go. Plus it is comforting to cross it this time of year when you know the alligators and snakes are hibernating. In case your geography is as bad as mine, this is the largest river swamp in North America and filled with all sorts of birds, plants and critters. The educational center is DEFINITELY worth a stop.

Then it was on to Mississippi, Alabama and finally Florida where seafood rules. Joe was waiting for us with a bin of Joe Patti's famous oysters. Joe & John couldn't decide what photo they liked the best so wanted me to post both. Guess raw oysters must make men...

Goodbye Texas...

Rambo started! meaning we have started too, this time heading east toward Florida. Just in case I haven't mentioned it before, Texas is a VERY big state. And, when you start in the heart of the state, it takes most of the day to leave it especially when it's windy and you're driving something like Rambo (although if we were driving Tillie the VW we'd probably still be in Texas).

The sign is from the County Line BBQ in Austin (their version of "Sweeney Todd" I imagine). Their ribs are particularly good but it does make you wonder...

As were passing Austin I began thinking I was about due for a haircut. However, the "Cut 'N Shoot" salon, rather changed my mind.

The BIG news is that finally, finally, finally all the pieces are together AND working... the little MP3 player, the cassette connection from the radio that enables us to play the MP3 over the radio's speakers, the books on tape recorded on the player on loan from the library. We passed through much of eastern Texas Houston listening to "Dangerous Boys" which made the time go much faster!

Now a plug for local libraries... Even though our Earlville library is very small, the new books on tape they're adding to the collection are recorded on their own MP3 players. Just add earphones or speakers and listen away. No need for a CD or cassette player. In addition, they and the library system they belong to now offer books on tape that can be downloaded directly to your computer. No need to even be in the state when you do it which make it perfect if you happen to be "away" as we are now. You can listen to them from your computer or transfer them to your MP3 player. It's an absolutely GREAT service. So check with your library to see, or hear, what's new for you!

Merry Christmas!

It's Christmas Eve and we wish you a very happy holiday season! In case you didn't get one of our cards this year, the one at the right will have to do (painted by yours truly). Subconscious really must be a part of our lives... it was only after I had mailed the bulk of the cards that I realized it really would only be the cat and deer at the house for Christmas Day.

Before we leave on Wednesday heading east to Florida (John confident that Rambo will run like a top; me with my fingers crossed so John doesn't see them - he tends to think I'm negative when it comes to Rambo. I think I'm just being realistic...). Anyway, we passed this sign yesterday and all I saw was a bucking bronco and the word "massage". Close up, I'm not sure I'm any closer to understanding what the logo is supposed to convey.

Next bit of trivia. Farmers/ranchers all over Texas are always looking for ways to turn what looks like barren land into income producing property. If it's not an oil well then perhaps a pipe line. Or an electric line. Or a cell tower. Or a wind generator. Just outside Brady they discovered near the surface some of the finest round silica sand there is. (It was news to me but apparently most sand is angular.) And, as luck would have it for the folks whose land it is on, the oil industry needs a lot of it. If I understand it correctly, the sand is forced at high pressure down oil wells to "open" the fractures in the bedrock. This allows more oil to be released. (That is probably a VERY simplistic description, but if you're interested I'm sure you can find out more.)

And back to pecans... We took 24 pounds of pecans over for cracking this morning (25 cents a pound - a bargain!) It turns out the pecan "picker-outer" I pictured a couple of days ago is really called a "goodie gitter". It also turns out the company that made the one I showed (a one person operation) went out of business about 5 years ago. Another company makes a new type with a plastic handle, but the "cracker" owner who's 83 and should know about these things, says they're not nearly as good since they don't have the loop that slips over your pinkie, the key to a great "goodie gitter"!

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas!

Texas Christmas trees...

Thought you might enjoy this Texas "tree". The ground was littered with Christmas balls blown off by the wind. (One can appreciate why Texas now has more wind generators than any other state.)

This morning it was in the low 20's - colder than NY or Ohio or Indiana or just about any place where Mother keeps an eye on the weather. That probably means "watch out folks - it's comin' your way!"

Just down the road from this Christmas tree is Cafe 87 next to the "Mexican Colony". The owner of the cafe is of Mexican heritage and makes wonderful food from homemade chips and salsa to huge hamburgers like I remember as a kid before those preformed patties became the norm. The hamburgers come with the works wrapped in paper. They also serve menudo (spicy tripe soup) which we haven't tried yet but perhaps next time. The guys at the table next to us got it and really seemed to be enjoying it. (When I reading about menudo, it's reported to be a great cure for a hangover...)

Back at Mother's we're also being fed well (with no hangovers..). From homemade chicken and noodles (the kind made with eggs and flour and hand rolled) to apple pie. And a friend dropped off homemade tamales that can't be beat. She and her mother had started making tamales at 7:30 a.m. and finished around 4:00 p.m. When I asked how many they'd made, she said 36. (How labor intensive is that?! Later my sister informed me 36 was 36 DOZEN!!! Wow!!!!)

This afternoon we're going to the movies. Big deal, right? Well, here it is. You have to drive over an hour to get to the movie theater. An adventure!

Catching up...

It's always amazing to me that there are folks out there who actually READ this blog! But it seems to be true.

A friend wanted to know what that special little pecan "picker-outer" looked like. So that's the picture of one (with freshly shelled pecans, by yours truly and her mother you might note, in the background). The tool is just short of 5 inches long and is made by J.C. Baker Tool Co. in Victoria, Texas (thank heavens China doesn't make everything!). You hold it in the palm of your hand, hooking the ring end over your little pinkie. The bigger hook on the bottom helps pull the broken shell off. The flat end helps pry out the pecan in one piece (works MUCH better than a round nut pick). Those extra little hooks? I have no idea! If any of you know, please add a comment and let the rest of know.

Speaking of comments... If you go back to the blog from a few days ago... "A DAH Day", you'll find a comment there (just click on the comments and you should be able to read it). Some nice person (even I don't know who submitted the comment unless they're in my email list) who lives in Dahlonega, GA added several places we should have visited when we were there. Sounds like it's worth another trip back. Thanks!

And a friend called when he read about John working on Rambo's leaks to make a couple of suggestions about helpful products (has anyone invented a plastic bubble that just covers the whole works?). John is making progress on patching the leak in the back although I think Duck tape (if there were anything "firm" enough on Rambo to stick it to) might be a cheaper solution. Anyway, thank you Don.

Comments are welcome so please feel free....

The land of the white pickup...

In walking around this morning John & I made note of some differences between Texas and upstate NY...
- White pickups... except for my brother-in-law's red pickup (JA has always had a mind of his own), all the others seem to be white. (Perhaps because of the heat? Where we live they'd just get lost in the snow!)
- In the grocery, you find BIG bags of prepared masa ready to be formed into tortillas...
- And BIG bags of corn husks and dried peppers...
- Texas raises lots of sheep but lamb isn't readily available in the local stores...
- The BIG grocery store (50 miles from here) advertised leg of lamb for $4.99 lb. right next to hog's head for $.49 lb. (the choices one has to make!)
- We went to the local meat processing house in search of lamb and was able to obtain two small packages of chops. He couldn't get us any more today because all their butchers were working on goat... (filling a BIG order from the Muslims in Houston)
- We could, however, have gotten goat's head, beef head, pig's head or feet or tail...
- EVERY store in town sells deer corn... (in NY it's illegal to feed the deer)
- You find displays of "Wild Beast Food" complete with big, scary pictures of hogs (used by hunters as bait for wild hogs)...
- The temperature is in the 70's today while our friends back home are still shoveling snow...
- However, the snowmen in Texas are fake (surprise!) and the ones in NY are real...

Slinky on a stick?

Sorry folks, I got out of the habit of carrying my camera so missed the perfect shot for the blog... There was a big SUV, black, new, & shiny, parked in the local Walmart parking lot with official lettering across the back window reading "Texas Paranormal Research Team, Shhhhh, Be Quiet... We're Looking for Ghosts" and a phone number (Texas ghost busters?!!!) When I mentioned it to my sister, she thought they were probably here to "investigate" the ghost/s in the courthouse. Apparently it's not unusual for staff to leave papers arranged on their desks at night only to find them in disarray when they return the next day. Investigators have been there before. I did take a quick walk around the courthouse later in the day with my camera but failed to spot either the investigators or the ghosts...

So, since I didn't get a photo of that for you, you'll have to put up with one of me. Nope. That's not a new type of toy. For those of you who don't have pecan trees (like those of us from the north), that's a pecan "picker-up-er". When you spy a pecan you pounce on it and the pecan pushes up between the wire coils. When the coil if full of pecans you empty it into the basket. Works pretty neat. Luckily, there's a local guy who has a commercial pecan cracker that does a great job. The result is endless hours of "entertainment" picking them out of the shells (there's even a special tool for that). The end product is well worth the effort!

About Rambo's noises... As you know, Texas roads are straight. Just point your vehicle in the right direction and go. Hardly any steering involved. It's a good thing too since Rambo was completely out of power steering fluid. It's amazing what a little fluid can do to take away front end screeches. Now for the noise in the back but first a little history... John noticed before we left that 2 of the 3 straps holding on the gas tank were broken so replaced them. The third was fine a.k.a. John, and so it was for about 1700 miles (why replace something before it's completely worn out?!). It was at that point the third strap broke, dragging on the payment for the last few hundred miles. John is now replacing that. He just wanted a project to keep him busy in Texas, or perhaps he's studying to be a substitute on the Click & Clack show...

End of the shortcut...

Before leaving Natchez we took a quick driving tour to peek at the mansions in the daylight. Very, very beautiful. One of the old Mississippi paddle boats, the American Queen, was parked at the dock - another thing that might be fun to take at some point in our lives. (It's probably a toss up which is cheaper - taking the boat or filling the gas tank on Rambo!)

And then we were off heading west once again on our "shortcut" to Florida as my mother in Texas says. To tell you the truth the scenery doesn't give one much to write home about and one doesn't even want to think about the traffic around Dallas/Fort Worth or those "peculiar" noises Rambo decided to start making. And with poor radio reception and a "missing" MP3 player with lots of books on tape to listen to (it has now been found - in John's coat pocket hanging on the hook in NY - and is on it's way to Texas thanks to the US mail & Jeff!) - anyway with not much else to do we think of food and look for interesting places to eat.

Saturday we had lunch at Twinkles (the name itself should have warned us off!). Sunday it was lunch at Squealer's (need I say more?). Yesterday it was lunch at the New Cafe of Waslow (established in 1928 - when does it become old?). One thing Jane & Michael Stern don't seem to mention in their road food books is that "home cookin'" doesn't necessarily mean "from scratch" these days. Many times it's the creative use of canned goods put together with care in the kitchen. However, they're always interesting and they aren't franchises.

The Texas tourism guide is, hands down, the best guide any state has to offer. Almost every town in the state is listed along with a bit of history and what there is to see and do. These tidbits I relate to John as we tour along. John was anxious to get to our final destination so we didn't take any side trips, but I do want to go to Eastland sometime. Eastland is the home of "Old Rip", the horned toad. Apparently (and the guide says it's true so it must be true...) when they built their courthouse in 1897 they sealed a live horned toad into the cornerstone (nice folks...). In 1928 they decided to build a new courthouse but wanted to use the same cornerstone. Wouldn't you know it? That old horned toad was still alive! So they took him on a national tour where he caught pneumonia and died a year later. However, they put him in a little glass casket and he's on display in the courthouse. Now wouldn't you want to make a stop too?

But we and Rambo (complete with an ever increasing volume of noise) were on to Brady where we made it safely last night (and where we know we can get "from scratch" good home cooking!) Stay tuned...

Mississippi...

First, another note about yesterday... I forgot to mention that near Dahlonega is the highest waterfall east of the Mississippi (although I cannot personnally attest to this since it was raining so hard we didn't want to go looking for it). The other bit of info... the start of the Appalachian Trail is near there. Again, the rain kept us away. However, we DID get plenty of "hiking" last night in Douglasville. John thought it might be a good time to find a replacement for his glass French coffee press that got "separated" into several pieces during the "relocation" part of the drive to Vicki & George's. Sounds easy enough except John had remembered he'd only spent $20 for his (he conveniently forgot it was also on closeout sale) so insisted we keep looking until we found one that was comparable in price. Two malls and at least nine stores later... (I was about ready to send out a call for one of you to please ship him one and I'd reimburse you on the sly!)

I apologize to Alabama (especially to the northern part that's very beautiful) for having breezed right through today. George had recommended we drive part of the Natchez Trace that runs between Nashville & (you guessed it) Natchez and we wanted to get there while we still had daylight. (We started the parkway drive in Jackson, MS.) For those of you who aren't familiar with the Natchez Trace, it was first used by Native Americans as they moved from the north to the south and back. Later, the trail was used by boatmen who took boats down to Natchez, sold them, and walked back to their homes in the north. Some walked for six months or more. Now the National Park Service maintains it as a scenic parkway. There are numerous points of historical interest along the way and several places where you can still see and/or walk the trail (including the section in the photo). We could have camped there (for free this time of year) but it was a brisk day, they had no hookups (electric or water) and the back of the van is at the moment not much neater than the rooms of some teenagers. But the real truth was, the thought of a real bed in a warm room with running water and a shower was worth the price (even John didn't complain).

Tonight we're in Natchez. For being the oldest permanent settlement on the Mississippi and as wealthy as NYC at one time, it's much smaller than we expected. We didn't make reservations at the historic hotel downtown because they didn't mention parking in their ad and we assumed Rambo would be a problem. Next time we'll know better, get a room there and stay a couple of days. Turns out parking would NOT have been a problem plus the hotel is right in the middle of the city. Everywhere is walkable from there with lots of interesting shops and many, many historical buildings. Perhaps next trip.

Tomorrow? Still heading west...

A "Dah" Day....

Waving goodbye to Vicki & George we headed south, well below the ice storm coming. It was only then, when driving was a bit more leisurely, that I thought to ask John what he thought those Methodists shouted through their bull horns. He "politely" educated me that folks in the 1800's didn't have access to electronic bull horns (DAH!) but rather just blew through horns from bulls like a horn. Now why on earth would they think that sounded better than church bells?!

Zipping out of North Carolina, through South Carolina, we arrived in no time at the Welcome station in Georgia where we picked up some tourist info to help in our search for lunch. Back on the road, I began reading about this little town of Dahlonega. It was 5o miles off the main road, but suddenly it occurred to me that we were no longer racing to get away from the ice storm (DAH!), so why not take a side trip?

If you are like us, you may not have realized that Dahlonega was the site of the first gold rush in the US in the early 1800's. In fact they mined so much gold they even put one of the US mints there. It was abandoned during the Civil War (no surprise there...). Even though some gold is still mined there today, their major gold digging appears to be from tourists. All the shops in their very pretty downtown have now been redone into quaint little shops for tourists. John & I aren't much into shopping, opting to go through their gold museum instead - not a whole lot on display but what they had was interesting (and their movie gave John a chance for a brief nap).

But the real reason (other than lunch which was nothing to write home about) I wanted to come to Dahlonega was to go to the "Funky Chicken Art Project" described as art in an old chicken coup. It was about 10 miles out of town. Some interesting garden type art but with prices waaaaay above my price point.

So it was on to Atlanta - we brought them driving rain which I'm sure they were only too happy to have. (Rambo & I were less than enthusiastic! - we haven't dared look in the back for leaks yet...) Past Atlanta, we're now in Douglasville, GA. Who knows what today will bring? (DAH!)

And we're off....

4:30 a.m. - kitty alarm goes off (deaf cats are like deaf people - the deafer they get the louder they talk... plus we have a cat who feels the need to relate how every morsel of his "Dad's Gourmet Cat Food" tasted.) At any rate, we were up dressed, breakfasted, showered (not necessarily in that order but at that time of morning who knows for sure?), last minute furnace repair, Rambo started (amazing!) and made it out of the garage, the truck unstuck from where it had frozen in the driveway and put in the garage. At 5:30 (A.M.!) we're ready to go. I think even the road crew who were doing their early morning snow plowing and sanding were amazed. We must admit it was rather touch and go whether or not Rambo would actually make it up our little road (even the road crew waited at the top of the road to see if we made it) but finally all cylinders clicked in and we were off.

On to points south. The roads were clear. Once it got light enough to see (Pennsylvania by that time) the surrounding area looked beautiful with snow. Then, further south, ice on trees. And further south SUN, SUN, SUN!!! We stopped for lunch in Martinsburg, WV, a lovely little city. We had obviously arrived in the south where fried catfish, green beans with ham & onions & even lima beans appear on your plate. Next trip to NC I'd like to stay a night here (my butt seems to think a 15 hour drive is too much to do in a day). Martinsburg has lots of historic buildings including an old Methodist church (now used as an office building) built in the 1700's without a bell tower. Turned out they didn't believe in the noise bells made so used a bull horn instead to call folks to workship. (Any suggestions on what exactly they might have called? The brochure didn't say.)

Driving on, Rambo was happier by the moment and rolled over 250,000 miles. Just as we were within 40 miles of where we take the interstate south the sign that says "If the yellow lights are flashing, tune to 1620 am" was doing just that - flashing. Now the thing about Rambo's radio is that the dial doesn't light so it's impossible to tell what frequency you're on not to mention it doesn't get very good reception (and in this case 1620 was not to be found). The emergency windup radio was way out of reach somewhere in the back. And the new little MP3 player we recorded books on to listen to on the the trip that also has a radio has gone "missing" (don't ask). Soooooo... 10 miles later we run into miles of bumper to bumper traffic almost stopped. Luckily we were at a exit which we quick took. Hauling out the map and consulting with Miss Garmin (our GPS unit) we headed across country to pick up the interstate further south. It was a beautiful little (as in LITTLE) road, very windy (as in WINDY - hairpin turns etc), and up (as in UP), up, up. The way Rambo had been packed (as in hurriedly) things were very secure on the smooth interstate. However, on this road a lot of items (which will go unnamed), decided to relocate themselves - some multiple times. (John has already spent time this morning picking up bits of broken glass and putting things back into more secure locations.)

But, finally we got to George & Vicki's who welcomed us with open arms and martini's. Only rain predicted for today for points south. Atlanta here we come!

Here Piggy, Piggy...

Thanks to a friend, a friendly pig sculpture "protects" our parsley bed. He does look rather cute peeking out of the snow. That was yesterday and oh what a difference a day makes. Today that little pig is no where to be seen - he's hiding out under another foot of snow.

I like snow. I also like not having to deal with snow. And John REALLY likes not having to deal with snow especially when he goes out to start the snow blower and finds the front tire on the tractor (to which the snow blower is attached) flat. (It's had a slooooow leak for several months but husbands do not always listen to their wives about getting things fixed...) Thanks to a portable compressor (and a few choice thoughts, I'm sure) the tire now has air (for a day or two) and the snow has been blown away from the driveway and walkway.

While the radio was merrily playing "Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow", John & I were merrily packing up rusty old Rambo in preparation for going south tomorrow (no snow, short sleeves... you get the picture). In addition to seeing my Mom & sister & brother-in-law & nephew & his wife & who knows how many other crazy Texans, we'll be going over to Florida for another Habitat build. This one starts on Dec. 30th so one wonders what we'll be doing for New Year's Eve. Sleeping the night away after a hard day's work? Uncorking champagne bottles with our hammers? Will Rambo even make it there? Ah, the suspense...

Keep checking the blog. I'm refreshed, renewed and ready to keep you updated (if you're interested) in the amazing un-adventures of two ordinary folks.

November....

Do hope you voted on Tuesday. If your election workers were like us, they worked polls from 5:30 AM!!! until 9:30 PM!!! (and that doesn't count the 20 minutes our group waited in the cold for the custodian with the keys who overslept). We appreciated every single one of you who exercised your right to vote.

This year our local voting place was moved from the old schoolhouse (NOT handicapped accessible) to the church next door (IS accessible). I guess "separation of church and state" does not apply when it comes to voting. Dick, who has been our precinct chairperson for years, felt very comfortable with being "king for the day".



November usually brings snow to upstate NY (actually we had much more than shown but I neglected to take a photo).

Now... about that "notch" in the roof and that pile of stone rubble. Over 20 years ago when we were younger and less wise, we built a beautiful stone chimney (the younger part) without much - okay any - footing (the less wise part). And it all came tumbling down this fall when we had the building pulled into into a more upright position. "Our" plan is to have John clear away all the stone, then we'll figure out how to rebuild it - something to think this winter as we look out the kitchen window.

Plans are in the works to put leaky old Rambo back on the road the middle of December. It's a toss up whether or not John will repair the leak/s before we leave. While you & I are waiting anxiously to find out (perhaps me more than you), I'll be taking a "blog vacation". Have a good Thanksgiving and, if you're not too busy, join us December 17th for the beginning of another adventure.

Art...

Colgate University this past week featured the outdoor art installation of NY artist Willoughby Sharp. This one, called "Ice" is being contemplated by Seattle artist Wynn & NY attorney Bridge. If they look like blocks of ice (the installation not W & B), they are. If they look like tombstones, you're right (could Halloween have anything to do with the likeness choice?) And, yes, they're melting. Things begin, things end................
The other installation, "Air", I was too late to photograph. It was a 6 foot weather balloon anchored in the small lake on campus. It, too, was supposed to dissipate although I think that happened rather more quickly than the artist might have intended. It was VERY windy the day it was installed so was whipped every which way on the lake. The next morning it was gone. No one seems to know what happened to it - perhaps Mother Nature took it away (or sank it) or perhaps some party loving individuals might have decided it "acquire" it. Unfortunately few locals recognized it as "art". The word being circulated around Hamilton is it was Colgate's latest effort to keep the geese out of the lake. It did work for that.
Lest you think "art" was strictly confined to campus, penguins were emerging on the home front. Wynn & Bridge helped paint the black part of their little walnut bodies (that's the part which you, of course, do NOT see in this photo). These and other items will be for sale at our local Hospital Auxiliary sale on Dec. 1. If you can't come to ours, plan to attend one in your area in support of your hospital. These little guys are cute but they are very time consuming to make. If their price were based on a decent hourly wage, rather than NO wage, you could expect to pay at least $15 each for them. If you're interested in a bargain, come to our sale!!!

Westward Ho!

Wow! Is that the Grand Canyon? Sure is, the Grand Canyon of the East that is - located in Letchworth State Park in the western part of NYS. Also in the park is this falls, beautiful but slightly smaller than Niagara Falls a few miles to its north.
While we did enjoy an afternoon in the park, our real goal was to visit our friend Pat and her family in Buffalo. Other than "just passing through" on the highway, we had never been to Buffalo. Buffalo has GREAT food including Buffalo chicken wings (have they made it to your area yet?). The other local food is "beef on weck" which is thin slices of roast beef served on a kummelweck roll with pan drippings and LOTS of horseradish. Schwabl's has been serving them since time began or almost anyway. Schwabl's also has great German food so it's a really good thing for John's waistband that we live so far away. If it hadn't been for Pat's daughter Fai cooking us a fantastic dinner for later in the day, I'm sure John would have ordered one of everything for take-out.
But there are other things to do in the Buffalo area besides eat... If you saw the blog this spring, we visited Millard Fillmore's birthplace. (Our 13th President & the only one born in NYS.) In East Aurora is the house he & his wife lived in when he first became a lawyer (a starter home). At the end of his life (let's hope anyway) he was buried in the Forest Lawn Cemetery in Buffalo. The cemetery also has other notables including Carrier who invented air conditioning and Southwick the dentist who is given credit for the electric chair (yuk!). On the subject of dying... if you're in Buffalo and feel you've expired but aren't sure, perhaps they'll take you to the Amigone Funeral Home or if you're sure you've expired you can be taken to the Bury Funeral Home.
Back with the living, the Basilica in Lackawanna (a suburb) is incredibly beautiful and well worth a visit. According to the brochure there are between 1500 and 2500 angels in the cathedral (can't believe someone hasn't come up with a closer number). Father Baker, whose idea it was to build it in the 20's, wanted you to be able to see an angel no matter where you were in the building.
In downtown Buffalo there are lots of interesting buildings (unfortunately the driving tour given on the city web site sounds good but is absolutely impossible to follow). However, we did manage to find the old post office (the eagle was both quarried & carved on Vinalhaven Island, ME). The last photo is the 1906 Calumet Building. Those smudges on the photo are hail stones (Buffalo is never far from winter!).
So the next time you're in western NY, take time to visit Buffalo. While it's lost half its population with the closing of industry, things now appear to be on the upswing and there are lots of interesting things to see and do plus the food is terrific!

It's apple pickin' time in NYS

Rather than going anywhere this past week (the weather here was just too beautiful to leave!!!), friends came to us. An apple fairy must have visited our trees this spring because, even though the trees had very few blossoms, they are loaded with apples.
Sydney (the first gal on the ladder) and Bailey (the second gal on the ladder) had never made apple cider before. So, just in case you never have either, they're going to show you how it's done.
First you pick the apples (dah!), then put them in a garbage can filled with water to wash them (did dunking for apples get started this way?). Throw the apples in the hopper while John (his arm was about ready to fall off when we finished) turns the wheel to chop them into little pieces. Smooth the apples pieces out (almost as good as making mud pies), put the top over the apple mush, and turn the crank to squeeze out the juice. Then, of course, you have to taste it to make sure it's just right. And, if you're really lucky, your grandma (Melody) takes you for a ride in the little red apple wagon.
Later in the day when the grownups come to make cider, a wee bit of wine somehow makes the cranking a whole lot easier (that's Pamme hiding behind the crank). Beware though, this close to Halloween, it just might turn you into a very scary beast! (Actually, that's ugly dog Ed who doesn't like either cider or wine - go figure!)

Earlville State Forest

See the sign but where's the forest? It's actually behind the camera but this view is not to be missed either.
So why a trip to a forest? Well, it's been a bit rainy and a bit chilly which are actually pretty good conditions for collecting edible fall mushrooms. So I called Sally, my friend who's an expert (although she would deny it) on the subject, and we went on a foray to the state forest. Actually the forest is just one hill over from where I live but there's this little problem of some VERY curious beef cows who live in the pasture in between so, rather than walking, we drove.
The road through the forest is beautiful anytime of year but it's particularly beautiful in the winter with snow and makes a great cross country ski trail. The cows have gone to the barn by then (or perhaps to the market or your dinner plate) so if you are game for a fairly exciting downhill run (and a fairly strenuous uphill climb on the way back), you can ski from our house over there.
But... back to mushrooming. We found LOTS and LOTS of different kinds. It is amazing how one can walk along and not see any. But if you stop and really take the time to look hard you can usually spot some.
By now you're probably imagining all the wonderful mushrooms we're having for supper. Well, the sad news was that none of those we found in the forest were edible. However, all was not not lost as we stopped by Craine Lake where we knew there should be shaggy manes growing. The picture is our total harvest which Sally was generous enough to let me have. The little white thing next to my reading glasses is the mushroom in case you didn't spot it. Now to figure out how to share with John....

St. Lawrence Seaway...

In case you've not been following the weather in the North American mid-west, rainfall is way below normal affecting the water levels in the Great Lakes and, thus, the St. Lawrence. This past weekend was the traditional "end of the season" closeup for the camps in the Thousand Islands, not to mention it was Canadian Thanksgiving - always a reason to get together with friends for good food and conversation! And it was WARM!!! (as opposed to the times we've helped close up camp when snow was in the air). John & Terry hoped to get in one last (also the second but last sounds better) sail of the season. The photo is of their dock (the original point of this paragraph). The water level is so low there you can walk across to the other side. Need I say more about sailing?
Warm weather, however, still encouraged porch sitting with the neighbors. Other contributing factors may have been WAYYYYYYYY too fun at Canadian T-Day the day before, Connie & John on the swing already had coffee made, and there was a LOT of stuff to store and clean out in preparation for closing up camp. Staying at camp any longer is NOT advised as everyone who's leaving feels free to bring you everything that's left in their refrigerators.
Luckily the camps are small and there were six of us so battening down the hatches for winter didn't take long. In fact, our friend Terry, his aunt Doris (can you believe she's 93?!!) and his cousins Carol and Susan were still smiling when we were finished.
And the last photo? If my mushroom identifier is right, it's called Witches Butter and was growing in Terry's yard. It was probably about 8 inches in diameter and got oranger (and bigger!) every day we were there.

Excuses & Sackets Harbor...

Fall, beautiful weather, too many days away from home, too many fall chores to get done, laziness... never enough time to do everything so this blog ended up at the bottom of the heap. My apologies for not posting an "out of time, be back later" notice.

Frost has not yet come to this part of NY so this flower bed is happily awaiting "leveling" to later in the month although I did "reposition" those rocks on the left in preparation for downsizing next spring. Too much travel + too many flower beds + too little time = chaos!

Down at Craine Lake in Earlville our friends, Judi & Scott, are wondering where their summer cottage went. Gone forever... but soon to be replaced by a new (except for the part wall on the right that allows them to build again on the site - don't you love code regulations?!) year-round home. Geese are flying everywhere right now, especially at the lake, so it's amazing there aren't any in this photo.

But enough local stuff and on to... Italy? Nope! If you can believe it, it's an outdoor restaurant in Sackets Harbor, a beautiful little village on the east coast of Lake Ontario.

It has a wonderful protected harbor that the US Navy used as a major shipyard and its headquarters for the Great Lakes in the War of 1812. Today the barracks have been "redone" into very nice private housing. And of course the harbor is filled with sailboats instead of military vessels. As the courtyard and harbor suggest this area is definitely "protected". For some reason the winds from the lake sweep up over the village carrying the "snow that's measured in feet" to the Tug Hill area to the east and Oswego to the south. Locals told us that in the winter they always call ahead to Watertown for weather conditions, only 8 miles to the east, before venturing out.

Continuing north and east along the Seaway Trail you can find the Chaumont Barrens Preserve (if you're REALLY dedicated). And even then, you definitely need to read up on what exactly alvar is (we didn't have a clue and the sign was NO help). The internet tells all though, so if you're interested... http://www.nature.org/wherewework/northamerica/states/newyork/preserves/art11823.html

Tillie's Back!

Tillie the VW has been on the road again adding Massachusetts and Maine to her state map and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Bridge said she ran like a top most of the way refusing to start only one time. Even then she was only half a block from the best VW mechanic in Nova Scotia and the repair was minor. (Tillie must be Irish with the luck she has had in choices of places to break down.)

At any rate we met up with Bridge in Tillie on Vinalhaven, Maine unloading from the ferry. I love the new sign that's appeared in the ferry loading area - am not sure if it refers to people or cars...

Photo 3 is Bridge in the ocean in front of the cabin where we were staying(cold as in brrrrrrrrrrrr is the only way to describe the water in that part of Maine!) Bridge was feeling a pit drowsy before he went in but was awake for hours after that little dip so I guess it did what it was supposed to.

Photo 4 is at the Common Ground Fair in Unity, Maine. You are seeing the backsides of 4 of the 8 mule hitch (take my word - it is NOT easy to take a photo of 8 mules all at once let alone hitch them up and get them to go anywhere).

Photo 5 is the "Philadelphia" at dock at the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum - a wonderful little museum on the Vermont side of Lake Champlain especially if you're interested in history and sunken ships.

Taking the ferry across the Lake Champlain we headed to Tupper Lake, NY for a stop at the new Natural History Museum (also called the Wild Center). We can't say enough good things about it. A beautiful facility and it's only going to get better. It's a MUST SEE the next time you're anywhere close. The bridge goes across the "pond" - don't you love the stick railing? It looks so easy but I'm sure it's not.

Further down the road at the end of Long Lake you can enjoy the air both on the ground and in the air or do as we did and have lunch while you watch the planes take off and land on the lake. The trees are not quite in full color yet, but pretty nonetheless.

And lest you think this trip was all fun and no work, that's John on the tractor & our friend Karol moving BIG rocks around to rebuild a terrace in front of the house in Vinalhaven. Thank heavens for big machinery/toys. Years ago when the terraces were built they probably used men, rollers and perhaps a horse. (Of course those men were probably also younger and knew what they were doing!) Even so, our modern day guys did a pretty decent job.

Poolville

Poolville is one of those "destination" communities... you just don't pass through it on the way to anywhere. One needs to know it's there and hope the GPS can find it.

Admittedly there's not much in Poolville except for some beautiful old homes and a great little restaurant. It's so small in fact that I couldn't even find a population for it. Getting there from our direction is always fun as you get to pass the neighborhood goat commune - lots of little kids around. I'm not sure who's watching who in this photo...

Just on the outskirts of Poolville is the "Poolville Rural Cementary" (I always wonder where the city cementary is when I read that sign.) It's very old with headstones dating back to the early 1800's. And to leave no doubt in your mind that it is rural, that's corn being grown in the field along side.

Poolville is also home to a little known but very popular art gallery. In fact the number of folks it attracts would make many galleries very envious. If you're in the area please note it has "unusual" hours - Wed. & Sat. only from 7:10 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Some galleries serve refreshments to attract visitors. This gallery works the other way - it takes your garbage... We try to visit at least a couple of days a month. Care to join us?

Family Fun Day...

Well we didn't stray far this week (a turn of the season cold pretty much wiped me out for any travel.) However...
This afternoon was another of our town's planned bicentennial events - Family Fun Day. After many days of hot dry weather, it of course rained most of the day. Our residents should work for the postal service - rain, snow - some of us still manage to turn out.
Most of the kids had never played any of the old-fashioned games. The sack race (can you believe we actually had to make our own burlap sacks?! - the feed companies use plastic or paper these days) was as much fun as always even if we did have to limit it to three at a time (we ran out of burlap for bags!)
Then there was the "hollerin'" contest but we could only get six kids to give it a try and two of them wouldn't do it unless no one looked at them (am sure that doesn't stop them at home!) Surprise, surprise! The shyest one had the loudest scream going (somehow the kids didn't quite understand the difference between hollerin' & screaming but no one was going to argue. Not to mention the adults were all too shy to compete themselves...)
The pie eating contest - (personally I find eating contests disgusting but I was outvoted.) For a bit of history it was called the "William Bulkley Pie Eating Contest". Now you may think I'm trying to associate "BULKley" with eating but in fact he was the person who developed the Chenango Strawberry Apple in our township. And the pies were, of course, apple.
For a little more exercise in the rain there was the spoon race where you had to race balancing a raw egg in a spoon (the wimpy adults including myself are all under the eaves of the roof watching.)
But the most popular game of the afternoon proved to be the good old fashioned egg toss. On wet grass it was pretty unbelievable how far a raw egg could bounce without breaking. Eventually we had a winner. Then the kids wanted to play again & again until all the eggs were broken. The rain did come in handy after all....

The GREAT New York State Fair!

The end of August in upstate wouldn't be complete without a trip to the New York State Fair (at least once every 4 or 5 years). As always there was lots to see and do...

The sand sculpture is a good place to start (if only because you can look at it while you enjoy your baked potato with all the fixin's - still only $1). Then there was angora rabbit shearing in the poultry barn (it also houses the rabbits). It's also where they have the "Crowing contest". I fully expected to see/hear folks imitating roosters but, I guess when you've got the real thing on site, that's not necessary. Instead they put the "contestants" in cages where they have 15 minutes to crow. The most crows wins (we didn't stay...). For some chickens it was a "bad hair day". Tom looked like he was dreading November. The goose was huge - probably mean too. Back at the rabbit shearing - all that fur came off that rabbit! If your cholesterol is low, a trip to the fair is a good way to raise it a notch or two. You can get anything fried...

There was a woodworking demo going on outside the ag museum by the guy with the beard which John said was great. I went inside and talked to "Bob". Lunchtime for the piglets. (We did try to find Norm, our neighbor and the world's largest pig, but am not sure where they put him that day...) Lunchtime for the triplets (goats) and shearing time for the sheep (it was a HOT day!). Are those seals so did someone just do a bad job of shearing? Meanwhile in the dairy barn cleanup chores are going on while the butter sculpture stayed cool in the dairy products building (it's still possible to get a glass of milk there for a quarter). Back at the museum the demo is going on once again.

A lot of walking but a fun day!

Tillie did NOT take us to the fair (but we did go on a yellow school bus). Tillie has instead gone off on another adventure. From right to left we have John, Bridge, James, Emily (the dog is Roscoe). Bridge (who is the true owner of Tillie) came to take her on a three week adventure to Maine and Nova Scotia. John is pointing to the states of Massachusetts and Maine that Bridge will add to Tillie's window collection. Last word was they had made it to Bar Harbor with no problems (much to John's relief - he felt like he was sending his kid off to school!)

Canastota

So what do you think of when you hear the name Canastota? If your spelling and pronunciation is as bad as mine, wagons might come to mind. Now, lest you might think me too off base, Canastota did manufacture wagons, it's just that they were of the "dumping wagon" variety and not the conestoga wagons that went west.

These days Canastota is probably best known for the Boxing Hall of Fame. Is that where we went? No way - not even for the sake of this blog. Instead we went to our friend Don's 70th birthday party. (In spite of the fact that I couldn't get him to smile for the camera, he really is a happy fellow). His mother on the right said 70 years ago was "the worst day of her life" (she'd been in labor for 3 days). She, too, is a happy person who doesn't smile much for the camera. (She must be a bit older than 39...).

So what else is there to do in the area? Well, a couple miles south is Oxbow Falls County Park. Supposedly there are 3 waterfalls but exactly where they are is a little questionable - we didn't find them - perhaps spring is a better time to go. According to the sign, "the park is the northern (we thought they must have meant western) edge of the Helderberg Escarpment" formed 400 - 350 million years ago. Although the cliffs are overgrown in most places there are a couple of places you can look over Oneida Lake and the "plain" around it. (But.... can you believe everything you read? I did a search on Helderberg Escarpment and the only reference I could find had the entirety of it located in Albany County. Oxbow Falls seems instead to be part of the Appalachian Plateaus which extend from south of Rochester TO the Helderberg Escarpment south of Albany. These plateaus continue to rise to the south eventually forming the Catskill Mountains. But can you believe everything you read on the internet either?)

Continuing on a bit further south toward Fenner you come to the site of the 1615 Champlain Battle. It was here that Samuel de Champlain attacked the Oneidas, one of the six Iroquois Nations. He was unsuccessful. According to the sign... the attack turned the Iroquois Nation against the French. Over the next 100 years the Iroquois always sided with the English in battles against the French. Thus, it was "the most decisive battle in American history for it was here that the question of whether America north of the Rio Grande was to become an English or French territory was thus decided". (If you want to read other opinions, go searching.) All I know for sure is, this blog is written in English, not French, s'il vous plait...

Gilbertsville

What does one do when it's August but it's overcast and the temp is in the 50's? Well, I took the weatherman at his (a woman would NOT have made this forecast) word, did a load of laundry, hung it on the line, then headed off to the beautiful village of Gilbertsville for lunch with friends. Nick (photo center) & his wife Abbey (almost off the photo at the left) are the proud parents of twins who were off sleeping in some corner of this house that their great great grandparents owned and that is still in the family. It is lovely as are so many of the homes in Gilbertsville. It's been years since John and I had driven around the village but the old homes are still as beautiful as we remembered - a beautiful village to go walking.
Next "door" is another house and farm that's also been in Nick's family for several generations. The stone building Nick is standing next to is the oldest surviving "milk house" in Otsego County. It's been a LOT of years since it was used for that purpose.
Both properties look down the Butternut Valley and Butternut Creek. If you're a fan of "The Leatherstocking Tales" by James Fenimore Cooper, this is where Natty Bumppo shot arrows across the creek (or something like that...)
Can you guess what you're looking at in this last photo? It is right on the edge of Gilbertsville and was in the 1970's & 80's the world's best polo field. It's the Pete Boshwick Field (the sign is still up) and the owner still keeps it mowed and ready to go (and I thought I was an optimist!). Those little dots in the distance are horses - polo ponies I'm sure. So if you can put together a polo team this might just be the place to have a match.
Back home, the clothes are now "dripping" and we're considering building a fire in the stove. It IS August in upstate NY after all!

Sink? Swim? Sail? Regatta?

But first a bit of history...
A few years ago John saw an ad for a "free" Comet sailboat in Maryland. (Beware those ads that say "free"!) Then a harrowing (to my way of thinking) trip back to NY (rotten parts kept flying off - John took a friend. I stayed home and did fun things). Since then, John's spent many many hours (and $$) repairing it. If you think you can see the floor through the top of the boat in the photo, you're right (not to mention that's the bottom, not the top). It needed just "a little bit" of work.

In the meantime our friend Terry bought another old Comet - both boats were built in the 1930's (it actually HAD a bottom AND a top) for John to work on (guess he thought John would never get his back together). After a bunch of work and a quick sink to the bottom at the dock upon launching, it actually has been sailable the past couple of years.

This year both boats, (John's is named "Have", Terry's "Have Not"), were sailable - hence the regatta. One small problem, there is only ONE set of sails. However, since "Have" had never been in the water, it was questionable whether or not a second set of sails would, in fact, be needed...

This past weekend was the BIG launch on the St. Lawrence...
Photo 1 - John making sure the sails actually fit and work before he launches it.
2 - "Have" is backed into the water for the official launching.
3 - What is that bubbling stuff coming into the bottom of the boat? Surely not water?! (Turns out "somehow" a little round hole was letting water in.) Rather than letting it sink, they pulled the boat out, plugged the hole with a twig, and filled the boat with water overnight just to make sure the wood swelled enough to take care of any other small leaks.
4 -Male river muses...
5 - Day 2 - The mast and sails go up before Have is launched (a bit unusual but, hey, I'm only the photographer...)
6 - Have floats!!! And sails!!!
7 - And tows nicely!!! (Due to a "small" lack of knowledge regarding water depth on the other side of the bay, the centerboard started plowing bottom and more or less got stuck.)
8 - However, John & co-captain Leigh soon have their bearings and sea legs.
9 - They even get a bit adventurous (Are you thinking I must have a super telephoto lens on my camera? Let's just say it helps to be in the motor boat that stayed close just in case...)

Today? Perhaps a final sail before leaving Thousand Island Park... Then I'm sure the search will be on for that second set of sails!!!

The Mighty Hudson...

Surprise! The blog is early for a change. Instead of Tillie Tours, we joined the Waterville Travelers Club for a trip in Tillie's BIG "Uncle George" and headed for a luncheon cruise on the Hudson River around Albany.

The building with all the red turrets is the New York State capital. "No dome?" you say. The story goes that a dome was in the original plans. However, the rise (they call it a hill but I think that's stretching it a bit) it was being built on proved to be "unstable"... in other words the more they built the more they thought it might "slip" off the hill. So instead of adding the planned heavy dome, they opted instead for a skylight. (I might also add they were waaaaaaaay over budget, not that that ever has anything to do with spending public dollars.)