Category Archives: Churches

The Not So Easy Trip to Boston

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I bet you want to know what I did on Saturday that left me practically crippled on Sunday.

I went to a barbecue but not just any barbecue . I went to the Phantom Gourmet’s Barbecue Beach Party at City Hall Plaza in Boston.

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To get there I drove to John Quincy Adam station in Quincy to park and take the Red Line. When we got to North Quincy everyone had to get off the train and walk what seemed like a mile to the shuttle buses. They took us to JFK station where another 100 stairs or a long curving handicap ramp awaited until we could make it back to the train. Once back on the Red line I rode to Park St Station in downtown Boston.

I was going to change to the Green line here to go one stop to Government Center. But that was not to be. The Government Center station is closed for repairs and the escalator to ground level in Park street was torn apart. Another steep set of stairs stood between me and the the exit. Ugh! It really makes one sympathetic to the plight of the truly handicapped.

Once on the street I had to take a picture of the Spire on the Park St Church.

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I love spires and blue sky. If you follow along with me for long you’ll probably see many of them.

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There were a lot of people in Boston today. Tourists were out in droves. I stopped at the Old Granary Burial Ground but there was a waiting line to get in! Gives new meaning to the phrase “They were just dying to get in”. I’ll have to tell you some facts about this cemetery which was founded in 1660. Maybe that would make a good post one day.

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Anyway just a little past the cemetery is 3 Center Plaza, a rounded building that lies across from City Hall Plaza. ( I worked there in a previous day and time)  As I crossed the street I snapped a picture of the Old State House, now a museum. It’s so tiny surrounded by modern skyscrapers.

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From there I skirted the construction fences. I figured there must be someplace to get through  but nope. I walked past the coffee shop formerly known as the Steaming Kettle. The large kettle was still there but no longer steaming and the coffee shop is now a Starbucks.

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I followed the fence and the arrows as it took me up another set of stairs and back down the other side. Urban mountain climbing.  I had a nice view of Faneuil Hall, the birthplace of American Freedom.

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Then I was at the first check point.

To Be continued……..

Wedding Capital of Tennessee

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One thing I haven’t said too much about is weddings. Probably because I’m not in the market for a wedding venue. But I couldn’t help noticing all the cute little chapels scattered around Gatlinburg.

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I looked  up weddings in one of Gatlinburg’s brochures and found 12 different Chapels listed along with 5 additional outdoor or cabin venues. The brochure calls Gatlinburg the Wedding Capital of the South…not just Tennessee.

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Gatlinburg Chapel is credited with introducing wedding chapels to the area and thousands of weddings have been performed here including Billy Ray Cyrus and Patti Lovelace.

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True or not, there are lots of cute, little  Chapels dotting the landscape.

 

The Most Twisted Dirt Road in the World

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“They” all said it was quite the drive. “They” all said it would take a long time. Most encouraged me to skip this stop but it’s in the auto touring pamphlet…and “they” promised me ELK!

Do any of my readers remember my trip to South Dakota when my sister and I got lost on the Pine Ridge Reservation and drove the ” longest dirt road in the world”? Well that one was straight. I found it’s twisted cousin here in the Cataloochee. Actually a good portion of it was on the way into the valley.

The brochure describes the Cataloochee as a an “idyllic mountain valley “, off -the- beaten- path”, and lovely destination.  I’ll add fun if you are adventurous.

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The 11 mile dirt road is basically a one lane road that spends much of it’s 11 miles twisting back on itself. There are sharp corners with blind turns and pray you don’t meet a vehicle coming in the other direction. There’s no shoulder to speak of and very little room to pull over. I did meet a few cars and we mostly hugged the sides of the roads til we could squeak by. It was the longest 11 miles I’ve ever driven. More than once I wondered if I’d gone the wrong way but there really wasn’t any place to make a wrong turn.

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Finally I found a gate and a small sign “Cataloochee”. But beyond the gate was , you guessed it. More  dirt road. I’d come this far I. I wasn’t going to stop now so Onward!

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Finally as I rounded a turn and slid (literally)  down the dirt and gravel hill, the road dumped me out of the trees and into a big valley. Several historic buildings were bordering the road. I came to a one lane bridge with not 1 ranger but 3 all parked right at the bridge. I stopped and asked if I’d found the Cataloochee and where were the Elk?

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I was assured that I was in the right place but that it was too early. I could cross the bridge and follow the road to the end where there was a trail head and a place to turn around. They said the elk would be around eventually as it got closer to sunset.

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I wasn’t looking forward to driving out on that road in the dark but I wasn’t giving up either. I drove to the trail head and parked to wait.

Indiana Wants Me

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Back to my vacation decision making. I feel pretty comfortable saying Idaho should be left for another year and another style of vacation. Colorado is still in the running. The next State with a timeshare exchange where I haven’t visited is Indiana. And that gave me a “ear worm” you know when a song gets stuck in your head and you can’t get it out?

The minute I saw Indiana had an exchange I heard the song Indiana Wants Me start running through my head. I can only remember the refrain so that makes it especially annoying. (Indiana wants me, Lord, I can’t go back there
Indiana wants me, Lord, I can’t go back there
I wish I had you to talk to)
Anyway Indiana has 1 exchange in Mishawaka, the Varsity Club of America.

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According to the timeshare description this time share is located in the heart of a college town with easy access to the University of Notre Dame. It’s near the Indiana / Illinois line only 100 miles from Chicago.

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A more interesting location for me anyway is Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. Carl Sandburg once wrote “The dunes are to the Midwest what the Grand Canyon is to Arizona.

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Charles Kuralt sang the praises of Madison but that little town is located in the southeastern part of the state. Too far from Mishawaka. Same goes for Nashville and Brown County.

About 4 hours away in west central is Parke County. Parke County is the unofficial covered bridge capital of the World. Ahhh my photographer’s heart is going pit-a- pat! But what a long drive that would be. How much time would I have to explore the bridges if I have to drive 4 hours each way?

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Only an hour from Mishawaka is the little town of Topeka. Why do I mention this? Because  if popcorn had a world headquarters it would be here. Yoder Popcorn Shoppe sells popcorn “the way you remember it”. That’s tempting!

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And that about sums up Indiana. I’m not a Nascar fan so the Indianapolis 500 or anything about the speedway wouldn’t be an attraction for me. I won’t rule it out yet but unless you folks can give me  more suggestions I don’t think it will beat out Colorado.

Once again, I look to you, my readers and followers for comments, suggestions and advice about Indiana as a vacation spot. Remember, base camp is in Mishawaka.