Category Archives: History

One Last Chance

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One Last Chance

My hip surgery was scheduled for December 13. I had no idea how it would go. Would I wake up pain free and ready to climb tall mountains or would I continue to be little more than a cripple. It’s a big surgery and a lot of unknowns. I just had time for one more vacation before the BIG DAY. My sister and I set off to Colonial Williamsburgh.  My friend Joe was taking a bus up from Florida  to join us and we also planned a day with my brother and his wife. It would be a full week.

Historic Powhatan Resort

It was an easy drive from the Richmond airport to the Historic Powhatan Resort. Of course being a  “Yankee” I had to be educated on how to pronounce Powhatan. Bet I could stump the locals with some Massachusetts towns….Worcester, Gloucester, Peabody …but I digress. Sandy & I had one two bedroom unit and I reserved a one bedroom for Joe so he could have some privacy. Turns out they gave him a 2 bedroom too so he had his choice of beds!

 

 

Accommodations

Sandy and I arrived before Joe so we went through the check in process and got settled in our little home away from home. We had  a fireplaced living room, a 3 season porch, a patio area , dining area, full galley kitchen, two bathrooms and 2 bedrooms. Plenty of room. We didn’t expect to spend much time in the resort anyway. We wanted to see Busch Garden with it’s 10 million lights and Colonial Williamsburgh, maybe Jamestown. There’s lots of history here.

 

The Restaurant and Grill

Its nice when there is a restaurant on site.A lot of these resorts do not have restaurants. You have to drive to a town to grab a bite to eat. This resort had a nice little restaurant. The staff were fun and friendly and the food very good. We found ourselves eating there quite often during our stay. So far I was very pleased with what we were seeing.

Fort McClary

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Tough to Say No

Joe is only up from Florida for the summer. He was really anxious to get together but he isn’t one to be satisfied with a quick lunch or dinner. Joe really wanted to DO SOMETHING, or GO SOMEWHERE. I am acutely aware of my limitations these days and was very much afraid that if we headed out for adventure that I’d not be able to keep up.  We finally agreed to meet at his sister’s restaurant in Haverhill; Raff’s Cafe.

Exploring the New Hampshire Coast

After a pleasant breakfast at Raff’s cafe we headed out to see what we could see. I was doing the driving. It wasn’t log before Joe spotted a Wildlife sanctuary that he wanted to explore. I agreed to stop but didn’t get far on the uneven trail. Joe and camera went on ahead while I found a trailside bench to sit and wait. The day was gray and overcast with a brisk wind. It got quite chilly waiting for Joe to return from his explorations. I wonder if I could find this again once I have my new hips?

Fort McClary

We continued our leisurely drive winding through downtown Portsmouth only find ourselves crossing into Maine. In Kittery we saw a turnoff for Fort McClary and decided to stop. https://www.mainetrailfinder.com/trails/trail/fort-mcclary-state-historic-site

The grounds are small but there were some nice views. We wandered around taking pictures of the ocean and the old cannons. The block house stood silently watching. 

As we were wrapping up our bit of exploring we stopped to chat with two men that were at the entrance. One appeared to be Amish based on his clothing and beard the other was dressed in vintage closing and carried a black powder rifle. The gentleman with the rifle offer to give us a demonstration. Since it was very damp he said he hoped his powder was dry. He didn’t need to worry. The shot went off without a hitch. Loud and spitting flames! When it was over he let me hold his rifle. That thing is heavy! And almost as long as I am tall! 

The Volcano Tour Begins

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Evidence of Volcano Activity  is Everywhere

As we made the rounds to the various resorts we passed remains of past volcanic activity. Lava turns into very rich topsoil but it doesn’t happen overnight.  The Big Island is the youngest of the Hawaiian Islands. There are six volcanoes that have worked together over the last (give or take) one million years to create the Big Island. These volcanoes formed one after the other and partially overlap. From oldest to youngest their names are: Mahukona, Kohala, Mauna Kea, Hualalai, Mauna Loa and Kilauea. Three volcanoes are still active: Hualalai, Mauna Loa and Kilauea. Kilauea is currently erupting while the other two could erupt at any time. Mauna Kea is dormant, Kohala inactive and Mahukona has probably never breached the ocean surface.

The lava flows we passed on the Kona Side were from Mauna Loa’s last eruption is 1984

 

Lava flow to the ocean

Kona Coast

A Snow Capped Volcano

Halfway to Hilo we pulled into a picnic area. This was a former boy scout camp. It was clean and well maintained. The only negative was another tour had arrived before us and took the only handicapped table. Zane, our tour guide , and the young Aussie men pulled another table over to the edge of the paved walk way. This worked to allow our handicapped guest a way to wheel up to a table. Lunch was a excellent boxed lunch. The sandwiches and cookies were amazingly fresh. Zane explained that everything in the lunches from the fruit to the bread to the cookies were all local grown. In fact he had to wait for the cookies to come out of the oven this morning before he picked us up. It was cool while we picnicked. We were in the saddle between the 2 volcanoes, Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea. We could see the snow on the mountain tops.

Snow Capped volcano

 

Rainbow FallsHilo and Rainbow Falls

Zane told us that it would rain once we got to Hilo. Hilo is part of the rain forest and it rains every day. We skipped Akaka Falls and headed to Rainbow Falls. Sure enough it started to rain. When the sun is out there are rainbows over the falls caused by the spray, hense the name, Rainbow Falls. We’d just have to settle for the falls today, no rainbows.

tour bus

Across the Canadian Border

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The Rugged Canadian Wilderness

Once across the Canadian border we were able to see both the beauty and the wildness of the Canadian Rockies.  And it was cold here too. Lots of snow and ice.

Ice covered lake

At the Summit Rest Area we picked up our passports with our Yukon Stamps, grabbed a quick hot chocolate to ward off the cold then returned to the outside to explore the Yukon Suspension Bridge over the Tutshi River.

Crossing the Suspension Bridge

Yukon Suspension bridge

Tutshi RiverOK I’ll admit I am a bit of an adrenaline junky. More so when I was younger and I trusted my body a bit more but I still like things that make my heart pound a little. Crossing the Yukon Suspension Bridge did that. Stopping in the middle as it swayed and bounced so I could take pictures of the river was even more of a jolt. But it’s worth it. The Tutshi River was a raging maelstrom of white water. Its almost impossible to believe that the gold rush miners tried to raft down this river with their supplies.

Story Boards tell the Tale

Between the rest area and the suspension bridge were a series of story boards. They told  the miners’ tale of their hardships and extreme toil. Each miner was required to bring a year’s supply of food by the Canadian government to prevent starvation. In all, their equipment weighed close to a ton!

fog bound gulchThe Return

We loaded into buses for our return to Skagway. The fog continued to linger as the bus followed the same route as the train had in the morning. We were on our way to wrap up the trip with a “Garden Party” lunch. The lunch was forgettable as I can’t remember much about it now but I do remember the photographs of huge rhubarb leaves. The long hours of sunlight make up for the short growing season.

 

Garden Party

Back to the Ship

After the lunch it was back to the ship. As I recall we skipped any afternoon excursions to relax on our balcony.

Colonial Williamsburg

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A Vacation in Colonial Williamsburg

Colonials on horseback

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As I mentioned previously, July is not the time to vacation in Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia. Too hot and humid! I poked around some and finally settled on early December. The weather looks to be cool but not freezing and there’s so much to do!

Colonial dress

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Williamsburg in December

According to the website the Village is decked out in traditional decorations. You can keep busy with Santa sightings. Re-enactments and carolers in traditional dress roam the streets. Horse drawn wagons jingle their way through the streets. Sounds like a scene right out of Dickens!

Jamestown Settlement

Jamestown ruins

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Not far from Williamsburg you’ll find  the remnants of the Jamestown settlement. You can walk through a real archaeological dig. This should be just enough to get your mind ready for  a museum and a reconstruction of the life and culture of 17th-century Virginia.  I bet my sister, a real history buff, will love this!

Glass Blowing Anyone?

Glassblowing

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Once upon a time Jamestown officials thought Jamestowncould make glassmaking a profitable venture. In the end it wasn’t the right thing for Jamestown but the Jamestown Glasshouse is still one of the main attractions. We’ll have to check it out.

This one’s for my Sister

She’s the wine connoisseur. We can tour the Williamsburg Winery and enjoy a wine tasting. There are also several restaurants. Special meal packages can include the meals paired with fine wines.

Casks of wine

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How about some Peanuts?

I like peanuts. Whitley’s Peanut factory has been producing peanuts for 30 years so they must be good. Besides classic salted peanuts there’s sea salt & caramel, Butter Toffee, Pumpkin Spiced and more. Bring your taste buds and appetite!

peanuts

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This one’s for me

Zebra at Christmas

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Busch Gardens has a Christmas Town in December. With over 8 million Christmas Lights it is the largest light display in North America! Disney at Christmas is pretty spectacular so I need to see if this is really as amazing as they say.

Family Fun

One of my brothers and his wife live in Virginia. So a visit to their state wouldn’t be complete without invading their space at least once. I’m absolutely sure we’ll be getting together.