Always Something

Posted on January 20, 2013January 20, 2013 by Dusty Roads

It won’t be long now before I’ll be in the air and winging my was south to warm weather. My 2nd annual winter migration to escape the snow and cold of New England. Cat sitter has been secured. Extra cat food, treats and kitty litter brought in so at least the furry children will be well cared for in my absence.

My own preparations have been a teeny bit more challenging. My tripod wouldn’t fit in my suitcase. Why bother you ask? Because the 2nd half of my trip is the Florida Everglades and if I want to use my telephoto lenses I need a tripod for stability. I haven’t mastered the monopod yet but it makes a great walking stick. So it was off to the store to find a 27 inch suitcase instead of my 25 inch.

Next step was to log onto Carnival Cruise line’s web page to do my online check in and set up my “on board account”. Carnival is “cashless” while on board. That part actually went pretty smooth until I got to the part where I had to print the documents. The luggage tags printed , the cruise documents printed but not the boarding pass.

I thought it might be because my sailing partner had not set up his on board account yet so I sent an email off to him to get going on his docs. Good thing I did. Apparently the Carnival web site has issues. When he tried to access his booking it told him there was a problem and to book again. As he struggled with Carnival I went back into my account and could now print my boarding pass so I was all set. Not so my buddy. It was 2 full days before they told him the problem was corrected. I haven’t heard yet if it really was.

Tomorrow I’ll check my flight to see if that’s all set and finish packing…carefully…so I don’t get a furry stow away.

To be continued…..

Posting Schedule

Posted on January 19, 2013January 19, 2013 by Dusty Roads

I’m about to embark on a little jaunt and I am not sure how much access I’ll have to the internet. I have 2 more days on the 21 day Photo Challenge. I promise I’ll take at least one picture a day and share them as soon as I get “plugged in” again.
I’ll also give you a full report on where I’ve been and what I’ve done. (Hint) Cruise/ Mexico/ Mayan Ruins/ Everglades…So stay tuned. I’ll try not to be out of touch too long!~ Dusty

Packing Time

Posted on January 16, 2013January 16, 2013 by Dusty Roads

It’s been a few months since I did any traveling. Sometimes I just need to take some time to recharge that way I appreciate my trips more. I found last summer that one trip after another was exciting but draining. By the time I was headed out on my last trip I was worn out. It was so easy when I reached my sister’s house for the Adirondack Balloon Festival to just kick back. The weather helped because it rained so several launches were canceled.

It’s a new year now and my travel schedule is just getting started. The first thing I found was that my new and improved tripod with it’s “ball head” doesn’t fit in my old suitcase. After much debate I decided to get a new suitcase rather than leave the tripod home.
It was also time to replace my luggage tags. The old ones were starting to fade and I’d even managed to break the corner on one.

Rocky was ready to perch on my suitcase for a new portrait for the new tags.

(I’ve covered up the name and phone # on the tag for obvious reasons)

But one thing hasn’t changed. I’ll still have the suitcase with the most cat hair on it. Rocky immediately took his place on top of the suitcase. I can see packing is going to be its usual challenge!

Rain Rain Go Away

Posted on December 19, 2012December 19, 2012 by Dusty Roads

And what do you know…it did! Seems like every day I have off it rains. The weather report was for rain starting Sunday and going into Monday then followed by another storm system that would roll in with more…you guessed it…rain. That would last into Tuesday with heavy downpours at times. I pleaded with the storm gods to clear out for just 1 day because I had 2 young children to take to Edaville Railroad. Tuesday was the only day that my schedule fit with the children’s mother’s schedule. Rain would make it miserable so please , please go away…if just for a day.

I met Nancy (The Mom) for lunch at noon on Tuesday. It was a light drizzle so she said it would be ok. After lunch we “sprung” the kids from school for early release and ran back to their house for coats and hats because it was bound to cool off after dark. Edaville doesn’t open until 4 pm so we stopped for a snack at McDonald’s about 3. That killed 30 minutes which had us pulling into Edaville at a few minutes past 4. Perfect and as if the storm gods had heard my plea the clouds began to clear and the sun came out if only for about 20 minutes before it set for the day.

Alex knew where we were right away. I think it took Dawn a minute or two to get orientated then it was into the park.

While we waited for it to get a little dark we explored Santa’s workshop with model trains, toysets and Santa!

The kids sat with Santa and got candy canes then it was time for the kids to ride the rides and me to try to get some holiday light pictures before full dark.

Edaville almost closed down 2 years ago but something happened and plans changed. It’s back with refurbished rides and a full schedule. Holiday-themed lights are everywhere. Lighted animal sculptures roam the savannah that the train chugs through. ( The savanna is actually a Cranberry Bog) Sometimes they use a diesel engine but tonight is was steam.

I remember coming here years ago with my family when my niece (now a mother herself) was just a few years old.

Alex, being all boy, liked the bumper cars and he was tall enough this year to drive one on his own. Dawn was very brave and rode the huge ferris wheel that is almost as old as I am! The ferris wheel was built in 1953. Edaville itself has been operating in Carver since the 1940’s with occasional stops and starts for financial reasons.

The night flew by. Before we knew it they were calling all aboard for the last train. The kids were still flying high or so we thought but not long into the ride home quiet descended in the car. The kids were asleep in the back seat. What a peaceful end to a full evening of fun!

The Search for Angry Seas continues.

Posted on November 2, 2012November 2, 2012 by Dusty Roads

After a quick lunch at an IHOP in Newport, RI I reviewed my options. There’s a lighthouse I’d been meaning to try to find so this seemed a good opportunity. The Lighthouse is on Goat Island. I don’t know anything about that island either so the whole thing would be an adventure…and maybe there’d be some surf there.

I pulled out my trusty GPS and plugged in the address. It began by leading me back toward the Claiborne-Pell Bridge. I didn’t want to go over the bridge again and have to pay another toll but I decided to trust the GPS and sure enough…right before the bridge entrance was a left with a sign “Goat Island”.

Taking the left took me into historic downtown Newport. There were lots of signs for Goat Island to support the directions my GPS was shouting at me. Right by the Newport Visitor Center and Terminal a right turn took me to “The Causeway to Goat Island”. There was a little park on the right and a place to pull off the road so I stopped . I could see the Lighthouse and a great view of the bridge.

It’s just a little lighthouse.

The seas here were pretty calm too but the sun was starting to go in and out. It wasn’t quite so bright and sunny and a breeze had sprung up. A sailboat was cruising around the harbor.

I wanted to see if I could get a different angle on the lighthouse but when I crossed the bridge it became clear that the Lighthouse is located on the property that belongs to the Hyatt Hotel. There wasn’t much parking except for guests so I decided to move on.

Retracing my steps brought me back to downtown Newport. I wasn’t that far from the Mansions so I decided to try Ocean Ave. On the way I drove into Fort Adams. I just pulled into the parking area but I have added it to my list of spots I want to return to on a better day. The sky was rapidly clouding up and it was starting to sprinkle. A large helicopter circled over the bay.

Leaving Fort Adams I took a right. When I reached Ocean Ave. there was a barricade but it had been moved to the side of the road. The car in front of me didn’t hesitate so neither did I. And that’s where I found them…those angry seas that I knew had to be out there.

As I took pictures it began to rain harder. I moved on along up the road to Breton Park.

Along here the ocean was even wilder.

What an adventure! This had my adrenaline pumping. The wind was really blowing now and it was raining quite hard. I do believe the waves were getting bigger while I watched.

But all things must come to an end. The Newport Police arrived to throw everyone out.

They were nice about it but made it clear that it was time to leave. Like the road in Jamestown to Beavertail State Park, the end of Ocean ave was closed while crews removed sand and debris so I had to take a twisty series of side streets to get back to Broadway. By now it was really raining hard as I settled in for what looked to be a long , wet ride home. But I was satisfied. I’d found the angry seas.