Category Archives: Travel

End of the day in Deerfield

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We spent quite a bit of time at Magic Wings. More than I think either Nancy or I had expected but since it was such a long drive, it’s nice that it kept us all interested. We had passed a dinosaur exhibit on our way but we spent so much time at Magic Wings that we didn’t have time to go back there. Alex, who loves Dinos was disappointed but was appeased when we told him where we were headed next.

Our last stop was Richardson’s Candy Shop. Nancy wanted to  pick up some chocolates for the kids’ Easter Baskets and Richardson’s would make them kind of special.

We found the store right down the road and oh, it smelled so good in there!

The Yankee Candle Flagship store is also near here but we just didn’t have time to stop. It was almost 5pm and we were looking at a 2 1/2 hour drive home. So candy in hand we started back. We didn’t take the highway this time because of all the traffic jams we had passed on the way over. Most of those backups were due to road construction so we really didn’t want to take the chance that they would still be  there. That could double our travel time.

The alternative was to take RT 2 or RT 2 A, which is the Mohawk Trail. I would have liked 2 A as it is wonderfully scenic but to appreciate it you need time to stop and explore and time was what we didn’t have. So RT 2 it was.

It was still a beautiful drive. We passed a huge trestle train bridge and a large roiling waterfall. Long stretches of white water boiled in the river that ran alongside the road. Of course since I was driving I couldn’t take any pictures. I promised myself a return “Photography” trip.

We were almost home when the “hungries” started so we made one last stop, this time at McDonald’s where we took a bathroom break and picked up fast food dinner.

We arrived back at Nancy, Alex, and Dawn’s home tired and  in the dark  but satisfied that it was a good day.

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Ahh I wonder where I’ll end up next 🙂

The Herring are running!

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It’s a sure sign that spring is coming when the herring return from the sea to spawn.

I’ve been watching more and more sea gulls gather at the Herring Run in Middleboro. I figured they must know something so Monday on my way to work I stopped to check out the waters. 

The gulls were everywhere, lined up like they were going to a free buffet and in effect, they were. Those poor fish not only have to fight their way upstream from the sea but have to run a gauntlet of hungry gulls and even a great blue heron.

I was on my way over to the bridges when a man approached me. He told me he helped maintain the run. He saw my camera and said if I was into photography  I should go to the fish ladder in the center of Middleboro. He said the herring run only last a a couple of days and that it had been two days already…not much time left. He gave me directions and I promised to check it out.

Since I had to work that had to wait until Tuesday and Tuesday was a “wonderful “, rainy, windy day. I reminded myself that April showers bring May flowers. When the rain seemed to be letting up I hopped in the car and headed over to Middleboro.

I didn’t think I’d remember what the little map meant that the gentleman had given me but before too long I found myself in the center of Middleboro heading toward the municipal light plant. And that’s where I found a little park and the fish ladder.

 My informant was right! There were fish everywhere. I knew what a fish ladder was but I’d never really seen one up close or watched fish using one. This was really interesting. As the fish worked their way upstream the ladder made the jump smaller and provided calmer water on each side to let them recover for the next jump. The ladder was teeming and I felt bad when a fish would make the jump only to be swept back again because they didn’t get into the calmer water on the side fast enough.

Down at the river end was a little falls and there the tiny fish were trying to jump them. These fish are much smaller than salmon and don’t jump as high but trying to photograph one in the air was just about mission impossible. It gave me a whole new insight into those National Geographic pictures of the salmon in mid air flying over rapids and falls. I took over 60 pictures and only managed to catch a fish part way out of the water in one. It’s no prize winner but I will include it here simply because I don’t have anything better. It will illustrate the torrents these fish were trying to navigate.

The park itself is a very pretty little park with picnic tables and benches. I bet it’s a pleasant place on a sunny spring day. 

The gulls were here too but they were just flying overhead. Maybe my presence was keeping them away. It wasn’t too long before the rain started again in earnest so I wrapped up my visit with a last picture of a grass-covered boulder or hummock that made me think of Cousin It from the old Adams Family Show.

 Then I ran for the car before my camera and I got soaked.

The 2nd Roger Williams Park

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It doesn’t take all that long to see The Roger Williams National Memorial so since I was in Providence anyway I decided to take a ride over to the Roger Williams Park and Zoo.

This was just a little side trip and I didn’t plan to go into the Zoo. I just wanted to drive around the park and see if the Carousel was open.

　

It was such a beautiful day. The park was lovely even if nothing was blooming yet. Squirrels were busy running around looking for forgotten nuts, swans and geese and ducks were swimming in the river. Everything was very clean except the waterline.

That was the one jarring note, the trash that was floating up against the river bank. Soft drink cups, papers, plastic straws, bottles, cans, the list goes on. I hope this is just because the staff hasn’t had time to clean this up and not neglect. It’s such a pretty park and I am concerned for the birds that make the river their home.

I spotted some Pussy Willows and 2 pairs of Mallard Ducks, their bright green heads shining in the sun.

Continuing around the park I came to Carousel Village. I really didn’t expect it to be open but it was. It might have been a private birthday party but no one challenged me when I came in and stood taking pictures of the brightly lit carousel.

By the time I left the Carousel Village clouds were beginning to gather. It was still nice out but it was time to head home.

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All I can say is “What a nice day!.”

Another Challenge~ New England Passport

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I was mentioning to one of my co-workers that I would love to have an Irish post for St. Patrick’s day next year and she said she knew someone who was going to Ireland.  She said one of our co-workers from another department was going over for about 2 weeks. I asked if she thought he’d let me get an interview to post and she said if she spoke to him, she’d ask.

Well, she got back to me and said his exact words were…Bring it on! So we’ll have a real Irish adventure to look forward to!

The title for today’s post is Another Challenge. When I was at the AAA Marketplace I stopped by the National Parks booth. I am a great fan of the National Parks. I’ve mentioned before that I collect the stamps in the National Parks Passport. Well they have a regional Passport. So I accepted one.  I just got around to reading it and it covers National Parks in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts , Connecticut and Rhode Island. Altogether there are 23 parks listed in the New England Passport. The challenge is that to complete the book you have to visit all of them before December 31, 2011. If I succeed I will get the 25th Anniversary Passport.

Well, I love a challenge and some of these parks are close together so I may be able to go to more than one in a day but Acadia National Park in Maine is a hike. I’ve had it on my list for a couple of years now. I really think it deserves more that a “quick hit” so I’m going to have to do some planning to get there before the end of this year.

 I wonder what the weather is going to be like on Wednesday. If this snow clears I might just head down to the Cape. I love Cape Cod and that’s where I can collect the stamp for the Cape Cod National Seashore.

www.nps.gov

But for now I will sign off. I need to check airfares so Sandy and I can book our flight to Phoenix.

WOW Another Monday!

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I dropped the ball today. I usually take time on Sunday to prepare a post for today but instead I went “gallivanting” out to Plymouth Harbor to take pictures. Apparently while out there I caught a cold that has settled into my lower back..OUCH***..But enough excuses..Let me ramble on a little and you can comment with your cheers and jeers .

First Plymouth Harbor is  a pretty little harbor. The Mayflower isn’t out of winter dry dock yet so it was pretty quiet. I like their sea wall. It isn’t just this cement wall rather it’s made of stone and cement. There are rocks set in the top row that kind of point up. It reminds me of a moat on a medieval castle. I think it’s mostly decorative.

 I got a couple of nice sunset pictures. The sunsets this time of year seem to be more pastel than red.

 

When I got home I was reading one of my travel magazines that came Saturday. There was an article about Arizona ...Arizona for all seasons… so I checked that out. It covered the whole state and since we won’t have time for the southern end , south of Phoenix, that section was merely interesting but not useful for our upcoming trip. The northern recommendations involved mostly road trips and did hit some of the high points we have planned. One place that came up in the article and in an article in Popular Photography was Canyon de Chelly. I wish we had time for that but I think this trip is going to be packed to overflowing. We’ll have to see.

 

And the last but not the least thing I want to mention was an article in the same Travel Magazine about The Black Hills and Badlands of South Dakota. Sandy and I were there last June and had a wonderful time. In the article this family was there for  2 days…1 weekend….48 hours and they saw, according to the article, everything we saw in a week!

There are pictures with the article too. They even went to Crazy Horse Memorial.

 Like us they used Rapid City as their base but they didn’t mention much more about the city than that. They went to Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse Memorial (We only drove by Crazy Horse) Wall Drug, The Badlands (can I assume they mean they drove the Badlands Loop?)and Custer State park. They mention seeing buffalo, antelope, big horn sheep, the Beggin’ Burros and prairie dogs…Ok I got all those with my camera too and I bet they didn’t get a prairie dog with a flower either!

Scout

 But to do it all in 48 hours? I like the way we did it much better. Even if the authors think we were slow it seemed like we had full days so I wouldn’t do anything different.

Well, that about wraps up my travel thoughts for the day.

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Not much to say about the spring trip until we start booking and that’s going to be soon. I’ve started exploring options for the 2012 trip but that’s still in the early, early stages..not ready for publication so I’m not sure what we’ll talk about tomorrow but I’ll think of something. Toss out some suggestions if you like. Maybe they will get my creative juices flowing. Maybe Scout has some tips up his furry sleeve.