Category Archives: Travel

WMEO Predictions for Fall- A Great Color Season this Year

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WMEO 9 Newsroom — We Meow, You Listen

Morning Edition: Fall Is Tiptoeing In (Even If the Calendar Says “Simmer Down, It’s Still Summer”)

Yes, technically it’s still summer. Labor Day hasn’t strutted in yet with its “last hurrah” energy, but the back‑to‑school chaos has begun, the A gray squirrel clings to the side of a tree trunk, its bushy tail arched behind it. The squirrel faces to the right, alert and wide‑eyed, with textured bark and soft green foliage in the sunlit background.final BBQs are warming up, and King Richard’s Faire is polishing its turkey legs for opening day on September 5.

Meanwhile, the squirrels have already declared it fall. They’re doing high‑speed acrobatics across the yard like they’re auditioning for Squirrel Cirque du Soleil. Banner and Balboa have filed several complaints with management.

Speaking of complaints…

Balboa’s Breaking News:

There was ONE sunbeam in the entire house this morning. Just one. And Banner took it. He didn’t just take it — he spread out in it like a smug croissant, soaking up every last photon while Balboa sat in the shadows, muttering about injustice and poor resource distribution.

Banner claims it was “first come, first serve.” Balboa claims it was “a hostile takeover.”

We report. You decide.

 

🍁 WMEO Fall Foliage Report 

Banner & Balboa, your feline field correspondents

Picnic anyone

Banner:

Good morning, leaf peepers. Last year’s foliage was… well… meh. Muted colors, blink‑and‑you‑miss‑it peak, and one maple that tried to turn orange but gave up halfway through.

This year? Oh, it’s looking much better. The forests got a long winter soak, and spring melt fed the roots like a spa day.

Balboa:

Also, we had those surprise all‑day rain events this summer. I hated them. My fur hated them. My emotional stability hated them. But apparently the trees loved them, so fine.

Banner:

All that moisture means the woods are primed for bright, dramatic, show‑off leaves that linger longer than last year’s sad attempt.

Balboa:

Red Tree

Watch the maples first — they’re the drama queens of autumn. When they start flashing those bright red leaves, the season has officially begun.

Banner:

We’ll track the color wave as it rolls from Maine down to Rhode Island. Get ready for nature’s grand finale.

Sponsor Message

This Foliage Update is brought to you by VSGO, camera gear for photographers who want clean lenses, crisp shots, and fewer “why is that smudge THERE” moments. 

WMEO Disclosure: Affiliate links ahead. If you buy something, WMEO earns a small commission at no added cost to you.  Banner says it keeps the newsroom lights on. Balboa says it keeps him from staging a coup. Both statements are technically true.

Stay Tuned

More foliage updates coming as the season progresses. Until then, please resume your regularly scheduled scrolling — preferably while sitting in a sunbeam, if you can find one. Balboa cannot.

End of bulletin. Please resume your regularly scheduled scrolling. Banner thanks you for your attention. Balboa would thank you too, but he’s still upset about the sunbeam situation.

Fall leaves

 

More Reality Behind the Shot- The One that Almost Got Away

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A small Atlantic puffin floating on calm gray-blue ocean water, holding several silver fish crosswise in its colorful beak.

Red fox kit Monday afternoonFinding Gems in the Tedious Work

This photo‑tagging project can be tedious, but every so often it hands me a little miracle. That special shot I thought I’d missed.

I’ve been digging through older folders — the ones full of “not bad, but not good enough” pictures I skipped over during my first sort — and I’m finding gems I never appreciated at the time.

Why I Take So Many Photos

When I’m out on a photography excursion, I take tons of pictures. Way more than anyone needs. Birds and animals don’t pose on purpose, and sometimes I’ll see “The Money Shot”… only for the lighting to shift or the subject to wiggle out of frame. It’s hard work, but it’s also exciting. My adrenaline spikes, my heart races, and I’m basically running on pure wildlife‑photographer joy.

The Not‑So‑Fun Part: SortingBreaching Whale

Then I come home, load 200+ images into Lightroom, and the real work begins. I do a quick pass to eliminate the truly blah or out‑of‑focus ones, narrowing it down to the handful worth polishing. This part isn’t fun, but I do get lost in the art of “imaging.”

Why I Keep the “Almost” Photos

The good news? I rarely delete those second‑tier pictures. Time changes my perspective, and sometimes one of those “almost” shots ends up being exactly what I need for a post.

And that’s how I found him — my little puffin with a beakful of fish.

 

 

Award Winning Photo from the Internet

The Inspiration Behind the Shot

This photo earned an international award years ago and was one of the inspirations behind my puffin photography trips. If you do a Google search for puffins with fish, the web is full of these photos. On Machias Seal Island, I saw puffins returning with their catch, but the best I managed was a mouthful of shrimp. That was my last puffin trip.

Shrimp, Its what’s for dinner

A Foggy Day, a Rocking Boat, and a Forgotten Puffin

But while reviewing older shots from the Egg Island tour — yes, the foggy day on the rocking boat — I found a picture I’d kept only because it showed how tiny puffins look in the vast open ocean. This time, though, something caught my eye. A tiny detail. A shape.

It wasn’t so much “How did I miss that?” as “How did I see it now?” Sheer luck, maybe. Or just the magic of looking at a photo years later with fresh eyes.

Zoom… Zoom… Zoom

I zoomed in. And zoomed. And zoomed.

There they were. Fish.

My little puffin had a mouthful of fish after all.

Polishing the Shot That Waited for Me

I sharpened, cleaned up the color, and cropped the heck out of it. It will never be a gallery‑sized 16×20, but a small 5×7 will work beautifully. And sure, it would never pass even the first round of a photo contest — I had to zoom in way too far — but I don’t care.

I love my little puffin. I thought this was going to be “the one that got away.” Turns out he was waiting for me all along.

 

50 Must Visit (Maybe) Places in America

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Good Morning, Dear Friends

Summer is winding down and we all try to squeeze in one more trip before vacation season slips away. Because of that, I’ve put together another fun list.. This time, it’s the 50 most famous places in America, The Good Old USA. . Now, I’m not saying these spots are good or bad — just famous. In fact, the article I read said most Americans have only visited five or fewer. So, I’ll note which ones I’ve been to, and then you can tell me your number in the comments. Finally, let’s see how many of these iconic places you’ve checked off. I’m not saying all of thes eplaces are great, no judgement here, they are just famous.

The Statue of Liberty standing on its pedestal on Liberty Island, with visitors below, an American flag to the right, and a partly cloudy sky overhead.

 

The 50 Most Famous Places in America

(My visits noted beside each one)

  1. Statue of Liberty (New York City, NY) — Yes
  2. The Strip (Las Vegas, NV) — Yes
  3. Times Square (New York City, NY) — Yes
  4. Disney World (Orlando, FL) — Yes
  5. Road to Hana (Maui, HI) — Yes
  6. Fort Sumter National Monument (Charleston, SC) — No
  7. White House (Washington, D.C.) — Yes
  8. Yosemite National Park (CA) — Not yet
  9. Central Park (New York City, NY) — Yes
  10. South Beach (Miami, FL) — Yes
  11. Liberty Bell (Philadelphia, PA) — No
  12. The Alamo (San Antonio, TX) — Yes
  13. Empire State Building (New York City, NY) — Yes
  14. Washington Monument (Washington, D.C.) — Yes
  15. Gateway Arch (St. Louis, MO) — No
  16. Golden Gate Bridge (San Francisco, CA) — No
  17. Chicago River (Chicago, IL) — Yes
  18. Hollywood Sign (Los Angeles, CA) — No
  19. Zion National Park (UT) — No, but I want to
  20. French Quarter (New Orleans, LA) — Yes
  21. Disneyland Park (Anaheim, CA) — Yes
  22. Pike Place Market (Seattle, WA) — Yes
  23. Yellowstone National Park (WY/MT/ID) — Yes
  24. Mount Rushmore (Keystone, SD) — Yes
  25. Niagara Falls (Niagara Falls, NY) — Yes

Hang in There — Halfway Through!

  1. Grand Canyon (AZ) — Yes
  2. Kennedy Space Center (FL) — No
  3. J. Paul Getty Museum (Los Angeles, CA) — No
  4. The Wave (AZ) — No, but very high on my list
  5. The Bean (Chicago, IL) — No
  6. Alcatraz Island (San Francisco, CA) — Yes
  7. Hoover Dam (NV) — Yes
  8. Biltmore Estate (Asheville, NC) — No
  9. Pearl Harbor (Honolulu, HI) — Yes
  10. Mesa Verde National Park (CO) — No
  11. Mackinac Bridge (MI) — No
  12. Mall of America (Bloomington, MN) — No
  13. Acadia National Park (ME) — Yes

    Colonial Williamsburgh 2018

  14. Arlington National Cemetery (Arlington, VA) — Yes
  15. Balboa Park (San Diego, CA) — No
  16. Cape Cod (MA) — Yes
  17. Denali National Park & Preserve (AK) — Yes
  18. Graceland (Memphis, TN) — No
  19. Mammoth Cave (KY) — No
  20. Atlantic City Boardwalk (NJ) — Yes
  21. White Sands National Park (NM) — No
  22. Rock & Roll Hall of Fame (Cleveland, OH) — No
  23. Cannon Beach (OR) — No, but it’s on my bucket list
  24. Savannah Historic District (Savannah, GA) — No
  25. Colonial Williamsburg (VA) — Yes

Now Wasn’t that Fun?

A list like that makes you think doesn’t it. It sure surpised me. Do you agree with the choices?

Final Thoughts

After all, I don’t know who decides what counts as “famous.” In addition, I’m not sure I agree with every pick. However, like Planet Fitness, this is a No Judgment Zone. As a result, if I counted correctly, I’ve visited 28 out of 50 places. Finally, how about you — what’s your number?

Summer’s End: Fairs, Food, and the First Signs of Magic

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A single tree covered in bright red autumn leaves stands in a grassy yard, surrounded by green foliage and a wooden fence. The vivid red color contrasts sharply with the surrounding greenery, capturing the early beauty of fall in New England.

Fall leavesSummer’s Last Hurrah

Here we are in the second half of August. Summer is winding down, and everyone is scrambling to squeeze in that last vacation, beach day, or backyard barbecue before school starts. Summer always feels too short — but the good news is that fall in New England has a special magic all its own.

The First Signs of Fall

Apple picking season arrives with pies, cobblers, crisps, and even apple pancakes. Cranberry bogs turn brilliant red as farmers flood the fields for harvest. Everywhere you look, there’s a sense of change in the air — and that brings us to one of the best parts of autumn: the fairs.

Cranberry Bog

The Big One: The Big E

Let’s start with the biggest fair of them all. The Big E, located in Springfield, offers a full 17 days of fair fun. Some years you’ll find camel and elephant rides for the kids. One year when I visited, the Budweiser Clydesdales led the parade — a sight you never forget. There’s so much to see and do, it’s practically its own season.

2026 Dates: September 18 – October 4

The Topsfield Fair

If that’s not enough for you, head to the Topsfield Fair — one of the oldest agricultural fairs in the country. They’re famous for their Giant Pumpkin Contest. In 2022, a record was set with a 2,480‑pound pumpkin grown in Tyngsboro, MA. That’s a lot of pumpkin pies.

2026 Dates: October 2 – October 12

More Great New England Fairs

Miss those two and you still have plenty to choose from. New England is packed with fall fairs, each with its own charm:

  • Fryeburg Fair (ME) – Early October
  • Deerfield Fair (NH) – Late September
  • Durham Fair (CT) – Late September
  • Franklin County Fair (MA) – Early September
  • Spencer Fair (MA) – Labor Day Weekend
  • Three County Fair (MA) – Labor Day Weekend

There’s truly something happening every weekend.

Specialty Fun: King Richard’s Faire

Now for the specialty faire — spelled with an e, of course. King Richard’s Faire is New England’s ultimate Renaissance experience. So my Lords and Ladies, dust off your swords and join the fun. Watch jousting and jugglers, enjoy turkey legs and mead, and step back in time for a day.

2026 Dates: August 29 – October 25

Food Festivals & Coastal Celebrations

Fall isn’t just about fairs — it’s also prime time for food and coastal festivals.

Bourne Scallop FestivalFried Scallops

One of my favorites. It features one of my favorite foods — scallops. Succulent, deep‑fried, golden scallops. They also have craft booths, but let’s be honest… I go for the scallops.

Gloucester Schooner Festival

If you want boats and fireworks, this is the place to be. Historic schooners, races, and nighttime fireworks light up the harbor.

2026 Dates: September 4–7

Peak Foliage: Nature’s Grand Finale

And just wait for that burst of color from the trees. Fall foliage usually peaks around mid‑October in southern New England, but it depends on where you are. Farther north — say in Maine — peak color can arrive as early as late September. Plan accordingly if you’re chasing the brightest leaves.

Welcome to Fall in New England

It’s a busy, beautiful season filled with fairs, festivals, food, and foliage. Whether you’re apple picking, wandering a fairground, or watching the trees turn gold, fall in New England never disappoints.

 

DINOSAURS IN NEW ENGLAND- IT’S A JURASSIC WORLD

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A group of large, long‑necked dinosaurs walk through a dense prehistoric forest lit by warm golden sunlight. Tall trees rise around them, ferns cover the ground, and distant mountains fade into the background. Several pterosaurs glide overhead, adding depth to the ancient landscape.

⭐ Dinosaurs Always get my attention

The other night, as I was browsing through my streaming services for something new to watch, I stumbled across a documentary about how feathers developed in dinosaurs. I really enjoyed it — lots of AI‑generated dinos racing across prehistoric landscapes, parallels to modern birds, and a fresh twist on the whole “bird brain” idea. Turns out they were pretty intelligent.

Anyway, that got me thinking about dino digs, trackways, and all that good stuff. I actually visited a dinosaur dig in South Dakota once, and there’s that show Dino Hunters set in Montana, Wyoming, and South Dakota. And of course there’s the famous dinosaur trackway in Texas. It always feels like we’re headed west to find the remains of these creatures.

Nope. If you’re New England born and raised, you can see dinosaur tracks right here in the Northeast. We have our share too. Not that a western trip isn’t a great vacation option — but let’s think about what’s closer to home.

Once you start looking into it, you realize New England has some genuinely amazing prehistoric secrets tucked between its forests, highways, and old mill towns. One of the best examples is right in western Massachusetts:

🦕 Dinosaur Footprints Reservation — Holyoke, MA

This place is a gem. It’s an 8‑acre stretch of sandstone along Route 5 where hundreds of Early Jurassic dinosaur tracks are preserved exactly where the animals walked about 190 million years ago. No casts, no replicas — the real deal.

It’s incredibly easy to visit:

  • Location: 1099 US‑5, Holyoke, MA
  • Open: April 1–November 30, sunrise to sunset
  • Cost: Free
  • Walk: A short 0.2‑mile path from the parking area

Once you’re there, you can wander along a simple trail and see:

  • Tracks from four distinct types of dinosaurs
  • Fossilized ripple marks from ancient pools
  • Plant impressions and invertebrate traces
  • Layers of sandstone that literally hold the footsteps of creatures who lived long before New England had forests, colonists, or even mountains in their current shape

A couple of rules keep the site safe:

  • No crossing the railroad tracks
  • Dogs must stay leashed
  • No mountain biking

If you want to make a day of it, the Amherst College Museum of Natural History is nearby and has the world’s largest collection of dinosaur tracks — over 1,700 specimens, many from the Connecticut River Valley. Granby, MA also has additional track sites if you’re in full dino‑detective mode.

⭐ And here’s the funny part…

Even when you’re in western Massachusetts, you’re still kind of “going west” for dinosaur tracks — just not that far west. Holyoke, Granby, Amherst… they all sit along the Connecticut River Valley, which turns out to be one of the richest dinosaur trackway regions in the entire country.

Follow that ancient rift basin south, and you hit one of the biggest dinosaur track discoveries in North America.

🦖 Dinosaur State Park — Rocky Hill, Connecticut

If Massachusetts gives you a taste of New England’s prehistoric past, Connecticut serves the full entrée.

Dinosaur State Park is home to over 2,000 dinosaur footprints, most attributed to a three‑toed carnivore called Eubrontes. The tracks were discovered in 1966 during construction work — imagine being the person who looked down and realized the bulldozer had just uncovered a dinosaur highway.

Only a portion of the site is visible under the geodesic dome, but thousands more tracks remain buried for preservation. It’s one of the largest trackways ever found, and it’s only a short drive from anywhere in southern New England.

The park also has:

  • A museum with exhibits on the Triassic/Jurassic world
  • Outdoor trails through the rift‑valley landscape
  • A casting area where kids (and adults, no judgment) can make their own plaster track replicas

It’s the perfect example of why this post had to become Dinos in New England, not just Dinos in Massachusetts. The whole region is part of the same prehistoric story.

⭐ Closing

So go west, you dino hunters of today — just don’t go as far as you thought. Explore western Massachusetts and the Connecticut River Valley. Wander the sandstone, follow the ancient rift, and let those fossilized footprints pull you straight back into the age of dinosaurs. All of it waiting right here in our own backyard.

One More Thing

If you’re craving something a little more fantastical after all that real science, you can also check out Dino Safari at CambridgeSide. It’s a walk‑through adventure featuring life‑size animatronic dinosaurs, hands‑on fossil digs, a scavenger hunt, and even a virtual‑reality experience. It’s a limited‑time exhibit, closing on September 7, so don’t wait too long to visit.