Category Archives: Travel

It’s a Banner Year for Fall Colors

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Fall Colors Abound

The fall foliage colors are amazing this year. Being in southern New England they just started turning this week but they began peaking last week in the more northern states. My cousin got to head north  to Maine and New Hampshire and shared some beautiful video on Face Book. If you have a minute you can check out her video here.    https://www.facebook.com/kathy.collins.7127/videos/10214903348962786/?t=0        In Southeastern Massachusetts we’ve had a no’reaster sitting off the coast of Nantucket all week. Lots of rain and high winds have made leaf peeping locally a bit of a challenge. Now if you like taking pictures in the rain- go for it. I’ve been a little too busy to mess with rain gear but it hasn’t stopped me from admiring the color changes.

Last Chance for 2019

Just as my cousin headed north for her vacation I’m heading south. I’m heading to the Florida Keys so today is the last chance I’ll have to get any fall foliage photos for this year. It looks like it’s stopped raining so maybe I’ll get lucky.  I think I can spare an hour to go poking around before I finish my packing. What do you think of these?

Leaf Peeping locally

I didn’t plan my vacation very well but it was the only time I could get in at the resort I wanted. Sometimes you just have to take what you can get. The newscasters have been talking about the colors along the Mohawk Trail this year and out toward the Berkshires. I won’t have time to make that drive but these photos from Raynham and Easton aren’t bad if I do say so. This is what I get to see everyday as I commute to work. Not a bad view. Of course I had to swing by the Norton Reservoir. That was always a pretty spot. It used to be on my drive when I worked in Foxboro.  I do miss that. I guess that’s all for now. Catch you all on the weekend.

Ode to Rocky- Leavin’ on a Jet Plane

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Rocky this one’s for you

All my bags are packed I’m ready to go
I’m standin’ here outside your door
I hate to wake you up to say goodbye
But the dawn is breakin’ it’s early morn
The taxi’s waitin’ he’s blowin’ his horn
Already I’m so lonesome I could die

So kiss me and smile for me
Tell me that you’ll wait for me
Hold me like you’ll never let me go
Cause I’m leavin’ on a jet plane
Don’t know when I’ll be back again
       Oh babe, I hate to go

It’s Always Hard

As much as I like to travel it’s always hard to say goodbye to my loyal companion, my furry four legged baby, My Rocky-Poo. I know it sounds stupid. He’s just a cat but he’s been with me for 18 years. He trusts me and no matter what the pet haters say, I believe he loves me. Animals don’t understand. You can say you’ll be back in a week as many times as you want but they don’t understand. As Rocky has gotten older I’ve fretted more and more each time I leave. Thankfully we have a great pet sitter. She’s been taking care of Rocky for 13 years. He loves her as much as he does me.

Leaving on a Jet Plane

So Rocky-poo this one’s for you. I’m on that jet plane off for adventure but I’ll be thinking of you. I’ll miss your fuzzy body curled up next to me. I’ll miss your evening snuggles and your morning demands for breakfast. But hang in there because I’ll be back. Trust me when I tell you that you are better off at home than riding with me on my annual adventure. You’ll be pampered and fussed over while I’m away. You’ll be so spoiled you’ll never miss me. So be good little kitty. I love you bunches and will see you soon.

Better Late Than Never

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Late is Better than Not At All

Hi Friends. I know I’ve been negligent in keeping up with my posts. To be completely honest I’ve just been tired. My energy has not bounced back since my hip surgery in December. Oh Don’t get me wrong, I’d do it again in a heartbeat. Its wonderful to be pain free, at least on my left side. Now if I could just figure out what to do about the right knee and right hip I’d be ready for the Boston Marathon. Needless to say, with this lack of energy I haven’t been out with my camera or going on any “adventures”. It’s been enough to get me to work and home again every day.  But I managed  to roust myself enough this week to go thru my photos from 2018. And that’s what I plan to share today.

 

 

The Deer Did It

Lava Lake Glow

Kilauea Lava Lake Glow- 2018

Driving home from work on Wednesday I saw 3 deer playing in a field in Easton, and they were playing, not just grazing. Seeing them I felt a  little tug. My hand reached for the camera but it wasn’t there. It made me realize how far away from things I love I’ve gotten. The reason for my surgery wasn’t just to be pain free but to give me mobility to get out and do things. And I was squandering my chance. To get back on track I decided I needed to pick up  some of my old habits. Number one is to review the photos from the previous year and narrow it down to the top 10. 

2017 Was a very Good Year

The first thing I did was to start uploading my 2018 photos. When I did I happened to notice my 2017 choices. Oh my! They were going to be hard to beat. 2017 was a very good year for my photos. For good or bad I didn’t have a lot of photos from 2018 to wade through but that didn’t make the decisions any easier.  Here, in no particular order are my top ten choices from 2018. You can see them full size in a slide show at https://dustyroadsphotos.zenfolio.com/

2018 Photographer’s Choice

The Run-away Scooter

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Scooter Disaster

The scooter continued to refuse to go uphill at Busch Gardens. The situation remained unsafe as it would careen backward gaining speed every time it stalled out. We finally worked out a method to finish our visit. At the bottom of each hill I would get off and limp up to the summit while Joe pushed the scooter to the top. Then I would get on the scooter and ride it down the other side and along any level ground. At the next hill we’d repeat the process. We got to see Christmas Town and the lights but it was cold and this definitely put a damper on the evening.

The Next Day

In the morning I contacted the scooter company and we negotiated a change. They brought us 2 scooters and took away the defective one. It seems the braking mechanism that prevents the scooter from rolling backward was stripped on the old scooter and needed to be replaced.  By agreeing to keep our rental contract I was able to get a scooter for my sister to use. I have to give credit to the scooter company as they were very responsive to my complaint.

Time for the Main Event

Now that the scooter debacle had been dealt with it was time for the main event. We were heading to Colonial Williamsburg. This area is so loaded with history. In addition to Colonial Wiliamsburg there’s Jamestown and  Yorktown. Jamestown is home to the story of Captain John Smith and Pocahotas and Yorktown was the last major Battle of the Revolution.

Colonial Williamsburg

Colonial Williamsburg was quiet, maybe because it was a weekday or maybe because it was cold. Even with the icy wind blowing re-enactors were playing their parts and always willing to chat. My favorites were the horse drawn carriages. Of course we had to take a ride. Not only was it fun it gave us a chance to warm up for a few minutes since we went in one of the enclosed carriages.

 

Last Vacation of 2018

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Last Chance Vacation

Before my hip surgery I planned on a last fling. After all, I had no idea how long I’d be laid up after the hip replacement. So it was off to Virginia to visit Busch Gardens and Colonial Williamsburg. I was joined on this last excursion by my sister Sandy and my friend Joe from Florida. We settled in at Historic Powhatan Resort. 

The accommodations were excellent, well appointed and comfortable. We even had a gas fireplace.

Ambiance with the push of a button!

The First Order of Business- Food!

The first day is always a travel day. Arrive get settled and find a grocery store or restaurant. We were lucky this time. There was a wonderful little grill right on the grounds. We wasted no time in checking out the food selections.

The Powhatan Bar & Grill is a cozy little restaurant geared to casual dining. Typical pub food fills the menu. The staff were so much fun we found ourselves returning regularly throughout our trip as much for the friendly waitstaff as for the food. 

Day Two- Scooter Rental

Recognizing my mobility issues I’d made advance reservations to have an electric scooter delivered to the resort. It was brought out and dropped off with no problems. I was given a thorough briefing on how to use it and how to charge the battery each night. It was small enough to fit in the back of the rental SUV so I figured we were all set. Joe had joined us by now so we were ready to begin exploring. First on our list was Busch Gardens. They were boasting a light display to beat or at least rival Disney World in Orlando. Since Joe works at Disney we had a solid reason to check it out.

Cold Night Ahead

Even though we were south of Massachusetts the weather was cold and to see the lights we would be out after dark. We bundled up but it was much colder than we expected! I was told to expect a lot of hills but if this were a novel that comment would be called foreshadowing of what was to come!