Category Archives: Travel

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!

 

 

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.