My Favorite Experiences

Posted on March 1, 2017March 1, 2017 by Dusty Roads | 8 Comments

Let’s leave the supernatural behind. I’ve got a long list of places I visited over the years so I thought I’d mention some of my favorite experiences. That’s not as easy as it seems. but at least it’s fun to reminisce.

The very first trip I took was to Hawaii on 2007. My Mom and Sister went with me. We went to the Big Island. In a way I wish I could get that innocence back.

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I think I spent the whole vacation with my mouth open. Everything amazed me from the condo overlooking the golf course and the ocean waves to the Chain of Craters Road in Volcano National Park. Everything was new and fresh.

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The following year I went back to Hawaii. This time to Oahu. This time my sister went with me but my mom stayed at home. We were in a high rise building only a block from Waikiki Beach. And we saw rainbows ever day, morning and afternoon!

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That trip had so many highlights. Of course there was Pearl Harbor. I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again, everyone should go there and pay their respects. It is such a moving experience.

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I snorkeled in Hanauma Bay, a volcanic crater. What an amazing time!

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We spent a day at the Polynesian Cultural Center, another don’t miss stop and nearly got blown off the “pali ” (cliffs) at Nuuanu Pali State Park, our first experiance with the trade winds.

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Jump to the fall of 2008. I was in a use it or lose it position with my time share points so I took another vacation. On a shoe string I booked Sedona, Arizona. This time I was traveling alone.

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The Red Rocks of Sedona are breath taking but nothing prepared me for my first sight of the Grand Canyon.

On the South Rim, Grand Canyon 2008

I stepped off the tour bus and my head spun. I had to step back. The sight made me so dizzy. My mind kept telling me it wasn’t real. Nothing could be that spectacular.

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It’s fun to think back like this and almost embarrassing to look at my pictures. I’m happy to say I’ve improved in that department!

Wolf Island Rd

Posted on February 27, 2017February 27, 2017 by Dusty Roads | 2 Comments

In an effort to find local places of interest I’d spent last night on the internet. I was amazed at the number of supposedly haunted locations right around me. Apparently Taunton is right smack dab in the middle of the Bridgewater Triangle. More about that in a later post. I don’t want to get off today’s subject.

I’m not real fond of the paranormal, at least experiencing it. I’m happy to watch Ghost Hunters and re-runs of Destination Truth but I am not keen to go ghost hunting myself.

So back to Wolf Island Road. A recent article called it Massachusetts’ most haunted Street! It warned everyone to stay away, especially at night. That’s fine with me but in daylight I might be willing to explore so off I went to find Wolf Island Rd.

I expected a lonely, narrow road winding through a deserted wood. Something to support the “spooky” reputation. What I found instead was an angry 6 ft tall man out to protect his neighborhood.

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I was stopped in front of the Ellis Cemetery (dated 1872.) I was impressed with how well maintained it was. Nothing spooky here, when I got a tap on my window. Tom Simpson introduced himself and got straight to the point. What was I taking pictures of and why was I there. I explained about my blog and that I was following upon on a ghost story for lack of a better word.

Tom explained that he has lived in the area all his life and no one has been killed in any car accident. Just like that he debunked the myth of the fatal 1970’s car accident with the phantom car.

The other myth I was aware of concerned the murder of Wampanoag natives and their ghosts. Tom admitted that although he knew the myth it was before his time. What he did know is that he has been out there many nights, even on Halloween and has never seen anything supernatural.

He told me about the increased traffic every time a paranormal myth circulates or is resurrected. The beautiful cemetery gets vandalized by “ghost hunters” especially this time of year when the ground is soft.

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So what I found was not a dark and lonely road but a nice place with nice homes; a lady walking her dog and a guardian angel looking out for his neighborhood.

Ghost stories may draw readers but let’s remember that there are people living there now. Would you want strangers traipsing through your back yard searching for ghosts? I wouldn’t either. Between you and me I don’t think there’s anything paranormal going on there but you might not want to run into Tom Simpson on a dark night either! My advice, look for someplace else to search for the paranormal. But if you absolutely must go to Wolf Island Rd, do so with consideration and respect.

Destination What?

Posted on February 25, 2017February 25, 2017 by Dusty Roads | 2 Comments

I’m going to talk nonsense for now. I don’t mean to have this sound like a plug for a TV program so apologies up front if it does.

Have any of you seen the Travel Channel’s program called Expedition Unknown? Do you watch it?

The host , Josh Gates, is a Massachusetts native raised in Manchester- by the Sea, a little town on the north shore.

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You may have heard of it. It’s also the name of a movie starring Casey Affleck, but I digress. I haven’t seen the movie even though it got great reviews.

Back to Expedition Unknown and Josh Gates. I first came across Josh Gates when he was the host of a paranormal, monster chasing adventure, reality show on Syfy called Destination Truth.

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Of course they never found any of the monsters or ghosts but the stories were great and the locales exotic. I loved the way Josh delivered his lines too. I was hooked. That show ran for 5 seasons. Who knew there were so many cryptids to investigate?

I was disappointed to learn that my favorite globe trotter was done with monster hunting but that didn’t last for long. Josh was back with a new program on the Travel Channel called Expedition Unknown.

On the “Expedition Unknown” series premiere, Josh Gates utilizes a bili-bili bamboo raft in order to get to a remote village on the island ot Viti Levu in Fiji/photo courtesy of The Travel Channel

The cryptids like Bigfoot are minimized ( although not completely gone) while real life mysteries are explored. The premier was an investigation into Amelia Earhart. Since then there have been investigations into King Arthur, Cloning the Woolly Mammoth and a visit to Everest Base Camp in search of the Yeti. (I told you the cryptids weren’t completely gone)

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Along the way he even hooked up with one of my favorite Naturalists, Casey Anderson.

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So why am I going on and on about Josh Gates and his adventures? ( Or should I say Exploits?) It’s because at the moment I’m stuck working for a living and won’t be able to go exploring for another couple of months so I’m living vicariously through his show. If I were younger (read that as in better shape) I’d love to be chasing around the world like he does, riding horses, climbing mountains, scuba diving undersea ruins, etc.

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I’d even settle for running around the US. I don’t need to travel the world but I do need to be out looking for new and exciting things to do.

I missed out on the Powerball. It was up to 4M before somebody in Indiana won. Oh the places I’d go !

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Well, if you’d like a firsthand glimpse of what I would aspire to be, take a spin by the Travel Channel and check out Expedition Unknown. Then when I say something like “I had to take a moment to channel my inner Josh Gates” you’ll know I just had an OMG moment!

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The Last 5

Posted on February 24, 2017February 24, 2017 by Dusty Roads | 2 Comments

I thought I should finish what I started. Of the top 10 things to do in Boston, I only got to 5 yesterday. Now I’m sure everyone has different things on their top 10 list. This is just the one Trip Adviser suggests So here we go. Starting with number 6.

#6, North End

A pretty cool neighborhood especially in the summer when they have all the Italian Festivals like the Feast of St Anthony’s.

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#7 Boston Tea Party Ships and Museum

I haven’t been in to visit this attraction although I have walked past it. It’s my understanding that the tour guides are in period dress and walk you through the events of the Boston Tea Party.

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#8 John F. Kennedy Presidential Museum & Library

Ok everyone knows the Kennedy’s in Boston. They are like a Dynasty. John, Bobby, Teddy, Joe, Patrick. The Mom, Rose, has a stretch of “Greeenway” named after her. Yes they are a Dynasty. And Thanks to JFK we have a Presidential Library.

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#9 Boston Public Library

This is an amazing building and that’s just the outside. Inside there are statues, Marble work and Murals. They have a lovely courtyard where you can find a spot to just curl up and sit. (once again a summer activity) A nice break from the usual rush , rush , rush.

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#10 New England Holocaust Memorial

This is a pretty unique memorial. I’ve walked through it and around it many times. It’s not a large Memorial but a lot of thought went into it. It has 6 tall glass towers. Each tower has 1 million numbers etched into the glass, each number representing a person who died. By the time you have walked past all 6 towers you realize that they represent the 6M people that perished during that horrible genocide. It really makes you think.

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Maybe if it’s nice this weekend I’ll make a trip into town. Then I can tell all of you what I think of the list. Have you been to Boston? What do you think should be on the list? The Old North Church? The TD Garden? Old Ironsides (In dry dock right now)? Don’t forget the “Cheers” Bar!

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What to Do, What to Do?

Posted on February 23, 2017February 23, 2017 by Dusty Roads | 2 Comments

Now that my globetrotting is temporarily on hold the age old question rears it’s ugly head. What am I going to talk about until my next trip (which isn’t until June by the way)?

If I were on a TV show you’d get to watch reruns for the next couple of months and I may dip into some of my older posts to share but I don’t plan to do that every day.

In hopes of finding topics I googled the Top 10 things to do in Boston. If the weather holds out maybe I can try to cover some of those.

According to Trip Adviser the number 1 thing to do is visit Fenway Park. That won’t work. The Sox are in Fort Myers Fl. for spring training.

#2. Is a visit to the Museum of Fine Art.

Well, I’ve been there and it is beautiful. I attended the special exhibit for the glass blowing artist, Dale Chihuly.

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His work is amazing!

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I also love the statue out front. Appeal to the Great Spirit.

Appeal to the Great Spirit at the MFA

#3. The Freedom Trail.

Get out your walking shoes because if you want to walk the whole thing it will take you awhile. The Freedom Trail is a 2.5-mile-long (4.0 km) path through downtown Boston that passes by 16 locations significant to the history of the United States. Marked largely with brick, it winds between Boston Common to the Bunker Hill Monument in Charlestown. Of course while you are at the Bunker Hill Monument you’ll want to climb the 294 steps to the top for views of the Boston Harbor. Bunker Hill Monument is a National Historical Park.

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#4. Boston Public Garden

This is one of my favorite places in Boston but not in February. In the spring there are flowers everywhere.

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Swan boats cruise the little lagoon and there’s always the Make Way for Ducklings sculpture. Of course in the winter there’s skating on the Frog Pond but it’s been so warm I bet all of the ice has melted.

#5, Boston Common

I really don’t distinguish between the Boston Common and The Public Garden. They are all sort of one big park.

According to Wikipedia they are a pair of public parks in Boston. I’m sure my friend Joe would be quick to point out the differences to me. He is far more of a “Bostonian” than I am even though he’s lived in the south a number of years now.

Well that’s about all I have time for in this post. I guess we’ll have to finish off the last 5 another time.

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