Another Box Down

Posted on December 4, 2014December 4, 2014 by Dusty Roads

Believe it or not I’m still emptying boxes and sorting what to put where in the kitchen. I emptied another box today. Only 2 more to go. Whew!

The new over the range microwave came today. Now I have another big box in my living room. Rocky did the inspection.

I hope I can get my electrician to come out this weekend. I’m not sure what to do with the old microwave. I won’t throw away a perfectly good one. Maybe I can find someone who would like it.

I ordered some “wall art” today to go on the soffit area of the kitchen. It says “Many have eaten here…few have died. ” If I get sick of it I can peel it off and put something new up there.

In other news, my sister and I are booked for the River Walk to French Quarter Amtrak vacation. It’s booked for October 2015 so we qualified for an early booking discount. The discount was $300.00 so I used $140.00 of it to upgrade from coach to “roomette”. It’s not a bedroom but it has seats that convert to beds in case we want to nap. Plus all 3 meals on the train is included.

We’ll fly into San Antonio and then have the rest of that day to explore. The next 2 days is all San Antonio which includes a tour.

On day 4 we have to catch the train at 6:30 am! We won’t get into New Orleans until 10 PM. so no sight seeing then but there should be some great scenery as the train travels from Texas to Louisiana. Day 5 & 6 we’ll be in New Orleans and we fly home on Day 7. How much we can explore will depend on what flight we get out.

In a previous post I mentioned that I didn’t see any singles rates. Well I asked and was told there aren’t any. If you are single and want to go on the trip you pay double! I’ve heard of singles penalties but I thought paying double was a thing of the past. Guess I was wrong. Now I’m really glad my sister agreed to come along. I’ll have good company and a fun traveling companion and it saves me $$$.

What about a Rail Vacation?

Posted on November 29, 2014November 29, 2014 by Dusty Roads

I’m just sitting here while the tile guy grouts the tiles. He has his radio on for music to work by. Good station. Music to sing along to 🙂 (Maggie May, City of New Orleans, etc. I never was any good with titles of songs)

The problem is I can’t get anything done with him in the kitchen. I can’t finish unpacking boxes so I can’t clean because the boxes are everywhere . The cats are enjoying them..the boxes that is.

I’d be embarrassed to take a nap so I am playing on the computer.

I have many , many errands to run but doesn’t look like he’s going to be done anytime soon. I guess I’ll be really busy tomorrow.

Having spare time online can be very expensive. I ordered some heavy winter clothes online. I hope they fit. I am justifying the purchase because I really need some warm outdoor clothes. I want to be warm if I go out looking for wildlife to photograph. A good example are the snowy owls of Duxbury Beach.

I’ve gone over there a couple of times only to be beat back by the cold wind off the ocean. Every winter the snowies migrate down from the Arctic. Some are just passing through but some stick around. The Snowies that detour to Logan Airport are trapped and released on Duxbury beach so usually it’s a good spot to find them. Most of my photographer friends have had success getting shots but I always let the cold get to me. Maybe now I’ll be able to stay warm long enough to get my shot.

Having just spent way too much money I moved on to other internet searches. When my AAA magazine arrived there was an article about Amtrak Vacations. Using the article as my guide I found the website and the brochure. Some of the trips sound like cruises on land! And they are priced accordingly still the idea intrigues me. Have any of you been on an Amtrak Vacation?

I found one that was pretty reasonably priced and had departure dates that would work with my schedule. Called “Riverwalk to the French Quarter”. 7 days for about $1200.00 per person. It starts in San Antonio where you tour the Alamo and get to visit the River walk. Then you board the train for the trip to New Orleans. So now I just have to be sure I have someone to share the trip with. I didn’t see any single rates.

We’ll see if my sister is willing to give it a try.

We Have Lift Off!

Posted on September 22, 2014September 22, 2014 by Dusty Roads

Thursday night was the kick off to the 42nd Adirondack Balloon Festival and all of the balloons were grounded by the weather, mostly the winds.

Friday seemed to be much more favorable so we headed to the airport about 4:30 pm for the afternoon launch. We had pre-paid parking which I highly recommend! Why? Because it gets you much closer to the airport proper and when you are carrying a chair and camera gear, less is certainly more. 🙂

You need to arrive early and for ballooners it’s almost like going to a football game and tailgating! There are food trucks and craft vendors. The kites always do well and there are always a bunch of them flying as we wait for the main event, the hot air balloons.

You never know if there is going to be a launch until right before they go up. All eyes watch the wind socks because wind gusts will put a kibosh on the launch every time. Safety First.

As I said, Friday night seemed to hold a lot of promise. The sky was clear and the wind sock was limp. Sandy and I lugged our chairs and I lugged my camera and we staked out a spot near one of the chase trucks. We could see a few balloons being spread out and one purple balloon was starting to inflate. There was a good turnout here already.

Getting around is crucial for the ballooners. They have to go to the pilot’s tent for updates and run around on all sorts of errands as the launch deadline approaches. One enterprising ballooner found a new way to get around quickly… A Segway!

Finally at just about 5 pm we began to hear the whoosh whoosh of the propane tanks firing and balloons began inflating all around us.

The first Balloon to take off was a really pretty purple-blue balloon that had a elongated shape, not the traditional balloon shape. The wind, what there was of it was pushing the balloon in our direction. Perfect positioning.

For some reason the balloon didn’t seem to be gaining altitude. As it passed over the airport terminal building toward the trees we all wonder if it would clear them. It did, but just barely, the bottom of the basket actually scraping the top branches.

Not too much farther on they seemed to give up the fight and down it came. So the first balloon up was also the first balloon down. We heard later that it may have had a leak.

But while our attention was fixed on the purple-blue balloon and it’s troubles, the other ballooners were hard at work.

Balloons over the Adirondacks

Posted on September 19, 2014September 19, 2014 by Dusty Roads

Yesterday was the first day of the Adirondack Hot Air Balloon Festival. Opening festivities were planned for Crandall Park in Glens Falls, NY. But then the rains came and the wind gusts started…up to 10 miles per hour according to the weather reports. So they held the block party but no balloons in the air.

Maybe today will be better.

A Little River Cruise

Posted on August 24, 2014August 24, 2014 by Dusty Roads

I had to get out. Summer is almost over and I’ve done NOTHING! I know you’ve heard it all before but I really had to try to get out so I bought a ticket on the River Quest Lighthouse Cruise. River Quest runs cruises on the lower end of the Connecticut River. I’ve been on a couple of their Eagle Cruises.

It takes about 2 hours to get there but the cruises are always fun. relaxing and educational. The lighthouse cruise is only done once a year and it’s the only cruise that leaves the Connecticut River and ventures into the Long Island Sound.

So here are a few images from my day:

Good morning!