Whales From Shore

Posted on February 11, 2017February 11, 2017 by Dusty Roads | 6 Comments

Everybody said I’d be able to see whales from shore in February and they weren’t kidding. I found my turn off but there weren’t any surfers there today but I was able to drive down much further.

dsc_4292a

I found a little surfboard memorial. I guess its like the crosses on the side of the road. Somebody died there. A surfer didn’t return.

dsc_4295a

As I turned away something caught my eye. I’d swear I saw a huge splash but there were a lot of white caps so after watching for a few minutes I went back to the car. As I was turning around I saw it again only this time I was looking right toward it. Right after the splash was a blow! I decided the first one was probably a whale too. By the time I’d driven up the dirt road I’d seen 2 more. Cars were lining up along the road and people were running around with binoculars.

dsc_4319a

A bit too crowded for my taste I headed on up the road looking for pull offs where I could either find scenery or a view of the ocean for whales.

dsc_4297a

Everywhere there were people lined up. Pull outs were full of cars. Some regular visitors I spoke with said they had never seen it like this.

From the shore you glimpse the whale but its more the splash that catches your eye. There’s not much to photograph at that distance.

dsc_4318a

I figured I’d continue on a bit. I wanted to try to locate the park Sandy and I found in November. I know it was on the Road to Hana but I don’t recall it being very far along it. I have no desire to drive the bad parts of that road; single lanes, no room to pull off, massive cliffs. No thank you.

Hawaii’s State Flower

Posted on December 1, 2016December 1, 2016 by Dusty Roads

Hibiscus

dsc_3500-copy

I’m catching up on my photo editing. As soon as I get to the photos for the ocean treks I’ll get the next post completed. Sorry for the delays. I think this is where I say “Coming Soon” .

Trekking Poles

Posted on April 25, 2016April 25, 2016 by Dusty Roads

A friend of mine sent me a list of easy hikes in Massachusetts.

Several of them really piqued my interest but after reading the descriptions I felt it would be wise to get another pair of trekking poles. I haven’t done serious hiking since I got hurt several years ago and although I’m feeling much better these days, I’m still not sure of my endurance or balance.

I had an inexpensive pair but I was never able to lock the length of the shaft. It always slipped. Those poles had the external twist lock. Eventually I gave them away. I used my monopod as a walking stick after that.

So having reviewed the type of terrain I’d need to maneuver to do these hikes I decided a pair of trekking poles would be better than the monopod but I wanted to be sure I could adjust them.

I decided to start at Dick’s sporting goods because it was the closest sporting goods store to me. When I got to the store I asked what department I needed and the clerk began to tell me they probably didn’t have any but if the did they would be with the camping equipment.

I headed toward the camping department with him hot on my heels and talking into his collar like a CIA agent. We were met by the employee assigned to camping.

Treking_200x200

The first set of poles I was offered had the twist lock. I asked the two clerks if they could show me how they worked. I explained that I was never able to get them to actually lock. Thus started a comical few minutes while they tried to lock the poles only to put pressure on them and have them collapse. While they fussed over those poles I spotted another set that had an external lever lock.

lekisuperlock01

I picked those out and gave them a flip. They worked perfectly. I interrupted the twist lock testing to tell them I was all set and would take the lever lock set. A got a couple of blank looks and then the clerk from the camping department seemed to recover his wits. He asked some very good questions about my hiking needs and confirmed that these poles were probably better than the twist locks.

I have a feeling that at least one of the clerks is going to be looking into the locking mechanisms closer. The problem with the twist lock caught them both by surprise but Mr. Camping department clerk is also a hiker and before I left with my new poles, he and I exchanged information about local hikes in Massachusetts and the White Mountains of NH.

I hope the weather is nice next weekend. I want to take a hike with my camera and break in these trekking poles. Maybe Bash Bish Falls would be a good first hike of the season.

The Comet Diner

Posted on February 27, 2016February 27, 2016 by Dusty Roads | 4 Comments

Last weekend was beautiful, almost T shirt weather. The sun was shining and what little snow was left was rapidly melting. Quite a change from the -10 weather of the previous weekend.

So with the sun in my eyes, my friend and her 2 children loaded up the car and headed out for an early spring adventure. It was a nice drive to the little town of Westford in northern Massachusetts. We got there at just about noon so before we went in search of our afternoon activity we decided we should have lunch.

We had just gotten off the highway and expected to see restaurants or fast food places where we could grab a quick bite. We saw one little strip mall with a Chinese restaurant and a Pizza Shop but then nothing. We drove through the little town center with its library and town hall but no restaurants. Finally we turned around and headed back.

Passing the highway we saw another little strip mall but unlike the first one there were a lot of cars in the lot. We slowed down and spotted Comets Diner.

IMG_20160220_135948

As we pulled in I saw saw several people heading into the diner. A good sign.

Inside was the wonderful 50’s decor with murals of sock hops and drive in speakers decorating the tables.

IMG_20160220_135812

We lucked out with the last booth, only tables or seats at the counter remained.

IMG_20160220_125414

Comfort food filled the menu. They even had deep fried chips, a homemade version of potato chips.

IMG_20160220_125507

The kids had a side of chili cheese fries that they seemed to love, at least there weren’t any left overs. Desserts consisted of ice cream or strawberry shortcake.

IMG_20160220_133826

It was a real traditional short cake too with one twist. There was a layer of vanilla ice cream. Nancy and I split one because they were huge but soooo good!

IMG_20160220_133814

Thus fully satisfied and fully fueled for the afternoon we left the Comets Diner behind but I’d definitely recommend it if you get to Westford, MA.

A Trace is still a Trace

Posted on February 22, 2016February 22, 2016 by Dusty Roads | 2 Comments

My sister was tracing my mother’s side of the family tree and said she found a Native American in our linage.

native-american-scholarship

I thought this was just great. I’ve always felt a connection to Native Americans.

family-tree

Of course I started asking for more information that she just didn’t have so finally I submitted my saliva (aka spit) to Ancestry.com. It seemed to take forever. Every couple of weeks I’d get an email from them with an update…we have your sample…we’ve submitted your sample…your sample is being analyzed…Then the big day came. I got an email with the title: Great News! Your DNA results are in!.

113013_DNA_600

I was so excited!

When I checked the result I felt a little like the Ancestry.com TV ad where the guy says “Growing up we were German then I submitted my DNA to Ancestry.com and found out we were Scottish. I traded my Lederhosen for a kilt.”

My heritage breakdown was

33% Irish

irish-dancing-2

26% Great Britain

Stonehenge_from_the_northeast

11% Western Europe

oktoberfest-dancers-2

But where was the Native American? In fact where was Canadian? I know my maternal grandparents were French Canadian! But I really wanted the Native American bloodline. I felt so let down. But wait, there’s a tab that says “America Trace”. I clicked it and there it was…Native American, just a trace but that’s ok.

girlmortar