Category Archives: Uncategorized

New Bedford March 2011

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I’m not sure what it is about this city but I can’t seem to get nice weather when I visit.

When my friend Nancy and I went to the Whaling museum last year it was cold, raw and rainy. That was also the trip where I bought the National Parks Passport book for the first time. I didn’t know what I had until I got home so I didn’t get the “Stamp” proving that I was there. I’ve been trying to get back down there ever since and something, usually snow, has stopped me every time I’ve planned to go.

So yesterday I said this is it. I’m going back to the Visitor Center so I can get my cancellation stamp. The sun was shining. It was 40 + degrees out. BUT the weather report said snow! You have got to be kidding me. The first day of spring was 3 days ago!

By the time I reached New Bedford, about 30 minutes from my house, the sky was overcast and the wind was starting to blow. The warm air was disappearing and there was starting to be a nip in the air. I quickly parked and headed out of the parking garage.

I almost missed it. As I was walking down the ramp to leave the garage I spotted an older classic car tucked in a corner parking space. The spot was so dark I almost didn’t see it. In fact, I think I only noticed it because I’ve gotten used to paying attention to my surroundings because of the Photo a Day Challenge. I have to always be on the lookout for things to photograph because sometimes creativity escapes me.

The car was in beautiful shape. The finish was shiny in spite of the fine coating of dust on it. I have no idea what kind of car it is , just that it’s a beauty and I feel lucky to have spotted it.

After grabbing a quick shot of the car, I headed the rest of the way out of the garage and up the street to the Visitor Center. As I walked along I couldn’t help but notice the beautiful detail on the old buildings in the area. New Bedford is a gritty, blue collar city and it makes no bones about it. But New Bedford wasn’t always struggling. Once it was the world leader and the wealthiest city in New England, maybe even the world. New Bedford was certainly the Whaling Capital of the World.

I’ve told that story in previous posts and I am sure I will tell it again in future posts but today I was more interested in the architecture, and that’s saying something coming from me. I never notice buildings. It’s a shortcoming that my friend Joe often points out to me! But today I was looking.

The Visitor Center is located in a old brick and brownstone building that was first used as a bank. Eventually it was sold and became the Bristol County Courthouse. In the 1970’s it became a bank again until Fleet Bank donated it to the historical society and it was converted to the Visitor Center as we see it today.

　

Right across the street is the Andrew Robeson House. Andrew Robeson was a wealthy whaling merchant and a staunch abolitionist. He built his Federal Style house on North 2nd St. in 1821. The grounds were extensive. Eventually the building was saved from being demolished when it was moved by the city to it’s current location in the historic district.

The other building the I really like in the same area is the U.S. Custom House. The Custom House was built in 1836 at a time when the nation was flush with custom-generated income. The building was designed by Robert Mills who later went on to design the Washington Monument. The building is built primarily of granite. This made it one of the first entirely fireproof federal buildings. This is also the oldest continually operating custom house in the US.

Well, time to go in and collect my stamp. See you tomorrow when we’ll explore a little more of New Bedford.

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Sedona Trip Update

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Good morning.

Yesterday I told you my sister and I would conference call for plane tickets. We did it! We got our tickets and the  flights aren’t too bad but I will tell you that it was one of the most challenging bookings I’ve ever done. I had both my desk top and lap top going to check the different sites. Twice we went to book a fare only to be told the price had changed. The fares were jumping up right in front of me!

I have Kayak.com set to send fare alerts for the trip and I didn’t get one until today and that one is still over $100.00 more than the flight we booked.  All I can say is I’m glad that’s done. We are flying Southwest. I haven’t been on Southwest in years but their  “got to getaway” online price was better than anything else I could find besides, “Bags Fly Free” on Southwest 🙂

While I had Sandy on the phone I reserved the rental car. We were in for a shock there. The base cost of the rental was reasonable but then the taxes and miscellaneous charges kicked in almost doubling the cost of the rental! I’ve rented many times before and don’t remember this. I’m not sure if Arizona has extra fees or if I just never noticed it before. This may bear looking into for future reference.

After that call I got back on the phone and booked the Grand Canyon Railroad. I tried booking online but it never asked if there were seniors  in my party and it didn’t let me add the Rim Tour so I called. I got a wonderful agent who applied the appropriate discounts, Senior and AAA and waived the National Park fee of $16.00 because I have a  National Parks Pass.

That done I moved on to the Verde Canyon railroad and the Blazin’M.

We lucked out with that call because they said they were running a special on first class on the train when you combine  it with the Blazin’M. The cost for first class and dinner was only a couple of  dollars more than the coach cost so of course we’ll go first class.

2  more tours to book.

I moved on to the Bottom of the Canyon Tour. I pulled up the reservation page on the Native American journey’s web page and filled it out. I haven’t heard back or paid anything. It seemed to me it was kind of  “up in the air”. I will give it a couple of days to get a response and it if no luck  I will call them. Since I don’t know if we got the day I requested I held off booking the trail ride.

It’s coming together.

I’m going to sign off for now. We have snow on the way and I want to run down to New Bedford to the Whaling Museum. I still need to collect my stamp from my last visit and it’s in the New England National Park Challenge so I can get my first stamp in the challenge. I’ll let you know how I make out in my post tomorrow.

This and That

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Good Monday Morning!

I don’t have much to offer today. Getting excited about the upcoming Sedona trip in May. This is the last phase before we leave. The planning is done. Now it’s just the booking process. I always have mixed feelings about the booking process. First, it’s exciting because it’s no longer just a plan. Now I’m committed. On the other hand I hate, really hate watching my bank balance shrink. Of course, I do get over that part quickly. I’ll be posting our progress each day securing reservations so you, my readers will be a part of the process too!

Other than that I’m heading to work today. I picked up a few hours of OT. It will help toward the costs of the trip.

Saturday night was the “Full Worm Moon”. Nice name huh? Anyway, it’s been called a supermoon because it was closer to the earth than it’s been in 8 years and it was something like 14% brighter. I went out to try to get a picture. I envisioned a beautiful portrait of the Man in The Moon like you see on the news when they talk about it. Nope, my skills just weren’t up to it. I’d love to blame the camera but I think it was the person holding the camera (me).

I took one series of pictures in the parking lot of my office. Then I took another series in the park in Plymouth right on the harbor. I went there twice. Boy it was cold. But I can tell you, they light Plymouth Rock with colored lights and The Mayflower is back in out of her winter dry dock.

Well, that’s about all I have for you today. Hi Ho Hi Ho, it’s off to work I go!

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Reservation time~ Grand Canyon

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Oh boy…It’s time to start booking the trip we all planned over the last couple of months.

My sister and I are going to conference call on Tuesday to get our flights. Last time I checked there was a big difference flying out of Harford instead of Albany. I was surprised by that because there usually isn’t that big a difference.

If we fly out of Hartford we have to deal with 2 cars and a room. If the savings are enough it’s something to consider but the rates were changing hourly. I was checking them on my web page…www.netTrav.com/travelplace and on www.kayak.com  and of course, www.Southwest.com. It will be interesting to see what the fares are on Tuesday.

I want to start lining up the tours we want to do too. Grand Canyon Railroad with the Rim tour and lunch was one and the Bottom of the Grand Canyon was another.

Verde Canyon Railroad followed by the Blazin’ M dinner show is also a definite so we want to lock up those reservations too.

I just know this is going to be a great trip!

Scouts Tips~Luggage, To Tag or not to tag, That is the question.

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Scout

Hi Everyone,

Scout here with another Travel Tip. Last time we talked about shipping luggage, the pros and the cons, so if you decided that shipping wasn’t for you then you will need to get your luggage to your destination some other way. In  other words, either by checking it or carrying it on board with you.

Whether you are traveling light enough to get away with just carry-on or you need to check a bag you will need to identify your luggage. I think we all know that when we check our bags the attendant makes sure there is a tag but for carry-on we are on our own.

 Why do we need to tag our carry-on you ask? After all, we’re carrying it , right? Isn’t that what carry-on is?

Well yes and no. First of all most luggage looks alike and unless you plan to be handcuffed to the bag like National Security, you will be separated from your carry-on at various times in your travel. Right off the bat you will need to negotiate security check points and possibly customs. Now if you and your bag get right through security screening together all is good. But what if you get stuck behind someone who is setting off the alarms while your bag sails through the X-ray machine only to sit at the end of the conveyor belt while other bags pile up next to it? Even worse, what if you are selected for closer inspection by the TSA. You will be taken off to one side, maybe even to a separate room while your carry-on languishes at the x-ray machine. Lots of room for a mixup there.

So now you are ready to board. You put your nondescript carry-on in the overhead and settle in. You seat mates comes along and adds their equally nondescript carry-on to the bin right next to yours. Now in the confusion of deplaning you or your seatmate grabs the wrong bag and off you go.

Now lets say you are about to change planes. You get to the next plane and it’s a little”puddle-jumper” .  You are met at the bottom of the stairs (yup no jet way for this little plane)  by an attenadant who tells you that your little carry-on must take the next leg of your trip in the belly of the beast. The bins in the cabin are too small. He attaches an  orange tag but it’s just like the orange tags on all of the other confiscated carry-ons. At your next stop all of these un-tagged bags will be piled near the plane door for retrieval. Now there’s a place for a mix up for sure.

 Is that all or are there other places a carry-on can go astray?  What about transfers? You know, from your plane to your destination be it a hotel or a cruise ship or even on the shuttle just getting to your car. Maybe you’re riding in a bus or mini-van to get from here to there. At this point your bag probably won’t get “lost”  but it could get temporarily mixed up with someone else’s similar looking bag.

So what’s a traveler to do?  At the very least  you can tag your bags with the little paper  tags available at the airline counters but you would be well served to get some of your own. Make them colorful and distinctive, add a ribbon. Some folks put a picture of their favorite  pet on a tag on their bag. Keeps them from getting lonely and makes the bag really identifiable at a glance. (Note to Rocky, I said a picture)

Rocky

It’s also a good idea to put contact information  inside the bag just in case the bag goes in one direction and the tag in another. A few years ago Dusty  got some bright yellow tags that had a cruise ship on one side. I think she only has one left.  Some just disappeared and last year one of the remaining ones was broken right in half when she retrieved her bag.

Security experts say that you should not put your address on the tags because then everyone will know you’re away. They suggest using a business address and that’s ok but if you want to be reunited with your luggage the best bet is a phone # and/or address or even your itinerary where you can be reached.

Well, that about wraps it up for today’s tip. Here’s hoping you and your luggage, be it carry-on or checked, enjoy a safe and uneventful trip and arrive…together…at your intended destination. You don’t want to be like that TV commercials where the guy says “My me time is when my luggage went to the Bahamas (pause) and I didn’t.”

 Oh and one last note on identifying marks. Last I heard, pet hair is not considered a legal description.

 Until next time, this is Scout wishing you safe travels.