A is for Alaska

Posted on August 15, 2011August 15, 2011 by Dusty Roads

or Alabama or Arkansas or Arizona..any other “A” states? I think I got them all.

Where is this going? you might ask and my answer is Alaska , Alabama, Arkansas and Arizona.It’s not just where am I going but where have I been and where do I still want to go.

There’s a magnetic map they make where you can collect a magnet from each state you visit and eventually the whole map will be covered with magnets. Maybe I’ll get one someday. Until then I think I’ll just go on chronicling and planning .

To that end I thought I’d take stock of things and the easiest way is alphabetically.

So of the 4 states that start with A I’ve only been to one, Arizona, the Grand Canyon State, home of Red Rock Country and the New Age land of Sedona. It’s where I took my first and so far only helicopter ride. I’ve stuck my feet in the Colorado River at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. I’ve marveled over ancient Indian Ruins and strolled through an “African Serengeti” and all that only scratched the surface.

Alaska. Where to start? It’s such a huge state. It’s where I hope my vacation will take me in 2012. I want to see the glaciers and animals; lots of wild animals. There should be bears and seals and bald eagles. There might even be a wolf and whales. We’ll cruise the Inside Passage and spend time in Denali.

Now we get to the other “A”s. Arkansas and Alabama. I don’t know much about them as far as tourist locations but lets see what I can dig up.

Arkansas: Well the Clinton Library immediately comes to mind. After all, Bill Clinton is still a prominent figure, not some dead president. But if that’s all there is it would be a very short visit. Arkansas is a center for quartz crystal mining. Hot Springs and Mt. Ida have Dig-Your-Own Crystal Mines. That could be interesting. The Arkansas Ozarks are beautiful forests and mountains with loads of hiking trails but beneath your feet is a labyrinth of cave systems. Tours abound so that could also be interested along with canoeing and kayaking the wilderness areas with my trusty camera in hand. I’m sure there’s more and I’ll have plenty of time to see what else I can find.

Last but not least is Alabama. Right off the bat I can tell you there are National Parks. A great opportunity to collect my Park Stamps. I believe there are 7 separate parks spread throughout the state. Indian culture…the Trail of Tears of the Cherokee people as they were forced to leave their homeland. How about other history. Alabama was a hot bed of history in the civil rights movement and a visit the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute sounds like a good way to start exploring it. There are Zoos and Aquariums and more history with the Civil War Trail. Sounds like that could be a very full vacation too.

After the “A”s comes “b” but I don’t think there’s a state that starts with “B”? Am I wrong? If there are no B’s we’ll have to move on to the C’s. But I’ll save that for another post.

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If any of you have been to these states or live there and can offer some suggestions or insight, I’d love to have your comments.

The Battle of Rhode Island 1778

Posted on August 13, 2011August 13, 2011 by Dusty Roads

Have you ever heard of the Battle of Rhode Island? I hadn’t. But when I was in Portsmouth at the Green Animals I ran across a reference to it. It was quite an accident. I saw a scenic pull off and decided to investigate and there was a story board.

The Battle of Rhode Island was also known as the Battle of Quaker Hill and took place on August 28, 1778. It was the objective of the Continental forces to recapture the island then known as Rhode Island (now called Aquidneck Island) from the British forces. It was an important objective of the colonials that the coast remain in Rebel hands to facilitate communication amongst the coastal colonies.

Rhode Island was a key , strategic location. Whoever controlled the island controlled Narragansett Bay.

The Battle was inconclusive resulting in a standoff. But the Continental army was plagued by recruitment issues and desertion so on the evening of August 28, 1778 the rebel force retreated to Bristol and Tiverton giving control of the island to the British .

Today the location of the battle is a National Historic Landmark.

Green Animals???

Posted on August 12, 2011August 12, 2011 by Dusty Roads

It’s not Green Eggs and Ham and it’s not a little green man from Mars. So what are Green Animals. Maybe they’re cookies with green icing? Or did some weird pet owner dye their pet’s fur for St. Patrick’s Day?

Policeman

No, none of the above.

The Green animals aren’t even small. In fact they’re kind of tall..ha ha, couldn’t resist a little Seussism.

Seriously, Green Animals refers to the Green Animal Topiary Gardens in Portsmouth, RI.

I bet it’s been 30 years since I was there so with only a few hours to spare I thought it might be nice to see if it was still around. What a silly concern.

The Green Animal Topiary Gardens have been around for years. It started it’s life as a small country estate known as Green Animals.

It sits on a hill overlooking beautiful Narragansett Bay. The original homestead consisted of seven acres of land and a classic white clapboard summer residence, some farm outbuildings, a pasture and a vegetable garden.

The property was purchased in 1872 by Thomas E. Brayton of Fall River, Ma. His daughter Alice Brayton inherited the little estate and made it her permanent residence in 1940. Upon her death in 1972 she left Green Animals to The Preservation Society of Newport County.

Today, Green Animals is a rare example of a self-sufficient estate. It combines formal topiary, vegetable gardens, and former orchards. There is a museum in the clapboard home that is open to tours.

The Gardener responsible for creating most of the formal gardens was Joseph Carreiro. He was in charge from 1905-1945. His son-in-law, George Mendonca took over in 1945 and remained in charge until his retirement in 1985. The gardens and topiary are now cared for by the Preservation Society Staff.

So with a history like that, how could I possibly think that it might not be there anymore, even if it has been 30 years?

Topiary gardening is a true art form..

It’s the fashioning of living plants into shapes of animals or geometric figures. The art has been practiced for centuries.

There are topiary at Disney World in Orlando.

There are more than 80 different pieces of topiary at Green Animals. As I wandered the paths on this lovely sunny, warm summer afternoon I kept thinking this must be what the gardens were like in Alice in Wonderland.

I didn’t stay for the 5 pm tour of the house. I had come down to see the gardens and I enjoyed myself completely.

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Scout’s Tips~ Airline Travel

Posted on August 11, 2011August 11, 2011 by Dusty Roads

Scout

Good Morning my friends. Scout here and glad to be back. Last time we got together I shared some tips on finding the “perfect cruise” .Today I’d like to share some of what I’ve been learning about booking airline flights. This seems to be changing from day-to-day. Between changing regulations and airlines looking for ways to keep fares down but make up the difference in very creative fees there’s no end to the possible pitfalls. For example baggage fees and allowances are always changing and vary airline to airline but I think I covered much of that in past posts. So today, let’s concentrate on the travel part.

Airline Travel

Whats’s the best seat on the plane? First class , of course but after that how do you choose your seat? You know, you’re booking online and there’s that seating chart and you get to pick an open seat..aisle or window; over the wing or in the back?

Well it depends on your priorities. He’s a couple of things to consider: If you are looking for comfort and a smooth ride, pick a seat over the wings. If you’re looking for quiet then you want to sit as far forward as possible while avoiding the galley and rest rooms. For more leg room try the first row or seats near the emergency exits.

When is the best time of day to look for flight to get the best deals? Airlines usually reload their computers at midnight. So as soon after that as you can may offer some major savings. Airlines often have flights that were reserved but not paid for that are added back in to the inventory so there may be more options.

Watch for Sales! Not just on your airline of choice. Often when one airline announces a sale other airlines will soon follow suit so it pays to keep your eyes and ears open and click around.

Fare Alerts: On some sites like Kayak you can set a Fare Alert and be emailed when the price changes on the flight you asked to have watched.

Fly Small. By this I mean fly the smaller airlines which are subsidiaries of the “Big Boys” Two examples are Delta Express and Metro-Jet. Dusty has flown Delta Express a number of times without any problems.

Check surrounding airports. Most online travel sites give you the option to check surrounding airports. Often there’s a less expensive option to a neighboring city. Depending on your particular trip you may find a connecting flight , a bus route or , if you were going to rent a car anyway, just driving to your destination city. Dusty and her sister did that on a trip to Hawaii. They flew out of Hartford instead of Albany.

Take advantage of Overbooking. If you have flexibility this is a great way to get upgrades or free flights. Dusty has used this trick several times when traveling alone since she isn’t inconveniencing anyone else. For this trick you need to be booked on a flight that is over-booked. This happens a lot around the holidays or Monday morning or Friday afternoon, but a lot of it is just by luck. When it does happen the ticket attendant will ask for volunteers to give up their seats in return for some compensation. Sometimes money, often a ticket voucher or a free upgrade to first class on the next flight to your destination. Dusty has witnessed “bidding wars” where the airline keeps sweetening the pot if they don’t get enough volunteers on their first try. Dusty loves those! 🙂

Neighboring Airports. We talked about this already but I thought I’d toss out some of the main airports where options might work for the everyday traveler.

For the BOSTON area…TF GReen in Providence, RI; Manchester NH; and even Hartford CT can give you lower cost flights in exchange for using alternate transportation for the last leg into Boston.

When traveling to Washington D. C. try the Baltimore airport. It’s close but not the D.C. Hub.

New York City, the Big Apple….don’t forget Newark , NJ is just across the river. Plenty of ways into the “City” from there.

LAX? Los Angeles. Be sure to check nearby in Orange County, Burbank or Ontario (California) airports.

Websites. Keep in mind that some airlines only work through their own website so a site like Kayak or Priceline won’t have these offerings.

Social Networks. More and more airlines are offering special sales to their online community. To get in on these you have to be connected. Find their website on Facebook and Twitter and then be sure to click the “Like” button.

Well, I think it’s time to wrap up this post. I hope you find this helpful. Until next time..Happy Traveling!

Winslow Animal Sanctuary

Posted on August 10, 2011August 10, 2011 by Dusty Roads

Before I get into today’s post I want to remind everyone that I really need your help deciding which photo to submit to the Cog Railway’s photo contest. I can only send in one and I couldn’t make up my mind. I’m hoping you can help with that. So after you read today’s post, please take a minute to go back to yesterday’s and vote. Thank you!

Winslow Animal Sanctuary

Winslow Farm Animal Sanctuary is located at 37 Eddy St, Norton , Ma. The farm is a non-profit that cares for abused and neglected animals.

There are many cats, a couple of dogs, swans, geese , ducks, goats, horses, mules, alpacas, at least one peacock and a turkey that avoided the Thanksgiving dinner table. We can’t forget the pigs and sheep and chickens either. Plus I saw a rabbit and doves too.

The farm is a forever home sanctuary. Animals that come here are guaranteed a home for the rest of their lives.

The animals are lovingly cared for by a team of volunteers. Many of the animals come to the sanctuary after being abused by their former owners and need to learn to trust again.

It is a testament to the caring and hard work being done by the volunteers that all of the animals I encountered in my visit were friendly and even affectionate to me, a stranger.

It’s hard to believe that such trusting creatures could have been abused and still retain faith in humans.

Winslow Farm was established in 1996 as a home for abused animals.

It opened it doors to the public in 1997 as an animal farm to give the public a chance to interact with the animals. The farm hopes to educate the public on the plight of abused and neglected animals as well as teach about general animal care.

It’s also a chance for the animals to learn that there are “good” humans too.

I really enjoyed my visit there and know for sure I’ll be going back often.

I love all animals but the ones that seemed to seek me out were the cats. They were all so sweet and cuddly.

Maybe they sensed I have two cats of my own. I don’t know but they are wonderful.

With over 200 animals to care for I am sure that my paltry admission fee of only $7.00 is much-needed.

In addition, the farm offers a AAA discount taking a dollar off that minimal fee. I think my next visit I’ll keep the AAA card in my pocket. Let the farm have the extra dollar.

The farm is available for parties and events.

They also appreciate donations. With all the charities looking for support today it’s hard to figure out which ones are deserving. Well, I think I’m going to throw some of my support here.