Moose up the Road Apiece!

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Rangeley, a town in Franklin county Maine has a population of around 1200 until the tourists come to town. Rangeley is the center of the Rangeley Lakes Region, a major resort area.

It looks like a June vacation will be an excellent time as far as the weather is concerned. Watch me jinx us by making a statement like that! But really. When I check the average temps the average high in June is 69 degrees and the average low is 47 degrees. Nice sweater weather. Of course they did have a record high of 90 degrees and a record low of 27 degrees. There’s been no snow in June and only an average rainfall of less than 5 inches. But if it rains there’s a bowling alley. We can all go bowling!

I want to go to Maine in June for the moose. The moose is the state animal of Maine. Moose spotting becomes an activity late spring to Mid-summer. Seems to me June falls right in the middle of that range. The best time for spotting moose seems to be early morning or evening and noon to 2 pm. Sounds like moose like to have lunch too!

Calves are born in late May to early June right on track with our June vacation . I can visualize the photos now. Early morning has such beautiful light!

One of the activities I’m thinking about is a Moose Safari. There are both walking safaris and water safaris in canoes or kayaks . I know how to canoe but I’ve never been kayaking. That would be a new adventure. Plus there’s plenty of hiking trails. Also sounds like a lot of waterfalls on these trails.

One location in particular that caught my eye is The Hunter Cove Wildlife Sanctuary, sitting along Route 4 between Rangeley and the town of Oquossoc, the sanctuary offers nearly two miles of looped, flat, hiking trails leading through moose country. The sanctuary, as well as the lakes, is home to deer, foxes, loons and other bird and animal species.

I’m used to wildlife sanctuaries. I visit them in Massachusetts all the time so this might belong on my list.

I’m ready for June to arrive and my Maine wildlife adventure to begin.

Travel Quote of the Day

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“For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel’s sake. The great affair is to move.” – Robert Louis Stevenson

Yes, I can identify.  Can you? It’s like having an itch you can’t scratch. I bet it’s what a cat feels when they want to go out only to turn around and come back in. We just have to go somewhere! Anywhere! NOW!

I think that’s why I moved every 2 years or so when I was younger, before I invested in a condo that keeps me rooted in one place. The plan was to buy a home, live there for 4-5 years and sell for a profit but the real estate bubble burst and with it my wandering days were severely curtailed.

So now I grab the opportunities as the come. If sometimes I have to work at it to find an adventure, then so be it. Travel is in my blood!

 

 

Cherry Blossoms Afterall

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I gave in. The temptation was too much. The National Park Service changed the prediction for peak Cherry Blossoms. It’s been too cold so the new prediction is March 19 – March 22.

I was all set to skip it but now I have another week and I just can’t stand not doing anything or going anywhere. I think the cold weather has messed with my brain. As Southwest Airlines says…”I Gotta Get Away”.

I booked everything so now I just have to get my work to approve the time off. I’m sure they will. I don’t have to bother my Pet Sitter  either because my friend Joe said he would watch the “kitty”. Rocky would love to know that he’s “the kitty”!

My Timeshare has a new perk. I can pay for my plane fare and hotel with my time share points. I book through their web site and pay for the flight and hotel. Then I authorize the number of points I want to use. 4-6 weeks after the trip is completed they send a check.  I’ve never used this perk but I’ve met people that have and they love it. So I’m going to give it a try. That’s the only way I can swing this on such short notice.

I also booked my “Dream Vacation” that I earned on my last trip to Maui. I was going to go to the Big Island but I can get a longer stay if I go back to Maui. So that’s what I’m going to do. I booked February again so I can chase the whales some more.

I guess its not safe to let me stay inside on a cold day! Look at what I’ve done! I’ve booked a quick trip to Washington DC for the Cherry Blossoms and a 5 day trip to Maui. I also renewed my Priority Pass.

You may have seen the ads for Priority Pass on TV. It’s program that lets you use exclusive lounges in airports around the world. Usually it cost $99/year but this is another perk of my Timeshare.  They pay the annual fee. There is a $27.00 charge per person each time you use a lounge but I’m told it’s well worth it if you have a long layover. We could have used it on the November trip to Maui.

Oh my, I lost track of the time. Rocky is teasing because it’s his dinner time But I’ll leave you with this last thought…I do love my Timeshare!

 

 

What Happened to Spring?

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Massachusetts is in the Northern Hemisphere and that means that meteorological spring started on March 1. Anyone who lives north of the Mason-Dixon Line knows that you still get snow storms in March in Massachusetts, Heck, you get them in May! But we just had a week of record breaking heat. I’m not ready to go back to winter.

I really don’t like winter. I don’t know how I ever found playing in the snow fun, even as a kid. Does getting frozen and wet really sound like fun? Growing up in the Adirondack mountains we used to get some major snow storms. Often there’d be a thaw and then another freeze and we’d get an ice crust thick enough to walk on…until you broke through. I came home many times not only cold but bleeding from being cut and scraped on the ice crust. No I really don’t like winter.

So the warm weather has fled and the snow came in during the wee hours of the morning. I thought it would stop after an inch or two but it snowed all day.

It wasn’t until around 5 pm that the snow came to a stop and the sun came out. Just in time to set but it made the snow covered trees look golden in the afternoon light.

By the time I got home after work I was feeling a bit kinder toward the snow. It was really pretty.

I guess I have to get used to it. We are headed into a record cold weekend and another storm by Tuesday. I guess winter isn’t ready to give up quite yet.

Why I started to Blog

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I was just cruising some of the other travel blogs out there and I ran across Little Miss Traveler.

https://lovetravellingallaroundtheworld.wordpress.com/

 On the very first page, about the author, she talked about why she started her blog. She wanted to have an online diary of her trips.

I couldn’t agree with her more!

I started my blog because I was afraid I’d become one of those people that always comes back from a trip and invites everyone over to  show off her “home movies” or slides or photos. You know the ones.  You get the invite and cringe. If you’re family you probably can’t get out of it and if you’re a neighbor and you don’t go you’ll be seeing me at every turn. And co-worker?  Well my my, you are a captive audience from 9-5! There is no escape!

So as I saw myself becoming that person that everyone dreads I needed another way to share my stories to the folks that really wanted to know about my vacations. After considerable thought and many stops and starts  this blog was born. Now you can visit when you want, read what you want and even make comments (which I will answer) when you want. No Boredom!

So  it’s been around for awhile now. If you’re curious about my very first post you can read it here. It was  posted on September 8, 2010

http://aroundustyroads.blogspot.com/2010/09/my-first-time.html

Little Miss Travels says her blog has evolved into an online resource providing inspiration to other travelers. I would be so lucky if my little tales could do the same. In fact I’ve been giving a lot of thought to the future of my little blog. My purpose has evolved over the years. I travel with more passion now and my motivation is different. I think I need to make some changes so aroundustyroads grows with me.

I’m just not quite sure what that will entail but I think after 7 years it’s time to shake things up a bit. You can be sure you will be one of the first to know. For now, stop by Little Miss Traveler’s blog and say Hi. and please visit my archives to find some really early posts.