Picking a Destination

Posted on March 21, 2014March 21, 2014 by Dusty Roads

Anyone who has been following this blog for any time knows that my travel goal is to visit all 50 states and not just as a layover on the way to someplace else. No I want to spend quality time in each state.

I was watching a travel channel program today and it hit my why I have such a problem with that goal. I mean , really, I set it. Why should it be such a difficult thing to work toward? The reason, because each state has so much to share. You just aren’t finished with a state with one vacation. Each state needs time to get to know it. Like a person… you don’t get to know someone by sharing a drink at a cocktail party.

I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve been to Florida. I don’t always spend the time at Disney either. That’s a nice visit but not a priority for me.

But as I watched them talk about the Coral Castle in Homestead, FL I realized that I’m not done with Florida yet.

I haven’t ben to the Coral Castle, or the Miami Zoo.

I want to return to the Everglades and explore it in a lot more depth.

I haven’t spent any time in the northern part of the state or Panhandle and only touched on the sights in St. Augustine.

I’ve been to Hawaii twice but really want to get back there again. I haven’t been to Maui or taken the “Fast Ferry” between islands. I need to snorkel off Molokai and see Kilauea pour lava into the sea at night.

I can’t forget Alaska. My first visit was on a cruise ship . A nice trip but too tame for my taste. I want to set up a “base camp” maybe in Anchorage and explore out from there. I want to visit Fairbanks and see- no not just see-the northern lights, but photograph them.

One of the best trips I’ve done was with my sister to South Dakota but we didn’t get to see a pow wow or visit Sturgis or many other old west towns and there’s the whole eastern side of the state.

It’s hard to turn away from unfinished business. Every state I’ve visited needs a return visit to finish the exploration started on that first visit but if I always do that I’ll never get to the rest of the states. What a huge amazing country we live in!

The Flume Gorge, A Tale of Misadventure

Posted on April 13, 2013April 13, 2013 by Dusty Roads

Bad weather and bureaucracy have stolen my blogging time this week. I thought I’d Share one of my most popular posts from the past . This was once “Freshly Pressed” I hope you enjoy the repeat.

Alligator Show At Home of the Gator Boys

Posted on February 20, 2013February 20, 2013 by Dusty Roads

What do Cheetos and fences have to do with alligator wrestling? When you are at Everglades Holiday Park it means that the alligator show is being done by volunteer alligator gladiator J.- Mart. I don’t know J-Mart’s real name but that’s what they call him on the Animal Planet Show Gator Boys.

J-Mark’s first appearance was in an episode where Paul reprimanded him for feeding Cheetos to the alligators. We next see J-Mart trying to install a new fence around the alligator pit against Paul’s directions. J-Mart is one of those colorful characters that help add fun and interest to a show that revolves around a couple of trappers who catch nuisance alligators with their bare hands.

J-Mart was the person who had been in line behind me in the snack bar before my airboat ride. And J-Mart is performing the Alligator Wrestling show I am about to watch. That is sooo cool.

Now I am not a silly star struck kid and celebrities don’t make my heart go pit-pat but I was pleased that someone who I had actually seen on the show was going to do this demonstration. It also made me think that I might be able to get my “burning question” answered. Was Gator Boys coming back to Florida?

I stood front and center by the fence with my camera at ready. J-Mart started off asking if anyone watched Gator Boys. I don’t know how many other people said yes but my hand shot up right away. He looked right at me and said “Did you see the episode about the Cheetos?”. Laughing I said yes and about the fence too! His reply was classic J-Mark. “They made me look bad. I can build a fence.”

The gator show was great! J-Mart called the gators to him by imitating a baby gator chirping sound.

Then he took one of the bigger gators and had him snap his jaws shut. Wow! It’s amazing how loud the pop sound is as the jaws close in a split second.

The easy stuff out of the way J-Mart got serious and performed the more dangerous tricks like holding the gator with his head and no hands.

After the show I asked him if the Gator Boys were coming back to Florida.

He looked surprised I asked. Then he tossed off “they are back now”. Yay! Mississippi will be coming to an end and Paul and Jimmy will be back catching Florida Gators again.

Airboat ride, gator wrestling and my “burning question” answered. Throw in J-Mart and it was a very successful visit! I said good-bye to the birds and peacocks and headed back to the Ramada.

It was long past 3 pm so check in shouldn’t be a problem now.

Jack-O-Lantern Spectacular 2011

Posted on October 22, 2011October 22, 2011 by Dusty Roads

Last year I discovered The Jack-o-lantern Spectacular at the Roger Williams Park and Zoo. It’s a carved pumpkin trail lit only by the glow of thousands of pumpkins.

And last year I went alone to see what it was all about. This year I suggested to my friend Nancy that we take her two young children, Dawn (5) and Alex (7).. The only problem is that since I work weekends we would have to go on a weeknight aka school night.

Nancy decided it was worth it to keep them up so at 4:30 I was pulling into their driveway and we were bundling the kids into the car.

This year there was a new theme: All-new theme for 2011! The theme of this year’s show will be “A Journey Around the World.” It will include scenes from the Seven Wonders of the World (Taj Mahal, the pyramids and Sphinx, Mayan ruins, the Great Wall of China, and others) as well as representations of nations around the world, including a “European Vacation” and a trip through the Great White North complete with falling “snow”! And of course the famed centerpiece of the display, the “Laughing Tree,” will be back in all its spooky splendor. Visitors will be dazzled by hundreds of glowing jack-o-lanterns on the ground and in the branches, from tiny sugar pumpkins to gigantic gourds reaching up to 1600 pounds! (From RW web site)

We stopped at MacDonald’s and the kids were really wired. This was exciting for them then it was back on the road. We made one wrong turn… a slight detour that made me think of my sister’s philosophy…we’re not lost, just sight seeing…and then back on track it wasn’t long before we spotted the swan boats.

A bit farther along and we were being directed into a parking lot. Boy was it full! Even so we didn’t have to wait in line that long and were soon on our way to the start of the trail.

At first Alex was a little whiney..I’m not really sure why and Dawn kept saying she was scared but before too long we got to a section with music and from that point on the kids were in their element They danced the rest of the way.

According to the web site Photography is allowed on the trail when it will not impede movement on the pathway.
EXCEPTION: flash photography, tripods and monopods may not be used out of consideration for other people enjoying the magic of the trail.

I struggled along trying to get pictures with a long shutter without support..a near impossible task, while many people around me used their cameras, flash and all. Last year the No Flash Rule was strictly enforced but this year it seemed everyone was using flash.

I don’t know how long we took to walk the trail. The web site says it’s 45 minutes. It seemed to go fast to me but it was late when we got back to the car.

The kids were out cold before we were out of the parking lot. I had a great time and can only hope the kids did too. They were so tired when I dropped them off that I think they would have said yes to just about anything. 🙂

Pomp and Circumstance ~The King’s Tournament

Posted on October 19, 2011October 19, 2011 by Dusty Roads

The Knights and Jousting at King Richard’s Faire certainly follows the most ritualistic formula.

The “ring master” announced the King who mounts the viewing stand,

then announces the Knights who gallop in and take a run around the field before lining up in front of the King to pledge their loyalty. Then the King commands the games to begin and each Knight heads to his place in the field.

On command they race full tilt at a jousting dummy or spear rings that are thrown in the air by their squires. These are the games and sort of set the stage for the last meet in the afternoon when the “real” joust takes place.

Every year there is a back story to the jousts. It is played out in 3 parts. The morning games lay the groundwork and determine the “champion.” Usually it is also when you find out what the thing is that went wrong. Maybe it’s two Knights vying for the same Maiden or this year the Gold Prize for the games was missing.

Since I was lingering at the Tiger Stage so I could get the picture with the hawk, I missed this show which was called “The Challenge of the Champions”.

It was now 2:30 and I was ready at the field. The title of this installment was “The King’s Tournament”. This was when I was brought up to speed with the story.

When the Knights were introduced the “villain” Knight was argumentative and accusatory. It was pretty clear he was the “bad guy” but he was also the most popular. He got loads of cheers.

Two other Knights seemed to be there just to fill out the cast. They rode and performed the stunts but with little banter.

The last Knight to be brought in was announced as the Champion. I assume he must have won the morning Challenge to earn the title. It was clear the Bad Knight had it in for the new Knight even accusing him of stealing the prize.

As the Tournament progressed the war of words intensified and “Bad Knight” was disqualified for cheating. Finally “bad Knight” accused “Champion” of the theft and challenged him to a fight to the death.

The King allowed the challenge and everyone was to return to the Tournament field for the last installment of the story the “Joust to the Death.”

The dismissed Knights galloped out of the arena but not before Bad Knight attempted to engage Good Knight (yes, I know, bad pun) in some hand- to -hand.

As the crowd began to disperse the squires returned with the horses, now unsaddled. Immediately each of the horses picked out a favorite place and dropped and rolled. You could just tell how good that felt to them. 🙂 Nothing like a good dust bath to get ride of that sweat.

I’d seen as much as I wanted but I was curious about the afternoon joust so I wandered back to the picnic area where I spent the afternoon watching the crowds until it was time for the last installment.