All those Little Things

Posted on August 1, 2017August 1, 2017 by Dusty Roads | 4 Comments

Those Things you almost forget to mention

I’ve got a few things to share with you. A little of this and a little of that. Things I forgot to mention and things that just didn’t seem to fit in any place else. So today’s post is a little bit of house keeping.

The “Sandcastles”

This post really seemed to hit the spot. So I want to share a couple more photos. The first one is The Sand with the Dragon Tattoo. Catchy

Then there’s the sculpture named Wishful Thinking. Who among us haven’t indulged in wishful thinking at one time or another? Here’s a little I dream of Jeannie magic along with the winning lottery ticket. That’s really Wishful Thinking!

If you’d like to see more of my pictures from the Competition, you can stop by http://dustyroadsphotos.zenfolio.com/p955600703. Be sure to sign the guest book and say Hi.

My Photo Page Has Gone to The Birds

Speaking of my photo page link, I had it in my menu but it disappeared. I’ve been trying to figure out what went wrong. You should be able to see it and click on it. Its really bumming me out. I will get it figured out but it might be awhile. Technology is not my friend, its my challenge. I put together a lovely slide show with music. The theme is Birds. So until I get the link fixed, you can find my Birds slide show at http://dustyroadsphotos.zenfolio.com/

Did I forget the Dessert?

Remember the Birthday Celebration at Woods Hole? I never told you where we ended up for dessert. A birthday celebration needs cake and ice cream so that’s what we had. Leaving Woods Hole we made a stop in Falmouth, MA at Cupcake Charlie’s . What a great way to have Cake and Ice Cream. Everyone can choose their own flavors. Its easy to see why Cupcake Charlie’s is called “New England’s Best Cupcakes”.

“Life is Short . . . Eat a Cupcake”

Wilderness to City

Posted on July 5, 2013July 5, 2013 by Dusty Roads

We relaxed in the sun until our bus arrived. Still cool in the shade, it was T-shirt weather in the sunshine. Amazing the difference from when we started this adventure.

Right on time our bus pulled up and once again we went through the head count process as we boarded the bus, this time we were heading to Anchorage. I wondered if it would be quicker than our trip from Whittier on the train.

Going into Talkeetna was one very popular tour that we didn’t get to do. For one thing it involved another bus ride of about an hour to get there. I needed to move now, not ride another bus! Talkeetna is an interesting little town. The TV show Northern Exposure was based on the town and yes , they do have an Annual Moose Dropping Festival. Another claim to fame…the mayor is a CAT! Yes, a feline. And it holds office hours. I would have been able to get my “kitty fix” if we’d taken the hour+ tour into town.

Mayor Stubbs

Alas, this will have to wait for another trip. I was feeling pretty mellow. This was a longer vacation a than usual and a lot more packing and unpacking and climbing on buses and long train rides and…well, I’m not complaining, but I think I was slowing down.

Our bus driver was pleasant, chatting about the different towns we passed. It was all highway so we made good time. At about the half way mark we got a rest stop at a little ice cream shop.

As the bus pulled in I spotted him. Our eyes met and I knew, just knew, we were destined for each other.

“Pierre” was soon sitting next to me and on his way to Anchorage.

“Pierre”

I haven’t been one to buy souvenirs for myself since I started lugging the camera with me. The pictures are usually my memorabilia. But I couldn’t leave “Pierre” behind.

As we entered Anchorage we hit the first traffic we’d seen in all of Alaska! We were in a “Thoroughly Modern City. ” The driver said that moose might be found wandering the city streets and I had seen that on the Discovery Channel too, but we didn’t see any moose on the loose while we were there.

The driver took us around the block a few times pointing out different places to go for dinner or drinks. Like a mother hen he warned us not to go past certain streets after dark. Well who needs to? It doesn’t get dark until after 11pm!

Eventually he pulled up to the Hotel Captain Cook.

Here were didn’t get an envelope on the bus. Princess had a desk set up where we picked up our keys, once again speeding the check in process.

We were on the 15th floor.

Another beautiful room, well appointed as they say. And free WIFI! Finally connected again! And our luggage was waiting!

I have to admit that all of the accommodations have been outstanding.

This would be our last night in Alaska.

Peaceful Meadows

Posted on August 1, 2012August 1, 2012 by Dusty Roads

Well back on the home front I continued with the unofficial review of area Ice Cream stands. A good friend recommended Peaceful Meadows on Rt 18 in Whitman. I definitely knew where that was. I drive by it quite often. What I didn’t know was that this is only one of 3 Massachusetts locations.

There’s a Peaceful Meadows Ice Cream stand at 109 West Grove St, Middleboro, Ma and another at 170 Water St, Plymouth, Ma. The correct address of the one in Whitman is 60 Bedford St, Whitman.

Peaceful Meadows started out as a dairy farm in Whitman and that is still the main location and there is still a dairy there. In fact all of the ice cream served at all 3 locations is made right there on the farm in Whitman.

I can see the appeal of the place for a family with children too, at least the Whitman location. I have not been to Middleboro or Plymouth but I think they are just Ice Cream Stands. The Whitman location is the farm and it is really a working dairy farm.

When you pull into the good-sized parking lot you see cows grazing in the pasture that backs the ice cream stand. The barn itself is open to the public and the day I was there contained a “pre teen” calf. You know what I mean..not a cute little baby but not fully grown up yet either. The mother cow was in an enclosure next to the calf. I hesitate to call it a stall as it was more like a mini corral . The sides were open. Children were picking up handfuls of hay and feeding both cows. They were gentle and let the little ones pet and scratch their heads while they munched.

Also located on the grounds is a little store with packaged ice cream, milk, homemade cookies and wonder of wonder, maple syrup and maple syrup candy. Be still my heart. That is a major weakness of mine. I left quickly before temptation could sway any resolve.

Having explored a bit it was time to taste the wares. I stood in a short line until it was my turn. I’m not very adventuresome when it come to eating so I am normally happy with a simple dish of chocolate but today I decided to try a sundae. Pretty basic…vanilla ice cream with hot fudge. Whip cream and nuts of course , hold the cherry.

You can’t fault the serving size. This didn’t come in a dish. This was in a large plastic cup. There was plenty of hot fudge too, not like some places that give you a little dot of hot fudge and call it a day. My treat in hand I looked for someplace to sit back and enjoy.

There were no little tables with bright umbrellas, no picnic tables on the grass under the trees, only one small bench and a few boulders. Most people were sitting cross-legged on the ground. Perfect for little kids and maybe me about 10-15 years ago but now my joints might let me get down there but I’d never get back up!

Eventually one of the kids left the bench to go look at the cows and I quickly claimed the vacant seat. Time to dig in.

Hmmm. Very strong vanilla flavoring. I’m not sure I like it quite that strong. Also the ice cream, being homemade fresh from the dairy was very, very rich. That’s not a bad thing unless, like me all that butterfat tends to upset the digestive track. The hot fudge had a slightly burned flavor like someone hadn’t cleaned out the old before adding the new. So far I can’t give them high points. It certainly wasn’t the worst hot fudge sundae I’ve tasted but I wouldn’t put it in the top 10 either. I didn’t finish it. Most of it landed in the trash container.

Bottom line…I can see why it would be a favorite place for families with the cows to watch and the open barn to explore. Another Plus is that this is not a seasonal stand. It is open year round. There’s ample parking but not enough seating unless you like the ground and I’d only rate the ice cream a C.

So to my friend who loves this location all I can say is sorry. It isn’t to my taste. Maybe it is to yours and that’s good too. It’s why there are many choices out there. If everyone liked the same thing we’d only need one and where’s the fun in that?

Day is Done…

Posted on July 13, 2012July 13, 2012 by Dusty Roads

Back on dry land I had to get my land legs back to trudge up the hill to the car. From freezing to sweating . It was close to 90 degrees and humid! Maybe being cold out on the sea wasn’t so bad. 🙂

The first point of business was to track down my fellow traveler, JR. He hadn’t wanted to go on the boat so I’d left him exploring the town. Now as I pulled out my cell phone to call him I realized it was 5 pm. No wonder I was hungry. I hadn’t had lunch and the “snack bar” on the rocking and rolling Islander consisted of peanuts , chips, candy bars, coffee and soft drinks. With the cabin filled with the suffering, I couldn’t even think of food but back on land my stomach was making its empty presence known.

JR was back at the motel so I headed over there to meet up with him. He had done a terrific job of checking out the town. One of the most interesting things to me was an island called Bar Island. It’s an island in the harbor just off Bar Harbor. You get to it by crossing a sand bar. The tricky part is that the sand bar is under water at high tide. Up in that part of Maine the tides can vary 10 – 12 feet between High and Low tide. So if you go out and the tide comes in..you could be stuck there for 6 hours or until the next low tide.

On the boat the tour guide said there was a joke that if a local tells you there’s parking on the island that means they don’t like you very much. 🙂

But back to my hungry stomach…During his explorations JR had run across a pub style restaurant called The Thirsty Whale. I would have liked to go back to The Route 66 if only to bring the camera but JR had a point. His argument was that we should experience as much as possible in the short time we would be there and we’d already tried Rt 66. The Thirsty Whale wasn’t far from the motel so we walked down.

It was typical pub food. JR had a pizza of some kind..maybe bar-b- q chicken or something like that. I stuck with the nautical theme enjoying a fish and chips plate that tasted as if he fish had just swum in..sooo fresh. That’s the beauty of ordering seafood right on the coast. The problem is that it spoils me for the rest of the year.

After dinner we wandered up to the main tourist part of town, did some window shopping and got an ice cream at one of the many ice cream shops.

I spotted the man with the cat on the leash again. I couldn’t believe how calm the cats was with strangers walking all around him. Rocky will walk on a leash too so that wasn’t the amazing part. The part that amazed me is that the cat was calm as could be in all the confusion and the crowds of people. While I talked with his owner he plopped down and started giving himself a thorough kitty bath …the cat not the owner.(yoga poses to reach his private parts and all).

Leaving the hustle and bustle behind we walked back to the motel. JR wanted to photograph a church with beautiful stained glass windows. I did too but my adventures of the day had taken their toll. I could hardly keep my eyes open on the walk back so I sent him on his way and I crashed. I think my eyes were closed before my head hit the pillow. We had another busy day planned for the ‘morrow and I wanted to be alert enough to enjoy it.

Voted # 1 in New England

Posted on June 13, 2012June 13, 2012 by Dusty Roads

Speaking of Ice Cream, I turned on the news the other morning to hear that an establishment in Taunton, Ma (where I live) was voted #1 for Ice Cream in New England. Now that’s really cool! Someplace in my own town won out and it’s a category I love…Ice Cream. I have got to check this out!

How could I have lived in this town for 6 years and not know where this place is? According to NECN , Frates at 1423 Somerset Ave, Taunton is #1.

So the first time I went looking it was raining but I found out right away why I’d never noticed it before. It’s on RT 138 going south but I am usually going north so I turn the opposite way about a mile before I would have reached it.

I was pleased to see that it isn’t just ice cream. They have all kinds of food; hamburgers, fish and chips, fried clams, fish sandwiches and more. And, oh yes they have ice cream. Tons of ice cream, hard and soft, blizzards, sundaes, floats. Amazing!

I tried the Fish sandwich. Sooo good and polished my meal off with a small soft serve cone with “mix in’s”. Remember the days when there might be 28 flavors of hard ice cream but only vanilla, chocolate or a “twist” for soft serve? Well that sure has changed.

Ok, so my 2nd visit to Frates was on a sunny day. The picnic tables on the patio were open and there was a steady stream of cars in and out of the parking lot.

This time I had the fish and chips. Excellent choice. Once again I finished up with a small soft serve cone. This time with Oreo cookies mixed in.

Since this is less than a mile from my home I can see it becoming an addiction. The whole atmosphere is good.

The folks are really nice and friendly and I love the decor..cows…along with the rockin’ oldies they have playing. I was tapping my foot and trying to sing along between bites.