Rain Rain Go Away

Posted on April 1, 2014April 1, 2014 by Dusty Roads

Or maybe not! What crazy weather! It’s been raining for two days and rivers are overflowing and streets in many towns are flooding. I went out to run errands during a lull. I’m glad I took my winter coat. I thought it would be warmer since it was rain but while I was out it changed to sleet and freezing rain and then finally to snow..again! I think I’d rather have the rain than the snow.

RT 18 New Bedford Floods

I drove around a bit with my camera looking for something to photograph but there’s nothing sprouting yet. It’s just too cold. Just browns and grays…no color yet. 🙁 Thankfully the rivers and streams in Taunton (and there are many) are high but not overflowing the banks. A few years ago the main street , RT 44, was underwater for a week!

2010 Flood RT 44 Raynham/Taunton Line

Anyway I came home empty handed. This Project 365 is really getting tough thanks to the nasty winter that never ends. I actually came home to warm up but once inside I was not going back out so here we go with another cat picture.

Maybe I should have done 365 cat pictures?

Swamp Meadow Bridge

Posted on January 8, 2014January 8, 2014 by Dusty Roads

Foggy Woods

Posted on January 6, 2014January 6, 2014 by Dusty Roads

It’s Week 2 Jan 6. My photo of the day today is Foggy Woods. This was taken in Foster , RI.

Another 8

Posted on September 24, 2013September 24, 2013 by Dusty Roads | 2 Comments

Can you believe it? Another letter of the alphabet is used to start the names of 8 more states. Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, and North Dakota.

Lets go for Nebraska and Nevada. Nebraska first.

Nebraska …No

Nebraska is a Great Plain State. Miles and miles of treeless prairie, ideal for cattle-grazing but not so good for breaking up thunderstorms. Nebraska lies right in the heart of Tornado Alley.

So what is there to do in Nebraska, well one thing comes immediately to mind and that’s storm chasing. Would I do it? I don’t know. Don’t let anyone tell you it’s safe. It is not. Not when seasoned storm chasers like Tim Samaras can be killed by these deadly storms. At one time I would have jumped at that kind of vacation. Now I am not so sure.

So if I’m not going storm chasing, what is there to do? Explore Nebraska’s historic routes – Pony Express, Lewis & Clark, and the Mormon and Oregon trails. Discover things to do – fossil beds and the Niobrara River – canoe, kayak, fish, tube and waterfalls. At Lincoln, the capital, take in the Great Plains Art Museum and Historic Haymarket. Omaha is home to attractions – a zoo, General Crook House. Gerald R. Ford Birth Site, Hot Shops Art Center, gardens, Union Pacific trains and Boys and Girls Town, plus nearby Chimney Rock and the Strategic Air and Space Museum.

So I guess there’s plenty to do in Nebraska.

On to Nevada…Yes, I have been to Nevada but I prefer it’s neighbor to the east, Arizona. Of course the biggest draw for Nevada is Las Vegas….what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas…isn’t that what they say?

Big on most tourist lists is Hoover Dam. I haven’t gone to it but I know many people who have and they all highly recommend it.

My first trip to Nevada was way back in the 1970’s and since I am not a gambler I spent most of my time by the pool or going to shows.

I was only about 5 rows back from the stage for Tom Jones and only a little father back for Mr. Las Vegas himself, Wayne Newton.

Both entertainers really worked hard and put on great shows.

About 10 years ago my sister and I accompanied my mother to Reno.

We took a tour to Virginia City and Lake Tahoe, (Lake Tahoe is actually California) but the high point for me was a show by a group called “RAIN”. They are Beatle impersonators and I love the Beatles.

They did an awesome show taking the Beatles through the years. They had costume changes that matched exactly the way the Beatles looked at different times in their career. It was amazing. It was easy to think you were watching the real thing!

There’s probably a lot more to this state than I’ve seen especially nature and wildlife but I’m not going to put it on my return list just yet.

So the new tally is 9 states visited, 19 still to go.

Dear Southwest Airlines~The letter I wish I’d Written

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

Dear Southwest Airlines

I’ve heard so many good things about you. You have fun cabin attendants, open seating, Early Bird Check-In, Priority boarding and BAGS FLY FREE!

Recently I had the opportunity to fly across the country with you round trip. Yup all the way from Providence, Rhode Island aka T.F. Green to Seattle and back again. Everyone was very pleasant, smiling and nice.

I changed planes in Baltimore on the way to Seattle. While I was waiting for boarding I happened to look out and it was pouring. Torrential rains were coming down. I commented to one of my fellow passengers “Wow, look at the rain!” We stood at the window watching the uncovered baggage carts wheel out onto the tarmac and bags get loaded into the plane. Neither of us thought anything of it at the time but when we arrived at Seattle we were greeted by our luggage that was so wet that each bag left a puddle on the baggage carousel. I heard a lot of grumbling.

When the cabby loaded my bag into his trunk he gave me a look and pulled out a newspaper to line the trunk before he put the bag in. I was very embarrassed.

All of my clothing was soaked and had to be dried at my hotel! Maybe the rain surprised your baggage handlers as much as it had surprised us but here’s the thing, on my return trip I had a change of planes in Baltimore again.

You won’t believe what happened…another torrential rain storm swept through.

I wasn’t concerned. I was sure the soaked bags from the outbound trip was just a fluke. I fly often and have never had a problem like this before in spite of rain or snow storms.

Nope. When I arrived at T.F. Green once again the bags, and not just mine, were soaked to the point of having water drip and run out onto the baggage carousel. As if that wasn’t bad enough my bag had the bottom stabilizer broken off so you could no longer stand the bag upright and there were 2 holes were the stabilizer had been anchored. The holes did a fine job of draining the water.

I can only say I am not sure I saved any baggage fees by flying Southwest. I may not have paid the $25- $35 baggage fee of the other airlines but it cost me $89.00 to replace the damaged suitcase as well as the aggravation of drying my clothing in the room and having to wash even clean, but soaked, clothes when I got home.