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!

Saved The Best

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

I saved the best for last. If I were on vacation in San Diego the first thing I would do is locate the Old Town Trolley. This is not an advertisement or a “plug”. This has been my experience in my travels. Almost every place I’ve been from Key West to Sedona has had a trolley company offering tours. Some are hop on – hop off and others are just tours but they always help me get oriented.

San Diego has a branch of the Old Town Trolley company that I’m familiar with from Boston.

Everyone told me about “Old Town”, it is the oldest settled area in San Diego and is the site of the first European settlement in present-day California. It contains Old Town San Diego Historic Park and Presidio Park , both of which are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Old Town Trolley has a tour there.

Ole Town Trolley also has the “Seal Tours” which are like Boston’s Duck Tours. You can make a real splash on these tours.

There’s tons of stuff to see a each stop. Too much for me to write here without having experienced it yet. Check out the link for all the details. http://www.trolleytours.com/san-diego/old-town.asp

So what do you think? Should a return to San Diego be my 2014 vacation?

What I Missed in San Diego ~ 3

Posted on January 31, 2014January 31, 2014 by Dusty Roads

The California Coast is supposed to be beautiful and according to friends I have in La Jolla, nothing beats that little section. In Spanish, La Jolla means “the jewel,” an apt name for a pretty, Mediterranean-style seaside town – sitting on cliffs flanking the ocean.

La Jolla visitors like to shop and eat in the nice restaurants, some of them with lovely ocean views. There’s a lot for the active visitor, too, including ocean kayaking, tide pool-hopping, surfing at Windansea Beach, biking or running along the waterfront.

Coronado Island is a little strip of land that isn’t really an island but a peninsula – a fact that doesn’t get in the way of the name most people use for it. Whatever you call it, it’s on a slender strip of land between the San Diego Bay and the Pacific Ocean, barely a few blocks wide. What it lacks in size it makes up for in fun, with a beach that’s been named among the best in the country, a classic hotel and a compact, lively little downtown. Coronado’s laid-back temperament makes a nice break from the busier parts of San Diego across the water.

What is a visit to a ocean front location without a harbor cruise. It’s almost as important as that trolley tour to get the layout. Water plays a prominent role in San Diego. Downtown faces it. Point Loma and Coronado surround the large, calm bay. There’s a lot to see along its shores and much of it is best explored by boat.

Everyone love the views of downtown you can get from a San Diego harbor cruise, but you’ll also get a peek at the Pacific Fleet – and a harbor cruise is the best way to get a feel for just how tall the Coronado Bridge really is. The bay is well protected and the water seldom rough.

The cruises make two out-and-back trips, one toward Point Loma and the other past the Coronado Bridge, the Navy Seals Training Base and military ships. The boat stops at the dock in between, making it easy for you to take just one leg or both. Opt for a brunch or dinner cruise and you can see it all while having a nice meal.

The first European to set foot in California was the Spanish explorer Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, who stepped on shore near this spot in 1542. He’s the guy they made this statue to look like – and named the park after, Cabrillo National Monument. We don’t know if Cabrillo climbed all the way up to the top of this promontory or not, but people who make it up here nowadays get some of the best views of San Diego, looking across the Bay and back toward downtown.

Besides the great views, there’s a historic lighthouse, a visitor center, some nice tide pools down below and good whale-watching in the winter.

Challenge #1 ~ Plymouth Rock

Posted on March 22, 2013March 22, 2013 by Dusty Roads

Did you get it? It’s Plymouth Rock.

The first time I went to see Plymouth Rock I was surprised to see the monument. For some reason I expected a rock possibly protected by a fence around it. I wasn’t expecting this elaborate memorial.

Plymouth Rock located in Pilgrim Memorial State Park is in one of the most heavily visited State Parks in the system. The big draw being the “Rock”, the world-famous symbol of the courage and faith of the men and women who founded the first New England Colony.

Every year nearly one million people from all over the world come to visit the town where in 1620 Europeans first made a home in New England.

The park is located on Water St, Plymouth , Ma.

In 1774, Plymouth Rock split in two when a team of oxen attempted to raise it. Only the lower portion was left at the waterfront. The upper portion was moved to be displayed in the Town Square. Souvenir seekers caused further damage so the rock was moved again to the safety of an iron fence at Pilgrim Hall in 1834.

It had a rough trip to the museum obtaining a distinctive crack when it fell off its conveyance.

In 1859 the Pilgrim Society acquired the other half of Plymouth Rock and in 1867 a canopy structure was completed on the waterfront to house it. In 1880 the upper chunk was united with the lower piece with cement and 1620 was carved into the rock.