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Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Back at work
So the first day back at work wasn't bad at all. Everyone kept saying I looked rested and relaxed. So that was kind of fun.
I didn't realize it but I'd asked to be off until tomorrow, so technically I went back to work a day early. Just couldn't wait for the fun to start.
And I found out something today I wish I could broadcast to everyone who ever drives in Florida. It is indeed illegal to drive on the road with your flashers going so all the dipwads who turn on their flashers and slow down when it's raining should stop!
Meanwhile, as the tired mother of a 15-year-old, may I say I'm glad I never have to be 15 again and I'm glad I don't have to be the mother of a teenager ever again!
I didn't realize it but I'd asked to be off until tomorrow, so technically I went back to work a day early. Just couldn't wait for the fun to start.
And I found out something today I wish I could broadcast to everyone who ever drives in Florida. It is indeed illegal to drive on the road with your flashers going so all the dipwads who turn on their flashers and slow down when it's raining should stop!
Meanwhile, as the tired mother of a 15-year-old, may I say I'm glad I never have to be 15 again and I'm glad I don't have to be the mother of a teenager ever again!
Monday, July 28, 2008
Weekend July 26 and 27
So Saturday we drove down into Ohio. Tried to go to the Cincinnati Zoo but we were only going to have an hour and a half so we skipped it.
Drove on south into Kentucky, where we drove into Lexington and had dinner at a place called Ramsey's Diner. Yum! They had a veggie plate, which thrilled Steve, with things like fried okra, fried green tomatoes and yellow squash with onions. Definitely worth a stop if you ever find yourself there.
We turned in early at about 11 p.m. but still wound up sleeping late Sunday morning. We drove into Knoxville, TN and visited with Steve's nephew Matt and his wife Karen and their two great kids. That was really fun. They have a beautiful garden in their backyard and a beautiful two story home on a cul-de-sac. We were thrilled to see they are so happy and doing well.
From there we decided to drive through Great Smoky Mountain National Park to visit with my cousin Patsy and her daughter Ruth, who have a home in Cherokee, North Carolina. They're putting it up for rent, so if you know anyone ... They surprised us by fixing a great lunch, even though they were hard at work packing things up. It was the best meal of the trip, with roast beef, rice, squash, fried okra and sliced tomatoes. Double yum!!
On the trip over, we saw the weirdest phenomena. There were all of these swallowtail butterflies swarming everywhere. They were sitting in the dirt, flying over the road. It was crazy. There must have been thousands.
We decided to leave Cherokee and go ahead and head for home so we'd be home earlier Monday, but once we got on the road, we wound up driving straight through. We stopped twice at rest areas to nap and arrived home about 10:30 and fell into bed.
Lots to unpack and clean up but overall great to be home. Trip was truly wonderful and we're so blessed everything went so smoothly.
This butterfly is a Pipevine Swallowtail (Battus philenor)
Drove on south into Kentucky, where we drove into Lexington and had dinner at a place called Ramsey's Diner. Yum! They had a veggie plate, which thrilled Steve, with things like fried okra, fried green tomatoes and yellow squash with onions. Definitely worth a stop if you ever find yourself there.
We turned in early at about 11 p.m. but still wound up sleeping late Sunday morning. We drove into Knoxville, TN and visited with Steve's nephew Matt and his wife Karen and their two great kids. That was really fun. They have a beautiful garden in their backyard and a beautiful two story home on a cul-de-sac. We were thrilled to see they are so happy and doing well.
From there we decided to drive through Great Smoky Mountain National Park to visit with my cousin Patsy and her daughter Ruth, who have a home in Cherokee, North Carolina. They're putting it up for rent, so if you know anyone ... They surprised us by fixing a great lunch, even though they were hard at work packing things up. It was the best meal of the trip, with roast beef, rice, squash, fried okra and sliced tomatoes. Double yum!!
On the trip over, we saw the weirdest phenomena. There were all of these swallowtail butterflies swarming everywhere. They were sitting in the dirt, flying over the road. It was crazy. There must have been thousands.
We decided to leave Cherokee and go ahead and head for home so we'd be home earlier Monday, but once we got on the road, we wound up driving straight through. We stopped twice at rest areas to nap and arrived home about 10:30 and fell into bed.
Lots to unpack and clean up but overall great to be home. Trip was truly wonderful and we're so blessed everything went so smoothly.
This butterfly is a Pipevine Swallowtail (Battus philenor)
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Friday July 25
Today we drove south and started heading toward home. We drove to Milwaukee and had dinner at Mader's, a 102-year-old German restaurant. It was expensive but fabulous. We had a very nice time. The waitresses all dress in vintage German outfits. And one of the guests just stood up and burst into song to salute a woman at his table. That was fun too.
We drove through Dorr County Wisconsin and saw the farms, they were beautiful. We bought cheese in Gibbsville and then we had frozen custard. We loved it.
Then we drove to Chicago so we'd get there after dark and see all the lights. We drove around quite a bit downtown but did not get to spend as much time as I would have liked. We started looking for a hotel on the outskirts of Chicago but we should have done that on the north side instead of the south side because we couldn't find any rooms. We wound up driving all the way to Lafayette Indiana in the middle of the night. We finally found a Hampton Inn and it was really wonderful. We swam in the pool this morning and sat in the jacuzzi and it's all very relaxing. Best beds of the trip.
Did I say I really love Wisconsin!
We drove through Dorr County Wisconsin and saw the farms, they were beautiful. We bought cheese in Gibbsville and then we had frozen custard. We loved it.
Then we drove to Chicago so we'd get there after dark and see all the lights. We drove around quite a bit downtown but did not get to spend as much time as I would have liked. We started looking for a hotel on the outskirts of Chicago but we should have done that on the north side instead of the south side because we couldn't find any rooms. We wound up driving all the way to Lafayette Indiana in the middle of the night. We finally found a Hampton Inn and it was really wonderful. We swam in the pool this morning and sat in the jacuzzi and it's all very relaxing. Best beds of the trip.
Did I say I really love Wisconsin!
Friday, July 25, 2008
Thursday July 24
Today was the best day of the trip. We took a 2.5 hour boat trip along the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. Wow. It was truly gorgeous.
The water in Lake Superior is unbelievably clear and you can see straight down 30 or 40 feet. It looks just like spring water. And the rocks along the lakeshore are cool, several stories high with all sorts of mineral seepage making intriguing patterns on the rock. Two of the formations were arches. We thought the boat captain was going to sail right into one.
But I learned a lesson. I didn't think we could get sunburned up here, since we're pretty tan already and so far north but boy was I wrong. Rosie and I are fried.
We stopped at a place called Muldoons in Munising and ate pasties, (short a sound, not like the decorations strippers wear!) Steve and I thought they were great. It's like a beef pot pie without gravy that you hold in your hand. Rosie was less impressed.
We visited Munising Falls and then we drove over to Seney National Wildlife Refuge where at long last we think we finally saw a beaver, two beavers actually. It's one of the mammals I've never seen in the wild. We still did not see a bear or a moose so we're sad. Tomorrow we're headed south out of the Peninsula, where our chances of seeing a bear drop to almost nil. We did see tons of trumpeter swans, Canada geese and loons. The oldest pair of loons at the refuge are 21. They've been together 12 years. We also saw several deer, who were not very afraid of us.
The facilities at all of the refuges here are much more elaborate than the facilities at the refuges in Florida. I wonder what gives with funding?
The water in Lake Superior is unbelievably clear and you can see straight down 30 or 40 feet. It looks just like spring water. And the rocks along the lakeshore are cool, several stories high with all sorts of mineral seepage making intriguing patterns on the rock. Two of the formations were arches. We thought the boat captain was going to sail right into one.
But I learned a lesson. I didn't think we could get sunburned up here, since we're pretty tan already and so far north but boy was I wrong. Rosie and I are fried.
We stopped at a place called Muldoons in Munising and ate pasties, (short a sound, not like the decorations strippers wear!) Steve and I thought they were great. It's like a beef pot pie without gravy that you hold in your hand. Rosie was less impressed.
We visited Munising Falls and then we drove over to Seney National Wildlife Refuge where at long last we think we finally saw a beaver, two beavers actually. It's one of the mammals I've never seen in the wild. We still did not see a bear or a moose so we're sad. Tomorrow we're headed south out of the Peninsula, where our chances of seeing a bear drop to almost nil. We did see tons of trumpeter swans, Canada geese and loons. The oldest pair of loons at the refuge are 21. They've been together 12 years. We also saw several deer, who were not very afraid of us.
The facilities at all of the refuges here are much more elaborate than the facilities at the refuges in Florida. I wonder what gives with funding?
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Gasoline!
Several people had asked about gas. So far, we've spent less than $450 in gas. We lost track of the very first one. This week, we've been getting about 26 miles to the gallon.
Wednesday, July 23
We've hit the halfway point.
We visited Bayfield Apple Orchard and picked three pints of raspberries. That was really fun. The views from the farms high above Lake Superior were stunning. What a beautiful place to grow fruits and vegetables. We all had fun picking the berries but it did get pretty warm. From there, we drove south along the lake to Marquette, Michigan after taking a detour to look (unsuccessfully) for moose. We also hiked to another waterfall on our way.
We visited Bayfield Apple Orchard and picked three pints of raspberries. That was really fun. The views from the farms high above Lake Superior were stunning. What a beautiful place to grow fruits and vegetables. We all had fun picking the berries but it did get pretty warm. From there, we drove south along the lake to Marquette, Michigan after taking a detour to look (unsuccessfully) for moose. We also hiked to another waterfall on our way.
Tuesday, July 22
We woke up before 9 to take a hike up to another waterfall. We realized we didn't make plans for breakfast so granola bars were the choice of the morning! Then we drove down the North Shore. I think it took us 6 hours to make a three hour drive because we kept stopping to hike to an overlook. In Two Harbors we stopped at a place Lorelei had recommended and ate pie and "broasted" chicken at Betty's Pies. They had a waiting list at 2:30 on a Monday afternoon. Isn't that amazing? We enjoyed it. The girl who waited on us is LDS and leaves for BYU in a month, so it was fun talking to her.
We left there and drove into Wisconsin, state #6!! We drove through beautiful farms and rolling hills and more hay bales than you could imagine. But haven't seen the first dairy yet. We stopped by the Apostle Islands NP visitors center to get our passport stamped. Had nice conversations with a retired couple from Florida who were on a 32 day trip around Lake Superior. And the park ranger is also a Florida retiree who just works here three months in the summer with his wife.
We hoped to take the sunset cruise of the islands but it started at 5:45 so we missed it. We decided to call it a night early and found a lovely AmericInn with an indoor water park! So Steve and Rosie enjoyed the heated water slides and I enjoyed the pool. I tried the mildest slide and was terrified. My throat is sore because I screamed so much. What a chicken. But seeing the video of Jim Cantore in Texas, I'd give anything to be standing on a beach in a hurricane! Go figure ...
We left there and drove into Wisconsin, state #6!! We drove through beautiful farms and rolling hills and more hay bales than you could imagine. But haven't seen the first dairy yet. We stopped by the Apostle Islands NP visitors center to get our passport stamped. Had nice conversations with a retired couple from Florida who were on a 32 day trip around Lake Superior. And the park ranger is also a Florida retiree who just works here three months in the summer with his wife.
We hoped to take the sunset cruise of the islands but it started at 5:45 so we missed it. We decided to call it a night early and found a lovely AmericInn with an indoor water park! So Steve and Rosie enjoyed the heated water slides and I enjoyed the pool. I tried the mildest slide and was terrified. My throat is sore because I screamed so much. What a chicken. But seeing the video of Jim Cantore in Texas, I'd give anything to be standing on a beach in a hurricane! Go figure ...
Monday, July 21
On Monday we got up from camping in the tent, packed our things and drove back out to Voyageurs National Park to take a look around. Most of that park is accessible by water only so we decided we have to come back someday. It's quite beautiful.
We stocked up on groceries, buying locally made bratworst and cheese, more stuff for trail mix and hit the road again. This time we decided to try to see a moose by taking the scenic route through southern Ontario over to Thunder Bay. The drive was gorgeous, we got 27 miles to the gallon and stopped at a lot of pretty scenic overlooks but no moose. About 4 hours later we drove into Thunder Bay which sounded prettier than the city looked. It's about the size of Daytona but it had spectacular views of the bay.
From there, we drove through rolling hills of farmland and re entered the USA at Grand Portage. The border agents at either station couldn't believe we were just driving around. It seemed like they thought we were a little crazy. Imagine that?
The falls in Grand Portage on the northern point of Minnesota were about a mile hike, but they are the highest falls in Minnesota and they were beautiful. From there we headed south along the North Shore. This part wasn't in our original plans, but one of the paper's ad reps, Lorelei Johnson, convinced me we had to make the drive and wow. It was really incredibly gorgeous. I liked it better than coastal Maine. Lots of hills, spectacular views, rock filled streams.
We camped at a state park and grilled our bratwurst and hot dogs over charcoal. They were great. For the second night in a row, we saw lightning bugs!
We stocked up on groceries, buying locally made bratworst and cheese, more stuff for trail mix and hit the road again. This time we decided to try to see a moose by taking the scenic route through southern Ontario over to Thunder Bay. The drive was gorgeous, we got 27 miles to the gallon and stopped at a lot of pretty scenic overlooks but no moose. About 4 hours later we drove into Thunder Bay which sounded prettier than the city looked. It's about the size of Daytona but it had spectacular views of the bay.
From there, we drove through rolling hills of farmland and re entered the USA at Grand Portage. The border agents at either station couldn't believe we were just driving around. It seemed like they thought we were a little crazy. Imagine that?
The falls in Grand Portage on the northern point of Minnesota were about a mile hike, but they are the highest falls in Minnesota and they were beautiful. From there we headed south along the North Shore. This part wasn't in our original plans, but one of the paper's ad reps, Lorelei Johnson, convinced me we had to make the drive and wow. It was really incredibly gorgeous. I liked it better than coastal Maine. Lots of hills, spectacular views, rock filled streams.
We camped at a state park and grilled our bratwurst and hot dogs over charcoal. They were great. For the second night in a row, we saw lightning bugs!
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Sunday, July 20
On Sunday we went to church in tiny Detroit Lakes, Minnesota. The members there were thrilled to have us and it was fun to fellowship with people who were so excited about our crazy trip.
When we left Detroit Lakes, we headed north toward International Falls, Minnesota, stopping at the Tamarac National Wildlife Refuge and going for a couple of short hikes, plus an auto trail. We were hoping for moose but didn't see any. Instead we saw lots of birds including this flock of baby ducks.
We also visited Itasca State Park, which is the site of the stream where the Mississippi River begins. That was totally cool! We went wading in it. Here's a picture of it below.
We drove on up to International Falls, rode out to see what we could of the landward side of Voyaageur's national Park. Wow. It's really a gorgeous place -- all of that clear water and those islands.
When we left Detroit Lakes, we headed north toward International Falls, Minnesota, stopping at the Tamarac National Wildlife Refuge and going for a couple of short hikes, plus an auto trail. We were hoping for moose but didn't see any. Instead we saw lots of birds including this flock of baby ducks.
We also visited Itasca State Park, which is the site of the stream where the Mississippi River begins. That was totally cool! We went wading in it. Here's a picture of it below.
We drove on up to International Falls, rode out to see what we could of the landward side of Voyaageur's national Park. Wow. It's really a gorgeous place -- all of that clear water and those islands.
The great drive continues
After several days of no connectivity, we're back online -- at least for the night! (Why do hotels advertise they have wi-fi but never give you a room where the wireless network reaches? It's very annoying.)
On Saturday we were so tired that we didn't wake up until 10 their time, which was 11 our time, so no hotel breakfast in Omaha. Instead we headed for a local joint called Petrow's that's been in operation for more than 60 years. We had prime rib from Nebraska! I had it on a salad and Steve had his with mashed potatoes and vegetables. Then we tried slices of their amazing looking pies. (They looked better than they tasted.) We headed north out of Omaha and saw the sign for the Mormon Trail Center, so we were off the freeway again. It was really neat to see where the Mormons spent the winter after being forced out of Nauvoo Illinois. There were lots of exhibits with pioneer memorabilia and a temple built across the street.
The farmland throughout Nebraska and South Dakota was amazing. Fields and fields of corn and soybeans. We just found it particularly beautiful. Especially South Dakota. We got to watch a storm roll across the fields and then a rainbow. It was gorgeous. We were hoping for a tornado, they even had a tornado warning, but we weren't that lucky naturally. It was still cool to see it. We took a short hike of about a mile at the Waubay National Wildlife Refuge in South Dakota. Wow. There were birds everywhere and it was really beautiful. Lots of water. When we got into North Dakota we started calling for a hotel but couldn't find a SINGLE ROOM. They had some sort of wrestling event underway and all the rooms were booked. We wound up skipping North Dakota all together and driving on into Minnesota where we found a room at a lakefront Holiday Inn in Detroit Lakes. Not too bad, but another long day of driving.
On Saturday we were so tired that we didn't wake up until 10 their time, which was 11 our time, so no hotel breakfast in Omaha. Instead we headed for a local joint called Petrow's that's been in operation for more than 60 years. We had prime rib from Nebraska! I had it on a salad and Steve had his with mashed potatoes and vegetables. Then we tried slices of their amazing looking pies. (They looked better than they tasted.) We headed north out of Omaha and saw the sign for the Mormon Trail Center, so we were off the freeway again. It was really neat to see where the Mormons spent the winter after being forced out of Nauvoo Illinois. There were lots of exhibits with pioneer memorabilia and a temple built across the street.
The farmland throughout Nebraska and South Dakota was amazing. Fields and fields of corn and soybeans. We just found it particularly beautiful. Especially South Dakota. We got to watch a storm roll across the fields and then a rainbow. It was gorgeous. We were hoping for a tornado, they even had a tornado warning, but we weren't that lucky naturally. It was still cool to see it. We took a short hike of about a mile at the Waubay National Wildlife Refuge in South Dakota. Wow. There were birds everywhere and it was really beautiful. Lots of water. When we got into North Dakota we started calling for a hotel but couldn't find a SINGLE ROOM. They had some sort of wrestling event underway and all the rooms were booked. We wound up skipping North Dakota all together and driving on into Minnesota where we found a room at a lakefront Holiday Inn in Detroit Lakes. Not too bad, but another long day of driving.
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Friday July 18
What a day! We knew it would be the worst day for driving and it was! We left Tennessee in the morning and headed through Kentucky and Illinois. Stopped by the National Quilt Museum in Paducah, which was incredible! The quilts were breathtaking. Truly beautiful.
Then we stopped by the Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge and took a hike back to a small lake where there were no alligators surprise surprise. Rosie said she'd be willing to kayak there!
We drove through Missouri which seemed to take a very long time. We ate cherries, boiled peanuts, trail mix and turkey sandwiches and of course our standard Triscuits and Cheese. David and Aaron know all about that!
In Missouri, we drove by the arch and drove over the bridge so we could say we'd been to Kansas. Then we headed north in Missouri to visit some church historic sites, including the Liberty Jail, Far West and Adam ondi Ahman. We didn't get to see inside the visitor's center for the jail because it was closed. But the feeling that you get when you walk where Joseph Smith walked is wonderful.
We decided to head on to Omaha because we couldn't find hotel rooms. We finally rolled into a Comfort Inn with a bed at about 4:30!!!! So we slept til 11. Anyway today we'll explore Nebraska and the Dakotas. We plan to spend the night in Fargo!
Then we stopped by the Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge and took a hike back to a small lake where there were no alligators surprise surprise. Rosie said she'd be willing to kayak there!
We drove through Missouri which seemed to take a very long time. We ate cherries, boiled peanuts, trail mix and turkey sandwiches and of course our standard Triscuits and Cheese. David and Aaron know all about that!
In Missouri, we drove by the arch and drove over the bridge so we could say we'd been to Kansas. Then we headed north in Missouri to visit some church historic sites, including the Liberty Jail, Far West and Adam ondi Ahman. We didn't get to see inside the visitor's center for the jail because it was closed. But the feeling that you get when you walk where Joseph Smith walked is wonderful.
We decided to head on to Omaha because we couldn't find hotel rooms. We finally rolled into a Comfort Inn with a bed at about 4:30!!!! So we slept til 11. Anyway today we'll explore Nebraska and the Dakotas. We plan to spend the night in Fargo!
Friday, July 18, 2008
Friday July 18, 2008
Hah! Even though we left at 4, we made it all the way to Clarksville, Tennessee before I got too tired to drive. That was at about 3:30 our time, but 2:30 local time. We're just 4 miles south of the Kentucky border. We got gas twice. The first time we paid $3.99 and the next time $3.89. Not too bad!! Although we did see places where it was $4.20.
So I had five hours of sleep and we're getting ready to hit the road again. Hoping to make it to Omaha, Nebraska today but we'll see what happens ...
So I had five hours of sleep and we're getting ready to hit the road again. Hoping to make it to Omaha, Nebraska today but we'll see what happens ...
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Blogosphere
As if I don't have enough writing to do, I'll try maintaining a separate blog with my thoughts and observations on life.
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