Our First Month…Snow to Sun!!

Yes, this week will mark our one month departure from zero degree weather to more favorable temperature down in the Keys of Florida. I can’t believe how fast the month has flown by! Our schedule seems to be busier than ever. That’s a good thing. I’m trying to get back on my routine of biking around the ten mile perimeter of Key West every other day.

Sunset on our evening bike ride

This morning, we did our ten miles and tonight we went to town on the bikes again, this time to buy batteries for my bike’s head and tail lights. It is incredibly wonderful to bike in the evening. We find many new little streets to explore. We are doing this relatively early evening, just after sun down. The breeze is light and the temperature is near perfect for the ride. Key West is a unique town with many small blocks of residential housing. Many of the streets are nearly passable by only one car at a time. This is where we enjoy riding and seeing what the different residences have for landscaping. All have trees of different species, that I would never be able to identify.

Another stop for an evening photo

The real-estate is tight, as there isn’t enough for all of the people on the island. This naturally brings the cost up to unbelievable amounts. This exploration is what we enjoy immensely in riding our bikes on the byways of Key West. 
Another thing we enjoy is finding nighttime locations to photograph. Key West is well lit and many of the mansions have landscape lighting that accentuates the mansions and especially the landscaping. I experiment with different camera settings to try and get the image I'm looking for. My Nikon D-7000 is capable of taking photos in nearly total darkness. I can make

Many of the street are perfect for an evening stroll

a totally dark scene turnout just about into broad daylight. So the trick is to try and reproduce the scene as my eye sees it, dark, with evening lighting accenting the mansions and landscape.
Now, a recent comment on Facebook about the lack of trees here at the Coast Guard RV campground has me thinking of all of the majestic trees we’ve seen here in Key West. I’m going to have a new tree photo each week on Facebook. Some of these trees are Nationally recognized. We’ve seen giant red wood trees that are 15 feet across at the base, but there are trees here that are 30 feet across. The difference is that the trees in California are hundred or so high, where here they are maybe seventy-five high.

Truman Annex next to the Truman White House

The first week of February was marked by steady wind and a few rain showers. This interfered with our Bocce schedule. You can’t play Bocce if the sand is damp. The sand sticks to the balls and it just doesn’t work! That meant that we tried something different. We volunteered at St Mary Star of the Sea soup kitchen. Yup, my first job was to make peanut butter/jelly sandwiches. I used 12 sandwich breads and one large bowl of peanut butter and plenty of jelly. The sandwiches are not part of the one four o’clock meal they serve. The sandwiches are for the next day’s breakfast. We actually worked from 11am to 12:30pm.

Our neighbors Jerry & Maxine are leaving
Key West for their home in Georgia

We left and did some shopping for our selves after that. We volunteered to come back at 3:30pm to help serve the four o’clock meal. I sort of had a pre-conceived notion that they were all homeless, drunks or on drugs, but this was not the case. A lot of people just run out of money each month. Nearly all were so thankful for the meal. We are going back later this afternoon to help serve another 4pm meal. Ninety three meals were served to these people in need.

And finally a photo of the full moon taken a few nights ago from our campsite at Trumbo point

I am ending this blog for today Sunday Feb. 8, 2015

That is what we did and saw!

Technorati Tags: Baby Boomers,Nature,Retired Military,Travel Adventure,Truck Camping,Health Workout,Culture

Key West…Blog Writing

Last year, it seemed that I had more time to blog about my travel adventures than this year. Some of this lag is due to a couple of reasons. The first is my new IPhone 6 picture uploads to the laptop. Data usage is one issue. I’ve been doing “Drop Box”, but that involves going online and to the cloud. The next inconvenience is that my laptop, I think, is on the way out. The top of the screen has a 1” black strip across the entire top. That makes it difficult to “X out” or minimize an application. I also have a more busy schedule this year. Bocce, Yoga and some Pickle Ball have taken up a good part of the week’s schedule. Meeting with friends for lunch or dinner also has cut into my blog time. All of the above are fun activities to do and so is blogging about our daily routine in the lower Keys.

Our private security Coast Guard Cutters in the background

Thursday, Jan 22nd                                                                                                                                                                                                  
Started late morning and biked over to have lunch at Martins on the corner block of Duval and Truman Ave. Martins’ is one of many restaurants that do half price appetizers if you mention that you are local. Now, the appetizers are large and getting a couple will more than satisfy

Paulette buying cigars for her son!

both of our combined lunch appetites. From the restaurant, we biked over to Truman Annex NAS (Naval Air Station) checked out what was playing for a movie, nothing we wanted to see and we peddled back over to Trumbo Point and visited with my classmate, Paulette Lowry and her sister Jeanette Morneau. Late in the afternoon, the four of us walked over to Mallory Square.

Sunset amusement at
Mallory Square 

The sunset didn’t materialize and actually we had a good shower. To escape the rain shower, we ran into “2 Friends Patio Restaurant” for Lobster Bisque. The rain soon ended and we walked back to our campsite at Trumbo Point.
Friday, Jan 23rd
This morning our bikes were on the road to the Bocce courts on the Atlantic end of White St. Some of the teams were milling around when we got there. George, in his 80’s, the guru of the Bocce here in Key West, said that the courts were too damp from last night’s rain showers. They postponed the game until Sunday night. Paul mentioned that we should visit the West Martello Tower Gardens. This is an old Fort that had been abandoned and had nearly been totally looted by locals for bricks. The site was taken over and converted to a partial museum and gardens. Admission is by donation. We strolled among the Fort’s many arched rooms and admired plants of every descriptions.

Rain Shower hideaway at
Two Friends Restaurant

My favorites were the Orchids growing high on the tree limbs. This garden has little nooks that some families were having a lunch picnic. The views from there are of the gardens and the ocean.This is in perfect harmony with the natural surroundings.
It was now a little past lunch and my tummy was calling. I wanted to checkout a bike shop downtown and hence would have lunch at “Five Guys”. The  “Little Burger with the works” is my favorite! It seems that I write a lot about eating in this blog, but we may eat, but we walk and bike off the pounds. So far, I’m five pounds lighter than I was before leaving the North Country.

No I'm not going to jail! Just a famous photo
opportunity!

My odometer has registered forty miles of bike riding and I haven’t really devoted any time to my power bike around the Island of Key West.
Saturday, Jan 24th 
This was a predicted day of sporadic rain. We spent most of the day reading in the camper. I’ve been reading Bill O’Reilly’s “Killing Patton” a very interesting view of World War II behind the scenes. Later in the afternoon, I got a text message from Paulette who invited us to dinner in her luxurious motor home. We accepted!

Jeanette, Paulette, Helen and I walking
down on Truman Annex...Truman
White House

It was an enjoyable evening and dinner was first class. Paulette was in the army when she met her husband Richard. Richard made a career in the army and they both retired from postal service. He passed away and Paulette has carried on touring with her motor home when not home in New Hampshire.
Sunday, Jan 25th
This morning, I shuttled Helen, Paulette and her sister Jeanette over to church. St Mary Star of the Sea is a beautiful Basilica, as I have mentioned before in previous blogs. After mass, we took advantage of the coffee and donuts at the church Community Center. The next on the schedule was to drop Paulette and Jeanette  off at the corner of Eaton and Whitehead Streets for their walk

One never knows what you'll
see driving in KW

around the Arts and Craft Fair event. We would check this street event later this afternoon. We wanted to Skype the kids from the “Fly Navy” hotel. Lunch in the camper today and off on our bikes for the Arts and Craft Show. I’m always impressed with the quality of the Artisans crafts. The Artisans come from all over the country to this event. They have to be good to compete with others to sell their crafts. I took a few pictures to remember some of the items I’d like to try and duplicate when I get back home. Actually, who am I kidding! I usually get home and never think of doing those neat crafts.
Monday, Jan 26th

Bocce is the name of the game this morning. The camper is off the truck

The Meteor from George Town, S. Africa
is for sail $258 million asking price!
Any takers out there?

and we had to do grocery shopping and errands so the truck was our transportation to the Bocce courts on the other side of the Island. We each won a game and lost a game on different teams. Maybe, we will be good enough to eventually ask some local village Bocce players in Italy for a round or two (ha, ha!). After the game, we headed over to the Fly Navy Gateway Inn to upload, download photos into Dropbox  and publish a couple of blogs I had in the draft mode in “Live Writer”. I’m glad to report that I’m slowly improving in that department.

Tuesday, Jan 27th
The Yoga class this morning was skipped because our friends from Congress, AZ were here at the Fly Navy Gateway Inn.

My favorite biking partner!

Rex and Jodi, our neighbors picked up Dan & Jan Yochum and we followed them to Big Pines Key for lunch. This is about 30 miles north of KW. In Big Pines, they took a left and we followed them to “No Name Key” which is the location of the “No Name Bar”! Confusing isn’t it? This bar has good food and even on a Tuesday noon was packed! The walls, ceiling and just about everything else has dollar bills stapled to them. It is a neat place and we had a good time conversing for a good part of the afternoon. Two

Hockey in KW

Harley bikers from Trumbo joined us. It wasn’t too long before Ron told the waitress that his buddy John wanted to marry her. We all had a good laugh on that one. The party broke up mid afternoon and Rex told us to go across the bridge and checkout the deer on the other end of No Name Key. The deer are a species that only are found on this Key. The deer are small and as we approached their habitat, many signs said “Absolutely no feeding the deer”. Several deer were on and next to the deserted highway. We stopped and to our surprise they didn’t scatter. Helen held out her hand and the deer was soon were

Yes, It's on inline roller skates, Dede

licking her hand. I guess people don’t follow the regulations and must hand feed them.
Returning to Key West, I got a call from Paulette and Jeanette who were at the “Margaretville Bar” wanted us to join them at Mallory Square for the 6:08pm sunset. We left Trumbo Point and walked to the square just in time to catch the sunset. I got a few good photos.

That is what we did and saw!

Technorati Tags: Blog Writing,BabyBoomers,Retired Military,Travel Adventure,Truck Camping

 

Jan 18th to Jan 21st …Key West Life Style

On Sunday, the 18th, we headed over to the Navy Club House to watch one of many football games. Biking across town, we noticed that the street lights were off and Key West had lost power. When we reached the club house over at Truman Annex, the power returned, but all of the satellite feeds needed to be rebooted. This didn’t happen and many football fans were not happy. It’s sort of fun to watch all of the people pick teams. Remember, they are from all over the country and support many teams. The staff put on a movie, but the sport fans were loud and streaming football games on their cell phones. As it turned out, we couldn’t listen to the movie, which looked interesting. We called it a day and headed back to Trumbo and did some reading.
Jan 19th, Monday
Today we would be active as we both played Boccie for the first time! Leaving the campground at Trumbo Point, we biked about a mile to the Boccie courts.

Before the Boccie Start 

We were well greeted and introduced to the game. You pick a card and suit which puts you on a different team for every game. They do the score keeping and the rest is a very easy game. It turned out that we both did very well for the first time playing this sport.
Later in the afternoon, we toured our neighbors, Jim and Betty’s, fifth wheel trailer. Pretty roomy compared to the truck camper! This maybe putting a bug in our ear about upgrading. Still thinking about our travels abroad next fall.

Helen's first Boccie pitch!

Maybe, staying in Europe for a extended stay…who knows what the future adventures will bring to this energetic couple.
Jan 20th, Tuesday
Another first for me. Yup!  Yoga Class! So we walk-in and there are maybe ten guys and thirty women sitting on mats. I want to be in the rear so I can watch and copy the different moves. The instructor, a young girl, perfectly shaped body, wearing these tights with colored designs that make her look like she was tattooed. She got my attention when she started the class. I discovered that it is hard to follow just by listening to her. I had to watch the girl next to me to get the moves somewhat correct. After getting into the relaxed frame of mind, I started to stretch muscles that hadn’t been stretch for thirty years. After an hour of the Yoga class, my body actually felt in better shape. This may help my five bulging disk to get back into position.   

Peaceful Boccie Night in Key West!

Jan 21st, Wednesday
On this day, I conference called one of my last four Berlin Water Works Board Meetings. My term ends in April and I will not seek another term. It’s time to retire! It was sort of neat to have me in Key West, FL, Roland, the newly retired Superintendent in Homosassa, FL and the rest of the board back in Berlin, NH all conducting business so many miles apart.
On this day, Paulette Lowry, a former 1963 classmate contacted us. She was getting ready to check-in here at the military campground in Key West. I conveyed as much information to her and her sister as how to access the base and such. Later in the afternoon, we met up with them up at Sigsbee Naval Air Station. Let me say this about RV’s here in Key West. Because of cold weather across the entire US and the fact that gas prices have lowered this place is packed! They never refuse anybody, but they’ve temporarily been parking RV’s on the street for no charge.
We took Paulette and Jeanette on a walking tour of Key West, down by Mallory Square for the evening. We had dinner at the Commodore Dock Side Restaurant. The neat thing about a lot of restaurants is the half price appetizers between 4 and 7pm. It was an enjoyable evening for all of us. We walked back to Trumbo Point and I gave the girls a ride back to their luxurious motor home. 

That is what we saw and did!

Technorati Tags: Truck Camping,Baby Boomers,Retired Military,Travel Adventure

  

First Four Days in Key West

Monday, January 12, 2015
It has been a trying week to say the least. The trip down here was a constant battle to beat the weather. To top that off, Helen’s mom wound up in the hospital on Wednesday, the 7th, and is now at the nursing home. That in itself was nerve racking for Helen. She seriously considered or still is considering flying back up to Berlin. On the bright side, her mom, so far has adjusted to the nursing home. Helen’s sister, Doris, has taken over the helm and taken care of all the paper work.
Now, for Key West! The campground at Trumbo Point is nearly full to capacity. We are setup in the 600 block area, not the same location as our site last year, but our lot size is nearly double in size. Our neighbors are friendly and Gene has offered to fill our fresh water tank. He has a 45 gal bladder tank with an electric pump which makes short order of refilling. We have met many of our last years friends and tomorrow, Friday the 16th, is the gathering for coffee and donuts at the swimming pool area.
Our site is shaping up every day. I setup the shelter, installed some bamboo screening for afternoon shading. The outdoor rug keeps the debris from being tracked into the camper. The gas grill is unpacked from the roof storage area and already in use. Truck has been power washed and every day I do a little more detailing. There is an unwritten competition here between Laurent, Tommy and myself to see who has the cleanest pickup truck. So far, Laurent and Tommy have me beat by far.
Friday, January 16, 2015
Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday just seemed to fly by with no special activities. Our friend, Paul Foster, gave me a heads up for Friday. Another camper named John has a son in-law that is a F-16 fighter pilot.

Fighter Pilot Show and Tell

His Toledo, Ohio Squadron is down here on training. Another Squadron of F-15 from Louisiana is also here, along with the Navy “Conch” Air Force. (Special F-105 fighters painted in foreign adversarial colors.) To shortened the story, John arranged for a bunch of Trumbo Point campers to have a special tour on the flight line and watch the jet fighters take off. I’ve been to air shows before, but never been able to get up close and personal with some of this country’s best and finest aircraft.
First order of business was to meet the aircraft handlers. These are the guys that make them fly and load all of those smart bombs and missiles. Walking into the massive hanger, we saw many aircraft parts. One of the main concerns for security was, you guessed it “No Pictures” I certainly can understand that concern. The Major, John’s son-in-law, did allow us to take a few pictures of the pressure suits the pilots wear to keep blood into the upper part of their bodies while turning the aircraft at extreme “G” forces. We then walked to the flight-line and checked out the aircraft. The F-15’s were starting their engines. We had been given ear plugs and were told that we would know when to put them in. He was right! The F-15s’ with twin engines revving at 37,000 RPM produced a howl that was loud and the sound of power. He said they can fly for about 2-1/2 hours without refueling…that’s 1,400gals of jet fuel…$$$$$
We watched all three squadrons take off. The Major explained how computers fly the fighters and make all adjustments in flight. It was certainly an interesting morning. The F-15’s, 16’s and F-105’s aren't  our latest fighters (The F-22 “Raptors are”), but still a world class fighter that has proven itself in combat many times.
In talking to John, I discovered that he also was a Huey pilot. I worked on Hueys in Vietnam. He said he was a “Dust Off” pilot which indicates he flew medical evacuation missions. There are so many retired veterans from all branches of the Armed Forces here. They all have stories to recount and we are all so called “Band of Brothers”
Saturday, January 17, 2015

This is the first day of the 10th annual Seafood Festival in Key West. It is an impressive event with not only seafood, but local arts and craft vendors and live bands

Crafty Arts!

playing music all day. We had clams for lunch and spent several hours talking to the artist. Some are very cleaver make things from drift wood, coconut shells and even rocks! We sat and listened to a couple of bands. Some people were dancing and I must say, some looked like they were ready for “Dancing with the Stars”. The second band was “Rock and Roll”. They were good, but a little to loud for my taste and we walked back to the campground about a mile away. Yes, that’s what we are here for… exercising and enjoying the great outdoors!
That is what we did and saw!

Technorati Tags: Baby Boomers,Retired Military,Travel Adventure,Truck Camping

   

Dodge Ball with a Snow and Ice!

Today, Saturday, January 3, 2015

Here, sitting in my sunroom, with the outside temperature at 9.1 degrees (F) or 12.72 (C), I am facing a decision on our departure time for our extended stay in Key West, Florida. A plow-able snow and ice storm is looming just hours away. Yesterday, on I-93, a major traffic accident involving dozens of cars. It closed the Interstate for a good part of the day. Snow is forecasted for this evening into Sunday morning. This followed by ice and then freezing rain.

Break in time….

It is now Jan. 4th Sunday 2pm

Looks like we will have a small  window of opportunity to get our adventure started before a frigid “Polar Vortex” comes racing down with fierce winds and a predicted ice storm.

Break in time….

It is now Jan. 5th Monday 3am

Time to roll out of bed! We were on the road by 4am with a quick stop at Dunkin Donuts for that caffeine wakeup. Not especially windy or extremely cold. It wasn’t until we were about a hundred miles away from home that we started to notice tree limbs scattered along the highway. If only we could beat the predicted freezing rain. We drove further south and soon the northern mountains were mostly behind us. I drove exactly 550 miles on this first day. We also had preplanned not to stay in the camper that first night. Comfort Suite hotel in Grantville, PA was just what we were looking for. The temperature that day didn’t warm up at all, as a matter of fact it dropped to 18 degrees -7.77(C) I must also back up my story a little and explain that Sunday night, I started coughing and came down with a bad cold. In any event, the Comfort Suite held up to its name. The hot shower and bed was appreciated. The next morning, 5:30am I was up as usual. We would get another early start and try to beat the weather. I looked out the window and it was snowing! Breakfast was there in the Hotel and soon after we were on the road. I knew that I-81 paralleled the Appalachian Mountains and the trace of snow would be with us for awhile. It was! I drove the next 500 miles with snow covering the Interstate. The traffic was going about 45 mph and we saw a total of six slide offs’. The second night would also be in a hotel. A quick note here about the camper. It does have a wonderful furnace that can keep you warm, but the problem here is with the type of coil spring thermostat that must be used in a vehicle that doesn’t have a  perfectly level platform to use a more sophisticated thermostat. The coil spring must expand to shut the furnace down and contract to start the furnace. This expansion and contraction takes time. Consequently…too hot or too cold!

Our second night, January 7th, in a town called Johnson City, TN would find us tired and staying at a Red Roof Inn. The weather here was still cold with possibility of snow coming to the tops of the Appalachian Mountains. We were on the Western side and tomorrow would be climbing over to the Eastern side and finally to lower warmer elevations.

3rd night January 8th

We met with our sister-in-law Peggy in the afternoon, after she got out of work.  Her mom chatted with us from late morning until she arrived. The weather in Hendersonville was sunny, but very cold. It was time to move on to Colombia, SC for our next visit and a little warmer climate. We arrived at Chris, Sandy and aunt Simone’s home around 7pm. They cordially invited us to sleep inside, but now the temperature had moderated and we had a good night sleep in the camper. Our visit with the Marcotte family is always a warm family get together. They had lost their family dog “Higgins” to sickness and amazingly, they found a replacement that not only resembles Higgins, but also has the character and temperament. They named her “Harmony”, a well suited name.

4th night January 9th

Our next night stay was in “Navy Station Mayport” in Jacksonville, FL. Pelican Roost campground was full, but Jim the camp host found us an emergency full hookup site. We now filled our water tank, fully recharged everything including us with hot showers. This was just a quick overnighter, but it was a welcomed stay after the rush to get out of the winter storms.

From Jacksonville, we stopped for a short visit with cousin Larry who was originally from Burlington, VT and now lives in Winter Springs, FL. Larry is one of the few relatives on my side of the family. He is doing very well considering he is getting up in age.

Next stop in Leesburg was to Helen’s cousin Georgette and significant other, Bob. We had dinner with them. Bob did the cooking and hasn’t lost his touch! We parked down next to the clubhouse for the night. We are now out of the cold! Again we experienced a good night sleep in the camper.

Saturday, January 10th

This morning I am catching up on the blog at McDonalds and actually waiting a few minutes before we visit our friends Sam & Joan, who we might travel with to Italy on a military “Space A” flight next fall.

We had a wonderful day with Sam & Joan. They took us for a ride up at the “Villages” (our first time to really visit that area). Later that afternoon, we had a long chat about the “Space A” flight and viewed slides from their previous trip to Italy. It looks very promising for an upcoming overseas adventure. We spent the night at their Methodist Retreat RV Campground complex. I must say it is a very large tract of land with many function buildings on Lake Griffin shoreline.

Sunday January 11th

A quick early departure was in order to catch a 7am mass on our way out of town. We made the decision not to linger around the middle of the state any longer. Next stop was Stuart, FL for one final visit with fellow truck camper friends, who had just been up to Alaska this past year. Bob & Cathy had plenty to talk about their exciting trip way up north and we were anxious to hear about their adventures. We stayed parked in their driveway for the night and again headed south for Key West in early morning. It was a long haul especially going through Miami traffic. We landed in Key West in late afternoon. We logged 2,350 miles since leaving Berlin, NH

Sorry for not having any pictures, but I should get off my butt and be clicking away soon!

That is what we did and saw!

 

Technorati Tags: Truck Camping,Retired Military,Baby Boomers,Adventure Travel

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Twas The Week Before Christmas”

And all through the camper, everything was packed and ready for Travelman’s trip. Propane tanks filled, every tank winterized for the northern start to the southern sunbelt terminus. Lists checked and re-checked. Everything was ready except for the weather. You know those Nor'easters could keep Travelman and Travelwoman from a scheduled start. This is where age comes in as patience is developed and if the weather is bad, tomorrow will always be the option.
It’s been a long fall season, but a busy season. The best thing about the present is my feeling to start blogging again. Yes, I was in a so called writers slump this fall. Well, actually, it all started way back in early summer when we were afar up north in Labrador. I couldn’t access my blog site from within Canada. At first I was blaming the Canadian government for changing my blogspot.com to blogspot.ca, but eventually, back home I discovered that the two step verification was the problem when trying to access the site from a different server. Well, that’s behind me now.
The journey south to Key West, Florida will go something like this. Leave very early, sometime during the night and drive a full day into Pennsylvania or even into Virginia. Spend the first night in a motel, yes, we could sleep in the camper, but our queen-size bed would be already occupied with our two mountain bikes. I am trying to eliminate the road salt brine from creeping into the bikes’ coasters. This happened last year and I had a hard time correcting the problem. On the second night stay we should be far enough south to not encounter any salt being applied to the roadways. I will than place the mountain bikes on the front bike carrier and reclaim our bed for the rest of the season. My plan is to drive I-81 south. This is to eliminate the heavy congestion and constant tolls of I-95. The disadvantage of I-81 is that it hugs the easterly side of the Appalachian Mountains and with a higher elevation, snow might follow us down into the Carolinas. I’ll deal with this if and when it happens.
Our first visiting stop will be in Hendersonville, NC for a visit with Peggy and her mom. Peggy was Roger”s wife (Helen’s brother). Roger passed away 13 years ago to the day. From Hendersonville we’ll head southeast towards Columbia, SC and visit the Marcotte family. That’s Helen’s aunt and cousins. From here we will be relatively close to the Florida border and warm sunshine. Jacksonville will most likely be night stop at the Naval Station Jacksonville. Pelican Roost or Osprey Cove RV campgrounds on base should be our roosting spot. From here we will head towards the center lands of Florida for several visits with friends and relatives. We might spend a few days here. We will link up with our truck camper friends Sam and Joan and discuss our plans for a military space available flight to Europe next fall. Between family and friends Leesburg will be our hub for many good conversations.
The direction from here is still uncertain. The east coast is the home of truck camper friends, the west coast is home to hometown friends. There is nearly no rush to head to Key West, but the longer we delay to chances of getting a good spot in KW decreases.
The photo below is a view from Chandler Wharf next to Demillos Restaurant on the Portland Waterfront. We spent part of last weekend at a condo with my brothers’ family. Many of the sailboats were covered for the winter, but a few were inhabited and were decorated for the Christmas Season.

Merry Christmas’


That is what we saw and did!

Weekend Get Away!

Technorati Tags: Baby Boomers,Truck Camping,Travel Adventure,Retired Military

Homeward Bound, But The Adventure Continues!

Friday, July 18, 2014
      Location this morning is Deer Lake, Newfoundland. The sun is shining with a bright blue sky. Our plan was not to rush home, but to explore anything that caught our fancy.

Salmon Fishing ~ Deer Lake

We weren’t even a mile from our night’s stay location at the truck stop, when we were intrigued by a row of fishermen, with waders standing nearly waist deep in the inlet of Deer Lake. What looked odd was the shoreline filled with spectators. After talking to some of them, we discovered they already had their two Salmon limit, hence they were cheering their fellow fishing buddies. For those of you who are wondering, the fisherman were catching Salmon left and right.

Bringing in the Cod!

Traveling South towards Corner Brook, we looked at many side roads that followed Deer Lake. If they looked interesting, we just meandered of the main road and explored the small villages. I was always looking for that special photo opportunity. In no time we arrived in Corner Brook and revisited the tourist info center. “What have we missed in this area”, I ask the young lady. She said, “Have you

Fishing Village Life

been to Lark Harbour”? “Yes”, I said. “How about the, ‘very scenic hiking trails near Little Port’? “No”, was my answer. It was only mid-morning as we headed towards Lark Harbour. This time we looked very carefully as the road weaved passed small fishing villages. I spotted several small red boats on shore in the village of Frenchman Cove . If anything else, they would make for a colorful picture. A dock just prior to the little red boats

Lobster Trap ~ Harmony Wave

caught my eye as a fishing boat was starting to unload some fish. I parked and started to walk over to get a better look and take a few pictures. I could see the fish were Cod and soon I started a conversation with the fishermen. A lady wearing a safety vest and hardhat was taking tally of the basket weights and recording the numbers on a clipboard. She was obviously from the fish processing plant. Helen and I walked around the dock taking pictures and finally walking through the village towards those small red fishing boats for more pictures. A little further at the end of land, a half dozen larger boats were on shore. I imagine they only put them

The "Cave" in background

in the water when the fishing season is open, for that particular type of fish or lobster. What really caught my eye was the names of these boats. Some were female names, one as to wonder who they were named for?… Girlfriends, wives, children or grand-children. Another noticeable thing about the locals, walking around the village, was their rubber knee-high boots. I’m sure they looked at us and said, “Another bunch of tourist with their sneakers”.

Wild Raspberries!

Our forty-five minute ride to the end of the main road brought us to this huge pile of Lobster traps. They were constructed a little differently than the usual type and warranted a picture of them all piled along the fence line. We had driven through villages of Benoit’s Cove, York Harbour and finally the end of the road here at Lark Harbour. One final side road called Little Port road was were the Visitor Center had sparked our interest in some hiking trails.
On a side note…  Last year, on our first visit

Odd Rock Formations

to Bottle Cove, we had stayed overnight in a gravel parking lot at the end of Beacon Road. This was our destination today. We weren’t too excited about tracing last year’s adventure again. The parking lot overlooks Bottle Cove and a spectacular view of a fairly large cave facing the ocean. At high tide, water enters the cave. I don’t think one could explore the cave unless a boat was used. In any event, it was still a spectacular view for us this year.
What we didn’t do last year, was hike this area. On the edge of the parking lot ,was a crew of men working on the trail. We talked to them and they assured us it was worth the hike of the views we would see on the other side of the mountain. The trail made a large loop. Another couple ahead of us took to the left and we took to right just to keep the journey as pure as it could be. The trail had primitive rest areas with log benches here and there. At this junction, so far the trail we heavily wooden with softwood spruce

Clear Ocean Water

and pine trees. No ocean views, but peaceful forest with moss covered grounds.
The trail soon opened up to a meadow with wild raspberries and flowers sprawling throughout the large meadow. The trail led to the edge of the meadow and rocky cliffs, with the emerald green ocean below. The water, even though green emerald in color, was clear and the multi-colored stones below the surface shined in the sunlight. The camera was at the ready and I was looking for composition from different angles. Miranda Cove is, in my book, a five star location for photo composition. The unusual thing is the rock formations. Unlike glacial rock that is scratched, scraped and worn,

Little Port and the Mountain

these formations seem to be melted together as in  some sort of volcanic lava creation. We spent some time admiring these formations before hiking to the higher cliff locations.
So far, we enjoyed this hiking relatively alone. Hiking to the higher terrain, we could see more hikers on the lower trails. I carefully made my way to the highest point of the land. You know I’m always looking for that magical photo opportunity. This brings me to a note of caution. For many years, I feared no heights, able to walk a 2x4 wall on many construction sites. Well now that I’m nearing my 70th year of adventure, I must say I must now plan my footsteps.My balance is still there,

Edge of Miranda Cove ~ Volcanic Rock Formations

but now I have to think about it instead of being on auto pilot. In any event, this old dog still plans to travel and see what’s on the other side of the hill and share what I discover.
After our little hike we left Bottle Cove and drove a couple of miles to Little Port. We had visited here last year, but I wanted to see how many  boats were anchored. Little Port lies adjacent to a very high mountain. If we would have had more time I think we would have taken the trail up this mountain. I’m sure their would have been impressive views from the top.

That is what we saw and did!

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