I’ve heard a lot about the Finger Lakes region of New York over the years but other than a visit with my family to Watkins Glen as a child I’ve not visited the area. I thought it would be an excellent start to my year of travel and October would be perfect weather. When I looked for a place to stay, searching on “Finger Lakes” in Booking and AirBNB and VRBO, almost too many options came up. It’s a large…
I went to New Orleans after visiting Savannah just to see the National World War II Museum. Yes, seriously. I even checked Mardi Gras dates before booking because I did NOT want to be there during that season. Those crowds? No thanks. I have been wanting to see the WWII Museum for years. I purchased a brick for my Dad, a US Marine Corps veteran of WWII, years ago but have never seen it. I have visited New Orleans previously,…
I decided months ago there was no reason for me to stay in Illinois all winter. It’s cold, windy and grey for weeks at a time. Quite a depressing place to spend the winter, so I started thinking about a long term stay… somewhere. Somewhere warmer. I’ve only spent half a day in Savannah, on a side trip from Hilton Head years ago. I wanted to see more. And staying long term in a city sounded exciting and a great…
I had a 13+ hour drive to Savannah. I could probably have driven straight through but looked at various options for stops en route. I have an old friend from the Army living in Elizabethtown, Kentucky. I arranged dates and times with her for Saturday night then realized how close she was to Mammoth Cave. I was here as a kid with my family but literally decades ago and I wanted to visit again. I had planned on stopping for…
I was thinking about and planning for my retirement for months. Well, planning for years, of course, like you should when it comes to saving and investing. But ever since attending my friend Judy’s retirement reception last October I was counting the days, too. So March 28th, 2019, I walked out the door at work for the last time, and went to my own retirement reception. I had a great night with lots of friends I’ve made in the past…
From Bellingham, I drove south on I-5, then took Highway 20 at Burlington to Whidbey Island to get on the ferry at Coupeville. It really shortens the trip not having to drive south of Seattle then back to the Olympic peninsula. The ferry lands at Port Townsend and it’s an easy hour drive to Port Angeles and the main visitor center at the park. I visited with my daughter and son-in-law. After arriving at the park, we got some trail…
After leaving Seattle, I spent the night in Everett, as it was getting late and the weather was turning bad. Then after a lazy, rainy morning, I drove to the North Cascades. I don’t recall if I had been here with my family as a kid but thought I should visit. I was not really feeling excited about the visit, but I was so close, I felt obligated. Fortunately, after a mostly overcast, rainy drive, it cleared off to beautifully…
I only spent a rainy afternoon in Mount Rainer, pretty much driving through, so don’t have a lot to say about it. It deserves more time, but I was driving north from Oregon to Bellingham, Washington, and it was essentially a short detour. I got there a bit after noon, paid $30 to enter, then stopped at the Nisqually Ranger Station to get a map of the trails and talk with a ranger. There are no trails for pets in…
I thought Redwood was “just” another park in the National Park System, but was surprised to find it’s a combination of 3 California State Parks and a National Park. California created their protection for the redwoods in the 1920s but it took until 1969 for the federal government to create a National Park. California fortunately acted “early” to protect these forests saving some of these trees, but outside the state parks, 95%, NINETY-FIVE PERCENT, of the trees were logged before…
I was here many, many years ago with my parents and sisters. I know that from family pictures but really didn’t remember visiting. I’ve been wanting to return to Crater Lake and Oregon for several years. I made reservations at Mazama Campground on the park grounds before leaving but unfortunately they were cancelled when I was en route. They were performing hazardous tree removal and it was taking longer than expected. I found another campground just south of Klamath Falls….