McEntegart's RV Escapades

Hank

2012-02-12T11:11:00.002-05:00

I'll try not to blather. But, it may be part of the healing process.

I don't know why I want to share these very personal thoughts, but----this is just meant for close friends and relatives who will actually read it. The Google visitors who land on the blog are usually looking for something else, so they won't bother reading it.

Not only do I have a hole in my heart, but I/we have a hole in our lives. Only some of you will really understand that. (Pretty condesending of me, huh) Time will help dull the pain and make the memories more distant. I pray to God that the memories will never be removed.

I/we loved that dog so much.

Enough!!!!!!!!

HANK

2012-02-10T12:18:00.001-05:00

A new phase in life begins for us----one that we have not been looking forward to.

Life without our beloved PWD, HANK.

My God, I can't believe how much we loved that dog!!!!!!!

Ybor City--Tampa ,FL

2012-02-07T14:45:00.001-05:00

We re-located from the very primative Lake Rousseau RV Park to Macdill AFB in Tampa, FL last week. One of our first objectives was to spend some time in the "old town Tampa", or Ybor City. Sue Tindell was surprised by the number of roosters and chickens inhabiting the old town. It reminds me of Key West with all of the birds running around. Sue promptly pulled out her camera and started taking pictures of the neat roosters. So, I took a picture of her taking pictures!!!!

A couple of weeks ago, I got a call from a buddy who was going to be in the Orlando area and wanted to see if we could get together. Cal is my go-to guy for coins and dealing with the US Mint and we worked together for about 20 years , so I was glad for the chance to see both Cal and wife Rosina. We met on the bench in front of the Italian Club and tour the immediate area.

We selected a restaurant---Cuban ,of course---that had outside seating and were happy to have our PWD, Hank join us at the table. The food was good--not great--but the company and conversation was excellent!!!!

Many of the restaurants/night clubs in the old section have cigar rollers in the establishment. This guy was on lunch break, but the desk was ready to produce hand rolled cigars in a moments notice.

It was good to see that many of the places in the old town welcomed and appreciated Hank. Having him with us adds so much to a simple walk through town, that it is hard to explain. The Cuban owners of this place were very interested and wanted to know all about him.

Ybor City is m=named after the original Cuban settler---Vincente Martinez-Ybor. Go to full screen and read a brief summary of his roll in the town named after him.

Briefly-in the late 1800's Tampa was a small town along the Tampa Bay that had a single rail siding along a single dock. Many Cuban workers were available and Cuban cigars were popular--but expensive. Vincente saw an opportunity and started mass-producing hand-made Cuban cigars. To make a long story short, before you knew it Ybor City was putting out over a million hand =-made Cuban cigars a day!!!!!!! Tampa was the cigar capital of the world. The most skilled cigar rollers made the most money and they were the "Kings" of old Ybor City at the turn of the century. They occupied the top floors of the many cigar factories that were built and they didn't work regular hours like the typical cigar rollers did. They "Top Dogs" worked when they wanted and produced as many cigars as they pleased----their cigars got top money and these guys were rich!!!!

Cal is a collector of many things---coins and "cigsr labels" among them.
We found a store in the old town that sold from a collection of old cigar box tops. Over the years these "labels" have become very collectable. I believe Cal has as many as 1000 labels in his collection. He found several that he was interested in , but this store was asking around $75 for the ones that interested him, so he passed on them.

Now that is a cigar!!!!!!!

I think this one was more of an eye catcher that really meant to be smoked-----but maybe not!!!! I'm sure that over the next couple of weeks I'll break down and have a nice Cuban sandwich and glass of wine chased with the mildest Cuban cigar I can find. It is a tradition that I will try to enlist the big Marine into while we are here in Tampa. I'll let you know how we make out---so stay tuned.

Rainbow River Adventure

2012-02-03T09:47:00.002-05:00

With minimal trepidation, Rich rode the bus from the place in Dunnellon to the Rainbow River State Park to put the canoes in the water. No wimpering from the big Marine at all---I was impressed at his bravery in the face of the crystal clear water of the mighty Rainbow River.

The anhinga, at left, watched as we slid the canoes down the ramp into the water---still no wimperinmg from the big-guy!!!!!! He hopped right into the back seat and I pushed the canoe out into the water and jumped into the front seat----he held-up like a true Marine---bring it on, I fear nothing, where is my machine gun, there might be aligators in this river!!!!!!

Sue and Sylvia had no problems after they figured out how to make the canoes gop where they wanted. Just a quick trip into the weds on the far bank and then back to river-center for the trip downstream. They looked like they had done this before!!!!

After a few minutes in the canoe, Rich relaxed and he started to enjoy the slow trip down the Rainbow. He enjoyed seeing all of the small and large mouth bass in the water and we both enjoyed seeing the many turtles warming up in the sun.

As we worked our way done stream, we noticed that another goup of three lkadsies were roughly keeping pace witrh us. About every 30-40 minutes they would pull the canoes together and break out a martini shaker. They wouldn't agree to share with us but they made good company as we progressed toward the Withlacoochee River.

Homassassa Springs-Yulee Sugar Mill

2012-02-03T09:00:00.001-05:00

The drive into the old town Homassassa Springs took us past the remains of the old Yulee Sugar Mill. It was powered by a steam engine and turned sugar cane into molasses. The molasses could be stored in casks and shipped around the country. It was a big money maker about 150 years ago but is now just a view into the past history of the area.

Dunnellon,FL--Blue Gator Bar

2012-02-02T13:25:00.001-05:00

To help Rich get his courage up for our clear-water canoe trip, I recommended a visit to the beautiful Blue Gator Bar and Grill on the banks of the tea-brown Withlacoochee River. We had sandwiches and tea and Rich was a new man. He was ready to tackle the mighty Rainbow the next day. I was greatly releived as I have been expecting him to come up with a hang nail or sore toe to get out of the canoe trip. But Rich is an upstanding guy---if he says he is going down river in a canoe, by golly, he was going to do it!!!!!

A crazy kids play house that was displayed in a Crystal River side walk sale.

Of course, while we were in the neighborhood, we had to have lunch at our favorite hide-away spot in Homasassa Springs---The Freezer!!!! The place has all the atmosphere of an old shrimp freezer, ---because that is what it is!!!!! It sits at the end of a little creek off the Homassassa River where the local shrimp boats used to off-load their catches. Nothing fancy here---just shrimp,clam chowder, fries and cold beer---what more do you need??????

Sylvia was pretty happy with her crab legs!!!! I can vouch for her----they were very good!!!

Just upstream from the Freezer is another one of our favorites--The Shed---just beer, wine, drinks and light snacks and a great view of the mighty Homassassa River.

Rainbow Springs State Park-FL

2012-02-02T12:22:00.003-05:00

We visited Rainbow Springs State Park a few years ago as I didn't believe FL had any waterfalls. It turns out that the park built the falls over the remains of an old phosphate mine and pumps water from the massive spring up to holding ponds for distribution to the beautiful, man-made falls.

I was anxious to show Rich and Sue the neat falls and the 300 million gallon/day fresh water spring. Unfortunately, they were have a problem and several of the large falls were not operating. The falls were there, just no water flowing over them!!!!

The spring itself was still as impressive as everand there were even several folks swimming in it!!!! This is the head spring for the Rainbow River that I managed to talk Rich and Sue into canoeing in a day or two. Can you possibly imagine that I had to twist their arms to get them to agree to a down river canoe trip on this crystal clear river????? Turns out Rich is a shallow water country boy who never learned how to swim and tries to stay away from water any deeper than his bath tub!!! When he said they were not keen on the canoe trip, I threw a mini-hissy fit--just enough for Rich to know I was disappointed in his lack of adventure. A few hours later Rich agreed to the trip and we made reservation for the trip!!!!!

Hank, Sylvia and I in front of the Rainbow spring.
The only large falls that were operating---Cherokee Falls.

Juliette Falls Golf Course

2012-01-31T09:04:00.002-05:00

We left Orange Lake RV Resort a few days ago and went S to Dunnellon,FL. We are staying at the very rustic Lake Rousseau Park. Many of the folks here are avid fishermen and hunters and we wake up to duck hunters bagging the first ducks of the day just after sunrise each morning.

Rich Tindell, Steve Fortuin, Asst Pro. and Vince Paglia, son of the Head Pro at the course. Quite a match-up for Rich and I. Both Steve and Vince put up with our poor play without protest and Vince even worked with Rich to improve his swing. Vince played four years of Div. I golf while in college and although he has joined the working world these days, his golf game has not sufferred much. I think growing up with a PGA pro for a Dad helps a bit, but Vince has a lot of natural ability that shine through. Steve was a great ball striker who got a lot of power into the ball with a slightly shorter back-swing. While both Rich and I could learn a lot from these guys, I'm glad that they didn't turn the round into a hypercritical golf lesson. They let us make our mistakes and kept their comment mostly to themselves. I'm sure the "teaching pro" in Steve wanted to get more involved but he only offerred advice when asked. Vince had flown in from N. New York and had to leave the course early to catch his flight back home. Good luck to you Vince!!!!!

We had a great day of golf on a beautiful course with two excellent golfers.

While I didn't score well, I would love to play this copurse with some grass growing on it!!!! I'll be back!!!!
Since neither Rich nor I are much into duck hunting we decided to go hunting for birdies of a different kind. We asked around and found out that one of the top 10 courses in FL was just a few miles away---so we made a tee time and hit the course on Monday afternoon. Unfortunately, the birdies on the course were just as safe from us as the ducks on the lake were.

Juliette Falls lived up to expectations and other than dormant grasson the fairways, the course was beautiful. Among the finest layouts I have played on. As I looked over the score card before we teed up, I noticed the we were going to play the course at about 6300 yds, with a slope rating of 130. Yikes----Looking over my handicap scores, I saw that I had not played a course with this high a slope in the past two years!!!!

You can see the heavy landscaping done on the course from these shots. Beautiful small ponds and waterfalls were built into the course that added to both the degree of difficulty and the eyeball factor. This was a par three that played at about 183 for Rich and I and 194 for Steve and Vince.

Asst Pro Steve in his high speed golf cart. He said it had a modified motor and no governor that let it open up on the straight-aways. Golf Pros don't like to waste time just getting to the ball!!!!!

Rich Tindell, showing fine form, just before we shot at this little par three wit both a pond and a waterfall!!! It played about 150 into the wind. I struck my tee shot to about 18 ft. and managed one of my rare pars on this hole.

196? Chevelle

2012-01-26T20:28:00.002-05:00

Rich, myself and a fellow RV from the park--Rick-- played golf in near-by Wiliston, FL an dran into this beautiful old Chevelle. It had the little 283 v-8 engine and I think this is the same year Chevelle my buddy Terry had while we were back in college. His was actually maroon and a convertable---a much neater car, but this car was very well kept.

Seeing this old beauty reminded me that fellow Allen, MD resident, Mike Ake and wife Patsie are down here in FL selling their immaculent old Chevy II at a televised auction in Kissimee, FL. I hope we can get together for a dinner while they are down here!!!!

Rick, a retired Canadian fire fighter, comes down to FL each winter. He introduced us to this golf course and showed us around the course---thanks a million!!!! He has two beautiful Irish Setters that spend the winter with him and his wife Sandy. One of the Setters is just 2 years old and already hits the scales at a lean 105 lbs. The biggest Irish Setter I have ever seen!!!!!

Jumbolair-FL

2012-01-26T20:11:00.002-05:00

Rich and Sue were out exploring the country around Grand Lakes Resort and saw this beautiful estate. They stopped at a near-by store and asked who lived at the big estate ---John Travolta owned it. He keeps his Boeing 707 behind the house---we could see the tail on it but it doesn;t show up well in the pictures. His place is very palatial and is situated in the beautiful equestrian area around Ocala, FL. Travolta keeps a couple of smaller planes in the hangars near the house and I'm sure he keeps them well greased and certified by the FAA. From what I have seen of him on TV, John is an avid pilot and he has a great place to persue his passions here in Ocala.

Do you recognize Rich's finger in this shot????? He was in the passenger seat and I asked him to click off a few shots and his fingere got in the way----he was unfamiliar with my hi-tech camera.

Micanopy,FL

2012-01-26T19:52:00.002-05:00

Pronounced---- mic-a-no-pee----this little town has a prominent place in FL history as the first settlement after the Spanish relinquished the territory to America in 1821. It was also the location for the filming of a Michael J. Fox movie back in the 1990's.

The neat little town is a great place to kick back and have a cold ice cream----so we did!!!!

Even little Micanopy has a classic old mansion/ B&B and here it is!!!!

We asked where the best pulled pork sandwich was made----Pearl's in Micanopy was the place that came up the most. It was great--- they cook all the pork in-house and make all the trimmings that go along with it. On the corner of Rt 441 and Main St. Micanopy---try it you will like it.

Grand Lake Resort Citra, FL

2012-01-22T13:13:00.002-05:00

From Lazy Days, we moved N and inland to Grand Lakes Resort which is located about equidistance between Ocala and Gainesville, FL. This is the land of undisurbed real estate with huge old Live Oak trees that have been growing for several hundred years , gracefully draped with the spooky Spanish moss. The Ocala area is also the Kentucky horse country of central FL. Huge horse breeding farms line the local roads and most have their own fenced-in tracks to time and work-out the thoroughbreds. All of these horses are beautiful, but only the fast ones are worth the big money.

Grand Lakes Resort is located on Orange Lake. Unfortunately, several years ago a sink hole opened up near the lake and drained just about all of the water out of what was a very large lake. A trickle here and there is about all that is left of the once proud lake.

The boat slips are now just weed infested dry ground. The building behind these sliops used to be the boat house where they rented boats and canoes, but no more. No water---no boats!!!!

SMART MUSTER--Lazy Days, TAMPA, FL

2012-01-22T12:49:00.002-05:00

After Mayport, we drove down to Lazy Days RV Park, just outside of Tampa,FL for a SMART Muster with the FL Bucaneers. We belong to several of the FL chapters of SMART and try to hook-up with them as much as possible when we are in the state.

Lazy Days has a fine large building for meetings and actually there were several other groups having meeting at the time we were there. The grill was constructed of parts from RV and the slide-outs were booths for individual parties---very neat!!!!

The counter stools were chromed wheels with a soft cushgion on top. It carried out the RV theme just right!!!!

Cordell Vickers, one of the mainstays of the SMART group put together a golf outing at a near-by course, so Rich and I played in it. I won $7 getting my tee shot closest to the hole on a 135 yd. par three. I was about 15 ft. from the hole. I missed the put and got a par. I shot an 87 and was a little disappointed--- but it is early iun the year. Rich had a few rough holes and I won't report his score---but ask him next time you see him!!!!

Cordell, Rich and Mark on the first tee. Mark is a new SMART member and he hits a very nice ball. Both Rich and I look forward to playing with these guys again. We should be able to play a few rounds with Cordell when we move down to Tampa asd he lives near-by. Should be fun!!!

These Sandhill cranes are handsome birds that can tear-up the grass on a course. As long as they do their picking in the rough, they don't bother anybody---just stay off the greens, please!!!!

Mayport,FL--Bud and Bernie Fulton

2012-01-22T12:35:00.001-05:00

While we were staying at Mayport we called the Fultons for a get-together. We met a t an Irish restaurant that we saw on the Food CH's Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. The food was good, but the company was better. It is good to get togetrher with old friends that we only see every couple of years. We hope to have another visit with them later this RV trip on our way back home in March or April.

Every Saturday night, the Roost at Mayport has an ice cream night with the Ice cream priced at .75 a scoop. Big Ed was serving and he has a heavy hand with the scoop, so Rich brought the bannanas and we chowed down. The Roost at Mayport does such a good job of having activities for the campers. Lots of RV parks have no activities at all and it is hard to meet the other campers. This is one reason that Mayport is among the best military RV parks in the country.

Naval Station Mayport, FL

2012-01-14T09:36:00.003-05:00

The start of our 2012 RV escapade was delayed a few days because of a cracked molar that the dentist discovered on my routine, 6 mos. cleaning visit. After a cap was made and placed, we were ready to jump into 2012!!!!

We got up early on the morning of the 6th of Jan. with a mind to get a quick start on our trip to FL. I had unplugged the ALFA the night before and moved it to the front of the house to attach the car for towing---it started-up perfectly and gave me no inkling of battery problems.

Bright and early the next morning, we put the last items into the RV and I jumped into the driver's seat to start up the Caterpillar engine. Not even a peep came from the starter. The dash lights didn't even come on!!!!! Even in my early morning stupor, I knew we had a PROBLEM!!!!!

My little hand-held tester showed that one battery had 12.6 v and the other had only 5.7 v with no load. My next thought was----who the hell's idea was it to put these big, heavy diesel starting batteries in this tight little compartment?????? After unhooking them and pulling them out, I was off to the local Walmart, only to discover that they don't carry batteries with enough cold cranking amps to work. A drive down Rt. 13 in Salisbury led me to a shop that carried the right batteries. About $225 lighter, I was headed back home to install the new batteries and see if they were the extent of my problems. Fortunately the batteries went back in easier than they came out and soon the sound of the big Cat engine growling to life was the sweetest music my ears have heard in many a month!!!!! With my enthusiasm renewed, we were headed South with the Saturn Vue in tow by about 11:00 am!!!! We spent the night near Wilson, NC and made it to Mayport by about 4:00 Saturday afternoon.

Rich Tindell talked to the RV park's staff and arranged to have us park on the site next to their's. The first thing I did was unhook the car and move it to the front of the RV. Oh NO!!!!! The Saturn wouldn't start---the battery was dead as a door nail!!!!! Two days of towing , with the key in the ACC position, completly drained the battery. Rich and I headed off the the nearest Walmart and , yes, they had a battery for the Saturn----only $49.00. What a bargain!!!!!

On Wednesday, with battery problems a distant memory, we headed off to Amelia Island for a relaxing lunch and some serious window shopping.

Rich had me take another picture of him as he said I hadn't given him proper warning to suck in his belly. So here is the shot of Rich giving it his all to pull in his gut!!!!! Looks like he could still get into his old dress blues that he wore while on active duty!!!!!

Allen, MD--Back Creek

2012-01-14T09:12:00.001-05:00

As I sit here in Mayport FL, it is cold--about 40 degrees- but we are surrounded by palm trees and other tropical plants and the piuctures from back home looked so stark, that I decided to post them as a reminder of the differences in climate between MD and FL.

These trees are mostly Beech with a few oaks and a pine or two just for interest. For about 8 months of the year these trees are lush, green and provided great shade for our comfortable little shade garden. Now, the trees along Back Creek look so stark and bare it is hard to imagine them full of leaves.

We won't get back to Allen until the trees are full of leaves again, so these shots are a good reminder of what the cold weather does up north.

On Christmas eve we had a small dinner for a few neighbors and Sylvia's brother Roger. Sylvia put on her Rudolph nose to lighten the spirit!!!!

Morgan and Taylor McEntegart

2012-01-12T18:44:00.002-05:00

Last month I made a trip to Houston,TX with our neighbor, Hank Barth to visit the MD Anderson Cancer Clinic. While in Houston we had time to visit with son Tom and his wife Taylor and our fairly new grand-daughter(16 months) Morgan Lee. Sylvia and I don't get to see them as often as we like but through the miracle of SKYPE we have been able to watch Morgan grow on a weekly basis.

As a very biased Grandpa, I find Morgan irresistible and can't keep from kissing her cheeks right off!!!!!

Hank Barth loves to amuse young children and adults alike with his "Mikey the Mouse". Hank wraps up a cloth napkin and amimates it along his arm and chest so that "Mikey" appears to be alive and quite frisky. He had Morgan's full attention and soon had her laughing out loud!!!!!

Dartmouth Library-Orozco Murals

2011-10-19T16:23:00.001-04:00

Back in the mid-90's an attorney I worked with at EPA, Johnathon Baker--a Dartmouth grad---knew that Sylvia and I spent much time up in Vt/NH. He suggested that we visit the Dartmouth library and see the very famous murals painted in the basement of the library. Dartmouth has a beautiful campus and both of us and her parents made a trip to see the murals. It was only about a half hours drive from her folks place and we liked to eat in the Weathervane restaurant that is near the campus.

My first reaction was shock/disgust and over the years and after at least 4 trips back to see the murals, my initial reaction has not been changed much. Many art experts consider the Dartmouth mural cycle to be the best in the United States!!!!!

A little background. Dartmouth College was chartered by the King of England in 1769 in the Royal Province of New Hampshire for the purpose of...."the education and instruction of Youth of the Indian Tribes in this land..... and also of English Youth and any others." So Dartmouth started out with a charter to reach out to a broad group of people and its' broad reach continued into the 20th century. A new library, Carpenter Hall ,was completed in 1929 and several art history professors wanted to commission the best "Muralist" available to decorate the blank walls in the basement of the new building. The two professors, Artemus Packard and Churchill Lathrop, ----I did not make up those names!!!!! ----wanted to provide art students with exposure to a real artist-in-residence, so the contract provided that the artist give "such instruction in the technique of fresco painting as he cares to, at his convenience." You can tell by this language that they didn't want to burden the great artist with additional duties, but wanted him to know that he was working at a great center of learning and they expected him to help those with interest in this art form.

The artist----the choice was betwen two great Mexican muralists---Diego Rivera and Jose Clement Orozco. The Rockefeller family had big oil interests in Mexico and they favored Orozco. Since big money carries much weight, Orozco was selected-----besides Orozco was perhaps considered the best muralist in the world. Orozco came to Dartmouth in 1932 to present sketches of what he was proposing to do with the theme of---The Epic American Civilization. Orozco painted a couple of small murals in the basement and the parties agreed on a contract of approximately $7,000.00 to do about 2000 sf of murals. He was paid for travels, lodgings, board and other expenses in addition to the price to do the murals. I think this was considered big money for artist during the Great Depression. All told the murals cost Dartmouth about $10,000.00.

This first mural is ---Migration. It depicts the origins of indigenous American civilization as a grimly determined and regimented march forward. Note----I'm pulling the descriptions from the pamphlet that is handed out at Dartmouth.

Coming of Quetzalcoat--much mythology in this mural---please investigate yourself by Googling these murals.

Departure of Quetzalcoat

Cortez and the Cross

Hispano America

Gods of the Modern World

Modern Migration of the Spirit

Modern Human Sacrifice

Man and Beast on Hedgehog Hill

Terry & Ellen Coll-VT

2011-10-19T15:54:00.001-04:00

Before I leave our Vermont trip and move on to other travels, I have been saving several items to post from terry and Ellen's visit. I set these posts aside to get some info on the murals in the basement of the Dartmouth Library. These murals will be in my next posting.

Right down the road from us on Hedgehog Hill is the oldest cheese factory in the US. They make a colby type of cheese that Sylvia and I love. We have been in the little cheese plant several times while they are actually making the cheese, but during this visit the cheese trays were dry and theywere not making any.--Oh well.

While they were not making any, thay had plenty to taste. I think Ellen liked several of the cheeses, but Terry took one nibble and said he didn't like the taste!!! No cheese for Terry!! We bought several wax enclosed pieces and have been enjoying it over the last couple of months.

Here is one of the owners/mgrs of the small factory hard at work. I got a kick out of his shirt!!!!

Crowley sells their cheese on line and if you are interested go to Crowleycheese.com and look through their selections.

After the Crowley cheese factory, we took Terry and Ellen to the Long Trail brewery in Bridgeport, VT. Their ale is the #1 selling ale in New England and I was eager for Terry to try it. I made a tactical error in managing their visit by insisting that we leave the Long Trail brewery after just a taste of the ale as I wanted to continue on to Woodstock, Quichee, Dartmouth and West Lebanon,NH, before the day was done. I thought that if we started popping ales, the day would be done and we would see nothing else. I would have enjoyed sampling all of their brews, but for Terry's sake, I thought why drive 500 miles and spend the better part of a day drinking ale in a brewery????

Here is Terry in his natural state---like a pea in a pod, a fish in the sea, a race horse knee deep in Kentucky Blue Grass------a man in a brewery with 20 untried ales to sample. I apoligize, Big Guy, for not sitting down beside you and ordering the first of several 6-ale samplers!!!! They were all on tap, just across the bar on a big dispenser with about 20 pull-taps on it. Oh, well!!!!

The Long Trail brewery had the best beer can collection I have ever seen. They had several cases just like the picture I posted above. You have got to like a bar with a beer can collection just under the stuffed head of a prized moose!!!! My buddy Dave Wiedeman will appreciate the beer can directly to the left. Anybody ever heard of Owen Brew Lager Beer???? it was a new one for me.

I have heard the name "Old Frothingslosh" before, but I thought it was a joke name given to any bad tasting beer. But no, there is a beer with this name, proudly displaying a very curvy lady in a bathing suit. She displayed several different poses on different cans, but always had the same "12-beer" smile that was hard to resist. The can advertised the beer as "Stale Pale Ale". Quite a recommendation!!!!! Fortunately, the brewery only served ale made on the premises and Old Frothinslosh was not being served!!!!

Mt. Holly---Cider Days

2011-10-13T14:45:00.001-04:00

Every year we look forward to the Columbus Day weekend in Mt. Holly. Lots of fresh maple syrup and apple cider so fresh that you actually watch them squeeze the juice out of the apples and into your jug. Nothing added!!!!!

Here is the apple cider operation during a lull moment.

A nice shot across Star Lake in Belmont, that I took as we were waiting to get into the beef dinner at the Odd Fellows Hall.

This is a shot from our driveway looking out at South Mt. This is what Sylvia sees from where she is standing in the last picture. South Mt. is about 3 miles S of Okemo, the one we look at from the RV.

Several years ago we noticed that this area along the driveway had many nice maple trees growing in it. I have been thinning out the white birtch and cherry trees to favor the maples. Several of the maples in this grove are the sugar type and the rest a re a mixture of other maple types. Any of the maples can have great color, so I'll keep an eye on this batch of trees.

East Coast Collision & Restoration

2011-10-13T14:29:00.002-04:00

On one of the last days we were in Vt, I noticed my favorite car shop had a couple of new additions out from. A nice red TR-3 that was in need of some restoration work and an old Mini-Cooper----one of the real Mini's with the rediculously small wheels.

Emily Clifford had a B&B full of guests from Wash.DC and NJ. They wanted to see some of the foilage, so Emily thought a view from our place to the back of Okemo would fit the bill. We had a great visit with 3 generations of the family. They loved the rock, as it was the first place they all headed for and were interested in the RV. They had never really seen an RV, so we gave them a tour. One of the young ladies, about 25 yeaqrs old, said she was ready to retire and take to the roads in an RV right now!!!! Such enthusiasm!!!!!

Quichee Golf Course.

2011-10-13T13:59:00.003-04:00

This golf resort is upstream from the Quichee bridge about 1 mile. It was one of the more beautiful golf courses in VT until Irene and the later low pressure system caused the severe flooding. Several holes along the Quichee River are completely destroyed---no grass on green or fairway.

They should be able to get grass growing--sod---before the real cold weather sets in and it should be back in play next year. They did have about 9 holes open for play when we visited this year.

At the end of the day, Sylviaand I headed to the Weathervane restaurant in West Lebanon, NH. We had another fabulous fried haddock dinner.Once again, they hit a home run!!!!

Quichee Bridge, VT

2011-10-13T09:45:00.002-04:00

Many of you have taken the trip with us from Hedgehog Hill to Quichee, VT. It is almost a religous trip for us after doing it several times a year for the last 20 or so years. So, it just breaks my heart to see the old bridge so damaged. I watched the videos on U-Tube and couldn't believe my eyes that the water under the bridge had risen so high as to actually reach the bridge itself. So here are my pictures of what is left of the old bridge structure. The far side of the bridge sits on a massive boulder, but the roadway to the bridge was washed away.

The steel I-beam is providing support to a water line and perhaps some electrical lines.

While we were visiting Quichee, the water was still pretty high and the gorge under the old bridge was filled with mist from the falls just a few yards upstream.

Most of the time the water doesn't cover the rocks just below the falls. In fact, during a visit last year with rich and Sue Tindall, I remember seeing several young ladies in bikinis, sun bathing on these rocks. See last years blog entries from Quichee during July 2010.

Here is a shot looking downstream at the bridge with the cantilevered dining room from Simon Pierce in the foreground.

I used the tele-photo feature to get trhis shot of the bridge that shows the only thing supporting it is the large boulder that was not damagerd by the storm. Itr looks like they have put some concrete work around the boulder to reach up to the proper level.

Irene Srorm Damage-RT 4, VT

2011-10-13T09:29:00.001-04:00

I wanted to post the first two shots for Terry and Ellen , who visited with us in early Sept. Ellen liked the looks of all of the white birch trees---esp. with all oif the green leaves on them. Time marches on and these shots show the last few leaves on the trees around our little shade garden on Hedgehog Hill.

On one of our last fw days in VT. we decided to take a drive along VT Rt. 4, through Woodstock to West Lebanon,NH. We had heard that the Ottaquichee River did major damage to Rt. 4 and it had been closed for a few weeks. The damage was worse that I imagined.

The last shot is just a tease as I will post a few more shots of the damage done to the Quichee bridge. Note that all that supports the left side of the bridge is the original hand-placed stones. I'm sure they were put in when the bridge was originally built , many years ago. All of the fill dirt for the road leading to the bridge has been washed away.

Chester Craft Market

2011-10-12T17:07:00.002-04:00

In about 1890, the son of one of the early settlers of Ludlow donated the beautiful downtown library to the town. He gave the considerable funds to the town to construct the best looking building in town and had the building named after his dad---Fletcher emorial Library.

They have a good WIFI hot spot , so on days I wanted to blog, I would spend time in the library.

While Sylvia and I were in the parking lot to do some shopping, this nice old Ford pulled in. Thought you might enjoy it.

The first day of October was rainy and overcast, but we headed down to one of our favorite littler towns---Chester. Here is a shot of one of the many great old Victorians that line Main St.

The event in Chester was a local artist's craft mart. At least a hundred booths set-up to show the various wares. You know I am a sucker for neat things to add interest to our shade garden, so the next time you visit, look for these two owls bobbing, weaving and weathercocking with the breeze. Feel free to introduce yourselves to Bosley and Mitzy.

Here is the very talented creator of Bosley and Mitzi, Robyn Lynn of Clarendon Springs,VT. Robyn designs the creations and her husband cuts, welds and weather-proofs the items. They made a very nice team.

Rain Barrels in Rutland

2011-10-12T16:54:00.001-04:00

Vermont is a very green state, in many ways. Yes, it is known as the Green Mountain State and to go along with that it has many wind mills, solar panels and rain barrels. The rain barrels catch rain from a roof-top downspout and saves it to water plants on dry days. Since VT gets much rain, this conservation approach might be more fitting to a place like Texas or Arizona or maybe even Maryland!!!! In Vt. no amount of conservation is too much and we should all really look at conservation in the same way So, when Sylvia saw the add in the Rutland paper to make rain barrels, we just had to try it.

Not too complicated---the trick is to find the big, food-quality plastic barrels and then drill a hole in the top and two holes on the side of the barrel. one high and one low and plug them with hose bibs. Then you are done!!!!

East Coast Collision & Restoration

2011-10-06T16:41:00.003-04:00

While we are the topic of old Brittish cars, I thought you might enjoy seeing some pictures from a shop out on RT 103, near the old Crowley Cheese outlet-----that narrows it down for you native VT'ers and leaves everyone else with a more than adequate vague idea of this shop's location.

Owner--Jason Marechaux
4039 Rt 103 S
Mt. Holly, VT 05758

Phone-802 259 2452
802 779 2999

They specialize in Brittish cars as you will see from these shots, but he also has a very interesting collection of muscle cars awaiting his magic touch.

The first shot is of a TR-3 that has been taken down to bare metal prior to painting.

A Jag XKE that is too nice to just sit outside, rusting.

Not many Morgans around, but they have one that is in process of a complete body off rebuild. The fellow I spoke with said they even rebuilt the wooden frame!!!!!

The old Morgan will look like new when they are finished!!!!

A very nice Triumph TR-6 that they had just finished painting.

This old Falcon looks like it is being set-up for drag racing.

Some of the collection awaiting their turn to be brought back to their glory!!!!

The old Ford Torino was not just an old Ford, it was one of the very hot 428 ci Cobra Jets!!!!! A very fast car, even by toidays standards!!!

Triumph TR-3

2011-10-06T16:10:00.002-04:00

While we were walking around the old Fort # 4 letting Hank stretch his legs and take care of business before the play started, up drives one of my all time favorite cars----a Triumph TR-3. My best friend growing up, Buddy Fulton, bought one of these little beauties back when we both were attending the aUniversity of Maryland. His was red, but otherwise it was just like this one.

During the play, as we moved from one scene to another, I asked folks if they owned the TR-3. Finally after about a half a dozen "not me", replies, one fellow said, "yes---it is mine". It turns out he was a retired Navy officer and had just finished a restoration of the car. His wife said that the trip to the play was her first ride in it!!!!! He found the car in a barn about 3 years ago and has been working on it over the years. It needed some body work and had a brand new paint job -----it looked nice!!!!

After college, when I had enough money to buy my own first car, I wanted one of these. After much thought, I decided on a TR-4 as it had regular windows instead of side-curtains. I remembered the side-curtains always let in a good draft and sice this would be my transportation all year round, I opted for a little more protection from the cold winter weather.---What a wimp, huh!!!!

Mine was a 1963 Britich Racing Green TR-4, the first year that Triumph came out with this new model and about half the years run of cars were the old TR-3 model and then they switched to the TR-4. I think the only difference was the bodywork. I loved that old TR-4!!!!!

Fort # 4, Charlestown,NH

2011-10-06T15:55:00.001-04:00

My personal tour guide, wife Sylvia, scheduled a visit to the old Fort # 4 along the Conn. River in Charlestown,NH to see the play by Arthur Miller---The Crucible. I believe it was written in the 60's and was about the Salem witch trials. The play was put on by local amateur actors who were absolutely supberb!!!!

As the play progressed we moved from the upper meeting room in the fort to an outside setting for one scene and then back inside for the conclusion. Each presentation of the play was sold out and I feel lucky that we got tickets. Each performance could accomodate about 100 people.

Here is Sylvia and Emily Clifford-Jackson going into the fort for the play.

A couple of the young actors greeted us as we arrived. The young lady to the right was in character and acted freightened that I took her picture. We had a little fun conversation about it and she end up telling me that she really didn't mind the pictures.

One of the more enthusiastic actresses tries to prove to us that she was crazy-----crazy enough to believe in witches.

I was convinced!!!!!!

Dinner Time on Hedgehog Hill

2011-10-04T16:20:00.002-04:00

After a tiring day looking over the extensive damage Irene did to the local area, we settled down to a dinner of hamburgers, beans, cold slaw, chips and cold Long Trail ale---it doesn't gert any better than that!!!!

No cook-out is complete without a camp fire, so Neal, after boasting about his fire starting skills, started work on the fire. Neal was fortunate that we had a good supply of ale, as all of the rain we have had made for damp fire wood and a difficult fire start. We were lucky that we had a man of Neal's considerable skill, as we had a great camp fire as the warm afternoon changed into a cool evening!!!!!

A couple of days after Neal and Margie's visit we went out to dinner with our neighbors across Hedgehog Hill Rd., Pam and Ruth. They took us to a fairly new restaurant in Rutland named Roots. The food was great and will be even better when they learn how to make risotto. Italian rice alone does not make risotto. I spoke with the chef and he explained that the way they served it was his own personal interpretation of the fantastic Italian dish. If risotto was always served like this, it would not have the reputation as one of the most tasty Italian dishes on the planet. Oh well, despite the mis-adventure with the risotto, I will still give the place another try as all of the other foods were great!!!!

Rich Young on the 18th tee of Nishobe Golf Course. Only about 340 yds and the tee shot is from the lofty perch of about 100 feet above the fairway. Leaving what should then be a short shot across a pond to the green. How did I ever take an 8---the dreaded SNOWMAN---on this beautiful hole????

Cavendish Gorge---Mushroom

2011-10-04T16:12:00.001-04:00

For the mushroom lovers among you--my wife Sylvia is among your numbers---here are a few beauts!!!!!

Also, a bonus shot of an ancient rock, sitting along side the gorge, that clearly shows how it cracked apart sometime over the last million years or so!!!!!

Anybody know what kind of mushrooms these are???? Can we eat them?????

Cavendish Gorge, VT

2011-10-04T15:53:00.001-04:00

It wasn't all storm damage touring with Neal and Margie as we had a good visit with this fellow, whose house was about 100 yards from where the Black River ate its' way across Rt. 131 and into the mountain side---see next post.

This guy had hand made this old 1917 "Woody" from scratch. he was quite proud of it and spenbt some time with us as we were admiring his handywork.

Neal, giving me a good shot of the hand-carved hill-billy that went with the Woody.

By the way----Neal's shirt says---In Dog Years, I Only Had One.

While we were in Cavendish we took a hike past the old hydro-electric plant----the spill-way is just to the left of Neal---and went down into the old Cavendish Gorge.

It is an easy hike and gives spectacular views of an old and deep gorge. I would have loved to experience the power of the water flowing through this narrow gorge at the height of the storm a few days ago!!!!! Not to close to the edge, mind you, but just close enough the hear the roar and feel the power in the water being forced through the narrow confines. Since this gorge is entirely rock-lined, no damage was done here!!!!!!

Cavendish, VT---Irene Storm Damage--UPDATE

2011-10-04T15:35:00.001-04:00

An interesting shot from Hegdehog Hill across the valley to Okemo Mt. It shows a high broken layer of clouds with a lower cloud covering the top of the mt. along with a patch of sun light!!!!! I thought it was neat, anyway!!!!

Neal and Margie came over for a visit and we spent some time surveying some of the more heavily damaged areas. I posted some early shots of Cavendish, so this shows the progress made over about a two week period.

Neal is amazed at the huge chunk of the road and mountainside that was eaten away by the raging water.

I heard a report on the radio that said the damage here in Cavendish would take over 7,000 truck loads of fill. The fellow wasn't sure but said it may actually take 70,000 loads---either way that is a lot of fill. You can see the trucks lined up on the far side of the road waiting there turn to drive down the narrow path to the bottom of the stream bed and dump their loads. Then the bulldozer and steam roller spread and compact3ed the fill. This will go on for many weeks.

Neal took a turn at taking pictures and snapped this shot of me with the "new" Cavendish gorge in the background.

Shrewsburry, VT.

2011-10-04T15:24:00.001-04:00

How would you like to have been this guy watching the creek climb out of its' bed and start eating away at your front yard ?????? He was very lucky as it appears the storm eased up when the erosion was about 6-8 feet from his foundation. The road in front of this house was originally a paved road, by the storm ate it away and was now just Sur-Pac. The creek was about 15 feet to the right of the road.

The heavy machinery was trying to reclaim the creek bank and the road from the storm damages.

Burning is the only way to get rid of all the trees that are down. Too bad it can't be used for fire wood!!!!

Hedgehog Hill &Shrewsburry,VT-Storm Damage

2011-10-04T15:08:00.001-04:00

Our driveway had very little damage from the heavy rain----the beaver pond beside our driveway overflowed and washed out the entrance to the drive and was promptly fixed by the Mt. Holly roads crew----BIG THANKS TO YOU GUYS!!!!!!----and just a little washout near our sign, that was quickly fixed by Greg Durgin and his trusty tractor.

But the rest of VT was not a lucky. These shots are taken in Shrewsburry which is about 7 miles from our place. While this is pretty high in the mts. everything is relative and there was much higher ground around to send the 13 inches of rain cascading down the small creeks and brooks.

The water was so powerfull that it changed the course of many of the creeks and took down many trees. The trees would wash down stream until they just pile up and forces the water to go around the temporary dams they create. VT. called out the National Guard and together with local municipal and contractor work forces they tackled the massive clean-up. Huge back-hoes and excavators would travel down the stream beds, moving the trees to the banks where they would be further removed for burning. TRhis process will go on for quite a while.

Battle of Hubbardton,VT--Revolutionary War

2011-09-29T16:42:00.003-04:00

Over the years, Sylvia and I have taken our two sons to most of the Civil War battle sites in the mid-Atlantic region. We love to view the historic sites and explain what went on there to Tom and Sean. Sylvia was a high school math teacher but got her Masters in history and loves to go into the details of the battles of the Civil War. But we have not ben to many battle sites from the Revolutionary War, so we had to visit Hubbardton, despite the fact that neither one of us had heard of this battle!!!

So, you are forgiven if you too are unfamiliar with thsi battle ground. It wasn't much of a battle as it turns out, more of a delaying tactic by the American forces to give them time to re-form for bigger battles to come in Bennington and Saratoga.

The second shot shows Sylvia talking with the fellow who recommended we visit the nearby Japanese gardens----great recommendation, Thanks a million!!!!!!

Lake Bomoseen,VT

2011-09-29T16:29:00.003-04:00

This is the way our Portugese Water Dog, Hank, likes to spend his time while RV'ing.

A couple of miles down the Lake was a neat little 9-hole golf course. Wet, soggy and very hilly, this little course wipped my butt!!! It was well under 3000 yds. but I could muster no better than 8 strokes over par for 9 holes.

Quiet setting in the woods along the lake was home for us until we got the driveway on Hedgehog Hill repaired. These site had just been vacated by a wedding party. The bride and groom were married in a small church a few miles away and returned to the site next to us to spend their first night as a married couple. They had many visitors over the next several days as was not always as quiet as it appears here!!!!

Hedgehog Hill,VT

2011-09-29T16:17:00.002-04:00

These guys came to vist us on foggy morning a few days ago. I opened the RV window to try to get a better shot of them, but all I succeeded in doing was scaring them back into the woods.

A man and his rock!!!!!!! Sylvia snapped this shot as I was contemplating world event---like, can the MD Terps beat a seemingly out-matched Temple football team in the upcoming game???? Terry had just told me that Temple was a team to be reconned with, so I should worry about the game. He was right as the Terps got beaten by a bigger, faster, stronger and perhaps, better coached Temple football team.

Perhaps I didn't do enough worrying on my rock?????

Japanese Garden-Hubbarton,VT

2011-09-29T15:50:00.001-04:00

We spent a week at the RV Park along side of Lake Bomoseen,VT and commuted to Hedgehog Hill for driveway repairs. While we were on the Lake we explored the area and found an old Revolutionary War battlefield that we just had to explore. As we were just getting to the battlefield, we noticed a motorcyclist relaxing on a Park bench, talking on his cell phone. After he finished his call we discussed the area with him as he said he was from a nearby town and enjoyed riding his bike through the area during warm weather. He was about our age and seemewd to be a good guy. He gave us a couple of restaurant recommendations for Whgitehall ,NY and also recommended the Trak restaurant on Lakre Bomoseen. It turned out to be a great rcommendation as we had a great meal there that very evening.

As we discussed many things he recommended that, after our battlefield tour, we take a side road just down the way to some rocky cliffs about a mile or so in the distance. He said a fellow had built a real neat Japanese Garden and opened his property for hiking and just plain relaxing---whatever seems right.

We followed his directions and found this beautiful place after driving through a few cow fields.

That evening in the restaurant I asked theowner if he knew the story behind the beautiful gardens??? He told us that about 25 years ago a Japanese fellow happened upon this track of land and found it beautiful. So beautiful, in fact that he tracked down the owner and mande an offer to buy the land. The owner wasn't in the mood to sell, but the Japanese fellow must have made an impression because many years later he contacted the fellow and a sale was made.

The Japanese guy worked the area shown in these pictures into a beautiful garden-like setting with the rolling VT hills ads a back drop. The cliffs and woods around the ponds contained many hiking trails that had been used for many years. The Japanese guy built a house about where I took the first picture in this blog and when he completed his work on the gardens, decided it would be cruel not to share there beauty with the public. So, rather than put up "No Trespass" signs, he3 built a parking lot and posted directions on how to get to the gardens and provided trail maps for hikers-----WHAT A GUY!!!!!!!!!

Enjoy the several pictures I am posting and put this place on your "Bucket List"!!!!

Hank has not had much swimming since we left Allen, so he hopped right in when he saw these beautiful ponds.

Fall on Hedgehog Hill,VT

2011-09-26T17:36:00.001-04:00

I'm blogging in the Belmont library and very mindful of the fact that I've been neglectful in my duties as a travel moderator-----SORRY!!!! Dodging hurricanes and tropical storms have taken up much leisure time and we are just now getting settled back on the Hill.

I'll leave you today with a few shots of some of the gorgeous sugar maple leaves that I have been keeping an eye on.

Sugar maple leaf.

A silver maple--I think-- .

Easy to see the difference when you see both leaves to compare.

Whitehall, NY--Birthplace Of The US NAVY

2011-09-26T17:14:00.001-04:00

Whitehall is located at the southern-most tip of Lake Champlain and has the first lock off the lake in the NY State Canal system. Back in the day, canals were the life-blood of the NE.

Whitehall has a claim to be the home of the US Navy as Benedict Arnold had the ships used in the first naval battles of the Revolutionary War built in Whitehall. The ships moved out the the boat yard up onto Lake Champlain and conducted many of the battles in the Lake Champlain. In the mid-1970's,Whitehall had a bill drafted in the US House of Representatives and passed by the Senate and sent to the President of the US, recognizing it as the first home of the US Navy. The bill has never been signed as other locations claim to be the real birthplace of the US Navy. Whitehall's claim seems as good as any other claim, so I will informally recognize it myself. My hat's off to Whitehall,NY!!!!!

The USS Ticonderoga, one of the original ships built in Whitehall and used in the battles in Lake Champlain was raised from the Lake recently and placed along-side the canal in the Whitehall museum. Neat!!!!

Along side of the Ticonderoga was a famous "Whitehall" rowing boat. My dad and I built a couple of these boats back in the late 1970's and they are the sweetest rowing craft ever designed. The wine glass stern and prominent keel gave it a straight path when rowed. My sister Pattie still has one of them down on the Patuxent River in Hollywood MD.

Skene Manor

2011-09-26T17:07:00.001-04:00

A couple of shots taken from the canal looking back up the hill to Skene Manor.

Skene Manor---Whitehall,NY

2011-09-26T16:39:00.001-04:00

Skene Manor is a grand old Victorian home built high on a hill overlooking Whitehall, NY, which sits alongside the first lock on a canal to Lake Champlain. The property was granted to an Englishman in the early 1700's for his support of the English colonization of the Americas.

The home is constructed of locally mined stone and put together by fine craftsmen. The porte cochere was gracefully built over the side entrance as a shelter for arriving horse-drawn coaches.

These young guys had pedalled their bikes up from town just to get a tour of the home. One of the boys moms' had worked in the home several years ago when it was a restaurant. They were very interested in the para-normal history of the place. They wanted to knbow where the ghosts hung out!!!!! It turns out that one of the previous owners started spreading ghost stories about the place to drum up the restaurant business and the legends continue to this day!!!

Even the door hinges were beautiful!!!!

Note the workmannship on the banister railings!!!! The whole place was a work of art!!!

The grain in this door really caght my eye. Our docent said it was old growth local oak tree that were cut for the building of this home!!!!

Up on the third floor, a former owner had constructed a model of the downtown canal area in Whitehall. It has much detail and even shows how the barge traffic was routed into the canal locks.

This shot is looking down to the canal from the front porch of Skene Manor and Main St. Whitehall, NY. The large building slightly to the left in the picture is the museum.

Hurricane Storm Damage-Vermont

2011-09-26T16:29:00.001-04:00

The first two pictures are of a small bridge along Rt 103 just S of Ludlow. This road runs up to a ski / snowmobile rental business that used to be the home Woodchuck Apple Cider. The Black River completely washed away the short piece of pavement from Rt. 103 to the bridge. Go to full screen by clicking on the picture and you can see better how the approach to the bridge is gone.

Corn field washed away by the over-flowing rivers in VT.

Just bridge, no approaching roadway!!!!

Cavendish Storm Damage!!!!!!

2011-09-26T11:39:00.001-04:00

One of the neat stone homes in Cavedish---not damaged by Irene!!!!

This is a paved drive-way up to a home along the Black River-----it is completely gone. We talked to several home owners in the area and they told us that this fellow was not at home when the storm hit. He would have been stranded had he been home.

Now the primary damage along Rt 155 that runs from Ludlow to Claremont, NH.

Amazing----Rt 155 completely washed away!!!! It will be months before this gets repaired enough to drive on!!!!!

Ludlow, VT, Wastewater Treatment Plant

2011-09-26T10:49:00.001-04:00

Here is the easy going Black River that flooded downtown Ludlow and wrecked the wastewater treatment plant. It overflowed its' banks and went over the top of the holding tanks in the middle of the plant.

Loren showing where the flood water peaked!!!!

You can see the concrete holding tanks in the background that were over-flowed by the flood. Loren told us that they were built to be above the 100 yr. flood level----and they all went under water!!!!!

This is where we bring our RV every few weeks to dump the black water. The plant is still working although all of the fences have been washed away!!!!

Mushrooms in Vermont

2011-09-26T10:44:00.001-04:00

For the mushroom lovers in the crowd----here are some beauts!!!! Sylvia found these in Paqm and Ruth's yard directly across Hedgehogg Hill Rd. from us.

Can anyone ID these guys?????

VT--Hurricane Irene Damage

2011-09-26T10:26:00.002-04:00

While we were on the run from the dtorm, we spent a few days in Lake Gearge and visited with Neal and Margie Iverson. Neal is such a show-off, he just had to prove what a cook he is!!!!! Great pancakes and real maple syrup on top of them!!!!!

I'll run s few pictures tpo show you what we ran into when we arrived back in VT. The first shot is along the detour just off RT 7 S of Rutland. The small creek here over=flowed its banks and ran through the corn field.

This house along Rt. 103 is lucky to remain standing. Before the storm the creek was about 75 yds off to the E. The water rose so much that it washed away the land under the back of the house and the entire farmers field. All the top-soil is gone replaced with river rocks and debris.

Farmers field---no more! The river originally flowed through the trees in the back of the field.

We got back to VTabout two weeks after the storm and the crews were already at work trying to get the rivers back to their original routes. Many of the deeds are based on location of rivers and many of the rivers are no longer where they used to be. The lawyers say this will be an issue in buying and selling property for many years.

First sign of the coming Fall!!!!! This is one of the sugar maples along our drive way that I have been babying. Several days after this it turned a deep red and I'll show you some close-ups of the leaves.

Neal and Margie Iverson---Glens Falls,NY

2011-09-13T20:58:00.001-04:00

While we were out of VT, trying to escape hurricanes and floods, we decided to stay a few nights in Lake George and visit with Neal and Margie. We go back almost 40 years with them, since we both worked for the Navy in Washington, DC.

They live in Queensbury, NY, just S of Lake George.

Here is a shot Of Margie's backyard shade garden. She gave me a few of her Royal Standard hostas a few years ago and you ncan see that she has many of them beautifully growing out back.

Sylvia and I have driven through Glens Falls several times but have never taken the time to really see it. Neal and Margie gave us a good tour with the highlight being the falls in the middle of town.

Many of you have read James Fenimore Cooper's Last of the Mohicans----many have also seen the movie starring Daniel Day Lewis. One of the best scenes is of Hawkeye and the two women he was hiding from Maugua, taking refuge under a water fall, inside a cave. Well, here is the original cave that was shown to James Fenimore Cooper by a friend in the early 1800's. The friend recommended that Cooper could write a good story about this caveand he was right----Last of the Mohicans is surely one of the most famous American novels.

Neal reports that this t-shirt was abig hit on his recent trip to Ireland. It shows the Periodic Table of Beer. Very scientific!!!!!

A very enterprising young Glens Falls couple opened a brewery called Cooper's Cave Ale Company. Over the last several years they have expanded the brewery to include a gift shop and a nice restaurant serving casual food.

Neal,Margie and Sylvia pose just outside a replica of Cooper's Cave and the entry door to the restaurant.
They have about a dozen different ales. I only sampled one, but it was delicious and Neal reports that they are all very good.

Thanks Neal and Margie for bshowing us Glens Falls!!!!!!

Otesaga Resort

2011-09-13T20:07:00.003-04:00

The heart of Cooperstown is the magnificent Otesaga Resort. It sits about 3-4 blocks off Main St. and wraps around the tip of Otsego Lake. The resort restaurant sits just behind the 18th hole of the Leatherstockings Golf Course which reminds me of the 18th hole at Pebble Beach Golf course. The hole works its' way around the lake to a green that sits just below the resort porch on the banks of the lake. It is ranked in the top 50 of all US golf courses!!!!!!

Clearly the most imposing building in town.

Here is the view from the back porch of the resort.

Just makes me want to pull up a rocking chair and sit for a while. This is James Fenimore Cooper territory and I should have known better than to try to pull the leg of the Grill MGR. The name of the grill is the "Hawkeye" , so I asked the guy if the name was a tribute the the famous Navy Early Warning plane--the E-2 Hawkeye???? I was in a pair of shorts, sandals and my favorite Hogsbreath Saloon t-shirt and I could feel the guy eyeing me before answering. He very calmly looked down his nose and slowly said---Sir, the Hawkeye Grill is named after the lead character in James Fenimore Cooper's Last of the Mohicans. Natty Bumpo, nicknamed "Hawkeye", (for obvious reasons), is a world famous fictional character. I don't think he even realized I was just funning him.

The lunch was as good as the surroundings----so give it a try the next time you are in Cooperstown. While you are in the Grill, be sure to use the men's room just beside the grill. It uses heated ---I mean very hot---water in the toilet. It was quite an experience and I'll let you use your imagination as to what it was like. The next time we have a beer----PLEASE ASK ME ABOUT IT!!!!!!

The 18th Green of the Leatherstockings Golf Course!!!!

You don't get to see one of these old Studebakers very often. It looked like a perfectly restored daily driver!!!!

Cooperstown, NY

2011-09-13T19:52:00.002-04:00

OK,OK---you wanted to see the baseball Hall of Fame, so here it is!!!

We didn't go in as neither of us was that interested in the place---and what would we do with Hank?????

Here is a neat old home that was constructed completely with flat stones. Go to full screen to appreciate the skill that it took to construct this home.

The opening of the first Hall of Fame had some really interesting attendees!!!!

Cooperstown,NY

2011-09-09T21:36:00.002-04:00

Nice old Victorian hotels are scattered around town.

This statue was of an Indian brave and his hunting dog. It stood just beside the large lake that is the real centerpiece of Cooperstown---Lake Otsego.

Lake Otsego----about 10 miles long and a mile or so across.

It was a rainy day and we walked around town under umbrellas, but still enjoyed the beauty of the btown and the majestic lake. Most of you know I have boating in my blood and I would have loved to have hopped into one of the small ones in this picture and spent the entire day exploring the entire lake!!!!! Are you with me Terry and Bill????? Come on up North and let's go exploring!!!!!

The last two shots are of a guy and his yellow Lab. It was the old game of toss and retrieve and the lab was as excited about retreiving the ball on the tenth throw as he was on the first throw. Labs are great!!!!!

Cooperstown, NY

2011-09-09T21:10:00.001-04:00

Take a walk through the homes just off Main St. --Cooperstown, NY. The first two shots are of the old gov't office buildings---old, but very classy buildings.

The owners of these old homes have taken great pains to get the trim work right. The number of hours spent on the detailed painting I'm sure is staggering---but very beautiful!!!!

Several of these homes were just across the street from the court house and have been converted to law offices. Most were just everyday homes for the people of the town.

Looking at the paint on this house, a Vermonter must have escaped the Green Mountain state and taken up residence in Cooperstown.

Both Sylvia and I really liked the back yard gardens in this home. Great stone work, beautiful hydrangeas and a nice shady seating area---looked just about right!!!!!

Main St. Cooperstown

Cooperstown, NY

2011-09-09T20:50:00.001-04:00

While we were dodging hurricanes and thunderstorms, we decided to lighten up the stay in beautiful Bainbridge,NY with a trip to America's favorite place---Cooperstown, NY. Doesn't it follow that if baseball is the American game, then Cooperstown, home to the baseball Hall of Fame, must be the American city?????

We knew nothing about the town before our trip and were very pleased with our decision to go to Cooperstown as it is a beautiful American town. I'm sure the town hit its. peak beack in the early 1900's as the many gorgeous Victorian homes attest. But, downtown baseball was the name of the game.

Checkout the autographs on this framed paper in one window!@!!!! I wonder how many of them are real???? I didn't ask the owner, but was tempted.

The one deviation from baseball on Main St. Cooperstown, was donuts!!!! Schneider's Bakery was recommended to us by our next door neighbors in the Riverside RV park---Pete and Donna. In fact I brought Pete back a dozen donuts from the bakery. I also bought a few for myself.

Bainbridge,NY--Town Center

2011-09-04T19:08:00.002-04:00

Little Bainbridge has a beautiful park at the cross roads in the center of town. Obviously, a very proud and patriotic townthat has chosen to honor their citizens who gave their lives fighting for America and liberating other countries.

I know my buddy Rich will enjoy the effort this little town has gone to, to honor their soldier/citizen who didn't make it home alive.

Each soldier who gave their life is honored with a bronze plaque with a brief description of the circumstances surrounding their demise.

Archie Vail is one of the soldiers who never made it back home and is burried in the country he was killed in. It was good to see that most of the men were returned to their home town and burried.

Kenneth Keith was awarded the Purple Heart and later the Silver Star before being killed in Viet Nam.

Riverside RV Park--Bainbridge, NY

2011-09-04T11:49:00.001-04:00

On my walk into town this morning I snapped this shot of the welcoming sign for Bainbridge. It is a nice little town with friendly people, the beautiful Susquehanna flows right through the of town, it has a great RV Park and now I see that it is also the home of Elmer's Glue!!!!!! What's nnot to like about Bainbridge?????

Last night was Sylvia's birthday so I bought a cheese cake, put out a bottle of wine and invited several of our neighbors to help celebrate. In the green shirt is Pete, to his right is Donna Wilsey, further to the right is Judy Stebbins, The fellow in the orange shirt is Donna's hubby, Col. Allan Stebbins, a retired Army Ranger.

Sylvia has always been very interested in the Civil war and it turns out that Allan is also quite the historian. The whole group around the camp fire was entertained by the two of them debating the war strategies of various generals---both North and South----and how they contributed to the CivilWar effort. It was very educational and entertaining.

The war stories were too much for Hank, our PWD, so he slept through the whole affair.

As the days have passed, our little island is becoming more and more exposed. This is a shot I took during my morning walk from the bridge over the Susquehanna leading into Bainbridge.

Thr Riverside RV Park and our ALFA is right behind the little island.

Neighbor, Allan Stebbins, just after his morning walk and shower.

Note that Sylvia is being a good dog owner and is carrying one of Hank's recent bombs to the dumpster in a plastic bag. Sylvia is a good/great role model!!!!! Dog owners around the world-----Please take note!!!!!

Jim & Sandy Holt---Apalachin,NY

2011-09-03T17:49:00.002-04:00

We met Jim and Sandy Holt two years ago in Pensacola, FL. He is a retired Navy help pilot who then started a second career with IBM in up-state NY. We played several rounds of golf and in the evening played Mexican Train and other domino games. Great fun and much good conversation!!!!

Sylvia and I have been trying to get back together with them for the last couple of years and came close last year, only to be stymied by our well pump failure back in MD that required us to make a quick trip back home. This year, however, things worked out fine. We were Hurricane Irene evacuees staying in an RV Park that was less than an hour drive from their home. To show you what a small world we have, when I called Jim, he was actually going to play golf with his men's club at Afton Golf Club- the very next day!!!!!---the club that I have played twice this week and is only about 5 miles from our RV!!!! Sylvia and I went over to shoot the bull with him before he teed-off and we made plans to have dinner at their place the next night.

Jim has about 10 acres of lawn, horse pasture and woods to roam around in. Sylvia found this nice mushroom and had me take a picture of it to share with you!!!

Jim used to have 5-6 Hefflinger (sp) horses in his fields, but now has none. Just too much to worry about with a few horses to care for.

Jim's son Paul tends a beautiful garden and Jim was over-run with tomatoes while we were there. Jim and Sylvia picked a few of the ripe ones---enough that we have been able to share a few them with our neighbors here in Riverside RV Park. A big thanks from us and at least two other rv'ers for the good-looking tomatoes, Jim!!!!!!

See you next year Jim,----if not sooner. Thanks for a great visit.

Susquehanna River--Bainbridge,NY

2011-09-02T11:23:00.001-04:00

A few shots to show the progress along the Susquehanna River here in Bainbridge, NY.

When we first pulled in the green branch in the river was a little less exposed than in the first picture. We thought it was a branch snagged on something on the river bottom. Our neighbor told us it was actually a little island that, most of the time could be walked to in very shallow water.

The island is slowly showing itself!!!

Bainbridge, NY Susquehanna Riverside Campground

2011-09-01T13:03:00.001-04:00

We got out of Lakeside RV Park with a few inches to spare underneath the damaged power lines and headed back up I-88 toward VT. In less than 30 miles we hit a sign that said I-88 was closed ahead, so we got off the Interstate in Bainbridge. The little RV Park just off the Interstate sat on the banks of the Susquehanna River. The water was very high---several of the lower sites were under water but most were high and dry. They had space, 30 amps of electricity, water and sewer and only cost $22/night. We pulled in with the thoughts of only staying a night or two. as we have talked to our neighbors Pam and Ruth, many of the roads around Ludlow and Mt. Holly are badly damaged. So, we have decided to stay here through the holiday weekend and try to get nearer hedgehog Hill next Tuesday.

The first shot is out our window, looking towards the Susquehanna. It is only about 20 yards behind us!!!! This little park is a great find. The price is right, the owner is a good guy, several of the other RVers here are regulars that come here for several weeks each year. There is a nice little golf course within 5 miles of us---Afton Golf Club---that I have already played twice. It is pretty open and forgiving. 5870 from the white tees and has a slope rating of 112. Very few sand traps and smooth greens and lush fairways.

Here is Moby---the great white RV---sitting in our spot alongside the Susquehanna River. I hope we don't get any rain while we are here as the river rises and falls prety quickly!!!!

Just behind us, is the bridge over the Susquehanna that connects I-88 with Bainbridge,NY. Our neighbor tells us that during normal flow the tree showing above the fast moving waters is a small island that can easily walked to through very shallow waters. Nobody was going to try the walk while the water was this powerful!!!!!

Our neighbors, Pete and Donna Brady, travel with this handsome parrot. They are visiting from central FL as this is Donna's hometown.

I'm sure they are big Jimmy Buffet fans!!!!!

During my first round at the Afton Golf Club, I was teamed-up with a local couple who were out enjoying the great weather. As we talked, Dick told me he was recovering from a heart transplant about two years ago. I was very surprised as he was quite a good golfer who didn't appear to be having any problems. He told me that for a good while he was not a good candidate for transplant surgery and he was a bit depressed about it. Finally they put in a temporary pump to help his heart move blood through his body and many of his organs that were failing started to get better. He improved so much that he moved up the transplant list and finally got a new heart. Today he is as strong as a bull---maybe not as strong as he was 20 years ago---is in good shape and hits a golf ball a mile!!!!! Good luck to both Dick and his wife!!!!! Try to get out on the golf course a couple of times a week and walk as much as you can!!!!! It was my pleasure playing with you guys!!!! Playing you you two was very pleasant and relaxing-----our talk took my mind off of golf and I hit better shots that I normally do. I ended up scoring an 80 and I don't score that well very often. Keep charging!!!!

If you see this posting on my blog, please send me an email to let me know how you are doing!!!!!

This little beauty sits along RT 7 in Bainbridge just before the Afton Golf Club. I just had to snap a shot of it to share with you!!!!

Eat you hearts out Mike Ake, Bob Kambarn, Harold Brennan, Jack Smith, Neal Iverson and Terry Coll. I think it was just a shell advertising a hot rod shop back off the road. Never-the-less, it was a beaut!!!!!

Hurricane Irene--Lakeside Campground

2011-09-01T12:10:00.002-04:00

We left Hedgehog Hill last Friday morning after watching the progress of Irene. We were worried about our home on the Eastern Shore of MD as it looked to be directly in the storm's path and as the storm 's path developed, it was clear the VT/NH was going to get much rain and high winds even if the storm lost its; hurricane status. So we headed W into NY, all the way to Binghamton. Surely that was far enough W to be out of the way!!!!

Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures on the sunny day that we pulled into this RV Park. It had everything-----50 amps, cable TV, water and sewer. Just like my puppy dog Hank, I was in heaven!!!! My vision of heaven quickly changed as the rains and wind picked up late Saturday night. Trees were knocked over, power lines went down, creeks overflowed their banks and ponds flooded. The RV Park lost power and we were dry camping.

By Sunday morning the water in the lake rose onto the grassy area around the park office and owner's home. The ponds bank is normally about 25-30 yards in front of the office. Just after I took this shot I splashed my way to the office door and talked with the owner and his wife as they moved everything possible from the floor to a shelf or table-top. They have done this before and he was prepared to take his back-hoe to the downstream side of the pond and dig out the dam that held the water in the lake. Luckily, the rain slackened and the water only rose about another foot. The dam stayed in place, but there would be much clean-up in the park for the owner .

The camp had many places for smaller rigs and tenters right along the lake, but the larger RV's were all parked up high on the hill above the flooded area. No electricity or water, but at least we were high and dry!!!!

The couple in the RV directly across from us--Larry and Mary Anne Wienberg---were from Fredricksburg, VA and were also hurricane refugees. We enjoyed meeting them and had good conversation with them. We may even meet-up with them next year to explore VT and Canada. Mary Anne was a Canadian and knew the country well.

I scouted out the nearby golf courses in case we were in for an extended stay. The closest one--Golden Oaks--had this minor flood from a pond around a green and was closed for a day or two.

The last picture was only about 200 yds from the camp. I wasn't sure we could get the RV under it. By pulling off the road onto the shoulder on the right we had just enough room to get by it. There was another way out, but it was over several miles or dirt roads and I was not looking forward to trying it. As we were setting up I talked with another camper who said he had "blazed a trail" by coming in that way. It was passable, but I didn't want to try it with our ALFA.

Yes, we dodged a bullet by getting out of VT last Friday, but NY was just a notch behind them in damage. We should have gone much farther W than Binghamton, maybe Indiana or Montana!!!!!!

Grafton,VT

2011-09-01T12:01:00.001-04:00

I'm in Heaven!!!! Right here in Grafton,VT
Hank

Rich---To refresh your memory---Grafton was the little town that we took in the Ox Pull last year. This community center is where we had dinner. I'm almost afraid to go back to Grafton as the pictures on utube are so devastating. We both should have very good memories of sweet little Grafton,VT!!!!!!

Grafton,VT

2011-09-01T07:51:00.003-04:00

Last week, just before the storm hiut, Sylvia, Hank and I visited the beautiful little town of Grafton. It is about 30 miles S of Hedgehog Hill that is know for its' cheese factory and well preserved historic homes. It is a VT village that that is locked in the mid-1800's and the residents are proud of it. Go to U-Tube and see the videos of the damage done to this town. It will make you sad.

I'm a big fan of shade gardens and Grafton has a first class one right in the center of town. Of course they surrounded it with a stone wall---what else would they do with all of the rock they have up here!!!! I wanted to grab a cup of coffee and have a sit!!!!

I'm not sure if this bridge made it through the storm. The water in the next shot turned into a raging torrent and ,unfortunately, may have washed away this old beauty.

This neat old home was for sale----pre-storm they were asking $995K. I wonder how much they want now????

On Main St. sat this old hotel/restaurant with a great front porch for just sitting and watching the occassional car pass by.It is called -The Old Tavern, Est. 1801---

Terry---they have a great little bar inside, and we missed it!!!!!!

No VT town is complete without at least one old church with a great steeple on top. Grafton has this beauty.

Don Tarbell---Belmont ,VT

2011-08-30T21:02:00.001-04:00

Don Tarbell---local legend, at least 5th generation Belmontian!!!!

The cross road through Belmont is named Tarbellville Rd. At one time there were so many Tarbells around that it was named Tarbellville.

Sylvia and I were at the Mt. Holly Historical Society to hear a talk about early pioneers of the area and the speaker didn't show up. I started talking with Don and he launched into a stream of memories about growing up in Mt. Holly that was better than the planned talk. Several other long-time residents were also in attendance and it turned into a lively talk. Luckily there was a fellow there to record the planned talk and he turned on his equipment to capture the stories that Don and the others were telling.

Don told us he will be 92 the next time he has reason to celebrate!!!!Among the interesting stories he told was about the time in about 1930 when he and Clyde Flanders walked up Okemo Mt. from Clyde's home. The entire back-side of Okemo had just been logged-off and it was an easy walk up to the fire tower on top of Okemo. I have posted several pictures of the back-side of Okemo and today the same walk would be through a very thick forest that has not been logged since that time in 1930. It is now a Vermont State Forest----not a building nor road on it!!!!

Greg Durgin using his new tractor to smooth the sur-pac on the upper parts of our driveway. he had just finished digging a new ditch to the right of the driveway. Being a MD flat-lander, I didn't have the proper appreciation for the importance of ditches. In VT, they are critical to maintaining roads on steep slopes. Poor ditches=poor roads. Thanks to both Clyde and greg, I now have great ditches!!!!!

Since all this driveway work was done just before the hurricane hit I'm eager to see how the ditches and road held up. I jusat hope all the new sur-pac didn't wash down the hill into the beaver pond!!!!!

Belmont, VT

2011-08-30T18:46:00.001-04:00

In addition to the Thursday night Music Festival, Belmont sponsors a farmers market on Saturday and on this Saturday they had a string group in from Manchester to liven-up the market.

A local artist captures the event on a sketch pad, perhaps made into a water color or oil at a later time????

The young lady moved back to the base fiddle and these three guys really went crazy.

Buttermilk Falls--Black River,VT

2011-08-30T18:37:00.002-04:00

These beautiful falls are just off RT 103 between our spot on Hedgehog Hill and Ludlow. We have heard of them, but never actually saw them until this trip. The falls are actually 3 seperate drop-offs over about a 400 yd. distance.

These shots were taken the week before the hurricane came through VT. I would have liked to have seen them when the water was at full flow during the storm----from a safe distance, of course!!!!

Plymouth, VT

2011-08-30T18:25:00.001-04:00

Here is a good shot of the old-time hand-crank clippers that worked quite fine for shearing. This guy was a real expert and I think could have sheared them just fine bare-handed.

At his peak, he was timed at just 40 seconds to shear a complete sheep!!!!!

Toe nail manicure!!!!

Just to aggravate those among you who are now paying near $4.00/gal.

How does $.14/gal sound????

Sylvia looking at the ripening apple crop with some of Plymouth in the background.

Plymouth, VT--Sheep Shearing

2011-08-30T09:51:00.002-04:00

While visiting the birthplace of Calvin Coolidge last week with Terry and Ellen, we noticed a posting about a sheep shearing demo coming up. We were both interested in this, so we went back to Plymouth and were part of a group of about 20-30 people who watched a skilled sheep-shearer display his skills.

I was amazed at how relaxed the sheep was as he moved the sheep around to a variety of positions to get all the wool off. I asked him if he had drugged the littler guy and he said no, but getting the sheep to relax was a very big part of the job. The sheep was so relaxed, I thought it may have passed on during the 30-40 minute demo and was relieved to see it stand at the conclusion of the shearing.

The fellow used the old fashioned hand powered shears, electric shears and a hand-crank set of cutters that looked a lot like a dentist's drill to shear the sheep.

No, this is not a dead sheep, but a very relaxed and skillfully held one.

A little toe nail manicre is in order while getting a hair-cut---why not????

Alive, well and freshly cut!!!!! Note the un-cut guy still in the pen that will be used for the next demo.

How long does it take to shear a sheep---I know you were dying to ask that question----????

a. 20 min.
b. 10 min.
c. 40 sec.
d. 5 min.

I'll stop posting for today and let you ponder that deep question. E-mail me with your best answer.

Belmont, Cuttingsville, Shrewsberry---VT

2011-08-30T08:40:00.006-04:00

I'm writing this in a small RV park just beside the upper reaches of the Susquehanna River in Bainbridge NY.---30AUG11. We had a great few weeks on Hedgehog Hill but the forecast was for much rain from a hurricane forming out in the Atlantic. We watched the Weather Channel every day and much to our chagrin, both Allen,MD and Belmont VT were in the storms predicted path. Last Friday we decided to retreat from our hill and head inland far enough to miss the brunt of Irene.

Sylvia and I were both disappointed as we just had a truck-load of Sur-Pak laid on our driveway and it was now smoother than it has been in many years. Greg brought over his tractor with a blade on it and smooth it out for us. On Thursday we bouight some blueberry bushes and a couple of hydrengeas and now they sit, un-planted, back on Hedgehog Hill awaiting our return.

As I have mentioned before, Hedgehog Hill is a communication signal dead-zone, so we must leave it to phone or compute. We used to go the 7 miles down to a coffee house but the Belmont General Store's new owner has installed wifi hot spot and a cell phone booster antena. They both work great, so the first shot is of Sylvia computing from the Belmont store. The new owner just sold his home and business in California and bought the store in Belmont about 6 weeks ago. He is making some much needed upgrades!!!!! Note the base of the table---not your typical 4-legged variety, but a very artsy Vermont table base!!!!!

We love to watch the clouds pass by as I'm sure many of you also do. A big difference from the cloud scene on MD's eastern shore is that up hear, the clouds bump into the mountain tops as they pass by!!!!!

We have been eating-in most of the time for breakfasts, but finally headed down to Cuttingsville last week for breakfast at our favorite spot----Over Easy. The owner--Ron--- puts out a great feed and is also and avid golfer. The bulletin board has a newspaper story about his recent hole-in-one at the Rutland Vountry Club. He has given me a rundown on the courses in the area and now my challenge is to play them!!!! Rich Young and I are working the list down, but many still to go.

The last shot is of the Pierce store up in the Shrewsberry mountains above Cuttingsville. Several years ago the store owner had to close it, but rather than simply closing the doors and going out of business, the neighbors formed a co-op to run the place. It is the only store for many miles and would have been greatly missed. During our visit we talked with a couple working in the old store. They said the co-op provides workers from near-by homes. One volunteer will do inventory and ordering for a few months and then pass the job on to another person. Someone else does the baking, another person works the cash register, someone else stocks the shelves and it is all done with volunteer help----no wages are paid!!!!!!! Vermont is a very unique place and Sylvia and I have slowly fallen in love with the incredible beauty and the strong spirit of the people. Most other places, the locals would merely complain about the store being forced to close and bemoan the long drive they now face for shopping. In VT, they solved the problem with personal initiative. There is a strong, self-help---don't look to the Gov't to solve all of your problems--conservative spirit alive and well in VT. I hope that there is a conservative uprising in VT that sweeps our only openly Socialist Senator out of office soon. VT deserves better!!!!

Check out the W.E. Pierce store in Shrewsberry the next time you find yourself cruising around VT!!!!!

Bob and Barb Kambarn

2011-08-20T18:01:00.001-04:00

Hedgehog Hill is an electronic signal dead zone, so I only check my voice mail every couple of days and I had a great surprise when the first message was from Bob Kambarn, a neighbor from Allen MD, who was up in VT exploring around---Hemmings Auto Museum, in Bennington---VT. They thought we might be somewhere nearby, so Bob left a message on my cell phone. They were in Manchester, VT, by the time I called back,so we arranged a vist. I called a friend Emily Clifford who runs a B&B and luckily she had a room for the night.

After an Italian meal at the Bella Luna in Ludlow we went to the outdoor concert at Jackson Gore. A group named something like---Farmer Dan and the midnight Plowboys---were playing country/mountain tunes. Lots of good fiddle tunes!!!!! We were alln shorts and the temps was dropping so we didn't stay for the entire performance. We went back to the RV and shot the bull!!!!

The next morning Sylvia and I went over to Emily'
s B&B to have coffee with the crew. Emily had another guest , John from CT, who also joined us for the morning VT bull-session.

Emily's back porch looks directly across an open field to Killington MT. Very good sight!!!!

Belmont Motor Works

2011-08-20T17:49:00.002-04:00

The next driveway down Hedgehog Hill Road is the home of Belmont Motor Works. Our neighbor, Greg Durgin, has a well equiped machine shop and he can handle anything from small gas motors to motorcycles to full sized cars. He has helped us out with problems we were having with a gas generator on an earlier RV we owned and also does brush hogging and driveway repair. He is a very handy guy to have in the neighborhood!!!!!

Greg was just back in town from a trip to Ireland with his family, so I gave him a few days to return to earth before pestering him for help with our problems.

I promised Greg that I would post his phone number for those who may need his service----802 259 3178. Motorcycles, cars, old or new---talk with Greg about fixing whatever ails your machine. He also has a new tractor and a back-hoe, so if you need work done on your property, greg is the guy to talk with. Snow plowing?????? call Greg!!!!!

Greg is restoring this 30 year old Harley for a customer in VT. If you have motorcycle or auto issues---Greg can handle it.

Plymouth,VT

2011-08-20T17:37:00.001-04:00

About 20 years ago, Terry fell in love with a painting of a snowy church across an open field with the moon showing faintly through the clouds. I liked it too and we both have a numbered print of this painting hangin in our homes. The painting is of the little chuch in Plymouth, VT, birth place in Calvin Coolidge.

Terry took several photos from the spot where the original artist must have sat to paint the picture. Of course, it wasn't snowing when we were there and the moon was still in hiding.
This is the small building behind the Plymouth General stoe where Calvin was born.

Two shots of the store and the add-on structure where the future president was born.

Counterpoint-Bob Decormier

2011-08-20T17:23:00.001-04:00

Sunday afternoon, the four of us--Terry, Ellen, Sylvia and myself--attended the Counterpoint show at the little community chuch in Weston,VT. We have listened to them perform before and they are a fantastic vocal group directed by our neighbor Bob DeCormier. This year he was under the weather and another fellow directed the performance. None-the-less, they are spectacular. A note from the editor----About 2/3s of the songs were in Yiddish, a language I don't speak nor understand. I would have enjoyed the performance more had there been a few more songs in english. Just a thought!!!!!

No trip to Weston is complete with a trip behind the old play house to see the waterfall beside the old tinsmith shop. It is now a museum featuring the tools of the early craftsmen who worked metal goods. All powered by the water wheel!!!!

This neat old house beside the church always merits a spot in the blog!!!! Great hydrengeas!!!!!!

Hostas in Rutland VT

2011-08-20T17:13:00.001-04:00

Along Rt 7 in Rutland, just beside the art show, was a statue honoring the famed Green Mountain Boys of VT.

The hostas grow like weeds up here and I am jealous!!!! I do have some good ones, but they all grow great up in VT.

After the art show we went down to Wallingford to grab a bite to eat. This was a great little old Victorian home converted to a restaurant, but the were only serving a brunch so, after looking the place over closely, we decided to go down the road to Weston for lunch.

Sylvia and I will go back to this place as it has been catching our eye for several years-----stay tuned for a report!!!!!

Terry and Ellen Coll on Hedgehog Hill

2011-08-20T16:56:00.001-04:00

Terry made it down off the big rock with no broken bones but wanted a seat back on mother earth just the same. This little shade garden sits higher up on our hill and is a great place to relax, read the paper and shoot the bull. We did all three!!!!

Ellen liked the white birches on Hedgehog Hill. They grow so well up here but have a hard time down in MD.

Sunday we headed up to Rutland for the Art in the Park Show. VT artisans from all around the state bring their art work to town and exhibit the work along the main street in town. It is a well attended affair and we have bought several pieces from this art show.

This fellow is working on a cartoon based poster. Go to full screen and you will recognize many of the cartoon characters he was capturing.

A couple of years ago we bought a work by Judith Gould and she was back at the show again this year. Judith works mostly in water colors and does great natural scenes in VT. We almost bought another of her works this year but finally decided to get a stainless steel wind mobil for our shade garden back home. Next time you visit us, please ask to see the new addition to the garden!!!!!

Mt. Holly VT.

2011-08-20T16:43:00.001-04:00

The night was clear,
and the moon was yellow,
and the leaves came tumbling down!!!!

Lloyd Price----Stagger Lee

It is really alittle too early in the year for the leaves to be falling, but Lloyd Price's old song came to mind as I looked at this shot on Hedgehog Hill. Terry and Ellen Coll were coming up in the next day or so and we planned to watch a meteor shower from our hill. It looked to me that the bright moon was going to drown out the chance for good star watching.

Sylvia's home town of Claremont, NH was having a dog wash to raise money for a new dog park in town, so we took Hank over for a good scrub!!

After a days delay, Terry and Ellen arrived on Saturday afternoon and sure enough Terry wanted to climb up on my very own boulder!!!! I also climbed up and Sylvia snapped a couple of shots for the record book!!!!

Okemo Mt. Vermont

2011-08-16T16:58:00.001-04:00

A look at Okemo Mt. from downtown Ludlow. On the right is the old GE power plant that has been converted to condos many yeqars ago.

We always enjoy the many village music festivals that go on all over VT in the summer. We always catch the Thursday night session in our little town of Belmont.

On Friday nights we catch the bigger show at the Jackson Gore lawn on Okemo Mt. Last week they had a group named Love in Stockholm. The local paper gave them rave reviews, but they loud and raucous at best. the setting is spectacular and the beer was cold, so it didn't matter what the music was like. Terry and Ellen were supposed to arrive this afternoon and this would be their welcome to VT event, but it was just Sylvia, myself and our trusty dog Hank as Terry was under the weather and arrived the next afternoon.

Poultney, VT

2011-08-16T16:37:00.001-04:00

After playing golf with Rich Young the day before , the little town of Poultney looked like it was a good place to explore with Sylvia. It is a very nice, old-time VT town built around a small college. I believe that its' name is the Green Mountain College. While were were walking around town we struck up a conversation with a young girl and her uncle who were in town from New Mexico to see if this college was the one for her. She ws looking at several colleges in the NE and will make a decision in the next couple of months.

Poultney has several well-constructed old homes along Main St. and this is just one of the more well kept of them.

We had coffee and sandwiches at this neat old train station that has been converted into an eatery. They need more help that are interested in cooking and serving food. I asked the young lady who was taking orders and operating the cash register what was on their signature/special sandwich---Buffalo Jerk---and she told me she didn't know. A real informative and motivated young lady???? If any of you are interested in a job in the food industry in VT, I think I know a place where they are hiring!!!!!

Down the road from Poultney, near Lake Bomoseen, we ran across this very pretentious looking home along side the highway. It really needed to be set back from the road a few hundred yards, with a well manicured driveway lined with old sugar maples!!!!!! It really caught our eyes as we drove by.

Just N of Bomoseen we drove through another small town that had a beautiful little college in it. Vt has more little private colleges than we thought.

Hedgehog Hill, VT

2011-08-11T11:16:00.001-04:00

Life is tough in the wilds of Vermont!!!!

Our neighbor Greg mowed the clearing before we arrived, so all we had to do was drive up the hill and relax!!!!

Jackson Gore-Summer Music Series

2011-08-11T11:02:00.001-04:00

First shot is just before the group started playing and the crowd was just arriving. great location for a concert as the lodge blocks the wind but the early evening sun is still in full force.

We didn't bring our folding chairs with us so we took a seat around the fire pit just beside the stage.

About 3-400 folks sat back from the stage and enjoyed the rock/blues music from the Sly Geralds.
Next week Terry and Ellen are coming up and we hope to catch another group performing on Friday night.

As the concert was winding down and the sun was setting we ran into a group of three young college students visiting VT for a couple of weeks. They were staying at the Hawk Inn but were at Jackson Gore for the music. They went to school in Minnesota, but loved VT. At least two of them had voted for Obama but now were unsure if he was the right guy for the job. The third girl was a solid conservative and knew he was not the right guy to run the country. very bright girls!!!!!

Jackson Gore-Music Series

2011-08-11T10:54:00.003-04:00

Jackson Gore Resort at Okemo Mt. sponsors a free summer music series on Friday nights. They invite local groups from New England to come and play on the grassy field just behind the lodge. Vermont craft brew beer on draft and a variety of foods made for a very enjoyable evening.

Vermont--2011

2011-08-11T10:44:00.001-04:00

Arrived in VT last week and ran into Pam and Rich Young at the Belmont Odd Fellows Dinner on Friday night. Visited with them the next day at their neat log home on the other side of Hegdehog Hill . Pam wipped up a cool drink while Rich made tee times fdor us at Lake St. Catherine's Golf Club.

View from their back deck looking towards Belmont and the West side of Hedgehog Hill.

Lots of hills on the golf course in VT!!!!

Chincoteague Fishing Trip

2011-08-11T10:36:00.001-04:00

Terry invited me down to Chincoteague for a fishing trip out in the bay in front of his house. We were hoping for a mess of flounder but onlky caught under-sized hardheads. Regardless, it was a great day out on the water-----Thanks, Terry!!!!

Crepe Myrtles in Allen, MD

2011-08-11T10:26:00.001-04:00

Our crepe Myrtles are finally getting some size to them. We bought them as very tiny little plants in 2004 and now the tallest are getting to 6'. We wanted the purple flowering plants as a good contrast to the yellow siding on our house.

Not many real honey bees around any more, but I caught this guy loading up on crepe myrtle nectar in our front yard.

Hostas and Hydrangeas

2011-07-02T21:39:00.001-04:00

A fw years back while visiting Tom and Sandra Madren in Tappahannock, VA, they gave us a couple of small plants to take to our new home on the eastern shore of MD.

I have moved them once and now they have a home on the North side of the house that they appear to like. The Oak Leaf Hydrangeas has blossoms that are near 18 inches long. They open in a pure white color and then fade to a nice pink.

The Nandina, to the left of the hydrangea, also has taken a liking to the location.

Aren't you proud of me Sandra????

Two years ago, while on our way to VT, we stopped by for a visit with Neal and Margie Iverson near Lake George, NY. Margie also gave us some plants to take home with us.

Margie ---take a look over Hank's right shoulder----that is one of the little Royal Standard (I think that is the name ) hostas that you gave us. It is about 30-35 inches tall and about 45 inches across. As you can see it is keeping up with my hydrangeas. This garden is on the east side of the house that gets morning sun and then is shaded in the afternoon---seems to work. These hostas---I also have several other types with them---are growing much better than those in the shade garden. The sun really makes them grow.

Crawfish Boil in Houston

2011-07-02T21:13:00.003-04:00

Tom and Taylor's next door neighbor, Kyle had a crayfish boil while we were visiting. Crawfish and beer---not a bad way to spend an afternoon!!!!

Kyle is a helo pilot for the Houston Police Dept. and all around good guy. He has been flying for several years now and has many great stories. We have a good time talking aviation.

Kyle is the fellow in the middle in the second shot.

Kyle didn't cook them all in one shot , so there were many live ones in the big Igloo cooler. Of course the young girls picked out the big handsome ones from the cooler and named them.

"No Kyle, you absolutely can't cook my Rocky. What kind of barbarian are you????"

Clear Lake Lacrosse

2011-07-02T21:00:00.001-04:00

Tom and his buddy Rob coach a youth Lacrosse team of 7-8th graders. Their team made it to the championship game before losing!!!!! Well done Tom and Rob!!!!!

None of the big Texas colleges fields lacrosse teams at the present time, but the game seems to be catching on around Houston. Some of the youth football coaches even want their players to play lacrosse as it is good conditioning and keeps them out of trouble.

Golfing in Houston

2011-07-02T20:50:00.001-04:00

Tom and I , along with a couple of his friends, played in a Charity golf outing during our visit.We shot 8-10 under par but we were out of the money.

Many pretty young ladies running around the course kept everyone in a good mood and on our best behavior.

Just off one of the tees, the ladies set up a frozen drink operation. You could order what you wanted and then the bar tender would pour it onto the top of the long block of ice. To receive your drink you had to place your chin on the end of the ice block and wait for the drink to run down the grove cut into the ice. None of us tried one, but it looked like fun. The ladies had to practice their pouring technique on themselves since we didn't order any drinks. Tough job!!!!

Morgan Lee

2011-07-02T20:39:00.001-04:00

I did take a few shots of Morgan while we visited in May. Neither Sylvia nor I can believe how fast she is growing up. We Skype with them a couple of times a week and now she is crawling ---on the floor and up stairs--- pulls herself up to a standing position, and reads the Bible regularly. Just kidding on the last item, just wanted to see if you were still awake!!!!

She is almost 9 mos. in these shots.

Houston--Mission Control Center

2011-07-02T20:27:00.001-04:00

Son Tom coaches a Lacrosse team in the Clear Lake section outside Houston and one of the players dad was a mission control director at the Space Center. He volunteered to take us on a guide tour -----we had a great time and must thank Scott for the very informative tour.

Pictures of recent Shuttle Commanders. Top left is the husband of US Representative Giffords who was shot in the head during a political rally in AZ. I'm happy to report that she has made a miraculous recovery and went to FL to watch the recent shuttle launch that her husband commanded.

Each mission has its' own patch to commemorate the mission---hear are just a few.