Cap'n Bob & the Damsel

Travel

States Visited Meme

my-states.jpg

I saw this meme on the FecesBook™ thing and didn’t do anything about it. Then, I started seeing it show up on the blogs I read, most notably Every Blade of Grass, so I decided to participate.

I have been lucky to have visited a lot of places, domestically and internationally, because of Military Service, occupational deployment, personal vacation and travel, plus my secondary occupation as a pilot and flight instructor. My count of states visited in this country is up to forty-eight of them, only missing Iowa and North Dakota. I assure you, those two are on the bucket list.

We may visit the missing two this summer, depending on how things work out, but in any event, we will extend our 2017 Eclipse Vacation to include the two missing states. There are a lot of interesting things to see and do in that region of the country and we look forward to the trip.

I made this map using the link to MapLoco to Create your own states map. Click on the image to enlarge.

08 Jan 2016 by Blogosphere Travel Wanderlust

One Decade Ago

Anchorage Street Fair

Throwback Thursday! Ten years ago over the Independence Day Holiday, Damsel and I flew to Anchorage for an Alaska-by-rail tour. We left LAX, connected through Portland and got to Anchorage mid-afternoon. The day we got there, there was a street fair in town a couple of blocks from the hotel. We hung out there for a while and came back for the buffet at the hotel later.

The next morning we embarked on the first leg of the trip winding up at Denali National Park where we stayed that night. There were plenty of museums, a dog sledding exhibit and other activities to entertain us. On the Fourth of July, they shot off fireworks at nine PM, but they were difficult to see in the sunlight (land of the midnight sun and all that). Our hotel cabin was on the south bank of the Denali River.

The following morning, we waited in the rain while the train pulled into the station at Denali. You can see the rainfall in the photo above. Click on the image to enlarge.

The rain stopped a little way up the tracks and it was clear all the way to Fairbanks. We spent a good evening at the hotel that night, taking a break from the TV entertainment to go outside and truly witness the midnight sun. Wow!

The next day was a flight from Fairbanks to Portland and thence back to LAX where we rescued the truck from the parking lot and headed back home. It’s really hard to realize that was ten years ago.

02 Jul 2015 by Holidays Travel Wanderlust

Meet Alex

Alex

This is Alex, our eight-month old great grandson, playing in a baby playset on the RV drive. He and his Mommy (our granddaughter) flew from California to visit us for the weekend. It was the first time that we got to see and hold him in person, rather than on the FecesBook™ thing.

Alex (Alexander David) is a delightful little guy, who is also gregarious, wanting to interact with people. He was not afraid of his great grandparents one bit and exhibited his coy little smiles and attempts at talking with us more often than not. Like all babies, he has his less cheerful moments with teething and other discomforts, but all in all, he was great to have around for a few days.

The both of them have gone back home, but I’m sure that they had a nice time visiting us. We hope to take a trip out west to see them and many of our friends and relatives real soon.

18 May 2015 by Arizona People Photography Travel

Moving the Travel Trailer

Moving Trailer

The big chore today was moving the trailer across the road to the new lot we bought. The new spot is not its permanent storage location, but we moved it there temporarily so the work of building retention walls and paving the RV drive around the house can be done. We had planned to tow the trailer to the lot across the road and had the blessing of the previous landowner, but now, it’s a moot point since we closed escrow over three weeks ago.

This is the first time that we towed the trailer with the new Ford F-150. As soon as we got the trailer electrical cable hooked up to the truck, the electronic readout in the drivers instrument console started reporting information about the trailer. Since I was busy with the move, I didn’t take the time to check out all the data there. I will consult the owner’s manual before the next time we hitch up the trailer.

04 Feb 2015 by Retirement Technobabble Travel Wanderlust

Gas Guzzler vs. Economy Car?

Big and Little Gas

On our way into Southern Cal today, we passed this RV that was towing one of those funny (and ugly) little economy cars. I guess the mindset being that if we burn x gallons per mile getting where we go, we can make up for it by cramming ourselves into our towed ride which gets beaucoup miles per gallon and tour the local area after parking the big dude in the RV park. I think that unless they drive hundreds and hundreds of miles locally, they may not completely offset each other’s gas consumption.

Now, don’t get me wrong – we all know the energy “crisis” is a complete fraud and I have no problem with consumers consuming whatever resources thy can afford. We do the same when we travel. It just seems to me that if you’re going to consume “precious” resources, that you should be towing a Hummer and not that pathetic little Nissan POS. Just sayin’.

29 Sep 2014 by Environment Travel Wanderlust

Eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains

Rock Outcropping

We left Reno, NV, this morning only to return to California on US 395. Shortly after encountering beautiful Lake Topaz in Nevada, we drove through the agricultural check point that California maintains. The uniformed attendant asked where we were traveling from and just waved us through. (If it only were to check for legitimate US citizenship, it would be a great improvement, but that’s off-topic.)

The scenery along 395 along the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada Mountains through the Owens Valley is breathtaking. If you don’t happen to like the scenery, wait five minutes as you travel and it will change. Just moments before I photographed this rock outcropping on a mountain peak, we were in a forest of redwood trees and the road ran alongside a creek with considerable water flowing in it, whitewater in some places. Just after I took the photo, the road came to an overlook with majestic Mono Lake in the distance.

15 Sep 2014 by Photography Travel Wanderlust

Zinnia

Zinnia

Before we left Torrance this morning bound for Fresno, CA, we stopped at a convenience store to get ice for the cooler. Just outside the store, I noticed a small flower garden with Zinnias in several colors. I couldn’t resist pausing long enough to get a close-up of this orange beauty. Click on the image to enlarge.

We are spending the night here in Fresno on our way to Santa Rosa, CA, in order to be with our granddaughter on the occasion of her giving birth to our first great grandson. We will report further developments tomorrow when we arrive at the destination (a four hour plus drive from here).

11 Sep 2014 by California Flowers Photography Travel

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