Monday, January 13, 2014
Sunday, January 12, 2014
Moving On :: Back in the Lower 48
Wednesday, September 1st - - It was cool this morning when I woke up but there was sunshine and blue skies overhead, for which I was very thankful. After finding free wifi (at a Safeway grocery store!) in Smithers and spending an hour uploading and scheduling blog posts, it was almost eleven o'clock before I was on my way once again.
Yesterday I had gotten to the end of the Cassiar Highway and turned east onto the Yellowhead Highway (Route 16). The last two hours on the Cassiar I saw perhaps two dozen vehicles. That number was surpassed in two minutes on the Yellowhead. It was as though I had turned the corner and gone into a whole different world. Not only was there more traffic, but the landscape was different too. There were still mountains and forests but there were also open areas of pasture and farmland. Houses, and buildings, and utility poles lined the highway for miles. Towns! And traffic! Civilization? Instead of watching out for bears and moose and other four legged critters I had to watch out for other drivers.
I continued east on the Yellowhead Highway to Prince George where I turned south on the Cariboo Highway (Route 97). There was road construction on the Cariboo, which caused some delay but it wasn't too bad although traffic was backed up for quite a ways. In one section they had completely torn up the road bed and it was a big mess. Concentrating on getting through that area I caught a glimpse of something walking along the side of the highway. I couldn't hardly believe my eyes – it was a black bear! And a pretty good-sized one too. There were no construction workers nearby so no one was in any immediate danger but still, it was there amongst all the noise and traffic, out in the open, and I could see it in my rear-view mirror as I drove on.
A short time later I stopped at the Canyon Creek Campground and RV Park in Hixon, about 35 miles south of Prince George. It had been a short driving day, only 265 miles. And it was only 410 miles more to the U.S. Border.
I would be remiss in not mentioning the fact that today - September 1, .. - marks the beginning of the second year of this incredible journey. One year ago I embarked upon an odyssey that has taken me places I had only dreamed of and some places that I had never heard of...
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Thursday, September 2nd - - It was another chilly morning. Cloudy but no rain. Continued heading south on the Cariboo Highway to Cache Creek where I turned west onto Trans-Canada Highway 1. By the time I got to Cache Creek at two o'clock the temperature had risen to 74 degrees – the warmest temperature I'd seen in three weeks! And it felt good. At 4:30, even though I was only about 60 miles from the U.S. border, I stopped for the night at the Telte-Yet Campground in Hope, British Columbia - it was 77 in the shade! Awesome. After paying for the campsite, I had $10 in Canadian currency left and figured this would be my last night in Canada, so I walked across the steet to Dairy Queen and had a banana split to commemorate the occasion!
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Friday, September 3rd - - Sunny skies once again. Left Hope at 9:30 this morning and got to the Sumas, Washington border crossing at 10:45 along with lots of other vehicles. I lucked out and got into a fast-moving lane - it only took twenty minutes to get through. There was no fancy sign, like in Alaska, welcoming me back – just this electronic billboard flashing its message...
I was “home” again, and happy to be here!
Yesterday I had gotten to the end of the Cassiar Highway and turned east onto the Yellowhead Highway (Route 16). The last two hours on the Cassiar I saw perhaps two dozen vehicles. That number was surpassed in two minutes on the Yellowhead. It was as though I had turned the corner and gone into a whole different world. Not only was there more traffic, but the landscape was different too. There were still mountains and forests but there were also open areas of pasture and farmland. Houses, and buildings, and utility poles lined the highway for miles. Towns! And traffic! Civilization? Instead of watching out for bears and moose and other four legged critters I had to watch out for other drivers.
I continued east on the Yellowhead Highway to Prince George where I turned south on the Cariboo Highway (Route 97). There was road construction on the Cariboo, which caused some delay but it wasn't too bad although traffic was backed up for quite a ways. In one section they had completely torn up the road bed and it was a big mess. Concentrating on getting through that area I caught a glimpse of something walking along the side of the highway. I couldn't hardly believe my eyes – it was a black bear! And a pretty good-sized one too. There were no construction workers nearby so no one was in any immediate danger but still, it was there amongst all the noise and traffic, out in the open, and I could see it in my rear-view mirror as I drove on.
A short time later I stopped at the Canyon Creek Campground and RV Park in Hixon, about 35 miles south of Prince George. It had been a short driving day, only 265 miles. And it was only 410 miles more to the U.S. Border.
I would be remiss in not mentioning the fact that today - September 1, .. - marks the beginning of the second year of this incredible journey. One year ago I embarked upon an odyssey that has taken me places I had only dreamed of and some places that I had never heard of...
==========
Thursday, September 2nd - - It was another chilly morning. Cloudy but no rain. Continued heading south on the Cariboo Highway to Cache Creek where I turned west onto Trans-Canada Highway 1. By the time I got to Cache Creek at two o'clock the temperature had risen to 74 degrees – the warmest temperature I'd seen in three weeks! And it felt good. At 4:30, even though I was only about 60 miles from the U.S. border, I stopped for the night at the Telte-Yet Campground in Hope, British Columbia - it was 77 in the shade! Awesome. After paying for the campsite, I had $10 in Canadian currency left and figured this would be my last night in Canada, so I walked across the steet to Dairy Queen and had a banana split to commemorate the occasion!
==========
Friday, September 3rd - - Sunny skies once again. Left Hope at 9:30 this morning and got to the Sumas, Washington border crossing at 10:45 along with lots of other vehicles. I lucked out and got into a fast-moving lane - it only took twenty minutes to get through. There was no fancy sign, like in Alaska, welcoming me back – just this electronic billboard flashing its message...
I was “home” again, and happy to be here!
Buddy and Diane Visit Us at The Villages
We had a visit from some of our favorite people in the world: Buddy and Diane. They came during the week that Nathan and I went back down to Wauchula, but luckily they waited for us to get back for a night out with them and Rich and Donna.
We headed down to Wildwood to eat at a place that Rich and Donna had been to before, the Cotillion Southern Cafe.
We had dinner reservations at 4:30. We arrived early enough to peek at the menu that had sitting out front. It looked like a wonderful country cooking menu to me. Once we were inside I could see how unique this place really was. The decorations were so down home and relaxing, right down to our mis-matched dishes at our table. Most importantly was the food there. It was very good! We ordered a variety of dishes and we all agreed that our food was wonderful. I highly recommend this place to anyone in the area.
We enjoyed our night of fun, food and most important of all: Friends!
Wish You Were Here!
I just saw Sallie's comment on my last post, while working on pictures for this post. She asked where we were staying. Sallie, we are staying at Sunshine Key RV Resort and Marina and it is a great park!
I do understand her comment on the jealousy because we are rarely jealous of where people are at. We know we are at a great place or we wouldn't be there, or we'll be in their great place sometime. If I were going to be jealous though....it would be over this place. Out of all the places we've been to, this is our favorite by far.
We started out the day with this view:
Then we headed out to see what is here.
This is Austin's "wish you were here" pose.
This is the marina here:
This is Coco wondering what on earth was in this water:
And this is just some of the fish we saw today:
The rest of the day was just as wonderful. We swam in the pool, we hung out at our site, we grilled lunch and dinner. After all of that, we came back to the fishing and swimming pier. Nathan did some snorkeling. He found a conch shell:
And we sat and watched the sunset with Coco:
I could get used to this!
Living the life in the Florida Keys!
I do understand her comment on the jealousy because we are rarely jealous of where people are at. We know we are at a great place or we wouldn't be there, or we'll be in their great place sometime. If I were going to be jealous though....it would be over this place. Out of all the places we've been to, this is our favorite by far.
We started out the day with this view:
Then we headed out to see what is here.
This is Austin's "wish you were here" pose.
This is the marina here:
This is Coco wondering what on earth was in this water:
And this is just some of the fish we saw today:
The rest of the day was just as wonderful. We swam in the pool, we hung out at our site, we grilled lunch and dinner. After all of that, we came back to the fishing and swimming pier. Nathan did some snorkeling. He found a conch shell:
And we sat and watched the sunset with Coco:
I could get used to this!
Living the life in the Florida Keys!
Friday, January 10, 2014
Iconic British Telephone Booth
OMG, I got paparazzi'd yesterday in Sheffield while inside the iconic British telephone booth! LOL
Solar Eclipse
We had a perfect view of the solar eclipse that was on last Sunday evening. We took some photos even though we didn't have good equipment for it. We used my small digital camera with a welding helmet held in front of the camera. The first photo is of the sun before the eclipse started and we got some solar flares in it, too. Second photo taken with a welding helmet with a yellow lens in it. The others were taken with a helmet that had a green lens. We got some not so good shots and some that weren't that bad considering our makeshift equipment. Hubby was upset they didn't look better but I though getting anything was good.
Thursday, January 9, 2014
French Inspirations: Beautiful Oddities
As a change from the Cape Cod theme, I would like to share these photos of some early French bicycles from the collection of Nick March. These pre-war bicycles are not quite mixtes, but they are not classic step-throughs either. Whatever their construction, they have an overall grace and elegance that I find inspiring.
This beauty is a very rare bicycle by Caminade (see here for additional details).
What makes it truly exceptional, is that the frame is alloy, with hexagonal(!) tubing and elaborate lugs. I have never seen a bicycle with hexagonal tubes before, so these photos blew my mind. I wonder what it feels like to ride this creation.
In the close-up photos, it appears as if the lugs might be bolted to the tubing, but I am out of my depth here. Any further details regarding the construction of this bicycle are welcome. This is definitely one of the most exceptional ladies' bicycles out there, and the condition in which it has been preserved is amazing.
This sage green bicycle is an Alcyon from the late 1930s. The mixte-like construction has twin stays that curve sharply at the seat tube, then connect to the lower part of the rear stays. One of the elements of early French ladies and mixte bicycles that appeals to me, is the colour scheme: The combination of pastel blue-green paint and chrome accesories takes my breath away - even when the bicycle is old and rusty and the paint is faded.
This ancient Helium is another example of the faded pastel green paint I love. Notice the curved stays again, which I have also documented on many bicycles in Vienna. The twin stays extend all the way to the rear drop-outs, but is the bicycle technically considered a mixte if the stays are curved in this manner? I assume the purpose of this design was to lower the step-over height, but what effect does it have on the bicycle's structural integrity?
Largely dilapidated, the Helium in the photo is in her owner's "destined for the trash" pile. I wish I could wisk it away to a bicycle history museum. My thanks again to Mr. March for permission to use these images; they are a treat to see.
This beauty is a very rare bicycle by Caminade (see here for additional details).What makes it truly exceptional, is that the frame is alloy, with hexagonal(!) tubing and elaborate lugs. I have never seen a bicycle with hexagonal tubes before, so these photos blew my mind. I wonder what it feels like to ride this creation.In the close-up photos, it appears as if the lugs might be bolted to the tubing, but I am out of my depth here. Any further details regarding the construction of this bicycle are welcome. This is definitely one of the most exceptional ladies' bicycles out there, and the condition in which it has been preserved is amazing.This sage green bicycle is an Alcyon from the late 1930s. The mixte-like construction has twin stays that curve sharply at the seat tube, then connect to the lower part of the rear stays. One of the elements of early French ladies and mixte bicycles that appeals to me, is the colour scheme: The combination of pastel blue-green paint and chrome accesories takes my breath away - even when the bicycle is old and rusty and the paint is faded.This ancient Helium is another example of the faded pastel green paint I love. Notice the curved stays again, which I have also documented on many bicycles in Vienna. The twin stays extend all the way to the rear drop-outs, but is the bicycle technically considered a mixte if the stays are curved in this manner? I assume the purpose of this design was to lower the step-over height, but what effect does it have on the bicycle's structural integrity?Largely dilapidated, the Helium in the photo is in her owner's "destined for the trash" pile. I wish I could wisk it away to a bicycle history museum. My thanks again to Mr. March for permission to use these images; they are a treat to see.
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