September 8,
2015 Tuesday
Glendale
to Santa Rosa NM
Stopped on
our way out for gas and Starbucks coffee
and pastry.
Missed the
exit for Winslow Hope to stop on our way
back.
While
getting gas in Gallup Ed asked I cancel the reservation for Santa Rosa as we
could drive farther! Reservation
canceled.
We stopped
west of Albuquerque at the Sky Casino and had a good cheap buffet. Traffic through Albuquerque not bad. Some Construction not too slow.
Reached
Santa Rosa area - soon to be turn off.
Question from husband:
“ It is
already after 5:30 pm (lost an hour with time change in NM) do you want to stop
or keep going?” I say “what? Well Ed it is your call. Man I had a good rate” Ed - “Let’s see what Comfort Inn can give
us now.”
Stopped got
a great clean room and good rate still at the Comfort Inn. One day down.
September 9,
2015 Wednesday Santa Rosa - Catoosa OK
Left Santa
Rosa at 7 am - had low fog and clouds
all the way to Tucumcari - no rain.
Quick trip across Texas panhandle and into Oklahoma.
Stopped at
the OK Travel/Visitor Center. The ladies
at the help desk were phenomenal…. I told them we were on our way to Catoosa (
just outside Tulsa) and I was concerned about route there and the Toll
Road. With a terrific Southern accent
one lady pulled out the state map and marked the best road for less traffic and
marked the exact point we would encounter Toll booths. The first two were unmanned and needed exact change of
$1.15 each time. the next two manned and
$4 each. As soon as we got back in the car
I counted out the exact amount for each stop…. such a relief. Since we do not have such things here in
Arizona.
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| When was the last time you saw one of these? |
Stopped in
Elk City for a Subway Sandwich - then took the Old RT 66 from Chandler Ok to
Stroud OK then back on Hwy 44.
Beautiful scenery
on the drive today. Lots of Cattle in
Texas and Huge Wind Turbines
Average temp
on our drive today was 79 degrees except for OK City at 91 degrees and LOTS of
humidity. Dinner Panda Express.
PS no change
in Hotel reservations today - think we have this down now.
Great room
at the Hampton Inn in Catoosa OK
Headed out
at 7:30 am into a fireball of SUN! Could
not see road signs and missed out staying on correct Hwy. Wow the road guardian angel came to our
rescue a few miles down divided road had
a crossover road.
Headed back
and not in sun did NOT miss the correct way this time. Yeah.
Drive in
some really dense fog for about 20 miles than cleared. Half way to Valley Park
on a winding hilly road, with semi’s all around us and going 70
mph we drive into a cloud burst. The rain
was coming down so hard the wipers could not keep up. Ed had to drive using the yellow line on the side of
the road. Could only see a Semi truck
tire next to us. Could not see ahead or behind.
We were so glad it only lasted about 1-1/2 miles. Pretty tense.
Had some
mild rain off and on into Valley Park (suburb of St Louis)- just as we arrived
at the hotel reception drive up a storm came with about 30 mph winds and rain. We were staying at a Drury Inn and did not
know they not only offer Breakfast in the morning but a buffet of goodies for a
light dinner and three free drinks! We
were so happy we did not have to go out in the storm to eat! Very nice room also.
We saw on
the news that evening that a tornado had touched down not far away. We missed seeing the Elk Preserve and the
Bird sanctuary due to the storms.
September
11, Friday Valley Park MO to Dublin OH
On to Dublin
OH (suburb of Columbus). rain off and on
all day. Lots of traffic and Semi’s from
Indianapolis to Dublin. On our way we
went from Missouri, to Illinois, to Indiana, to Ohio. We made all the correct turns and freeway
exchanges in the big cities so well.
Then…. we arrived at the 17A exit for our Hotel in Dublin and the exit
was closed for construction. Yikes!
Now
what. Immediately we were surrounded
with rush hour traffic - four lanes worth and rain and skies getting dark. We did not know for sure what exit was next
or if we should get off etc. Two hours
later - after going about 5 miles (inch at a time) we made it to our
hotel. They had had a microburst hit
just before we missed our exit and had lost power for sometime. Glad it had just come back on as we arrived -
also so the street lights could be working.
Our hotel was the Sonesta Suites - Terrific Place! Almost 700 sq ft. Backed up to nice trees no freeway noise. Staying here two nights.
When we
arrived at the front desk we were so stressed from our drive there. One of the staff asked if we would like wine
or something - Well of course I said I did!
The gal went behind her area to a cooler and brought out a cardboard
type container of wine. Wow service.
September
12, Saturday To Columbus Zoo
Skies
finally clearing. We were staying right by the Red Rooster Quilt Shop - imagine
that. I visited there first thing with a
very nice owner. We then went to the
Columbus Zoo. Did not see Jack Hanna but
saw the hut he films from. Fabulous Zoo.
Loved the Bald Eagles, two pair and they were eating and had interaction with
each other. They have many Silver Back Gorillas and babies. Even saw Grizzly Bears. Spent over 5 hours at the zoo. On the way back to the Suite stopped at the
second quilt store Quilt Beginnings. Ate at Max and Erma’s. Did Laundry and packed up.
Left Dublin for
my Bee Friend’s home in New London Ohio. (Farm Country)
One and a
half hours later I hugged Valerie, my friend of 16 years that I had never met
in person. It was as if we had been
together many timeS before. She and her husband
Wayne were such gracious hosts to Ed and I, so comfortable being at their
farm. Got a little dog fix also with
their Tennessee Walker Hound and Tanner a medium size fur ball. They liked the items I had made for them. We also gave them an Arizona Highways calendar
and they were amazed we had such places in Arizona.
They have
quite the set up for the extraction of the honey and all the processes to make
all her honey related goodies. We came
home with tons of great honey products.
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| Valerie and Lynn |
September
14, Monday
Left Valerie’s
around 7 am - drove through the farm country over to Berlin and Walnut Creek OH
- Amish Country. We saw and passed eight
different types of buggies. Could not
believe the little spindly legs on the horses pulling these carriages. Also, saw several sets of plow horses being
used in the fields. and pulling work carts.
Visited the Helping Hands Quilt Store in Berlin. Lovely ladies there. Ate breakfast in Walnut Creek at the Der
Dutchman. Lots of rolling hills and
farms here.
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| View from Restaurant in Amish Country |
Left Berlin
and headed North to Canton OH
Visited the
National Football League Hall of Fame.
Loved it!!!
Left Canton
and drove as far as Mifflinville PA.
Spent the night in a Comfort Inn. Had dinner in the Olive Garden
Restaurant.
September
15, Tuesday
Headed for
our friend’s home in Simsbury CT
Woke to fog
but drove out of it easily. Drive had quite
a bit of construction, but all in all a pretty drive.
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| Ed and Stan |
Arrived at
our friend Stan’s apartment in mid-afternoon.
Stan drove us around the area of Granby, Riverton etc for a few
hours. Everything there is trees, trees,
trees, and tons of creeks, rivers and reservoirs. Very pretty. Ate dinner at a small Italian place and then
back to his apartment to plan our trip up to Bar Harbor.
September
16 Wednesday
On our way
to Acadia National Park. Stan joined us
on this portion of the trip.
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| Entering Maine |
He grew up on the East Coast and has been to
Maine and the park hundreds of times. We
had our own private tour guide for 4 days.
What a joy to have him with us.
We headed up on the main Freeways 95,295 until around Portland
Maine. Then we went on Hwy 1 along the coast. You do not ride an exact edge like on the
West Coast but you see it now and then. It is so in interesting in that you
really are always in town of some kind as there is little town and little town
on the road. We stopped in Wiscasset Maine. Stan knew of a place for Lobster Rolls - “Red’s
Eats” We had never had a Lobster Roll - Huge
full Lobster piece of meat on a hot dog bun. It is a small building on a
business corner in town - You stand in line order and then eat outside at picnic
tables.
Arrived in
Bar Harbor mid-afternoon. Found a very
affordable clean room at the Edgebrook Inn motel near town. Checked in and freshened up and headed to the
Harbor. So nice. While the guys were out and about taking
photos (both avid photographers) I walked around the grounds of the town park
at the harbor. I saw a gentleman on one
of the small grass knolls with a very large dog. I asked him if I could meet his dog and asked
if it was a Bouvier? He said in fact he
was -his name was George. He was big and fun.
I had only seen the breed on TV dog shows. Loved meeting him. The owner was very outgoing and visited with
me for a few minutes.
We had
dinner at a fun diner in town that was
filled to the brim with antique everything you could imagine. |
| Dilly's Diner In Bar harbor |
Stan and Ed
left at 4:30 am for Cadillac Mountain in the Park to get shots of the
Sunrise. When they returned we went to
town and ate breakfast at Jordan’s restaurant.
They are known for their Maine Blueberry Pancakes and Blueberry Syrup
that also is filled with berries.
Took the
Loop Road through Acadia Park today
Stopped at Sandy Beach and a pond that had three Beaver Huts on it. When we arrived at the beaver huts a park
worker was nearby and said we just missed several of the beavers out and about.
 |
| Looking down from Cadillac Mountain |
We had lunch
Jordan Pond - in the center of the park - They have about 80 tables with
umbrellas out on the lawn with the huge Pond (lake) for the view. The restaurant
is known for their Popovers. Oh my they
were huge and sooooooo good. enjoyed
more Lobster Rolls and Lobster stew.
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| Vie of Jordan's Pond while we ate |
While
walking around the Pond after lunch we came across George- the Bouvier and his
owners again.
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| George |
Drove then
to the South and East harbors and all of Mt Desert area of Acadia.
Returned to
the room freshened up and back downtown - dinner at Testas. We had their crab
cakes that had no bread or fillers and each one was the size of a medium
pancake. Yummy. Lovin this seafood.
September
18, Friday
Had
Breakfast at Jennie’s Great Maine Breakfast, Drove to Cadillac Mountain in the
Park and walked around from way up there you could see a 360 view of the
harbors and towns. Then drove to
Schoodic Point - very nice drive and part of the Park that is not as full of
visitors.
On our way back to the Motel
we stopped for lunch at the “Chart House” not the chain. We were able to sit
outside on the bay. Just as we were
seated we looked to our left and on the deck lying next to our table - who else
but George the Bouvier and his owners.
We all had a good laugh that we had run into each other a third time. The man said that if we showed up at their
dinner place he would know we were stalking them. Hee hee.
Back at
motel rested and freshened up. We headed
down to the harbor the evening pictures.
I sat at the harbor and read while they did their thing. There were two big Love Boat kind of cruise
ships in the outer harbor - just leaving for another destination.
 |
| In Bar harbor |
We ate on
the Lawn patio at the Bar harbor Inn there on the Bay for dinner. Wonderful Lobster stew. Walked some of downtown and then on to bed.
September
19, Saturday
Started back
for Connecticut with several stops at light houses along the way.
At Port
Clyde a Bald Eagle flew over us and stopped just a few minutes on a pole and then
flew off. I was able to get my I pad up
quick enough to get a pic.
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| Eagle on the pole in center of pic |
We stopped
at Pemaquid Point Lighthouse and Marshall Point Lighthouse. At each just as we
arrived the fog rolled in… The photographers loved it.
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| Marshall Point Lighthouse |
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| Pemaquid Lighthouse |
 |
| Pemaquid Lighthouse |
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| York Maine Lighthouse |
Arrived at
Stan’s late in the day.
September
20, Sunday
Left Stan’s
at 7 am - Drove to Canaan CT - Ate breakfast the Blackberry River Bakery
On our way
to Manchester VT. Nice drive through
Bennington VT on the country roads. Checked into our motel in Manchester and
headed North to see some covered bridges.
Ate at Panera Bread in Rutland VT
- Went up near Pitsford VT and saw the Hammond, Cooley and Gorham Covered
Bridges. These are all in farm house
communities.
September
21, Monday
Left at 8 am
and drove to Cooperstown NY - neat little town
off the country roads.
Went to the
National Baseball Hall of Fame - Terrific - saw Randy Johnson’s newly placed
plaque and memory case.
Ate at
Cooley’s Pub super food and beer.
Missed going
to the Fly Creek Quilt Shop as they are closed on Mondays - Drats!
Drove
Country roads most of the day - spent the night in the Comfort Inn, in West
Hazelton PA. Did laundry for an hour and
repacked everything.
Drove from
West Hazelton PA to Winchester KY (10 miles from Lexington) light rain and fog in the morning. Beautiful drive almost no cars. Kentucky is
so Green.
Ate in Charleston,
West Virginia along the way in.
Stayed at
the Hampton Inn in Winchester KY - Beautiful Wood molding etc in our room. They had a light snack from 5-7pm but no bar.
Left
Winchester KY and drove through the country farms out to Loretto KY and the “Makers
Mark” Bourbon Distillery. We took the
tour and the tasting - All fantastic.
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| Boilers This room was so hot! |
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| Fermenting vats |
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| Printing the Labels |
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| Hand dipping bottles in wax |
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| Going to be boxed |
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| Tasting |
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| Some of the grounds |
Left Loretto
and drove up to Paducah. I went to the
National Quilt Museum there. It had some very nice exhibits. I think my favorite was the ones for the
Quilts of Valor. The museum is in
historic (old) Paducah. We walked around
some - it right on the Ohio river.
Stayed in
Paducah at the Drury Inn - Great day!
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| Quilt for Drury in Paducah Hotel made by a local Quilt Guild |
September 24
Thursday
From Paducah
we drove to Hot Springs Arkansas. Wow
back in amongst tons of semi trucks!
Arrived at 2:30 pm Ate at a local
BBQ place called Stubbys - very good food!
Then Drove out to the Hickory Hill Quilt Store Very nice southern lady.
We tour The
Fordyce Bath House in downtown. The park Service runs it. Quite something to see from so long ago. Great
day minus the trucks on the road.
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| Fordyce Bath House |
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| Steam Cabinets |
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| Beauty Parlos |
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| Where the Hot Springs come up in building |
Stayed at
the Comfort Inn and Suites on Central Ave just off I 270 in Hot Springs
September
25, Friday
Left Hot
Springs and drove back across Arkansas and Oklahoma to Amarillo Texas.
In Shawnee
OK we had our very first Chick-fil-a.
Enjoyed it very much. Now we know why you like them so much Cindy Dye.
Stayed at
the Drury Inn and Suites there. There
were a ton of people with dogs but the best one was a Beautiful Liver and White
Springer Spaniel - named Theodora May - Teddy for short. She really liked us. We visited with the owners while we had the
evening drinks and light fare.
September
26, Saturday
From Amarillo
we drove to Holbrook AZ -
Stayed at the Best Western Arizonian. Nice
room.
September
27, Sunday
Left At 6am
and drove to Winslow AZ Did not miss
the exit this time. We both had never
been there. Went to La Posada Hotel and
had breakfast. Fabulous Food!
Walked down
to the Standing on the corner in Winslow AZ area, took some pics.
Drove on
home.
Trip of a lifetime.
