Allen Loyd's Travels

Kalkan to Fethiye

2011-08-05T19:08:00.001-04:00

In the morning my father and I walk over the beach again before it’s open and have a quick swim and then head back to wake up the rest as we are leaving early. It’s a long sail back past the Seven Capes and the weather forecast is a bit iffy. When Randy is up we talk about the mutiny and about Fethiye versus Coldwater Bay. He really want to see Fethiye and the Lycian Tombs so we prepare to sail to Fethiye. We all leave in opposite order from which we arrived to avoid crossed anchor chains and we got off smoothly. We set oue main with one reef in as it looks windy outside. We get out and around the corner and the wind is steadily dropping so we soon shake out the reef and have a rousing sail along the Seven Capes.

We are beating up wind in about 18 knots of wind in a fairly choppy sea. I am lying in my under the stern of the boat. We have the jib shortened but are still heeling over pretty far. I have a small window and I am seeing mountains and sky alternating with dark blue water as my port occasionally goes below the surface when we get a strong puff of wind. My bunk is almost as wide as a full sized bed but the ceiling is too low to sit straight up with out hitting my head.

I am lying against the curve of the hull and I can feel the water rushing past and hear the creaking of the steering gear and I smell a little diesel fuel so I have my other little port that leads into the cockpit open and I can hear the rest of the crew in the cockpit above talking and walking around. It takes a little bit of getting used to before you are comfortable lying below the surface of the water in a fairly small space. I enjoy feeling the motion of the ocean! We have now rounded point and are not heading so much up wind so the boat is closer to level now so we must be on a broad reach instead of close hauled. That means we are sailing into the bay and closing in on the town of Fethiye.

There are Lycian tombs carved into the mountain above town that we are interested in seeing. There is also a tour to learn about carpet weaving. My father and I went on such a tour last time. It is very interesting to see the women hand weaving the carpets of big looms. But I am sure there will be a hard sell at the end. There was last time. They weave incredible beautiful carpets. I think Martha is interested in seeing the weavers.

I am looking forward to a swim. Sailing with the boat is heeling over a steep angle is hard work as you are always holding on with one hand and your body is working against the angle. Moving around the boat is hard is everything is at an angle. We were heeling over enough that all the clean clothes and bedding of Estill and Winfree have fallen on the floor in the main cabin.

We finally get up and turn the corner and onto an easier point of sail as we head into the Fethiye harbor. The wind is still blowing hard and when we call the lead about about docking Will says to pick him up on the way in as he wants to help us dock into this wind. We pick up and then execute a perfect landing on the dock! Nice!

We get the lines stowed and cockpit straightened out and then all head ashore for hot showers. We are docked at a pretty fancy resort. It has showers and a fancy hammam. I get all scrubbed and head back to the boat. I make dinner for my father and I out of all the leftovers. Bread, lentils and sauce. After dinner he and I head to our cabins to read. It has been another exciting sail and we are tired. Good night!

Kas to Kalkan

2011-08-05T19:03:00.000-04:00

I was awake right at dawn and got up and walked onto the shore to use the land bathroom and looked at all the boats. When I got back my father was up.
We started breakfast and everyone else got up and we had cereal and cherry juice. Then Martha and Randy went with Nellie and some others into town for a Hamam ( Turkish bath) I read my book and wrote in my log and as it heated up I went ashore and took another cold shower. In the afternoon we weighted anchor and headed back to Kalkan. It was windy enough for a nice sail. I steered for a while and then Randy took the helm and I headed below for a read and a nap in my bunk. It was a nice sail and soon Winfree comes down below to tell me that I am needed on deck as we are about to enter the harbor. It’s hot again so we must be in Kalkan. Randy says he is buying cold drinks at the “beach”. We drop and anchor and back to the dock but when I pull in the slack it doesn’t hold so we go forward again and drop it and this time it grabs nicely. We grab our suits and head for the beach. My father and I swim and then Randy and crew show up and they sit on the lounge chairs and the guys comes and asks for 6 lira each.

Randy pays and we ask Nellie why the charge as it was free last time. She explains it’s extra for the lounge chairs. Oh! Father doesn’t want to stay so he heads back to the boat. I soon go back and he and I walk to the store for supplies. When I get back I start making supper and Randy and his family have gone for a walk. Nellie comes by to say there is a captains meeting in a few minutes and where is Randy? We don’t know but I have dinner in the oven so I go over in his stead. I am offered a gin and tonic by Neil which I accept. All the Brits have been drinking and are having a rousing time. We have the captains meeting and then I walk back to Silver Lightning and serve dinner to my father and I. Eventually the rest all get themselves off for dinner. After we have finished our pasta with lamb meatballs and cucumber salad I head back to the café with internet and get a cold beer and load some pics on the web and then Connie is on so we talk on Skype for a while.

I see Will, Nellie and Josh stop for a drink in the next café so I cash out and go next door to join them. I buy a round of Raki which is a Turkish favorite. It’s a harsher version of ouzo. I enjoyed it on my last trip and wanted to have another on this one. It’s is just as I remember and we are talking and all of a sudden some of the other crews show up and present Will with a notice of mutiny. They don’t want to go to Fethiye but back to Cold Water Bay which is just around the corner. It is presented with lots of laughter and more drinks. My father and I were talking earlier with Sarah about maybe skipping Fethiye but we haven’t talked to Randy and company yet. I have a beer with Sarah and then bid all a goodnight and head back down to the harbor. The temperature has finally cooled and I roll into my bunk with the fan on full and soon am fast asleep.

Polemos Boku to Kas

2011-08-05T19:02:00.000-04:00

After a nice early swim and breakfast my father and I paddled our poorly inflated dinghy over to the Innes boat and borrowed their pump and was able to get our dingy correctly inflated. It really paddles much better at the proper air pressure. We agreed to meet on shore in an hour for our walk. So we paddled back and got everyone started on getting ready for a hike. When all our great we packed we eased all six of us into the dinghy. (Now just possible with the extra inflation)

And Randy and I paddled us to shore. The restaurant owner’s son came out to greet us and helped us tie off our craft. The other group landed right behind us and the restaurant owner showed us the trail head. We headed out and the sun was getting but there was a nice breeze and when we stopped in the shade it was not bad. We walked across a flat plain and into the compound of a small pensyion where owner was sitting in the shade with his tiny daughter. We greeted them and headed out the other side. I notice that the trail markers her the same as in Beycik. So we are probably on another section of the Lycian Way. We walked until we could see ruins up ahead and the trail started up hill.

My father, Sarah and Winfree wanted to look for the sunken city so they headed down to the shore and the rest headed up into the ruins. I found a place to get up onto the ruin wall and was able to get a great view out into the next bay. The other joined me and then we all headed back by different paths but eventually finding the swimmers and joining them for a cooling swim. There was not much to see of the sunken city so half the group headed back across. My father and I arrive first and were greeted by the restaurant owner with a bucket of cold fresh water from his well which he proceeded to pour over our feet and heads. Man! Did that feel awesome!

We sat in the shade of the café and had a cold drink. The Innes family ordered dinner but we carefully piled back into the dinghy and paddled back to Silver Lightning and had more leftovers for lunch. Then we set sail for Kas. It was blowing nicely so we had a nice sail most of the way but then had to motor into the wind into a huge new marina which was on the other side of the hill from Kas. It had fancy showers which was very welcome as my father and I were salty from a week of salty bathing in the ocean and Randy plugged us in and I filled the water tanks. I ogt my computer plugged in and charging again.

But it was a long walk to the grocery so my father and I decided to join the others for dinner. We gathered for the half hour walk to see another ancient theater and then to the restaurant. Kas was hopping as there was a big Turkish Greek Festival going on with a stage we could see from the restaurant which was called Smiley’s. There was live music and dancing. My father and I sat with a group we had really spoken to and I enjoyed Neil and his wife and Alan and his wife. They were lots of fun. I ordered a shrimp casserole that was excellent and I saved the three fresh bay leaves that were in it as garnish and took the with me for later use. My father got a kick out of that. We decided that I had taken the Loyd’s to a new low of taking food home form dinner out! We were shown an old cistern which was under the restaurant. It was nice and cool down there but the roof was sagging way down in a couple of places. There were some beautiful old pots on a shelf in the corner.

After dinner my father and I headed out and the restaurant owner offered to have someone drive us home which was really nice. We ran into the shop next door for milk, bread and cherry juice and then were chauffeured back to the Marina. We put the milk away and headed for bed. We were both very tired after all the walking and sailing! I long but good day. Night!

Fokkaya Limani to Polemos Boku

2011-08-05T19:01:00.000-04:00

My father and I woke up early and went for a swim and then sat on deck and watched the other boats rise as the sun warmed. We watched the Innes family get picked up by Nellie and a local guy in a speedboat to go to an ancient site. We were going to go but the fee was 50 TL a person for a boat and car ride. We decided that was too much so we begged off. Sarah and David’s kids Jamie and Louisa looked very hung over, but made it into the boat and off the y went at high speed. I hope they have a good time.

We lazed around, swam and read or books. It was afternoon when we saw The Innes clan return. We lazed around some more and then finally good ourselves organized and raised the anchor and headed out of the sheltered bay. The wind was blowing hard so we put a reef in the main and headed out. We had an exciting sail up wind and around the headland and into the bay of Polemos Boku where we found a space with good swinging room and dropped our anchor. We again reversed it hard to set the hook and when it felt good let out some more chain secured the engines and jumped over the side for a swim. Just as we finished our swim Sarah swan over to tell us that we were wise to skip Nellie’s expedition. It was way to expensive for the transportation. The ruins were good but not worth the cost.

We offered her a gin and tonic and had a nice conversation in the cockpit. Sarah proposed that we all get together in the morning and walk across to the ruins on the other side of the isthmus. Sounds like fun so agreed to meet on shoe after breakfast and Sarah swam back across to her boat. Martha had cooked up some lentils to go with the leftovers from last night and we all squeezed around the table in the cockpit for dinner.
Lentils, sauce, salad, bread and olives. Plain noodles for the girls. I played some uno with Winfree and then headed to my cabin to read. I am now reading Enders Game which I bought for Estill at Christmas and she has just finished. So far it’s off to good start. Good night.

Kaleüçağız to Fokkaya Limani

2011-08-05T18:59:00.001-04:00

I have an early swim and sit reading in the sun on deck with my father while we wait for the girls to stir. We have our breakfast and gather walking shoes, hats, sun screen and snorkeling gear. We are going on an expedition this morning first to see and old Fort and then to a sunken ancient city.

A local woman in a small boat picks us up and transfers us to one of the local Gulets, which are the local sailboats that have been converted to tourist boats. We are joined by a few of the other crews and head for Kaleüçağız which is a village of about 400 people. We were anchored at a small town in the next bay and we can see the Kalekoy Fort up on the hill above the town. We are soon backing into and old concrete pier at the town of Kaleüçağız. We wind our way up the tiny streets of the town through a series of booths and people selling food drinks, scarves and bags of fresh herbs and teas. We hit the ticket booth as all important ancient sites are controlled but the government now. We pay and walk through the ticket booth. It’s a funny feeling as there is no fence. You could just as easily walk around!

Up into the fort and up a long stairway to the top of the hill. The view is magnificent! You can see all up and down the long bay that skirts this area. This would have been a very defensible position with the view and the steep approach to the fort. After we have looked around for a while we are herded back down the hill towards the boat by Nellie. The Loyd clan stops for ice cream and then wander back down. We end up in a different alley from the one we started up but I can see the boat and am able to work my way there along the waterfront over people’s porches.

Soon we shove off and head to the other side of the bay to see the sunken ruins of Kekova. The Gulet coasts right along the shore and through a glass port in the bottom of the boat we can see the ruins and piles of amphora and pieces of broken pottery. Amphora are the ceramic jugs the Greeks used to transport wine, oils and other products. We were not allowed to snorkel on the ancient city but so our gulet anchored with a bunch of other gulets in the next bay and we snorkeled there. Mustapha who own the gulet was fascinated by my underwater camera and had me take a series of photos of him, which I emailed to him later.

Then we were returned to our boat and the wind began to blow hard. We had a bite of lunch and watched a big catamaran drag it’s anchor down on another boat. Luckily they were on board and got the engine started before they hit another boat! After lunch we were getting ready to leave when I realized that our anchor was dragging and we were getting close to the boat down wind of us. We quickly started the engine and wound in the anchor and headed out for a sail. We put a reef in the main and let out the full jib and headed out into the open Mediterranean.

We were roaring along close hauled and the wind was building to the point where our jib was over powering the main. So we put a reef in the jib and stabilize the boat and tack west along the coast. We get past the island and head into in the another bay that is known for it’s coldwater springs that feed up into the bay. We circle around and drop our anchor once but are too close to another boat so we reel it in and try again and settle into a good spot. We get the anchor down on a good length of chain and give her full reverse to make sure it’s well dug in.

Then we have a swim and explore the rocky shore off our stern. You can fell the cold spring water welling up there and see the wavy water were the fresh and salt water are mixing. As usual there is not much in the way of fish to look at. Most of the sea creatures in the Mediterranean have been eaten. There were a few small fish but not many. I returned to the boat and dried in the sun and then we all are dinner. Martha made lentils and veggies over rice. We ate some olives with it. It was pretty tasty and plenty of it. The girls helped my father wash dishes after dinner. Then we all headed for bed. It’s been another busy day.

Kalkan to Kaleüçağız

2011-08-05T18:55:00.000-04:00

Kalkan to Kaleüçağız
Soon all the crews are up and about as we are leaving early this morning. We determine that some of our anchor chains are crossed so we carefully leave in the opposite order from that of which we arrived we there are no snarls. Thanks for that! Unsnarling anchor chains is no fun. And we are all off heading east again. There is a very light wind so we motor for a while until it picks up and then hoist some sails and drift along. We have to navigate carefully today as there is an island a few miles off shore which belongs to Greece and we have to stay in Turkish waters as the Greeks and Turks are not friendly neighbors!

I assign the girls to keep a look out for the Greek navy! We have our sighting compass out and we reach the first marker island in our route and as we pass it we sight through the compass and set out heading for the next small Turkish island. We zig zag our way along island to island until we are clear of the Greek waters. We have had some wind to sail and now it begins to pick up and we have a nice wind for our leg towards the town of Kaleucagiz. But the nice sailing leg was way to short and we drop our sails and head into harbor. We find a nice spot and drop our anchor. This will be our first night free swinging on an anchor. The girls and I don our swimming suit and do a soda pop. (jump off the bow of the boat and flop your arms around in the bubbles and yell soda pop) And feel almost instantly refreshed.

We start a game where the girls are try to get past me to the ladder and I am defending myself as the Kung Fu Tickle Master! Lots of giggling and splashing around. When we are tired and cool we climb back aboard and read in the shade of the cock pit. Soon Josh comes by in the dinghy and invites the girls to go with him to visit the other boats. I go below and start dinner. I bought chicken breast and thighs frozen last night but they are already defrosted. The refrigerator is crap on this boat. So I get out the onions, eggplant, garlic, olives and tomatoes and chop them while I am browning all the chicken. I put all the veggies and tomato paste and some pepper spread in a casserole dish and after a few attempts I get the top of the oven lit and in goes the casserole. After a while the chicken goes in on top.

Soon dinner is smelling fine and the chicken is nice and crispy so I go to turn off the oven and the knob won’t turn! Hmm… this is a new one. Got it. All boats have an electric solenoid which turns off the gas when flame is not present. Keeps the propane from flowing accidently into the bilges and blowing up the boat. I turn off the solenoid and the oven goes off. Later when it has cooled off I am able to turn the knob off. I sit in the cockpit with a gin and tonic and let the casserole coast. Then make a cucumber and tomato salad and cut some bread. As soon as the rest of the crew leaves for sinner ashore (their choice). I break out the plates and my father and I eat a nice dinner in the cockpit and watch the sun go down and feel the heat flow out of the air and the breeze is so lovely. A few stars begin to show as dishes are washed and we head into our cabins to read and work on the log. I am fast asleep when the other crew returns. We are hoping for better wind tomorrow.

Bestas Limani (Cold Water Bay) to Kalkan

2011-07-07T15:51:00.001-04:00

Kalkan
My father and I were up early and had a nice swim in the cool clear water around our boat. The water is very deep right up to the shore here. It can be 30 feet deep 10 feet off shore. So that is why we stop in these bays and we drop a lot of anchor and tie the stern to the shore. The water is too deep to rely on just the anchor and it the wind shifts around your boat would swing into the rocks, because you are anchored so close to shore where the water is shallow enough.
Just the opposite of Florida were you are always looking out for shallow water!

After breakfast of tea, cereal, yogurt and fruit we all headed out of the bay and east around the seven capes towards the town of Kalkan. Almost no wind today so we motored and a few hours of watching the steep mountains above the seven capes roll by were were still using the “iron jenny” motor. I mase some more sandwiches and fruit and after lunch I went down below and reclined in my berth with a book. Soon the rolling of the boat sent me off to dreamland. I was awakened by Winfree, yelling that I was needed on deck. We were approaching the harbor. We dropped the anchor and backed into the key and tied off our stern. It is truly hot here this afternoon. This has been our first really hot day.

My computer battery is flat so I decide to go looking for café where I can get a cool drink, Charge my battery and a wifi connection in that order. I am successful! Soon I am seated on a comfortable couch under a shade tree with a fanta and my computer up and running. They even plugged in a fan for me! It’s almost heaven. I am able to check my email and do some work on the Black Bear Festival. I find that Connie is online and we exchange some email. She encourages me to connect with her on Skype so I find the download and in about 10 minutes we were having a video call! What a world.

It’s great to see and speak with her in almost real time. Martha come past and I put her on with Connie for a minute. My waiter comes over to see what we are doing and he gets involved. After catching up Connie and I wind up our call and I speak briefly with Christopher Spatafora who is staying in my house while I am gone. He gives me a report on some work he is doing for me and then we are cut off. I guess if you are talking to someone on a phone the time is limited. Now I know!

The sun is dropping and my shade is gone. I have had two fantas and an Efes beer and it’s getting close to dinner time, so I wander back down to the boat. Everyone is gathering so I change quickly and join the group. We return to almost the same spot I was at and find our seats at a long table. (We are 25 tonight.) This place is supposed to be really tasty. I hope so as it’s also the most expensive place we have seen all trip! I order a lamb stew and we eat some bread and mezzes while we are waiting. The sun has gone down behind the mountains and the temperature is dropping and the sea breeze is soothing on hot skin. The beer is crisp and cold and the lamb stew turns out very tasty and a huge portion.

I share some with the human vacuum (my father) and there is stil stew left so the waiter makes me a doggy bag. Funny to hear a waiter offer one in Turkey! We discover that the food shopping never was done and the market is just across the street. So we send Randy and the girls to bed, and father and I do some provisioning. It’s a small shop but they have most of what we want. We add an ice cream each and head back to the Silver Lightning. Then girls are asleep so we stow the cold stuff and leave the rest for the morning and retire to our cabins. Lets all keep our fingers crossed for some wind to blow the heat away! I am truly glad for a fan in my cabin tonight!

Cappy Creek to Bestas Limani (Cold Water Bay)

2011-07-07T15:48:00.003-04:00

Bestas Limani (Cold Water Bay)
We had some nice wind yesterday and are off to a good start and having a lovely sail today. There are eight boats in our flotilla. We have nice wind and we head east. We make some sandwiches with the local bread a cheese and have lunch in the cockpit under way.

In the afternoon just outside our destination harbor Bestas Limani (Cold Water Bay) the wind died so we hove-to and jumped over the side and swam in 300 feet of cool deep blue water. It was so terrific!

We rafted up in the harbor by dropping our anchors and backing towards the shore where Ali the local restaurant owner directed us and a one handed guy took a long line off our stern and tied it to a rock on the shore and then we tied all the boats together. The one armed guys was a really good rope handler. He was amazing to watch. We found out later that he lost his one hand and three fingers off the other when he was young fishing with dynamite! He has adapted amazingly well.

When the work was done I swam to the beach where Estill and I hunted for sea glass. We are hoping to find enough to fill two old bottles as a memento of our trip. After the swim a hiking expedition headed for the ruins at the top of the mountain. It was quite steep hike and Pop didn't have on his hiking shoes and didn't get all the way up. I scrambled up and took a few pics of the abandoned Greek town. It was built in medieval times but abandoned in the 1920's when there was a big exchange of people between Greece and Turkey.

Now the roofs have fallen in but mostly it looks just like an empty town. Randy noticed that my father was starting back down by himself so I scrambled back down to walk with him.

On the way down we passed Pavarotti, the donkey owned by Ali. Later while I was making dinner he began to bray. It was an amazingly musical and ultra loud bray. Which echoed all around the bay. He was a tenor like Luciano his namesake and he could sustain his call for a long time. He was amazing. (I didn’t eat in the restaurant but my brother recalls it was one of his favorites.) It was up on the cliff with a great view, a cool breeze and wonderful food.

Then I made dinner for he and I while the rest ate ashore. I made pasta with eggplant, onions, black olives in tomato sauce. The only oddity was instead of canned tomatoes I bought 2 large cans of tomato paste but I made it work. And with it a cucumber, yogurt and garlic salad. And of course I served fresh bread. All the restaurants sell bread that is baked fresh and delivered every morning. And we finished off with banana and nutella (chocolate hazelnut spread).

It was nice to have a quiet dinner and after while father clean-up I went skinny dipping off the stern. All the boats in the raft we empty except for the one at the far end where a couple were cozying up in the cockpit and listening to one of my favorite Roxy Music albums. For some reason the water cool on top and warm underneath except for a few warm patches. I found a warm one and floated and looked a sky full of stars and listened to Love is the Drug"

After the song was over and I was chilly I got out and dried off in the cockpit and settled in my bunk and started The Oracle of Stambul which Connie sent me from San Francisco for my trip. It’s a recently written novel about Istanbul during the time of the Sultans and looks very interesting. Good night!
The others came back late from the restaurant and I was already in dreamland.

Sailing from Gocek to Cappy Creek

2011-07-07T15:48:00.001-04:00

Gocek was nice and quiet where we are docked and my cabin has a nice fan in it So I slept well. There was a big breakfast for all the crews in the flotilla and a briefing afterwards. Then my father and I walked down the waterfront to the shops and bought a few more supplies and got some Turkish Lira. We went back to the boat and had our boat checkout with Will the flotilla captain. We discovered that our anchor windlass had a jammed clutch. Will got a repairman to come and un-jam and grease the clutch.

Meanwhile Martha went for a walk and we were given permission to sail soon after, but had to wait a couple of hours for Martha to return. Then we cast of and motored out of the harbor and set sail for Cappy Creek. We tacked our way between the rocky headlands in some flukey wind. Our boat sails much better on port tack so we tried to gain as much ground as possible on port tack. We had Estill giving us advice on sail trim and when to tack since she has been racing sailboats for a few years now.

It took us a few hours of tacking up wind but soon we were reaching into Cappy Creek. We took down our sails, started the engine and radioed to the lead crew that we were coming into harbor. They had us put out fenders on both sides of the boat, rig two stern lines and prepare to drop the anchor. We spun around and backed into the harbor and when we were about four boat lengths from the dock we dropped the anchor and let out chain until we were at the dock. Then we tied our stern lines to the dock and cranked in the anchor chain until it was tight. We put our boarding plank over the space between the stern of the boat and the dock and we were set for the night. We put on our swimsuits and jumped into 12 feet of clear blue water and swam until we were refreshed.

There are a few people who live in Cappy creek and run a restaurant for the boating crowd. If you eat in the restaurant they don’t charge you to dock your boat.

My father and I went for a walk to the top of the hill and we could see where one family was still living in the old stone house except they had plastic sheeting on the roof and the electric cables were just strung through the trees from house to house. We cam back down just as the punch party was starting. We drank punch and introduced ourselves to the other crews and had a nice chat before dinner. There are 8 total boats in out flotilla including the lead boat on which Will is the flotilla captain, Nellie is the entertainment director and Josh is the repairman.

Most of the other boats are crewed by couples and there is another boat with a family of four with kids in their 20s. No kids Estill and Winfree’s age. Too bad! ☹ We ordered fresh fish and calamari for dinner. It was all cooked by the family in a bid wood fired oven behind the restaurant and was very tasty. After dinner I had a couple more beers with the lead crew and then went to bed. I crawled into bed and was lulled to sleep but the gentle rocking of the boat.

Off to Gocek

2011-07-07T15:44:00.001-04:00

Off to Gocek
My father and I were up at first light as usual and sat out on the porch until the chef had breakfast ready. It was a big Turkish breakfast and featured a few special items like the chefs own homemade bread and a sweet olive jam. Which was interesting but not as good as the cherry jam. My father and I have fallen in love with the sour cherry juice that is often served with breakfast. It has just the right combination of sweet and tart! Delish.

After breakfast my father brother and walked up the road and though we found the side road that led to the Lycian Way but it was not quite right. We got up a ways to were there was a nature preserve and headed back as we had to be in Gocek at 6pm to turn off the rental van and board out boat. Ur hosts gathered and waited around while we loaded the family circus and they send of in traditional Turkish fashion with a pan of water thrown onto our car as a blessing for a safe journey! I crept back down twisty one lane road to the twisty highway and drove four + hours of very twisty hairpin and rather hair raising two lane mostly coastal highway to Gocek. We stopped for gas at one town and at a restaurant on a cliff over looking the sea for a fresh fish lunch. Then we rolled the rest of the way into Gocek, found the correct marina and moved all our gear on to a Beanneteau 39 named Silver Lightning. I waited around for the rental car guy and after an hour finally called the office in Istanbul and they said he would come to tomorrow and when I said we would be gone tomorrow he hung up on me!

There was a supermarket right there so we did our provisioning for the boat. On the way back I noticed a marina office and the young woman behinf the counter spoke pretty good English and I got her to call the rental car office again and she determined that the guy was here in Gocek and waiting at the next marina! She gave him directions and I asked if I could buy her an ice cream. She said not but she would like a peach ice tea. I went to the store again and all they had were large bottles of mango ice tea so I bought one. She said it was much too big and asked me to share it with her. I accepted and she found two cups and we sat and drank tea and had a great conversation until after a few phone calls back and forth the rentaI guy appeared riding on the back of a moped. I was happy to turn in the rental car as we (in true Loyd fashion) took the long way from Istanbul to Gocek! I was done with driving and ready to do some sailing.

We had dinner at the marina restaurant. very pricey but not too tasty, took showers and headed for the boat and my cabin under the stern starboard side. I up packed my gear, made my bed and dived into it for the night! See you tomorrow as we prepare to go to sea! I was awakened before dawn by a horrible squeaking sound and finally realized that it was our boarding plank squeaking as the boat rolled. I pulled it on board and went back to sleep. A little while later my father got up and put the plank back ashore and went to the bathroom and the squeaking started again. He didn’t realize it until after he got back and moved the plank again but I was already awake for the day.

Antalya to Beycik

2011-07-07T15:42:00.000-04:00

Father and I were up fairly early and walked back out the restaurant to enjoy the view some more. We had a spectacular view of the nearby mountains which look very tall and steep. I have to go back into the lobby to get a solid wifi signal but then we do a little research about Antalya. I start back looking at map of the best way to get back out of this warren on little streets! Then we look up directions to the Antalya History Museum. It’s only about 200 meters away but there are lots of one way streets going the wrong directions so we are going to have to circle around. The Museum is very close to the road we want to take out of town so we decide it’s worth moving the car. We have our breakfast, check out and load the van. We find our way out of the warren and onto the main road where we instantly lose our way and spend about 45 minutes driving around until finally with guidance from Randy’s phone GPS we recognize were we are and soon are at the Museum.

We head in and view a wonderful collection of local and regional artifacts, statuary, coins, clothing, jewelry, weapons and carpets. It really was a good overview of the history of the region from a nearby stone age cave right up to contemporary times. Those who finished early toured the gift shop and then gathered under a huge arbor in the courtyard. There was a nice breeze blowing and Grandpa and the girls had ice cream while we waited for Martha to finish. Then we got on the road out of town and were soon driving in the steep mountains were had viewed at breakfast. We saw what looked like a pull off with a picnic area. We didn’t have time stop as were went right into three tunnels under the mountain.

We pulled off at the first town and bought picnic supplies an drove on looking for another picnic pull off but we were out of the nature preserve and there weren’t any more. We picked a turn off by a dry riverbed and headed up river until we found a bit of a pulloff and ate our picnic in the van. This was the least clean area I had seen to date and it was quite trashed so we didn’t stay long. We went up into the mountains and were started to look for a place to stop for the night when I realized that we were low on diesel. I slowed down and we decided it was better to forge ahead as we had not seen a station for a while. I saw the sign for the town of Olympus and headed down but didn’t see much and it 15 km down to the town. We stopped at a roadside teahouse and the old man owner who was heating water on a charcoal fire said to go back to the main road and 3 km further would be a station. We thanked him a drove slow and sure enough there it was.

I bought petrol while my brother called a nearby mountain inn which was on the Lycian Way. Which is a hiking trail that runs for 500 km (300 miles) along the coast Antalya to Fethiye. We wanted to walk on it so we headed backtracked about 15 minutes to the tiny hamlet of Beycik and ground our way up a very narrow twisty road to the Olympia Mountain Lodge. We had to pass some tiny local houses with goats, cows and chickens in the yard and up a steep hill to a gate. Behind the gate was the lodge set in a nice garden with a swimming pool. The owners were a semi-retired attorney from Anatoliya and his architect wife. They got settled in and we all headed for the pool for a swim. It seemed very clean but tHe bottom very extremely slippery! We were safe as long as we floated.

We had gained a lot of altitude and were up on the side of Mt. Olympia. The air was much cooler that Antalya and the pool water was bracing. We were out pretty quickly as the sun was dropping towards the mountain tops. I pulled out long pants and a fleece shirt and was still a bit chilly. Soon our host noticed and started a fire in the fireplace. We all huddled around and had a drink while the chef scrounged us up some dinner. He didn’t know we were coming so he hadn’t prepared a special meal Soon we were ushered out to the porch and served a very tasty chicken and eggplant dish with bread, salad and ice cream for dessert as we watched a huge yellow moon rise over the mountains down by the sea.

Our host, his wife, mother-in –law, and brother all sat around the fire and chatted with us after dinner. The mother-in-law was German but the wife grew up in Turkey and now worked for an architectural firm the worked in both countries. They built the lodge themselves and during the hiking seasons had about 2000 guest hikers from the Lycian Way stay each year. We inquired about climbing the mountain but were told is was 11 hours both ways. Our you can hike 5 to the top and take tram down the other side. We didn’t have that much time to spare. Soon my eyes were drooping and I headed my room and crawled under a pile of blankets was almost instantly sleep. It was quite a day. Until anon. Peace.

Pammukkale and Hieropolis to Antalya

2011-07-07T15:37:00.001-04:00

My father and I were up early and had a swim before breakfast. When we were finished we checked out and the owner of the hotel drove us up to the top gate by Heiropolis. Winfree was not feeling well so she and Martha stayed back at the hotel.
The hotel folks let Winfree swim in the pool while Randy, Estill, my father and I explored the ancient city. We started out in an extensive necropolis, or city of the dead, full of carved tombs. There was a long paved street with buildings on either side. We also walked up to see the theater which was probably one of the best preserved I have ever seen. It was huge and the seats were very steep. It would have been a fun place to see a concert.

We walked back down the hill to the famous pool of Thermopolis. It is a natural hot spring that has been used by people since ancient times. There is a modern café built around it now but the floor of the pool is littered with ancient columns and carved pieces from he time of the ancient Greeks. We paid our admission and went in for a dip. It was pretty warm and full of people from all of Europe. The bottom is covered with a gravel that we would see later on the beaches that is composed of beautiful small stones. Estill had fun diving and picking up pretty stones. When we finished swimming we sat in the café and had lunch. We didn’t pay to have small fish “pedicure” our feet like some people were. I guess the fish nibble the dead skin off of your feet! Sounds pretty freaky to me!

We went into the Heiropolis Museum and look at more wonderful carvings and then took off our shoes and walked down the travertines. It looked like the heavens were going to open up so were hurried to the bottom and were headed back to our hotel when a heard a little voice calling Uncle B. I looked over there was Winfree up in a treehouse. We walked over and it was part of a flatbread restaurant. It was decorated with the same low tables and carpet covered benches. They had just ordered lunch. We climbed up to join them but the rain drove us down and back into the main part of the restaurant. Too bad as it was cool up in the tree! We order some food and drinks and sat until the rain ended.

Then we got in the car and I drove us back through Denizili, over the mountains and over some even higher mountains and through some very heavy rain and finally back down to the seaside town of Antalya. After driving around through heavy city traffic my brother directed me down a series of side streets and alleys that got narrower and narrower. In one spot we had to fold in the side mirrors to get through. Finally we found a place we could park and he and my father went further down the alley and found out hotel. The rest of us were waiting in the van and a local shop keeper called Winfree over and gave her a glass of apple tea. He came back with her and spoke to us while we waited. He said it was okay to park there but when my brother came back he said there was parking on the other side of another narrow arch. So I squeezed the van through the arch between two shops and then backed into a tiny spot across from our hotel, which was built into the wall of the old fortress above the harbor.

We cleaned up and then walked into the restaurant, which looked out over the wall into the harbor. The sun had recently set and the mountains on the other side of the harbor had fiery crowns. It was a truly beautiful view!

It was pricey but I had excellent sea bass and enjoyed every minute if the view. After dinner it was off to bed as I was exhausted from all of the hiking and driving. Again I was sharing a room with my father and I were both soon fast asleep. See you tomorrow!

Selczuk to Afrodesia and Pamukkale

2011-07-07T15:32:00.001-04:00

Afrodesia and Pamukkale
My father and Pippa and I got on the road at 6:15 am to drive to the Izmir airport because Pippa is flying home today. We have really enjoyed having here with us this trip. She usually doesn’t come as she is uncomfortable with the motion of boats. We get back on the same toll road and our toll card seems to work again. So off we go at 120 KPH north. It takes about 30 minutes then we are off on a side road and soon we drive into a very modern airport. The police at right there so I say a quick goodbye and stay with the minibus while my father walks Pippa in. Is back very quickly because in Turkish airports security screening is right at the door. We talk the alternate route back that goes through a few small towns which are just waking up. We are arrive back in Selczuk just as our hostess is beginning to set out breakfast. I get my computer and write about Istanbul as all the accoutrements of Turkish breakfast appear. Soon everyone else appears and we dig in.

After breakfast we load up the van and bid our lovely hostess and the men from the shop and restaurant next door adieu and head down the road towards Afrodesia and Pamukkale. Soon we are zipping along through small towns and past roadside stands selling fruit, vegetables, and sometimes jars of what looks like honey. They must e selling the produce they are growing right there because the stands will all be selling tomatoes, then it will be fruit and then change again to what looks like jars of honey. We can see rain clouds ahead and off to the south in the direction of Afrodesia. Soon we see the brown tourist sign for out turn off and we are on a very narrow twisty road through rolling hills and the through some small mountains. You have to get right on to the shoulder when another vehicle comes from the other direction. It’s very exciting driving. Soon the rain starts and we drive through some very small villages and just before Afrodesia we spy a restaurant off to the left and come to a flying stop in a cloud of dust. The owner is out in the parking lot and waves us in. It has a big out door terrace and there is a group off a tourbus at the far end being serenaded by a man playing a Turkish stringed instrument. The wind is bowing a little rain around in the bright orange blooms of the pomegranate trees. It’s a very pretty spot. We order sour cherry juice, Aryan, two chopped salads, beef, meatball shish kebaps and a broiled fish. We end up with a lot of delicious food and leave fully nourished and ready to tour the ancient city of Aphrodesia and the temple of Aphrodite.

We drive into one more rain burst and we try to park right at the gate but we are waved back up the road by a Turkish soldier. We go back up to the main road and park in the lot across the street. We pay a few TL to park and are driven down in a trolley pulled by a farm tractor. Almost like Disney world! We pay our admission and wander past the Museum, café and gift shop. The rain must have scared the tour busses away so we are almost alone. We can see the remains of a two story stone structure with some lovely statues ahead. But then I see a long line of carved capitals off of the tops of columns that are carved with faces. They are stacked four high and fifteen long under an over hanging roof. All the faces are different and carved with quite fine detail. They are really cool all stacked there like that. Across the walk is a field full of odd bits and pieces of carved stone. We walk along and soon come to the theater. It is a large one and pretty well preserved. There are some men working on the stage house. I get pics of the family sitting on the seats.

We walk one into the public buildings. Unlike Ephesus here you can really get the felling of how an ancient Greek city was laid out. There are still a lot of walls and columns standing and fountains, pools and a few statues. There was another workman rebuilding a wall and he smiled and motioned me over and handed me a bunch of plums had had just picked off a nearby tree. I thanked him and motioned that I was going to wash them and he nodded and smiled and are a few plums and went back to his work.

We walked through a smaller theater, where the city councils may have met. It had a pool of water and frogs at the base of the seats. Winfree was trying to catch a frog and we watched from the seats then walked over and were in the remains of the Temple of Aphrodite ( she who wears the see thru nightie!) Most of the columns are still standing and even some of the capitals are on their tops. It’s quite a place. Then we walking into another temple that still had the façade intact and it was covered with amazing carvings. We walked out and toured the museum were they now store most of the statues and a whole room full of carved capitals from the temple. Really intricate carving, and so much of it! It’s really amazing how much carving the Greeks did.

After the museum we walked through a display of the archeologists and photos of the site over the years. There were even pictures of the Turks in the nearby town and the odd pieces of carved stones they were using to hold of columns for porches or to hold water for their animals. There were more photos of parts of the dig over the years. It was amazing to see the original site pictures. You can that amazing temple poking up out of a grove of trees. Then I hit the bathroom and used the Turkish toilet which is a ceramic hole in the floor with foot grips and water spigot. Then I washed my hands and the plums very thoroughly with lots of soap. We ate some of the plums which were a bit sour. We decided they weren’t quite ripe yet so we switched to ice cream bars.

Then we walked back to the trolley where the drivers were shaking white mulberries out of a tree and eating them. I have never had a white mulberry so I ge them a taste. Not as flavorful as the red ones but interesting. We rode the trolley back to our minibus and drove off towards Pamukkale.

We headed further down that narrow twisty road until it meet up with another main road. We turned on to the larger road and were soon headed up into the mountains. We went up and over and then wound our way down the other side and into the city of Denizili. The traffic was thick but we eventually popped out the other side and followed the brown signs to the village of Pamukkale. It’s not a very big community and it mostly caters to tourists as it is right on the edge of a huge cliff of of white travertine which has been deposited there by centuries of water flowing down the cliffs from hot mineral springs. They form pools that people love to bathe in. It is now a world heritage site and they are trying to protect the travertine. The local hotels have diverted a lot of the water into their pools and through their bars and thousands of people walk up and down the cliffs every month. It is very spectacular. We arrived in the evening anf drove to the edge of town and found a quiet hotel with a pool and settled in for a swim and a late dinner.

When we were eating our dinner we could se lots of people walking up the travertines. People are limited to just one path now and it looked like an army of ants. When darkness fell searchlights light up he sky from the top. Our hosts explained to us that a big concert was being held that night in the ancient greek theater at Heiropolis on the top past the travertines. It was being broadcast on the television. Looked like fun. My brother considered walking up there but we were all pretty tired from the days explorations. So we relaxed and then headed for bed. I shared a room with my father instead of Winfree for the first time on the trip. It was nice not having to wade through her stuff to ge to my bed for a change.

Bursa to Selczuk and Ephesus

2011-06-26T14:53:00.003-04:00

Monday

Bursa is the home of the Turkish shadow puppet and there is a Museum. We were trying to get directions but were told that Turkish Museums close on Mondays. Too bad. We walked around this small church and found stairs leading down the wall in the direction of the mosque, which is famous for it’s calligraphy. We walked though a backstreet where a fresh market was being set-up. Down an alley and out onto the main street and there was the Mosque.

We found the walkway under the street and made our way to the Mosque and removed our shoes and covered hair and headed inside. The calligraphy was amazing. This certainly one of the most fabulous masques I have ever visited. There were some lovely stained glass windows as well. Islamic temples don’t have any images of people or animals so all the stained glass was abstract patterns or calligraphy.

Afterwards we walked around the covered markets. Bursa is a famous center for weaving and fabric. There were people buying fabric, dresses and scarves. I walked around and took pictures. There were some men sitting on a terrace near the mosque drinking tea. I took their picture and then showed it around. They invited me to have tea with them. I would loved to have join them but I had to rendezvous with the rest of the family in a few minutes. I managed to explain that to them and they shook my hand wished me luck and I was on my way. The girls had found a scarf shop and took me there so I could buy one. Then we met up with a young couple Huseyin and Rabia Tuluk who were staying in our same hotel and they invited us to have Kebaps with them.

Bursa is the home the Kebap. They were celebrating their one year anniversary at the hotel but lived in Istanbul. The husband Huseyin worked in the family business furnishing hotels. We walked off in the direction of the restaurant and he would periodically stop and ask directions. Finally we found it. It is either the actual first kepab restaurant or part of the first chain as it is named after the inventor of the kebap, Iskenedar. It had marble floors and beautiful wooden tables and wonderful lamb kebap. Huseyin and his wife Rabia don’t drink alcohol so we all had Ayran and Fanta with plates of really tasty meat over eggplant with a tomato sauce and browned butter poured over it. Wonderfully tender and flavorful! I was glad I ordered a small as it was a lot of food. Mehamet insisted on paying for the meal. So we insisted that he bring his family to florida to stay in our house!

We said our goodbyes to our new friends and walked back to the hotel and jumped in the car and fought our way out of Bursa to the main highway and I drove six hours south to Selczuk a small town next to Efes (Ephesus) We pulled over for a bathroom break at one point and just happened to be at a roadside mall with another Iskander kebap place and right next door an Iskander fast food place. They must be all over. There was also a Starbucks and a MacDonalds. The girls got French fries, Pippa, Randy and Martha coffee drinks and my father I went for the Magnums ( Turkish ice cream bars)

There was a candy place and I noticed they had candies shaped like fried eggs, which was a new one for me. We drove on and went over some very steep mountains with some very sharp turns with lots of crs and buses. Found the bypass around Izmir and then onto a toll road south towards Selczuk. The first toll booth had no place to pay but a big red button so I punched it and drove on.

We finally got to the Selczuk exit and there was another toll booth. We saw a man standing there and tried to hand him money but would wouldn’t take it and pointed to a building off to the side so we backed up and drove over there. Randy went inside and they sold him a card for 20 TL. We drove back to the man and he showed us how to swipe it. We did and as we drove through an alarm went off. We kept going and soon were right outside the village. I pulled over right as it was getting dark. Randy called a promising pensyione and soon we were parking outside and dragging our baggage through a beautiful courtyard and up and outside staircase to our rooms.

There was a rooftop restaurant next door and we walked through a rug and plate shop, up the stairs and sat down on carpet padded benches with pillows and ordered cold beer and mezzzes. There was a nest of storks with fledgling chicks on a pole across the street right at eye level. We ate some different eggplant, lamb and spinach dishes and then wandered back to the hotel and once again I fell exhausted from all the driving into bed!!! GOOD NIGHT!

I sleep until breakfast and then walk down the staircase into a pool of purple bougainvillea that covers the courtyard. There is a big circular wooden table with a bench on one side and chairs around. I settle on the bench and download photos while our hostess assembles breakfast. Cucumbers and tomtoes, bread, butter and jam, cheese and salami, black and green olives, boiled eggs and finally a cup of chair (tea) for me! It’s beautiful sitting in the purple shade in this wonderful country! Today we are off to Efes (Ephesus) which is a very large ancient Greek city. I saw when I was here last time and it was very cool. I hear there is a new section they have uncovered. I am very excited to see it.

After breakfast the owner of the restaurant next door loaded us into his van and drove us to the upper gate at Ephesus. The tour buses were rolling in and lots of people were milling around the vendors and the ticket booth. Half our group headed into the shops and I fought through the crowd and bought tickets. We gather our group, water, sunscreen and plunged into Ephesus. It is a huge site with a main street that runs downhill. People have been living and building here since at least 2000 BC. There are the remains of two theaters a large library and a public toilet with 44 seat and platform for a musician to cover all the noise! Now some of the walls remain and the marble benches with the seat holes cut in them.

There were lots of people speaking in many languages all trying to take pictures at once. My stepmother and Martha were absolutely entranced with the site. It really is amazing the first time you see it. Soon we came to the new section that runs up the hill and paid our 15 TL and headed in under a really amazing truss fabric roof structure that run up the hill and protected the new dig from weather. It was cool and quiet inside. There were only a few people inside which was a relief from the press of humanity outside. This section is incredible! They have uncovered a wealthy persons house or houses with beautiful mosaics on the floors an indoor fountain, marble wainscoting on the walls and frescos painted on the upper walls and ceilings. You could see the remains of indoor plumbing and one huge arched ceiling remains. It was truly fabulous to walk along on a glass walkway over the top and look down into the different rooms. There are sections were different archeologists and restorers are working. They had their tables and tools set-up. There were none working at the time but it was fun to see what their set-ups.

As we walked around I was leaning way over one of the rails to take a picture of a mosaic and one of the guards saw me and came over and took us off the walkway onto the top of a wall so I we could get better pictures. We were the only people in there at the time and the guard saw how thrilled we were and was about to take us down onto the floor but another group of people came along so he took Pippa’s camera and walked inside and took a whole series of pictures for her. He allowed me take a picture of him. We thanked him profusely and headed back up to the top and eventually out and down the side of the tent back to the main street. Amazingly the crowds were gone! We had the place almost to ourselves. So we wandered on down to the library, which was three stories tall and still has some wonderful carved statues in place. They had the walkway to the large theater blocked off as there was a huge crane lifting scaffolding up to a work site on one side.

We headed for the exit and I noticed people walking up into the theater from the other side. Pippa and my father headed for the shade while I ran up for a quick look. It is a very large theater that is still used occasionally for concerts. You can really fell the presence of actors and singers from the ages standing there gazing up at you from the stage. It’s fun to imagine what their performances were like. One the other hill next to the library I notice a Turkish soldier armed with a machine gun watching over the site. The Turks are very serious about guarding their antiquities!

As a I walked towards the exit I noticed lots of re poppies were blooming in the grass along side the ruins. It was very pretty. I found Pippa and my father relaxing in a shady breezy spot. We were in no hurry as my brother and his family, were just heading into the new section. We wandered down to the lower gate and Pippa convinced one of the guards to let her out the gate to buy ice cream and then return. We sat on the wall by the lavs under huge pine trees and listened to the wind singing in the trees and ate double chocolate magnums. Chocolate ice cream with a soft dark chocolate coating dipped in hard milk chocolate on a stick! What a great invention ice cream with a handle! After we finished our ice cream we watched some birds chasing on the many stray cats around. Pippa headed out the gate to shop and my father and I lay down on top f the wall and promptly dozed off.

I was awakened by Winfree talking about the stray cats. We grouped up and bought water and walked to the bookshop on the left. The proprietor called the restaurant and the owner picked us up and took us to the base of the Seven Sisters were he ushered us into the tent covered kitchen of a tent restaurant. There was a whole family busy cutting onions, eggplants, spinach and rolling out very thin dough with which they were making stuff flatbread and cooking them in a stone wood fired oven. We ordered some meat, some veggies and some dessert flatbreads and were ushered into another tent and asked to remove our shoes and were seated one low benches covered the Turkish carpets and pillows at a big low table under another tent. The people running the place looked like they were one step from nomadic or gypsy people. The flatbreads were excellent. One with veggies, anterh with lamb and veggies and two desserts on with banana and honey and another with peanut butter and Nutella ) chocolate hazelnut spread).

After we finished we walk up the hill to the Seven Sisters, which was a small ruin were people obviously lived and maybe were buried at some point. Soon the van appeared and we were driven back to the hotel. We headed to our rooms for a rest. Winfree and I played a couple of games of Boggle and then read for awhile. Soon it was 7 pm when we expected next door for dinner so we straggled over the and up to the rooftop restaurant and watched the stork babies practicing their flying on the edge of the nest while our food was delivered. We ordered a bunch of mezzes which came with bread and drank beer and water. Spinach, eggplant, chicken with veggies and yogurt. It was all tasty. After dinner Randy and family browsed in the ceramic and rug shop under the restaurant and Pippa and my father and I wandered up to the Church of St. Jean and walked around to the side to the see the sunset. There were two Turkish men who were just settling on the wall with half a roast chicken, salad, beer and raki for the dinner. When we appeared they smiled and asked us to share their meal. I explained that we had just eaten but thanked them and we watched the sunset and left them to their meal.

We walked up toward the fort on the hill but some young turks on a moped explain the fort is closed for repair. We headed back to our hotel and off to sleep. I am finally feeling like I am catching up on my rest! See you in the morning!

Istanbul to Bursa

2011-06-26T14:42:00.000-04:00

Today we receive a rental van delivered to our hotel. But it has no map. I finally convince the driver to go and buy a map for me. There is no way we will get to Gocek with out one. After looking at the map and the route out of Istanbul the day before I booked passage on a car ferry across the Sea of Marmara to Yalova. So after we settled our hotel bill with a combination of Euros, Turkish Lira and Dollars (they didn’t accept credit cards) we loaded up the van (minibus) and found our way down the twisty side streets to the highway that runs along the shore and along to the ferry terminal. There were cash machines so we loaded up on Turkish lira since few people were accepting Euros. Only my bank wouldn’t give me money. Hmmm! Not good. Then I remembered that these are the days they are turning the last of Wachovia into Wells Fargo. I hope it works in a few days!!!
Winfree had a small Turkish coin she found and wanted to spend it. We walked over to the snack bar and with some help from my pocket book she was able to buy what turned out to be a chocolate granola bar type thingy. She enjoyed it and a guy started talking to us. He is Turkish but lived in Norfolk, Virginia for a while. He also drove through Florida all the way south to Key West. He was one of the ferry captains but unfortunately not for our ferry.

Too bad, as it would have been fun to get Winfree and Estill up on the bridge during the crossing. His bat came in so we said goodbye and walked back to the van and soon we were loaded on the ferry and grabbed a table on the first deck. But we soon realized that contrary to what I had been told people were sitting in their reserved seats. We were displaced by a family and their two daughters spent a lot of effort helping us find our seats which were scattered all about. They were fairly devout Muslim women in scarves and long coats and so the girls had a long conversation with Martha, Pippa and the girls. Winfree, Randy and I went out on deck to take some pics but a rain squall ran us back inside. So I sat and dozed and soon the announcement came to return to our vehicles. So we made or way below to the van and the two gals were waiting for us with a gift of wonderful thin sesame bread sticks.

We worked our way off the ferry in Turkish style pushing our way into the traffic and decided to drive to Termal which is a little town famous for it’s hot springs. It must be a tourist favorite as it was marked with big brown tourist site road signs. In about 30 minutes we arrived and the parking man let us park free and showed us were we could swim. Randy, Father the girls and I paid and were issued towels and
keys to two changing cabanas and told to shower well when we got out. They pool was in a very pretty little valley surrounded by trees next to a nice hotel. The pool was pretty warm and there were pipes along the sides that were jetting very hot water from the springs into the pool. We had a nice swim and sat in the sun for a while then showered and turned in our towels. We realized towards the end that everyone else was walking around in blue crocs from a rack by the entrance. The pool deck was marble and quite slippery. So I think the shoes would have helped with slipping.

After our swim we met up with Pippa and Martha and walk up to café on the hill for lunch. We ordered some yogurt with cucumber and Turkish pizzas and bread with melted cheese and salad. Turned out to be a lot of food. The bread with melted cheese was excellent and the pizza had ground meat, salami, tomatoes on them and were really tasty. We left stuffed and got back in the minibus and headed south to Bursa. The turks don’t post a top speed limit so people pretty much drive as fast as they can. They as a rule pass on the left and will false their headlights at you to get you to move over if they are in a big hurry. We drove back out of Termal and found a highway. Fill the tank with diesel and were on our way. They road was divided two lane most of the way except where they were working and they would send the traffic to the other side. There you had to watch carefully for vehicles passing in your face. They did on occasion and the vehicles on our side would move over as far as possible. It was about 4 hours to Bursa over some pretty mountainous terrain with some good curves with the turks moving at high speed. Took a bit of getting used to. It began to rain just outside of Bursa but stopped as we entered the inner city. We had a hotel but no directions on how to get there. Bursa is a large city with lots of traffic going every which way. I pulled off the road and luckily my brother was able to get the GPS to work on his phone and after driving around for a while we found our hotel on the hill inside the wall of the old city. Ketap Evi is a beautiful boutique hotel. We got settled and had a cup of apple tea.

I read online that Bursa had a large community of the Mevlevi Order which is small sect of Islamists who worship love and a better know as whirling dervishes because the men wear long full skirts and they spin as they pray. I was hoping to see them in action but was unable to find an address and really didn’t want to get back in the car and fight through the traffic!

Then we walked around and looked over the wall and dodged thunderstorms and walked down what seemed like a thousand stairs until we found a café at the base of the wall. They didn’t serve alcohol so we ordered Fanta (orange drink) and Aryan which is a salted yogurt drink and a couple of big cucumber and tomato salads. Followed by a bunch of desserts. Tiaramisu, chocolate pudding, and pistachio ice cream. I was so tired that I kept falling asleep at the table so when dessert was finished and the bill was paid, I staggered up the stairs and fell right into bed. I finally slept a full night and woke after dawn and felt fresher than in many days.

Sights and Sounds of istanbul

2011-06-21T12:15:00.001-04:00

Morning comes early in Istanbul. I am deeply asleep when there is a sound like a finger tap on your shoulder. It is the first syllable of the morning call to worship from the Blue Mosque. The syllable grows and and ululates. Then dies away. You fall back into sleep. Then the call comes again with a vengence. It begins louder and and grows in volume and voice wails and ululates. You can hear it echoing off buildings. Then it falls away and you hear the answering calls from other mosques. It comes again and again until you are completely awake. Then silence. It’s 4:45 am and still dark and I am awake… Istanbul is waking up. Soon you hear the rumble of the first commuter train. Soon the light begins to color the sky rose and the sound of sweeping brooms as the street cleaners come through. The calls of the bread sellers begin to echo along the street.
It’s full light and I am up and ready for breakfast.
As you walk along the streets of Istanbul the shopkeepers stand in front of their shops and invite you in. They call “are you French?” “are you English?” “Hello English!” “Come have a tea with me.” They all want to sell something. You have to get used to politely saying no and walking on past. Some are more aggressive and will follow you down the sidewalk. There is always conversation in Turkish which is a little bit more guttural than Spanish or French but more musical that German. People smile and nod. If you greet them they will smile and return your greeting.

There are always street vendors. They have carts of bottled water and juices. You smell chestnuts and corn roasting on grills. Oranges and other fruit. There are always young boys walking around with trays of small glasses of tea. Tea is offered everywhere. If you go into a bank or a rug shop the owner will send a boy running for tea. They will offer you tea while they show you rugs. If you engage a Turk in conversation before they will offer you tea.

As you walk you can smell hints of spices from shops, roasting meats from the kebapi (kebab shops) little hints of sewage here and there, perfume and diesel exhaust, and scents from flowering trees and plants.

If you get off the main streets the side streets twist, turn, rise and fall and the houses and shops are packed cheek to jowl. They are full of people sitting on chairs and in cafes, kids playing on the sidewalks and people calling to each other. There are very few street signs so it’s easy to get lost. But if you look up you can usually spot the minarets (towers) of a nearby mosque and head for it. Mosques are always easy to find on the town maps and make good navigation points.

Turkey has Islamic, Christian and Jewish people living happily side by side. It has been a democracy since about 1926 when then President Attaturk declared it so. Turks are very proud of their democracy and their heritage and tke voting seriously. We are arrived during an election and their were polling stations set –up in the airport arrival areas. Many Turks are Islamic in faith but they are not Arabs. Like all Islamic peoples they are very clean. They before praying and the very faithful pray 6 times a day.

I love walking in Istanbul. People call out hello and smile and the men mostly dress in grey or blue slacks and short sleeve button down shirts. The women are dressed in a huge variety from very Western wear. Too black dresses with shawls so only their noses stick out. Women as a rule keep their shoulders covered and don’t wear blouses with revealing necklines. They wear a wonderful variety of scarves in any color and pattern you can image.

There were a few people begging on the street in Istanbul but not nearly as many as we saw in Athens. Here they seemed to be Turks where as in Greece they all seemed to be gypsies or North Africans.

Istanbul is quite clean for such a big city. There is not much trash lying around. There are people who pick up trash and you see them dragging huge containers of trash that are constructed of fabric on a PVC frame built around a hand truck. They stuff them as full as possible. It is amazing how much they can fit into their containers. At one place back in an alley I could see a bunch of these guys sorting out what they had collected. They seemed to be separating the metal from plastics etc.

We had some rain storms roll through and people pulled out umbrellas or put newspapers on their heads and continued on. They didn’t seem to mind the rain and luckily it never lasted too long.

We walked and rode the trolley, but not the buses this time. Turkey has a very extensive bus system around the country. Istanbul is such on old city that there are antiquities everywhere you look. People have been living here since before recorded time. I love the layers of the City. There are buildings of different styles and time periods all mixed together into a wonderful mosaic that Istanbul. If you look at older walls and buildings you can see bits and pieces of even older buildings that were used in their construction.

We walk and look until we are tired and hungry and then choose a café and sit down for a drink and a meal. One of my favorite drinks is Aryan, which is yogurt that has been mixed with water and salt. It is very tasty and refreshing. Especially on a hot day. You almost never see pork on a menu. Though one place that caters to Enlish and German tourists had swine frankfurters on the menu. They have wonderful lamb, beef and eggplant dishes. Also fresh grilled fish.

When the evening comes you see some Turks having alcohol with a meal but mostly after dinner. They make a tasty beer Efes (Ephesus) which comes as a pilsner or a dark. I prefer the pilsner. If they are going to drink hard liquor it will be Raki which is anise flavored like licorice and very strong. It is served like greek ouzo with a glass of water which is dripped into the raki which turns milky. When you have diluted it to your satisfaction it is then sipped. All is quiet save the low rumble of a large sleeping city. Turks as a rule don’t really drink to excess so Turkish cities are pretty quiet at night. Sometimes you hear some roosters giving their last calls as the last light falls away. At about 9:45 at night you hear the evening call to prayer and soon after Istanbul sleeps. As much as any major city ever sleeps. So I read a few sentences and drift off. Good night!

Trip To Istanbul and western Turkey

2011-06-11T23:13:00.005-04:00

Istanbul or Bust!
6/9/11

Well we finally made it!
After months of planning, changing plans, booking minibuses(vans) for 7 hotels, boats and planes the departure day has arrived.
I have a friend staying in my house so I didn’t have to shut it completely down this time, which was nice. A shout out to Christopher! Enjoy the treehouse.

As of bedtime last night I didn’t know exactly how we were all getting to the airport. I was thinking we would leave at 9:30 but at 8:38 a text came in from my neice Estill that a limo is picking me up at 9:05! I ran around like a nut for 40 minutes and got dressed and took care of the last chores. I was just taking the trash to the alley when this party bus rounds the corner and stops out front. My nieces Estill and Winfree jump out and run up to my front door. They help me with my suitcase. The limo has two drivers and my sister-in-law Martha is onboard. We olad up and head for my father house for he and my step-mother Pippa. Then off to Space Machine for my brother. And finally we unload at Tampa International Airport and haul and drag our Family Circus through Security and onto a Delta Flight to NY. We heave time for A slice of Pizza for lunch and then onto another Delta Flight to Istanbul. Then we sit…. And sit.. and sit….

We had to sit on the plane at the gate in NY for 7 hours as departures were backed up and a bad lightening storm rolled through.
At one point they let us back off the plane for a while. My father and I got gelato Dutch Chocolate yummy even at $5+ for a smallI got to chatting with to women on the flight and they wanted gelato so I walked them down there and the server gave me a free scoop for bringing more business. Nice!
Then back on the plane to wait some more…

Finally we got wheels up and arrived in Istanbul at Attaturk International Airport at 5:30 pm instead of 10:30 am. It is so nice to finally be in Turkey. We bought our visas and got out passports stamped and hit the cash points for Euros and Turkish lira and found our taxi to the hotel and off we went in a light drizzle to the Hotel Ahmet Efendi Evi.

The Hotel Ahmet is a cozy hotel with wonderfully helpful staff. They greeted us in English with tea in the living, dining room kitchen and told us some helpful facts and assisted me with booking a car ferry for Sunday to Yavlova so I won’t have to drive out of Istanbul the long way around which can be very difficult. Plus that will put us near the hot springs at Thermal. And near to Bursa where we have a hotel reserved for Sunday night.

We sorted out the rooms and settled in for a few minutes then gathered for a stroll and to look for a place dinner. Just down the street we found a place with a display full of fresh fish that smelled great. We ate wonderful fresh fish (sea bass, shrimp, swordfish and calamari for dinner and toured the Blue Mosque It is an amazing building with huge columns holding up an immense dome.

Pictures can be seen https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/myphotos

The Sultan Ahmed Mosque (Turkish:Sultanahmet Camii) is a historical mosque inIstanbul, the largest city in Turkey and the capital of the Ottoman Empire (from 1453 to 1923). The mosque is popularly known as theBlue Mosque for the blue tiles adorning the walls of its interior.
It was built between 1609 and 1616, during the rule of Ahmed I. Like many other mosques, it also comprises a tomb of the founder, amadrasah and a hospice. While still used as a mosque, the Sultan Ahmed Mosque has also become a popular tourist attraction.
More info at:: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sultan_Ahmed_Mosque

After we got back to the hotel I had a shower and then Winfree and I played Boggle and wrote in our logs before bed. She snores like the cutest little buzz saw! Buzz… snork Buzz snork snort!

She slept pretty soundly through the night. I didn't sleep much and was wide awake for the dawn call to morning prayers at about 4:30 am. Which are projected very loudly off the towers around the minarets. Now is 7:30 and Winfree is in the shower as it's almost time for brekkie.

6/10/11
I love the Turkish breakfast. We had a huge selection this time. Museli, yogurt, grape syrup, sesame oil, fresh bread and sesame ring bread, honeydew melon, raisins, dried figs, yellow cheese, salami and a feta like cheese, tomatoes, cucumbers, French toast, honey, cherry jam, tea and coffee.

After breakfast we gathered and we head off in the direction of the Hagia Sophia but get sidetracked by the goodies in the windows of a shopping street. A few scarves, towels and blankets were bought many more intems like, rugs, shoes and lights were lusted after.

Then we worked our way over to the Hagia Sophia

Hagia Sophia (from the Greek: Ἁγία Σοφία, "Holy Wisdom"; Latin: Sancta Sophia or Sancta Sapientia;Turkish: Aya Sofya) is a former Orthodox patriarchalbasilica, later a mosque, and now a museum in Istanbul, Turkey. From the date of its dedication in 360 until 1453, it served as the Greek Patriarchal cathedralof Constantinople, except between 1204 and 1261, when it was converted to a Roman Catholic cathedral under the Latin Patriarch of Constantinople of the Western Crusader established Latin Empire. The building was a mosque from 29 May 1453 until 1931, when it was secularized. It was opened as a museum on 1 February 1935.[1]

More at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hagia_Sophia

I was in it last time I was here 15 years ago but the line was too long today so we walked over to the Basilica Cistern (Yerebatan Saray) which was built in 525 AD and toured this huge underground water storage room that is lit with theatrical lights. It is very cool!

This cathedral-sized cistern is an underground chamber approximately 143 metres (470 ft) by 65 metres (210 ft) - about 9,800 square metres (105,000 sq ft) in area - capable of holding 80,000 cubic metres (2,800,000 cu ft) of water. The ceiling is supported by a forest of 336 marble columns, each 9 metres (30 ft) high, arranged in 12 rows of 28 columns spaced 4.9 metres (16 ft) apart. The capitals of the columns are mainly Ionic and Corinthian styles, with the exception of a few Doric styles with no engravings.

Readmore: http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/Middle_East/Turkey/Istanbul_Ili/Istanbul-1837624/Things_To_Do-Istanbul-Palace_Cistern_Yerebatan_Saray-BR-1.html#ixzz1P1SNilNF

. A couple of which have Medusa’s face carved on them. One is upside down. There is a lot of speculation as to why as the reason is forgotten in time. There is also a café down there. It would be a great place to hang out on a hot day or Halloween!

Then we went looking for the Mosaics Museum and stopped in a café for lunch. Eggplant with souce (as written in the menu Eggplant with yogurt, hummus and lots of very fine pita bread almost a thin a crepes. The girls had a pancake each. Winfree Cheese and Estill potato. They were also crepe –like and very tasty. My brother had yogurt and cucumber and an eggplant- ground lamb kebab. It was all very tasty.

We found the Mosaics Museum and I realized I had seen it before so I walked around a bit in a light rain and looked at more shops while the others toured the Museum. It is full of beautiful tile pictures.

The museum hosts the mosaics used to decorate the pavement of a peristyle court, dating possibly to the reign of Byzantine emperor Justinian I (r. 527-565). It was uncovered by Turkeyarchaeologists from the University of St Andrews in Scotlandduring extensive excavations at the Arasta Bazaar in Sultan Ahmet Square in 1935-1938 and 1951-1954. The area formed part of the south-western Great Palace, and the excavations discovered a large peristyle courtyard, with a surface of 1872 m², entirely decorated with mosaics
Read more at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Palace_Mosaic_Museum

Then we hiked around through some of the crazy winding streets over to the Sultanahmet area with the Egyptian Obelisk and bought tickets for the tram and rode it around to beside the Golden Horn which is the famous harbor of Istanbul. From there we walked to the Spice market. It was very crowded but we fought our way in and tried some Turkish Delight which is a sweet sticky candy and I bought a tasty spice mix. It was too crowded for my taste so I headed back out.

While I was waiting for the others to finish shopping I peered through some barred windows into a garden with beautiful old carved headstones. It was a beautiful, peaceful spot.

https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/myphotos

We got back on the tram and rode it across the bridge over the Golden Horn and we could see Asian Istanbul on the other side of the Bosporus. It was rush hour and the tram was full so we stood. At the end of the line the driver switched ends and drove the tram back the other direction. The others got off to take a boat ride up the Bosporus which I have also done and I went in search of the Cagaloglu Hammam or Turkish bath. It took a bit of wandering around but I finally found it.
The Cagaloglu Hammam located just near the Underground Cistern in Cagaloglu. In 1741, Sultan Mahmut ordered for construction of this hamam so as to generate revenue for his library and the famous monument of the time, Hagia Sofia. This hamam happens to be the last hamams built in the city before Sultan Mustafa III gave orders for banning construction of any hamams in 1768 to meet the city’s increasing demand for wood and water.
More info at: http://www.sultanahmet1.com/ahmet/cagaloglu-bath/

A bath with a scrub was more expensive than I remember 66 Turk Lira ($.65-$1) I was given room to change a towel, key and a pair of Crocs. Stripped down, toweled and Croced I walked into the hot seamy marble room and lay on the hot marble slab. I relaxed until an attendant came along and took me to an alcove in the side with a bench, a large water basin with hot and cold taps. He poured a pitcher of hot water on me and scrubbed me to within a inch of my life with a luffa glove and rinsed me down then scrubbed my hair and then washed everywhere but my privates with a soapy towel and rubbed me down a bit. Then a good rinse with the pitcher. Wow! Was I clean. I washed a bit more, then poured many bowls of cold water on myself and then lay abck on the hot slab in the center until I was done. Rinsed again and back to my clothes. A tip for the scrubber and I wandered back towards my hotel. I found a nice Indian restaurant (DUBB) on a side street and had stuff grape leaves (dolmas), lamb in spicy tomato sauce and garlic nan for dinner with a dark beer and sat and watched people for awhile.

I walked back to the hotel to discover that Pippa didn’t go on the boast ride. She got on bit it was rocking against the dock so she got off and got a sandwich and went back to the hotel to read. The rest of the gang came back in a few minutes later. After the boat ride my father walked back to the hotel to eat with Pippa and got lost for while. The rest found him after they ate on the way home. He was just around the corner from the hotel. Since he hadn’t eaten I walked him back to the Indian place and he order dolmas and we each got a dark beer. They said they had one last dolmas, but the dish that was delivered was completely different from what I had eaten. He said they were very tasty and the perfect amount. We spoke for a few minutes with a young couple at the next table who were from Buenos Aries and they told us a bit about their wonderful trip and some places we might stop. They were leaving for London the next day. We bit them bon voyage and headed back to the hotel where I shaved brush my teeth wand was too tired to play Boggle with Winfree before bed. Goodnight!

https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/myphotos

Big Bend of Florida Trip

2011-03-30T20:03:00.001-04:00

Wed March 23 2011
I loaded up my van BEYOND and left St. Pete and driving north.
Stopped for a swim at City Park in Crystal River. Beautiful sun and refreshing water. Not too cold. Warmed in sun and drove to Cedar Key.
CI get a camp at Sunset RV Park. I get the last one, next to Basketball court. Kids played until truck backed over basketball well after dark. I was sad for the kids but happy for the silence. I drank a couple beers and made Porcini stuffed ravioli with clam sauce for dinner and girl scout cookies. Tasty! Then I enjoyed the very clean bathroom with hot shower not to bad for $20.

Thurs. March 24 2011
Made tea and drove to City Park and met Gale Lawrence, a nature writer from Vt. who winters in Cedar Key.
I bicycled around and attended free coffee lecture about the history of Cedar Key High School. It was closed in 1981 and student were bused 35 miles to Chiefland. Parents and students protested and petitioned and school was reinstated a yr later.

Homemade with cake with pecan coconut icing delish!
Biked to History Museum 1.5 miles. $2 some interesting displays of historical items and maps. Early railroad ran Cedar Key. It was an important port to Caribbean and Central and South America.

Also the local naturalist St. Clair Whitman’s house. Cool collection of shells in Cigar boxes. Also some preserved alligator and wild native cat skulls.

Rode to historic cemetery and out the marsh boardwalk. Cemetary had graves with lots of fake flowers and ceramic items and some were next to blooming azaleas. Such a contrast!

Biked all over and took lots of pics of fun and interesting houses.
Back to city Park went for a swim in knee-deep water. Not as nice as Crystal River but great view of the gulf.

Had an apple and beach showered. I was just leaving when I ran into Gale again. What coincidence! Mush be fate for us to meet twice in the same day upon arriving and as I was leaving.

Drove off island and over to a Shell Mound in the Lower Suwanee National Wildlife Refuge and took a hike. There is a nice small campround there. Wish I had stayed there! Was eating some nuts when Fish and Wild life officer came by. He told me about some back roads to Chiefland, FL and a remote campsite on Shired Island. There drive was wonderful lots of single lane dirt road thru the swamp. Beautiful flowers. Lots of wild irises. Huge purple. Butterflies everywhere. Fiddler crabs in the road. Trying to drive around them. One crab with a 2 inch claw is standing middle of road in front of my van challenging me! Come on sucka! I can take you! What a fierce crab! I carefully drive around him. You can’t mess with courage like that!

Drove thru Fowlers Bluff and past Manatee Springs. $6 so no swim. On to Chiefland and US 19 around to Old Town , FL I gassed up and drove to Suwanee and turned onto Mainline Rd. Single Lane dirt road through swamp. Sooo beautiful! Like the Fakahtchee Strand with half the road. Not enough room for two cars to place in places. Past 3 cars on mainline.

Out onto a two lane paved and down to Shired Island. Found campsite wind is blowing very fierce! Backed BEYOND to quarter the wind and popped the top and opened windows. Can feel her rocking! Temp is dropping fast. Is going to be a cool night. Cooked scallops in Thai sesame noodles and watched sun go down. Very beautiful place but no potable water. Glad I put a few gallons in my tank back in Cedar Key! This is my kind of place. Only a few other people here. Very remote and beautiful. I am camped 15 feet from the surfline. Hope there is no storm surge tonight! Am so glad to be on the road.

Am hoping to find back roads to Steinhatchee tomorrow. I got a beautiful picture of the sunset over the gulf tonight. The wind has blown away all the clouds and the sky is crystal clear! I can see a million, billion stars. Orions belt looks like it’s right over my head. I can almost grab it! The lights on the bathroom are too bright but once I walk around the corner on the beach and my eyes adjust I see a few lights from Horsehoe Beach but the rest of the sky is dark. This is a good place for star gazing! Oops out of electrons! Goodnight!

You can see photos at
https://picasaweb.google.com/allenloyd/BigBendTrip?pli=1&gsessionid=JyhJC0hrMe2sW4BiqfpT3Q#

Friday 3/25/11
I got up to absolutely no wind. It felt strange after feeling the wind rock the van all night. I paid Hubert $20 for the site. He said St. Pete is not close enough o get the rate for locals. Oh well. It’s still beautiful here. I made tea and did some cleaning and organizing in BEYOND then some guys asked if I was using the pavilion. I said no I was leaving in a while. He asked me to move my van I said no and went for a walk. Those guys started building a virtual house in that pavilion. They even had a refrigerator and a huge pile of firewood. I asked how long they are staying. They said Monday. Wow they brought a lot of stuff! I am glad I am leaving as lots of people are coming in.

Hubert told me how to find the backroad to Horseshoe Beach and Steinhatchee. So I can continue to take back roads up the coast. Cool! So I head out and get back on the mainline. This section is not quite as pretty as the last but still nice. I come out near the water tower and cruise into Horseshoe Beach. I look around but there is no beach. I ask and find out there is not much here but some crazy houses all on stilts. There is one like a sailing ship and another that is a cluster of circular metal huts. Pretty funny! I drive around a little more and go back to the Mainline. It goes out a ways to a big house that looks out onto the grass flats. I park past the house and there are paths out on the flats but too wet for BEYOND so I get on my bike and ride a couple miles out.

The roads skirts the edge of the flats. I am dodging fiddler crabs and try to stay out of the really soft spots. Finally I get close to a hammock and try to walk out to it through the grass but there is a creek in between and I don’t feel like swimming. I walk and bike back to BEYOND, load up and drive until I see the Fire tower and take the turn over to Steinhatchee. Another dirt road but very wide. A redneck super highway! Soon I am parked down a little road by the marsh and I am back in cell range so I check messages and email. I eat and snack and get back on the road. I am on 351 just out of town and there is a turn off for the Big Bend Preserve. Here is another nice dirt road for biking. I drive down to the canoe launch and hike the nature trail. It’s a 1.5 mile loop through the scrub. Not too exciting. I see an armadillo.

Then I drive on and read about how it was logged it with trams. Pretty wild. Then back out onto 351. I take it past Bird. Island, Dark Creek and then onto Perry. I hit the grocery store for fresh veggies ice and beer then onto to Medart where I gas up. All the ditches are filled with flowers and the dogwoods, azaleas and wisteria are in full bloom. It’s stunning here. I drive through Sopchoppy where they have a worm grunting festival in April. Too bad I am about 2 weeks early. Sounds like fun! I cruise into the Ochlockanee River State Park and my campsite right as darkness settles in. It’s nice to sit back with a cold beer and write in my log. Captains log earth date 3.25.11. I hope there is a shower here. I am pretty sweaty and stinky after biking on the flats.

Well I am off to cook and dinner and tomorrow we have Appalatchicola Art Festival to check out. Supposed to be a nice day.

Hope the race is not getting on the nerves off all you St. Pete folks! It’s nice a quiet here!

You can see photos at
https://picasaweb.google.com/allenloyd/BigBendTrip?pli=1&gsessionid=JyhJC0hrMe2sW4BiqfpT3Q#

Peace All.
Sat. 3/26/11
It was a nice campground until dawn when the 300 or so birds (they looked like a small corvid maybe a martin) burst into song! I thought an alarm had gone of in my van. I jumped out of bed to see what all the fuss was about! They were in the tree right above my van. They kept up the singing for a few hours. I made tea and then went for a bike ride down to the Ochlockanee River. It was misty with sunbeams peeking through the clouds. A couple from Colorado pointed out the white squirrels that live near the picnic area. They were a first for me. Pretty cool. There was no one on the river so I stripped down and went for a very quick dip. I could hear the alligators grunting out in the river so I made it a very quick dip! I

biked back and pack up and drove into Carrabelle to see my friend Janice’s store. She wasn’t there yet but so I had a nice chat with her mother and drove on into Appalachicola for the Gallery Walk. There were lots of artists set-up on the sidewalks and in front of stores. Some very cool work. I ran into my friend Joe and found out where his set-up was then walked around to see all the work and stopped into Appalach Outfitters to see where gear was 45% off. I found some nice Patagnia and Mountain Hardware winter gear that I purchased along with some fishing lures.

I visited my friend in the bookstore. She sold me a wonderful book called Flotsam and Jetsom by local boat builder and character Robb White. It was a wonderful book and I hoping she had some others but no such luck. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys boats. Later I found a cheap fishing rod and spinning reel in a junk shop.

In the afternoon I ate a bagel with cheddar cheese and then went to see what Joe was doing. He was selling drinks o raising money to buy art supplies for the kids art program so I had one and meet some of his friends and we drank some beer and then pack up his stuff and moved to the Garden Shop to listen to guitar and imbibe a bit more. Joe headed home to his wife but hooked my up with Lynda who is a local nurse and is interested in arts in healthcare and Clarisse who is a local artist. They were going out to dinner.

We found Clarrisse’s husband Jerry ( nickname Merril) the Wildman and headed to Verandah’s restaurant. We had some wonderful fried oysters ( for those of you not familiar with Appalachicola some of best oysters in the world grow around here) Then a big plate of jambalaya. It was a tasty meal. Jerry is a hoot. This is one of the only places he is allowed to eat in because he is loud and rambunctious. He used to be a ship captain and has sailed all kinds of boats and run all kinds of boat charter businesses and fixes old motorcycles. We hit it off right away. We had some beer and good food. Told some stories and some lies and laughed a lot. After dinner Lynda showed me a place near Jerry’s boat where I could park and sleep undisturbed.

When we got back to my van Jerry was there and he want to see the inside of BEYOND. I gave him the tour and we settled in with a beer and talked sailing. He told me about a guy who had a boat built in Australia that he wanted Jerry to captain on it’s voyage back to the states. Built the boat was built with all kinds of extra gear and crazy stuff. So much that it would barely float. Jerry got there and tried to talk the owner into getting rid of a lot of weight to no avail. Jerry wisely refused to sail it and last he heard it barely made it’s first crossing and that captain quit. It’s staggered through it’s second leg and went no further. It was built like a tank with way to much stuff on it. Soon he needed to run his dogs and my eyes were drooping so we parted ways and I parked near his boat and took a look at her before I pulled the shades and went to sleep.

Sunday March 27
Even though it was Sunday the dredge is was parked near started up it’s cranes and I was up at first light again. I jumped on my bike to see if there was a bathroom in the park nearby. No such luck so I drove back downtown and Tamara’s Restaurant was open to I hit the john and scrubbed up. Then I settled in for blueberry pancakes and ham. I drank tea and read a Spanish cookbook while I waited and soon two huge pancakes with sauage patties arrived. Pancakes were good but too big. Sausage was fine but I would rather have had the ham or bacon. After I finished I headed back to the park and rode my bike all around town. I stopped at the gas station for fishing weights and went back for my pole. I cast some from the end of the boat pier but no bites. I was biking to another spot when I ran into Jerry again. He told me about a couple of interesting spots and invited me over later in the afternoon.

I rode to another Pier and fished some more to no avail. But I had a nice conversation with a man from Macon, GA. I rode back to the van and drove out to the river and had an apple and check my email then drove over to Jerry’s. Clarisse was making a cool birdhouse in her studio and Jerry and a bunch of dogs were working on a motorcycle. We sat on the back porch and Clarisse made us a mojito and Jerry pulled out the plans and photos of the crazy sail boat from Austrailia. It was just as much of a horror show as he described. I would never have left the dock on that craft! We looked at all the crazy stuff on that boat and told more stories and they invited me to stay for dinner.

I bought some drinks and they got some excellent fried chicken from AJ’s and Lynda showed up with AJ’s banana pudding. It was all very fine. Good southern fried chicken. Like Chattaways in St. Pete. We feasted and then Jerry and I took the dogmobile full of dogs down to the harbor and they ran and chased sticks and rocks and had a fine time. We went back and sat on the porch and told more lies and had a last drink. Then I drove to a quiet spot in the back of the cemetery and crashed. I always enjoy myself in Appalach! Good night.

Monday 3/28/11

I am early again and make a pot of tea and drive west out to the St. Joe Peninsula. I stop at San Blast Peninsula, which is owned by Eglin Air force base but you can see the lighthouse and walk the beach. I put on my swim suit and grabbed my pack and fishing pole. There is a storm blowing in and it could get rough. The waves are pretty big and I go for a quick swim and then cast in the waves but I don’t have enough weight on my line so I walk down to the end of the point. There are only a few people on the beach it’s pretty wild with lots of dirft wood, fallen trees and birds. I like I very much.

I walk back and take some pics of the lighthouse and then drive on down to the T.H. Stone Memorial St. Joseph’s Peninsula State Park. It’s a wonderful Park with sand dunes and a beautiful beach! I stop and get a snack and am going to cast my line but the rain come petty hard so I sneak into the campground for a quick shower. Boy does it feel good to be clean again!

The rain continues so I drive back to Appalach and tour the Orman house. It gives a nice feel of Appalch at the time of the railroad and during the Civil War.

I gas up and head East. I drive along keeping just ahead of the rain and followed 98 all the way back almost to Sopchoppy (love that name!) In Medea I turn off and drive to Wakulla Springs State Park. My map shows camping but there none. Darn and I’m tired. I have a nice swim in the springs and relax. There is a historic hotel and I walk around and check it out and read my book. One of the rangers has her eye on my so I go back out to BEYOND and move her to the hotel parking lot and cook some pad thai noodles with hardboiled egg and almonds. Sure enough I see the ranger looking around for me. I stay very still and she walks past me a couple of times. The park is closed and I am not supposed to be here. She never spots me and it gets dark so I pull out the bed and crash. I wake up about midnight to rain so I close the hatch and sleep again.
Tuesday 3/29/11

You can see photos at
https://picasaweb.google.com/allenloyd/BigBendTrip?pli=1&gsessionid=JyhJC0hrMe2sW4BiqfpT3Q#

I am up and packed just before the rangers arrive. I drink tea until I see guests walking around. Then I jump out of BEYOND and walk to the hotel just as another ranger is pulling up. I keep walking and head for the bathroom. That was close! I walk around and it’s chilly. I put on the new winter vest I bought and it keeps me warm as I walk a few miles out the rail into forest and through a swamp. It’s a nice trail and I enjoy my walk until it starts to rain pretty steadily and head back. I jnmp in BEYOND pour a hot cup of tea, turn on the heat ( yes, it’ that cold!) and head back to and then south towards home. I stop and treat myself to Pizza Hut buffet for lunch in Cross City. I eat a bit too much and have to stop for a nap and swim in Crystal River again. The temp is much warmer and the sun almost comes out. I watch a man on a Rube Goldberg boat scooping up all the floating weed. It’s a cool machine and I wonder if he built it? It looks home made!
About 3:30 I pack up and make it onto the bridge before the rush hour traffic and am home again by 5:30.

Until next trip be safe.
Allen

back to Marsh Harbour and home to St. Pete

2010-04-12T14:17:00.002-04:00

4/3/10 6:15 am

We eat the last of the cereal, milk dried fruit yogurt and granola bars for breakfast. Then at 7:15 we pull the past anchor and motor off towards Marsh Harbour. We get a call from Tranquility and can see them coming in from across the bay. They are about 15 minutes ahead of us and we follow them in and we have to scramble to move our docking lines to the other side but soon we are tied to the fuel dock. My father and brother and his family say a hasty good bye and rush for the airport to catch 10 am flights. Richard and I work with the Sunsail crews to get boats fueled and back in their slips and all the paper work finished. Then a hot shower at the marina and a last check for our gear.

My father never did find his missing pair of skivvies! Then we move off the boat and move out gear into storage. I put a few minutes charge on my laptop so I can turn it on to get through airport security and we say our goodbyes to the Sunsail crew and Richard and his family. Todd and Dave want to shop so we fit the few gift places that are open on Easter weekend and then smell frying fish and eat fried grouper and conch burgers and the Golden Grouper Café. Very tasty and a really nice staff. They call us a taxi and we ride back to the marina for our gear and then off to the airport.

We get there about 12:20. We check-in and say goodbye to Todd who flies out at 1:30 then Dave at 2:00 and me about 2:15. The travel gods are smiling on me and thereis no line and I breeze through both customs and security in West Palm Beach and get checked-in to Southwest flight and I reach my gate 10 minutes before boarding. There are plenty of seats and rooms to store luggage.

I settle in for a smooth lfight back to Tampa. My father arrived about 40 minutes before me and I find him sitting outside the door on a bench and soon Pippa pulls in to take us home. It’s been another great adventure! I enjoyed being captain through all the good weather and bad. I had a great crew and look foraward to sailing again in the near future! Until next time. Follow year dreams and get out there and travel! Step outside of your comfort zone and do something different. The rewards are amazing!

There are also pictures from Tranquility that can be viewed at:

http://picasaweb.google.com/109693709370069018435/Bahamas2010?authkey=Gv1sRgCIOPiabd18TucA#

Peace,
Allen

Manjack to Matt Lowe's Cay

2010-04-12T14:15:00.001-04:00

4/2/10
We have been going to sleep about 9:30 or 10 pm so I am always awake before sunrise. I am almost finished with Solitaire when I hear my father. We get up and rustle up some breakfast from our supplies of cereal, milk, crackers, honey, jam and dried fruit. Again we are ready before the other crew so off we sail. We head out into deep water and around the sandbar off Green Turtle Cay and then head for the shoals at the entrance to the Whale Cay Passage. When we cross the waypoint for the track we radio base that we are going through. We are going to have to tack through and my father and I debate motor sailing through but we weather is nice and Todd is getting to be a good hand so we sail close hauled towards Whale Cay.

When we water starts getting shallow we make a perfect tack and head for the rocks on the west side of the passage. There are a couple of boats sailing though from the other direction but we have some sea room . Also we have the right of way on our close hauled tack … as long as they know the rules! When we get close to the rocks we tack again. Not so smooth this time and we lose some ground. We are still looking good and can tack again if we have too. We then lose a bit more ground to one of those sailboats who didn’t give us the right of way. Better to give a little than a collision!

We get some good puffs and ride up on them and soon we slid past the tip of whale Cay and fall off onto the next leg of the passage. We are though the difficult part and have another sailboat following us though now. We call into base that we are through and head on a broad reach out of the channel past an island that was created when they dug a channel for cruise ships to get to Great Guana Cay. It’s didn’t work out for the cruise ships but the channel and the spoil island remain. The tide is high and we have plenty of water and snack on the last salami and cheese and dried fruit as we sail on though and past the Fish Cays. They mighty fisherman has been trolling but no real bites. We have one but the fish gets off. Then we head for Fowl Cay which has a protected (marine park) coral reef. We have never been to this one. We tack towards Fowl Cay with Dave at the helm but the wind is picking up and it’s get to be too much for him so I take over. The wind is really blowing again and we get over-powered by our sail so we haul in the jib and zip in under just the main.

We get the main down and motor into the protection of the lee of Fowl Cay which is pretty tiny. We try to anchor in one spot but are blown down onto another boat. We pull the anchor and try another spot. This time we are holding but a little close to different boat. I stay in the cockpit and read and watch. We are in solid and they pass me ham sandwiches, and PB and honey crackers. Soon the other boat hoists his sails and off he goes. We get a call from Tranquility that they are through Whale Cay passage and where are we? They come close but decide to go onto Man o War Cay for some shopping. We have called into base and they reminded us that most shops will be closed for Good Friday. We decide to brave to waves and try to snorkel the reef. We get our gear and a dive flag and head out.

It’s wavey but we find the reef and tie our dinghy to a mooring buoy. Takes us a while o get the inflatable dive flag to work but soon we are snorkeling on another beautiful reef. The fish are not a fearful here. I guess they have gotten used to people and understand that they’re protected. I get some really nice pictures here as I can get really close to the fish. I m really curious to see how these pictures come out! When we are cold we motor back around the other side of the island and get ready to sail. We realize it’s getting late and try to reach Tranquility but no answer so we quickly motor across the bay to Matt Low Cay where there is a little anchorage which will give us protection in this wind and is about an hour from the Sunsail dock. It’s cold in this wind so I end up in my rain gear and warm hat! We get a call from Tranquility as we are pulling in that they are coming. But no sign of them by dark so they must have stayed at Man o War. Too bad as they have tonight’s dessert!

Todd motors into the beach to looks for shells for his kids but there are private island signs on the beach. Todd passes on a swim and he makes up the last of the vodka and lemonade for he and his father while I make black beans with the last of the Virginia ham The last of the fresh veggies and angel hair with clam sauce. It’s a true finish-ups meal! For dessert we scrounge up the last of the crackers with honey and jam. After dinner I get all my gear packed for the trip home. We are holding nicely with plenty of anchor chain out and are snug in our warm cabin with a chilly breeze blowing when I make a last check on deck before bed. And I climb under a blanket in my warm bunk. Good night!

Allen's Pensacola to Manjack Cay

2010-04-12T14:13:00.001-04:00

4/1/10 6:30 am

I slept really well but am awake early so I read my book. I am reading a good science fiction novel called SOLITAIRE by Kelley Eskridge. It’s a good story. Just before dawn I hear my father moving around so I get up and put the kettle on. Soon Dave and Todd are up and we have a oatmeal and cereal breakfast and then I get a good picture of the sunrise. The sky is blue and the weather is calm. We need to sail back at least to Manjack Cay today and if the weather looks iffy for tomorrow on through the Whale Cay Passage while the weather is good. We try to catch the weather on the radio but it’s Thursday before Easter and al the radio stations are getting ready for Easter. The people in the Abacos are very religious. SO no weather forecast today.

We call the Tranquility on the VHF radio and they are just getting started on breakfast so we decide to sail on ahead. We are really working like real crew now. In no time we have the anchor up and as we raise our mainsail a nice breeze picks up and we are off on a broad reach. We have a great sail back down past Powell’s Cay and we miss the 3 ½ ft deep sandbar again and soon we are geeing close to Manjack. Tranquility radioed us that they we going into Spanish Cay for water, dinghy fuel and did we need any groceries? We could use some dessert type stuff. They radio back that they have us covered on the desert front and they will try and get a weather report at the Spanish Cay marina. We call them again as we near Manjack and they reply that the weather forecast is good for going through the Whale Cay Passage tomorrow.

We cruise into Manjack and anchor off the southernmost tip as it’s low tide and the passage out the reef will not have enough water. We will have to drive the dinghy around the south end of the island. Todd and I suit up and head out leaving the old guys to have a nap and if we are lucky start dinner.

We get out on the ocean side and go hunting for coral heads. We look at a few and head further out until finally I am seeing staghorn coral sticking out of the water. The tide is very low and the water is calm. It’s a perfect day to be snorkeling out here! I am back in the water with my camera and getting some great shots! Again I am glad to have to wetsuit as the water is chilly. Lots of fish and beautiful coral. Todd calls me over to show me a lobster down under a rock. Too bad he let his tickler in the other dinghy. We can’t get it out. No lobster dinner tonight.

We snorkel until we are both chilled and then motor back to Land Escaper. No sign of Tranquility. My father talked to them on the radio awhile back so we now they are nearby. Todd and I have a nice swim and a bath off the stern and a freshwater rinse. Nice to have a shave and wash my hair. Then we pull the anchor and motor around into the anchorage. We see a boat way up away from the other boats and assume it’s them but the water is way to shallow at a little past low. We creep on and a 3’ 4” we run aground. We call on the radio and discover that Tranquility is back with the other boats. About 10 minutes later the incoming tide floats us and we turn about face and head back to Tranquility and the rest of the boats. We drop out anchor and use reverse to dig it in deep. The forecast is for a calm night and there is no wind blowing. Todd and Dave bake the fish an serve it with canned green beans, corn and rice and white wine.

After dinner we get a radio message that double chocolate cookies are ready. We get in the dinghy and head over. Dave gets on board but grbs the steering wheel and falls onto a cooler. Luckily he is not hurt. He declared earlier that this will be his last sailing trip. His reflexes are just getting too slow. I think it’s a wise decision. A tough decision to make though. We can smell the cookies baking so I join the little girls at the galley table for a game of UNO while we wait. Richard tells me they put into much water and had to add some Bisquick to make up. They cookies are puffy like biscuits but very tasty! I eat a couple and eventually win the card game. Soon it’s time for the little people to go to bed so we thank the cookie chefs and head back to Land Escaper.

Soon I am sleepy and head for my cabin to head some more of my book. It’s been a really great day! Afer about 2 pages I am fat asleep. After a while I wake up enough to turn off the light. The sea is calm and there is no wind tonight. I fall right back to sleep.

Allen's Pensacola to Moraine Cay

2010-04-06T19:59:00.001-04:00

3/30/10 7:00 am

I was only up once during the night to pee and check on the boat. We have swung around a little but wind is calm. I sleep a bit more then we are up just after sunrise for breakfast of cereal, fruit yogurt and milk. We weight out anchor and fight with our main again. We shake out the reef from the other day and check all the lines but it but our main still won’t deploy fully. Very frustrating. We get it to about the same place as usual then we have a nice following wind so we have put the Main out to starboard and the jib out to port and run wing and wing in light air down to Moraine. I finish my homemade camera sling because I am not forgetting my camera again! Dave the Mighty Fisherman gets a yellowtail on the pole sailing through the deep cut between Umbella Cay and Moraine. Dinner! We anchor and then I dive the anchor and reset it and dig it in. I check Tranquility’s anchor. We dinghy out to the reef. It’s a perfect day to snorkel. I get some really nice photos with my camera. It worked better than expected and my harness rig is good too.

Back to Land Escaper for a lunch of bratwurst and left over spaghetti sauce. We help Todd make lobster tickler as he is determined to spear a lobster. A tickler is a piece of bent wire on a pole used to reach is a hole behind a lobster and poke him in the backside until he comes out of his hole and you can grab, spear or net him. Then I take a short nap on deck while Todd. Randy and Richard drop the girls at the beach and go back to reef for an hour. When Todd is back on board. NO lobsters but he had a good time trying.

We sail back to Allen’s Pensacola. In the deep cut we catch another yellowtail and a nice mutton snapper! Yeah! At Allen’s Pensacola There are different boats and very calm seas. It’s low tide so we creep in and we hit 5 ft then 4.9 ft and turn around and anchor in 6 ft of water. We must not draw the 5 feet Sunsail told us! I dive and set the anchor and Todd goes in dinghy to help Grant look for main anchor. No luck and Grant gets cold in the water so Todd comes back for me. I drive and he hangs over bow and we search.

Richard and Grant search in other dinghy. Water is very calm and clear like glass. Just as the sun sets R and G find anchor! Yes!. We put it aboard Dark Petryl and Grant comes for dinner. We have chicken baked and grilled. Fresh broccili and canned green beans. With white wine we toast to successful anchor fishing! Then the moon comes up and paints a golden path to Dark Petryl for Grant to follow home. What a great day today! We all head for a deep restful sleep.

Powell Cay to Allen's Pensacola

2010-04-06T19:57:00.001-04:00

3/29/10 8:00 am

If you are interested in seeing some charts of the Abacos including the Whale Key Passage look at this website. http://yachtsmansguide.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=76

We make Pancakes for breakfast. Served with irish butter and raspberry jam or syrup. We used to always get butter from New Zealnd in the islands. Now it’s a choice of Land o Lakes or butter from Ireland. It’s very good butter and cheaper than the LoL. Wind still blowing. We hoist sail and head for Allen’s Pensacola. Still fighting with main sail. Decide to put a reef in the sail as thunderstorms are predicted for afternoon and the wind is picking up again. We dodge around Tranqility for a bit and the get our reef in and head north. We pick a beautiful line and sail through the Crab Cay passage without having to tack. Doing 7.5 knots at one point. This boat likes to sail.

We reach Allen’s Pensacola in good time. This is the only nearby anchorage and not a good one the way the wind is coming around. We creep in around the rocks and find a spot. We drop the hook and it drags. While getting it up we almost blow down on another boat. We get clear and try again. Another drag. Three is a charm and we get a good bite. Wind is blowing up harder and raining. I put up the dodger and sit on anchor watch while ham sandwiches are made. Nice to have dodger for some protection against the blowing wind and rain. Anchor holds through lunch, so I head below for a nap.

My father takes over anchor watch. My brother radios over that there a boat on lee shore aground. Some other people are going over to help. Todd and I get into our rain gear and run over in the dinghy to lead a hand getting Moxie back in deep water. We run anchors out and through a mighty effort of many we winch Moxies off the beach and back into deep water! Shew! Wind is still coming around and picking up. We decide to stay put and I am keeping an eye on the weather. We hear that Tranquility has made German chocolate cake so Todd and I dinghy over for some. We are offered back beans but return to find that out crew has not started dinner yet. Grrr! So Todd and I jump in and I bake the rest of the pork chops with onions and yellow squash and fry potatoes with onions. We have yummy chocolate cake for dessert.

After dinner I am beat. I go on deck and it looks like the weather is clearing so I ask crew to watch for dragging anchor and retire to my cabin. I doze off but am awakened by the wind picking up again. Wind is really howling and bouncing. I hear aboat horn and jump up. We are dragging down on another boat. Crew has engine started and we begin to haul anchor. We swing across anchor line of the boat Dark Petryl and our rudder get caught on his line. Our anchor is not up yet. My father revs the engine to get to anchor and our prop gets wrapped in the anchor line and kills engine. Our anchor comes up but we are tied to Dark Petryl. He lets go his line and we barely miss Tranquility as the wind blows us towards the shore. We pull our second anchor out of a lock and toss it over the side and it drags. Welet our first anchor back out and even with three anchors we drag slowly into shallow water until we stop close to the shore. We attempt to run one of our anchors out in the dinghy as a kedge anchor but the dinghy motor flies off into water. Todd get the motor back into the dinghy. The wind blows dinghy on shore.

Todd ties it off and swims back to boat. Richard comes in Tranquility’s dinghy with spare anchor and we set it up wind but we are too stuck on the outgoing tide to try and kedge off and the wind is howling. We then batten down the boat and go below to wait out storm and plan for morning. No one is hurt and the boat is in sand not coral. We catch our breath and try to sleep a bit. After a while our bimini blows out the stitching around the center pole. We tie back the rest, for the night. My father takes first watch and reports the boat position is steady. Luckily we went aground nearly at low tide. A few hours later at low tide we are not heeled much and our position is steady.

We all try and sleep a bit. At dawn the wind is still blowing hard. At dawn we are close to floating so we call Tranquility to send Richard in the dinghy with a long line. A man from Moxie floats down in dinghy. Todd gets into his wetsuit and goes under the boat. He reports that our rudder almost free of bottom. He cuts the fouled anchor line free from rudder and starts cutting the line off the prop. Richard arrives in dinghy and we set a long kedge anchor then release bow anchor. She begins to swing around. We begin to winch around and into deeper water. We are making headway. Todd goes back to freeing prop while we reset anchors. Soon prop is free!

We winch into deeper water and try motor. It starts. We try forward. Prop is spinning and feels good. Rudder feels good. We add power and winch towards deep water. Soon we are afloat again and we return the borrowed anchor and lines and head to deeper water and redeploy anchor. Richard brings us back out dinghy. We check it out. It looks okay so we remount engine and after a while get it started! It runs okay. The wind is still blowing but not as hard and the sun is coming out.. I sit on anchor watch while the crew makes breakfast. Tranquility comes back into the anchorage and she anchors. We all rest and eat eggs and potatoes. The wind is slowly decreasing so Dave sits anchor watch while the rest of us take a nap. When I wake up the wind has moved back around but is still blowing some.

The sun is out and the water looks beautiful. We decide to take a rest day and not sail up to Moraine. There is not a good anchorage there. We are better off here. We help Moxie get her borrowed anchor back to Dark Petry so he can return a borrowed anchor to the German on a catamaran. He is not very happy and leaves right a way. Then we a take dinghy and drag the dinghy anchor (it’s like a grappling hook) looking for Dark Petryl’s two lost anchors. One lost during rescue of Moxie. The second cut by our prop. We find the small anchor from Moxie but not his main anchor.

Finally the weather is calming and wind moving back south. Dave and Todd head with Tranquility’s crew for a walk across the island. I deploy more anchor chain as we are staying the night. Father and I stay with boat and enjoy some peace and quiet, and I make tomato., salami ,veggy sauce for pasta then have a nice nap. By dark wind has dropped to a light breeze and we watch a beautiful sunset. We have a nice dinner and then crash. I am greatly relieved that no one was hurt during the scramble in the night and that the boat is unharmed. Todd even sewed up the ripped bimini with fishing line. He is a surgeon’s assistant and used his sewing skills. The wind has shifted and dropped to a gentle breeze and finally I get a good night’s sleep!

Manjack Cay to Powell Cay

2010-04-05T21:05:00.003-04:00

3/28/10 7:00 am

We are up early to catch the high tide. Cereal, fruit , yogurt and tea or coffee for breakfast. Then we dinghy out through a shallow passage out to the ocean side to the reef. It’s very shallow in the passage but we have enough water. It’s all four from our boat and Randy and Richard from the other boat. They have a more powerful motor and a slightly bigger dinghy. It’s pretty wavy were the passage meets the ocean and my father is doubtful about the reef. I get Richard and Randy to come back to us. They say the waves smooth out just ahead.

I transfer to their boat to even out the weight and we head out. It does smooth out so we find a nice coral head and anchor our boats and go snorkeling. Richard and Randy have their spears and are going hunting. We all have wet suits including me in an old farmer john style wet suit my father used for windsurfing. I am glad to have it as the water is chilly. Then I realize I forgot my camera. Damn! I have the waterproof camera I bought last year and this is the perfect place to learn to shoot underwater. Next reef for sure.

I am floating along on top of the reef in about two feet of water, and I look to my right and there I see lobster right on top of the reef waving his spiky antennas at me. Now I really wish I had my camera. It’s rare to see them out in the open like this. It’s pretty small and I don’t have gloves on but I try to grab it.. No luck but I probably would have gotten spiked anyway. Todd is nearby so I call him over and show him the hole. He gets down for a peek. I swim on and am fascinated by a blue fish with glowing spots on his head. I have been here in 25 years and it’s sad to see that the staghorn coral is much diminished in 25 years. Soon I see that my father and Dave are cold and tired and back in the dinghy. I join them and we head back. I have a short swim and a salt water bath. Then a cup of hot chocolate. My father makes his famous Virginia Ham sandwiches and Todd make ramen noodle instant soup. My father loves these heavily salted and smoked Virginia hams so we ordered a boneless precooked one. Luckily they never check us at customs. I don’t recall them ever really checking but it’s been 25 years since I have visited. The sandwiches taste great!

After lunch we hoist sail and head north to Powell’s Cay.
When we get to the anchorage at Powell Cay we set a temporary anchor. Then we dinghy in to shore. Tranquilty did the same and her crew met us on the beach. We walked the beach and found hard hats washed up and wore them for fun. Then we hiked up to bluff. IT was a nice view, then back to the beach. We saw a large sting ray swimming in the shallows. Too bad I don[t have my camera again. Go to remember it. Then we hiked a different trail across to the ocean side. It was a longer trail and people have hung lots of flotsam from trees and bushes as decoration. They have also clipped a lot of the palmetto leaves into cool patterns! Very interesting. I wonder who did it! It’s a longer trail and goes all the way to the Atlantic side. There is big surf coming in and it’s very beautiful. Todd goes for an ocean dip. I soon follow. It’s a nice swim once you get out past the breakers. Not too much rip either.

Estill, Randy, Martha and Michele come over and walk beach. After w while we all walk back. Michele lost sunglasses. Martha, Richard and Michele retrace her steps to look. The rest of the crew pile into our dinghy back to the yachts. We have so many people that there is very little freeboard. It’s wavey and slow going. We eventually make it back to the yachts. We move the big boats more into shelter and closer to shore as wind is blowing pretty hard from the South East. Not much shelter here. Then we start on dinner. Getting the charcoal to light in wind is an exercise in futility. Todd goes begging next door. Tranquility has lighter fluid. Yes!!! Soon grill is alight. Chicken in olive oil and spices. Squash and onions and yellow rice on the stove. Very yummy dinner. Then we break into our cookies for dessert. We chat and eat fig newtons and pecan sandies until we are tired then into the rack for the night. Captain has a Restless night as the wind is blowing and bouncing us around a bit. Anchor holds thru the night. It’s pretty calm by morning.

As always pictures can be seen at http://picasaweb.google.com/allenloyd/AbacosSailingTrip32610?pli=1

Marsh Harbour to Manjack Cay

2010-04-05T20:51:00.001-04:00

3/27/10 7:30 am

We are up and having tea, cereal, fruit and yogurt. We continue check out the boat. Head (toilet) Check! Kitchen stove, Sailing systems (Simon says the mainsail is tough to raise), dingy (small motor boat) check! We request a few more of this and that and finally we are given out full boat check out. I have had to sign a couple of waivers because we going outside the normal chartering area. Finally all the paperwork is done! The weather is beautiful and with a nice sailing easterly breeze blowing 12 to 15 knots.

We cast off and motor slowly out of harbor and spend a little time fiddling with out main sail. It does really fit the rig. The sail doesn’t quite go to the top of the mast and is baggy at the base. Not ideal but we are sailing. We get the jib (foresail) up and off we go. Our goal is to get through the dreaded Whale Key Passage while the weather is good. My father and I have sailing experience but Todd and Dave don’t have much. So we are figuring out the boat and teaching at the same time.

My father and I don’t have much experience with a GPS chart plotter and we are having trouble selecting waypoints. There is a series of waypoints used to navigate safely through the rocks and shoals of the Whale Key Passage. You have to sail almost a Z pattern to get through. We finally get the waypoints figured out on the GPS and call into base that we are going through and head into the passage. The wind is blowing from a good direction and We tack our way through the rocks. It’s a beautiful sail and we have no trouble.

We radio that we are through and head North between Green Turtle and Great Abaco island. We cut a bit close to Green Turtle Island and have to change course a bit when the water gets shallow but soon we are heading toward Manjack. Where we will anchor for the night. We are headed into the anchorage when Dave’s fishing line starts to squeal. Dave grabs it and there is a fish. He hands off to Todd who reels in a nice mackerel. Then we hurry to get the sails down and drop our anchor.

I put on my snorkeling gear and dive the anchor. We only have one boat length of anchor chain out but the anchor is dug into the sand. Todd let’s out more scope (anchor chain) when I feel we are safely anchored, I swim to other boat. I check their anchor and climb on board for a cold beer. While I am on Tranquility my father and Dave clean the mackerel. While Dave is cleaning the fish he falls on the knife and cuts his arm badly. He is 80 years old and not very stable. We are really lucky that is was not too serious. They get the bleeding stopped and my father tells me about it when I swim back. I make sure the wound is clean and but antibiotic ointment on it and rebandage it. He cut 3 inch slice along the top of his forearm. Not very deep and no veins or arteries luckily. We will have to keep a close eye on Dave and the wound.

We all lie down for a napand then I start dinner. We have an oven so I bake the mackerel, and pork chops, I make yellow rice and squash and onions to go with it. Dave is drinking Crystal Light lemonade and vodka and the rest of us beer. After dinner we get a call on the radio from Tranquility that they have made brownies. So we climb in the dinghy and motor over for Brownies on other boat. After dessert and conversation we head back to Land Escaper and soon cash. Other than Dave’s laceration it’s been a good day. Great sailing and Todd is learning quickly. In spite of the baggy mainsail Land Escaper sails well. There is a fair breeze blowing and I sleep restlessly through the night. I am up a few times to check our anchor due to wind and shifting boat. We stay firmly anchored through the night.

St. Petersburg, FL to Marsh Harbour, Abacos Islands

2010-04-05T20:48:00.004-04:00

ABACOS SALING TRIP

3/26/10 5:00 am

My alarm goes off and I crawl out bed. It’s adventure time again! My family and some friends are headed to the Bahamas for a week of sailing, snorkeling and good times. Breakfast, close up the house and my stepmother’s car is out front for a ride to the airport. Pippa (my stepmother) doesn’t like boats so she is staying home. My father and I get through security and onto a Southwest flight to West Palm Beach.

We have a long layover so we ask a security guard for a good place to eat. We take his advice and hang around and stroll through the shops and then lunch at and Irish place then check - in with BahamasAir and discover that we are outside the guard directed us outside the secure zone! GRRR! So we go through security again. We make it through intact and rush down to our gate and end up waiting and waiting. Finally 1.5 hours late we walk out the plane jump on and are in the air.

A hour later we touch down in Marsh Harbour on Great Abaco Island. Todd Lipphardt is waiting for us. We grab a taxi to the Conch Inn and Marina. We check-in to Sunsail and are told there will be a captains briefing upstairs in 5 minutes. I thought we would have to wait until tomorrow morning. It will be good to get it done. We turn around and there are Michele and Katherine sitting on the sofa. They are the wife and son of my sister-in law’s brother Richard. We say hello and determine that Richard is food shopping and go upstairs for the captain’s briefing. About 10 minutes into the briefing Randy and company show up. The briefing covers all the anchorages and danger areas, radio frequencies, rules etc. After it’s over we say hello to Richard and my brother and family then Todd, Pop and I walk up to the Price Right and buy a weeks worth of food. My father and I checkout and Todd heads for the liquor store which will be closing soon. $200 later we grab another taxi, load the groceries, stop for Todd and some beer and wine then back to the Marina.

The sky id looking ominous as we haul our gear and food out to our home for the next 8 days. Her name is Land Escaper and she is a Jeanneau 36. The Sunsail crew are just finishing cleaning her and some rain drops are falling so we hustle our gear and supplies on board. We stow all the food and gear and I start my checklists and paperwork. We request a few more blankets and other items and start checking out the systems on the boat. Soon Todd’s father Dave shows up and we get him on board and finally Simon from Sunsail comes onboard and we get a preliminary checkout. My brother and his family and Richard’s family are all checked out on Tranquility a Jeaunneau 40.3 and then a bunch of us walk to Jamie’s Restaurant for dinner. It’s late and they are very crowed, but we get seated to find they are out of almost everything. My father and I split a Broiled Snapper and a salad. They are delicious.

Some of us get a mocha ice cream cone for the walk back. Back on Land Escaper we finish settling in brush teeth and crash to the sound of the local reggae band from the club across the way. This is my first time captaining a sailboat and I am a bit anxious but we are off to a good start. Pictures will be posted on my pictures site at http://picasaweb.google.com/allenloyd/AbacosSailingTrip32610#
Enjoy,
Allen

New York to Tennessee

2009-09-15T22:52:00.001-04:00

Monday
We are up at 7:30 and Carol makes us each an egg with cheese, onions and peppers and a cup of tea. The trade some tunes and then she gets on the road for her errands and I head south. Back down Rt 210 into the Delaware Water Gap. It’s a beautiful day so I stop and walk up to Digman Falls. It’s a couple of different falls and they are lovely. I would like to see them when the azaleas are in bloom. Both falls are surrounded by tons of azaleas. It must be fab in the spring. Must add that to my list! SO many places... so little time! THen I drive a bit further down and stop at a boat launch and have a swim. There is a very cute 4 year old redheaded girl there with her father ands sister. Dad is fishing and she is fascinated by the fact that I am swimming against the current and not really going anywhere.

When Iget out I chat with them. Her father grew up here and the girl offers me a PBJ sangwhich! I thnak her but decline and go and eat my own lunch. A trailer with canoes shows up dropping people off for a paddle. I question the driver and then decide to paddle myself. I drive down and pay and then join the next flight. I am dropped off witha couple from Brooklyn who have obviously never been in a canoe before. THey guy handes them paddles and pushes them off. No instructions! I get my kayak adjusted and ctach up with them and give them a quick lesson. Enough to get them going straight down the river! I paddle with them on and off and we have a nice conversation. They are staying at anearby resort for a few days. They run an online finess advice website. THey ask about dangerous animals.

I assure them they will be fine. Just don’t feed the bears! Psyche! Just kidding. The trip is ver way too quickly. THey said 4 hours but it was more like an hou and a half. Guess we paddled to fast! I get back in the van and head west. I pull off in the Pennsylvania Wilds and am looking for the campground when my coolant light starts flashing. Oops, that’s not good. I notice that the thermometer is not reading any higher so I glide down the mountain and turn into the campsite. I park and check under the hood and I am down a little on coolant. Strange since I just had the oil changed and fluids checked! There is still quite a bit of coolnat so I should be okay. I look under her but I don’t see any fluid leaking. Okay we will address this in the morning. THere is only one other tent at the very far end of the cmapground and no rangers around. I can’t find a place to pay so I go back and have some veggies for dinner and crash. This is a nice campground except it’s very close to the road. I can hear the trucks. After my veggies I have a little more lemon poppysead bread and crash. Good night.

Tuesday

In the morning trucks on the raod wake me up about 6:30. I stick my head out and it’s 44 degrees in the van. I sleep for another half hour then get up and go for a bike ride on some trails. Still no ranger so I go into Jersey Shore, Penn which is the nearest town and a garge gives a bit of coolant at no charge. Nice guy. I go into the the center of town and get some cash and load some photos and text on my websites. ATHen drive west to Rt. 219 where I turn south. This road goes all the way to Southwestern Virgina right along the Applalachain Mountains. It’s a beautiful old highway with lots of twist and bends. Old country stores, farms, little towns and state parks roll by. Lots of smells too. Farms, animals, skunks, pines, rock, It’s a good road. I cross into Maryland and stop for a break and a swim in German Lake State Park. I am almost the only one there. I swim and find that the showers are open and take a nice hot shower and wash my hair.

THen I roll on into West Virgina and pass through Thomas, WV. It’s a cool lookiing little town with a Flying Pig Cafe and The Purple Violin with a live band tonight. There are lots of windmills up on the mountain above town. I pull into the Blackwater Falls State Park and get a campsite. They send me out to pick and site and I get them to call the Purple Violin to see what band is playing. I get a site and they report the band is irish rock. Sounds interesting. So I relax for a bit and then head back down to Thomas. I can see deer along the road. I am going to have to be careful driving tonight. I get to the Purple Violin and there is a nice crowd. They want $15 cover. Wow! What is the band? Tasting Haggis out of Toronto. I have heard they are good so I pay and go in. They have locally brewed beer on draft. I am served an IPA in a mason jar. fun! The band cranks up and they really get the crowd going. Very dynamic and fun band. They have bagpipes, guitars, keys, drums, pennywhistles , harmonicas. The crowd is up and dancing. I am having fun and glad I came. They sing a song about Noseworthy and Pierce two Newfoundland fishermen. I reminds me of Phonse Noseworthy who was fixing my van last summer when he died of a herat attack! He was a really nice guy.

When the band takes a break I tell them my Noseworthy story.

The second half is good but not quite as dynamic as the first set. I laeve before it ends and before I drink too much beer! I head out of town with a couple of cars behind me. Sure enough two deer run into the road in front of me. It’s mom and a fawn. I almost clip the fawn, but miss by a foot and luckily the cars behind me don’t hit me! I start up again and soon it’s just me on the road so I take it real slow and make it back without further deer misses! HA!
I read my email and finally bunk down to read about 1 am. THis is the latest I have been up in months!

In the morning I sleep in until 8:30 then try and fill my water tank but they had a water line break and the pump is dry. Too bad. I am getting low. Hopefully the next place will have water. I drive down to see the falls. They are pretty but you can’t get too close. You must stay on the boardwalk declare numerous signs. So I walk back up the 241 steps to the vn and drive out to the Lidy Point Overlook. I walk the half mile trail out and the view is quite stunning! You can see the whole valley. There is not a single sign of nam that I can find. I take some pics and head back. THen I drive south. Down 23 and back onto 219. Very cury and winding. Lots of ups and downs. I average about 45 mph on most of it even though the speed limit is 55. Pretty road. Little towns. I am either in the mountians or just to the west of them. Looks like towns I remember from my choldhood raod trips. Signs on barns, general stores, diners and cafes. I haven’t seen a chain store all day. It’s very refreshing. I lave West Virgina into Virginia. I’m getting tired but I have targeted a campsite in the mountains of SW Virgina. I head for it and am back to winding hairpin turns.

I have left 219 and am south west of Abingdon, VA home of the Barter Theater. It’s been around a long time. WHen it was started poor people could barter goods for a ticket! Pretty cool. My father tells me that my grandfather (State Supreme Court Judge) use to like holding court down there so he could go to the Barter Theater. I need to go there sometime. I am following smaller roads and finally I am winding my way up in the mountains. 20 mph hour hairpin turns. I am getting tired and it’s dusk. Finally I see a sign for Jefferson State Forest and turn it. But there is no campsite here it’s just a hiking access. Darn. I park and wait. No cars in the lot and it’s getting dark. I doubt any parks people will be back tonight, so I steam the last of the brooccli and beans for dinner. One car comes in flies around the circle and zooms out. Never even slows down. Well, I still think I wil be okay. So I have a beer with my dinner and then crash. Lot’s of miles covered today. Mostly going around those tight hairpin turns! Good night.

Thursday Sept. 3

It’s 7:30 before any light makes it’s way back into this holler. No rangers or other cars have appeared so I eat breakfast and head south. Too bad I have a phone meeting at 10 am otherwise I would have gone hiking on one of these trails. So I drive into Tennesse and pull off the road and have my Folkfest meeting by phone and email. We get a lot of the changes made to the festival map and I drive on south headed for the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. It’s the Thursday before Labor Day and I am worried about getting a campsite. I turn on the road to Pidgeon Forge and it’s like being in Orlando. It’s all chain restuarants and attractions. there is the upside down house of Wonderworks next to the Titanic surrounded by scaffolding. Oh my god this is to much. Luckily, I soon turn off for the quiet side of the Smokies and head for Townsend, TN and then up into the Park to Cades Cove Campground. They have a site for tonight and I got the last site for Friday but are full for Saturday. Well I will cross the bridge when I come to it!

I park in my site and take a break and then head back down to Townsend. I need a few files to finish the map. I get a signal and call Jenny. She doesn’t have them yet so I do all my shopping and wait. After a while I move down next to a stream and read the NYTimes online. Finally the files come through and I finsh the map and send it back. We make one more adjustment and call it done. Then I head back up to my campsite. There is a nice family from just up the road in Knoxville next door. We have a nice chat and I show the daughter the beautiful butterfly that got caught in my car and died intact. It is very pretty but oh so delicate. I open a large fat Tire Amber Ale and drink some of it while I make some noodles and sauce for dinner. Then finish the beer and soon I am falling asleep. The neighbors on the other side have their campsite lit up bright as day, so i have all the shutters closed on that side. I am watching for stars but it’s too bright next door so I curl up with my book and son I am alseep.

Friday

I am up at 7 and on the trail at 8. I head off and walk about half a mile over to where the trailhead along a stream. I have to get to the other side and finally I find a tree that people have been using as a bridge and walk across. I am on the trail and it’s also a hiking trail which means watching out for horse puckeys. Not fun to step in! Finally I find a side trail which will make a longer hike but no horses and head up. I am in the rodedendron thickets and I am hearing a noise off to one side and it sounds like a bear. Sure enough there he comes out of the thicket up the hill from me. He stops to rip up a stump and I take a couple of fuzzy pics of him. I am watching for others but don’t see any and after a while he heads up the hill. There were signs sayi ng there was an aggressive bear in this area.

Just about the hill is the primituve campsite they closed due to bear activity. I keep a careful eye out as I head on up the trail. Soon I reach the Applachain Trail and there is the closed shelter with bear warnings posted all over. No more bears though. So I head north up the AT and soon run int a family heading south. They know about the closed shelter and are going to the next one along. I warn them to watch out for the bear. They ask what to do aout an agreesive bear and we discuss different strategies then I look at the young son a nd say “Critterman says to take the smallest person in the group and throw them in the direction of the bear and ru n as fast as you can in the other direction!”

The boy replies “only if you can catch me!” We all laugh and I head on. I hike along on top of the ridge for a few miles and then down a way and then up the flank of Rockytop Mt. I am humming the Nitty Griity Dirt Band song Down on Rockytop. I reach the top and there are two people there having lunch. I take off my pack, check out the view and chat with Brian and Laura. They are from Knoxcille on a day hike. They head on up to Thunderhead and I decide to hike along. It’s another hundred feet of elevation and is the highest peak in the area. On the way they tell me about working at Oakridge where are the US nuclear weapons are serviced and many are stored! Wow, what a place to work. Soon we are on top at 5524 ft, there is no view. SO we take sme pics of each other and then head back down.

I stop to have an apple and some water on Rocktop and they head on back down. Soon I see storm clouds coming up the ridge so I head on back down. I head back down the AT and then down a different trail back down. I stop and talk with a few people along the trail and take a few pics but soon I am caught up with Brian and Laura. Laura and I get ahead and have a nice conversation all the way to the botttom. We say good bye in the campground parking lots and I walk back over the log down the stream and back to my campsite. Stopping only to report to the rangers that the bear is still hanging around those closed campsites. I get my boots off and pull out another cold Fat Tire Amber and spend a happy while sitting with my feet up drinking beer and watching the holiday campers streaming in. I eat the rest of last night’s pasta and sauce dinner and crahs pretty early. It was a good day.

Saturday

I was up and riding my bike out of my campsite at 8. There is an eleven mile scenic drive here that is closed to motorized vehicles on Saturday. So I ride out to it and am amazed at the number and variety of people who are getting ready to ride. People of all ages and bodytypes, colors etc. It makes me very happy to see all these riders and wwalkers this early. I head out and the road is paved but just one lane wide. I thread my way through other riders and soon am out ahead and the road circumnavigates this high mountain valley. The weather is great, the sky clear and mist is rising off the fields. There are deer grazing and birds in the sky. It’s a lovely ride. The road goes up and down hills and I just keep shifting my gears to the terrain and keep riding. I make it all the way around in a bout an hour and am back in my campsite just as my neighbors are finishing their breakfast. They are amazed that i have riden the whole loop in just an hour. They offer mt some breakfast. Once I have caught my breath I have a couple of panakes and some eggs and a nice conversation. They are family of 12 in two campsites covering all ages from granny to infant. We compare stories and then they clean up the breakfast dishes and I pack up, widh them safe travel and drive south to Chattanooga, TN.

I drive the slow highway and the take the interstate into town. I see and exit for a famous battlesite and Lookout Mt which was recommended by my hiking buddies. I drive though the city but the nighboorhood is geting rough and I don’t see any signs so i turn around and backtrack into downtown and I find an empty lot by the river and unload my bike and ride down the River Park past the Hunter Art Museum and down the Riverwalk a few miles. It gets industrial so I turn around and ride back to town. I walk around the artsy district by the Museum and look at lots of outdoor scupture. You can also bike across the Tennessee River on a high old wooden bridge.

There is more park and some cool shops. I ride and walk around and watch kids playing in the ater park and riding the old fashioned carousel. I see and outdoor shop having a sale. I go in and buy a pair of shorts and a great softshell at a deep discount. Then I ride back and over to the YMCA for a hower but I just miss them. damn. So I ride back to BEYOND, put on my bathing suit and walk down a boat ramp to the River and take a stream bath and shave. I get a funny look from some guys walking down the boat ramp to fish but I don’t care because I am CLEAN and it feels great! I eat some veggies and bike back to town. The movie “Whatever Works” is just startig so i see it. It’s pretty good. Then I g across the street to a brewery and Have some beer and fish tacos. Then I bike back to BEYOND and crash. It starts to rain in the night and continues all night.

Quebec and the Adirondacks

2009-09-01T09:33:00.002-04:00

In the morning I am in the outhouse when I hear another truck coming over that rough road. I hear Allen hail him and soon that guy is showing him where he missed the turn. I finish and join them and the guy tells me exactly how to find the short route to St. Francis Gate. Cool! That will save a lot of driving and get me to the border quicker. I eat my cereal and have a cup of tea with Allen. THen head down to the lake for a swim. It’s pretty mossy so soon I am back and I pack up, bid Allen farewell and head out. THe guys directions are spot on and soon I am at the St. Francis gate.

The Gatekeeper tells that I can see the end of the Allagash River just down the road. I have yet to canoe the Allagash. It’s a famous paddling river in the parts. One day. So I drive over through the town of Allagash and just south of it to a boat launch on the river and go for a lovely swim in the Allagash River. I stand on the rocks and dry off then drive into the town of Fort Kent where there is a Laundromat and a border crossing. I drive through town and see a part and pull in to see the fort. It is cool 2 story blockhouse that you can still walk into and up to the second floor. It is maintained by the boy scouts. There is also a campsite by the river for canoers only. And it has water so I add some more to my supply. Then I go to the information booth and ask for a laundromat. Following their lead I find Dinah's Laundromat which is the cleanest most friendly laundromat I have ever been in. Dinah helps me choose a washer and makes sure I use the correct amount of soap and that I have enough quarters. She is Acadian with a strong french accent and is bilingual like most people this close to Quebec. She really loves her customers and her establishment and it shows.

I highly recommend it to anyone going through Fort Kent. Visit Dinah weather or not you need to wash clothes. After I put away my clothes I refill my propane tank and have lunch in the Park then cross the border. The customs agent questions me closely and then tells me they are going to do a quick search and to pull into the shed. I do and soon an American agent and a Canadian agent go through BEYOND and take a quick look at everything. They are very pleasant and polite and they insist on giving me directions to the place I am camping for the night and then send me on my way with a wave and bon voyage! I follow their directions and stop at a bank and with draw a couple of hundred Canadian dollars with my ATM card. THen I drive on to the Trans ( Trans canada Highway 2) and the next exit is campground for the night. Les Jardin de la Republique Provincial Park. Looks pretty but it’s right next to the trans.

Also it’s 5 pm on Friday and beautiful weather is forecasted. Sure enough I get one of the last campsites and it’s within a stones throw of the Trans and right next to the bathroom. But it has hot showers and a swimming pool. I get my suit and grab my bike and ride over to the pool. Except that it’s closed for 15 minutes. So I walk around and there is a little theater and there a kids with violins and there is going to be a free classical concert at 7 pm. Sounds like fun. The pool is open so I swim a bit and when I feel cooler I ride back to my van and realize that my 6 pm is 7 pm here. New Brunswick is in a different time zone. I don’t change the clock because I am going to Quebec tomorrow and it’s in Eastern time. I change and ride back and watch the young people play. It a bit warm in the theater but the kids play pretty well and everyone is clapping and having fun. The last piece is all the instructors doing a Beatles medley and it is really good. A fun evening. I ride back and make some mac and cheese and then take a long hot shower and wash my hair. Then I crash on clean sheets. It’s nice to be back in Canada.

In the morning I am up early and have a couple of cups of tea, and ride around. When the botanical gardens opens at 9 I pays my money and enjoy the birds and the butterfly garden looks a lot like my jungle at home! Then I walk the gardens and they are very pretty especially the lilly and iris gardens beside a stream and the alpine garden. That was a new one for me. I ride a trail for a couple of miles then return to my campsite just in time for the 11 am checkout time and drive back onto the Trans in the other direction. I drove this road last year after Newfoundland on my way to Rochester, NY to fly home to work the Folkfest. Soon I turn off onto Route 17 which takes into Quebec and out towards the Gaspe Peninsula. It’s a pretty drive with very few cars. I see a veggies stand and stop for zucchini, green and yellow beans and red pepper. I drive to Campbellton and see and big supermarket so I pull off and buy a bunch of supplies. THen I find Sugarloaf Campground and Park. It’s also a ski resort and you can take the ski lift up and ride a mountain bike down. Looks to hairy for me. There is a big tent and there is going to be an Acadian music concert which sounds fun. I get directions to the Restigouche Battle National Historic Site and head across the bridge into Quebec. I have trouble finding it and arrive with 12 minutes to look. I have an annual pass from last year in Newfoundland that covers the cost so I go in.

It turns out to be a great place. THere was a big Naval Battle and a big French ship was sunk and they dug the site 40 years ago and found lots of relics and big pieces of the ship which are housed in the site. It’s really spectacular to see large pieces of this ship propped up for viewing and surround by cases of different bits and pieces they found on the dig. As I am leaving they tell me there will be a lecture tomorrow at 2 pm about the underwater excavation of the site. Cool! I’ll be back for that. It’s hot out so I get directions to a good beach and drive back across the bridge and out to Dalhousie and there is a beach and I go for a swim in the bay. It feels great and there are other people swimming and boating. I finish my swimming and dry off in the setting sun then almost buy an ice cram but don’t and return to the Park. The concert has started so I put to beers and chips and salsa in my pack and go to the porch outside the park office where are some Adirondack chairs and listen to the concert for awhile. It’s contemporary Acadian rock band. They are good but I was hoping for traditional music. THey have a big crowd and are making lots of noise. I finish my beer and go to my campsite which is on a pretty steep angle. I myself park on as level a spot as I can find and make a salad for dinner and listen to the music.

When the music stops I am in bed reading but soon lots of drunk people come up to the campsite. Some are camped right next to me and they are loud. I am lying in the lower bunk which is much quieter but have to top up to cool off and because of the angle I am lying reversed from how I normally lie in that bunk. So the blood won;t all rush to my head! When they start setting off fireworks I pull the top down and shut the window on that side. It’s been a long day and I am able to fall a sleep eventually. I guess my neighbors do to for I sleep fairly well. I sleep in some and when I finally get up I find the showers and have a hot shower and some tea and cereal and one of my neighbors is up and looking very hungover! I find that another neighbor has checked out and left a huge bundle of campfire wood so I pack it in the van and head out. I go to the bottom of the hill and ride my bike on some trails and then head into town to find an internet signal. I find one and park there for a while and catch up with news from home and write some emails.

Then I go to a park by the river and have a salad for lunch and drive to the tourist info for a quebec map. THen back to Restigouche where the staff sets me up the movie in English and then sits a person beside me during the lecture to translate when I need help as the lecture is in French. There are slides with titles and I pick up a lot form reading the text and ask a few questions and enjoy the lecture. I walk through the exhibit again and then thank all the staff for taking such good care of me and head up the road to another site and a campground they recommended. Canadians are such gentle helpful people! I find the campsite but drive on to see the historic site. It’s closed today so I drive around some more and find a nice place beside a river and stopped there for the night. I make some wild mushroom veggie risotto and drink some Propeller Bitter. This is my favorite Nova Scotia Brewery. It’s good stuff. I read for awhile and then fall asleep early.

In the morning I am up very early for hot chocolate, cereal and a quick stream bath.
Feels good. Not too cold! I dry off and get dressed and drive to Miguasha Park where they have an archeological site that has produced amazing fossils from the Devonian era. Lots of really cool fish and plant fossils. SOme of the fossils are actually 3 dimensional. They weren’t squished flat and you can see the actual volume of the fish. Really cool stuff. After I finish in the museum I walk down to the beach where the fossils were found and look and find some interesting rocks. One of the rangers says that one might have fossilized fish scales and asked where AI found it. I tell her and she takes it off to the lab to be analyzed. That was fun!
I drive on west to Reserve Fauntique du Port Daniel and get a campsite for the night. It’s getting dark and might storm so I wrote in my log but it never storms so I take some of the fire wood and collect some kindling and after some work with the damp kindling get a nice fire going. I drink some beer with chips and salsa and enjoy my fire. WHen it burns down I ride off to the showers and then read until I fall asleep. I finish the last book of the Earthsea trilogy. What a good series! Then off to sleep.

After brekkie I take a hike down to the river and trail ends at a place where the water runs through some rocks and makes a few great pools so I strip off and walk in. Oh! That is cold water! It takes my breath away but I get all the way in and wash off the sweat from the hike. THen I set in the sun on the rocks and dry off. Nice. Nobody walks in on me this time which is good. Soon I am dressed again and walking back to camp. I pack up and head back down the mountain. The rangers tell me I can’t get through to the next park but I see a road that looks like it goes there but it;’s too rough for me. I really wish I had 4x4 so I can go to some of the places I see but can’t reach. Maybe FURTHER BEYOND will be a 4x4! I head west again and roll in to Perce which is where my friend Cecile’s grandmother was born on a subsistence farm before moving to the States. Her great Uncle Arthur LeFoley used to own quite a bit of Bonaventure Island before it was appropriated by the government and declared a park.

I spent today in Perce and am camped above town at a campsite called Gargantua! It's pretty here. Way up a steep mountain above town. If it weren't totally fogged in the view would be great. I biked and walked around town all day. Tons of stores selling tourist junk. My favorite was walking out to the big rock Rocher at low tide. The rock formations are very beautiful. Tomorrow morning I am going to take the 9 am ferry straight out to Bonaventure Island and hike across to the bird sanctuary. All the afternoon boats take you on a tour around the islands and go to Bonaventure last. So I am waiting until tomorrow. I had a lunch of cod cheeks and poutine. (fries gravy and cheese curds) Very tasty! Veggies for dinner to keep my heart beating! HA! I met two guys from Mass and Vermont who are touring Gaspe in the opposite direction from me. We are about the only people camped at Gargantua. We have a beer and conversation. Then they leave to have dinner in Gargantua Hotel Restaurant. I am tempted but have already sliced a huge pile of veggies for dinner so I decline but agree to join them for a campfire later. As I am making my dinner it begins to thunder and soon it is pouring down rain and I enjoy my veggies pasta and a beer and then a bit of popcorn and crawl into my warm dry bunk to read.

In the morning the weather is sparkling clear and the guys tell me about their fabulous dinner and how cool it was to watch the storm from the big windows in the restaurant. Sounds like a place to remember for next visit! I have tea with them and then drive back down the 20% grade into town. Soon I am in thick fog. But I get a ticket to ride the direct ferry to the island and then a tea and a croissant in a cafe. It was an okay croissant. Then I join two other tourists and 15 Parks workers on the ferry across to Bonaventure Island which used to be a fishing community but is now a park which has a huge colony of Northern Gannets on the east side and also seal colonies. As soon as I step on the island it starts to rain. I pay me Park fee and am told there are only two trails open. Too bad. I have a great conversation with one of the Parks workers who bought a sailboat last winter in Gulfport, FL (right next to St. Pete) and then sailed it to the British Virgin Islands and worked there for the winter crewing on a large trimaran. Then I head out into the rain for the other side of the island and the birds. I can hear and smell it when I get close. Like ant large colony of animals ( including humans) it smells pretty bad. There are thousands of birds here are calling fighting, eating and breeding raising young. There are so many that all the plants are gone in the colony.

It's also very loud. This reminds me of the gannet nesting colony on southeast Newfoundland. I walk on around the south tip of the island and I spend quite a while watch gray seals below me in the water. They are such great swimmers. So graceful. The rain has stopped and I am starting to see some other people. I walk down to a beach and there is a seal just off shore that has his head out of the water watching me. He seems to enjoy watch me as much as i am enjoying watching him! Soon I walk on through the old cemetery and past some of the old houses from the fishing days. Many of which are falling down. It makes me think about how short our time on the earth really is. So insignificant compare to the rocks, the trees and the sea. Soon I am back at the landing and I talk to the rangers about the seals and then take the boat back to Perce. I drive to bakery I saw on a back street and buy a really great croissant and a coconut nut raspberry thing for the road. I pick up an internet signal in the road and send a few quick emails until traffic is getting back-up then dive on to Gaspe and onto Fornillon National Park which is on the easternmost tip of Quebec. I get a campsite and relax. THen I go to see the evening show. Too bad it’s in French. THe guy giving it is wearing a homemade bird costume and people are laughing and enjoying it. I walk back to my camp. Make some pepperoni, mac and cheese and then have a shower. I am reading this book I bought for Greece but didn’t finish. It’s called A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius. It’s okay but not great. I do want to see how it ends. It’s about a young guy from Chicago whose parents die and he and his younger brother move to san Francisco where he and some friends start a magazine called Might and he takes care of his younger brother. Anyway soon I fall asleep.

I am up very early and after tea and oaties I pack up and drive out of my campsite and it’s a beautiful day so I get on my bike and ride to the very tip of Gaspe to the lighthouse at the top of a very steep hill. Boy did I have to work to get up that hill. It was a great ride. I look around the site and there is a sign proclaiming this point the northern terminus of the International Appalachian Trail. An was first hiked by a guy who started in Key West Florida and ended here. It took him almost a year to walk it. Now that’s a hike! Once I have caught my breath I walk down to the an observation platform over the sea and watch the seals and talk to a woman who is painting watercolors about painting. She has some nice paintings. Then I chat with a woman named Ly nn from Montreal who works for a large grocery chain and gets out here on business every summer and hikes in the Park. She tells me about some other good hikes and we part ways. She back to work and me to bike back to camp. I move BEYOND down to the beach and have bagels and mackerel, cheese and fruit for lunch. I eat the raspberry treat for dessert. Boy is it great! Then take a nap in the sun. that ride really wore me out. Then I hike up to the fire tower and the view is fabulous. It’s pretty clear and I can just see Newfoundland off in the distance. It’s clear in Perce and on Bonaventure Island. It must be full of tourists. The rangers were telling me they get as many as 1800 visitors a day in peak times like today!

I walk back down and all the locals stare while I take a dip in the ocean. I’m sweaty and the water is a bit warmer than I expected. As soon as I get to shore a seal shows up swimming around out where I was swimming. Pretty Cool! I drive to the North part of the park and get a campsite and Bon Ami. It’s near the road but there isn’t much traffic. II work on my travelog and gaze up at the cliff of the end of the Appalachian Mountains towering over my head. It’s quite spectacular. Then it’s rice and veggies for dinner. It’s going to be cold tonight. WHen i walk back from the shower there are a billion stars in the sky. So I stargaze for a while before crawling into a warm bunk. I don’t sleep well for some reason and wake a lot in the night. I thought I would sleep well after all that exercise today!

Friday Aug. 21

After breakfast I walked the Chutes trail down to see a small but lovely waterfall. By then the Nature Center was open so I toured that. They had some tanks of local sea critters which was interesting. I had never seen a toad crab before. Also to see a living snow crab was fun. Then I took another bike ride down the valley trail and I saw my first live porcupine! He was grazing by the road when I came around the corner, he hunch down and put up his quills. Then he headed into the brush and I lost sight of him. But he was really cool. I biked on and ended up making a big loop and there I was right back where I started! Then a local woman told me there was good swimming just below the bridge so i went in for a dip. It was very cold. Almost as cold as the water below the falls in Baxter! A walked back and the sun came out long enough to warm me off. Then I left the Park and started my drive along the top of the Gaspe Peninsula. I come around a corner and see a whole forest of huge windmills on the mountain ridge above me. I find the access road and drive up and park and sit surrounded by 20 huge windmill. It’s a very impressive sight.

Finally I drive on and I stop in the town of Grand Valle for groceries. It’s raining and there is an internet cafe so I buy 30 minutes worth of time for $5 and a beer for about the same and pay my bills and send some email. Then talk with a guy from France who is backpacking the other direction around the Gaspe. Then I drive little further until there are no cars and it’s very mountainous and I drive up a dirt road and find a place to pull off and I listen to jazz and eat some popcorn and finally I am caught up in my travelog! Yeah. I drink a beer and make veggie, pepperoni, olive pasta for dinner. It’s excellent. It’s really blowing hard and rocking van a bit and driving the rain. I have most of the windows zipped up to keep the rain out. After dinner I start the engine to make sure my battery is charged and realize i had the lights on the whole time. Wow that would have sucked to be caught up here with a dead battery! I am sure I have a good charge and the rain in really coming down. A few cars have come by but none of them have stopped so I should be okay here. The rain is really pouring down now. So I pull the top down to make sure it’s not blowing in. I start a new book of short stories by Ursula K. LeGuin. Thanks Cecile for the book. I am parked on a pretty steep angle and I keep waking up the night thinking the van is sliding down the hill! Not a great sleep and it’s still raining hard! FInally I doze off.

I am up at 7 and the rain has stopped. I get up and a car goes by but doesn’t stop. I check and the van didn’t slide down the hill in the night. I get the engine going and get her back on the road. I drive back down to the highway and head west. I stop for gas a breakfast in Vers MonSaint Pierre. Trios crepe avec bacon et the. It was very tasty and I read about the Parc National Du Gaspe. I realize that you have to take a shuttle to climb Mt. Cartier the second highest mt in Quebec but if I get on it I can just make it. I fly back to BEYOND and we fly down the dirt road to the Parc and I have just enough time to pack my gear and buy a bus ticket. Soon we are bouncing up the mountain in a school bus. Then we hike the two hours to the top. It’s an old jeep trail but very rocky. I get to the top where it’s a tundra and there is an observation tower. I hike on a little further and the guy ahead of me gets all excited and gives me his binoculars and there are three caribou grazing on the shoulder of the next mountain. Cool! I watch them for a bit and then head back up. THe clouds have come over and it’s pretty windy and cold. I set on a sheltered bench and eat my mini bagel and hummus. Then walk up the observation tower. While I am up there a spot three more caribou below on this mountain.

After watching them for a while I go down and the ranger is giving a talk but I don’t get much as it’s in French. So I head back down. I am glad I brought up my pile hoodie and my rain coat as the wind is quite chilly. When I am back below tree line I change back to my tee shirt and walk on down. At the bottom I talk with Yves and Ann from up the road. It was their first hike and they really enjoyed it. The bus comes and we ride back. THey are curious about BEYOND so I give them the tour. THen I get the ranger to book me a campsite and the other side of the Park and drive over to Mt. Albans Campground. I check out my campsite and then drive over to the Discovery Center and look at the exhibits.

There is a famous hotel with a fancy restaurant and I consider having dinner there but it will be a minimum of $45 and $15 more if i want to try a caribou steak. I decide it’s too much for this trip and head back to my campsite where I have chips and salsa and my last Propeller bitter. Buy does it taste good! I catch up journal and then cook some clam sauce and broccoli. Then a nice hot shower. It’s clear tonight with no bugs so I might light a campfire tonight. I have a lot of wood onboard still. I like my campsite. Pretty private considering the number of people here. It’s tucked down in a valley surrounded by mountains. I was on the International Appalachian Trail again today and will be tomorrow as well. This would be a beautiful section to hike some day. I was too tired to light the fire and it was quarter showers, but the water was hot and powerful. I felt great and soon was curled up in my bunk with my book.

I was up at 6:30 and after tea and cereal I started up Mt. Albans. It is overcast and a bit humid this morning, but i am psyched to hike the whole loop. off I go up through the trees and across the river. Soon the trail is getting steep but I am chugging right along. I pass a young couple having a fun conversation a francaise. THey are speaking too fast for me to pick out much. I blow past them and soon I have the trail to myself again. I stop at an open spot for some water and a young guy with a cast on his arm comes blowing by my. I am breathing hard and sweaty but he is really sweaty and blowing hard. He waves and heads on up. Soon I start again and there is a sign that I am 300 meters from the top. It’s a steep finish but soon the trees are only knee high and then they are gone and it’s tundra and I am on top. I look in the hut and there is that guy changing out of his wet gear. He has a huge cast on one arm and is struggling.

I offer and hand but he is almost done. He is from Quebec (City) and works in a bike shop. This is his last summer weekend before starting college. We decide to hike together and off we go across the grassy top of the mt. We are walking on a boardwalk and I spot a caribou off to the left. We stop and watch it for a while. This is the first he has seen in five years of visiting the Park. I feel luckily to have seen 6 in two days! They are part of a very unique herd. THe Quebec herd does not migrate like the rest. They stay in this mountain valley and just move up to the summits in the summer. They must have been cut off long ago by the glaciers and stopped migrating. THey are now genetically different from the herds of the north. But they are down to about 180 members in three herds. THey are just about at the point where they are interbreeding too closely and that will eventually weaken and kill them off.

I asked but they are not introducing new members from outside herds in to strengthen the blood line. Too bad. At the end of the grassy the mountain drops into a steep valley with a stream crashing down the rocks. It’s very beautiful. I am glad I did the hike in this direction. We start down the rocky trail and I do pretty well and keeping up with 21 year old legs. We are having a great conversation in Franglais. Luckily his french is better than my English! We have together for about 7 km until I decide to go for a swim in the river below Chute Diablo( Devil Falls) and he can’t swim with his cast so we bid each other bon voyage. I head up the rocks on the side of the stream to get out of site of the bridge. THen I strip down and ease in. Oh is it cold! But it feels great to scrub off some of the sweat from the climb. I get my head under and then out on the rocks to eat my peanut butter mini bagel and plum. Then into my clothes and I finish the hike. Once I pass the bridge the path turns level and wide. No more hills, rocks or mud! I stroll along side the river and then through a beautiful grove of cedar trees. Another 2 km and I am back at the parking lot. I get my boots of and walk to the discovery center and use the loo. I decide not to have a beer but jump in the van and head North out of the Park.

Soon I am in St. Ann de Monts and there is a cool park by the water with lots of sculpture made from carved and assembled driftwood. Neat stuff. I walk around and look at them all. Id rive around until find a internet and do my email then I stop at a supermarket for beer chips and salsa! Ricards Red this time. It’s what I had in the internet cafe and is pretty good. I head on west along the coast and when I reach Metane I spot a bunch of Rv’s parked beside a wharf behind a mall and drive down to investigate. Sure enough it’s a place where people just stop for the night. I pull along the shore and open the doors and watch the sun setting with a cold beer and some chips. The people in the next RV are pointing and I realize there is a marmot on the rocks right next to me. How cool! He is very used to people and gets right down on the ground nest to me and grazes the weeds by my tires! He is fat and happy.

He moves on down the rocks and I watch him with my binoculars for a while. Lots of other RV pull in and also there is a 45 foot wooden ketch at the dock. She is really lovely and the couple that own her walk past me to go out o n the wharf, then walk towards town. Probably to have dinner. Then an old VW bus pulls in and parks. Two guys get out and I grab another beer and go have a conversation. They are two brothers from Trois Pistoles, Quebec. They have been fishing and are getting set to fish some more after they finish eating. THey are headed east and I recommend the Point Gaspe walk. The temperature is really dropping fast. I am wearing pile but an still getting cold. So I bid them good fishing and go back to make dinner. Broccoli and rice. It’s very tasty and warms up the van. Soon I am in my bunk with the windows closed but the top up and I have my blanket and sleeping bag over me and am snug as a bug in a rug! Goodnight!

I am up at 5:45 at first light and I need the bathroom so I head across the mall parking lot towards a McDonalds sign. But soon I change course when I see a Tim’s. Soon I am sitting down with a medium hot chocolate and a sesame seeds bagel with butter. Yum. When it’s done I walk back and quietly put down the top and drive off. I drive to Rimouski, Quebec and stop at a mall to look for a new camera. I didn’t find a camera, an outdoor shop was having sale and i got some clothes and a nice set of small binoculars all on sale. Then I drove downtown and asked around and finally I found a camera shop and they had a Canon D-10 compact waterproof, freeze proof camera. So i bought it. I drove to a parking place and ate a mini bagel with sardines and cheese and read the basic on my camera.

There was a bike path so I went for a nice ride as it was an absolutely beautiful day. The bike path was really nice and went around the shore and through a nice park where I watch some guys playing beach volleyball for a while. then I rode back and packed up and drove on to Le Bic Provincial Park and got a campsite at the top of the hill and spent a couple of hours playing with my new binoculars and camera! The camera has a ton of different controls. It’s very versatile and takes good pictures. I took a trail walk and experimented with the camera then picked up some kindling and started a fire in my camp and spent a nice couple of hours sitting by the fire eating chips and salsa and drinking beer. Just as my fire was dying out my neighbors rolled up and were struggling with their fire. I went over and helped them get it going and had a nice conversation with a couple from France. They were both chemists and have a one year old daughter back in Britany. Again it was getting really cold so we put the fire out and I crawled into bed. It feels really good to have a camera again! I really missed taking pictures. This one is waterproof to 30 feet! That should open up some good possibilities for me! Good night.

I am up at first light and I drive down to the water and I hear a strange grunting noise and realize that there are harbor seals lazing on the rocks out in the middle of the little bay. I count about a dozen of them. The tide is going out and they seem to be complaining as their water is disappearing. I watch for a while then ride my bike all around their bike trails. I see a couple of deer including one with a fawn still in spots. I ride all the way out to the point and take some pics with my new camera. I stop and look at the historic buildings and then I get on the road south. I drive to Trios Pistoles to catch the ferry across the St. Lawrence River but it doesn’t run again until 4:30 pm. I try for an internet signal but can’t find on so I drive on south to Rieveire du Loup where the ferry should go at 2 pm. It’s 11 am but cars are already lining up so I get in line and break out the chips and my book. About 20 minutes later I notice the Rv in front of me is moving. I drop the chips and fly into the drivers seat and crank up the engine as the guy waves me onto the ferry.

Wow they are loading early! I’ll bet we leave at noon. I go up and sit in the cafe and treat myself to a cheeseburger platter. It lands in front of my right at noon, just as the boat starts moving. Cool. The cheeseburger is passable, and filling. I walk around and take pics then read my book and soon we are on the other side. I get off the ferry and drive North up to Lac St. Jean. I pick up internet in Chicoutini and take pictures of the Pyramide du Ha Ha. It sit in the town Parc. Must have been commissioned by The Joker! All of a sudden the mountains are gone and the land is flat and covered with crops. Big farms here. I turn south back into the mountains and then up a dirt road to lac du La Belle Reviere. It ‘s remote campsite and I really use my franglais to procure a campsite. The wind is really blowing up. It’s very chilly and getting dark so I go and find the showers. I take a nice hot shower and then write my journal and make broccoli rice for dinner. It tastes excellent. I listen to Tom Waits and write in my log until the power is gone and then crash. The temp has dropped to below 50 F so I close the windows and roll up in my blankets and am a sleep almost immediately. This is as far North as I am going. Tomorrow I head south. It’s been a good run but I am ready to point my nose towards home. To quote a NGDB songs. “Put out the fire call in the dogs and head it on back to Bowlegs. “ Always liked that song.

At daybreak I get dressed and hightail it to the bathroom. It’s cold this morning and just barely light so I get back in my warm blankets for a while. I get up at 7:30 and have tea and cereal with dried blueberries then hit the road. To my chagrin the small road west i want to take is impassable so i go back North then west to Rt 155. I stop for gas and then as a farm stand. The wind is blowing really hard and has just blown over all their berries. The whole floor is a carpet of blue and raspberries! It’s a sad sight. They are scrambling to get them back in boxes. I buy fresh corn beans tomatoes and some blueberries. Then I start south. It’s a very scenic highway winding through mountains and along a rappidy river. Soon I am in town of LaToque. I stop for groceries and another block of ice. I have some blueberries and plums for lunch. Then I drive on south and snack on sunflower seeds and sesame sticks as I go. Soon I am the outskirts of Montreal.

I drive in and on to Sherbrook St. which runs the length if the City east to west. It’s 3:30 so I pull off into a Parc by the Botanical gardens but they want a lot to park so I drive on downtown. I south closer to the water and in the older section of the City I see and public market with parking behind it. It’s 4 pm and the radio is talking about how horrible traffic is. I get out and walk through the market and down the street. It’s an old kind of rundown neighborhood. Lots of young people, artists and immigrants. I find an old bookstore and browse then talk to the owner for awhile. He has interesting collection of French Expressionist and Surrealist plays. Including and very old copy of UBU ROI by Alfred Jarry. A very revolutionary play in it’s time. Then owner is a big Jack Kerouac fan and knows St. Pete because of Jack. We talk for a while and he gives me directions to a couple of good restaurants He has never owned a car. He has owned the bookshop for 30 years. His wife is an advocat (lawyer) and the walk or use public transport.

They rent a car occasionally so go to the U.S. for Kerouac festivals!
. He doesn’t know how secure my parking space is but says all side streets are free so I move. I find a nice looking quiet spot on a side street. My bike is folded inside the covered with dirty clothes. That ought to stop any thief! I walk around and find the restaurant and then walk further around the area. Montreal is pretty warm tonight. No coat needed and the sky is clear. Everyone is out in the Parks playing. I take pics and walk and listen and smell. So different to be in a City after the Gaspesie! I want to come back here and get a hotel and ride my bike all over! My feet are getting tired so I land in a sidewalk pub for a beer. I sit in the only empty table and there are some people next to me and one guy is wearing shirt saying Rappongi Ravers. Looks like it was a japanese sports team shirt he found in a thrift shop. He is talking to a smartly dressed woman wearing a black dress with a belt that say Love Juicy. What a great couple. They are the only people talking in mostly English. My french has gotten much better over the last few weeks but I still cant’s follow a rapid conversation. So it’s fun to listen to them. I was trying to get a stealth pic of them but my flash went off.

Damn! Then the guy was telling a story and waving his hands around when his ring flew off and hit my foot. I gave it to him and complemented them on their outfits. They left soon and I walked to the French restaurant. Le Petit Extra on Ontario Street just a few blocks south of the Pont Jacques Cartier. It looks nice so I go in and the menu looks great. They have entrees and a fixed Price menu. I ask about the fixe pree and he says ha can adjust it if I can’t eat the whole thing. So I agree and order fish soup, lamb shish kebobs with a tomato cumin sauce and a glass of the house red. The soup is really good. Served with some toasts and parmesan and sauce that comes with bouillabaisse. It’s amazing. The lamb dish is terrific. Served with a cake of rice topped with yellow squash zucchini and parmesan. Wow it’s cooked just right. and the tomato coulis is great. I am too full for dessert so i cash out and walk back to BEYOND. It’s dark and I am tired. The street is quiet so I crawl in the back and am able to fold down the bed with the bicycle and I read to see if anyone notices me. No sign of any so I pull the shades and crash.

Friday
I am up 6:30 and I drive to the corner diner to use the restroom and have breakfast. The,oef,crepe,fruite,pomme frites. THe syrup came in a teapot like the tea. I refilled my tea cup from the syrup pot by mistake. GRR! I thought the tea looked thick! Then I moved my bike back to the rack and hit the road. Back on Sherbrook St and head west. Through the rest of the city. My map indicated Sherbrook St. running over a bridge and out of the city as Rt. 138 which is the road I want. Well it doesn’t. I had to fiddle around but I finally found it about 8:45 and fought my way out. Soon I was back in famland and rooling smoothly south. I crossed the border at Malone, NY with no problems. No hard questions or search! I rolled on into Malone and checked my phone for messages and read my email. I had a nice talk with my father. He might be joining me in GA. It would be geat to finish my trip with him. I go to Mineke but they can’t give me an oil change unitl tomorrow, and the Pizza Hut doesn’t have the buffet, so head south into the Adirondack Park.

I stop at the Interpretive Center and ask about campsite availability. She doesn’t know but guve me a huge brochure. I try callling one and can’t really hear them so I drive on down to Fish Pond. Supposed to be beautiful. I get a site and it’s okay right on the water. But all the campsites are one the water! All 300+ sites. Wow! I haven’t seen this many people in a long time. I decide to drive into Lake Saranac and the on into Lake Placid. Looking for a cool jakcet I saw in Rimouski but didn’t want to buy in Canada. Can’t find it in either town. So I head back and eat sunflower seeds as I drive. Then make some of the brocclli and corn for dinner. I have chips salsa and beer while I am cooking. I decide to bike to the showers and end up biking a long way. It seems like I am half way around the Lake. Good thing I brought an extra head light! I take my shpwer and the water is good and hot. I jump back on the bike and decide to ride the rest of the way around the lake home. Well it takes me about 40 minutes! There was a lot more lake this way. I end up riding along the main road and then through the woods but finally I make back home! What a trek; my fingers were pretty numb by the time I finished. I relax for a while and write in m log and then into bed. I read some of The Shipping News and the off to sleep.

In the morning I up right as the sun is coloring the sky. I hit the head and take some pictures, then go back to bed for a while. It’s quite chilly this morning. Maybe 48 degrees. It feels to to crawl back in my warm covers. I wkae up at 9 and eat some creal and blueberries then head south with a cup of hot chocolate. I come around the corner of Raquette Lake and there is a swimming area with people in the water and a parking space. Cool. I grab it and walk over to the beach. It’s warm on the sand so I get my chair and book and sit in the sun. I still have on a pile jacket and hat but the sun is warm. Soon I get my courage up and change into my suit and into the water. It’s really much warmer than I expected. Certainly warmer than the water I have been swimming in lately. It’s a tiny swimming area so I can’t really swim so I float for while then swim a bit and wrap up in my towel and sit in the sun. When I am wrmer and dryer I go change and grab he chips and eat them while I read. Glorious. There is a seaplne that gives rides and it’s fun watching him take off and land about every half hour. Then I drive to Blue Mountain Lake and spend the afternoon in the Adirondack Museum. It’s as cool as I remember, with a great section on wooden boats. When the staff finally push me out the door I head south still on Rt. 30 and find a campsite on Leaky Lake. It’s up above the lake but off by myself. I am just settling in with a beer when the rain starts. It gets going and rains steadily through a dinner of yellow beans corn and pepperoni mac n cheese. By the time I get into bed it’s raining pretty hard and continues all night. But I amsnug and warm with U K LeGuin’s Twelve Winds. Good Night.

In the morning it’s still raining and very gray. I get up and have my cereal and make a cup of tea then drive over to the showers. No quarters needed but the water is icy cold. Not very nice on a cold rainy day! I am wash my hair because I am visting my friend Carol tomorrow and I want to be presentable! Quick scrub, faster rinse and I am out shivering! Back into my clothes and over to the recycking center to process my trash. I have been very pleased to see that most campgrounds have centers for recycling. It’s a good thing! I drive south to Amerstam in teh fog and rain. It’s beautiful to see the misty on the mountains, but even nicer to be in a car with the heater on! In Amerstdam, NY I see a Jiffy Lube and pull in. They can get to her about 10 minutes. Great! So about 20 minutes later I am on the road again. Just down the road I see a laudromat and pull in. Let’s get a bunch of chores done today! My clothes are in and I see a Pizza Hut across the street but no buffet on Sautrday. When my laudry is folded and stowed I drove on and there is a movie theater. I pull in but the Jlia Child movie I want to see downs’t start for hours. Too bad. I contue south on Route 30 through the Schoharie Valley. Rolling hills and farms. Lots of old houses. It’s very pretty out here.

Old stone churches and graveyards. I see some familar place that bring back nice memories. I see a church bar-b-que supper and pull over. As usual I am right at the end. THey are out of sides so I buy half a chicken. It’s tasty! I am the only one eating and the lady gives me two ribs to try. I eat one and it’s flavorful but a bit tough. I save it and some of the chicken for dinner. I thank the foolks and head south. Soon I turn off 30 and work my way over to Rt. 28 East and head into the Catskill Mts towards Kingston. I stop in Phonec ia, NY and head for the Wooded Valley campground. It’ss takes me a but of driving around but finally I make up to the end of the right road and it’s verty pretty. I get a site right on the Creek. Cool! They assure me the showers are hot. Quarters required but hot! I have some beer and veggies for dinner and then walk off to look for the showers. THey are nice and clean and the water is hot! What a pleasure after a cold rainy day! I get back to BEYOND and type in my log until the rain starts again. THen I cewal into bed and read and story by Ursula before nodding off. Snug and warm istening to the rain and the creek.

Sunday Aug 30

I sleep in a bit today. Then I haave cereal and the last of the Quebec blueberries. I make tea for the road and drive back down the mountain to Rt. 28 and the 30 miles to Carol’s house. The further I descend the more the sun comes out until I roll up carol’s strret under a clear blue sky. It’s great to see Carol and the crocs I left at her house are right where i left them! Hello old friends. We chat and I help with a photoshop project and eat some stale popcaorn she made last night. It’s really good. She cooked it in olive oil onion and garlic and the poured butter with a hint of maple syrup over it! Wow it’s good even the next day. The we jump in here convertible, drop the top and drive up into the village of Rosedale. Carol drives me past a house she is considering buying. It needs work but is in a good location. Not too remote and the neighbors look nice. The catskills are a very expensive. Lot’s of people from NYC have summer places there. Plus all the eealthy artists, musicians and hippes that want to be near Woodstock live all around.

We stop in Rosedale at the bakery and get some foccacia and lemon poppysead bread for lunch. We go across the street to a Cheesehop and thrift store. I find a copy of One Hundred Years of Solitude for $3 and buy it. A great book and I will need one more for the trip home. G. G. Marquez is one of my favorite authors. The we drive up to the very famous Mohunk Mountain Resort where she works as a florist. I have heard about this place for years but never seen it. It’s pretty pricey and has been open since the late 1800’s. It was built as a place for people to go and commune with nature. I must say that I had my reservations about it but it is an amazing place. They have really worked hard to keep it as pristine as possible. It’s right up on a mountain with a high mountain spring fed lake and it building is really amazing. There are hundreds of rooms that all have working fireplaces all in one old stone building! It is an amazing example of dream architecture from the late 1880’s. It was a perfect late summer day and we walk , hiked, swam, picniced and had a really great time. I took a ton of pics that I will get on my website eventually. If I were ever to go to a resort this is one would be very high on my list. It’s a very beautiful place.

We are getting hungry so we drave down to the Rosedale Tavern for dinner. The waitress is raving about the corn seafood chowder. I don’t really get good chodwer in the south especially corn chowder. ANd I really never see seafood corn chowder. SO I oder a bowl and we both order a porkchop an an apple maple glaze. The chowder is excellent. It’s the real McCoy. I savor it to the last drop. THe porkchop comes and is immense with mash potatoes and yellow swuah and zuchini. It is also very tasty and I eat the whole thing along with a locally brewed beer. Glad we hiked and swam today. It was a real treat to spend the day with Carol at Mohunk and to have such great food! We rool out to the car and stop at the movie rental place for The Science of Sleep and Burn After Reading. We start with Science which I really enjoy and Carol ahs never seen. It’s artsy and quirky but she is tired and dozes off. I enjoy it but we are too tired to watch Burn. Too bad as I have never seen it. We both collapse into bed. What a great day! I can’t wait see my Mohunk Pics! Good night.

virginia to maine

2009-09-01T09:30:00.001-04:00

After breakfast I took a shower and packed all my gear and then had the bright idea of calling my cousin Joe who lives in Charlottesville,VA a out an hour up Rt. 29. I was a ble to get his cellphone number and he was available to have lunch with me. Cool! It’s been a few years since I saw him. I jumped in BEYOND and drove to the gas station. I pulled up to the propane tank right as the propane truck pulled up to fill it and had to wait. So I filled my gas tank and washed the windows, then filled the propane tank. I drove out onto 29 and they were working o n the road and the traffic was backed up but luckily it didn’t last long and I was soon freeway flying up 29 and onto the UVA campus to met Joe. We hooked up and since he had brought his lunch and my aunt had loaded me up with food. We chose to picnic on a nearby shaded picnic table. We caught up and family business and Joe told me about the property he has bought along the James and is drawing up a house for. He is an architect so I am sure it will be a cool house. Then he went back to work and I drove on up 29 to Madison were I turned on to Rt. 133 which goes right along the edge of the mountains and up to Front Royale. Soon I was on Interstate 81 headed north. It got rainy and misty in the Poconos. I pulled off at a sign for a state park but was unable to find it or a gas station. So I headed back to the interstate where there was gas at the next exit. Then I drove onto 80 east and off to the Hickory Run State Park. I drove about 6 miles off the interstate into the Delaware State Forest. I finally found the campground and asked for a site. She said they had a plenty. I asked for a quiet one, but she insisted I choose my own and come back to pay for it. There were hundreds of sites and almost no campers. So I choose one and bicycled back up the hill and paid for it. Then I made some squash onions and tomato and relaxed for the night. It was wonderfully quiet so I slept up top to the sounds of a burbling stream. Nice!

I slept until 9 it was so peaceful. Then I ate a bagel with blue(stinky) cheese and salami. It was very tasty and then loaded my travel log and pictures. Then I got my bathing suit and bicycled over to the lake for a swim. It was cloudy but not raining. The lake was a nice temperature. There were other people there but not really swimming. I pretty much had the swimming to myself which was cool. Then I rode back to my campsite and packed up the van and took on some fresh water and headed out. Then I noticed that my check engine light was on. Crap! Could be nothing but it makes me a bit stressed. So I drive up to Rt 209 which goes through the Delaware Water Gap and into Kingston, NY where my friend Carol lives. As soon as I get on 209 there is a sign that they are working on the road. I decide to go anyway and there was a detour but then I had the road almost to myself. It was a lovely drive. The Delaware water Gap was really pretty. I am going to have to go back and camp there sometime. Then on through Port Jervis and into the Catskill Mountains and finally into Kingston. I arrived 30 minutes before Carol so I took a minute to look up a VW dealer on the net so I can get the engine checked. She still feels great so we will see. It’s great to see Carol and her three cats. She is a painter and I working on a portrait commission. She is off to a good start on the painting. She shows me some more of her current work and then we decide to drive into Woodstock (yes the Woodstock, but not where the concert was) She has a great little VW convertible so we put the top down and cruise on out to the Little Bear for some really good Chinese food. Woodstock was full of hippies and smelled like too much patchouli as always but we got a great table over looking the stream and had some great seafood with hot chili and Mongolian lamb. Excellent. THen we took a drive around Ashkotan. It’s the huge reservoir for New York City. They flooded whole village to make it. Carol says there are still bad feelings locally about it. We watched the light fade of the lake and surrounding mountains. It was pretty magical. Then back to her apartment for a glass of wine and a look at my pictures of Greece. Then off to bed as Carol gets up at 6 am for work. I slept on her couch bed. Good night!

Up at 6 for a cup of tea with Carol then she flew off to work and I hung around for another hour. Carol clued me in to the fact that AutoZone will check your car computer error message for free! Cool. And that the local VOlkswagen place is really bad. SO I go to autozone and they give me the computer I run the check and it comes up Exhaust Gas fault and Transmission Clutch Relay. Hmm. I’m not worried by the exhaust gas but the TCR that could be something. BEYOND feels good and it’s too early to call George who rebuilt my transmission so I driver across Connecticut on the country roads. When I reach Torrington CT (I was born in a hospital here) there is another Auto zone so I pull in and check the computer again. It comes up only Exhaust gas fault this time. That makes me feel better. I drive onto to Hartford and get on the interstate to the Mass Pike. I stop for fuel and eat the rest of my Chinese food for lunch then drive on to 95 North to 128 out to Essex, Mass, When my friends Tom and Peggy live. When I get there I call George about the Transmission Fault code. He says if it feels good it’s probably okay since the code cleared. That makes me feel better.

My friend Peggy had something going on with her heart and is supposed to rest. I am about an hour early and don’t hear any kid noise from the house so I stay in the van. If Peg is resting I don;t want to wake her. Then she drives up in Tom’s car. SHe is looks great and feels good. The tests have cleared her complete nothing to worry about. That’s a big relief. So we go into t he house and see the three kids and see their artwork and eat some fruit.

Tom works at home and is in his office on a phone conference. We are supposed to leave at 4:30 to play disc golf(frisbee golf) He finally appears at close to five and we rush off to meet his brother John. We can’t play at the course closest to his house as the whole Park has been rented for the summer for an Adam Sandler movie. There is lots of talk around Adam and the crew around town. Word has it that Adam is a pretty nice guy.

We catch up with John and have a great golf session. They are both really good. I haven’t played in 9 months when I lost my driver on the course in St. Pete in an impenetrable palmetto clump. We finish just as the rain starts. We pickup a bottle of Pinot Noir on the way home and there are make your own burritos. We have burritos and wine for dinner then break out the music. Tom loves to sit down and share music as much as I do. We spend an hour swapping music and then we watch a movie. I can’t remember the name right now but it was fun. A fantasy film about parallel world’s and people who can cross over.
Then it was time for bed. Another long and excellent day.

Friday
In the morning I helped Peggy and Bob make blueberry pancakes for the kids. We made a huge pile of cakes and ate almost all of them. Then Peggy and I took the kids over to her parent’s house. Tom and Lois are out of town but an aunt and some cousins are house sitting. The weather is very windy and rainy. We run off to take a tour of an historic home there in Gloucester. The original owner was a designer and kept adding on and decorating all the rooms differently. The finally house has about 40 rooms that are all decorated in different periods and styles. It is a fascinating place with rooms in all different colors with lots of different colored old bottles in the windows and everything is designed to go together. The others owners were very appreciative of the designs and kept almost all of the rooms faithful to the original design. A very cool house.

Then we went back to Check on the kids and discovered that a small sailboat out on the dock had turned turtle (flipped over) So we righted it and and go all the kids out to bail the water out of all of the boats. THe winds is still blowing hard but the rain has stopped. So we load up everyone and drive out to Crane’s Beach. We are almost the only people there and the life guards are sitting in their truck but the rain has gone so we all brave the waves and swim. The surf is very high but I make it out past the breakers and keep an eye on all the kids who are playing in the surf in case on gets dragged out. THey re having fun jumping over and under the breaking waves. The water is pretty chilly and soon I am cold so I head back in and most of the kids are cold too so we load back up and drive down the road to a new ice cream place that has opened. I have deer tracks ice cream which is vanilla with white chocolate chunks and macadamia nuts. It’s pretty good. Then we all head back home and swim in the pool to wash off. Soon Tom is finished with work so we cook some steak on the grill and eat it with fresh corn and green beans. THen Tom and I break out the beer and the music and do some serious listening. until his son Elliott comes down and reminds us that he is sleeping on the couch tonight since Bob and Foster are in his room. SO we finish up bu listening to some of Elliott’s metal tunes and then call it a night. I take a shower and head out ot BEYOND. It’s nice and cool and the wind and rain have stopped. It will be good sleeping tonight.

Saturday
I am up at 7:30 and make a cup of tea while I wait for the house to wake I read a book that Peggy recommended. Soon TOm is up and we have cereal and then get to work putting a roof on the treehouse he is building for Lindsay and Jenny. He has hoisted two big cross beams about 8 feet up onto a triangle of trees and constructed a platform. He wants to put and tent roof on it. When I look I suggest that we get some PVC tube and make a barrel roof instead. He concurs and we go in search of long PVC. In Florida every Home Depot sells 12 and maybe longer lengths but in Mass you can only get 10 ft lengths. So we buy some 10 footers, some connecters and dowels to put inside and strengthen the joints, PVC cement and conduit clips. We stuff it all into BEYOND and head back. After lunch on left over burritos we head out and sand the dowels so fit inside the PVC. Then we cut pieces to length and assemble our roof supports. THen we get out the bug dope and tools and head up to the treehouse. The mosquitos are really fierce but we tough it out. I assemble the roof while Tom pulls out a big length of fish net he bought and begins to stretch it off one end of the treehouse like a big hammock. Soon we have the roof in place and I help him finish off the hammock. It is super cool and reminds me of the trampoline on a catamaran. We take quick turn lying in ti and then retreat to get the girls. We bring them up and string up the mosquito netting and they are thrilled with the roof and hammock. So we all retreat back to the house. Tom and I grab beer chips and salsa and head for the screen house. Peggy and the kids make pasta with Peg’;s homemade pesto and we all eat dinner in the screen house. Then Tom has to take a business call so I read and play dominos with Jenny. Then it’s late when Tom finishes his call so we say good night. I shower off the sweat and mosquito parts and head for bed.

Sunday

I am up early again and Tom a nd I have cereal and then Tom and I take a ride down to the clay studio because I have a project I want us to try. I saw some violin shaped vessels in a shop in Greece and want to make one with him. We roll out some clay and form it into the basic shape but then it starts to look like a human torso and I start working it in that direction and Tom goes off to trim some plates he made the other day. I get the torso looking really cool and am smoothing the surface but I work it too far and it begins to sag! Too bad. So I collapse it and beat the clay back down so Tom can reuse it. I would like to try it about with a heat gun so I can stabilize it as I go next time. I phone my friend Celia in Arlington and arrange to visit on Monday. When Tom is finished we head home and he ends up working for the rest of the day with a quick dinner break of roast pork and veggies. After dinner I plot my route to Celia’s house in Arlington and then read until Bed.

Monday

I get up and help PEggy make blueberry pancakes for the kids. THen I pack up BEYOND and at 9:30 I head south. The traffic is clear and I make good time to Arlington and have no trouble finding Celia’s house. She isn’t there and I am a little early so I walk around the block. Celia pulls up as I am coming back up the street and recognizes me. She looks almost the same 22 years later! She and her husband Steve have two kids about Winfree and Estill’s age. They are of at camp so I get the house tour. Celia took a break from making her collage, assembly boxes when the kids came but is trying to get back into making some art. Soon we have to go pick up her son Tommy who is 8 and is at comic drawing class. Celia drives now which different (but not on the highway) We get a cup of tea and chat while we wait for her son. Then he want s to play with his friend. HIs friend’s Father Chris works at the Fogg Art Museum as an art handler and is a painter himself. We have a good chat while the kids eat and they go off with Chris. Celia takes we to the park where Paul Revere did his famous ride long ago and we go for a walk and continue catching up. THen we pick up Tom and her daughter Julia from camp and all head to the lake to swim. It’s warm to day and the water feels good except there is quite a bit of chlorine in it. I have fun playing with Tommy. Then we go home and change and Celia and Steve have a meeting so She dropped me and the kids off at her sister Rebecca’s house. Her husband Chris (?) is very nice but the kids are out of control. They are a pretty wild bunch bunch and don’t pay much attention to their parents. Finally we bundle them into the car and head for a chinese restaurant the kids like. Celia’s kids keep picking on their cousin Abby and she screams and throws tantrums. It’s very weird. I wonder how they developed these behaviors! It’s also exhausting. We eat at the buffet and it’s okay but the kids are out of control. Running around and screaming. Defying all attempts to the get them to behave. Celia’s sister Rebecca joins us and she can’t control them either. Finally we finish eating and walk to a playground where the kids burn off energy and we play play with the new Blackberry to Harvard bought her. She works in their Museum staffing department. WHen it gets dark we drag the kids back to the car. We try to stop on the corner for ice cream but the freezer is broken so so Chris(?) and I drive to the supermarket for the same same brand. It’s a local super premium. We get home and Celia and Steve are there. We have to fight with the kids to make them wait for their ice cream as I insist that they get served last for being so disrespectful to their parents. I bought the ice cream so I could serve how I felt like! The ice cream was good. When we got back it was bedtime for the kids. Celia, Steve and I drank some wine and talked while Steve and I compared music collections. He working in the home audio industry and we both love music. Then Steve had an early meeting so we all crashed. I slept in BEYOND in the driveway and it was much cooler than in the house!

Tuesday
I get up and have tea and cereal with Celia and then catch the bus right in front of their house for Harvard Station. I walk through Harvard Square and spend the day walking around looking at the buildings, the projects in the Design Center and then the Art Museum. THe main Museums are close for renovation but they have part of each collection in another building for viewing. There is floor of modern art, one of classical and American paintings and sculpture and a floor of Oriental art and sculpture. I enjoyed the pieces and must return when the Museums are reopened. THen I walk around some more and find the farmer’s market I remember from a few years ago is set up. It is the most expensive market I have ever seen but I buy to peaches and sample some handmade Mexican chocolate ( I bought some before) it’s very grainy but tasty with a hint of cinnamon. There is a chamber group playing beside the fountain so I sit on a rock in the shade and listen and watch kids play in the water. WHen I finish I get a cal from Celia that they are going swimming and then the family has an engagement. We agree on a time for dinner and I spend the afternoon walking around Harvard Square. Most of the small boutiques have been replaced by chain stores SIGH! It has really lost a lot of it;s charm. I walk in the Harvard Coop and look at the books and find an Eastern Mountain Sports and replace the soap container the airport security confiscated on my way to Greece hen I catch the bus back to Celia’s house. THe fare is cheaper with a Charlie transit card so i buy a one use card. Good to know for the future. I get back to Celia’s too late to swim. I write in my log until they return and There is an email from my stepmother about visiting her son Steve and a report on the cover my father is making to go over the deck he and I build last spring. WHen Celia gets home I cook some squash and onions for dinner and she feeds the kids mac and cheese. When Steve gets home we have a quick dinner and they all leave for something. I finish my dinner and then clean the kitchen which is a bit messy. I try to call another fiend of mine Dana whom I also worked with at StageWest years ago. I think I get his mother and she gives me his brother’s number call to get his number and then tells me that his father died a few days ago. Ouch! I leave messages on both phone number with my number for Dana to call me and the take a shower. I write more in my log, until they return with the Tim Burton Movie Coraline. Celia make popcorn and Steve tells me bit about the theater sounds system that he helped develop part of the technology for. Steve has work to do and heads upstairs. Celia the kids and I get our popcorn and 3D glasses and watch the movie. Like all TIm Burton movies it has a great look and a good story line. Very enjoyable. Then off to bed. No phone call from Dana. I know he lives in the Boston area but can’t find a phone number for him. Maybe tomorrow. Good night!

Wednesday
Well no messages from Dana. Maybe he is too caught up in dealing with the death of his father. I had tea with Steve before he went to work. Then split and bagel with Celia. Sill no word from Dana and Celia is off with the kids and rush hour is over o i lock up the house and head for Concord, MA. Soon I spot a bike path and stop. I bicycled on the Minuteman Commuter Bike Trail. It was a nice ride probably 6 miles. There was a bike shop and then end. I didn’t have money so I got directions and drove over and bought a spare bike tube. The stopped at CVS for a pair of clip on sunglasses that fit. And then found my way to Concord and over to Walden Pond where I swam. Toured the replica of Thoreau's house. HA! Cute little place! I walked around the lake and saw the actual site of his house. Then swam again. His most famous statement we all learned in school has always been important to me. "I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to practise resignation, unless it was quite necessary. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily and Spartan- like as to put to rout all that was not life, to cut a broad swath and shave close, to drive life into a corner, and reduce it to its lowest terms, and, if it proved to be mean, why then to get the whole and genuine meanness of it, and publish its meanness to the world; or if it were sublime, to know it by experience, and be able to give a true account of it in my next excursion." I was pleased to see the actual place. I have contemplated these word often over the years. I am still inspired by them. Then I drove north into New Hampshire and stopped along the way at a roadside stand for squash then at the super market for onion and milk. Then a little further and stopped for the night at Pawtuckaway State Park.
I find my site and get the top up and the rain starts. And then the phone rings and it’s my step m other’s son Steve. We arrange for me to call him the next afternoon to arrange a time and place to hook up. Then I drink beer and eat some chips and finally bike to the washroom for a shower. I forgot it took quarters and biked back up the hill but it was worth it to get clean as it was pretty warm and humid. Then back to Beyond to write in my log and sleep. Another fine day except I wish I had heard from Dana. Too bad. ‘Night!

I sleep in until 8 and have tea and wheat chex for brekkie. Love wheat chex! Used to have them at camp in New Hampshire when I was a kid. Maybe that’s why I really wanted them today. I clean the van and collected all my dirty clothes and looked for my bathing suit. I had it at Celia’s house and remember drying it in the van but have not seen it since. Looked everywhere i could think of. Even called Celia to have her look in the driveway in case it fell out of the van. Damn, now I have left my shoes at Carol’s and lost my bathing suit. What next. Hope my head is screwed on tight. I got my pack ready and drove down to beside the marsh where a trail leads up to a fire tower and headed off at a fast walk to try and out run the skeeters. No luck I ended up spraying DEET on my elbows, ankles and back of my neck to keep them at bay. They are really thick from all the rain this year. Finally i get up on the mountain where there is some wind blowing and and the bugs retreat. It’s a nice hike and soon I m up on top and the breeze is great. There are some teenagers on the tower having fun speculating on the number of band members in the Sex Pistols. When I get to the tower I throw out that I think there were three. Sid Vicious, Johnny Rotten and the drummer. They laugh and head down so I can see the view. It’s overcast but you can still quite a ways. There are maps indicating what can be seen in each direction. Pretty cool. Then I eat my apple and walk back down. The walk down is less buggy as the sun has come out and when I reach the bottom I drive down to the beach for a swim. The sun is out and the water is a perfect temperature so i swam for a while then sit on a picnic table and read. I have a granola bar and a plum for lunch. Then I go back to BEYOND and change into dry clothes and call Steve. He calls me right back and we arrange to meet at 5:50 at the big liquor store outside of Portsmouth, NH Steve is a wine seller. I drive into town and find a laundromat. I get all the sheets and dirty clothes together and get them started the notice a book on the counter. Wow! It’s the final book of Ursula K. LeGuin’s Earthsea Trilogy The Farthest Shore. I have been thinking about re reading these books. In fact I looked for them in my house for the trip but didn;t see them. Cool! SO I read some of it and finish cleaning the van and manage to spill a bunch of my detergent in the parking lot. Klutz! Still no bathing suit. I check my email a Celia has looked but can’t find it at their house. What a mystery. When my clothes are finished I stack them in the back seat and drive into Portsmouth. I find the liquor store and am early so I drive on into town and go the the Portsmouth Brewery where they brew my favorite brown ale Smuttynose. I finally find a parking space next to a park and walk up the hill. I find the brewery with just enough time for a pint and decide to try and IPA. It’s very good, also Smuttynose. I pay and am walking back down the hill when my phone rings. It’s Steve saying he told me the wrong time to meet and where am I. I tell him near the brewery and we arrange to meet back there in 20 minutes. So back up the hill. Through a store that I thought was going to be od building parts but was just stuff and a used book store. The owner thinks he has the other two Eathsea books but can’t find them. Too bad. So I walk to the brewery and there is Steve talking to an old friend. Steve used to work here and knows lots of the clients. We have a pint of summer ale and talk with his friend then Steve tries to sell some wine to the manager and we are off to pick up his kids from karate. They want to ride in BEYOND but she is full of clean folded clothes so they ride with their Dad and I follow them home to Dover, NH. We say hi to Beth and chat in the kitchen over a beer while Steve cooks up some shrimp with rice veg and feta cheese. We eat on the porch and then I go to meet the new goats and the geese. Then Chase plays me a song on the piano and Tucker their new computer game. Then they are off to bed. I take a shower. Beth, Steve and i watch part of a movie on TV but soon head for bed. The weather is nice and cool so i sleep in BEYOND. Good night.

The next morning I have breakfast with Steve and then we go out to the barn to feed the animals. Then we go into town to the store for food.
THe boys ride with me up to camp. We stop at the store in Milton Mills for ice cream in the pouring rain. It’s coming down as hard as a Florida summer storm. We run for the van and drive on. THe boys help me with all the turns and soon we are at camp. We run back and forth until we have all the supplies in the house then we put everything away. It’s still pouring so we put on a movie. Pink Panther. The new version with Steve Martin. It was pretty good. THe boys loved it. THen I played chess against Tucker and finally won. It was pretty close. We are pretty evenly matched. By this time the rain has almost stopped so we swim. When we are finally cold Beth arrives and we scrounge around for dry kindling and get a fire going in the stove. Soon the camp is warm and we are all in dry clothes so we have a glass of wine and start the movie Princess Bride! I love this one. About half way through I start dinner. Mushroom risotto, mango salsa, and squash and onions. We try to reach Steve to see if he is on time but no answer. Beth gets pissed. Finally we start the grill and Steve shows up just in time to grill the salmon and other fish. It’s ready just after the risotto so I serve it all up and we open another bottle of wine and feast! It all tastes great and we enjoy our meal except Beth is silent and she and the boys go to bed after dinner. Steve and I stay up for a while and drink a bit more wine and talk. Then off to bed. Hopefully there will be no sleep driving tonight! I hav e only done it once and that was right here last July 4th! Scary place as the road is just wide enough for my van with steep drop on either side.

In the morning Beth has gone home to clean. They live in an B &B and guests are coming. Steve and I have tea and coffee and then go down to the lake for a swim. Soon the boys are up and Steve makes a big breakfast. Eggs from their hens bacon toast. Very good. Then we spend the rest of the day n the water. As Ratty says in WInd in the WIllows “There is nothing as satisfying as messing about in boats!” We sew up the sail on the sunfish and she sails fine. Then we take the big motor boat out for a spin around the the lake. Steve points out the Ossippe Mt ring inside of which we went to Camp Merrowvista when we were teens. Those mts bring back memories. We paddle boat over to the neighbors pulling the boys on the big float. THen we tow them back and notice ripe blueberries. So we go back in the small motor boat to pick and wind up driving to different spots around the lake but finally finding a bonanza and come back with a huge pile of berries. Steve and I make burgers and corn for dinner along with left overs from the night before. We feast and then we make a zen rock garden and light a fire and torches along the water front and prepare for a wine tasting with the neighbors. Steve and I sample the wine and soon the friends show and we have wine and chocolate until everyone is tired and then we put out the torches and head the fire and head for bed. What a great day!
In the morning it’s blue berry pancakes and bacon for brekkie then a swim and I pack up my gear say my good byes and head east to meet up with Cecile and family in Durham, ME. It’s a sad goodbye but I am sure I will be back for more messing about in boats. Steve thanks again for your hospitality. I always have a great time with you!

I find my way to Acton, ME and then take the blue highways East until I am near Bradbury Mt. State park where I camped and rode my bike last year. Some rough trails! I call Cecile to see if they want to meet me there for a hike but they are picking blueberries so I drive over to join them. Cecile and her son Percy are done picking (too many bugs) so they jump in the van with me and we drive back to the house. I am warmly greeted by Mike, Julie and Dick. It’s great to see them again this year. I met Julie and Dick (Cecile’s folks) last year and we all had a great time. One of Cecile’s sister Joanne returned with Bridget and soon we are having a beer and a snacky lunch and talking around the table. Then we fly kites for a while and look at fixing the lawn mower. We discuss going into town or a concert but decide to cook dinner instead. I make mushroom, chicken risotto and squash and onions and Cecile makes some chicken and other veggies. We have a nice meal and then Mike does the dishes and we all play Boggle. It’s a new game for me but I enjoy it. I’m not much of a game player but this one involves words and I have fun. Then we all head for bed.

I am up way too early so I make a cup of tea and head back to bed. Soon all are up and we have cereal and toast for breakfast. Then Cecile and family and I head out to meet Joanna to kayak and Mike goes off to hit golf balls. IT’s a beautiful day and the kayak place is swamped but soon we are on the water and we have a nice hour and a half paddle then return our gear and head to a restaurant and Cecile and I have some good fresh clams for lunch. Then back to the house. We all relax for a bit and then Mike, Percy and I head off to a disc golf course just down the road and play The Beast! It’s Mike and Percy’s first time but the both throw frisbee very well. We all have a fun frustrating time bouncing off trees but complete the course in good time and zoom home for dinner. Cecile and her father have gone off to fiddle camp so the rest of us eat and great meal Julie has prepared. Roast pork. mashed, green beans and finally blueberry pie with ice cream! What a great meal. Mike and I clean up and read until the rest are home then all are tired and off to bed.

In the morning we are up for tea and cereal and then we organize and picnic and car arrangements. Cecile Bridget and I drive BEYOND to the store for more supplies and I visit the farmers market for squash, onions, zuchini kale and a bluberry bar. I run the store and buy some pepperoni. We pack up the van and the others met us then we caravan up the coast to Rockland. We stop to see Suze another Bates graduate who is a good friend of Mike and Cecile's. We find her house and then all head for the beach for a picnic. Suz has a son Harry and soon some of his friends and their parents show up. It’s very foggy and Eva is not able to fly off Matinicus to meet us. Too bad! We have a picnic in the fog and then Mike Percy and I go for a swim. THe water is brisk! But I swim a bit and then dry off and we are all off to Suze’s house. We talk and watch some schoolhouse rock then I drive Suze and Cecile to the pizza shop and grab and slice for me and head north to Rockport, ME to meet my friend Carrie. She is working for the summer at the Maine Media Workshops. She has to run a slide show so we head over to the venue to ge tit set up and I take a walk. It’s a beautiful place but all the house are for sale by Sotheby’s so you know it’s outrageously expensive! The slides shows are really cool. And then Carrie and I go out and drinks some wine and talk about future plans. THen I drive back and sleep in front of Suze’s house. It takes me a while but I finally find it and crash.

In the morning I am up early and Suze is just leaving for work. She let’s me in to use the bathroom and a quick shower then I drive over to the coffeehouse where she works and I have tea and a blackberry scone. It’s also a used bookstore and I look and sure enough they have the other two Earthsea trilogy books. Cool! I get them for $5 and now I am set to read the trilogy again. I wander around town and then to the tourist bureau to see if the Matinicus plane got off. Eve isn;t on it our the boat so I call. She is going to try to get over in the afternoon and will call me. I move BEYOND to all day parking and head for the Farnsworth Museum and am entranced by Andrew Wyeth’s watercolors! THey are amazing. I also see the work of the LOVE sculpture man and many other painter in the Wyeth family. THen I get a call the Eve is coming over. Great! I call Cecile and we agree to meet half way in Damariscotta, ME. Eve is a bit late but here so we hug then say hello to Suze. She declines to join us as her man is flying back in from fishing in Alaska! We hit the road and soon are at the rest stop out side town. Cecile and family show up minus Dick and Julie and we drive into town and find aa pub and order burgers and beer, just what Eva wanted! We have a great time catching up and the Mike and the kids go for a walk and Eva, Cecile and I pay and then walk and continue or conversation. it’s sprinkles a bit and then pours and Eva is worried about getting home so she and head back to Rockland and when we get there the weather is clear enough to fly so Eva heads home and I walk back to BEYOND and drive back to see Carrie and some more slide shows. THen I park in front of the hotel where she is living and grab a quick shower in her room and crash. Another great day!

Thursday

In the morning I cleaned out BEYOND while Carrie went to the gym. Then we went into Hamden for breakfast at a cool cafe there. Breakfast wraps and juice. Then Carrie dropped me off at the hotel and I charged my computer and tried to download pictures to my computer but I keep getting a memory card error. It looks like my camera is broken. Damn! It’s going to be hard to get it fixed on the road.
So I go online and try to get a campsite at Acadia National Park but it
s totally booked except for the campground that only takes walk-ins. Carrie’s dad is coming up for the weekend and she really want s to take him camping in Acadia. So I pack up and drive over to see carrie and work and give her back her room key and head south for the Olson House which is where Andrew Wyeth painted Christina’s World and many other paintings. THen back to Rockland where I gas up and have Pizza Hut buffet for lunch then head for Acadia to see if I can get a campsite. It’s a beautiful day and the traffic is not too bad so I enjoy the drive and arrive at the Seawall Campground at 4:30 and get the very last campsite for one night. It’s in the Rv area right by the bathroom but I am in. I am informed that I can get in line at 8 am and I should ne able to get a campsite in the tent area(Carrie and her Dad are bringing a tent) for the next two nights. So I take a walk set up camp cook dinner and then crash. I feel like I have been on other people’s time for weeks! It feels good to be on my own schedule. I read and soon I am curled up under my blanket fast asleep!

Cereal and tea for breakfast then I drive up to Echo Pond and go for a swim then I hike up the cliff. It gets very steep and includes 4 steel ladders then i am on the top of the cliff looking back down at the lake and there are ripe blueberries! Yes! Then I hike on up to the top of the Beech Mt. where there is a fire tower and a fine view in most directions. It’s a clear blue sky except for one black cloud in the north. I eat an apple and head back down and take another trail that goes along the cliffs over the lake. Then back down to the lake for a swim. When I ge there that black cloud is over the lake nd the wind has kicked up! I quickly jump into the lake and enjoy the waves the wind is kicking up. People are scurrying for their cars but I hang out on the beach and soon the storm passes and I lie in the sun with my book and warm up and dry off in the sun. I am reading the Earthsea Trilogy and enjoying it as much as the last time a read it. Probably 20 years ago. WHen I am warm I pack up and drive back to my campsite and change my clothes. THe local chapter of the VFW is having a lobster dinner tonight to raise money for student scholarships. I decide to drive in to Southwest Harbor and join the fun. I show up just before 7 pm and find out that it started at 5 and I am the last customer! Wow just squeaked by. But the stars were shining for me as they had lots of really fresh mussels and they gave me a double portion! Yum. THe lobster was excellent and fresh corn on the cob. THen brownies and ice cream. What a feast. THey gave me extra brownies and corn to take with me for Carrie and her father who are joining me tomorrow. I went back to camp and crashed after that great feed.

Saturday
I am up early eating oaties (off band cherrios) and drinking tea. It’s a gorgeous day. No fog in sight so I ride my bike down the road to the Bass Harbor Lighthouse. THere are lots of boats headed out of the channel to take advantage of the amazing day. I ride back and stop to hike two trails that go down around two old harbors. No buildings any more but very pretty views. One there is a family swimming and the father waits down current to catch the kids as the water pushes them past. They are having a blast. THey all have biblical names and are calling their parents ABA and ZAZA, which I find fascinating. On the other trail there is a section of trail that is surrounded by a cloud of light purple wild roses. It smells like heaven. THe best perfume ever! I ride back to camp and have a bite of lunch and then lie down to read as Carrie and Don should arrive soon. And about 10 minutes later they roll in. After hellos we load up and head into SOuthwest harbor to get a sandwich togo and then off to drive to the top of Cadillac Mountain. THere is a lecture or something that carrie wants to see. We never find the lecture but eventually we find a parking space and walk around and take pictures and then go for a hike. We walk down a ridge for a while a pick a few blueberries then head back up. We get back in the car and drive around the carriage road stopping to see the Thundering Hole but the tide is too low for thunder. Then Jordan Lake house. And finally we decide to drive into Bar Harbor for dinner. We get lucky and find a parking space right in the center of town. We walk down to the harbor and then to the Patagonia store and some other outdoor clothing stores to see if there is anything we must have. Nothing insists so we get directions to a mexican place and have dinner. Pork and Chicken tortilla with a very sweet mole sauce for Carrie and I and her father has some soft tacos. Then we drive back to the campground and walk down along the shore to look at the moon and stars. The sky is completely clear and it’s very dark here and we can see a trillion stars and the moon is painting a gold path across the sea. Lovely. THen off to bed.

Sunday

We are up pretty early and all have hot chocolate and oaties for breakfast. Then we drive up to Echo Lake and take the same hike up to the overlook and the Beech Mt fire tower. Carrie and DOn doe well and we all enjoy the hike and follow it with another quick swim. Then Don and Carrie have to drive back for Carrie has work to do. DOn is a real quirky guy. Pleasant but a bit out of control. IT’s almost like he and Carrie have reversed roles and she is the parent of an unruly child. It was fascinating to watch the dynamic. Anyway I go for another swim then grab some fruit and a chair and eat lunch and swim again then read in the sun and when dry pack up and drive further down east along Route 1 and then a side run down scenic route 192, as recommended by Outside magazine. I knew it would be good for something! Then route 189 and onto West Quoddy Head, ME which is the easternmost point in the US. I was here years ago on a geology trip from Bates but it’s fun to come back. In the last 3 years I have been to the NorthWest, Southern and now Easternmost points in the US. Guess I will have to get back to San Diego again soon to complete the corners! THen I drive about 5 miles across the Canadian border into New Brunswick to cam p at the Campobello Roosevelt International Park. Our President had a summer home there. It used to be quite a resort but now it’s a very pretty provincial park. And I happy turn off the engine and make some pasta with red sauce and lots of veggies for dinner. THen I get a really nice hot shower and scrape of the last almost week of dirt. Swimming everyday helps but a hot shower really feels great. Then back to BEYOND where I quickly fall asleep. Good night.

Tea and a bagel with roasted red pepper humus for brekkie with tea and I am on the road again. Again kudos to Outside magazine for recommending Cobscook State Park where they lend you the equipment to dig clams. I pony up my $4 park admission and deposit a 20 for the clam rake and basket and am directed to a mud flat. I walk out in my watershoes and they are promptly sucked off my feet by the mire! SO I dig them up and scrub them clean and leave them on high ground and walk barefoot into the tidal stream and start looking for the clams breathing holes. After a few tries I am getting pretty good at find the buggers. No really big ones but big enough! It is hard muddy work. I can see why my friend Tom switched from digging clams to painting houses during the summers for college money! I didn’t get started on the falling tide but right past dead low and soon the water is coming back in and I am near enough to the Bay of Fundy that it’s coming in fast enough that I start wading back to whence I began. I dig a few more clams along the way but soon my basket floats away whenever Search through a rake full of mud. Of course I find some of my best clams! Soon the water is deep enough and I am muddy enough that call it quits and remove as much mud as possible from my shoes, body and the clams then go back to BEYOND and pull into the picnic area to a spot looking over the sea and I cook and eat all of the clams! Delicious! Well worth the effort. Then I wash all the dishes and return my rake and basket collect my $20 and head north back to route 1 and up to Calais, ME. There I consult the tourist info place about a phone number for the North woods Company. THe are the logging company that owns most of Northern Maine. There used to be a little museum there but it has closed. SO I find an internet signal and do some email. I wanted to call some people but I am so close to Canada that I am getting their cell network so I hold off until I am further inland. THen I drive north up Route 1 and onto ROute 6 west throug ha thunder storm then I head up a gravel road to a campground and make my calls. But soon lose the signal. About 5 miles of pretty rough gravel road I reach the campground by a lake and relax then make veggies with hummus and parmesan cheese for dinner. Take a shower to wash of the last of the clam mud and crash.

Tuesday
I am up early for a hummus bagel and then get on the road. As I drive out over the mountain I get a message from Jenny at Creative Clay and my timing is perfect to call her and we work on the layout for the FolkArt and Music Festival. Then I drive north and stop at a pretty river for a swim but it’s very buggy and the rocks are slimy and current swift so I am only in briefly then dry off and drive onto route 2 north when I crosses 95 I pick up a phone signal and talk to my friend Chris. He has been doing some serious biking which is great. I write some business email and then head into the North end of Baxter State Park. I drive 9 miles into the campground on the pond below North Traveler Mt. I get the last site in that campground and am glad I did as it’s very pretty here. I take a quick up on Sadler Mt and make it almost to the top stepping over at least four piles of bear poop. One very fresh. Before heading back down for a swim. THere has been lost of rain and the rocks are very slippery. I take my time and soon I am in the Lake swimming in nice cold water and watching the sun set over the mountain. I find out there are ripe blueberries up on the Ledges so I grab a container and run the half mile up there and find huge blueberries. I pick and watch the sun emerge from the clouds painting the rocks red and then set. I pick for another 15 minutes and then run back down before it’s too dark to see the trail.
Then I drink a beer and make some risotto with veggies and fall asleep.

Wed
I am up and ready to hike at 8 am. I head out on the Traveler Mt Loop but in my haste I miss a signpost and head off on the wrong trail. It’s running along a pretty stream but not climbing to much. THen It dead ends into a pretty waterfall. I can;t find any more trail so I do the only logical thing. I get naked and swim. I ma drying on a rock when I hear a voice and I have company I quickly slide into my shorts and a young couple join me by the waterfall. THey are both physicians from Windsor. ME down ear Portland taking a weeks vacation. We have nice chat and I eat my bagel with humus then walk back down. I find the sign I missed but it’s too late to do the loop so I head up North Traveler Mt. It soon is very steep with lots of loose rock. Soon there are more blueberries than I have ever seen. I head up on the shoulder of the mountain and stop for a rest and chat with some other hikers and then head for the top at 3144 ft. Just below the top I stop for a chat with Nancy from Belfast, ME. Finally on top and it’s clear and I can see the top of Baxter peak in the distance. I climbed it last year. Then i walk back down stopping to big the biggest and fattest berries I see along the way. When I get back down I have a full pint of berries and talk to nancy some more and swim and then drive out of the park until I get a good cellphone signal then I see a gravel road back to an old cemetery and pull off. I get a call through t o my father have a nice chat with him them make some mac, cheese and pepperoni and watch the stars come out. Nancy said to look for shooting stars so I eat in the dark and watch but don;t see any and soon my eyes are closing and I call it an night. It’s been a long but nice day.

THursday
In the morning I drive into town and the north on route 11 to Ashland, ME where I gas up, but more drinking water in my tank and then drive to the North Wood Company gate. The woman on the gate is not very friendly and says I can’t a take a bicycle in and that the bridge is out and I can’t get to ROund Lake where I want to camp. SO I drive away and head for the next gate at Portage. before I get there I fold my bicycle up and put it inside the van. This woman is more pleasant and I get my permit and head in. But she also says I can’t get through to the Allagash gate because the bridge is out. I head in and find my way to Deboullie Mt Reserve. A few logging trucks fly past me but I just get out of the way. It’s their road. Then I am in the reserve and have to creep over a really rocky section of road but find a nice campsite and pull in. I put up the top and crawl up for a read and a nap. In a little while I was awakened by another car coming up the road behind me. He came up then backed down then cam up again and I heard him get out of his car and walk along side BEYOND. I called out to him and startled him. He asked if I knew how to get to more campsites down the road. I told him I did not. He said he was going to take the site next to me and to come over for a glass of wine. I told him I would be over in a bit. I read some more while he set up camp and then got up and put on my bathing suit thinking about a swim before the wine. When I came around the van there he was sitting at his picnic table with the wine all ready. S I went over and introduced myself. His name was Allen and he was a retired TWA pilot. I went back to BEYOND for a wine glass and joined him in sipping some pinot noir. He had been kayaking around on some of the lakes and streams in the north Woods. And lo and behold he had just come in one of the gates I am trying to get out! Yes! I figured there would be a way out going North instead of retracing my steps. He missed a turn and came the long way around but we look at the map a try to find the turn he missed. He drove 40 extra miles. We keep seeing vehicles drive past us on a very rough and rocky road. Maybe that is it. He offers me a canned ham and mustard sandwich. Having had only tortilla chips since breakfast I accept. Goes pretty well with the wine. We have been camping in many of the same parts of the country and spend the rest of the afternoon drinking wine and telling stories. He offers to open a can of chicken and make chicken and mustard sandwiches for dinner. I decline and invite him for dinner and I settle him in BEYOND with his glass and proceed to make fresh veggies over pasta with humus and parmesan cheese. He has been camping in bear country and eating out of cans for a couple of weeks and really enjoys the fresh veggies. After dinner and a few more stories I have drunk enough wine to be pretty sloshed and am ready for bed. I send him home and crash. It was fun to meet another traveler. He had some great stories enjoyed mine equally. Good night.

Florida to Lynchburg, VA

2009-07-22T10:07:00.000-04:00

Thursday July 15 3 am
I set my alarm for 4 am but it’s 3 am and I am wide awake so I finish my last chores and pack my refrigerator food in BEYOND and at 4:30 am.....
I am off again. BEYOND has a new transmission and i am headed for Maine. I love leaving early in the morning. The world is quiet, the roads are clear and you can always find wierd music on the radio. The DJ on WMNF was excited about a new album by Dinosaur Junior. I listened to them in college. They played some and it was good but then I shifted to catch the end of the late night jazz and then Morning Edition.

This morning I am on a timeline so I stay on I75 through Tampa North on 275 north of Ocala where I jump onto 301 and follow my usual route to A1A and when I reach I 95 I pull over and sleep for an hour. refuel and at 9:30 I jump on I95 and about 10 miles later I cross the border into GA. BEYOND is rolling right along at about 80 MPH. Feeling good. I make it through SC and refuel in Lumberton, NC. Then I roll up to I 40 and turn north to Raleigh, NC. Just before I40 the sky opens up and then rain pours down and the thunder booms. Luckily the road is not very crowded and I keep rolling. Them storm is over before I reach Raleigh. I take the Lake Wheeler Rd exit and cruise on out to my cousin Cabell Garbee’s house. I arrive about :4:00 pm. My Aunt Polly and Uncle Bob have arrived from VA. After hugs and handshakes we sit around and catch-up on family news.

Dinner is steaks on the grill. fresh tomatoes, a loaf of crusty bread and some fresh sautéed veggies. We freshen up and then Cabell drives us to Durham and the new performing Art Center where the American Dance Festival has a performance by Paul Taylor Dance Company. I bought my ticket on the internet and was seated in the second row center. Way too close for the stage for my liking. I felt like the dancers were going to step on my head! They are performing 3 pieces tonight. Mercuric Tidings, Scudorama, and Beloved Renegade. The first dance piece was very well danced.

Then there was an intermission so I went up to speak with the others. They had fabulous seats center mid way up the orchestra. Since the whole row in front of them was empty I stayed and enjoyed the final two pieces much more where I could see the whole piece. The second piece the dancers were wiggling around like bugs or aliens. This piece had scenery and costumes by Santo Loquasto and all three were lit by the amazing Jennifer Tipton.

We enjoyed the third piece a lot and then drove home and I was soon off to bed. It’s much cooler here at night so I headed out to BEYOND to sleep. It feels good to be traveling again. On the road again!

Friday July 16
I was pretty close to the road so early traffic began to wake me up.
Cabell and I were up at 7 to say goodbye to Polly and Bob then we went back to bed and got up about 9 for breakfast of grits, tea, and eggs. We spent the morning in conversation and I was able to get my friend Janet on the phone. She was in a training but has Saturday morning free so we arraigned to meet for breakfast.

Cabell and I went to the farmers market for fruit and veggies. He has a different car now. No more VW Jetta. Now he has a 20 year old Porkchop! It’s a Porsche 944 S2 (Performance was quoted as 0-60 mph in 6.7 seconds (0-100 km/h 6.9 s), with a top speed of 240 km/h (150 mph) (manual transmission)). It is a sweet car and needless to say but it can move!..

We made a quick trip to the NC farmers market is wonderful especially this time of year when all the local farmers are selling tomatoes, corn, and huge sweet cantaloupes! We went back to the house and had cantaloupe for lunch. Luscious! Cabell normally doesn’t work at the NC DOT on Friday but does massage work. But he was scheduled for a meeting this afternoon. I went along with the plan of working on my computer. We got to his office and upon checking his email discovered that his meeting was canceled! Grrr. So we worked for a bit. Enough for his boss to see him there and then drove to his gym so we could get wet. You all know how I love to swim!

Nice eye candy too as there were many attractive ladies in the pool. It was only 3.5 feet deep but there a couple of water slides! I went down both and wondered if they were designed by my friend Michael Blau in Albany. He worked for a water feature design company for a while. After a swim and a shower we got to the car right as it started to rain and it really poured. A really gully washer!

We stopped for ice and then drove carefully back to the house. His refrigerator is on the fritz so we have food in a cooler and he just cam back from a week at the beach and has lots of left over beer. Some new flavors too! So we iced down the beer. Had a lie down. Cabell gave me a locally produced independent film to watch. “The Last one” about Popcorn Sutton who is one of the last of the old time moonshiners. You can see an excerpt from the film on Youtube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nes5AXdwUWw
In the film he constructs and old style wood fired still and makes a batch of whisky.

He was recently arrested for making a different still and then died before his arraignment. t is a fascinating film. Too me back to junior high school where we were studying colonial america and for a project I built a model of whisky still! My teacher loved that one. We had recently acquired the Foxfire books and I was really having fun reading about Appalachian life. Wikipedia says “The series is an effort to document the lifestyle, culture, and skills of people in southern Appalachia in a mixture of how-to information and first-person narratives and oral history.”

Anyway, I enjoyed the movie. Soon the beer was cold so we sampled beer and shucked corn for dinner. Fresh silver king corn, yellow squash with zucchini and onions and we split the last steak. With fresh cherries for dessert. A wonderful meal. Good conversation and some tasty beer! We talked for a while after dinner and then I headed out to BEYOND to sleep. It wasn’t too long before a big thunderstorm came rolling in. I was up a few times in the night due to the thunder and pouring rain. It was pounding on my turtle shell!

I was up about 8 am and called my friend Janet at 8:30. She was still available to get together so Cabell and I jumped in the Porsche and roared over to Durham. We meet janet and her new partner Shelly and kids at the Durham farmers market. It is much smaller and more arty crunchy than the Raleigh market. True to her word Janet hooked us up with some really tasty handmade cheese danish. Oh my it was tasty.

I got some iced raspberry tea and coffee for the other and we feasted. THen we walk around and looked at all the stuff. There were lots of heirloom tomatoes in all colors from deep purple to bright yellow. I really wanted to sample but individual vendors weren’t giving samples like they do in Raleigh. They had one area were they were sampling all the tomatoes but the line was very long so I gave up. Someday I will get to sample purple tomatoes!

Goat cheese, bread, basil and tomatoes with purchased by Janet’s gang and Cabell bought a loaf of multigrain bread. Then we drove over to see where Janet and company are living. They have a cool house back in the trees and vines. It reminded me a little of my jungle at home. We took the tour and then Janet had to go back to her seminar and Shelly was running Max to martial arts class so we said our goodbye and headed back to Raleigh.

Just about the time we got on the highway my phone rang and Janet and I had a nice chat during our respective drives. Cabell and I stopped at the supermarket for supplies and more ice for the coolers and then headed home. We took and reading break and then had to fruit and a sandwich for lunch and drove a couple of miles down his street to a restored mill that he passes everyday but has never visited. It was a cool old building with a big waterwheel that was used to grind corn and wheat into meal and flour.

I paid a few dollars and we took a tour and learned all about the history and reconstruction of the mill. It had been sitting empty for 30 years and a hurricane breached the dam a few years previous so finally the University, the County and local folks raised the money and worked to have it restored. It was a good tour and cool to see the mill actually grinding corn into meal. It’s a much less involved process than grinding flour. They sell cornmeal but we decided not to purchase. After out tour they closed up so Cabell and I toured the Museum and then took a nice walk around the millpond.

When we got home it was time to drink beer and cook supper. We ate more corn and squash mixture and grilled some pork chops. Tasty. Fresh corn is so good and pork is very cheap right now so we had some excellent pork chops. More conversation and we transferred some tunes and I wrote in my travel log until my eyelids were drooping. A quick shower and then off to bed. THe weather was cool enough that I have been very comfortable in BEYOND. It’s been a real treat.

I am up about 7:30 and Cabell and I have some tea and fruit and then spend a few hours cutting the brush and vines between his land and the road so you can see the traffic better when you are trying to get out of the driveway. The trees and brush were thick but we tore into it and cleared all the way to the top edge of his property. Lots of small trees all tangled up with grapevines. It took a while but the end result was good. You can see oncoming traffic so much better now!

After that we made a well earned brunch of tomatoes, mushroom and cheese omelets, pork chops and tea. It very very tasty after all that brushwork. Then I took a shower packed my gear and put my foot in the path north to Lynchburg, VA which Aunt Polly and Uncle Bob Garbee live. Cabell’s folks. It was a beautiful afternoon for a drive and I took 40 west to Hillsborough then 69 up to 29. I really like 29. It’s a small divided highway that you can drive 70 mph and make good time while you see all the towns and churches fly past.

I arrived at the Garbees and parked next to the house and then help Uncle Bob work on his gate. SOme of the wood poles were slipping some we strapped them up. But it also seems like the welded pipe frame has sagged a bit. The latch is not lining up. This gate was built in 1963 and has lasted pretty well! We tried using my car jack to bend the steel back up but couldn’t get a good angle on it. Oh well. If you push hard it will shut. Then I had very tasty tomato with pepper and Janes Crazy Mixed Up Salt for lunch. It had very nice flavor and was a bit purple in color!

Then after a rest the three of us went a party thrown but the local french club in celebration of Bastille Day. It was fun. I dusted off my high school french and was able to carry on some limited conversations! We had a nice potluck dinner and some good wine and conversations in French and English! Then we drove to a friend of Polly’s who lived nearby and watch some slides of her grand kids at their home near Jackson Hole Wyoming. There were some nice photos of the Grand Tetons which took me back to my 2006 trip.

Then we went home and Polly and I had fun look at the quilts she is making and picking out fabrics for them. She is crazy about quilting and does beautiful work. She made the purple and green quilt that is on my sofa at home. Then I took a nice hot shower and headed for bed. It’s been smooth driving and the weather continues too be cool. When I turn on the cold water i get real cold water not tepid! What a great thing! See you tomorrow.

Athens to St. Pete

2009-06-29T22:05:00.000-04:00

Thursday
This is our last full day in Greece and this hotel offers breakfast at 6:30! My father are the first ones there. It’s a good breakfast and I especially enjoy the fresh baked croissants and hot chocolate. Athens has just opened a new Acropolis Museum and they are offering 1 Euro admission. It’s been all over the news and very crowded. It opens at 8 so after breakfast my father and I get directions to the nearest subway and head off.

It takes a while to find the subway and to figure out which line to take which way. We ride one stop and com up right next to the Museum. We have to walk around it to find the way in but then we are walking though the gate. In the walk under our feet are glass panels so you can look at a big archeological dig that is under the Museum! WOW it’s totally cool! You can see all kinds of remains of buildings and walks, even some mosaics.

We slowly walk and look and are in the museum. We have to enter through a metal detector but there is no line so we buy or tickets and are in. It’s a gorgeous museum. I regret that I forgot my camera in the rush to get here. Sorry folks. But there is an article with nice pics in the NY Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/24/arts/design/24abroad.html?scp=1&sq=athens%20museum&st=cse Go check it out. We enjoy the collection and the way it’s displayed. Especially the carvings from the top surround of the Parthenon.

They have steel columns the correspond to those of the Parthenon and the panels are hung in the same order, height and placement as on the Parthenon. Plus there are huge windows you can look out and the see the Acropolis and Parthenon close by. It’s very effective. We both enjoy it. Were the Elgin marbles should be they have installed plaster casts. (Lord Elgin from Britain took them off the Parthenon and back to London in the 1800’s. The greeks want them back!)

The British have been using the excuse that the Greek don’t have a proper museum to protect and display them. Well they certainly do now! We will just have to see what happens. I think they should be returned. What do you think? After we finished in the museum we walked back over the glass panels and enjoyed them even more after seeing the Museum.

Then we walked back around the flank of the Acropolis to our hotel. On the way we wandered up into a very old group of house that are right up on the Acropolis. They streets were just wide enough to walk through and all the houses had pots of flowers and grape vines. It was one of the prettiest places I saw in Greece. I was real glad to have wandered in there. We reached the hotel to find that my brother and his family were gone. So we rested, read and packed some of our stuff. We got hungry and I decided to try and cook some egg noodles we had left over from the boat.

Our room was equipped with one of those wonderful little hot water pots. I boiled water. Tossed in the noodles and turned the pot on and off to keep the heat right and in about 10 minutes Voila! Hot noodles with tuna and dolmades(rice wrapped in grape leaves) It was much tasty than we expected and we ate all of it and then took a nap. We got up at 1:15 and still no Randy Loyd’s. We had just enough time to get to the Athens Art Museum so we headed for the subway again.

Athens has a very clean and quiet subway. We got off at the right stop and emerged but couldn’t see the Museum. We asked a few people and finally a policeman sent us in the right direction. I spotted the big glass sculpture of a running man and knew we were close. There is was an we had an hour before closing. We enjoyed the Museum which was a mixture of lots of different eras of paintings and Sculpture from the renaissance to contemporary. Mostly by Greek painters.

Lots of good work and we hit the end of the collection just as the guard was giving us the closing warning. We were the last people out. We decided to walk back again and soon we found ourselves looking at a collection of old war planes which were outside of the Wartime Museum. We didn’t know it was there but enjoyed looking at the planes. My father was a Navy pilot so he was familiar with most of the them. There was one with a big hand crank next to the engine that was used to hand start the engine. New one on me! Pretty cool.

We walked on looking for the Botanical Gardens. we found them but they were closed to the public and being guarded by Greek soldiers. The Parliament is in there. The guards were in the old uniforms of White tights, skirts and pointed shoes with red pompoms. There were also police with submachine guns. I took a few pics of the Soldiers goose-stepping. It was very impressive. Then we walk on and were about to walk ing the gardens at the other end. They were very cool and green after the crowded big city streets. We popped out at the Plaza with our subway station and walked on to the hotel with a stop for ice cream.

I had black cherry and my father fig. They were small potions and too sweet. Randy and Winfree were back and Martha and Estill expected soon so we rested and I packed that huge bottle into my suitcase. It just fit. I was even able to jam everything else in. Cool! Randy wanted to try a restaurant he found in the local fish wrapper ( Athens version of Creative Loafing) I was able to find the address online and it was close enough to walk.

Soon Martha and Estill were back and everyone was ready so off we went. We had to walk past some pretty churches and my camera battery still had juice so I took pictures of the churches and Mono the restaurant. The bread was different and really good. I order and salmon and spinach risotto. others pasta with pesto, Greek salad and veal and local greens. The food was okay. Not impressive. For the risotto they used basmati rather than aborio rice. It didn’t absorb the juice and creamy. And the pesto was using a different herb from basil.

But we had the place to ourselves and the wine was good. We even had a little sparrow that keep landing on the table begging for bread. We had left over pasta that Martha to eat for breakfast. we paid and wandered out. We walked back by a big church that had a plaza out front the was mostly smooth marble slabs. It was almost a slick as ice. Never happen in the US. Somebody would slip and sue! We walked back and my father and walked around looking for ice cream. We were in the garment district. One street seemed to be all underwear shops.

The fabric stores and back to women’s clothing. We were about to give up when we spotted a taverna and came away with big cups of chocolate ice cream with caramel sauce. Very tasty. So good I almost got run over by a truck that was coming through the pedestrian street. His tire scrapped the bollard I had been sitting on before he honked! We went back to the hotel where I had a bit more Metaxa and finished my packing. Had a nice hot shower and off to bed to write in my log. Chopper was asleep so I had to be quiet. We went to bed fairly early as tomorrow is a long day traveling home.

Friday June 26
We are up at 6 and have breakfast at 6:30. My father and I talk about taking the subway to the Airport. It would be much cheaper than a second taxi, but the desk clerk says the subway to the airport is closed for repairs this summer. Too bad! So we wake up the others and check that we have everything. I take a quick shower, a final room check and we haul or baggage down. I ask the clerk to call us 2 taxis. She does and we wait on the street. i take some pics. SA taxi stops and brother talks to him and starts loading gear the desk clerk says it’s not the ones she called but my brothers loads his family and they are off.

My father and I decide we should wait for the taxis she called. We wait for a while and then see the desk clerk calling from across the street. I go over and she says my brother told her to cancel the taxis! Okay. So I stand in the street and hail the next taxi that doesn’t have a fare. The drive says 30 E to the airport. We jump in and are off. So Goodbye Hotel Caroline and Greece! We had a great time.

40 minutes later we are at the airport and we say goodbye to my father who is flying to Britain to meet up with my step mother and work on an archeology project. I am sad to see him go but looking forward to seeing my little house. I get my tickets and make it through security. I find out that the airport is relay busy because there was a airport workers strike yesterday! Glad we booked for today. I thought they would make a fuss over my bottle but they don’t. I find my gate and an outlet and charge my computer and work on my log. Soon my brother and his family wander in. About and our later we load and take off on time. Just about noon greek time. We are given dinner and they show the Steve Martin Pink Panther 2.

I don’t have headphones but watch anyway. After lunch of chicken. I sleep for a few hours. Then write in my log for a few hours and read for awhile. I am luck this flight. THe seat next to me is empty! No large greek man sharing my seat. Yes! The guy on the other side is not friendly so we hav e no conversation. We reach Philly and get through customs. At agriculture they stop me and take most of the stuff out of my suitcase so they can X-ray my bottle more closely. They finally pass it and I repack my suitcase and am off for the my gate. Randy and crew are already there. I look for an outlet and finally find one across the way from my gate. I share with a teenager from Seattle who is traveling back from Germany with his mother.

The three of us have fun talking about music and the Pacific Northwest. Neither he nor I are able to get on the internet. Too bad as I was ready to up load. I did get some good charge on the laptop. So we are one the plane and taxiing. Then we are stopped and wait for two hours. Gr.. Our 6 pm( US time 7 hours behind Greece) takeoff becomes 8 pm. Finally we are in the air and thump into Tampa at 10:30 pm. A neighbor of Randy’s is there to meet us. We load up our baggage and soon I am opening the door of my home sweet home! A cold beer and a shower and I am off to bed. It’s been and loooong day. What a great trip! Talk to you next time I hit the road.
Travel safe! Allen

Milena to Athens

2009-06-27T07:56:00.001-04:00

Friday June 19

We are all up early today as we have to be off the boat by 9 am. We eat the very last of the yogurt and crackers for breakfast with hot tea and coffee then drag all our gear off and bid Jules adieu. I load some pics while waiting on the others. Soon our rental van arrives and we say good bye to Andy, Liz and Ken and head north. We rented our van from a Dutchman who drives back to his office where we can drop him off and look at a road map. We talk a little about where we want to go and the Dutchman is very negative about our ideas. We have heard that Meteora is a little off of the track back to Athens but very beautiful. He Dutchman says it’s a 10 hour drive were we have heard it’s 2 to 3! He also says that all the hotels will be full everywhere. Sounds like crap to me.

We stop at his office and he recommends a hotel and cafe near his office. We sit down and have breakfast and decide to stay a night here in Kala Nera. We go to his office and look at maps and his is even more contrary to our ideas. It’s very frustrating and I walk out leaving my father and brother to deal with it. We met a very nice Englishman named Jim who lives here part time and helps out in the cafe. He can see we are frustrated with the dutchman and he brings us around the corner and points out his house in case we need some help. He is very nice. When I get back some sort of plan has been reached and everyone is headed for the hotel. The plan to spend 3 nights in this town doesn’t sound ideal but we are all tired and want to rest.

My father and I go for a walk and the others sleep. We find an ice cream shop and then return to the hotel. It’s very inexpensive but not too nice. Smells like mothballs. Martha is not very happy with it. After we rest my brother talks to the Dutchman who wants him to pay in advance for rooms we haven’t seen. We refuse and he gets angry. So we tell him to cancel it all we will find our own.

Then he back with just a reservation and a plan for Athens and dropping off his van. That we accept. You have to realize that Greece has 11 million people but 6 millions of them live in Athens. It’s a big very crowded city. Add in the crazy drives and the motorcycles that drive everywhere and it’s a frightening prospect to try and drive into the City and find a hotel. So we agree to meet his driver (the Dutch woman who drove us to Milena) at the airport parking lot at 8 pm on Wednesday night and she will drive us to our hotel for 30 Euros. It’s a good deal as we would need 2 taxis at 35 Euros each. Taxis in Athens are limited to 4 people and we are 6. We are glad to be rid of the dutchman and go back to our hotel and get ready for dinner.

Jim has been around a few times to make sure we are okay. He recommends the same taverna and we have some great little fried fish. They are like sardines or capline in Newfoundland. You eat the whole fish bones and all. They are very tasty with half a liter of local white wine and a greek salad to share around. Jim has told us that just up the road at a campground there are local musicians that sing and play every friday night. So we decide to drive up. It’s closer the we thought, we could have walked! But the campground is very clean with a beach a hotel and taverna.

Much different from campgrounds at home. We walk on the beach and the sun is going down over donkey island in the distance and very lovely. THe ground has finally stopped moving. We all have our land legs back again. It was feeling like the land was moving under our feet from being on a boat for so long.

We have some wine and enjoy the music for a while. They are 3 older gentlemen playing guitar, mandolin ( or maybe bouziki, i can’t tell the difference) and accordion. They are singing and drinking wine and everyone is having fun. We stay for a while but the girls need to get to bed early as they have been cranky today. So we thank Jim for all of is help and drive back to town.

We find a parking space near Jim’s house and head for the hotel a shower and sleep. Tomorrow we hit the road finding places as we go despite the Dutchman's warnings! Wish us luck.

Saturday June 20
My father and I are up early and have some melon and yogurt we bought yesterday for breakfast. I take a walk to see if I can find an open internet signal but no luck. I see about 3 in the whole town and they are password protected. It’s very pretty and peaceful this early. No taverna blasting American and Greek music. There are a few people sleeping on the beach near the no camping on the beach sign. They are starting to get up. The sky is clear and the air is cool. Our hotel room was over the street and a little noisy last night. I

walk back and we load up the car and drive to Ano Lahonia where there is a narrow gauge train that goes 16 km up the mountain to Milies. We think it leaves at 9 am which seems a bit early for a tourist train. Sure enough the signs says 11 am departure. Thanks Dutchman! So we wander off and find a cafe and have coffee and tea. We walk up to a little park and eat some salami and cheese sandwiches and melon. Thegirls play on the swings and a whirly gig. I used to love these as a kid. You don’t see them in the US anymore. They are a pplatform with handrails and kids push it and it spons around and then you jump on and ride around. In africa there are people who a building wells that use whirly gigs to pump water. What a great idea. My brother and I even rode it just for old times sake. This uses up all the food that would spoil otherwise. At 10:15 we walk back down and the station is full and we are unable to get a ticket. Too bad. We decide to drive up the mountain to Anos Georgios.

It looks nice and has a museum and some old churches and is near enough that we can try the plane again tomorrow. Winfree is being difficult today. Nothing seems to make her happy and she is yelling and fighting. making the rest of us pretty miserable. She has been having some moments along the way but today is bad. I keep reminding myself that she is only seven and to be patient. We drive up the mountain around very steep hairpin turns on very narrow roads. Always keeping an eye out for the crazy greeks coming the other way down the middle!

We get to town and go looking for a hotel we see a picture of in our brochure. We find it and walk down to it. ut it’s not open for business anymore. too bad as it’s a beautiful building. So we drive on up the hill and out of the town and around looking for another hotel. No luck so we stop at a taverna under an immense plane tree. The air is cool and there are cats for Winfree to talk to. Greece is full of stray cats and a few dogs. Every taverna has a few cats hanging around waiting for bits of bread. We all calm down and Randy has walked down the hill and found a resort that has rooms. It is much fancier than any place we have stayed but should make Martha happy. After lunch we walk back to the van and drive down there. It is really nice. They took 5 old villas and cottages and combined them into one big compound. It’s full of fruit trees and flowers and each room seems to have it’s own little sitting area.

We get two triple rooms. It seems strange that there are no family rooms in Greece. We wonder what other families of four do? My father and I and Winfree have a room with a big shower that is beautifully decorated. We have a little terrace under a blooming wisteria arbor. There is a small stream running past and all you can hear is the wind in the apple trees and the stream burbling. It’s wonderful! My father and I get our books and sit out there and read. I send Winfree of to the stream to cook for frogs the bugs and finally to count butterflies. We all have a happy hour our so to relax and then we talk a walk up the road to see the church and the museum.

The church is perched right on the side of the hill and has an open terrace on one side. You can see all the way back down to the sea from here. We watch a storm building out of the sea where we were just sailing. It’s a fairly modern church but very pretty. We walk around the other side and there is a little grassy play area. The girls play on the swing and whirly gig for a while. Winfree has another temper fit about something. Finally we get past that and walk on up the hill. We come to the Museum of the Sculptor Nickolas. There is another terrace with a sculpture of Nickolas himself.

The Museum is open so we go on in and it’s full of his work and books as it also serves as the towns library. His work is good. We enjoy looking at all the pieces and the drawings and photos. There is a woman working who tells us that Nickolas was born here but not in this house. That the greek president decided to make a museum here. And they moved the pieces from his studio in Athens after he died.

Then we walk pond to what we think is a Museum of the Olive. But it turns out to be an on the wall of a house. The Museum is in a different town and opens when the train comes by. The same train we didn’t get tickets for earlier, so maybe tomorrow we can catch it and see the museum.

We find a sign for a hiking trail and head down that road past some goats in a yard a nd a very loud dog. One of only a few barking dogs i have encountered in Greece. The road intersects another and there is another trail sign on a post on the other side but it goes down a very steep hill full of thorny thistle plants. We are in shorts and decide not to go any further. We can see the storm is building and might just make it up the mountain to where we are. If so it will be the first rain of the trip.

We start back up the road but Winfree is having a sit down strike and refuses to go further. We start walking on and somehow her mother convinces her to join us. We wander back down the road and stop at the same taverna under the plane tree. Everyone else has ice cream or beer but i am not hungry and we are going to have dinner soon. We have the taverna all to ourselves. It’s very peaceful here. The taverna owner doesn’t really speak any English so we can’t question hi m about the town. We seem to be in the old town square. There is always a fountain and there are shops with beautiful old wooden doors. It’s siesta time so everything is closed.

There is a pottery shop around the corner with some interesting vessels. There is also one of the old donkey oaths going up the hill. I walk up there and I see plaque for a small hotel association. mygreece.com. see have seen to beautiful villas with these plaques but nobody around. Either they are closed until July and August, the busy season or they are feeling the pinch of the bad economy. Everyone has finished their snack when I return and we decide to walk back on the the goat path. it’s hits the road again just around the corner from our hotel and as we come around the corner I spot a big old bottle with a cork in it lying in the bushes. I pick it up and it’s pretty great. it’s about 18 inches tall and 8 inches in diameter of clear glass. It was machine made not hand blown as i can see the seams. Bit is still fairly old and I really like it. It’s big though.

So i put it back where I found it and head back to the hotel. I jump in the shower for a quick cold water blast and this mountain water is really icy! it feels great! We dress for dinner and sit on the terrace and read while wait for the others. The storm is really getting close and we think about Captain Andy and his crew they just started a new flotilla with 8 boats and are trying to get them all docked for the first time in this storm! The rain starts as we walk to the hotel restaurant. They are hosting some kind of conference, and we have seen some of the people wandering around on their break in front of the conference room. In the restaurant most of the tables have been pushed together into one long one.

Must be for the conferences. They are a little surprised to see us. We apologize for not giving them earning that we were coming. We just didn’t think about it. They say that normally people sit outside on the terraces but because of the rain they are packing us inside. They make up a place for us and we sit down to a great salad with lots of different greens and olives and some thin slices of cheese like a greek parmesan with a balsamic vinaigrette dressing. My brother has the local specialty of sausages with peppers and onions, my father and i a pork steak the girls chicken and Martha a cheese pie with an ouzo sauce and most of the salad. it’s all very tasty and we really enjoy it while watching the rain out the door. They have some fancy desserts so we order a chocolate mousse pie and a lemon pie. They are huge slices but we manage to eat them all.

The chocolate is very tasty but the lemon is a little strange. Ask the owner and he explains that it’s not made with lemons but that fancy lemon liqueur. That explains it. Then back to our rooms. My father and i go for a walk up the hill on a small path until it runs into the yard of an occupied house so we go back down. I walk by myself around the side by the stream and there is another donkey path that leads up to a villa that is being renovated. An there is another one that is fallen in and covered with vines past that anther that is abandoned but very beautiful. It has carved wooden doors and shutters and the trees and bushes have grown up around it and there is donkey poo on the trail.

So they are probably using donkeys to bring the supplies up for the villa that is being renovated. it’s the only way to get up the hill where there is no road. Up above that is a beautiful little cottage that also looks abandoned. I can see how they made our hotel from a few of these old homes. It would be neat to live in this little cottage but i bet it would be very expensive to bring it up to code. I am sure it has no sewage system just for starters. It’s getting dark so I head back down to the hotel. Here I take a very hot shower and have a good scrub then I finish up The Kitchen God’s Wife before bed. Then off to sleep. I love this mountain town.

Sunday June 21

We get everyone up early and the hotel for breakfast at 8 am. Breakfast is included here and it is a fabulous spread. Eggs and ham, the usual cereals, corn flakes, muesli, and cocoa krispies. A fresh baked apricot tart, the usual yogurt, honey jam , bread, canned peaches. There is also pound cake and little spinach feta cheese pies. Wow! We tuck and eat quickly. We saw a bus stop out front and ask if we can catch a bus to Milies this morning. If so we can eat a long leisurely breakfast. she call but the bus doesn’t run on Sunday. Too bad. We had made arrangements with the owner for her to arrive at 9:15 (early) to check us out.

At 8:45 Randy drives my father and i down the road to Milies which is the top of the train ride. then he goes back to the hotel to check out and drive his family to the bottom in hopes of getting tickets. We hear you can walk down a path to where the train starts. We walk into town and can here the singing from the church. We have to be careful as we are walking on the road and there are a few big trucks and tour buses and they take up the whole road! The town is really pretty and we get directions for the train station but no one knows about the walking path. I remember that one of the sailing guys said he mountain biked right down the tracks. We may end up walking the tracks down.

The police don’t know about the path and neither does the baker. We walk down to the station and it is down in a shady cool area with a taverna and a couple of villas and a really beautiful cottage with a round bread oven and a railing made out of branches and a painting by the front door. I would like there anytime! What a beautiful spot. The train men arrive on the little working engine from below and turn it around on a turntable by hand. They don’t know a trail but point to the tracks. We walk down for a look and we can see where lots of people have walked along the track. There is stream running down to a small pool and i can’t resist a quick dip. While my father keeps watch I strip down and go for a cold mountain dip. Very refreshing. I air dry and then we walk back to the taverna. The owner speaks good English and she says that people walk down the tracks.

The only trail leads straight down to the sea and we would have to walk miles along the busy main road. that doesn’t sound like fun so we buy two bottles of water to add to water I am carrying drink one. then we head off down the tracks. We pass a couple of other tourists who obviously think we are insane to walk 16 km (ABOUT 9 MILES) down the mountain. Soon we have pace and we cross a bridge over a very deep gorge. We can see all the way to the bottom. Don’t want to fall off here. We have calculated about when the train should come by so we can be on the look out for. But for now we have set a good pace and it’s still pretty cool and there are nice patches of shade from over hanging trees and rocks. This railway was built during WW2 for moving supplies. they ahd to blast through a lot of rock to do it. This is a narrow gauge railway.

Soon we encounter a family coming the other way. They have been picking wildflowers and greet us with a cheery kalimera (good morning)! Since we are only the rail we don’t worry about getting lost and enjoy the views and looking at the plants along the way. Lots of flowers and bees and birds. Every so often there will be a bridge our the tracks with cross a stream bed where we have to steep carefully across the gap. Mostly there is a path on one side of the track or the other but sometimes we are right on the track. Occasionally we are in a very narrow cut and you always wonder if the train is going to suddenly appear! Al the brides have places you can step to the side but not some of these narrow rocky places! Luckily no train.

Soon we are walking through olive groves and then we come to an abandoned station. We stop for a pee and a water break. We started seeing number signs a ways back and realize they are marking the distance. There wasn;t one at the beginning and the first we saw was 25. We know it’s not 25 km to Lahonia but figure that must be to Volos where the line started with think. Anyway we are at about marker 23. We walk on and soon we are near a village and we see a couple of people walk onto and down the tracks ahead of us. Now we are expecting the train and keep our eyes and ears open for it. They say you can here it from a ways off but we don’t want to get caught in a narrow place.

And we want one of us on either side of the track so we can see if Randy and company got tickets and are on it. Soon we hearing coming around the side of the next mountain. We walk on through a fairly narrow spot and we don't hear it yet so walk a bit further. Then we are at a good spot with room on either side and all of a sudden we hear it again and around the corner it comes with a roar. It’s moving faster than I thought it would but we are clear. As it passes I can the back of Randy’s head and I call to him but he doesn’t hear me and then the train is gone and it’s quiet again. So we figure we are almost half way. we walk on and soon we see that our couple heading back and we pass them with a yessus (hello). We walking along some house where people are using the rail line as their driveways. There are cars parked here and there along the tracks.

We are about marker 20 when we see a hiking trail sign and next to it a sign that says OASIS 100 meters. This sounds good and around the next bend is another station with a taverna. Oh good! We walk in and there is the Olive Museum we saw the signs for yesterday. we try the gates but they are locked. We can see a man in the garden and we call out him but he motions 5 and walks away. I guess he will open at 5 when the train comes back through. We walk to the Oasis and an older man greets us and he has ice cream, beer, water and soda. We decide on orange soda he sits us at a table and is impressed that my 75 year old father is walking this distance. he himself is 70. He looks in good health. when he learns we are Americans he joins us for a chat.

He used to be a Merchant Marine and has sailed into New York, new Orleans and and maybe Tampa while he was working. he is retired now. His name translates as Silver. he is very friendly and points to a table with a big family eating and drinking happily. They are his friends from near Prague who have come to visit. They wave hello and soon Silver asks if we would like a bit of food. We say yes and they worry his going to bring us a big meal and we say just a little. He gets two plates and goes over to the family table and spoons some food out of a big pot and brings it over with a piece of bread each. he says that it’s the local favorite of sausage with peppers and onions. It is really good! We eat the food and sop up the juice with the bread. it’s just the right amount of food to get us down the mountain. While we are eating the trains guys on the working engine pass us going back down. We compliment him on his cooking.

He tells us he started to cook with his mother when he was 6. He is an excellent cook. He points out that his friends are cooking a big pot of Hungarian Goulash in a big pot over a fire beside the tracks. They have the pot on a chain so they can raise and lower it to control the temperature. he says they cook this way often. we thank him again and wish him good health and head off down the tracks. We are getting closer to the sea as we round every outside corner and the kilometers roll on by. We are at about Marker 17 when we hear sheep and sure enough there sheep on the tracks.

They see us and all of a sudden we have a herd of about 30 sheep walking ahead of us on the tracks. We laugh and follow them and expect them to head of into another field but they don’t. They keep running ahead. Finally we get a place where it looks like the lead sheep is headed off to the side. We stop and wait and soon most of them are off the tracks we walk on by and they run off into the field. Luckily it’s partly cloudy and there is a little breeze other wise it would be very hot. We are at about marker 13 and the trail gone and there is fresh rock on the track so we are having to walk in the tracks.

We go on like this for a while. Then the path comes back and we are almost at sea level now. We are feeling tired and ready for the end. We see marker 11 and cross a bridge and begin to see houses and streets and finally we are back at the lower station. We walk to the taverna next door and order and greek salad and an eggplant baked with cheese appetizer a pitcher of water and a cold beer. We have a couple of hours before the train so we relax in the shade and eat our lunch then read for a while. As we are looking for the check the waitress brings more water and a plate of cold watermelon. it is juicy and cold and still has the seeds like when I was a kid. American watermelons have almost no seeds now. We enjoy that pay our check and then walk a little ways further down the tracks.

The town tried to make this into a pedestrian path but it has fallen into disrepair and is right beside the big road. So we walk about an the train rolls in about 10 minutes later. The Randy Loyds are on the train and the didn’t see us when they went by. We load up the van and head towards Volos and then up the side of the mountain towards Portaria. Luckily we are able to follow the signs and don;t get lost in Volos which is the biggest town in the region. And up the mountain we go. More steep narrow hairpins turns and my brother is doing a great job with the stick shift and avoiding the other cars and the motor bikes. The greek drivers on the same side of the road as Americans and that helps! So n we roll into Portaria and we see some hotels and a public parking lot. we pull and get almost the last space. Randy my father and i walk back down the street.

There is no sidewalk to where we saw a sign for traditional guest house. We pass a hotel entrance just before it and my father and stop there. he goes in to ask about room rates and i watch for Randy. It’s nice in the lobby and Randy arrives back in time to look at rooms. There was nobody at the guest house. We go up and out on to a roof top terrace area with lots of plants and chairs and a small pool. There are no family rooms. But two doubles next to the pool for Randy and family and in another spot a room with 2 single beds for my father and I. We will have our own room tonight. We go back to the car and get the girls and the luggage and carefully dodge the cars and into the hotel. I met the girls and fir a swim and the owner’s you ng son joins us. He is a little younger than Winfree and speak no English but we all have fun.

His mother is our host and comes to talk to me and her son spits water in my face and she is very embarrassed and yells at him. I laugh it off and get out. There is a pool shower and I step under it and it is right out of the mountain. Icy! I yell and shiver and everyone laughs. Our host and her husband and i think mother tell a few places we can walk to for dinner and say that the sunset off there terrace is great. It must be as the whole mountainside, Volos and the sea is spread out below our feet.

We thank them, change for dinner and walk up to the plaza where there are tavernas under more huge plane trees and big hydrangeas blooming. We have a nice dinner of greens with egg and lamp in the oven (lamb is often listed as lamp) which is very tender and juicy. We we get ice cream and walk back to the hotel. Martha and the girls stop in a store that sells worry beads. They are the greek version of the rosary. You sometimes ee people carrying them and flipping them around over their hand in a certain pattern. It was another great day but I am weary and I fall right into bed and am soon asleep.

Monday June 22
We talked our nice hotel owner into giving us breakfast at 8 instead of 8:30 because we have long drive. I am sitting on the terrace in the early morning light when she comes back to start breakfast. Kalimera! At 8 my father and I go down and there is a nice spread of food but the coffee and tea water are luke warm. Soon our host appears and we ask for hot coffee and water, She has brought scrambled eggs and she keeps bringing more food along with hot coffee and hot water. She explains that her tradition is to drink lukewarm or iced tea and coffee in the summer and hot tea with cinnamon and cloves in the winter. Sounds good to me.

She brings a plate of hot sliced hard boiled eggs with roasted red and green peppers which is excellent. We are getting full when she comes down with another dish. This is a boiled grain (not oatmeal but similar) with spices fruit and nuts on top. We have to try and it’s really good! Wish that had come down first! We are full and have to get on the road so we gather our stuff, pay the bill , thank our host and run between the cars for the van. That was my favorite hotel yet. Very beautiful.

We are driving to Meteora today. We have heard it will be anywhere from 2 hours to 10 hours drive (the dutchman) We are predicting 3 hours if we don;t get lost. Randy is driving and I am navigating. We descend back into Volos and try to work our way west. We see a few sign pointing where we want to go then none so we follow the major traffic around and soon we pop out onto a major road with signs pointing to Portaria and the next major town on our route. Figures there was a more direct route but it wasn;t marked. Anyway we are now on to a highway and flying North and west. Then we are on an interstate and really moving. The back to a highway.

Outside of Trikala a pee break is called and we stop in a supermarket and pee and buy snacks, Then back on the road and into Klamabakka which is the town before Meteora. Our guide list a couple of hotels so we drive into the town and in the center is a sing for free parking so we drive to that lot and get out to look. We ask a local man. He doesn’t speak English so we point to the book he reads it and consults his friend then points to our car and his car and we follow him about a quarter mile and there is the hotel. The greeks have been very friendly and helpful the whole way. It’s really nice. we look the hotel and the have a room for Randy and family and room with two singles for my father and I. We unload the baggage and the back in the van and around the mountain to Meteora.

The hotel has given us a map and information on the monasteries. This is an amazing place. The mountains peaks soar up vertically and in the 4 Century BC people began building monasteries on top of the peaks! They are amazing. Any of you James Bond fans out there may have seen this area in For Your Eyes Only. We stop for a quick lunch of stuff tomatoes and peppers, chicken souvlaki and greek salad. Then we drive to the Monastery of St. Nickolas. They still have the motor and basket for bringing up supplies but have built steps for visitors. These are active monasteries and nunneries so women have to wear skirts and men long pants and no bare shoulders.

They have skirts and pants if you are dressed wrong. We prepared ahead of time and up all the stairs and into the monastery. It is literally built into a cave in the rock about 300 feet up on top of a peak. we can walk through the chapel, view the lift and up on the roof top terrace. But the rest is reserved for the monks who live there. It’s and amazing view off the roof of the surrounding peaks and another couple of monasteries in the distance. The rooms are very tiny and cramped. It’s very much like a very high stone tree house!

Amazing. They say that the first monks climbed up the cracks in the rock by driving wooden pegs into the cracks! Early rock climbing! Then the lowered ropes to bring up supplies to build platforms, then hoists and finally monasteries! What an amazing place. We go on to the Great Meteron Monastery. There are a lot of people at this one. it’s much larger. We have to walk down a lot of stairs and then through a small iron door through a rock tunnel about 12 feet and then up many staircases to get to the buildings. There is a large chapel and a museum and 3000 year old books and manuscripts on display.

There is a section on the history of the area and another on the greek military and religious uniforms and clothing. There is also a large terrace and a garden. This is an amazing place. We spend a lot of time here. You can see the old kitchens and dining hall with one table that's 700 years old. Very worn down! Then we climb back down and drive back to the hotel for a rest. The girls really want pizza. I finally have an internet signal so I am loading pics and text and I do a search for pizza in Klambakka but no luck. The desk knows of one though done by the central square. The gather and walk down there but it’s closed! So walk a bit further and are able to find another. Very lucky.

We order some pizzas and beer and a greek salad. The pizza is a little different but tasty. I think they are using a local version of mozzarella. Instead of loaf bread they bring rolls which which are like sturdier hamburger rolls what they would call a bap in Britain. They are good. We take the left over baps and pizza with us for lunches and walk back to the hotel. My father is hungry for.... ice cream so we stop at a shop in the main square. We each get one but they are very small and expensive so we walk out of the touristy area and order another which is a much bigger serving and less expensive.

We both order frozen yogurt with walnuts and honey with chocolate syrup. I decide the syrup is too much so I eat it and then the rest of the ice cream. I can taste it better now. It’s very good. One of my favorites of the trip. Satisfied we walk back to the hotel and the sun is setting and as the glow fades off the mountains which rise right up out of the town huge lights turn on and light up the peaks. It’s pretty cool to see these huge peaks towering over the town! We have had another long day. I hit the showers for a good scrub and write in my log before bed. Meteora is an amazing place. A must see for a trip to Greece! ‘night!

My father and I have breakfast at 7:30 and it’s another good spread. Then we walk up to another monastery that’s not open to the public. It’s tucked in a valley by itself and has two different sections in different cliffs. There is also the remains of platforms that hermits build in caves up the cliff face. You can see some of the wooden rope ladders they used to get up and down the cliff face. They would be really scary to climb in a breeze. But they are cool because they could pull them up to keep invaders out! It’s really peaceful back in this canyon. Just my father and I and the birds. Nothing is stirring in the buildings.

We walk back and the rest of the crew is about ready so we check load the van and drive back to Meteora where we visit and a nunnery and another monastery. They are both smaller than the Meteron but wonderful in their own way. Then we head south for Delphi. We drive around and between some steep high mountains. And through the central valley which is all farms. Greece is very mountainous. We atop for a break at a super market and buy some bread and cheese and black cherry soda. Also Greeks sell sesame breadsticks which are fab! We make sandwiches as we drive and finally we arrive in Delphina which is the new Delphi. We find one of the hotels in our book.

The rooms are plain but clean and there is parking right out front. Usually we have to register with a passport but they wave it off here. So we rest for a bit and then go for a walk and find a taverna that is on a steep cliff looking at the far mountainside and a little bit of the Korinthian Gulf. My father and I tried to order the local specialty even though the waitress couldn’t tell us what it was but they were out of it. So we order gyros and greek salad and smoothies for the girls. The are served flat on fried pita and it’s pork rather than a mixture of lamb and beef but they are tasty. We find ice cream for dessert except me I am very full as dinner was big. Then back to the hotel to read before bed.

Breakfast at 7:30 this morning. Slim compared to our last few. A hard boiled egg some bread, pound cake, juice and coffee or tea. We eat and then go back to the room and wake the others. We read while they eat and then try to check out. THey only take cash. THis is certainly an under the able operation! We drive a couple of miles over to old Delphi which opens at 9. There is little Disney style train that runs from town but it doesn’t start until 10 and we are ready. We get our tickets and walk onto the site. There are lots of foundations, bits and pieces and columns everywhere. This was the site of the ancient oracle of Delphi.

The Delphi Women and ancient people came from all over to consult with the Oracle. Different groups built treasure houses and there was a theater and a stadium way up high. It’s a pretty good hike all the way to the top. But great views of the site coming back down. Lots of tourists. Then we snack on an apple and tour the museum. It’s is full of statues and carvings from the site. It really brings it all to life and helps you visualize what it looked like during it’s heyday. Nice museum. It also had some old photos taken during digs on the site where you can see some of the statues and carvings in place.

Then we drive a bit down the road to the site of the Temple of Athena. We sit on a road side park and make sandwiches with the remains of the bread cheese and canned tuna and spiced peas we have been hauling around. They taste better than you think! Then we tour the Temple of Athena. On the way down my father and I find a mulberry tree that is bursting with huge mulberries. We spend a while picking and eating them until our hands are stained purple from the juice. And lots of purple dots on my t-shirt. I think I have created another paint shirt!

We walk down to the temple and I try and convince the girls that we were involved in a murder but they don’t believe us. This is the most photographer temple ruin in Greece because it’s free. Lots of people and another tour bus worth coming down the hill so we take a quick look around and a few pics and are off. We drive on towards Athens and our 8 pm rendezvous at the airport with the van driver. Randy is driving and I am navigating. I know I doze off for a while but we are still headed for Athens when i awake. We stop for a break and are way ahead of schedule.

We decide to drive closer and stop near the airport for dinner. We get on the interstate and are flying in towards Athens. THe airport is south and east of Athens near Markopoulis but you have to drive through part of Athens to get there. I have a plan but the exits aren’t marked the same as my map so I miss the first exit I want. We catch my second choice and head towards the sea. But we were in slow traffic on the interstate and don’t have a lot of time. We get on a divided road and are looking for food but not seeing anything on this side and not many places to cross the road to go back to the airport. Finally we come to an intersection and drive off and a side road and are in the country.

We see a sign for a snack bar and turn in. It’s a beautiful grassy area with a few tables and a bar. The three women are sitting there. We ask if they have food and they say they can make club sandwiches and toast. My brother isn’t happy with that so we drive on. Too bad, as it was a very peaceful place. We pull into a gas station to fill the tank. They don;t speak English and won;t let us use the WC (bathroom) for some reason. THis is about our only negative encounter in Greece. Poor Winfree doesn't;t want to pee in the bushes so we load up and drive back the way we came.

Finally we spot a taverna and pull off. we order some pork and chicken and a greek salad thinking of platters but end up with really tasty gyros. It’s quick and tasty and we get directions to the airport and roll in right on time and there is the dutch woman who drove us out to Milena with er young son. We are happy to see her and her to see us. She was worried about finding us. She drives us back into Athens to our hotel and finds her way by talking to taxi drivers when we stop for lights. It’s very chaotic but finally we find Hotel Caroline on a very narrow one way street. It’s very close to our other hotel. We unload give her a nice tip and check in. Then we go for ice cream and end up back in the Plaka at the same palce my father and I and breakfast.

Winfree has a melt down so we eat quickly and I find our way back to the hotel where we put the girls to bed. Randy, Martha and I decide to go have a beer ina cool looking bar two doors from the hotel. We get beers and sit down at the 30 foot long table with chess boards built into it. Then a group of college age people flood in. I soon realize that most of the people in the bar are Americans. They are playing American music too.

I talk to some Greeks who are there and they say this place caters to Americans. We enjoy some Lou Reed, Beach Boys and other American music and our beer and then head back. I have a shower and a bit of Metaxa and write my log. My father and Winfree are fast asleep so I have to be quiet. Soon I am nodding, So good night!

Barbeque bay to Milena

2009-06-25T15:05:00.002-04:00

WED

My father and I swam early and then had breakfast. It’s going to be a hot day today! After breakfast I wrote in my log while everyone ate breakfast and swam. Estill learned to row the dinghy so we would let her drive it with the motor by herself. If the motor stops the oars are the only way to get back! She rowed all the way around the raft of boats so we put the motor on and she and Winfree motored around in the little bay. Then we took the motor off of the dinghy and I rowed to shore and pulled up our kedge anchor. We got it back aboard and stowed and shoved off from Blue Moon and headed out. There was a little bit of wind which soon died.

The forecast today is for very light wind building in the afternoon and evening to very heavy wind overnight. We turn on the motor and I am steering us along the coast headed for Palio Trikeri. I pass the lighthouse and turn the corner and my brother wakes up from a nap and says oops I forgot to tell you but we are stopping at Aghia Kyriaki and you passed it! See turned around and headed back. As we turned the corner again a great breeze came up and we hoisted the sails and tacked away from our destination. We had a great sail with Martha at the helm real getting the feel for finding Jules sweet spot. We tacked back and sailed right into Aghia Kyriaki.

We docked side to the dock and went for ice cream. It is very hot this afternoon and we are behind schedule so my father and I decide not to climb to the hill town. So we walk over to the boatyard which they haul boats out of the water for repair by putting them on wooden sledges greased with pig fat and dragging them up on shore. It was hot so they were all at siesta except for one guy painting but they had some pretty big boats in the yard. Lots of repair work going on. No pigs in sight! No surprise.

We walked back to Jules, cast off into a nice wind and sailed down wind back to that same corner where the wind died again in the land shadow. So we motored on in to Palio Trikeri. We rafted up to Blue Moon and then Umoya to us. We put out extra lines and tied her down tight as the wind is forecast to rise tonight. It’s already beginning and the boats are moving around some. Tomorrow we head back to base to turn in the boats so we are trying to eat all of the food. I cut up some chicken breasts and sauté them with the last of the olive oil, onions and garlic. The add olives, red wine and let it all simmer for a while. Then I go for a swim to cool off.

The water is really wavey but very refreshing. I rinse in fresh water and air dry on the fantail while watching some other boats scurrying in before the storm. The wind is really starting to blow outside the harbor. The folks on Umoya head out for a taverna. They are ready for some solid land as the boats are really bouncing. We decide to eat here. So I light the fire under the chicken and add the rest of the fresh plums we picked and zucchini. Then I cooked rice, cut up last of the cucumbers and tomatoes with feta for a salad. We carefully pass plates up to the cockpit, we we sit for our last dinner. Little bouncy but dinner was tasty and nothing broke!

The girls didn’t want what I cooked so my brother made them noodles. My father and i went ashore for ice cream (of course!) We started to walk up the hill to the Monastery but it’s too dark. So we stroll back towards Jules. We see the Umoya crew and I offer to buy them a drink. They have drunk enough and decline so i sit for a while and chat. Then we head back to the boats where Randy and the girls are playing cards. I work on my travel log and then read.

When I turn off my light it’s pretty bouncy and the wind is blowing hard. No worries as the motion always puts me to sleep. I woke a few times when some of our lines were really noisy when the wind gusted hard but soon went back to sleep.

Thursday June 18
The wind is down this morning but still there. Waves outside the harbor. My father and I go ashore and walk up to the Monastery. It’s just up the hill. The door is shut but not locked so we quietly walk in. We don’t see anyone so we tiptoe over to the chapel and walk around. The main entrance porch has a beautiful mosaic on the floor. The chapel doors are locked so we walk around the side and jump up on a ledge so we can see through the windows. it’s lovely inside. Then we walk back out. There is only one monk and a caretaker lady living there now and we don’t want to disturb their morning.

Walk slowly walk back down the hill where we see some goats in the field and one old lady peaking out at us. The Greek don’t seem to be early risers. We see only a few people up on our walk. Back on Jules we eat the rest of the yogurt for breakfast with the last of the melon and feta. We also have the last of the cereal. There is a race planned for 2:30 but we decide to go sail so we cast of about 11 and as soon as we are out of the harbor the wind is lowing hard and predicted to blow even harder.

We reef the main and hoist it. Then roll out the jib to the first reef. We are flying down wind then we tack out across the open bay toward the Mainland and are hauled pretty tight. We are heeled way over and the sea is bouncy. Martha and the girls are not happy. They are all a little sea sick. The wind steadily increases and the waves get bigger. we have to boat under control but if you are not used to it, you feel like you are going to fall out of the boat when we re heeled that much. We don’t have the rail buried but it’s close. We have all the hatches batten down tight and are getting some spray over the bow into the cockpit. We get Martha to stand in the companionway for a while.

It’s the best place to stand if you don’t feel well as you are on center line of the boat and there are walls to lean again and handles to hold onto. About 3/4 of the way across the apparent wind is reading 30 knots and the boat is getting hard to steer so we send the girls below. Winfree cries because she was asleep on the cockpit floor. But we need her out of the way and I stepped on her earlier and she was very unhappy. She has been in a very foul mood today. when the cockpit is clear we head up into the wind and put a second reef in the mainsail and crank the jib in to the second reef. We have better steering and still moving very fast.

Soon we reach the Mainland and the waves decrease some but the wind is still increasing. We tack on to a reach and head down the coat towards Milena and the Sunsail base. Poor Martha is down below with her lifejacket on glaring at Randy. We put a third reef in the jib and the wind is still increasing. Finally we decide to roll up the jib. It takes awhile to winch it in and we run out of roller with it still part way out. So we point up into the wind and try again. The wind is still blowing hard enough that we have to winch it in. We get more of it in but the is still enough out that we can feel it. We have out mainsail fully reefed and out jib rolled as far as we can and we are still flying along at almost 8 knots! We are flying down the coast and there are wind surfers out flying around and doing flips! They are really good.

We are looking for the other boats that are racing but don’t see them. We see one other boat that is sailing but soon drop there sails as they are close to the base. We ready to do the same. I go up the mast and hang on while we head up into the wind and I yank the main down and zip it’s cover. We motor into the bay and we see that the boat ahead of us in Umoya. Their jib is part way out to. As we get into the shelter of the bay the wind drops so we Let out the jib and are are able to roll it up completely. Then we call in and Andy tells us to back in next to Umoya. We make a perfect landing and get the Sunsail office to call our van rental place for us.

They get a message to them and we are all set for tomorrow. So we watch the Sunsail crew jam another dozen boats and 2 huge catamarans onto the docks. We pack some of our gear. do the paperwork and go for a swim and take a hot shower and shave. Feels great after two weeks of just rinsing or saltwater baths! Then we all meet for a final group meal in the taverna. We had a great meal of grilled chicken and white wine. Then our lead crew gave out prizes.

Estill and Winfree got an ice cream because my father and I snuck for ice cream so much with out them! My father and i were asked to mark the map with the five best ice cream stops of the trip. We put our heads together and got it done. Umoya won the wrench award from Ken for getting so fishing line wrapped around their prop. Then we all drink a toast to a great trip. After so more chat, exchanging of addresses and hugs we all headed back to our boats for final packing and our last night aboard. I packed and then crashed hard. it was a very exciting day! Good night.

Maratha to Barbeque Bay

2009-06-22T10:46:00.001-04:00

We have light wind this morning but soon it picks up a bit and we have a great sailing day. We don’t have to go very far. So we take two very long tacks to get there. The is perfect blowing about 13 knots and I get Estill and then Martha to steer the boat. They both do very well and are soon able to find the sweet spot where Jules jumps up and flies across the water. We are very impressed with how well this Beneteau 393 sails. She is a very sweet boat. A real joy to sail and pretty much big enough for the 6 of us.

We sail almost right into the Loutraki harbor and Blue Moon and crew are there to meet us. We tie up and swim then My father and I go for a walk this town is built on the side of a very steep hill. So are in the lower town around the harbor and explore that and find a street that goes up the hill side past a bee keepers hives, his chicken coops and beautiful vegetables gardens and up into the olive groves. The road is very rough concrete to give traction for the steep climb and then turns to dirt.

Above us we can see the terraced olive groves. We hit the end of the road and then walk back down through narrow twisting alleys to the waterfront and around to where we are docked. It’s just about time for dinner so we change and meet in a local cafe for our briefing and we have limerick competition. We all enjoy hearing each others limericks. Most are about funny incidents along the way. Then we chat for a bit and then head to the taverna to watch the sun set. I have cabbage and carrot salad and really great lamb chops. 4 small chops rubbed in olive oil and little salt and pepper and grilled.

They were really tasty and came with thick fries. The taverna had good red wine and the owner brought us each an ice cream bar on the house. It tasted like chocolate covered pistachio. Tasty. THen we walked back to the boat and my father and I decided we needed another ice cream. We found a place that served scoop ice cream and had one scoop each. Caramel and a very strong coffee ice cream. We walked back past were a guy is putting the finishing touches on his hotel and club. Almost all greek buildings are white. He has purple lights on his building and has painted all the trim doors and tables pink and purple and has hung pink and purple cloth all over. It sure stands out from the rest of the tavernas and hotels! We finish our ice cream so the girls won’t fuss and head back to the boat. This was a great day! A 2.5 ice cream day! Good night.

Monday June 18

My father and I are up at 7am and head up the mountainside to the hilltown. We have been told that it’s very steep and to take a taxi or the bus. We find a set of stairs that leads to an old trail that has compact flourescent bulbs wired beside it. We head up and soon realize that we are on the old mule path up to the hilltown. It’s very steep and paved with old cobbles. We stop and look out over the harbor and drink water as we climb. For one section we are walking along the new paved road. We are passed by the bus but decide to continue on foot. There are lots of little shrines along the road, where people have died in car wrecks. Greek drivers are the worst in Europe by far.

The shrines look like little houses. They always have pictures of saints, cigarettes, burnt candles and sometimes bottles of what looks like orange drink. They are really cool. But it’s pretty scary how many there are! Around the next corner we see a continuation of the mule path. So we head up there. It’s very steep but soon we are on a concrete path and we are walking between house. Then we are in town and are walking through tiny streets. We see two old men sitting outside a amrket and ask them for a cafe. They point to the right. We head that way and soon are in a tiny square with tables and chairs and a church. This must be the famous Mama Mia church used in the ABBA movie. It’s quite pretty.

The cafe is not open so we walk on up and soon we see loive groves and realize that we have passed through the town and come out the top. Oops! So we head back and go sideways. When you are in the houses the space is very narrow and you can’t see past the houses. They almost all have there own grape vine covered terrace and flowers. They are all white washed and mist still have their wooden shutters. We see a few people walking by and ask a couple for the cafe. They point and we walk and soon we find ourselves back in the little square by the church.

We figure everyone must mean this cafe. We sit down under a big arbor that looks similar to Virginia Creeper at a cafe table. Soon a young guy rides up on his moped. Greets us (yessis is hello) and opens the cafe. He speaks almost no English, but brings a menu. It lists lots of breakfast items but he doesn’t seem to have any of them. So we settle on tea , coffee and toast. We see orange drink and each have one. An older gentleman comes ina gets an orange drink and sits near us. he speaks some English and is curouis where we are from. Soon the cafe guy produces a cup of coffee and tea and then two grilled ham and cheese sandwiches. They are excellent!

Just what we need to power us back down the mountain. We pay and say goodbye to him and the old man and head back down. We find the same route to start with but then find the part of the mule trail we missed for the road. The we reach a fork and take the left side which takes down to the other side of the village where we walked last night. We walk back around and lst night’s ice cream place is just opening so we have an ice cream and head back to Jules. it’s been a great hike. I grab my computer and head for the cafe. I want to charge my batteries and load some pics.

I am just getting started when Captain Andy walks up and we start talking about different work we have done. Soon Lizz joins us and she trained in art. I show them my portfolio and we talk about different designs. She likes the designs for School House Rock Live! They are not familar with the songs so I find a couple and play them on Youtube. The cafe owner is fascinated so we show her. Then my internet period runs out. She gives me another pass and i quickly load pics and text.

My bother and nieces come up for a soda. He wants to get underway so as soon I finish loading I pay for my tea thanks the cafe owner, write down School House Rock for her and head for Jules. We cast off and head out. We have a free night tonight and are on or own. We head for a tiny little port of Katigiorgis with a beach and a taverna where the Greeks go for fun. We hve decent wind so we sail past it and on up the coast aways and then back down. We see our flotilla mates on Umoya headed ino the same port. So we prepare and back in. We can see the Umoya crew standing o n the dock ready to grab our lines. We drop anchor and land perfectly. It’s nice to see the other crew. They are two couples from Northwest Britian. Nice folks. This is a tiny little bay.

There is room for about 6 boats. We are glad we came in when we did. There is great little beach and two tavernas. We get ourselves docked and go for a swim. Then my father and I go for a walk. We are supposed to create a cocktail and we want to use the plums we found and go looking for more. My sister-in-law said she saw some on the road just outside the village. We find the tree but can’t reach most of the fruit. We get a couple and then walk back. Martha has almost finished coking some fish we bought. So we prepare for dinner. Fish, green beans in tomato sauce and ric e.

Good fish. Very mild buttery flavor. Martha baked it in the oven. Then melon for dessert. We have been getting good melons. They look like a small cantaloe on the outside but inside they are green and taste like a croos between a cantalope and a honeydew. Very tasty. Then my father and I cook down the plms for our cocktail. We add the lemon and rinds from preparing the fish and some honey.

When that is all cooked down we add ouzu, Metaxa (greek brandy) and a touch of red wine. It’s pretty lethal! We filter it through the coffee press and call it done. Martha thinks it’s toxic! Should be jst right for the competition! Then we teach the girls to play blackjack, crazy eiths and old maid. We play cards until bedtime. I have finished the John McPhee book Assembling California and am now reading The Kitchen God’s Wife by Am Tan. It’s good. Then off to sleep.

The McPhee book was dense like like all of his work but very interesting. Lots of geologic terms. But to my surprise it also talked about geology in Greece. Some parts of the Sierra Nevada Mountains and some Greek Mountains were formed in the same place! Pretty cool to think about. Good Night. from Greek!

We sleep in a bit this morning. Then after breakfast I work with the girls on making a boat to sail in tne race at our barbeque tonight. We were provided with some supplies and we find a juice carton and make sails out of paper and wooden skewers. We use a fishing weight for a keel and Winfree makes a captain looking through binoculars. Soon the Bootbum Tr inket is ready to sail. The girls rename her Monster Mon. fter the other boat leaves, we try a test sail and she does well in light wind. It’s a downwind race so we rigged her wing and wing.

Then we go for a swim and the girls go to play on the beach. My father and I go to the taverna for ice cream. Martha say there is a nice walking trail so we go looking for it and find lots on plum trees covered with fruit. Too bad we didn’t find them last night. We could have used more plums in our cocktail. We gather a pocket full and head upa dirt road. Soon it’s a path and we are walking in between peoples houses. We see some artichokes that are in bloom. They have amazing bright purple flowers!

I am now loving artichoke flowers! They are incredible. We walk on up the path until it hits a road which we follow hoping it will connect with the path Martha found. It doesn’t and we end up in an olive grove. We know the captain wants to get under way so we head back down. We find the rest of the crew in the taverna having lun ch. They ordered too much food so we help thm finsh and then shove off. We have a bit of nice sailing down the coast through a spot were we had really heavy wind before. Soon we are sailing directly down wind wing and wing but have to tack as a frieghter is headed right for us.

Then the wind dies and we crank up our engine and head into the barbeque beach. It’s a tiny bay so we raft up and so all three boats have our anchors out and our kedge anchors off our sterns on the beach. It’s cooling down and going to be perfect weather for our barbeque. We go for a swim and there is some coral and fish so we snorkel around looking at them. I find what looks to be a pile of old ceramic roof tiles all stuck together into a reef. Then we dry off and gather our stuff for the party.

Up behind the beh there is a tink old hut and a firepit. Greece is very dry and has a problem with fires so beach fires are illegal. You have to be 20 meters back from the water. The lead crew has made salads and a cooking sausages and chicken kebabs. We have punch to drink. It’s strong but tasty. After dinner we go down to the shore and there is just enough wind to race our boats. There are 4 boats.

Ken the engineer wins all the races with his water bottle catamaran. Monster Mon sails the straightest and al most wins the second race whien ken’s boat gets hung up in an anchor line. But then Monster Mon catches a waves and begins to sink! Too bad. We rescue her and congratulate Ken on his design. He does have a degree in marine engineering!

The go back up and play some wacky games. The gilrs have treasure hunts for gold stones. We play boules with stones and then we play a game of mine were peollstand very close and grab hands then they have to untangle themselves into a circle. it was fun. Then a wacky games where a stone is tied bhind your back and there are 15 beer cans standing in a group. You place your feet and then tr to knock down all the cans. You can’t move your feet so you have to bend foward and back and swivel your hips to do it. It’s very funny to watch. Then we sampled cocktails. †he other group had a better prresentation and their coctails flamed so they wo n, but I think ours tasted etter. Then we all had another drink then call it anight and headed back to the boats. Winfree thought she had lost a little bag on toys but after a search we found them. Sheeew! We have had a great dy, plenty of food and drink and a ready for bed. Good night.

Plantis Harbor to Marantha

2009-06-18T09:57:00.001-04:00

Thursday
I am up at 7:15 and my father is still asleep which is unusual. he is usually sitting on his berth reading when i get up. I get my book and go on deck and read. He shoes up about 45 minutes later. We were going to hike but his gout is acting up in his hand and he didn’t sleep well so we vote to eat breakfast. This involves waking up more of the crew as usually my brother and one of my nieces is sleeping in the dinette. We go down and start opening cabinets and drawers, pulling out cereal, milk, yogurt fruit and boiling water for coffee and tea.

This wakes up my bother who wants coffee and the niece wants cereal. This wakes up the other niece and Martha in the forward cabin (forecastle pronounced fok-sul) When everyone has tea or coffee and my father and I have our food we retreat to the cockpit to eat in peace and let the others fight it out. Usually we then go for a walk while the others are getting ready. Today we just read. Soon we are pulling up or anchor and headed North to the next island which is uncharacteristically flat.

Most of the islands are very steep and mountainous. This one is flat and low and has a lighthouse as it has wrecked many ships. it’s not very big but at the north end there is a sunken town that you can see from the surface. The sea is very calm today so we motor up there and anchor in the unprotected north bay. While my father stays with Jules we motor out in the dinghy to look for the sunken town.

First we drop Martha on the shore to beach comb then We get in the right area and I put on my snorkeling gear and they drag me around behind the dinghy. i can see lots of piles of rocks covered with weed and some small reef fish. Then I see rocks that look shaped and stacked in a straight line and there are more rocks in a circle next to it. I wave to stop the boat and look again. I figure this must be it. So we all swim around and look. This has been underwater for a long time and picked over by lots of people.

This is probably it. Looks like a section of laid rock that could be a boat ramp of donkey path between rock walls that could have been structures. All covered with sea growth. Soon the girls are tired of swimming so back in the dinghy and they tow me around a bit more and then back towards Jules. That was the most town like section I see. When get close to Jules the outboard motor starts to sputter and we don’t have the oars. So my brother cast me off and sputters off to Jules and i swim in.

We both make it and spend sometime trying to get the motor to start again. It will start with the choke out but just sputters and dies if you push the choke in. We decide to give it a rest. maybe it got hot towing me. Randy rows back to shore to get Martha and when he gets back we try to start the motor. Same thing. I have him check the fuel tank which he says is still a quarter full. I know lots of small motors that don’t run well on low fuel. So we fill the tank and she starts right up. We pull up the anchor and head back south around the other side of the island. We get a bit of wind and sail some.

My back is much better but a little stiff. I lie down and fall a sleep with the motion of the boat expecting to wake soon in Monastery Bay to hike up to the Monastery. But we are short on time and sail on by and into Kira Pana yia the south bay. There are different arms to this anchorage. We pull behind a little island that gives shelter from the current wind next to big sailboat (at least 50 feet) that is swing one one anchor. We are close enough to shore that we can run a line out to tie to a rock if too many boats come in. I am feeling good so I take the dinghy and motor over to Blue Moon anchored at the other end and borrow Captain Andy’s wind surfer. I used to windsurf a lot but haven’t in many years.

The wind is pretty perfect so I get on and it comes back pretty quick. I do well considering I weight more than I did then and he is using a lighter board that I ever had. Turns out Andy is just learning so we talk a bit about it after I finish and then I dinghy back to Jules and get there in time for dinner. Martha has made eggplant and rice. Tasty with a cucumber and tomato salad. We are in a Nature Preserve and no fishing allowed. A couple of other sailboats have come in and one fishing boat.

Soon a Police or ranger comes in and circles all the boats and stops next to the fishing boat. It’s there a long time. I am ready ot dry dishes when my Martha wants to walk. There is no beach so I drop her on a rock and back to Jules. Dishes are almost dry so I play cards with the girls. Go Fish. Brings back memories. As the light falls my brother thinks he sees some lightning for the predicted storm. SO we take in a laundry and batten down the hatches. We have plenty of room to swing so we stay on one anchor and call it a night.

Friday
I hear my brother on deck at least once during the night I was awakened when the wind shifted but we never got any rain or serious wind all night. We are all up pretty early. Still no storm but the humidity is rising. We have some wind so we start sailing back to Skeopoles Town. Soon it gets very bouncy and the wind dies so we crank up the engine and head straight down wind with the sails up. The motion puts everyone else to sleep for a while. There are no other boats around that I can see.

The air is misty with the rising humidity and seems to be getting thicker. There are no ferries as the head into Skeopoloes Town harbor this time. Blue Moon there are we get our instructions and drop anchor and back in-between two other boats. The storm is coming in tonight so we leave a big space between our stern and the dock and because these huge ferries dock just across the harbor from us and they create waves. We don’t want to hit the dock. We have spring lines on both sides to keep us straight and the anchor chain pulled in tight. We are ready for a blow. We have lots of time before dinner so we walk around town.

My father finds ice cream right off and it’s good. We have cappuccino and chocolate. THen we walk up and down the narrow streets dodging mopeds and motorcycles. We take some good pics and notice apricot trees in yards with the fruit on the ground like florida. We can’t get to it. We are supposed to be working on a cocktail for a competition with the other boat. We are going make something with fresh fruit. Then my father finds a whole branch of ripe and nearly ripe plums thrown in the street. So we taste and when the plums are good gather a bunch for our punch!

We walk on and find the street on supermarkets. Then we walk back to our boat. When it’s dinner time we all meet in the Action taverna. The host welcomes us in English and announces his specials and gives a tour of the food in his display case. His rabbit dish is highly recommended so I order that with a cucumber salad and some red wine. My brother orders a cheese pie (local specialty) which comes out in a long coil. It’s like spankoptia with out the spinach. It’s very good but way too filling. All the food is excellent. After dinner we are offered a free ouzo, brandy or coffee.

I have an ouzo. In Turkey I drank a lot a raki which is similar to ouzo but a little harsher. THe ouzo is good. After dinner I go off with our lead crew and the folks from the other boat to a bar. They are serving Mojitos. They are tasty and I buy a round for our lead crew. Soon we are all drinking Mojitos and the owners of the bar are lighting the bar and the walls on fire! Guite the pyro show. Soon we move to a quieter Jazz bar. They were playing Rudy by The Specials when I walked by earlier. Now they are playing bluesy Jazz. We have another drink outside under a huge tree. Then we are done.

The other crew is headed back to the boat. Captain Andy is talking to the club owner and her pours our a shot of Jagermeister for us all and then another half. Fairly nasty stuff. Then back to the boat where I have to hoist the plank off the dock and on to the stern then walk it to get aboard and then haul the plank on board after me. The air is very humid and the storm is expected to arrive in a couple of hours.

I crawl into my bunk, batten down my hatches and crash. In a few hours I am awakened by the wind howling over head. It’s really blowing b ut we are tied securely to the dock and I go back to sleep.

Sat. June 16
We all sleep ina a bit. I wake up with a bit of a hangover. Not surprised really. The wind has reduced but the sky is still over cast and the waves are still big. We eat breakfast and then Father and i walk to the supermarket street and buy more supplies. My father stops and buys some beautiful hand painted tiles for my stepmother. She will love them and will set them in concrete in some type of mosaic. I am looking forward to seeing what she makes out of them. Then we haul the groceries back. We won’t be leaving until at least noon when the sea is a bit calmer. The wind and waves are blowing straight into the harbor.

I grab my computer and head for the internet cafe. It’s 3 Euros for an hour. I quickly load some pictures and text and charge my computer in my hour and have a cup of tea. THen I head back to Jules. We aren’t ready to leave yet so I take one more walk around the water front and pickup some piece of broken tile for my yard then head back. We prepare for a rough sail and head out. The sea is pretty rough as we head out of the harbor and around the point. I am feeling the motion of the boat on top of my hangover. Not fun.

We get the sails up and sail a bit. I go down below and make sandwiches. It makes the motion sickness worse so I finish quickly and head back up to the cockpit. Getting some food in my stomach helps. It’s still pretty wavey and the wind is dying. Soon we have to crank up the engine and the wind is blowing the smell of the exhaust into the cockpit. It’s making my stomach turn so I go below and get in my bunk. I read for a bit then I am fast asleep.

I wake about an hour later and I am feeling much better and the sea is a little smoother. Still not much wind. I go up on deck and steer for a while. Soon we are heading into the harbor. There is a bit hotel on the hill over the harbor one of the prettiest beaches in Greece, This is a beach of soft sand. Most Greek beaches are stones large or small. THis one is sand and lots of beach chairs and little drink stands.

We all go for a swim and then I cook some pasta with an improvised sauce of garlic, onions, canned spiced eggplant, lemon juice and some canned smoked mackerel on the side. And a salad of cucumbers, tomatoes and feta cheese.
We teach the girls to play blackjack. They are in a card playing kick these days. Then off to bed. I am looking forward to bed. But soon I m hearing a singer up at the hotel and it’s getting louder and louder. It goes late.

Sunday June 17

My father and I are up fairly early and go for a swim. Feels good to wash off the night. Had a bit of a bad stomach early last night but it’s gone now. Probably from the hangover and the rough seas. After breakfast we all get in the dinghy and row to the beach for a hike in the hydrobiotope ( Greek English for nature preserve)

It runs along behind the beach. Winfree is walking slow and looking at nature. Soon she and Father and I have fallen behind and we come to a few forks but cannot tell where the other went so we just walk on. Soon w e come out the other side in a Parking lot. We walk back and come out at the other end of the beach. There is a drinks stand so we stop for ice cream. There is a plank walk along the back of the beach just wide enough almost for two people to pass. We walk along that and it’s fun to listen to all the different languages. There are a few topless women bathers. Always fun to see.

This a big family beach. Lots of kids. The girls go swimming and I take another walk. Soon we go back to Jules. We rafted up last night with the other boats and ran a long line to the pier. The middle boat is gone already. I get in the dinghy and row to the pier to release the long line. I tie up to the Pier and tie off my dinghy and my brother discovers some of their towels on the bottom and goes diving for them.

Then I realize that a ferry is coming in to dock at the pier. There are three drunk Russian guy who have tied their sailboat in the ferry docking place. There is a lot of yelling and the Russians are running around. Finally they jump on, swing a hard circle almost hitting a fishing boat and the rocks. The ferry came in and threw me their lines. Soon we we are able to lose out lines and we were away!

Panormos, Steni Vana, and Planitis Harbor

2009-06-13T04:07:00.003-04:00

Mon. June 8

Since I have so little power for my computer Pictures can be seen at http://picasaweb.google.com/allenloyd

Well the disco was thumping until early this morning. It was a holiday weekend so people were partying late. Finally it quieted down and I slept until the early church bells rang, and a little while later rang again and then a third time. That was enough so I got up. My father and I have some cereal and yogurt and honey for breakfast. The Greek yogurt is the best. it’s thick and rich like ice cream! Wonderful. We discover that Martha and Winfree and not well. Martha was sick all through the night. She thinks it’s from brushing her teeth with the local water. So we are going boil toothbrushes and brush with bottled water. Then Father and I go for a walk around town looking for an ancient statue of a bull.

After wandering around for a while we finally found it right next to the church where the bells were ringing. The service was going on an I could hear singing through the window. It was lovely. The bull was carved out of marble in the 4th Century BC. It’s a bit bigger than life-size. The horns are broken off and it’s enclosed in a glass house to protect it. There are also bits and pieces of ancient buildings lying around in the little park around the bull. The town is quite nice and peaceful this morning. After our walk we head back to the boat an d fill the water tanks, get our briefing for the day and cast off. My back is feeling better today so I spend some time steering the boat. We get out of harbor and charge the batteries and cill the fridge with the engine for a while and then hoist the sails. Soon we have a stiff breeze and reaching along at 7 knots ( nautical miles per hour) which is about 8 regular miles per hour.

It’s a beautiful sailing day. The wind continues to increase and soon we are heeled way over and steering is getting difficult. So we reef the sails and and are heeling less but still ripping along at 8 knots. We have finish up for lunch and eat up all the leftover that have collecting in the fridge. It keeps up for awhile but then dies out. We are over a mile off shore so we pump the holding tanks from the toilets into the sea. (it’s legal as long as you are at least a mile offshore) Soon we have to turn the motor on when it dies completely. My back is aching a bit so I turn the helm over to my brother had head below to lie down. Estill crawls in with me and reads some of Lois Lenski’s Strawberry Girl to me. Then we doze off for a while. The sound of the anchor dropping wakes me up and we are anchored by a beautiful beach on the island of Sangria. The water is about 40 feet deep and you can see right to the bottom.

We all swim except Martha who has been in her bunk all day except when we were heeled way over the wrong direction. Then she came up on deck for some fresh air until it calmed down some. We swim around the boat for a bit and then pull up the anchor and head on for Panormos where we are spending the night. We pull in. Drop our anchor and then back up and raft up alongside the other two boats and run a long line off our stern to shore and tie it to a tree. Then we tighten up the anchor. This will keep us from swinging into another boat in the night if the wind shifts. The lead boat had gone into Skiathos Town and out to the airport and finally my father has his clothes! Yeah! Now I get some of mine back. The lead boat also has a couple of water rings for the girls to play with.

We go in for a swim to cool off and I have a fresh water rinse as I came back on the boat. Then all of us except Martha take the dinghy to shore and find the market and buy a phone card and some supplies. We try a few times and two different phones. Finally my brother gets a call through to his company. Everything is good. We ate in a taverna. Captain Andy caught a nice fish and the taverna is always happy to cook fish for you.

They grill it and there is enough for Andy and crew for dinner and a taste for the rest of us. The locals called it something like a Lisa fish. hard to tell what they were saying but it is was delicious. I had some cod cooked with onions, (pretty good) my father has fresh red mullet grilled. He picked the fish out of the tank. They weighted it and agreed on a price and then they grilled it. Fish is very expensive here. Always have it weighted and agree on a price before it’s cooked! Chicken for the girls and pork souvlaki for Randy. We ate at a table right on the beach of small stones and watched the sun go down over the bay. It was spectacular! They had ice cream so got cookies and cream for the girls and fig for the adults. The fig turned to be pistachio but it was tasty. The we tried to pay but none of our credit cards worked. he had the newest credit card machine which was refusing our cards because they didn’t have an imbedded computer chip. All the European credit cards have them now. So we pooled our cash and paid the tab. We headed back to the boat by flashlight and crashed for the night. Winfree declared it another great day in Greek!
‘night friends.

Tues. June 10
My father and I were up first this morning, as usual, and went for a swim. The days get hot but at night you wake up under a light blanket which is great. Not too humid. The water temperature is not too warm or cold and always refreshing. Soon Winfree was in with us and Martha is up and feeling much better. We have cereal, tea, a Greek sesame bread ring yogurt and honey and tea for breakfast. Then I wash my dirty shorts in the sink and hang them on the line to dry. Soon we have our briefing. The wind is forecasted in the morning so we quickly get our boat ready and shove off. We have some nice wind in the morning and are dodging ferries and then we see a navy ship approaching from astern. it’s an aircraft carrier. We change tack to get out of it’s way and as it steams by we think it’s a NATO ship.

Once they are past we tack back behind them and are fascinated to see that the stern of the ship is open. Soon they slow down and all of a sudden hovercraft start flying out of the opening. Three\emerge and they are all buzzing around really fast. One comes within a couple of miles of us. Boy are they fast! We watch them for a while then our wind begins to die so we crank up the motor and head off towards Skiathos Town. We need to find a cash machine. As we come into the harbor entrance a small ferry is coming out and the a huge one is behind us. So we circle out of the way then enter behind the big ferry. We pull along side the dock and tie up. My father, brother and Martha take the garbage and head off to find an ATM. I stay on the boat with the girls and we eat Greek thin pretzels with sesame seeds and talk.

After hitting 2 ATMS the others are back a nd we cast off and motor on. There is no wind so we motor along. Finally there is a bit of wind so we hoist our sails and it pretty much dies again and we are late so we crank up the iron jenny and motor sail on to our next stop in the town of Steni Vala on the island of Alonnisos. It’s a tiny place and very beautiful. There is room for about a dozen boats and we are the last one in. Enough room for us and one more. There are 4 tavernas and 3 shops aong the harbor. I can hear Bob Marley playing from the shore. Lots of plants in pots, herbs, fruit trees and some beautiful purple bouganvilla. Lovely place. We have a quick briefing on the next few islands because we are off on our own for the next few days. It should be great fun. Then we chat fora bit and then I head back to Jules to cook dinner.

I threw together some leftover chicken, salami, pasta, onions, zuchinni, garlic and olives in a pan heated it up nicely then added, cold tomato slice, cucmbers, feta cheese, more olives and some eggplant. I drizzled olive oil on top and served. It was a bit hit and every milecules has eaten! My father and Martha did the dishes and I went looking for ice cream. After the wasing up was done. We did a bit of shoppi ng and bought ice cream bars. Then discovered one place sold Swiss dipped ice cream. Our lead guy ken is from Switzerland and told us it’s very good ice cream. We are too full for seconds. We look through a bunch of used books and then stroll back to Jules where I spend some time writing in my log. I have not been able to charge my computer on the boat so I ahven’t been writing much. Then I read a bit and off to sleep. It’s pretty quiet here.

Wed.
My father and I are up early so we enjoy the morning on deck then head back to shop. The are expecting fresh baked bread at 8:30. It hasn’t arrived yet (Greek time is like island time) so we have some of that Swiss ice cream. My father has cappuchino with caramel sauce and I have creme brulee with chocolate sauce. Yumm, Wheaties step aside! I can’t remeber the brand but it was good. We are also served a glass of water. We decide that enough tourists come here that it will be safe a drink it. Right as we finish the bread arrives. It’s still warm! We buy a flat wide loaf and some frozen chicken another bottle of red wine and some canned smoked mackrel. Not much meat for sale here. First I have seen in these little shops.

And only chicken and some ground beef. We head bac k for the boat sand have tea, fresh bread and butter, yogurt, honey ans melon for breakfast. Heavenly! Then we decide to head for the caves. I walk around a bit while everyoe gets breakfast and more supplies are bought. I walk up to the top of the hill and it’s lovely. All the house have grape arbor s over terraces and fruit trees and flowers in their yards. Lovely. Then we shove off and there’s a nice breeze so we begin to tack our way up this fairly narrow passage. It tackes about 8 tacks, but Jules points very well and we make good time. Just north of the narrows we spot a couple of the caves. The water in these islands is very deep right up to the shore. It’s 20 meters (60 feet) deep right near the shore so too deep to anchor safely. So we pull into a bit of a cove and the water is still enough to put the motor on the dinghy and load a crew. So will my father circled the big boat we went off to the caves.

The first couple looked to narrow and wavey but we motored right into the third one. It opened into a big room with a roof about 25 feet up and we paddled all the way to the back . Then the girls and I swam around and Estill and I swam back out. The color of the water was a beautiful turqiose b lue with the light shining into it. Amazing! Then we motored back to the other two caves and slowly backed into another and discovered that it wnet around a corner and way back so we paddled into it and explored. Then I swam back out of it. I was going to swim into the third but we were out of time so I climbed into the dinghy znd we motored back to Jules. Randy and family jumped about and took my father back to see the second cave. We back into far enough for him to see how cool it was and then back to Jules. We sailed on up the coast and into Planitis Harbor.

Athens to Aselinlos

2009-06-07T17:21:00.003-04:00

Friday June 5

I was awake again about 2:30 and typed in my log for awhile then dozed until about 7 am. My father and I were up but Winfree was sound asleep. So we quickly ran down to the corner coffee shop for hot chocolate and feta puff pastry. We also found a guy outside the subway entrance selling circles of sesame bread. I recognized them from Turkey.

They are great for breakfast. When we got back to the room Winfree woke up with the hot chocolate smell. We gave her some and a bite of sesame bread. She didn’t want ant of the feta pastry which was good too. Then we dropped her in her parents room and went off for a quick hike up the Acropolis. My father arrived to late yesterday so we did a quick tour. It is free on Fridays! It was pretty in the early morning.

Then I got on the internet very quickly and loaded photos. Then our van and driver arrived and we loaded up and headed out of Athens. Our diver keep asking directions out of the City of cars beside us. She is from Volos which is the major town near Milena where we are picking up our boat. It’s five hours from Athens. Athens is a big city of 5 million. Since it was Friday lots of people were headed out of the City. Also Sunday is a big European election and in Greece everyone votes in their home village, so lots of folks were headed out. Once took another wrong turn and pulled a U in traffic and got on the right track. There are lots of motorbikes, and they weave back and forth across the traffic. They are pretty insane! Don’t think i would want to bicycle in Greece!

We are on the road driving through beautiful countryside and finally to Milena. Milena is a tiny place and we are outside of town a bit but there is a taverna and a tiny market and our home for the next two weeks. Her name is JULES and she is very pretty and clean. She is ready so we stow our gear, get briefed on the boat and are free for the evening. We are still chasing my father’s baggage. It’s in Athens but we are leaving tomorrow. So it is going to be flown to Skiathos and we will pick it up there.

We hope. My father and i and the girls get an ice cream to tide us over to dinner. The we all jump in our swim gear and head for the beach. The water is a great temperature and not too salty, just perfect! When we are all cooled and changed we heave for the shop and the taverna. In Greece most shops and restaurants close in the midday and open again at 6 pm. so we bought some expensive supplies in the mini-shop and had a great dinner in the taverna. I had a very flavorful and tender lamb chop.

My father local fish, my nieces pizza, Martha bean stew and Randy moussaka. Al very tasty. Then I showered on the shore, it was lukewarm but good to shave and wash my hair. Then we all heaved a sigh of relief to be on Jules. Read for a while and crashed. I was up again for a while in the middle of the night and watched and big yellow moon sink down behind the mountains to the west and the went back to sleep.

We were up about 7:30 and had a free breakfast for bacon and eggs, yogurt and honey and the briefing on our days sail. My brother chose to sail with a flotilla (group) of other boats. Often as many as 10 like when the rest of my family sailing in Croatia two summers ago. This flotilla has one other boat and a third boat which is the lead captain, a technical fixer and a hostess. So we are a small group. We meet the english folks on the other boat, look at the maps and arrange to meet in a certain port by 6pm. I

n Greece the mornings are very calm. So we get our gear set While Sunsail drives my father into the village for some clothes. When we are ready I take another swim and then my Dad is back so off we sail. It’s totally calm so we motor out and raise a sail and motor sail for a while. We have been told about Donkey island. So we stop in and sure enough the resident donkey meets the girls on the beach and accepts a carrot from each of them. We have learned that he spends his summers on the Island but comes back home for the winter. He is very friendly but makes an awful fuss when the dighny heads back. He loves company and was sad to us leave.

We head out again and the wind picks and off we sail. We come around the end of the island out into open water and the wind is really blowing. All of a sudden we are really heeled over and loose gear is all over the floor. We are flying. Good thing Pippa isn’t on board. She would be terrified! Martha is a little freaked but we have it under control and scream across to the other side and the harbor and Pale where we are spending the night. We got a radio message that the lead boat would be delayed until 6. So we arrive in Pigadhi about 6:15pm.

We call them on the radio and they tell us how to rig the boat for docking. So we rig and have to back in and raft up alongside the lead boat. The other boat is already in. So we relax and chat while Lizz the hostess tells us we are having a punch party and then a group dinner. We relax for an hour and check out the town. There are too huge swans swimming in the water off our stern. It ‘s just a couple of tavernas.

A small place and very pretty. then head over for punch. My back is acting up a bit so I lie down and then walk over for punch in a little park. Then dinner at a tavern. Wonderful fresh calamari (squid) fried whole. The best i have ever had. We had fun eating together and chatting for awhile then off to bed. I hope back gets better quick. It’s hurting pretty bad so I go straight to bed.

Sun day June 7

I am still hurting this morning so I pass on the hike up to an ancient tower. The rest of my family and the Sunsail crew headed up the hill. They reported back it was a good hike through the ever present olives groves. They passed a cave that used to be the way into the tower. Winfree said it too full of spiders to go in. I guess it’s mostly caved in now. Used to be a lookout tower to watch for invading forces in ancient times.

Wish I could have seen it. Have not been able to charge my computer o n the boat and juice is getting low. WIll try again when we have the motor running today. We have a fairly short sail today. So we take out time getting going and there is a nice wind so we sail off and are just having a great day. I have rested most of the morning and am still stiff but go on deck to steer for awhile and it’s great fun. We are ripping along at 7 knots under main and jib even though we are pinching upwind. Heeled well over and rocking.

The wind keeps building so we head up into the wind and put a reef in main( reduce the sail area) And shorten the jib( sam e thing) this gives us less sail power but better control. We tack again (change direction) and are heading along towards a good swimming beach but decide we would rather go to our next stop at the town of Orei on the island Evia.

We try to sail into the wind and drop the main but the jib back winds and blows us into a maneuver called hoveto where the wind is pushing in equal and opposite directions on the main sail and the jib and hold you dead in the water. So we start the engine and power out of hoveto and back into the win to drop the mainsail and the turn and run before the wind with just the jib. It’s very hard to control both main and jib in that much wind.

You can severely damage your sail rig if accident jibe and the mainsail flies across the wind and slams on the other side. Can knock your mast down. Very bad! So we fly in under jib along. We get into harbor and are told to rig for Mediterranean docking between two other boats. This type of docking is standard here but not done in the US. Takes a bit of getting used to. We rig lots of fenders on both sides of the boat and lines off both side of the stern and move the dingy to the front of the boat. Then set the anchor ready to drop. Then you back in toward the space between two other boats.

We you are three or four boat lengths away you drop the anchor and pay out the chain until the stern (back of the boast reaches the dock. This involves lots of load talking and pushing the other boats aside a a foot or two on your way in! Everyone is making sure fenders are protecting the boats and that nothings caught. Then everyone tightens up the lines on their boats and go back to their business! It’s quite a production. A nd you have to come in straight backwards. Avoid all the fishing lines and the other anchor cables.

Makes sure your anchor doesn’t go through your dinghy on the way down and that you dot come into fast and bump another boat or too slow so the wind pushes you off course! Takes a good crew and we put Jules right in the slot. This is a much bigger town with about 20 tavernas and a little carnival right at the end of the dock. It’s about 5 so most shops are closed or quiet. My father, ‘Tha and the girls and I grab a taxi and head for the other side of the island and the famous hot springs. They are in a big building but the locals go to where it flows over a cliff into the sea.

Yo It was really cool to stand in the sea with hot shower hot mineral water falling 3o feet off a cliff onto your head. It felt great to get really hot and the dive into the cool sea and swim. We spent an hour there and headed back. It really helped my sore back muscles. So I made dinner. garlic, onions, Aubergine (eggplant) tomatoes, olives, courgettes(zucchini). Serve over egg noodles with some parmesan like cheese and red wine. With a few stuffed grape leaves and we are happy.

The girls and my brother head for the bumpers cars. My father heads for ice cream and I am off to the internet cafe to charge my computer and write in my log. So here I am. Drinking Amstel draft and listening to R.E.M. and other American bands. The town came alive about 8 pm. Everyone is out strolling on the dock looking at the boats and having a drink. Our walking the street long the harbor and sitting in the tavernas. It’s midnight and I am beat so I am going to load this and sign off. More pics next time.
Peace,
Allen

Florida to Athens Greece

2009-06-05T02:37:00.003-04:00

Wed June 3
I jumped up at 6:45 this morning ready to go. Had my tea and did my final house closing chores and turned off my phone and the water and headed outside to wait for my ride. My father and Pippa showed up just about 9 am and we drove down the street to my brother’s house and switched over to their van. Dropped a car at his work and off to Tampa International Airport!

Finally we are on the move! As my 7 year niece Winfree has been saying we are finally headed for Greek. Everything went smoothly at the airport except the confiscated my 3 ounces of liquid soap (Dr. Brommer’s Peppermint) because it was unlabeled. But they left and unlabeled 6 ounces of sun cream I had put in an old unlabeled cough syrup bottle! Go figure. I would rather have lost the sun cream. Oh well. I will just have to use what soap I can find along the way. Or next time send my bottle of soap through with someone else's checked luggage. I have one carry one bag and a day pack.

We say goodbye to my farther as he is booked on a different flight and jump on a full US Air flight to Philadelphia. We are packed in like sardines, and they just have enough room for all the luggage. I had reserved aisle seats for my flights but end up in a middle seat. Darn. Not as much legroom. In Philly we have 2 hour layover so I buy a copy of the New Yorker Magazine. (Probably my favorite) And it’s the annual summer fiction issue, even better!

I had brought a copy of Outside magazine but traded with my father for a newspaper he had finished waiting on the flight. Outside has been sending me free issues for the last couple of years. I find it a bit too yuppie for my taste. Though sometimes there are some good stories.

We walked across most of the airport and there were some cool art pieces on display. My favorite were a group of weavings out of metallic materials that looked like nests and exotic flowers. They were really cool. There were also some artist made books that were neat.

Finally we are on the flight to Athens and this plane is full too. And again I am in a middle seat. And there is a very large gentleman seating next to my and overlapping into seat! (my big fat greek seat companion is running through my head!) He is also very chatty. As we take-off and land he crosses himself and prays feverishly! This could be a very long flight. There is a nice slim Greek American on my other side. We have a pleasant conversation. He and his wife live in Philly part of the year and Greece the rest.

He pulls a fast one and ends up with a new pair of headphones and gives me his old ones. One side works. I almost get the other side to work, not very well. The movie starts out in English and is a fun one. Inkheart. I am enjoying until all of a sudden it switches from English to Italian! Plus it starts squealing like feedback. Ouch. The crew can’t fix it so we watch the rest of the movie with out sound. We had a nice meal of salad, chicken breast with green beans and roast potato and a sweet sponge cake.

I walked to the back of the plane to visit with my brother and his family for a while then hit the head and back to my “seat”.
Tried to sleep but not enough room. So I read my New Yorker, dozed a bit and then read some more. Finally I watched the sun rise in the east and I may have dozed for a few minutes and then breakfast.
Thursday, June 4

We were served a sweet bun and I had a cup of tea with it. Soon we are landing in Athens 20 minutes a head of schedule and it’s 9 am and a beautiful day. Low humidity , clear skies with a temp of a bout 80. Lovely! We breeze through customs. I never saw them ask anyone a single question we weren’t ask if we had anything to declare so while my bother is collecting baggage I go look for my father.

His plane due 10 minutes before ours, but we are 20 minutes early. I go looking but don’t see him. I look for his flight but it’s not listed. UH-OH, not good! I ask an airport person and she explains that the flight was canceled and my father should be in a hotel in NY. She calls but can’t find a record of him at the hotel but gives me the hotel name and phone number. She says he should arrive at the same time tomorrow. He might just make it before our ride to Milina shows up tomorrow morning.

My father also had the only Euros. So we find some ATM machines and my bank card works so I get 100 Euros and my brother get 300 Euros with his credit card. We get in line for a taxi but we are 5 people and they only take 4. We are about to take 2 cabs when a big Mercedes rolls up and crams us all in. We are instructed to duck if the cops roll by as he can get a ticket for too many people in the car! He knows where our hotel is and off we go. We see a couple of cop cars and duck as instructed.

Our driver is very friendly and tells us that our hotel in not in a great area at night. we should be careful after 8:30 pm when the shops close. We kind of knew this but we are within easy walking distance of the Acropolis. There are elections going on and part of the city is tied up with demonstrations. Our taxi gets hung up in traffic and finally our diver pulls a u turn and off go in another direction and we end up driving through some tiny old streets out taxi barely fit through but finally we are across the street from Hotel Attalos. There is no place to park on a very narrow street so we jump out grab the bags, throw money at the driver and run out of the street and into our hotel.

We had reserved 2 triple rooms and tried to change one to a double but they were full. The hotel has two tiny elevators that are each about the size of a phone booth. And there is a nice terrace on the roof with a beautiful view of the ACROPOLIS. We unload and have a quick snack of cheese, rice crackers and smoked almonds and head for the Acropolis. Our goal is to stay up until night and sleep through to get on Greek time. So we head off and after a quick stop at a corner store for more kid food and a coffee for my brother, we begin to climb up streets through a touristy street mall and up to the base of the Acropolis.

There are lots of parts of the old city everywhere you look. We pay our 12 Euros for adults and work around around and around. Finally when we have almost circumnavigated the whole base do we find the way up to the top. It’s spectacular! Lots of people from all over the world wandering around, amid scaffolding and cranes. There is a major renovation going on. Half the Parthenon is covered in scaffolding.

One of the amazing things is all the bits and pieces lying around. Piles of carved stonework everywhere. And the view of Athens from the top is spectacular! Walking around is a little tricky as the stonework under foot is very uneven. Lots of marble that has been polished to a slick sheen by generations of feet. Feels a bit like ice skating in places. My brother commented on the lack of railings as he tried to keep my younger niece Winfree (often called Chopper or Snoozle) from leaping over the edge of the cliff.

There are a number of different temples on top of the Acropolis. We were so jet-lagged that I didn’t really absorb any names. I will try and fin d some. I was especially taken with one temple that has a series of columns carved like women. What incredible stone work!

The temperature has heated up so we all sit in the shade for awhile and the head back down. This time we take the short way down and wander around the ruins at the base of the Acropolis near our hotel. More of the tickets we bought are collected. Now the $12 Euros and all the tickets are making more sense. We wander by an old church and through an Archeological Museum. Lots of artifacts dating back as far as 1400 BC. I took a photo of some clay heads that were pretty cool. The are small the largest is maybe 6 inches across. Very interesting pieces.

Finally Chopper (Winfree) has a meltdown and she and Woozle (Estill) beginning demanding ice cream. They have done very well considering the heat and the jet-lag. So we wander back to the hotel with a stop for ice cream in the market.

When we arrive there is a message from my father. He is in Athens at the airport waiting for his luggage on the 6 pm flight. Great news that he is Athens! Hope his baggage arrives. So we all drop for a nap before dinner. We have no shower but a huge bathtub with a hand shower like my friend Hilda in Ottawa. I hose off the trip with a little cold water and crash.

Father arrives after I have slept about an hour and shares his travel tale of not having enough time in NY to changes planes and arriving at the Olympic counter to find they have closed the flight and won’t let him on. He pleads but they refuse (this is the flight that didn’t leave NY) and send him back to American. He waits a long time in line but finally is able to get a flight to Athens through Rome and has a sandwich and is on his way. They say his luggage is on the his flight! He arrives at 2 pm in Athens but his luggage remained in Rome. He was given a phone number and advised to go to his hotel. We are glad he didn’t get stuck in NY.

He has a quick shower and lies down and is almost instantly asleep, assuring me he isn’t really tired. After about 15 minutes I wake up the others for dinner and the assemble and my father gets a good half hour nap before we head back into the Market and have dinner in one of many outdoor cafes.

Greek salad for my sister-in-law Martha (often just called ‘Tha) Chicken Souvlaki for the girls and Randy (my bro’) and melt-in your mouth Moussaka for my father and I. Randy sampled the local lager and my father and I a small bottle of the local red. All excellent and served with a mountain of fresh grilled and spiced pita bread. We are in the heart of the tourist zone, surrounded by shopping but this little square was all outdoor cafes and just lovely.

An occasional gypsy looking child would wander through trying to sell us trinkets or a song on a tin tinny guitar but they weren’t persistent and are tolerated by the waiters. They are certainly part of the fabric of life in Athens. We are in the old part of the City which is very crowded with lots of graffiti but also lots of color and texture. It’s great to be in a new place. But I don’t think I am going to wander around this part of Athens at night alone.

We finish our dinner and pack the left over pita and chicken to go and head back to the hotel. Everyone but Martha heads for the roof where we watch the sky fade and the lights on the Acropolis come up. It’s very beautiful with the moon rising high above. Chopper and Wozzle send an email to their friends at home about the GYMANTIC mountain they ahd climb to see the Parthenon!

We chat with a young couple of med students from the states who are engaged, starry-eyed and on vacation before they start their residencies. They have been in Rome and Athens and are having a great time. Soon I am tired and head back to our room where my father and Winfree are just climbing into their beds. I take a quick hot shower and crawl into bed. It’s a been a long but wonderful day! Good night dear friends from Athens.

Pictures can be seen at http://picasaweb.google.com/allenloyd
Pictures can be snn at http://picasaweb.google.com/allenloyd

work in FL, Albany, NY and back to Florida

2008-10-06T22:51:00.000-04:00

From folkfest St. Pete

Thursday
Wake-up call at 3:45 am. I was up way to late watching the TV. But free breakfast of waffle, eggs and tea makes me feel better. My hotel is across the street from the airport but the shuttle leaves at 4:30. We have speed racer as our pilot and arrive at the airport at 4:33 having reached at top speed of 80 mph in 20 mph zone. I clear security and am at the gate at 4:45. Plenty early for a 6 am flight. Let’s hope I don’t doze off!

I arrive in Florida on time and step out of the airport expecting a heat wave but amazingly it’s cool with low humidity! Yessss! My father picks me up at takes me home. We walk in my house and it doesn’t stink of mold which is great! I change into short and a t-shirt and walk over to Chattaway Restaurant to meet Jenny for a pre festival meeting and a sandwich under the Jacaranda trees. The weather is perfect and it’s nice to be here. I was worried it would be too hot. After lunch I get my car out of the studio and have to get a neighbor to jump start her. Raven had a dead battery but with a ump she starts right up. The steering wheel is a little moldy so I wipe it down and drive to meet with Pat about First Night. I forget and turn off the car at Pat’s and it’s dead again. Luckily my father lives nearby and comes to jump start me again after my meeting. Pat is going to hire me to work on FIrst Night and might want to start in mid-October instead of Nov. That would be okay with me.

After we get the car started again I drive on the interstate for 20 minutes to charge the battery then drive home. But it’s dead again. I have about 2 hours until I am meeting with Jenny from folkfest again. I need this car to start so I can get back and forth to work this weekend. I get my neighbor to jump it and I drive to the store where I bought a new battery late last year. THey can’t test it quickly but send me to another store where they test it and determine that it’s bad and still under warranty. SO they give me a new one free! Great. So I make my meeting and then drive to my friend Chris’s house. The weather is amazing so we sit on his porch and talk for a while. I am getting sleepy and it’s been a long day. So I head home take a shower and crawl into my bamboo bed and crash. It’s nice to sleep in my own little tree house! Good night.

Friday Sept. 25

I am up early as I crashed hard about 9 pm last night. It’s cold enough for a hot shower so I turn on the hot water heater, eat some yogurt and fruit and I am in my studio by 6:30 am and soon have the internet connected and my big printer running. I print off two of my skeleton painting posters. One I am donating to an art auction and a friend in buying another. I open all my mail and find some checks that need to be deposited. I get the posters all printed and trimmed and head out to meet Jenny to layout all the booths and vendor spaces for the folkfest. We spend the morning getting stages in place, measuring, marking and redoing the master placement list. That has taken all day and I rush home for a shower before meeting my family for dinner. We are celebrating my father’s 75 birthday. I get home and my kitchen floor is flooded. Dang! This happened while I was away and ruined the rug I had on the floor and my neighbor Thaddeus kindly cleaned the mold off all the wood in my kitchen. My brother had sent over a new rug and now this one is completely saturated. I haul it outside to drain and check the refrigerator. It’s not leaking and I determine that it’s the hot water heater that leaking. I turn it off and mop up the water, take a shower then run to dinner. Everyone is there except my niece Estill. It’s great to see my father, Pippa, Randy, Martha and Winfree. We have a nice dinner and I head over to my brother’s house to see Winfree’s hamster. We play with the hamster for a while and I head home to sleep. It’s warmer tonight but the humidity is still low. So Good sleeping weather.

Sat.

I am up and on site at 7:30 to get the folkfest up and running. Everything goes pretty smoothly all day. Except for one woman who fainted out of a massage chair and had to be transported to the hospital. We have a great day. Nice weather, good crowds and great music. I spend the day fixing problems, answering questions and talking to friends. My friends Mark and Gail talk to me about working on some programming for the Saturday Morning Market. That sounds like fun! SInce the Tampa Bay Rays have won a spot in the championship the Mayor is having a celebratory party in the next block which could get crazy. We decide to keep the band running longer to try and sell more more beer. We don;t really have many extra people and are really tired when it’s over at 7 pm. We did sell some extra beer. We button up the site and head home. I stop at the liquor store for cold beer, Champagne and wine. Beer for me. champagne for a gift basket for an art auction and wine for my neighbor for cleaning the mold out of my kitchen! I head home and read my email and work on the gift basket. Then crash.

folkfest St. Pete

Sunday
The weather is overcast and cooler that yesterday but more humid. I don’t think it’s going to rain. I am on site by 8:30 and we get the festival up and running again and have another day of nice crowds. My friends have been coming through to say hello. It’s great to see all of you. THanks for coming out. My father comes for lunch. I deliver the art auction stuff to Beth and talk about First Night with Julie. My brother and his family come by to see the art and I get to see my niece Estill. Hilton and I take photos of the folkfest. Teresa comes out and gives me a Tango lesson! Great fun to see all of you and chat a bit. At 6 pm the festival is over and declared a success. We take it apart and pack up all the gear. I hug Jenny and Grace-Ann from Creative Clay and head for the bank to deposit my checks and get more cash for the trip then drive to my brother’s house. I left my big computer at my brother’s house for safe keep and my niece Estill has been playing with the music programs. She plays me a couple of songs and then she and Winfree and I have a dance party until bedtime. Winfree reads to me before bed. They go to sleep and I have some okra and tomatoes, stuffed grape leaves and a beer out of my brother’s fridge and chat with him and Martha. Then I head home to pack. The kitchen floor and the rug are both dry so I bring them in and have a shower with the last of the hot water. I get my stuff packed nd off to bed.

Mon. Sept. 28

I am up at 7 and busy closing up the house eating the rest of the food Pippa sent over. Thanks Pip! I make sure the water is turned off and all the windows closed. My father drives me back to the airport and security confiscates my tub of yogurt! Sorry I didn’t think it would be a problem. Funny that they left the container off black-eyed peas and collard greens! I make it through security and my flight is smooth to Cincinnati. I have a long layover and eat my black eyed peas and collard greens and a apple and try to get my computer to connect to the internet but it won’t. So I spend the time writing a post event report on the folkfest. ( My Title was Event Guru!) THen I start writing down ideas for programming at the Saturday Morning Market in St. Pete. FInally it’s time to fly back to Rochester. The flight is smooth and the Volkswagen dealership sends a car to pick me up. THe guy comes driving BEYOND and It’s great to see her! I jump in and test the locks but the still don’t work. GRR! THe dealer says the computer and transmission are working great but they couldn’t figure out the door locking problem. Too bad. It’s really irritating. So I pay up, fuel up and drive east towards Albany. At 9:30 I start getting sleepy so I pull off into the Mohawk truck stop and crash with the big trucks.

I sleep until 5 am then I am up so I drive into Albany to the Miss Albany Diner. When the Mad Chef arrives I have some of his homemade English bangers(sausages) and blueberry pancakes. I hang out and drink hot chocolate and read how to work my new phone, while I am waiting for it to get late enough to start phoning friends. I get a hold of Dana. She is moving to Florida and wants help packing up her studio. So I drive to her house in Troy and we have hot chocolate and a talk about the stock market with her friend Rhonda’s 16 year old son. He is interested in math and does pretty well with the concept of the stock market. Alphonso is a good kid. Then Dana and I drive to her studio. It’s the bottom floor of a house and it is full to the rafter with stuff! We wade in a start a garage sale corner and a trash pile. We stop for lunch and drive over for a salad on River street near her old store. It’s a Mediterranean place and the salad is great. Lots of fresh greens, tomatoes, cucumber, chicken breast and pine nuts with a very lemony but subtle dressing. Yumm. Then I drive over to Albany and have drink with my friend Tom at the new Brown Derby Restaurant. THey did a great renovation of a beautiful old building. After I drive out to Latham to see my friend. Michael and his wife Holly and sons John and David.

Albany, NY

I am just starting to take the panel off the lift gate on the back on BEYOND when Michael rolls up. He has better tools and we get the panel off and determine that the lock problem is not anything obvious there. Too bad I was hoping to fix it. We run out to get Chinese food for everyone and Holly and boys are home when we get back. We have dinner and the kids talk about their day. David had to pick and number and learn about it. He picked 42 which is a great number in the book The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy “42” is the answer to the question “What is life , the universe and everything?” Also it is the angle of the rainbow! And if there was a hole through the center of the earth and it was a vacuum and body falling from one surface of the earth to the other would take exactly 42 minutes! Super cool! THen we told jokes and stories. When dinner and homework were done Michael and I drove to a pub for beer and a chat. Looks like he might have some work for me after First Night is over. It would be great to get some scenic painting work and continue to develop my painting skills! Then back home to talk a bit more and then off to bed. I fall asleep to rain falling on BEYOND’s roof.

Wed.
I am up at 6:45 and join Michael and the boys for oatmeal and tea. Holly and their other guest an exchange teacher form Germany are off to teach school. Michael and I walk the boys to the bus stop and then he heads for work and I find and Apple store. My computer won’t eject the disc that’s in the drive. I head into Albany to Audio 300 to visit with my friend Mike. It’s good to see him. A couple of years ago I helped him and his wife get a big motor boat they bought in Tampa repaired and ready to transport up to Albany. He is doing pretty well and his family is good. His son is going to be coming home from being posted in Afghanistan soon which is great news. Then I drove to the Apple Store. I have had a CD that would eject from my computer. I have tried everything to no avail. They give me an appointment but not until 1:30 so I hang around for a while but the line is still long so I go back downtown to meet a friend for pizza. I haven’t seen Tommy for about 13 years. He looks about the same except a few more wrinkles. I wrinkles are going around!

We talk about old times. He is a big boss in the street department now. Good for him. After we eat he has to run of for a meeting with the Commissioner. I wish him well and drive to Schenectady to see mt friend Lloyd. He teaches costume at Union College and I find him hidden away like a troll in him basement costume shop. Lloyd looks really good. He has lost a lot of weight. He says his doctor said lose the weight or die so he has lost 140 pounds in 8 month! Kudos to you my friend. The last 40 will be easy. You have a sparkle in your eyes that has been missing for a while. It’s great to see you smiling and joking with your students. We talked and he showed me the model for the set of The Importance of Being Ernest. He is directing and designing costumes. The set looks super cool and the costumes are going to be great from Lloyd’s description. He is also directing A Christmas Carol off campus and has written a new script for the show. He tells me that he has been building ghost puppets for the show and his apartment is full of 40 puppets. Knowing Lloyd his place is a wreck. But it’s good to see that he is happy and busy. Two years ago he could barely climb the stairs to his apartment. He definitely has a new lease on life. Keep creating my friend!

After I leave Lloyd I drive back to Albany to meet Dana for Korean food. It’s a great meal of seared pepper crusted tuna and lightly grill veggies. Wonderful. Then we went to Russell Sage College to pick up a projector and Dana shows me the studios where she used to teach art. The students are doing some good work. We go back to her house in Troy and she and Rhonda prepare a slide show for the art lecture the giving tomorrow night. I doze off lying on the bed listening. I wake as they are finishing up and Dana and I go downstairs and eat dark chocolate and watch TV for a while and make jokes about the fact that I am sleeping in the backyard by the canal and laugh. Soon I am off to bed in BEYOND.

Thursday
I wake at 6 but go back to sleep hard until 9 am. Dana and I have hot chocolate and coffee and I take a long hot shower. When she is ready we drive to get another salad and then work on the studio all afternoon. She goes to get ready to teach and I drive to Albany to meet Tom at City Hall. He has my old job and has a question for me. Someone in the Special Events office has promised to light City Hall purple for Breast Cancer week I think with out finding out if it can be done. THey used to have big lights but they are gone and the replacements aren’t strong enough to shine through a dark enough gel to make a good purple. Oh well! So we have a drink and trade stories then drive to the Madison Grill and have some Bruschetta with goat cheese and spinach and seafood risotto. Very tasty. We go next door to Mahar’s which serves 140 beers and have a good Brooklyn Golden micro brew. We follow that with another bar where they are playing trivia and Tom and I do pretty well.
Then Tom drops me back at BEYOND and I drive back to Troy for the night.

Friday
I am up at 8 and Dana and I have hot chocolate and she make us a tomato cheese omelet and then I go pickup my computer. THey have fixed the drive and it works great! I look at suits as they are on sale but decide not to buy as BEYOND is so full I am afraid it would get beat-up on the trip home. I go back to Troy and Dana and I finish preparing for the yard sale. Her old friend Dennis comes by to shop and it’s good to see him. He is doing well working at Cafe Capriccio where Tom and I almost at dinner last night. He is making Sculptural boxes in his spare time. Dana says they are really cool. They must be as he buys to great stuff to go in them. Then she takes me to dinner at a cool little Polish restaurant. The had a rush and are out of Gloumki so I have a goulash soup and potato cheese perogis. The soup is amazing just the right amount of heat and spicy! Good perogis too. We go back to Dana’s house and have the Dutch apple Pie that Dennis brought her. It’s a really great pie with a spicy cinnamon crust. Yum. I set my phone alarm for 8 and crash.

Sat. Oct. 4

As usual I wake up 5 minutes before the alarm and the into the house. I drink hot chocolate and we are off to open for the yard sale. Rhonda’s son Alphonso is helping us and Dan’s friend Mary comes as well. THere is not a big rush so Alphonso and I go to the Saturday Market and buy jamaican food, Fresh apples and cider, veggies and almond croissant for Dana and Mary. I say my good byes and drive Albany to drop off Alphonso to skate in the Park. I drive to Hudson and Dove to look at used books and buy Fight Club and Darwin’s Audobon. I think they will both be good books. On my way out of town I pass the Spectrum Movie theater where they show art films and first runs. I stop and Spike Lee’s new movie Miracle at St. Ann is just about to start. I get a small popcorn and am lost in the movie. It’s a war movie and is very good but very sad and brings me to tears. What a softie! I love Spike Lee’s movies! I say goodbye to Albany and drive West. I stop in a rest stop just outside of Oneata, NY and take a snooze. I wake briefly at sunset have a snack and crash again

Sun.
2 am I am wide awake so I drive west. Serves me right for falling asleep so early! I drive until 6 am and then pull off and sleep for 2 hours. I drive on and the transmission is not shifting right. I am headed to Athens, OH to see my friends Carrie and Hank but the transmission completely drops out of gear and my heart goes into instant conniptions! I glide to a stop and let me nd my heart rest. After a few minutes she starts up and shifts into gear so I drive off and stop in a cemetery to let her rest. Well I have had enough! “It’s time to piss on the fire, call in the dogs and head on back to Bowlegs”. ( A prize to anyone who can name the artist and title of that song. No googling it!) After BEYOND cools down I call Carrie to tell her I’m not coming and I point BEYOND south. We reach 81 and drive south at just below the speed limit and stop in Beuna Vista, VA at a pretty campground with hot showers! Beyond did well with a couple of breaks so that is how we will proceed.
I think she can smell the barn and is ready to get home.

Monday
I get up and make hot chocolate and then find a Quiklube and get BEYOND an oil change. Luckily I ask the guy which oil he put in because it was the wrong kind. He drains it out and fills her with the summer weight oil she needs for Florida. i ask him about the tire pressure and all the tires are fine. My leaky tire seems to have fixed itself! So we head for the interstate and drive along at 65 mph. Once I get her up to speed she cruises along. She had a little trouble getting over the tail of the Blue Ridge Mts. But she did it. Slowly but surely. We drive through North and South Carolina and almost all the way through Georgia. I stop in the low country and look for the Crooked River State Park. THe signs are hard to see and I am tired. I finally ask directions and get there at 10.01 pm. The gate is locked. The signs says they are open until 10. Guess I just missed them. I park by the gate. Heat up some soup and then read until I can sleep. It’s warm and humid here. Finally I cool down and sleep.

Tuesday
I am awakened by a school bus at 6 am. I see that the gate is open so I drive in and find a bathroom. There is a shower so I wash off the sweat and drive back out. I stop at the Florida border for fresh orange juice but I am too early so I make my last cup of hot chocolate and drive on. I am almost home and Beyond is doing well enough that I detour to Ichetucknee Springs State Park. It is one of the most beautiful of Florida’s many natural springs. There are 9 springs that form the Itchetucknee River. I am the only person in the Park for the first hour and I swim in the main spring.

Itchetucknee Springs State Park

Then I walked down to the Blue Hole. THis spring is 40 ft deep and pumps out 16 million gallons of water at day. The water is a constant 72 degrees F. (22 degrees Canadian) When you swim out over the spring the force of the water coming up pushes you to the side. My friend Tom from Boston and I were here in April just after my birthday. The water was about 2 feet higher and there was a big black snake sunning itself on a bush next to the spring. Neither the bush or the snake were in evidence this time. THe water was wonderful. It’s crystal clear and a blue color. You can see ll the way down to the bottom of the spring 40 feet below and see the fish swimming around. It’s a magical place. Soon there were other people around so I get back on the road and rolled into St. Pete to my little house under the big tree at 6 pm.

Home in my house under the big tree

I have had a great trip but am ready to get back to work and making art. Besides my father tells me my nieces want a tree house! And I have to see why my hot water heater is leaking and flooding my kitchen.
Thanks to all of my new and old friends out there. You all helped make my trip a great adventure. I love the time I spent with all of you and hope to see you all soon! Also thanks to all of you who read my travelog and replied. As my Joe says “ I enjoy being a mouse on your shoulder”. So thanks to all of you mice on my shoulders, in my pockets and riding on top of my head. MR. NIGHT and I are signing off.
Until next time.
May the road treat you all well!

Allen

Final pics are at http://picasaweb.google.com/allenloyd

Newfoundland, Quebec and Ontario and Rochester, NY

2008-09-24T22:49:00.000-04:00

From Quebec City and St. Lawrence River

Wed.
No word on BEYOND. It rained all day and I just watched TV and read all day. It stops in the evening and I go out to get my stove when Myron offers me some home made moose stew. I accept and it is great. Moose, onion, potatoes, carrots and turnips. Very tasty with some whole wheat bread. I save a little for breakfast.

Thursday
I should be hearing about BEYOND today. But no call or email all day. At 5 pm I call them and they test drove her and she seems good but they want to drive her again in the morning. I had been singing “We’ve got to get out of this place if it’s the last thing we ever do” all day today. Now I feel better and I drive to Paddy’s Bar and Laundromat for a wash and a beer. I treat myself to beef and broccoli on the way back. It is great to eat a vegetable! I have a drink in the bar with Mary and the obnoxious guy from the other night is there and apologizes for his behavior and I accept and we have a couple of drinks and talk. Corey is a Newfie but has a tile business in Alberta. Lots of Newfies work part of the year off island. There is painting of trees and mountains done on slate and decorated with shells he bought from a local artist and forgot to take home. It’s been sitting on the bar the whole time I h ave been here. Corey decides I need a Newfie souvenir and insists that I have it. I say only if he signs it. I get him and Mary to both sign it and say my goodbyes.

Friday Sept. 19

Keyano Motel Stephenville, NL

This morning I got the call I have been waiting for....BEYOND is fixed! Finally, I can get back on the road again. I pack up Little Red take a shower. Myron and I take care of business and he insists that I have a bowl of homemade chili before I go. He is a very nice guy. I eat my chili and Myron gives me a jar of canned moose meat so I can make a stew on the road. WHat a nice guy!. I say my goodbyes to the Keyano Motel gang and zoom back to Corner Brook. I unload Little Red fill her up and turn her in. A weekend rental turned into almost a month. I pay the and pay for BEYOND. Ralph warns me that the check engine light won’t clear and is giving an oxygen sensor warning. Only a VW dealer can do it. I thank MR. NIGHT for overseeing the repair, crank her up and she sounds good. Feels good. So I drive to the supermarket and gas station and fuel up. Then I drive to a Park and stow all my supplies and gear. I have a celebratory drink with my friend Steph and then hit the road south for Channel-Port aux Basque and the ferry terminal.

I have a reservation for tomorrow morning but I get in the waiting line just in case there is space. At the inspection station they confiscate the two potatoes I just bought to make stew with. O forgot about Nova Scotia and potatoes. Oh well. I have a few hours to wait so I make the last of my pasta and jar sauce. Yuck. I add some red pepper, calamata olives and snow peas and beef stick to jazz it up. I have a big fresh salad which tastes great. THen I lie down and read for a while. I hear the call for all drivers at 9:30. SO I get ready and then sit. THey load some cars. And I sit. The ferry is supposed to leave at 11 pm. At 11:45 pm they let a few of the wait list cars on and at midnight tell the rest of us the boat is full. Lots of hunters on this boat. So I go inside and get my reserved ticket. I move into line 9 and crash for the night. Fall has arrived in Newfoundland and it’s 42 degrees as I drift off to sleep to the sound of idling trucks.

Saturday

Port aux Basque, NL on the Ferry

I sleep until 8 then eat breakfast. Wheat chex with strawberry yogurt and skimmed milk and tea. I walk to the terminal to wash and then back to BEYOND. THe sky is pure blue and the sun is up and warming the air. I drink my tea while writing in my log and listening to Big Head Todd and the Monsters. I love their album Another Mayberry. The Ferry Caribou is scheduled to leave at 11:30. It should start leading at 10:30. So far BEYOND is feeling great. I am finally feeling like I can make it to Rochester, NY for my flight on Thursday. I was really anxious about it all week. It’s hard to worry about anything on such a pretty day! I really enjoyed Newfoundland. It’s a very beautiful island with wonderfully kind and generous people. I am ready to leave but also looking forward to another visit.
The ferry left about 12:15 and the sky was blue and the sea calm. I dozed, watched part of a movie and had a shower. Then some baked cod, veggies and fries in the cafeteria. We arrived at 5:30 Newfie TIme. So 5 Nova Scotia TIme. I cranked up BEYOND and drove almost the New Brunswick border and pulled into a rest stop and had some salad and lay down to read. About an hour later there was a knock on the door. I put on my trousers and peeked out at a police car. The police said that a car parked next to me smelled propane and called them. I showed them that my propane refrig was lit and my propane leak detector was on safe and the bid me good night. I climbed back in and it took me a while to fall asleep.

Sunday Sept. 21
No more disturbances in the night. I woke up and made a bowl of cereal and started driving. Today was all balls to the wall freeway flying. I left Nova Scotia and New Brunswick in my dust and after a stop to refuel and check tire pressure. That rear tire seems to have stopped leaking. I pulled out snacks and got back on the road. I crossed in Quebec and gain an hour to Eastern Standard Time, then over the hump of Maine. I passed through the town St. Louis de Ha Ha which must be where The Joker has his summer Ha Ha Hacienda! Ha! Getting a little tired now as I pull into Riviere du Loop and the re is the St. Lawrence River. I drive alongside and stop in Montmangy for gas, propane, groceries and a call to let my friend Hilda know I’m coming. This store has micro brew beer! I am in heaven and buy two big corked bottles. THen I drive down the road along the river until I spy a picnic stop looking over the river.

I pull out my new potatoes, turnip, carrots spices and Myron’s jar of moose meat and make stew. While it’s cooking a watch the sunset. It’s cold and windy but the sun over the St. Lawrence is beautiful. There are lots of cars coming through and I am worried about the police showing up so I put the beer away for another day. But the moose stew is really tasty. After dark the cars stop coming through so I lie down and read for an hour. No sign of the police or any worried people. It’s chilly and sunday night so I decide to chance it and roll up in my blankets and sleep until 2 am. THen I am wide awake so I hang out for a while and then slowly drive the 30 miles into Quebec City. It’s nice and quiet so I can take my time. I stop for directions once and a nice convenient store clerk understands my Franglais and assures me I am on the right track. I arrive and pull into the big quiet Aquarium parking lot and at 4 am go back to sleep.

Quebec City and St. Lawrence River

Monday
I get up at 8:45 and have cereal and hot chocolate and then drive up to the historic section of the City. I walk around the Citadel and some of the Fields of Abraham. I have to move Beyond so I drive over to the Art Museum and stuff a meter with some of my loose change. Then I spend a while in the Art Museum. They have a wonderful collection of Inuit carving and sculpture. It makes me wistful for Labrador. One of my intentions was to look at Inuit art while I was there. This is a great stuff though. There is also a large amount of Abstract and Contemporary Art which I view. But the Inuit collection made my day. My meter has expired so I drive around until I find a surface parking lot and stuff it with more change then get out my bike. I n locking up BEYOND I discover that she is refusing to lock! What a pain. I hide my passport and computer and got for short rides, returning to check periodically. BEYOND seems fine so I have lunch in a Indian restaurant. The lunch special is a curry lemon soup which is amazing. Curried shrimp, basmati rice and salad followed by a cup of tea and an Indian donut for dessert. I walk around and finally get the postcard my father I wrote to my nieces in the mail! Sorry I got distracted! I should arrive before I do in November!

I walk around and take pics then ride back to BEYOND. I find an internet signal and check my email. Then I look at my credit card and just as I suspected they want me to call because of the last few charges have set off their alarm. So I go in search of a payphone and am able to reach them before they cancel my card! I go back to BEYOND and my card is clear so I pack up and drive to the last rest stop before Montreal. I stop for dinner and while my peas and moose stew are cooking I attempt to pull the fuse on the power locks. But the fuse panel is completely different from in the manual and I can’t find the lock fuse. It gets too dark so I eat my dinner drink a little beer and write in my log. I am going to sleep early and If I wake up early again drive into Montreal. Good Night!

I didn’t sleep very soundly and was too tired at 4 so I drove out at 6 am but at 6:30 am all the roads into Montreal were jammed with early morning traffic so I pulled over and ate so cereal and yogurt and hot chocolate. I read until 8:30 when traffic eased up I drove on in and parked near McGill University by a great divided bike lane. I fed the meter and then rode my bike across town to the Insectorium and back. It was a great ride. It was clear but chilly and lots of riders of all ages and styles. It reminded me of riding in Portland, OR.

Montreal

When I get back I have enough time on my meter to get my hair washed and cut. They even gave me a cup of tea! Then I heated up the last of the moose stew and green peas and ate lunch as I drove to Ottawa to visit my friend Hilda van Walraven. I arrived at 3 pm and the sun is out and it’s almost hot here! Hilda left me a bike route map and I get on my bike and head out along the Rideau Canal Path. Ottawa has lots of canals and rivers and they all have bike paths. I rode for a couple of hours and got back just before Hilda got home at 5:30. She lives in a cool little apartment in the top of an old house. She made some drinks and we chatted about my trip and all the people who have been visiting and staying in her apartment which we renamed Walda’s (Hilda’s nickname) B&B! We were getting hungry and Hilda walked to the store for food and sent me off for a wash.

Ottawa

My last wash was a few days ago and I hope I didn’t smell too bad! She has a purple bathroom with a great deep tub and I took a nice hot bath and scrubbed up! I was finishing up as Walda returned with fresh salmon, green beans, fingerling potatoes, a pineapple. Hilda doesn’t generally cook so after a consultation she cooked the beans and potatoes and cut a beautiful tomato from her fathers garden and i made some garlic parsley butter sauce and broiled the salmon. We opened a bottle of Shiraz and poured the sauce over the salmon and potatoes. Our meal tasted great and then we sliced the pineapple and a banana, poured rum over it and broiled it for awhile then ate it with some dark chocolate! Very tasty! We chatted until bedtime and then pulled out the inflatable bed and crashed.

Wed. Sept.24
In the morning Hilda made Tea and rye toast with PB. Good times at Walda's B&B! We had planned a longer visit but I have to get to Rochester so we said our goodbyes and she went to work and I headed for the border. It’s going to be hot today! I head south and cross the border at Thousand Islands. I arrive at customs at 9:15 am and am back in the US at 9:22 am! This was much quicker than crossing into Canada. Two years ago I crossed here and there were 3 raven sculptures that I missed getting a picture of, so I am ready with my camera but alas no ravens! Oh well. I drive south on 81 to Syracuse and take the Thruway west to Rochester. I arrive and find a Volkswagen dealer and they can check out BEYOND to make sure the computer is communicating with the transmission correctly, checkout the oxygen sensor error reading and figure way the power lock refuse to stay locked! They say they can do it while I am in Florida working on the Folkfest. Fingers crossed. I drive off to the mall with a Verizon store and buy a new phone. I buy a Motorola Adventure phone which is waterproof, dust and shock proof. I think it will be great for me. Then I find a cheap hotel room and drive back to the Volkswagen shop. I leave BEYOND and they drive me to the hotel where I relax and prepare to fly to St. Pete early in the morning. I am looking forward to seeing friends and family. Look out Florida here I come!

As always pics are at http://picasaweb.google.com/allenloyd

Stephenville, a funeral and the Island of Ramea

2008-09-16T22:39:00.000-04:00

From Burgeo and Ramea, NL

Wed. Sept. 10
Stephenville, NL

I have been here for a week now. They are doing construction outside of the motel. Putting in a form so they can our cement. It was a bit noisy but I was sleeping a lot. I have become addicted to the Discovery Channel. Mythbusters rocks! I like those guys. That and How Things Are Made. A couple of interesting shows. I got up and took a long bike ride around Stephenville. There is a bike trail that runs along the shore down to a small harbor. I rode that and all around an abandoned campground that’s along the path. Used to be a nice campground. Then to the supermarket and back to my room. I also took one day and drove around the Port au Port Peninsula which is just west of Stephenville. It’s very pretty and I spent some time at the Boute Park out at the very end. It was a beautiful day but very windy. I looked for a while but was not able to spot any whales. I drove on and spotted a memorial for a plane crash from 1941. I walked down the path and there are still parts of the plane. YOu can see the landing gear and some engine parts. I walked that trail to where it ended looking out over the ocean. Then I drove to Lourdes and there were some really interesting yard decorations and an old school that I photographed.

Port au Port Peninsula

I drove way out this thin spit of land to Black Duck Cove. This place is way out there. It would be a tough place to live in the winter! Then back around to the road I cam in on and I stopped to photograph the lamas at the Newfoundland Lama Farm and I have an ice cream. THe sales person tells me there is a great hiking path at the Gravels which is the narrow strip of land that connects the peninsula to the mainland. I find the trail and there are some really interesting circular rock formations. I walk out the path until it runs into a big construction site then walk back. I drive back to the Keyano Motel and eat dinner. My meals these days are canned meats, bagels, cheese, cereal, fruit, chips and salsa, and of course peanut butter. Not too interesting but fairly cheap. Tropical storm Hanna came through over the weekend and we go some rain but not to bad. I hear most of the wind and rain was east.

On Monday I had a phone conference with Jenny to get the site map ready for the folkfest in St. Pete at the end of September. It felt good to get that finished. On Tuesday I called Transmission Experts to discover that Phonse Noseworthy passed away from a heart attack on Saturday and the shop is closed this week. I am very sad to hear that Phonse has passed. He was a really nice guy and he was working very hard to get me back on the road. This is also going to delay my departure for another week. I talk to the owner of the motel and my room is available for another week and he is going to give me the best price he can. I decide to help with the construction he is doing. We are preparing to lay a brick walkway and there are lots of paving stones to move out of the way and we are cutting and installing 6x6 edging timbers. Then we get a load of gravel and spread it in the form and use a gas powered compactor to tamp that down. That become my job to run the compactor. My arms vibrate for about and hour after I finish. Then we spread in sand over the gravel and compacted it again.

Thursday Sept. 11

This afternoon I drove up to Corner Brook to attend Phonse Noseworthy’s funeral. It was held in a big modern Catholic church and there was a big crowd. All the seats downstairs were full and lots of people in the balcony. I was glad I went as even though it was a sad occasion I got to see all of Phonse’s family and friends. Ralph who is Phonse’s number two guy told me my van is next for reassembly when they open nest week. That is good news but it means that I won’t have time to drive through Labrador. I will have to plot a new course back through Nova Scotia and New Brunswick and over to Quebec. I am sad not get to Labrador but there will be other trips. I have to be in Rochester, NY on Sept. 25th to fly back to St. Petersburg to help run the folkfest. I have a drink to Phonse and slice of pizza for dinner and then drive the hour back south to Stephenville. I have a couple more drinks in the Lounge and talk to Mary behind the bar. Then this obnoxious guy Corey gets up my nose by calling Barrack Obama a nigger. It really annoys me because this guy obviously knows nothing about Obama and is obviously just trying to get attention. I tell him off and then proceed to ignore him until I finish my drink then I head for my room. I watch Discovery channel until I am sleepy then off to bed.

Friday
We lay the rest of the brick in the walkway and adjust all the 6x6 bracing. When we take a coffee break the boys pull out a jar of freshly canned squid and pass it around. It’s very tasty and not too rubbery. A good break from cheese and bagels. Then back to work and spend the rest of the day working on the walkway. Then I have dinner in my room and watch Take Home Chef braise lamb shanks. Boy do they look good and I feel homesick for my kitchen in Florida. I would love to be braising some lamb shanks rather than eating mini bagels with cheese and vienna sausages and canned pears! Soon I will be back on the road and that will be great. I think we are going to hear some live music tonight. That will be fun. We did go out about midnight. dance clubs don’t get started until about midnight in Newfoundland. The bands were playing a mix of rock and country with some Newfie music mixed in. Lots of dancing. Everyone is willing to dance here and that makes it fun. I got home after 3 am and crashed.

Saturday

Lots of rain so i stayed in bed and nursed a little hangover. Watched a lot of TV. I have decided that i want to be a Mythbuster when I grow up!

Sunday Sept. 14
Forecast was good today so I saddled up Little Red and drove south to Burgeo. It’s a couple of hours drive through tree covered mountains and then tundra. Very rugged country. This is the first day of moose hunting season so I stayed on the road in the car! There are a few places were there are groups of trailers and hunting camps groups together around a lake. I could see where lots of folks were off in the woods hunting. I reached Burgeo at a bit before 11 and there was a ferry scheduled to leave for the island of Ramea at 11. Perfect. It was cloudy and misty on the way down but looked like it was going to clear. I got on the ferry and paid my $3.65 for the hour plus ride to the island. (Best deal in Newfoundland!) As we crossed the weather cleared and the sun was out when we landed at Ramea. This used to be a thriving fishing port until the collapse of the fishing industry closed the fish plant and put the fishermen out of business. Ramea is a beautiful town. There was one house and matching boat painted safety orange with blue trim! Cool.

Burgeo and Ramea, NL

As soon as i got off the boat a car pulled over and an older gentleman (Jerry I think.) Drove me to see the windmill power generating farm. They have about 6 windmills. It was still so none were turning. I guess this is a test site so they don’t really know how much power is being generated. Then he drove me to the end of town where there is a walking path that goes to a lighthouse and around the end of the island and back into town. I hiked out onto a boardwalk over the bog. There were cement tiles with children’s hand prints and other symbols placed along the trail. Cute. The lighthouse was up on a rocky outcropping so I walked up the stair to take pictures and walk around the light keepers house. No one came out so I figured he wasn’t home. I followed the trail on around and from the point I took some pictures of the fog lifting on the mainland. The trail led back through the windmill farm and then I walked up another hill that had a viewpoint and picnic table on top and took pics of the town and the mainland. Then I walked back toward town and a guy I had caught smoking in the no smoking zone stopped his car and drove me back to the restaurant. I ordered a club sandwich to go and walked over to catch the 2 pm boat back to Burgeo. I would have stayed longer but then i would have had to drive back after dark. Too many moose around for that. When I got back to Burgeo I drove out to the Sandbanks Provincial Park. Since it was late on the last day they are open they let me in free. Thanks!

Sandbanks Provincial Park

They liked my National Park Pass and scanned it to try and make their own for next year. They gave me a trail map and I walked out to the Western beach and even though the sun was mostly out I decided it was a little too cold to swim. I waded some and walked along the beach and found a perfect sand dollar. I walked all around the Park on the trails. Out to a historic old cemetery and then back along the other side of the peninsula where I there was a small cove and beach with a beach volleyball court in it. It was the perfect size for this cove. Nobody was playing but I could imagine it full of teens on a hot summer day. Pretty cool. Then back to my car and it was 6 pm so I drove back and there were lots of cars cruising the side of the road looking for moose coming out to feed. I made it back to Stephenville just after dark and headed for the bar for a drink and a chat with Mary and then off to bed. A nice day today.

Rainy this morning so I slept in and then walked down to the lounge to check my email. They should be sending me an email soon as BEYOND was next in line for reassembly. No message though. SO I go to the store and buy half a BBQ chicken and supplies. Boy did the chicken taste good! THen I hang out and watch TV, listen to music and read. I was up late watching Mythbusters and mixed martial arts fights. Finally I fall asleep.

Tuesday Sept. 16th.
I was up so late that I sleep in a little and then check my email. No word on BEYOND but a message about changes to the map for folkfest in St. Pete. So we have a phone conference and I realize that I have to be in Rochester in just over a week. Ouch! I call Transmission Experts and Betty says they are working on her. Yes! There isn’t anything I can do to help at the motel so I walk up the stream to where there are quite a few petrified trees. It takes me a while to find the site but then they are everywhere. Some of them are 15 feet long stretching out into the stream. It’s very cool. I take lots of pictures and walk as far up the stream as I can and then back to the Keyano.

Stephenville Petrified Forest

I spend some time plotting a new route to Rochester. On the route I want to take it’s just over a day’s worth of drive time. If I can get going soon it won't be too bad. I will be able to see a few sites along the way. But later they call back to say there is an unexpected hydraulic problem and it will be at least another day. Dang! How long can this drag out. So I go back to my room and type in my log and download pics. Everyone who reads this please say a prayer for BEYOND so i can get back on the road. Thanks!

As always pics are at http://picasaweb.google.com/allenloyd