America what a great bunch of people!

OK readers I have tried not to get to "preachy" with my posts,  and I have and will remain apolitical.  The last thing I want to do is make this post a place like MSNBC or Fox News!

Tonight, however, I may wonder off a bit but please indulge me.

.First todays travel narrative and pictures.

After a very quick send off from Blair (we got her out of bed to say goodbye at 7 am) we were off.  First stop the Reagan Presidential library in Simi Valley California.  Before you dear reader say Aha you are making a political statement let me tell you that my faithful and obedient companion and I have previously visited two other Presidential Libraries, James Carter's in Georgia and William Clinton"s in Little Rock.  I hope that would make you concede that we have covered the political spectrum fairly in our various travels.I will make these comments on the quality of the three we have visited so far.

Jimmy Carter's-Great content, professionally laid out, staff  at museum indifferent.

Bill Clinton's-poor content (mis-spelled words, lots of pictures of movie stars with the Clinton's) staff knew little of history.

Ronnie Reagan's- Classy, somewhat short on content , staff very courteous, knowledgeable and passionate.

One good thing we obtained was a pass for all Presidential libraries and my faithful and obedient companion and I will be visiting Nixon's on this trip and Kennedy's in Boston when we get back east.  

All in all they are very worthwhile and I recommend any of them to you as a way of getting insight on this great country-regardless if you are a red or blue stater!

Oval Office

Jim with Ronnie

We left Simi Valley and headed up the Pacific Coast highway towards our destination San Luis Obispo.  On the way we made a stop in Santa Barbara for lunch, based on a recommendation from the Innkeeper at the Lodge at San Luis Obispo Creek  (where we are staying the next two nights). A great seafood lunch on the deck overlooking the beautiful  harbor at Santa Barbara.  Here are some pictures.

Faithful and obedient companion waiting for lunch!

Pelicans in Formation

Another Smiley Face!

Contentment is a great lunch and a fresh sea breeze!

After our lunch we traveled up to San Luis Obispo, located halfway between Santa Barbara and Big Sur.  Here will be our home base for the next two nights.

After checking in we were off for a walk.  We ended up at the Monterey Street Wine Bar (preparation  for some Central Coast Wine Tastings over the next day or two?).  Here we sat and tasted a few local wines (this is the 3rd largest wine region in California), and met some VERY nice people.  First was "Al" a retired state prison employee, part time barber and former member of the National Guard.  He wanted to hear all about Vermont and what were our local good wines?  We informed him we had none, but our beers were great!  Al was fascinated that we were traveling the country and had dreams of doing something similar when his wife retires from AT&T.
.
Nest up was Rick Gomez who had just had a forced retirement from the Power Company after 38 years.  He is 57 and has several kids, the youngest a daughter who is a sophomore in high school.  He and his family have sponsored exchange students from Germany, Brazil and Portugal.  He loves his country and wants all the world to have a chance to see it in person.  Rick was also a"shareholder" in this little wine bar and loved his local community.

Of course there were others we have met on our trip.  The guys who fixed our windshield at a little glass place in San Diego yesterday, who talked our ears off.  The Innkeeper here who chatted with me by phone yesterday and recommended the place for lunch and she talked us in to trying a local golf course tomorrow.  The docents at the Reagan Library, one in particular who struck up a conversation about why we were there from Vermont, and wanted to wish Eric all the best.  It all struck me today how blessed we are as a country not only with majestic vistas but also in the diversity and goodness in most of it's people. This trip is a reminder of that.

 Oh and I promised not to preach!  Sorry but I could not help myself. Well it's late so until tomorrow.

Adieu

A respite before the left coast ramble!

Rocky Mountain National Patk

Moab Utah

Pioneer Arch Nebraska

Mornings Walk Ocean Beach San Diego

Well as you know my faithful and obedient companion handled yesterday's post. Barbara has graciously agreed to handle Sunday post's so yours truly can take a day off.

Today was a well earned day off from driving, particularly after our final push of Saturday and Sunday. We slept in, then after Blair and my faithful and obedient companion did some shopping at the Mirmar Marine Commissary, we went and got the windshield fixed (see post 3). I also managed to make plans for the rest of our week which I will not bore you with yet. I will warn you that at least one blog post will come from my mobile blackberry, as where we are staying for two nights in a lodge that has no phone, tv or wi-fi! Imagine that!

Speaking of technology, driving through Utah we listened to an NPR piece on "Fresh Air" (ironic we were listening in the middle of nowhere thanks to satellite radio). Terri Gross interviewed a person (sorry did not get his name)who was studying the effects of being constantly connected via Twitter, Facebook,email,etc. Evidence suggests (he emphasized suggests) we get a shot of dopamine everytime we check email twitter, Facebook etc. In other words it can become addictive. He acknowledged that we have many benefits with instant contact but was yellow flagging potential detrimental effects. He suggested we all need to take time off once in a while. Perhaps he planted a seed that made me book a place that was disconnected?? Anyway I have to admit I do find myself looking several times a day to see who comments on my blog.  Needless to say I and am disappointed when no comments are posted! So readers while I know you may have other priorities (like your own lives?) please, I beg you, feed my beast occasionally will you!

Finally on a final  technology note, I am attaching a few pictures taken on the fly with my blackberry. These were taken as we were driving or while I was out for a mornings walk. Yes with technology at any instant you can share your experience with your friends and relatives, for better or worse! Until tomorrow then.

Adieu

PS here is a link to an article about the first group of Eric's Marine Squadron coming home.  It was the first wave coming in, Eric is in last group (one per week) The Staff sgt Coleman and his wife are friends of Eric and Blair.  Thought you might like to read about our "Marines" with a personal touch! News Article

Faithful and Obedient Companion Posts Today!

Today's Guest Blogger:  Mrs Murray Rider

Hello Everyone.  Murray Rider proclaimed Sunday to be his day of rest so I am honored to be filling you all in on our days adventures.  Before I begin today, let me fill you in on yesterday.  

We traveled through Rocky Mountain National Park, through the rest of Colorado, into Utah, Arizona, and finally rested our weary heads in Mesquite, Nevada.  It is truly amazing how awesome doesn't even come close to being a sufficient word to describe the dramatic beauty of our land.   Blair is certainly tired of hearing me say magnificent!  Katherine Lee Bates put it best:  Purple mountains majesty.  I will never sing that song again without thinking of our trek across our nation.  I definitely appreciate it more now that when I was 13 & 15 but am glad I had the experience then also.  I remember my father scaring the bejessus out of us on that Trail Ridge Road back in ..... oh never mind how long ago that was.  

We spent the night at Virgin River Casino & Hotel and WOW - haven't seen that many dogs in a hotel, ever!  Seriously, the hotel had lots and lots of buildings and ours must have been designated the dog building.  Big ones, little ones, cute and ugly - just like people.  OOOPS - sorry about that.  This hotel even had a door hanger that let the help know a pet was in the room.  All for only $50 a night.  Who could ask  for more?

Today started with me doing the coffee duty.  Not a big chore since McD's was right across the street.  Trying to help out I walked Bailey to get some energy burned off and got back to our adjoining rooms and discovered I had forgotten my room key.  I gently knocked on the door - no answer, Jim must be 'indisposed' so remembering I had left the room key in the car I decided to get it.  YIKES  - - -  WHERE IS THE CAR???  Oh, no, has the car been stolen??  I called Murray on his cell and asked if he had moved the car while I was walking the beautiful Lab.  No, he would be right there.  Who could have stolen our car and why??? 

WOOPS-- I discovered seconds later that I was in the wrong building.  Hey, they all looked alike!

After 5 or so hours of driving through Las Vegas, (boy has it grown) and into California, here we are tonight resting our heads in Ocean Beach.  Safely ensconced in the home of the youngest Roberts', one block from the mighty Pacific Ocean and our resting place for a day or so  before continuing our journey sans Blair & Bailey.  It's been a wonderful time and I am thankful for the opportunity to spend so much 'quality' time with them.  We'll leave them for a couple of weeks only to return when Eric returns.  So .... returning to the blogger will be Murray Rider tomorrow and hopefully he'll give me the chance to speak to you directly again - in the meantime - I'll comment on his meanderings whenever I can.  Til then  ---- have an awesome day!

The Roberts arrival safely in OB

Across the Great Divide-Rocky Mountain National Park

Well this morning started badly, The Columbine Inn (Estes Park Co) promised a continental breakfast.  The coffee was brewed and sitting in the lobby.  Problem was the lobby was locked, and nobody around.  Nothing worse than caffeine withdraw at the crack of dawn! The only sympathy from my faithful and obedient companion-“You should have checked when you checked in” that didn’t help to ease the craving for sure.  Blair was no help either, too much Mexican food last night?  Altitude sickness (Estes Park is at 7,000 feet)?   Let me sum it up she got sick to her stomach surrounded by some of the most Alpine scenery anywhere!  We did manage to get some coffee as we left at 7:15 am.

Within minutes we were heading up to Rocky Mountain National Park, we bought a one year pass to all National Parks for 80 bucks.  It was worth it just for today’s ride on “Trail Ridge Road”.  Trail Ridge Road is the highest regularly traveled highway in North America.  Several spots are over 12,000 feet, and the Park itself has 72 peaks over 12,000 feet.  Elk, Bighorn Sheep, coyotes, yellow-bellied marmots, etc. abound. We saw elk (no picture) and bighorn sheep that we did bag with photos.

The scenery speaks for itself, here are some selected photos:

Of course no Murray Rider post could do without a geographic highlight-here is yours truly sitting literally on top of the “Great Divide”

And then a mug shot of all of us standing on the Alpine Tundra at about 12,200 feet- temperature was 46 degrees.

Well I promised a little side tidbit on memories of a trip 41 years ago with my family,  I remembered Trail Ridge Road vividly.  I remember Ethel, Susan and I standing by an alpine lake at the end of June with 3 inches of snow on the ground, and it was snowing.  I remember being amazed.  I also remember my mother in a panic as my father drove Trail Ridge Rode.  She probably felt like Blair and I did as my faithful and obedient companion ably negotiated this road which weaves across the top of the Rockies with sheer drops on either side.  Well done Barbara!

Oh but one last comment.  Yesterday I was relieved that my hedonistic ways had not impacted my memory.  My faithful and obedient companion cannot say the same.  As we approached the park she asked if I ever rode on the “cliff road” in Grand Teton NP. I told her I had been there 41 years ago as well but could not recall such a road..  About 25 minutes into our Trail Ridge road ride my faithful and obedient companion turned to me and said the cliff road I referred to earlier was this one.  Now we know who the hard partier really is!.

Adieu

Day three, wind farms, meridians, approaching rockies

We picked up an hour yesterday. As a result we "slept" in this am. 

My "mornings with Blair" saga continues. As I mentioned yesterday Blair was in 
a good mood as it turns out the grouches day one were the result of my earlier 
than promised wakeup call. So today I thought I would make amends. Went out 
and bought coffee and i took a cup to Blairs room on first floor (my faithful 
and obedient companion and I were on the third).. I Knocked, then pounded on 
the door yelling "Blair I brought you coffee". I finally figured she must be 
walking Bailey so I left the coffee at her door, went to our room on the third 
and picked up my faithful and obedient companion and our luggage. When we got 
to the first floor there was Blair and Bailey coming out of the wrong room. Why 
on earth was The coffee still at their door six rooms down? OOPs well never 
mind. I am sure the occupant of the room I was pounding on was bewildered. At 
least they did not grab Blair's coffee!


The weather this morning was glorious. Traveling west on 80 the miles flew by 
as yours truly was first in the cockpit today. Our first highlight were some 
HUGE wind farms along the highway. There must have been 40 or more and 
interestingly not one was turning. Here is a picture taken by my faithful and 
obedient companion.

Wind Farm Iowa

I would add that we did see a few actually turning after crossing in to Nebraska. Yesterday I commented on corn and Ethanol today the farmers seem to be sucking up some cash from wind farms! Once again I do not want to get Political on this blog. It would be interesting to follow that money trail! Maybe my next blog? Ok, so what's the deal with meridian's you might ask. I thought that was for the yacht crowd. Ha! Wrong again reader! Didn't you ever hear of a "Prairie Schooner"?

Anyway, two critical meridian's were crossed today the first was 97' 29' 20.
That marked the half way point (per my GPS) along our route. Attached is a picture, and for you geography nuts it is In York County, Nebraska. Also here are some other picks from a rest area a few miles down the road.

Rest Area close to half way point

Half Way Point Vermont San Diego!

The next meridian of note is the 100th. It marks the eastern most point of the "Arid Plains". Now why would I know or care this obscure factoid? Blame that great referencework, Wikipedia again! I learned this tidbit when I looked up the Town of Cozad, 

Nebraska. I was looking for facts about a nice "Military Vehicle Museum" that 
was next door to the Wendy's we stopped at to get lunch. 

I am not trying to revisit the Museum Post of Tuesday, but it was hard to resist searching 
for any details I could find about this Museum that consisted of a few surplus 
tanks and jeeps standing next to a steel shed. I did not find anything on the 
museum so I looked up Cozad on my blackberry's Wikipedia link. What a tool that is turning 
out to be! Turns out Cozad is famous for a few things among them:

1. Jack Nicholson refers to it in the movie About Schmidt, 
2. A Pony Express Stop
3. Being near the aforementioned 100th meridian! 

Who would have thought that Nicholson the Pony Express and the 100th meridian 
were so connected! Forget that Kevin Bacon guy.

Interested?? Learn more here->  Cozad Town Web Sight!
Well I am composing this in the car, the destination tonight is Estes Park for a side excursion to Rocky Mountain National Park in the AM. More on that tomorrow. In the
meantime we are cruising in Western Nebraska and I FINALLY see some Oil Wells pumping.
This is something I saw on a trip my family made 40 years ago. My faithful and
obedient companion and Blair were starting to kid me that I must have imagined all this
most of this afternoon. Suddenly, they appeared just before the Wyoming line! Yea, I did not kill all of my pre-alcohol memories in collage drinking bouts. A picture snapped by my faithful and obedient companion is final evidence.

Speaking of that family trip, Sisters Susan, and Ethel stay tuned, I may have some memories
 tied into that trip to Fort Collins 41 years ago in tomorrows blog! I seem to remember a
 Rocky Mountain National Park ride over Trail Ridge Road back then. Tomorrow will be a repeat!
 until then
Adieu   

Corn, corn and more corn

Hello followers and greetings from beautiful West Des Moines Iowa.

The reader should note that our location on the map below is based on "IP address".   According to Google Maps we are supposed to be some 350 miles from here in Northern Illinois.  I guess the margin of "error" that Matt Heitman pointed out of say 40 miles (he posted a comment to an earlier blog entry that my "Stowe" location was showing up as Barre, Vermont) has now grown 10 fold.  If I cannot fix this problem I will blow away this hi tech boondoggle for an additional  picture or something,  I would hate for the map to show us as falling into Lake Michigan or something and have you all think we drown.

The number of our followers seem to be increasing so I hope my faithful and obedient companion and I can keep things interesting!  Not sure that today's post will live up to expectations but the reality is we are and have spent the entire day driving through "The corn belt".

Wikipedia, the new definitive reference of our time, places the corn belt from western Ohio through Iowa and touching Nebraska.  I may just add my annotation to this article.  I am attaching 4 pictures, snapped by yours truly or my faithful and obedient companion, each of which are from one of the following states:

                                a. Ohio         b. Indiana,          c, Illinois,         d. Iowa

Choice2

Choice1

choice4

Choice3

Today's challenge reader is to match them up correctly and send in a post.  There will be a prize mailed to the first follower who correctly matches state and picture.

I hardly need to tell you that each picture is of corn.  I never realized how much of this stuff we grow, especially now that a lot is used for ethanol (I have no intention of weighing in on that controversy on this blog).  I would add one last observation. That famous song in Oklahoma "Oh What a Beautiful Morning" praises that the "Corn is as high as an elephant's eye" You will be surprised reader that Wikipedia  does not include Oklahoma as part of the corn belt.  Call that strike one against Rogers and Hammerstein .

As for our trek west we made Blair drive first this morning, she was in a MUCH better mood as a result.  My faithful and obedient companion and I got testy a few times but a dip in the pool seems to have cooled us off. I still could not talk her into a drink at Hooters across from our lovely hotel.  No matter how I try she cannot be convinced it is a "nice family restaurant".  Bailey the dog, well she is as cool as a cucumber throughout.
Tomorrows goal Colorado, and I promise no wheat belt stories.  Until then....

adieu
Oh and Happy Anniversary to Melissa and James- hard to believe 5 years already!

Windshields, Museums and other musings

Well we have embarked!  We left Marmota Acres at about 7 am this morning and hopefully you can see from the map below our current location (Westlake, Ohio about 15 miles west of Cleveland).  All in all a little over 660 miles from Stowe, a good first day.  We are still talking to each other!

A couple of observations on a day traveling through places not so far from home.

First on the topic of windshields.  About 2 hours into the trip (we had just changed drivers and I was at the wheel) I detected a strange flapping noise.  Not so loud that my faithful and obedient companion, who was in the back seat at the time, could hear it.  Blair riding shotgun (but still waking up) heard a "little" noise.  I turned up the radio.  About an hour out of Buffalo-POP-than flap, flap, flap .......  we pulled over to find the rubber gasket from the top of my windshield had pulled half way out.  The offending gasket was yanked out with repair to follow, hopefully in the light of morning.  I also call the readers attention to today's picture of the day.  After a quick stop for lunch, (McD's, I wanted healthy but we could not keep my faithful and obedient companion out of the Golden Arches) we were cruising down I 90 when I thought I squirted some Chicken McNugget mustard on to the inside of the windshield.  A quick check revealed something bright yellow hit the OUTSIDE of the windshield.  It looked like an evil smiley face so I snapped the shot in hopes that one of our loyal followers could offer a better ID.  What do you think it is?

Second on the subject of Museum's.  It never ceases to amaze me what our society deems worthy of memorializing with a museum.  The Red Roof Inn, our home here in Westlake Ohio, highlights the "Cleveland Police Museum" as a local place of interest.  Now my father was a cop in Philly for 20 plus years.  I respect our men in blue more than most.  However, leaving aside the idea of a "Cleveland" museum I wonder how many of our municipalities actually support such places.  Maybe I could set one up for Stowe's finest?  The website for the Cleveland Police Museum (Google it if you like) consists of one picture.  However, I found the Billboard near Rochester, New York for the Jello Museum even better! It took a lot of willpower and the fact that we have Blair's dog Bailey in tow to keep us from sidetracking our journey to check out the history of Jello Molds. In case you think I am kidding here is there web link!  www.jellogallery.org/

Well it is late and tomorrow we head out a 7 am for another exciting day.  I hope you have enjoyed todays entry and I will be back with you tomorrow!  Until then...

Adieu

Murray Rider (continued)

Why "Murray Rider"

We are posting our first "Picture of the Day" (below).  Since my typing skills promised a "teat" picture yesterday instead of a "test" picture I have complied and posted on below. Enjoy!

Now why "Murray Rider"?

The noble groundhog has become the mascot for "my faithful and obedient companion" and I ever since a family of them moved into our neighborhood here in Stowe, Vermont. By neighborhood I mean under our back deck. Amazing how they have peacefully coexisted with us for 4 years now, Despite our initial attempt to exterminate the furry bastards. I think it was their "Ghandi" like resistance that ultimately won our adoration. Anyway once we embraced the critters it wasn't long before we had to name them. Now I ask you reader, who inspires groundhog lovers more than Bill Murray? Ergo all our friends beneath the deck have become "Murray" and needless to say the inspiration for our blog.

So tomorrow we are off and we invite you to join us for our journey! I have added a photo of the day, and a map which I hope will show you the approximate place where my entry has been made, in this case on my deck in Stowe, with "Murray" close by. I doubt "Murray" will join us at 6 AM but you can be sure he will greet us when we return, assuming of course we get back before our Stowe winter forces him to take his long winter's nap!
Until Tomorrow adieu

Cleveland or bust

Wednesday August 25th we will be off! The start of our long journey to San Diego and beyond. Hopefully Our daughter-in-law, Blair, and her faithful (and spoiled) yellow lab, aka Bailey, will be cooperative. It will be interesting to see if her marriage to our son, Eric, can survive.

The good news, they will only be cooped up with us for the first leg, our run to San Diego, where Blair and Eric live. After dropping the two of them off Barbara, my faithful and obedient companion, and I will then wander around the left coast visiting all kinds of interesting places. We will then make a second run to San Diego to greet our USMC son, Eric, upon his return from a wonderful Afghan Vacation at a USMC timeshare resort. Then it will be homeward bound for us via the great northern route with more interesting stops along the way.

Hopefully the three readers who I am certain will follow us will enjoy this blog. Maybe we can pick up some additional followers along the way? If not I can at least kill some car time rambling on about nothing. Think of it as one big Seinfield episode by someone less creative than Larry
Tomorrow I will fill you readers in on the "Murray Rider" moniker and a teat picture will be posted.
Until then adieu


Murray Rider