No, you're confused. It's "darker shade of Ale", if you try Rollin that up you'll have a mess on your hands. Literally.Quote:
Originally Posted by Whiplash23T
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No, you're confused. It's "darker shade of Ale", if you try Rollin that up you'll have a mess on your hands. Literally.Quote:
Originally Posted by Whiplash23T
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mb3iPP-tHdA
Yeah, that would be akin to "A paler shade of pale ale....."
Wednesday 9th September.
Worked out yesterday as to why this country has so many churches…it must have the most per capita of any country in the world.
And, to me, the answer has become obvious: sinners!
There are just so many sinners out there, all requiring forgiveness and redemption, that the market has expanded to accommodate them all.
Qed.
So it follows quite naturally that America is full of bad buggers..
And looking at the size, architectural style, landscaping, et cetera; that the Lord has more money than his parishioners, many of whom live in relative poverty given the state of so many homes.
Is there an anomaly/hypocrisy here…or is it me…
Kept on truckin’ for the Buffalo Naval and Military Park.
Lots of cropping, maize, beans, squash, hay, some crops I didn’t recognise, and eventually noticed a small number of rising 2yo friesan dairy heifers….about forty, grazing alongside the road.
Quarter of a mile or so down the road was what looked to me like a cow-shed (milking parlour,) so I yelled “Stop!”
“Can’t now, too late: I’m past it.”
You’ll keep bucko…you’ll keep.
I’m paying for this; and I can change my will.
The Golden Rule.
He who has the gold makes the rules…it would bode you well to remember that.
A few miles further on and I saw a small (8 – 10) mob of jersey weaner heifers, but no obvious signs of a cow-shed.
(The friesians could’ve been for either dairy or beef; they’re suited to both roles…but the jerseys…nah…they’re a high-fat dairy breed.)
Stopped at a wee place called Meridian for lunch at the Happy Days Diner.
The décor was reminiscent of the TV show, (outdated,) the waitresses main attraction would’ve been gravitational, (she was…umm…rather large…) but the food was extremely good.
Recommended.
Arrived Buffalo about 4:00.
Too late to head for the Naval Museum, so we’re overnighting at the Orchard Park Inn.
A grand name for one of the grottiest motels yet.
All good fun.
Disclaimer: be aware that the views and the opinions expressed by the author of this missive are bloody good ones.
It's funny to many of us the subtle use of hops in appropriate IBU's for the alcohol content of beers is perfect. Dry hopping came along to boost that flavor, then Lagunitas(from Petaluma) came along and really smacked it in your face with most of the beers they make, but even Lagunitas makes a few balanced brews. As a home brewer of 35years now, and after taking many beer making classes, I can tell you the high alcohol, and overly hoppped IPA's out there , are a trend for the non decerning beer palate, because all you taste is hops. It hides a number of brewing mistakes by masking all the malt and yeast flavors. However I would not agree that all IPA's are bad, nor double IPA's or triple IPA's, as long as youfollow beer making science of using appropriate bittering unit levels, with appropriate specific gravity levels, the end product won't be overly bitter. It's ashame so many new breweries pump up the IBU's to hide their rookie league skills, but others are only going with what sells at the momment. Will be intersting when the Kolsch style ales take off to see what's coming in the lager style ale market. I loved touring Vermont, because after living in california, it's hard out west to find large varieties of craft brews that aren't insanely hopped since my local idiots seem to love these like they loved buttery chardoneys 15 years ago, and white zinfindels 20 plus years ago. In vermont the practice balanced brewing for the most part, so being a purist I was in heaven!Quote:
Originally Posted by Bob Parmenter
Thursday 10th September.
First stop was the Buffalo Naval and Military Park.
The military part to the museum was of not great interest to any of us, as it dealt with the Americans scrapping with the Canadians…a stoush that we know very little about.
And now, 200 years later; don’t really care about either.
But we spent a few hours wandering through the three naval vessels!
(And She got to stick the very first pin into NZ on their ‘World Visitor Map!’)
The first was USS The Sullivans, a destroyer named for the five Sullivan brothers who died while they were serving on the same ship during WWII when it was sunk.
Next was USS Little Rock, a light cruiser.
And lastly ‘Croaker’, a WWII submarine.
Doesn’t sound much…but those three vessels took three hours to work my way through.
(Rosie opted out early…up and down ladders does her back no good at all.)
And off to Niagara Falls…found the town easily enough…but to find the falls themselves was a bit of a different story.
Everyone’s touting their own tour; with numerous large signs proclaiming: ‘This Way To This Tour’ or ‘This Way To That Tour’, or ‘This Way For Your Souvenirs’ with very little signage for: This way to the falls.
But we found them.
What can you say?
Awesome?
Yep.
Spectacular?
Yep.
Impressive?
Yep. That too.
And that’s about it.
After twenty minutes of looking…well…okay…I’ve seen enough.
Let’s go home now.
So we did.
What? No Maid o' The Mist??
Get out of here with those obscene suggestions!
That costs money!
Friday 11th September.
The day got off to a bad start when Rosie tripped on the step (an amateur add-on because the original was broken,) and fell when walking out of the motel.
No real damage, a few bruises; but it could’ve been nasty.
Left Buffalo and headed (ultimately,) for the Peter Herdic Transportation Museum,810 Nichols Pl, Williamsport.
First bit of excitement was at Verysburg, as we came down into the valley She commented “Someone’s got a fire going. Quite a good one from the smoke.”
Well it was good in the sense that it was large and consuming everything, (which when you’re clearing land is good,) but it wasn’t good at all when it turned out to be some poor bugger’s house.
Felt sorry for them…but there’s nothing I can do.
So; bit of a detour and we’re on track again, to see a herd of about 200 friesan cows
paddock grazing.
First time I’ve seen that.
Then just before Dansville there was a mob of about 100 friesan (a lot with the red factor gene,) yearling heifers paddock grazing.
A mob that size indicates a herd size of around the 400 mark…a reasonable size.
So when we saw a cowshed that looked as though there were people present I told Rick to stop.
“Can’t. I’m past it. It’s too late.”
And I hit the bloody roof…this is our holiday; we’re paying for it, and you’re not going to dictate what I can see and what I can’t…just do as I ask!
This is the second time he’s done this.
“Don’t yell at me! You don’t like it then you drive.”
“Okay. But if I drive you’re surplus to requirements.
You walk.
Home.
“Mutter, mutter, mumble, grumble.”
But he drove.
And stopped at the next two cowsheds.
But there was no-one around at either.
(And I hope that’s cleared the air for a day or two.)
On to Conning, and the Conning Museum of Glass.
Rick was still in a sulk and stayed in the car. More fool him. It was extremely interesting. Must’ve spent about two hours there.
Then to ‘The Site’ for a nose-bag.
I tried the wings as recommended by b1…you’re right mate…bloody gorgeous.
And just before Blossburg there was a mob of fifty or so dry friesan cows being break-fed;.
Perhaps our Kiwi management skills/systems are catching on!
Finally arrived at the Peter Herdic Transportation Museum in Williamsport at 3:15.
They close at 3:00
Bugger!
That wasn’t mentioned when I researched them on the interweb.
So we went to the Taber Museum across the road instead.
It was alright I s’pose…too many arty-farty pictures for my taste but.
And a Super 8 about four miles away for the night.
JB, the Peter Hedric Museum of Transportation is only open Friday & Saturday 10-3pm from September to May, so you're in luck! You can hit it tomorrow morning, before continuing on your journey! Great timing, to hit it on the correct days of the week!
A comment about our interstate highways, or other controlled access divided roadways - If you find yourself going the wrong way, or should you see something, miss the exit and want to return the easiest way is to proceed to the next exit and take a left at the top of the ramp to cross over the highway, and the immediate next left to re-enter the roadway going the opposite way. You can take the exit you missed, or go on past to the next exit and repeat the process to reverse direction again. It's quite easy..... but it can eat a bit of the clock.
We'll be going back to both museums this morning.
From through-the-fence the Hedric Museum looked to be a good one, and the Taber Museum had the end-pieces of a rope-walk on display.
So I'll go back armed with a tape measure.
NZ farmers finish a winter season with almost literally miles of waste nylon bale twine and no real way of utilising it.
So why try to reinvent the wheel when the critical measurements are just four miles down the road?
I'll go get them and make myself some handy heavy duty ropes.
The road where my stupid boy reckoned he'd missed the gateway was a quiet two lane rural road. A U-turn was as close as the next driveway..
He was just trying to be a smart-ass.
And it didn't go down well.
Saturday 12th September.
We’d got to the motel last night, settled in, I’d written up and posted my diary to various sites, when around 6:30 there was the wail of a police siren that seemed to be getting closer, so I went to the window to see what the fuss was about.
First came the police car all full of noise and lights, and then some motorcycles…then some more…and some more, and more, and more and more more more more more.
Two – three abreast.
By 7:00 over 2000 bikes must’ve gone past.
There was a bit of a lull then for 5 minutes…then another cop car…and more bikes for another twenty minutes. There must’ve been around 3000 bikes in total…it was certainly spectacular to watch.
What’s happening?
Has Sturgis been brought forward? Has it been moved to here?
Nah…
Worked out it’s to commemorate 7 / 11…the Twin Towers incident.
Back to Williamsport to do the Peter Herdic Transportation Museum first
Not a large museum; but very interesting nonetheless.
I was intrigued I note that in the late 1800s early 1900s roads were of little importance; the canals and railroads were the major methods of transportation for both people and produce.
Henry Ford certainly has a lot to answer for!
Okay; back over the road to the Taber Museum.
I’d noticed yesterday that they had the mechanics of a rope-walk on display, so I’d bought me a tape on our way here, and now I asked the young lady if I could take the critical measurements off it
She knew the exact machine I was talking about, agreed, and turned the alarms off for me.
Thank-you very much…all good.
Then trucked on in heavy rain to Lewisville for lunch.
We’d intended to visit the Harrisburg Civil War Museum, but it was still persisting down when we pulled in…and with a ten minute uphill walk from the car-park to the entry…nah…it wasn’t our war…we’re not familiar with it...and nobody wanted the dubious pleasure of a cold shower.
So we found a Value Inn motel for the night.
With ground-floor smoking rooms.
Sunday 13th September.
Away by about 8:20, heading for Jefferson’s Monticello, 911 Thomas Jefferson Parkway, Charlottesville 22902.
Saw a herd of jersey cows in the Shippensburg area that were paddock grazing but were able to return to open air stall feed…a peculiar arrangement I thought.
But they were beautiful animals in peak condition; you could see the gloss on them from 200 yards away.
Another shed further on that was relatively open to view from the highway seemed to contain about fifty animals…too small a herd and too labour intensive to be viable in New Zealand.
There appeared to be quite a few totally housed herds in this area; but to go and look would’ve required a major deviation.
Crossed the Mason Dixon Line…the line between the Northern and Southern states.
Harpers Ferry and I saw my first long-horn cattle…surprisingly light framed, but very rangy animals.
Out of dairy country now it would appear, there were more beef breeds to be seen…a large mob of polled angus (polys,) cows at Toms Brook, a mixed mob of poly and charolais at Brucetown under very lax grazing control, another mob of ayrshire hereford cross, (choice of breed doesn’t seem to matter much around here,) then another mob of well-conditioned polys under excellent pasture management.
Even saw a flock of sheep; but they were too far away to identify the breeding.
Pasture management skills vary; some are extremely good, you can see where boundary fences are…most are not too flash, and some are just bloody terrible.
It’s not rocket science.
The beef farms appear to be primarily paddock-grazed as in NZ, but I also saw a lot of what appeared to be large wintering barns; but having no knowledge of local winter conditions can’t really comment.
Over the Blue Ridge mountain range to arrive at Monticello about 3 o-clock…and there were 4,003,221 people there.
Let’s come back to-morrow morning. Hopefully it won’t be so crowded.
So we’re now in a Super 8 about thirty minutes away in Charlottesville.
Okay…so for you Americans on CHR that are reading this; there are some road signs that have been puzzling me:
They are a green background square about 30” x 30”, a white surround, and various white letters in the middle, e.g. N, C, J, BB, E, and H.
What’s that all about?
That's not making sense to me, jb. I'd say take a picture of one and post it, but I know THAT's not gonna happen! Green background is reserved for "Guide" signs, like distances to the next town, or information to help guide to special interest points that are not safety related. This summary of signs doesn't show anything like you've described....https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Road_s...:_ExclusionaryQuote:
Originally Posted by johnboy
Groan!Quote:
Originally Posted by rspears
Mea culpa...I've got the brains of a stick...and a brittle one at that...likely to snap at any moment.
I wrote green, when I meant to write BLUE!
Total tossed egg.
I looked through what you posted Roger, (thanks for that, much appreciated!) the blue one with the H denoting Hospital was one of what I was looking at.
But what do the other letters denote?
The other letters are probably county road designations. Depending on the State, some county roads are letters and some are numbers.Quote:
Originally Posted by johnboy
N is for New Zealanders crossing, C is for see it's right there, J is for jalopes ahead, bb is simply for Big Block V8's required ahead, and lastly E is for Entertaining trip in store for you! ;)
Monday 14th September.
Back to Jefferson’s Monticello, the gates opened at 8:30, we were there at 8:33…got an excellent parking place and went on the first shuttle ride up to the ‘Big Hoose’ itself.
An extremely interesting place; the man was an innovator, a thinker, trying to make the ideas from the past (from the great philosophers, inventors, and architects,) work better in his today.
Some things he succeeded with…others…nah.
One such dumb-ass idea was for the marital bed to be enclosed in an alcove on three sides. I could’ve saved him the bother of trying that idea; we once had a caravan set up like that, and if I wanted to get out in the middle of the night I had to crawl over the missus.
Which did not impress her…so that’s a no-no Tom!
He was obviously an astute politician too…but having said that; who knows of any politician ever who has practised what he preached?
There’s no such creature…never has been; never will be.
(And if you do happen to find one shoot the bastard quick before he turns bad!)
And so it was with Jefferson…famous for espousing the ideals of: “all men are born equal” and have a right to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
And kept two hundred slaves.
Whipped them if they displeased him, (not himself personally; his overseer did that,) and if they really upset him, he sold them.
It didn’t matter if families were broken up…they were only slaves.
So it didn’t matter.
He freed only seven in his lifetime.
And most of them were his own progeny.
He may have been a great man, and done great things; but he was also a First Class hypocrite.
And I’m sure that if I’d met him I wouldn’t have liked him.
Admired him for what he achieved…yes.
Liked him…no.
But the place itself is well worth visiting. We spent four hours there, and enjoyed the trip through the past.
Okay…set our sights on the Virginia Holocaust Museum, 2000 E Cary St, Richmond VA 23223
Pulled up, parked in a park dedicated to Holocaust Museum Visitors Only…and couldn’t find the place.
I finished up asking a UPS driver where it was…”Right there,” he said, “up those steps and along that deck. You’ll find them.”
Well I couldn’t.
A few Minutes later he walked around the corner with a parcel to deliver to them,
‘Oops,” he said, “they’re closed!”
So we elected to visit The Museum and White House of the Confederacy, and the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Museum, both at 1201 E Clay St., Richmond 23219.
Wandered around for twenty minutes or so and couldn’t find them.
So gave up.
Right…keep on truckin’ for Geppi’s Entertainment Museum, 301 W Camden St., Baltimore 21201.
And got seriously caught in traffic.
3:45 I said to Rick “This is a waste of time. By the time we get there we won’t have time to see the place. Pull off, we’ll find a motel, crash for the night, and go look for Geppi’s to-morrow.”
So that’s what we did…and finished up in the grot-shop to end all grot-shops of a motel in Marilyn Baltimore.
$50 per unit per night. Cash only, no credit cards, no cheques, no wifi.
Crikey; there’s not even a wall plug that will accept my 3-pin adaptor for my pooter!
Thankfully the battery’s charged.
But it does have a microwave and a fridge.
The Boulevard Motel, 7436 Washington Blvd., Elkridge MD 21075
And yes; they’re either Indian or Pakistani.
Tuesday 15th September.
First stop was Geppi’s Entertainment Museum 301 W Camden St., Baltimore 21201.
Found the place alright, but parking was a bit of a problem; took around thirty minutes to find a parking building.
But we got there eventually.
“Is there a discount for geriatrics?”
Blank stare.
“No; just for Vets, serving members of the Armed Services and old people.”
“We” (indicating,) “are old people. Geriatrics.”
“Oh.”
Sheesh.
It’s true.
Some people do have stupid children that don’t know their own language.
And we went on to pend a happy couple of hours remembering Bringing Up Father with Jiggs and Maggie, (corned beef and cabbage,) Lil Abner of Dogpatch, Pop-eye and Olive Hoyle, Snow White and Doc, Sneezy, Bashful, Dopey, Happy, Grumpy, and Sleepy with their ‘I owe, I owe, it’s off to work we go’ song, Dick Tracy…
And many, many, more.
Well worth the visit…although nearly thirty bucks for parking took a bit of the gloss off.
And trucked off to Newark where we’re ensconced in a very clean and tidy Super 8 that’s also being run by Indians or Pakis.
So there ya go…
One thing I have noticed is that the ever-present golden-rod is nowhere near as prevalent over here…can’t know the reason why not.
Wednesday 16th September.
First stop was the Franklin Institute, 271 N 21st St. Philadelphia 19103.
They had a ‘special’ exhibition showing the life and times of Genghis Kahn which proved to be extremely interesting.
A man ahead of his time in so many ways.
(The exhibition is on until January 3rd, so if you’re going to be in the area I would reccomend making the effort to see it.)
The rest of the Institute was interesting too; we spent about four hours there ( at around the $40 per head mark I wanted my money’s worth!) until the young ones started showing signs of boredom..
Okay; so what’s a trip to Philadelphia without a look at the Liberty Bell?
So that was the next stop.
The parking we found meant a fair sort of a hike to 5th St and Market where the bell is, but the heat wasn’t too bad so we made it okay.
And then we couldn’t really get near the thing for bloody Japanese tourists!
But we can say we’ve seen it…even if we couldn’t get close to it…bloody tourists… they should be banned!
And that filled the whole day.
All good.
Thursday 17th September.
Away by 8:15 this morning, we’ve got a lot of miles to cover.
Driving through Chester County I noted several huge cowshed/dairy type operations all with minimal or no paddock grazing…they couldn’t graze…there were no fences.
Their entire farms were either just recently cropped, growing crops, or being prepared for growing crops.
And the silage bunkers were huge; some of them would hold around five thousand tons…and there were many of them.
These would be factory farms on a massive scale…I’m sure these fellas have done their maths on it; but it wouldn’t work in NZ.
The capital involved in machinery and buildings, the labour involved, nah; the sums wouldn’t add up.
Our system is simple, with minimal input for maximum return.
She and I ran our place for years with just the two of us apart from during the spring calving time when we usually employed a solo mum to feed the calves twice a day for about twelve weeks.
And we were milking 250 cows. Not a great number; but quite respectable.
These people would need a minimum of three full-time tractor drivers to contend with feeding at least twice a day, mucking out and spreading muck, and cultivating and harvesting crops.
Then at least another two staff to milk…as well as someone to relief milk and drive on days off.
These fellas would have to be being heavily subsidised. Otherwise the numbers just wouldn’t add up.
(It was mainly through development phases that we employed full-time staff; when I was spending all day on machinery.)
At Brentwood there was a mob of polys paddock grazing, running with one of the most magnificent poly bulls I’ve ever seen…standing there on a slight rise…”Who wuld dare meddle wi’ me!” written all over him.
Beautiful.
A bloody gorgeous specimen.
In the Paradise area there were a few smaller (50 – 80) fresian herds being paddock grazed; well conditioned and good pasture management skills.
These totally enclosed battery-type ‘cowsheds’ are thick on the ground around Ephrata. If subsidies were to be removed or cut there’s gonna be a lot of pain and tears out there.
Towards Trexlertown more vineyards were appearing; it must be getting too dry for cattle.
Camelback Mountain…lots of bush (woods, I think the locals call them,) no or little undergrowth…and yep, next thing a sign saying: ‘Deer next 4.5 miles.’
And goldenrod is appearing again.
Over Mt Polono and The Endless Mountain Ranges. The scenery is just bloody gorgeous.
Harford; and some fella is spreading lime over his paddocks with a bulk spreader.
Strange. I had noticed none of the obvious (to me) indications of low pH. Perhaps I’m missing something, ‘cos I would think that he would know what he was doing.
And overnighting at a motel in Bainbridge NY 13733 called Algonkin Motel, owned and run by true-blue Americans; not Pakistanis, Indians, or Koreans, who are spending money on improving and maintaining the place, not milking it.
As we pulled in today they were just finishing re-sealing the entire forecourt.
The American entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well.
You go you good people!
(And it’s clean and tidy, with smoking rooms, has a fridge, a microwave, and three chairs!)
Which "golden-rod" are you speaking of? The flowering plant, or something else? Just curious, 'cause the phrase made my ears perk up, figuratively.
.
The flowering plant.
Is there another sort?
Am I missing something exciting here?
Nah, not really. There is a dehumidifier that is used in safes and other closed spaces to keep moisture at bay, that is called a golden rod; and since you used the word ubiquitous, I wondered if it was something exclusive to New Zealand an/or other environs that was common in "let" accommodations, sort of like a Mezuzah, that little icon that Jewish folks put on their door posts. An idle mind finds all sorts of things to be curious about, especially when it is not very well traveled.
.
Nah...it was the flowering plant that I was referring to.
Further west it seemed to be the 'weed of choice', invading any and every space available to it.
But the further east we travelled so we saw less and less of it.
Until yesterday.
It would appear it doesn't like harsh treatment; being not so obvious in areas that are regularly mown or cropped.
Friday 18th September.
Got talking to a permanent resident at the motel last night, helluva nice bloke. Told us little anecdotes about growing up in the area that he has lived in all his life; apart from a Tour of Duty in Vietnam.
When we left Rosie gave him the rest of our perishables: butter, bread, milk, tomatoes etc., ‘cos they’d be throw-aways after spending today in a hot car.
He shot off to put them in his fridge, and came back a few minutes later with a wee porcelain squirrel, which he gave to Rosie, “To remind you of old Rich from Bainbridge when you get back to NZ,” he said.
That was bloody good of him, and much appreciated.
8:15 departure, a fog keeping visibility and temperatures well down…all good about the temperature!
Crikey but there are some big hills out there! And lots of them…they stretch for bloody miles in every direction! (I know; ‘cos we stopped at the top of one range and looked.)
Around Cooperstown we went through several deep shaded cuttings, one side of them being perpetually damp and never seeing the sun.
Sphagnum moss! And in great quantities too! I’m surprised none of the locals have taken it upon themselves to harvest and market that…a good little tax-free pocket money earner.
A lot of the land under-utilised and reverting; a very sad sight to see…apart from the ‘factory farms’ that were scattered here and there, the overall impression of rural America is of run-down and dilapidated, uncared for poverty-stricken farms and people.
My heart goes out to them…I can equate with how frustrating it must be.
An awful lot of the arable land is being utilised, and very well too; but there’s an awful lot that’s not.
But it’s not just the rural areas; we’ve seen it in the big cities too…middle America is suffering…the small Ma and Pa businesses/entrepreneurs…and until their problems are solved the whole system will stagnate.
Kept truckin’ on to arrive at the Mark Twain House and Museum, 351 Farmington Ave., Hartford Connecticut 06105 around 2:30, in time to take the hour-long 3:00 tour.
I must admit to being a tad disappointed with the tour, the guide was a young university student; full of education but no real knowledge.
I know for a certainty that I, with my meagre knowledge of the man, could have fleshed the story out to make the man become more real…more ‘alive’.
Still…ya pays ya money ya takes ya chances.
Overnighting at a Super 8 motel about 2.5 miles from the museum…and yep; it’s being run by a fella named Singh...
Been to his house nice place, based o a sad story of being broke and needed to entertain big wigs to get by!
Saturday 19th September.
Knowing that the Harriet Beecher Stowe centre didn’t open until 9:30, so aimed to arrive bang on the dot. Which we did; to be told: “We’re expecting a tour group here shortly; could you come back around 11:00?”
Nope.
I would’ve read Uncle Tom’s Cabin better than fifty years ago, and frankly, don’t remember much about it now.
Reality is that we were only going to go to the Centre because we were there where it is.
So we headed off to the Springfield Museums 21 Edwards St Springfield MA 01103
‘Four Museums on one Site!’ was the blurb.
Two of them were closed.
But what was available filled in about four hours. (And I purely loved the Dr Seuss sculptures!)
Okay; truck off to Gillette’s Castle, 67 River Rd., East Haddam, 06423
Gillette himself was a movie star in the 1920s and made a heap of dosh…so he proceeded to spend it.
On building himself a castle.
If you’re thinking about visiting it…don’t.
It’s gross.
It epitomises excessive money and an utter and absolute lack of taste.
It’s worse than gross…it’s an obscenity.
The five minute ferry trip was of far more value.
So started heading for Cape Cod..
Got as far as Groton, thought we’d find a motel for the night. Only to find all those we tried were full! (Or had they been warned of our imminent arrival?)
Finished up in Quality Inn, 404 Bridge St Groton 06340 at a cost of twice per unit than what we’ve been paying.
Ouch!
Johnboy, I am a bee keeper and when the bees start putting on honey from goldenrod you might as well scrap it by feeding it back to them in the winter, the honey smells like dirty gym socks, and taste worse. Now I know its in full bloom time to collect the honey and hope they haven't started storing it yet!Quote:
Originally Posted by johnboy
Yeah; his whole life story is a bit sad really.Quote:
Originally Posted by stovens
Fortunes made and lost, only one of his kids living to any age, and she never married to give him grandchildren.
But he still left a great legacy behind with the words he wrote.
A literary master.
Nay...genius.
It's obviously an aggressively invasive weed; although it doesn't seem to be able to handle 'hard' treatment, e.g. bruising, crushing, or mowing.Quote:
Originally Posted by Matthyj
And the prolificacy of it is astonishing. I'm surprised its not been posted as noxious, with compulsory clearing orders.
Hopefully you noticed a bit more "quality" (no pun intended) in the lodgings for the added price...Quote:
Originally Posted by johnboy
This sounds like a great roadtrip! You've hit some unique and cool spots on your journey. I'd love to explore the north east. Are you getting in alot of fall colors with trees turning, or is it a bit early yet? It's getting cool at night in California, but still hot day times
There's a lesson there, Johnboy; I won't speculate on what it might be because different folks have different strokes, but think we can always take something from everything we do. Glad you enjoyed the ferry ride, short as it was.Quote:
Originally Posted by johnboy
.
No.Quote:
Originally Posted by rspears
The 'Quality' part of the name was definitely false advertising; it was no better than anything we've stayed in so far.
Thanks Steve...we're a bit early for any spectacular colour changes in the leaves, but some are starting to turn, and it's becoming obvious that it would be bloody gorgeous to see in full fall.Quote:
Originally Posted by stovens
In light of what you said I went out this morning, found me some goldenrod, pulled it, (it has a fibrous root system as against a tap root like a carrot,) crushed it, (flowers and leaves,) smelt it, and yes; it's not the most salubrious of smells.Quote:
Originally Posted by Matthyj
Not too bad when done like that, but when concentrated, as in honey...yuck!
Sunday 20th September.
A bit slow getting away this morning; it’s like trying to push water uphill with a rake with this lot.
But we were on the road a bit after nine…crikey, I’d been up and about since 5:15.
If I’d been on my own I would’ve been away by 7:00 at the latest.
Headed for Cape Cod and the Sandwich Glass Museum, 129 Main St. Sandwich MA 02563
Coming out of Groton at Clarks Falls I noticed where someone had been clearing some light bush with a digger (what the locals in their lack of knowledge apparently call a track-hoe,) and had gone about it all wrong.
Limbs had been torn off before the stump was out, and there had been no effort made to windrow at all.
It’s a bit of a blow to the pride to realise you’re an anachronism…something from the past with skills that are just not known today.
And not often needed.
Got to Sandwich at lunch-time, so ate at the restaurant just past the Glass Museum.
A good feed at a reasonable price…recommended.
Then to the Dexters Grist Mill, a water-wheel powered mill that has been in this spot since the late 1600s.
Rebuilt in the 60s – 70s with period correct (but not original) timbers.
It’s an undershot, with an extremely short (8 – 10ft?) race from the mill pond, so there was very little (if any,) control of the flow and therefore the speed of the wheel.
But his is a good place!
They set it running, and allowed me to crawl around seeing just exactly which does what and what does which.
I seem to remember it was $6 per head; money well spent.
Scoring an 8+
So…across the road to the Glass Museum.
This is purely get-‘em-in-and-gut-’em.
You pay to enter the place to peruse their wares…the prices are well out of the range of these poor peasants from the bush…for sure there was stuff available for relatively low prices but it was tat.
Sideshow tat you’d find at the fair.
Although there was a glass-blowing exhibition thrown in with the entry fee.
That turned in to a debacle…okay; so perhaps he had a bad hair day…we all do occasionally.
But when I’m paying to watch you create something…and you don’t…not good.
Score 4-
And on to Orleans to book in to ‘Olde (sic) Tavern Motel’ for a couple of nights while we explore the area.
While I typed this up SWMBO and Rick went shopping.
She came back with three bottles of Arrogant Bastard for me.
I think She’s a keeper.
Rang Mike, 34_40 from CHR, and have arranged to meet to-morrow.
All good.
It's a bit late to be mentioning it at this point, but since you're all family an alternative to booking two rooms at every stop might be to move up to something like Comfort Inn & Suites, and book a suite that has a separate bedroom with a sleeper couch out in the common area, along with a bit more of a kitchenette. Might not save much in total cost if you're saying that the Quality Inn was twice the cost of what you've been paying. Just a thought, and this is after I had the experience of paying more than 2X normal rates in Ottawa, $140/night all in with a two night minimum just because they knew they could get it for the big car show weekend.... I'm still fuming a bit with that turn.
Johnboy, it's a trackhoe everywhere in the US. If it's on the back of a tractor, it's a backhoe. If I had asked my pipeline contractor to bring out a digger, he probably would have showed up with a laborer and a spade. ;)
Johnboy, I just discovered that gooseberry ranches are legal in NZ! Wow, that explains why everyone I meet from NZ is always smiling.
Johnboy, After hearing from you the goldenrod was fully in bloom I pulled off some honey today, I caught a small whiff of dirty socks out of one frame so they (the bees) are packing it in, you might have saved me a 1/2 gallon of good honey by not mixing it!Quote:
bad when done like that, but when concentrated, as in honey...yuck!
On another note I love your journal you are writing, it gives us a great take on what some of us are to familiar with and never have looked at through "visitors' eyes. You have also refrained from letting us know how egotistical and arrogant our culture and people can be as i have heard from other tourist in the past!