Sunday, January 31, 2010

Moon over Indiana

We had a pleasant 6 hour drive today through Ohio and into Indiana.  The land became flatter and flatter as we went along.  Acres of fallow corn fields dotted with corn stalk stacks accompanied us.  We had a great lunch at Rudy's Smokehouse Barbeque in Springfield, OH. We drove into Indianapolis to the setting sun.  Tonight there was a huge, beautiful yellow moon on the horizon.  We are sleeping in Indianapolis tonight as a stop over on our way to Springfield, IL where we will pay homage to Old Abe and see his library and homestead.
Lucas Oil Stadium, home of the Indianapolis Colts.  Go Saints!!!!!

Saturday, January 30, 2010

We've Got Friends in Pennsylvania

Yesterday was a driving day spent watching the country side of New England pass by on our way to Pennsylvania and listening to Stephen King's Under the Dome. It was very cold, single digits and quite windy. But the skies were bright. We arrived in Sharon, PA to the light of a full moon, a great Portuguese dinner of moules and pork, plenty of wine and invigorating conversation until 3am. We solved all of Obama's problems and determined the relative merits of artificially aerated wine vs straight from the bottle wine. At the end of the evening no one gave a damn. I suggest Congress try this approach to bipartisanship.
Today we toured Sharon, PA with our friends. It was very cold, 21F. We took a walk through the beautiful Buhl Mansion and tonight will have dinner at Tara.
Shenango Valley viewed from Ohio.

Bulh Park

John with the Bulls.  He's shy.

Thursday, January 28, 2010

Adventure Eve

'Twas the night before our departure and all through the house was excitement and joy.  We've planned, packed and prepared for a 2 month road trip that will take us from the east coast of Massachusetts to the west coast of California on to both coasts of Florida and back again.   We will spend 18 days on the road to California looking for spacious skies, amber waves of grain beneath the snow, and purple mountain majesties above the frozen plain.  Main stops will be in PA to visit friends, IL to take in Lincoln's library and grave, Kansas City for BBQ and jazz, Denver, and the Utah National Parks of Arches, Bryce's Canyon and Zion.  From Zion we will head to Encinitas, CA for 10 days where we will see our sweet Bonnie and her family as well as side trips yet to be determined.
Our return trip will be a 14 day trip that stops in Fort Lauderdale, FL for 2 weeks. We begin the return with a stop at the Petrified Forest in AZ before heading to Taos and Santa Fe, NM for 6 days.  From NM we head to Magnolia, AR to see my lovely mother for a few days.  Then on to Fort Lauderdale, FL for 2 weeks of sunshine and a Red Sox ballgame.  Finally, as we head back north and pray for signs of spring, we will stop in DC to see Adam and his family as well as my aunt and uncle.  So, come along for the trip if you want to read some corny reporting and see some beautiful pictures.
Bon voyage, frozen land.



Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Prep Work


Believe it or not in addition to all the things one must do to prepare for an extended trip, I had to trap a cat. 'twas a cute cat. But a feral female cat none the less. The last thing I wanted to do was return home to a pride of cats. I don't know how to herd cats. So this morning I set the trap, caught the cute thing with a can of tuna, and took her to the animal rescue people. Six hours later she is in the cellar minus her ovaries, etc. I have to keep the poor thing inside for 3 days. But I feel better now. That big gray tom that has been lurking in the woods will just have to move along.

I just realized this is a strange way to introduce a blog. Perhaps tomorrow I will explain myself.