vacation photos

1. Boston Mansion




















2. Cape Cod - Funhouse Mirror




















3. Pirates Cruise - Plymouth, MA















4. Doorway - Boston



















5. Crows' Nest - Mayflower II - Plymouth, MA

Tough NY Cows

The exposure on these cows is off but I just love the way they were looking at me. Denis was afraid I was going to start a stampede as they became quite vocal. All but one cow eventually left me but the lone remaining cow was enormous and told me just what she thought of my intrusion. It didn't take long for her to intimidate me and send me running for the safety of the car.

Civil War Muster, Jackson, MI

Lake George, NY

afternoon nap

color guard

civil war muster

civil war muster - character

technical difficulties - part II

You may have noted that two entries, civil war muster and civil war character, have been deleted. When I "blogged" the two photos from my flickr.com account, the side bar information moved to the bottom of my page and nothing seemed to correct the problem not even restarting with a new template. The obvious answer seemed to be deleting the entries, which I have done. They will be reentered but with the attach method.

technical difficulties

please, be patient... i am trying to fix a few problems with the blog template.

Day 7 - Exploring Vermont

Vermont woke us to a colorful day. Cameras, film and tripods were carefully tucked into the back of Denis’ trusty Subaru, plans for the day loaded in the gps and we headed out. It was the banners of hand-stitched quilts that prompted us to stop just 7 miles into our drive and that set a precedence. We drove the winding mountain (mountains by Vermont standards) roads stopping at Waitsfield, Warren, Sugarbush, etc…. Gift shops and country stores all carried the maple syrup, cedar cheese, maple candy and ham that Vermont is well known for.
Although we were on a general mission to get to know Vermont, we were also in search of yarn stores and a cheese factory. Denis wanted to take a tour and sample the many levels of sharpness available in Vermont cedar. A local glass artist suggested we visit the shop of a spinner whom has a "small" place with some handspun yarns and knitting/spinning accessories. The shop was indeed "small", it was about 6' x 8' with wheels and a hitch. The doors were open and an open cash draw sat beneath a sign that instructed customers to use cash and make their own change or write a check. (Pictures not yet developed, but will be included at a later date).
We didn't make it to a cheese factory and only traveled about 40 miles total today. The sun was threatening to leave us so we decided to call it a day and find a restaurant. If we had known Columbus Day was so important in this part of the country we would have made reservations. With the help of the maiterde at the The The Common Man we found a little restaurant, Easy Street Cafe , and pub, Purple Moon Pub. While we waited for a table we had a drink at the Purple Moon. Being in an adventurous mood, I asked a bearded, scruffy local man what I should try. His suggestion was the Harvest Martini, a desert like mixture of vodka, apple cider and maple syrup. Yum! I recommend it. Our dinner at the Easy Street Café (scrod for Denis and shellfish soba noodles for me) was surprisingly good. We took our time, talking and people watching while we ate, then headed back to rest up for Day 8 and our trip home.
Harvest Martini: Equal parts vodka and apple cider with a splash of maple syrup. Shake over ice and strain into a martini glass edged with cinnamon sugar.

Day 6 - Arriving Late in Vermont

We weren't anxious to leave the Cape so we took a walk down along the water front before heading to Vermont. It would normally take five hours to reach the Mad River Barn Inn but we ran into construction, an accident and rush hour in Boston. Instead of the planned 6p arrival, we pulled into the inn at 9:30p.
Set in the fall colored mountains, the inn consisted of an old barn made into an inn, bar and restaurant with an old carriage house that added another 6 rooms. The old woman who owns and operates the place casually left a card out with our names on it and a key to our room for the next couple days. We didn't quite understand the process so we called to her and she came out to explain. Breakfast, she said, was to be 8 - 8:30a. Denis and I looked at each other not comprehending. "But how long is it served?" Denis inquired. The answer... 8:30! (Being extreme nightowls we were taken abit back but managed to catch the early breakfast both days we stayed at the inn.)
We hesitantly took the key and headed for the barn. The room was actually several charming rooms, a kitchenette and bathroom. Reminiscent of my grandmother's house, each bed was covered with a handmade quilt. Everything was scrubbed clean and there was little to decorate the walls, excepting a framed posted of a random NYC art exhibit from the 1970's (Grandma wouldn't have gone for that.) The old inn have an accrid smell that made it difficult for me to breath. The smell was beginning to scratch at my throat and breathing was difficult. I coughed and weezed. Denis quided me outside and contacted the owner. Fortunately, the reaction was only to this first building and she was able to put us up in the carriage house. With its cold plaid wall paper, Murphy bed and pull out couches, it wasn't quite as charming as the first room but at least I could breath.
Plans for Day 7... pick up some Claritin and explore the many small towns in the immediate vicinity.

Day 5 - Boston and Cape Cod

Fanagel-a-Bagel worked out for us yesterday so we did it again. The bagel cutter there is amazing. When a bagel is ordered the cashier places it on a conveyor that is punctuated with a circular saw blade near the center. When the bagel hits the blade it picks up speed, is cut through and is sent flying to the other end of the conveyor where it is made into a sandwich/or whatever. The bagel is sent with such speed and force to the other end I have to wonder how many F-a-B employees have been injured by a flying bagel.
After breakfast, we hiked up Beacon Hill, Boston's most exclusive neighborhood and saw the home of Mr. and Mrs. John Hines-Kerry. Not far from the Kerry's estate we stopped at the pub where "Everybody knows you name"... Cheers! Unfortunately, the pub was closed but the gift shop was open. At 25% off I picked up souvenirs for the whole family.
Back at the Omni-Parker Hotel, we grabbed our luggage and car and headed out for Cape Cod and a short stop to see Plymouth Rock, the Mayflower II and Plimoth Plantation.
Did you know that Plymouth Rocks has been dropped and broken a couple of times? There is a huge mended gap along the whole front of the stone. After several damaging attempts to protect and display the rock it has found a somewhat secure home beneath a Roman style colonnade. To tell you the truth, the dull lump of grey granite was a bit of a disappointment. It is so... ordinary, almost ugly. The reconstructed Mayflower (Mayflower II) and its stories were much more interesting. Over 100 people lived for over 60 days in the bowels of the ship, out of the way of the crew, without light (as a flame was a danger to the ship) and with hardly room to move. They made the voyage with the same number of people they had left England with, losing one during the voyage and gaining a new baby along the way. It was the first winter in New England that took the lives of 50% of the pilgrims. Proudly, I located the name of my ancestor, Edward Doty, who came to America aboard the Mayflower.
In "Ye Olde Gifte Shoppe" I found a silver Mayflower for my charm bracelet and off we headed for Cape Cod - Provincetown.
I'll sum Provincetown and Cape Cod up as succinctly as possible...
Quaint bed & breakfast, German tourists, gay community, galleries and small shops, sand, wind, pomegranate martinis and lobster, a comfy bed, hot shower, espresso, fruit and yogurt, a windy walk on the beach, incredible waves, knocked the sand from my shoes, brushed the sand from my hair - beautiful!

Day 4 - Boston

It was 78 degrees, sunny and beautiful. We grabbed a quick breakfast at Fanagle-a-Bagel and the metro to the Fine Arts Museum of Boston.

Side Note: Denis and I make great traveling partners with the exception of eating. He loves to skip breakfast and lunch for the sake of time economy and pack in as much as he can in one massive meal (dinner) a day. On the other side of eating, I eat a light breakfast, good-sized lunch and a light dinner. I may skip much of my working out while vacationing but I just can't compromise my nutrition. He, now, tolerates my eating habits and I tolerate his looking a bit annoyed when we have to make a stop for sustenance. I try not to make too many critical comments about his large dinner - after all, they are usually delicious!

The fine art museum was much like every other large city art museum and it would have been a pleasure to take more time there but since time was limited we breezed through a few permanent exhibits and took a more leisurely pace through the "Soviet Textile" and "Past to Present Japan" exhibits. Both traveling displays were something new to me. The Soviet textiles were from a 5 year period when the country was trying to catch up with the rest of the modernized world. There was all kinds of propaganda incorporated into the fabric designs, some more subtle than others. One of the most unsubtle was a floral pattern with the hammer and sickle woven amongst the petals. Although the pattern designs were interesting many women couldn't find it in themselves to use for dresses or household use and the government became frustrated with the designers’ infighting, so the idea of propagandizing fabrics was dismissed. The Japanese display showed the interesting changes that took place when the Japanese first decided to open their doors to Westerners and their influences. Traditional techniques of painting were used by some artists to paint Western ideas and some artists began to incorporate Western techniques into their works. A particular artist began to paint outside the Japanese standard, added more movement and emotion to his pieces. He was accused of painting under the influence of "sake".

Day 3

This is a sad day for me. At 9:35a, I looked through the view-finder of my Sony Cybershot, which I bought a year and 15 days ago, to find fine grey lines. A quick stop at a Boston Ritz Camera for a brief diagnosis... I didn't realize a digital camera can suffer from enlarged pixelization. Sony will probably fix it for me for a couple of hundred dollars. great. a couple of hundred dollars... I'll just pull it out of my *%)*#@%! (wallet). After a couple of tears, I corrected my attitude and made up my mind not to let it ruin the rest of my vacation. Therefore, any photos on this blog for the duration of my vacation will either be taken by Denis or me with Denis' camera.
Today, we did the museum things. First we stopped at the Museum of Fine Art - Boston and then on to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. At the first museum, we took in an interesting exhibit of Russian textiles from the early 1920's and 30's. An interesting incorporation of propaganda and flowers/etc. The ISG was Ms. Gardner's private residence, which she left to the people of Boston with the promise they would perserve her things just as she had them and to only show the artwork that she had originally collected. 16 years ago there was a break in at the museum and several important pieces were taken and haven't been yet retrieved. Instead of rearranging things the empty frames hang as left by the robbers.
Along our way we saw several gorgeous brownstones and the bar "Cheers" which inspired the hit television show.

Day 2

We woke early (8ish, yes that's early for us as we were up processing photos until 2:30a), had a syrupy breakfast and made a b-line for the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, MA. I am not much for overly sentimental art so it was a little much for me but it was intereting.
Next stop... Woburn, MA., which was founded by my great, great, great..... great grandfather, Deacon Edward Converse. He arrived in the U.S. in 1630 and built the first house in Woburn/Winchester, MA. After a bit of researching and leg work we found the location, the Converse Bridge and where "ye olde" Converse Mill and Mill Pond are. IWe, also, found the cemetary were several Converse's are buried (from the 1600's), Deacon Edward Converse's is the oldest headstone in the cemetary. It was a red banner day. Enjoy the documentation.

The Falls

The "FALLS"! Of course, you didn't expect the usual photos of the Falls. You can get those any place.

Those crazy Germans!

Being the "international" city that it is we encountered a barrage of different languages and some excellent people watching. Here are Hans and Johan, just in from Munich to celebrate Octoberfest with some Molson.

Clifton Hill

We trucked up Clifton Hill, on the Canadian side for a montage of Niagra culture.

mirror mirror

Day 1: New England
We sat out at approximately 10a from Ann Arbor and stopped for a walk around Niagra.