Just another day

It was just another day in Kennebunkport, also known as Paradise.

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The Last Look

After taking a few pictures inside the terminal at Boston’s Logan International, I went outside to get a shot of the skyline. There, a state trooped in storm boots and Jodhpurs told me I wasn’t allowed to take pictures here since 9.11, and that was why he was there. I think he meant the rules were not posted but he was just being an asshole.

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The Wedding Cake House

The Wedding Cake House

The Wedding Cake House stands out as one of the more ornate homes in Kennebunkport and is known as the most photographed house in Maine. Doing the tourist thing, I too photographed the house.

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Kennebunk Beach

At the beach in Kennebunk

We spent a good part of Tuesday at the beach, stopping first at the tourist trap known as Kennebunkport. You might remember this as President Bush’s summer retreat. It was called Walker Point when I lived in the area. Walker is where the “W” in Bush’s name comes from. I never liked the tourists this town depends on and who now come by the bus load to shop and look at the autumn foliage after the summer season. Yesterday I was a tourist and it was painful.

The weather was windy, cold and cloudy and the blue-haired leaf peepers stayed in the shops and off the beach. We did run into a young couple from Nebraska who wanted me to take their picture with the ocean in the background. Resisting the temptation to crack wise about the long drive to the beach, I took their photo and they took ours.

As we slowly cruised south toward Parson’s Beach, Gerda took pictures of the ridiculously expensive houses along the way. Maine was once part of Massachusetts, and the good citizens of Boston looked on it as a backwater to be plundered for the tall timber. Many of these homes are owned by folks from Massachusetts. Not much has changed, except the 300 foot pines are gone.

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Blue Roof

Blue sky above Burger King

We stopped at a Burger King somewhere in Connecticut and I could not resist the blue on blue shot here.

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Leaving Pennsylvania

Getting ready to leave Pennsylvania today. Dave called on his way home from work (don’t you just hate morning watch?) and said to grab the camera and he’d take me down to the lake. Good call, as this was a nice scene and one I will long remember.

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One wrong turn

I made one wrong turn and ended up with a GPS. 

Everything was going fine; I had driven the entire length of Virginia without a misstep. So, heading to West Virginia and following the directions given me, I got off I-81 and called as planned. Since I got off at exit 16 E, I just knew I would have to continue going east to get to the pre-arranged meeting point. And since I knew what I was doing, I didn’t bother to listen. I do that a lot.

I kept driving the in wrong direction, eventually seeing a Food Lion and a High School I was told to look for but I never did see the Burger King where we were supposed to meet up (if you drive long enough in this part of the country, you will see a Food Lion and you will see a high school). After about 30 minutes, I realised I was doing something wrong and should call. My cell phone was dead as a door nail, and of course there are no longer any pay phones around. But eventually I did find a phone, got directions and was able to retrace my steps.  My friend met us in the parking lot where I began this odyssey and gave me his GPS. I was to follow him to the house, but if we were separated in traffic to use the GPS and follow the directions this device would give me. It worked perfectly and I decided to get my own. I call it “Gerda’s Prevention System” because it prevents cursing, high blood pressure, hypertension and a host of other health related problems. I think it is well worth the money. I still don’t listen to people as much as I should because that’s the way I am. But I do listed to the GPS because I’m not yet sure I know more than TomTom.

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The Hideout

Roaming Wood Lake

We are chillin’ at the Hideout, that is to say in Hamlin (Lake Ariel) with the Mrad family. Good to see them all. Dave and Aaron (yes, this is the correct spelling) haven’t changed a bit. However . . . the kids have. Dave says regular feedings and plenty of water made them grow so big.

We took a walk down to one of the lakes this morning and it was pretty cold and windy. Not used to this kind of weather but now the sun is out and the sky is clear as a bell, which is a welcome change from yesterday’s rain.

Dave in all his glory

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On the Blue Ridge Parkway

Gerda took this picture (unedited) of the Blue Ridge Parkway our first day out. It’s typical of the scenery encountered around every curve in the road. Driving the Parkway was like watching a National Geographic special in an IMAX theater, only better. Toward evening, you welcome the dimming light as relief from color overload.

We started out on the Parkway just north of Roanoke, VA. I thought we would make it all the way to the end the first day, see the Sky Line Drive the next and be in West Virginia by dinner time. I suppose it would have been possible to push on and do just that, but each overlook was too inviting. Pretty soon in the day we realized we would want to spend more time relaxing and enjoying the trip so we did just that.

We hadn’t covered a lot of miles by the end of the day . . . but everyone one of them was beautiful.

Near the end of the day.

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More on the Road

It’s early and still quiet in the motel we found at the end of the day yesterday. It looked better than the handful of others in Staunton, but looks can be deceiving. In this case, the place looks new from the outside, but isn’t. Not all of the rooms have internet connections and I had to use a wireless adapter. It is SLOW and I can’t do much with pictures, let alone watch the latest episode of Rosenheim Cops.

We drove 209 miles in four hours on the first day of this trip, and 82 miles all day yesterday. But these were the prettiest 82 miles I’ve ever seen. The weather was perfect all day, warm and sunny – not a cloud in the sky. Hope this keeps up but won’t be disappointed if it doesn’t. It is fall, after all.

I’m going to try and get a few pictures ready for posting. We’ve taken so many I am in danger of being overloaded with editing work. Probably spend half this coming winter just working on that. Gerda took better pictures with her little point and shoot camera, so anything I post that looks good was probably her shot.

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