From the Washington Post: Across the country, pollen season is starting earlier and intensifying because of rising global temperatures and carbon dioxide concentrations. Previous research showed that pollen season lengthened by 20 days over the past three decades across North America, while pollen concentrations increased by 21 percent. The most affected places were the U.S. Southeast and Midwest. Read on...
Today was a great day with the ladies. In the morning Hope wasnt feeling well so she went to the doctor and I worked on lessons plans from home. Irene took me to the office around 11am so I could print material for the lessons. We grabbed a Rolex for lunch, but this time we added in a pork sausage link. It was a great addition. We joined the ladies in the afternoon for their first official lesson. Read on...
Our spring trip this year was a cruise on the Carnival Sunshine to the Southern Caribbean, visiting Curaao, Aruba and Grand Turk. I had not visited the ABC islands before or the Turks & Caicos, so this was all new territory! We arrived in Cape Canaveral , Florida, the day before our cruise was to sail. As is our usual custom, we drove from Springfield, Virginia, over two days, spending a night at Read on...
Grant Parks beginnings dates back to 1835, when citizens, lakefront development, lobbied to protect the open space. As a result, the parks original area east of Michigan Avenue was designated public ground forever to remain vacant of buildings.
After the Great Fire of 1871, the area became a dump site for piles of charred rubble, the first of many landfill additions.
In 1901, the city transferre Read on...
Boy, is it good to get out and doing a little traveling! Even if it just a two night trip. Took the Black Beast (AKA R8) to the historical section of Charleston. Leona and I had been there over 30 years ago, however, it was mostly a tennis trip with a week spent at Wild Dunes. Unfortunately, the week after we left in 1989, Hugo caused a lot of damage to the area. On this trip, the focus was more o Read on...
Carnival Sunshine arrived off Curaao after 11:00 a.m. on the third day of the cruise. Curaao, along with Aruba and Bonaire (the ABC islands), has been a Dutch possession since the 17th century. Despite their proximity, we found the ABC islands have little interaction with one another. There is no ferry service, for example, between them.
The ship sailed at a leisurely pace along the 30 mile long Read on...
The run up through Jefferson National Forest to Covington is recognized as one of the more challenging sections of the route. It is a day of continuous gravel, deep in the national forest, tracking the ridges towards the NE. Very tough if wet. The route planners have it down as one days run. I wanted it in half a day, and then do half of the following days run, up to Williamsville VA. Getting ther Read on...
I had to reach over somebodys fence to get this calm photo. There was no place to sit and absorb the beauty of the views here. Oia is a place in, get the photos and leave.
Took the bus to Oia this morning, seeking THAT photo of the three blue tops of churches. Yeah, I spent weeks working on a puzzle of Oia this winter. It had too many blue pieces, and after the town with its famous churches and Read on...
No alarm, well at least I didnt set one but Jerry did. Even without an alarm I still woke up at 6:00 am, but instead of getting up and looking forward to 9+ hours in front of working, I turned over petted Tarragon and went back to sleep. I didnt wake up again until Jerrys alarm went off at 8. I might have kept sleeping but for that alarm.
It was good that we got up, since the continental box brea Read on...
This was a day of villages and fields. We started at for the short walk to Hailes Abbey . Destroyed during the persecution of Roman Catholics by Henry VIII, the building is now a picturesque ruin. Nearby, the older Hailes Parish Church still has original wall paintings and tiles (restored)
We crossed a few fields and came across a village. For the whole day. There were sheep in fields, cows in fi Read on...