Day Six: That's a Big 10-4

Happy to be home but kind of sad too. I loved driving and deciding each day where to go and what to do. I will definitely do this kind of trip again, but hopefully for longer so that I can see more! I squeezed in some gems in the short time I was on the road.

Top 5 Rank:

1. Ithaca, Lower Falls!

2. Presque Isle (Not a beach day, that would have made it even better! A few beaches on the isle. If I stayed longer I would have rented a bike there and spent some of the day exploring that way.)

3. Lake George

4. The drive from Maryland to Erie (gorgeous!)

5. Saratoga Springs near the track, having to stop in the road for horses to cross. Brought back memories of Foxboro Race Track!


Today I won $50.00 at Saratoga Gaming and Racing. Then I went to Saratoga Spa State Park to take some pics of the beautiful environs and see the geysers. I have to say that the geysers were a bit of a disappointment. They were very small! It was still a relaxing, scenic visit.

I left for home at 12:00. On the Mass Pike I hit the only traffic of the entire trip. Is anyone surprised? It took about an hour to get from Sturbridge to Charlton. I opened the sun roof and took advantage of the time. One guy jumped out of his car and ran down into the woods to relieve himself. When he came back up, I clapped for him. He bowed. Too funny!

So, I'm done travel blogging for now. More travels to come...peace out.

Day Five: Summer Fun at Lake George

"These smiling eyes are just a mirror for the sun." This is the Red Hot Chili Peppers lyric that really spoke to me today while driving to Lake George. I have been enjoying my CDs all week, but this one song was just right for the moment. My sun roof was open and it was noon, so the sun was hitting me directly. AH!

I left Ithaca this morning and plan to go back soon! It took me about 3 hours and 30 minutes to get to Lake George. I arrived at 2:00 and parked right across the street from the beach for $8. Totally worth it. The beach was really nice and the water was a bit warmer than at the falls. I went in the water a few times and sat in my CVS beach chair and read the rest of the time. I also did some major people watching. :-)

I left the beach at 4:30 so that I could drive to my hotel and get checked in. As expected, the hotel was conveniently 10 minutes south of Lake George. Tomorrow I will visit Saratoga Springs which is about 10 minutes south of my hotel. Then I will head home to Burlington and my cats!

I have had such a fun time and could go another two weeks! I am made for the road. I must have been a trucker in a past life. I really enjoy driving and checking out new areas, scenery, etc. Next area for road trip? Hmmmm..... Probably more of the Great Lakes region!

Day Four: Ithaca is Gorges continued

Had a beautiful, scenic drive on 86 East today from PA to NY. I took some pics of Chautauqua Lake (put on Facebook) that was on the way. Great rest area with scenic view of the lake.

It only took me about 3 hours and 15 minutes to get to Ithaca. I have been VERY lucky so far with the traffic...there has been practically no one on the road these past few days! I feel that might change since tomorrow is the weekend. Yikes!

So I arrived in Ithaca around 2:30 or so. Got settled in my room and went back out to the visitor's center to find out where I could go for a swim. The weather was hot and sunny this afternoon. Yeah! The sweet girl at the center told me that I should go to the Robert H. Treman State Park where I could swim under a waterfall. I was psyched! I changed into my bathing suit in the rest room at the center and headed over to the park. See the pictures below. I am in one of them...the lifeguard did not do a great job. HA! You can barely see me.

I grew up swimming in the frigid waters of Nantasket Beach, MA. This water was warmer, but not by much! It was very refreshing. Fresh water swimming is great because you don't have the salt or the chlorine factor. Amazing!

There was a diving board for people to jump into the deeper areas. I passed on that due to my knee issues. I did go over to the fall and under it. FUN! I recommend it to EVERYONE!

Tomorrow I am going to put my home address into my GPS as my destination. I will drive for 3-4 hours and see where I am. Then get hotel reservations that are within an hour of that location. That will be my Saturday. I will check out whichever area I end up in and hopefully find something fun to do. That will be my Saturday. Sunday will be drive until I get home! WOOHOO!

Ithaca is gorges!

Ithaca is gorges!

Day Three: Erie Zoo

I loved Joe! What a character! There were three jaguars...stunning, but pacing. :-(

Day Three: Presque Isle

Many more scenic pics on facebook!

Day Three: Turtles Crossing Sign

Day Three: Turtles Crossing

7-23-09

Today, I went to Presque Isle which was 25 minutes from my motel. It was BEAUTIFUL! I was a little nervous driving there because Erie looks like parts of Lynn and areas of Route 1. Strip mall after strip mall, as well as auto parts and dollar stores. Restaurants of all kinds lined the streets. This did not seem like a place that would have this gorgeous isle that I had been reading about in my travel books. The contrast was shocking! Once on Peninsula Drive for a few minutes, the scenery began to change. Presque Isle is lush and reminded me of a rainforest in certain areas. You know, the trees that have the leaves all over the trunk! I knew I was in a very different environment when I came upon the Turtles Crossing sign. Unfortunately, I didn't see any. :-(

I found Misery Bay on Presque Isle and took a 90 minute narrated cruise on Lake Erie. We saw all of Presque Isle from the water and three lighthouses.

After the tour, I drove around the rest of the Isle and took more pics. I found this area magical and hope to visit again. I got here just in time because they are having a huge festival this weekend and the ranger that I spoke with said that there will be up to 4,000 people visiting Presque Isle. YIKES

So I started my visit at Presque Isle at 10:30 and left at 3:30. Lots of fresh air! Then I headed to the Erie Zoo. It was small, but they had some very entertaining animals. Joe, the orangutan was the highlight. The zoo closed at 5:00. I saw the entire zoo and then spent the remainder of the time watching Joe. Amazing animal!

Then it was off to Bob Evans for the first time, for dinner. I liked it, but I am not a big fan of gravy! HA! I just got a burger and fries. Their peach tea was yummy. I ordered a root beer float to go for dessert. It was huge! 32 oz. of yum!

I am pooped. Not a very detailed account of the day, but the gist!

I am leaving tomorrow to head east. Either through PA or NY. I am thinking of checking out the finger lakes. The great thing about the past few days was that they were weekdays. I am not sure what I am going to find when the weekend starts! I have hit NO traffic. I'm thinking that it may change starting tomorrow.

Day Two Continued: Take Out

I was exhausted tonight, but wanted to see Lake Erie before the sun went down. I asked the guy in the office at the motel about a good place to get take out. He recommended the Freeport. The Freeport's claim to fame is that it the northernmost restaurant in Pennsylvania. I had a delicious meal, but the highlight was the menu with a bunch of Lake Erie facts and history.

What I learned on my summer vacation:

Lake Erie:

- formed 10,000-14,000 years ago as glaciers receded
- 241 miles long
- Ranks 12th largest of world's fresh water lakes (VERY COOL!)
- Max. depth 210 ft.
- average depth 58 ft.
- Over 100 species of fish found in Lake Erie
- The treachery of Lake Erie has claimed over 500 ships since the launch of the
Griffin in 1679.

The Town of Northeast:

- five wineries are in this area
- 80 miles west of Buffalo and Niagara Falls

Day Two: Road Kill

7-22-09

I have never seen so much road kill and such a variety of animals too. Yes, these are the things I notice and think about while driving. I saw fox, crow, and raccoon road kill today. There were so many raccoon ones that I seriously considered keeping a tally.

Despite the road kill, I enjoyed a pretty, quaint drive. 70 West from Maryland to Pennsylvania was a treat! There were many farms with loads of steer and gorgeous horses. There were mountain areas and my ears popped a few times which is always fun. HA! I drove 5 hours today. Not too bad. I am staying for two days in a cute little town called Northeast, Pennsylvania. Lake Erie is 5 minutes away. I didn't get here until 6:30 tonight, but I made my way to see Lake Erie so I could get some pics. Tomorrow I am going to Presque Isle for a scenic drive and swim if the weather is nice. Today was gorgeous with the sun going in and out of the clouds while I drove. I opened the sun roof and darkened my tan! Yes, I put on sunblock.

After driving two days solid, I am looking forward to being in one place for a day or two. Friday afternoon I will move on to somewhere in New York. I haven't decided where yet.

I have not gone to Bob Evans or any of the other restaurants that are everywhere in this state. One goal of this trip is to get a beverage at Sonic. I have been seeing the commercials forever and am now on a mission.

I put a couple of pictures on this blog, but my facebook page has all of them in an album entitled Road Trip.

More tomorrow. I feel like road kill and need some sleep!

Day One: Life is Worth Living

7-21-09

“Life is Worth Living.” That’s the message posted a few times before getting onto the Tappan Zee Bridge. If someone is suicidal and ready to jump off a bridge, would that sign work? Like the person just never thought of it before or the sign is a reminder for them. “Oh yeah, I forgot that life is worth living. Phew, that was a close one.” It is really sad though. There was a suicide hotline number on the big screen before going on the Delaware Bridge. That is a little more helpful at least, if the person remembered to bring their cell! HA! O.k. no more joking about suicide.

On a lighter note, the bridges over the Delaware River and Susquehanna River provided beautiful views! I wanted to pull over and take pictures, but decided against it considering there was no place to pull over. It was pretty magical when, after driving in rain all day, the sun came out while I was on the Delaware Bridge. Very cool!

Why didn’t anyone tell me about the excessive tolling from N.J. to Maryland? Absolutely insane! You get off the N.J. turnpike and pay $4.50 and then about a mile later you pay another toll. It was comical.

So the first day of my adventure was a packed one! I will definitely do less driving tomorrow to give my butt a break! I am writing this in Word and saving it because the internet signal here at the Silver Springs Days Inn is one bar…I can’t get onto the internet. GRRRR… My plan is to sleep in and then check out and find a Starbucks so that I can get online. Need to check and send emails and check out facebook. SCRABBLE! I also want to research where the cheap hotels are in the areas I want to go to. Not sure I want to go all the way to Ohio, but that is because I am exhausted right now!

Today:

9:00-1:00ish Drove from Burlington, Ma. to Montclair, N.J.

1:00-3:00ish Private tour of the amazing Wyeth collection at Montclair Art Museum and yummy Turkish lunch with Erica

3:00-7:00ish Drove from Montclair, N.J. to Silver Springs, Maryland and checked in to the Days Inn.

7:00-7:15ish Got everything into my room so I wouldn’t have to do it in the dark.

7:15-9:00ish Drove to Eric’s in Chevy Chase, MD…about 10 minutes from my hotel. Had dinner in Bethesda with Eric and Erin. FUN!

Very tired, but had a great day! I stopped at a rest area every hour and a half or so to stretch out my legs and go to the rest room. I started the trip with about half a tank. I had to fill it once, and it is close to empty now. Not too bad for 8 hours of driving!

Where will I go next? Stay tuned…

Life is Worth Living!

Leaving Tomorrow Morning

7-20-09
Ever been to a AAA office? It is an amazing resource! I now have two bags filled with fold out maps and travel books for all the states I may go to during my road trip. They were all free with membership. I can't wait to get started tomorrow and plan to take pictures and blog along the way. My friend suggested the blogging along the way part, and I was resistant at first. I guess it is a great way to let my parents know I am o.k. and capture my trip for posterity at the same time! I just wonder who else would give a crap about my travels. HA!

Now I am thinking that I want to visit all 50 states before I die. I have quite a few years to get it done! I have not been to many states. I don't count airport stopovers.

I've been to Massachusetts (born and raised), Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Maine, Vermont, New York, New Jersey (Atlantic City only), Florida( not counting the childhood trip which went through just about all the east coast states), California (lived there for 10 years), Arizona, Nevada...twelve! By this Sunday I will most likely be able to add Maryland, Pennsylvania and Ohio. Man, I have some traveling to do!

I am mostly packed. I have one tote that is all set for a beach visit with a towel, suntan lotion and a hat (it will go in the trunk). I have another tote that has snacks and my planner (front seat!). In addition I have the two AAA bags in the front on the floor. Then I have my bigger gym bag with clothes etc. needed for the week (going in the trunk) and my laptop in a carrying bag (going in the trunk). Of course, I will have my purse and I will also be bringing my pillow! I opted not to bring the cooler. I can just stop and get a fresh cold water, etc, when needed. Who cares about any of this? HA!

First stop tomorrow, Montclair, New Jersey for lunch with my childhood friend Erica. She works at a museum which I will check out before heading out for my next destination. Not sure where I will go next. I may visit my cousin in Bethesda, MD. Have to call him to see if he is around.

I'll see where my instinct/intuition takes me.