Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Erie Canal, & Skidmore

Our day in Cleveland started with room service. If I knew this was going to be such a treat for Ma, I would have done it as often as I could. This treat for her was so luxurious. She felt like a queen (in her words) and dined on a cheese omelet, bacon, home fries, and coffee. This was the view from our window, not to bad.
From there we headed down to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The entrance was crowded with people and Michael Jackson music playing. We met a girl (who took our picture) who was originally from Cleveland, now living in Orlando, and back home visiting friends. She came to the Hall because she had heard that there was a tribute to Michael Jackson.
Upon entering, there was a guitar and glove exhibit in the main hall. As we stood there, we saw people take pictures and leave notes and some flowers. I had seen the news reports from the Apollo Theater in NY and had no idea that we would get to take part in a tribute.
After speaking to my uncle, we were told that we should plan for a couple of hours - I would revise that statement and tell you to leave a day - especially if you are into seeing it all. We spent close to 5 hours and only got through 2 floors and didn't do everything. Unfortunately the elevators were not working so getting from floor to floor for us was a bit of a hassle, but they were very kind to us and we were able to see a majority of the memorabilia. Due to the arrangements with many of the artists and their estates, you are unable to take photos, but the experience, of reading letters from fans, seeing hotel bills, original concert tickets, note books with lyrics, and other things that the artists wore or the instruments they played was so cool.
From there, we headed back to the hotel and were off for our 5 ride into NY.
Little did we know that our hotel was next to the Erie Canal. We stopped looked around and got Ma her 2nd Dunkin Donuts fix of the trip. Now for her this was ending the trip with a bang! She was so excited about her coffee and her "treat" that even with the offer of a breakfast and Dunkin's to go, she selected just the coffee and donuts.
As we rode through the Finger Lake area of NY, which is so picturesque, we were about 45 minutes away from Skidmore, my alma mater. Ma had asked at the beginning of the trip if we were going to go there and I didn't think anything about it, but after she asked a couple more times, I figured we should go.
We drove and walked around the campus and saw the new (to her) buildings. As we passed the "new" area of Case, we also passed a handful of students up there for the summer. When I told Ma that this was a new area - he looked at me like I was insane.
The rest of the ride home was pretty uneventful, minus the traffic we hit right after I-84 and the rain that we hit as we passed 95. We had the top down, so it was a race to get it up as fast as we could. As long as we went above 60 we couldn't feel the rain drops, but as soon as we slowed, we started getting wet.
We got home around 9:30 and took some time to settle in. My parents and sister surprised us with redone rooms in the whole house. We also took some much needed time letting Callie get used to "her people" being home. She greeted us at the door and tried her best to make sure that we were not out of her site and when we were in separate rooms, she ran back and forth in between us. And for those who were in on the bet - she is the same size as when she left - the grandparents liked to give treats too!

It was a wonderful trip and I have had fun recounting stories with friends already. Stay tuned for one more posting summarizing the trip! (i will upload photos tomorrow, this isn't playing nice)

Cleveland Rocks!

Well, that is what they are telling me.

We spent the night tonight walking around the city. We landed here right around sunset and during the Indian's baseball game. Similar to Boston, the park is right downtown. Unlike Boston, they had a HUGE fireworks display for winning I guess (not really sure of this fact).
Today we started the day at Tippecanoe, Studebaker's former home in South Bend, IN. Our lunch was in the family drawing room and it brought back memories of being at Searle's Castle a year ago. Cory and Adam we wish you a very happy 1st anniversary!

The home was beautiful and we got a chance to ride in the 3rd oldest elevator in the US made by OTIS and the first one installed in a home. It was little, the size of a bathroom stall, and there were two buttons, IU (inch up) and ID (inch down) so that you can make it level. It was more of a process than it was worth, but it enabled Ma to be able to go to the 4th floor and see the meeting room and the nursery.

We then drove to Notre Dame and saw some kids on college tours and some others playing football in the 100 degree heat!

From there, we headed across Indiana and into Ohio. It was long and flat and lots of farm land. We took the opportunity to talk to some family and get caught up before heading home. We are looking forward to to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame tomorrow!

Living the high life

That is what Ma keeps saying after we check into another hotel. Tonight, despite best intentions, we are checking in late (pesky time zone change) and getting ready for another adventure filled day.

Somewhere in our travels I seem to have lost a day, I mean not really, but I didn't think it was going to take as long as it did to get here. Don't get me wrong, I am loving the travels and the process, but sometimes you can go 75, and other times you are lucky if you can get beyond 40 with the construction.

Yesterday we got to the Mall of America (Cory and Alison, we followed your path I think). Ma was so excited and we hit about 15 stores. We both walked away with new goodies. I can't remember the last time I went into a mall just to look around, but if you are going to do that, this is the place to do it in! From the roller coasters screaming by overhead to the number of stores, you can get lost for several hours, maybe even days. I even met a girl who graduated high school with my former co-worker Kaitlin - even 1/2 a continent away, you can bump into someone. We stopped at the Rainforest Cafe for some lunch (had never been there before) and then did a little hat shopping, just incase Ma goes to Churchill Downs on a whim.




We then drove into Eau Claire and settled in for the night. If we had more time, I would have taken Ma to the country fest they were having 10 minutes down the road, my mother's favorite (at least I think) George Straight is playing on Sunday night at 11. Go figure the towns close up tight at 9 (restaurants, stores, etc) but a concert comes to town and they put the headliners on at 11. WEIRD!

Today we drove through Wisconsin, Illinois and started into Indiana (we are stopped at South Bend for the night). In Wisconsin, we tried to visit a cheese factory (i know that isn't the right word, but that is all I have right now). We were told soon after entering that they aren't making cheese today, only on Wednesdays and Saturdays (why don't they put that in the brochures-I read about 5 before deciding on this one), but she gave us the tour anyways. Which consisted of walking to the other end of the shop and turning on a light. She was very sweet and gave us a taste test of some cheeses and then we were on our way.



Next, we went for a duck boat ride through the Dells, which are rock formations, there was a piano and a hawk and something else I couldn't see. We also splashed down into Lake Delton, we were at the back of the duck so we got the splash, and headed off into Illinois.



There we stopped for dinner at a the Village something or other. They had live entertainment (Rich Ramsburg), at least that is what they claimed on the sign outside. Some of the songs he sang, sounded like a bad case of karaoke gone bad - wrong lyrics, bad tempo, but it was entertaining. They did have some appetizer that the table behind us got which has the waitress light the plate on fire, wait for it to put itself out and then serves it to the table. I was scared out of my seat - so I guess I was their evening's entertainment, although I didn't get the polite applause.


I can't believe we will be home in a couple of days. In case this is you last reading of the blog (our next post won't be until over the weekend), I want to thank you for reading and commenting. I also want to thank those who encouraged me, gave advice, and supported me on this trip. It has truly been a once in a lifetime experience that I will never forgot with crazy, warm and wonderful memories that I will cherish forever!


Cheers and I will talk to you soon!

South Dakota

Has a lot to offer. Didn't think that I would be saying that but for the past 2.5 days it has kept Ma and I pleasantly entertained.

After Mt Rushmore, we thought we would make it into Nebraska, however a chance pause at those little vacation brochure racks in our hotel changed our direction. I read one that mentioned a horse sanctuary about 15 miles from our hotel.

I was hoping for a private tour, but those must be booked in advance, to me calling at 9 am for a 1 pm tour was in advance, but not nearly as much time as they needed. They said that I could do it in 3 days, I said I would go on the bus with everyone else.

So Ma and I got on the little school bus (why they use this for off-roading I have no idea, but it works) and listened to Carol as she told us about the history of the preserve, past owners, current owners, the sundance that the local Sioux Indian tribe was holding that weekend (we couldn't take pictures or video while driving through, but we saw and heard the dances).

There is a little guy taking a nap, some prairie dogs checking out what the hub-bub was about, another horse, and a a family of deer hiding in the trees (it was about 90 out).

The horses were amazing. Some of the ones in the afternoon put on a show for us, coming really close to the bus and prancing around (of course they did this on the other side of the bus from where I was taking pictures), but Ma got to see it and laughed when the mother came up and nudged him along. When we made it back to home base, the paints were coming down for their afternoon drink and they walked in pairs, mothers and babies. There was one who kept posing for me and when it's mother looked up, she would put her head down or to the side - such a ham for the camera.

We then went back to Hot Springs cause it was the only town around with restaurants open after 5 - man, we are not in the city! While driving around to find something open, we happened upon one of the waterfalls in town and also a wooden jail that was built in 1888 that was encased in another home. It is no longer than my car and about 20 feet wide. It is right in the center of town on Chicago Street.

We then went to WORLD FAMOUS WALL DRUG. I saw billboards for it starting back in WY. Apparently that is how they got famous - and during WWII, someone took a sign over in Europe and said how far away Wall Drug was. It was set up like the old west, and there were tons of stores off of one hallway.

Today we drove across the rest of the state and checked out the Corn Palace and Sioux Falls. We then landed in Sioux City, which I was told by someone in the visitor's center in Mitchell, SD that both Nebraska and Iowa has Sioux Cities - and I thought I would be able to cross both off my to do list in short order - no such luck. We stopped at a casino in Iowa and played for about 1.5 hours and I was doing considerably well, only down $30 when I tried my hand at the dollar machine -I quickly made back what I had put in plus $30 and tried one more time......well I dont' need to tell you how that ended up.

We then tried to find dinner and something to do in NE. From across the river there looked like there was a park - but we couldn't find our way in and then after passing 7 mexican restaurants, one african, three fast food joints and driving 30 miles, we gave up and headed back into Iowa for dinner. So Nebraska is still on the list.....oh well.

Tomorrow we head back north to Minnesota and then to Wisconsin....only 6 more days on the road.

Better than they show on tv

That was Ma's reaction when we finished walking around Mt. Rushmore. It was beautiful and the audio tour gave her the ability to "see" and hear the history of things that her body wouldn't let her experience first hand.

We spent the better part of the day driving through Custer State Park through one lane tunnels through mountains and looking for wildlife. Ma is very curiously looking for a mountain goat and we have been told that we hear that they are around, but have yet to find them ourselves. We have found deer, antelope, buffalo and chipmunks (these little guys were very curious and came pretty close to me and the car). I also stopped to see wolves - which were in a fenced preserve.

This rock is called the Needles Eye. We saw climbers getting ready to climb the rocks around this. They were getting ready while I was off taking pictures and Ma said they had so many ropes on then, where were they going.....when I answered up there and pointed she said, "Oh, mercy!"

We ended the night in Keystone for dinner. I have to say if you are in the area and see Peggy's home cooking - RUN THE OTHER WAY! While the food was decent, the service left Ma and I laughing the hour ride to Hot Springs. Needless to say, I wish I had more patience to see the next 4 restaurants down the street. Oh, well, it was a good laugh!

We will see where we end up tomorrow!

I struck gold!

Really, I did, although it is only enough to notice that it truly is gold. I also got a couple of garnets as well. It all started when I met Marv, at Marv's Rock Shop in Virginia City and he told me you could find garnets, gold and star sapphires (red, blue and black) in the hills surrounding the city. But more on that in a minute....lets start at the beginning.

When we started our day in W. Yellowstone, MT we went to Seldomly Seen Knives and purchased an amazing piece of art. It is made with Montana copper and hand crafted using a variety of processes including glass and a kiln. The pieces in the store were stunning, but this is the one that kept me in Yellowstone one more evening. I am so excited! The picture doesn't show the colors, copper, teal, green, it is so stunning if i do say so myself.

We then asked our waitress for a recommendation of something to do in MT. She recommended Quake Lake in a matter of seconds. She is a transplant to W. Yellowstone and was taken there when she first arrived in town. In 1959, an earthquake cracked a mountain, trapping 250 people in the valley who were camping and needed to be saved by fire jumpers. As you drive down the road, you see the full grown trees in a river that have since died and a mountainside that just doesn't fit the picture. As you get closer, you realize the effect that nature has had on the area. The mountain that slid covers a huge area and the Army Corp of Engineers needed to come in to clear a path for the river to avoid further damage to the area. (Those things that look like weeds are actually trees that were about 20-40 feet tall.)

Montana is known as big sky country. This doesn't do it justice, but from the top of the mountain we were climbing, Ma mentioned that it looked as if she could see forever.

From there we drove up to Ennis and did a little shopping. Ma wanted something to remind her of being in the Wild West, so only a turquoise leather jacket would do. We then headed into Virginia City and that is where I met Marv. His store is in the oldest building in MT. It was built in 1863 and was the location where vigilantes hung 5 men. The left hand side of the building is a museum to the history of the building. You can actually see the rope mark from where one of the men were hanged. The building was also home to the first woman owned utility - and she was also black, something that the "locals" take great pride in and Marv was a great storyteller and shared the entire story with me, who the men were, why they were hunted and hanged, etc.

Based on Marv's recommendation, I went to pan for garnets and gold with John and walked away with both. He was very patient with me, I think the idea was for me to follow along with him, but it took twice as long as I was taking pictures the entire time. I didn't know that I was certain to find something so when I asked, how many people walk away with something, he looked at me puzzled and replied, "Um everyone." Thankfully the rainclouds moved on and when it was time for me to fish out the garnets out of the pan, I had the bright sun to do it under.

I then went up to the location that Marv told me I could find star rubies and sapphires. Well I apparently don't have the patience or the skill for this, after an hour of searching, I found one rock with garnets in it, a couple of pieces of white and pink quartz and headed back to the car. I knew I should have taken him with me (he is a self proclaimed rock hound). We then went to dinner in a building made in 1867. Ma was very happy that she had a beer and dinner in the real wild west.

On our ride, this was the sunset that followed our day.

Today we drove and drove and drove some more. I think 8 hrs in total. One of the towns we went through on one of the scenic drives was Ucross. This was on a scenic wildlife viewing road. We saw lots of antelope and deer and every time Ma could see a deer she would say, "Aw, bambi."

We landed, after a long day in South Dakota. We saw the Crazy Horse monument and the laser light show. The process that this monument has taken - I hope I get it right - Standing Bear and tribal leaders contacted a sculptor who was from Boston and had worked as an apprentice to the Mt Rushmore project, Korzcek (probably have the spelling wrong). He started the project on his own 20 miles away from Mt Rushmore, had a family of 10 and passed away in 1982. The project is COMPLETELY funded by visitors to the site and contributions. He firmly believed that art should be supported by the people not tax payers and he refused a $10 million government sponsorship. His family today continues the project, blasting, carving, and managing the project. It was truly inspirational and I highly recommend that you visit.

This is his carving 1/34 the size of the final monument.

Tomorrow we are onto Mt Rushmore and who knows what else!

Elk, bison and geyers, oh my!

We have had a great couple of days.

Our trip to Idaho landed in Arco, the first town to be atomically powered. I didn't know that heading in, but was quickly educated by the signs and educational sections of the dinner menu. This is something that us, New Englanders, don't see very often, but something I am noticing more and more with every town we visit.

Located in Arco, or between Arco and the next town, is Craters of the Moon National Park. We made it there just in time for a thunderous downpour (this is becoming a pattern with us). The cool thing was the lava was covered in white and we couldn't figure out what it was, but were told at the visitor's center (I am learning) that there are little white flowers growing in the lava. We thought that they were EVERYWHERE. How wrong we were. Once the rain stopped, I stepped out of the car to take some pictures and realized that it was hail. While we were gettiing rain on our way in, I guess the hail storm was over the park and left the landscape dotted with tiny pebbles of hail.

Then onto ERB-1 which is the first nuclear power plant in the US. They also worked on a nuclear engine for a plane under Eisenhower and after 10 years and a billion dollars, JFK cancelled the program based on the advice of the scientists. Looking at the size of this, I can't imagine the size they thought the plane would be.

This is the sunset from our ride back further east.


We drove through Idaho and into Wyoming and stayed at the Signal Mountain Lodge in Jackson's Hole. This was the view from our room. I have to say that Jackson Hole is worth the trip. I know it is known for it's skiing, but there is whitewater rafting, river tours, camping, hiking, and shopping. The views are spectacular (I know I am using this word a lot, but I am at a loss for words). Ma described it as right out of the movies.

Today after wandering around Teton National Park, we headed to Yellowstone. I have to admit, I thought we would head in, see Old Faithful erupt and high-tail it out of there. Man was I wrong. One of our first stops was along the side of the road - they still have SNOW on the ground. Man, were we not ready for this weather. It wasn't snowing, but the snow was a couple inches deep in some areas. I guess it helps being over a mile and a half up above sea level.

We then headed towards West Thumb Geyer Basin. This was about an hour walk, which we took with a Ranger, and heard all about the ways the geyers were formed, places that they used to be, the fact that there is a volcano under the lake that is slanting the lake. There were kids asking all types of questions, it is amazing how their minds work. Like how can fish swim in the lake and not get cooked by the boiling water--valid question. How did they build all of the walkways when you can't walk on the ground - didn't hear her answer to this one, but score one for you kid.

We then headed to Old Faithful - which if you don't know (I didn't) erupts every 90 minutes of so. Should have checked with the visitor's center (it takes 27 times to make a habit and I haven't gotten past 2, this is going to be a long trip back), cause it was COLD and WINDY. After our photo, Ma headed into the lodge to watch from the comfort of the indoors and I headed back out with the several hundred others to witness the event first hand. It was set to erupt at 6:41 and like clockwork it went off. The eruption lasts from 1.5 minutes to 5 minutes and it was about 3.5 for us. At about 2.5 minutes the mass evacuation began. I guess some people can only watch so much water. I know the video isn't the best - I was trying to get pictures and video at the same time and got a little distracted.

We then thought we were going to head out to dinner.....but it was dusk and all of the little animals were out for their dinner, which meant more sight seeing for us. We rode a bunch of different scenic off shoots and found amazing treasures. We saw deer, elk, bison - who were meandering down the road. It is amazing that the cars don't scare them. They couldn't have cared less.

We then went to dinner outside of the park and headed to a hotel for the night. As I write, I am monoplolizing the 2nd and 3rd floor laundry machines. I don't think that anyone here will mind, everyone heads to bed at nine. We are staying the night here as I found an amazing piece of art, but the store was closed, so we are heading back there in the morning. I probably should figure out what we are going to do tomorrow......hmmmmm.