Feb 13, 2023

 Hello everyone.  Today is the 2nd day of our winter trip south.  As we were heading south, leaving the wonderful State of Maine, we wondered when would be the last place we saw snow.  Much to our surprise, it was gone before we got to New Hampshire.  

We are staying with Tom's sister who was born in Maine but "living in exile" in Massachusetts.

Now that we are 200 miles from home, we wondered what we forgot or left behind.  Tom wanted to get the movie CODA but forgot to pick it up.  Other than that, 45 degrees isn't bad, except when the wind blows, and yes, when we went for our daily walk, we thought about the winter coat.

Tom thought about taking a Walking Tour of the Old Salem Village, but will be better left for the month of April.

Enjoy the ones you love, they are not permanent fixtures.

 Tom and Alice

March 1, 2022

 A little bit of catching up on Grammie.  Our stay at Fort Lee was only a short one; however, while driving around the post to find the gas station, Tom was remembering a previous experience to Grammie about a different time.  Tom was at Fort Lee for his AIT portion of basic training for National Guard and was pointing out some areas that he remembered back in 1969.  Many of the buildings were still there but not as frequently used as back in the day.  Tom now remembers where he was when the concert of all concerts... Woodstock happened. He was at Fort Lee.

We left Fort Lee to our next overnight at Fort Bragg, NC.  While there we had more time than the previous day so we took a ride around...the Ryder golf course...didn't expect that did you.  Yes, Grammie was going around the course in the golf cart with her knitting.  Tom was especially careful driving  as he didn't want Grammie to drop a stitch and have to pull it out to where the stitch was dropped and have to do it all over again.  

Yesterday we were on the road again, but before we left... golfing has it's consequences...we made a stop in Fayetteville to...  

Yeah, that's right.  Grammie commented that this was probably the best quilt shop that she has ever visited.  With close to a dozen employees it had everything that you would ever need to make a quilt.

Not to scare any husband who has a wife that knits, quilts, etc.  This place had shopping carts too.

It was all fun and games until she said...I'll take one of each.

Just kidding, but anyway, the credit card only took a mild hit before we hit the road on our way to Bluffton, SC where we are going to visit a friend, Anne,  that previously lived in the Etna-Dixmont area. 

Have a great day everyone.  We will try to send some sunshine your way.

Beginning of our Winter trip 2022 Feb 26, 2022

 Hi everyone.  Thanks for looking out for Grammie.  After 2 days on the road, we are now at Fort Lee, VA for the overnight before we continue to head south.

Both yesterday and today were driving days that covered 833 miles.  We left home on Saturday and spent part of the day in Lincolnville at the service for Sylvia Letteney Bailey at the Bayshore Baptist Church.  Sylvia was the remaining sister of Alice, "Grammie" who passed away on Feb. 16th.  She fought a multi year battle with Alzheimer's disease.

After the service, we got into the van that already had been loaded for our trip to the warmer areas and made it to Danbury, CT.

Today, we covered another 400 plus miles in what was mostly a peaceful day riding through NYC, and Baltimore, only to be slowed down a bit going through Washington D.C.  Thinking back, we should have expected that.   Along the way, we saw many cars that were either carrying the Ukrainian Flag or an emblem.  

The current Ukrainian flag consists of two horizontal bands of yellow and blue. The colors represent the wide blue skies and the yellow represents the wheat fields that characterize the country. From a psychological point of view, blue symbolizes calm, while yellow symbolizes joy.  If you see someone posting a sunflower on facebook, it is Ukraine's national flower.

 Tomorrow will be a shorter day and maybe we can slow down and take some pictures.

Thanks again, Grammie is resting comfortably now.

March 18, 2020 Independence, Missouri

After a short drive...200 miles, we arrived in Independence, MO.  #33...Harry S Truman was born, raised and died in Missouri. Later after he was succeeded by Eisenhower, he returned to Independence, Missouri where he spent his last 2 decades writing memoirs and spending daily time at the Truman Library which was finished in 1957.

Truman, who was raised on a farm, replaced FDR upon his death.  Several hours after learning of Roosevelt’s death, a stunned Truman was given the oath of office in the White House by Chief Justice Harlan Stone (1872-1946). The new president later told reporters, “I don’t know if you fellas ever had a load of hay fall on you, but when they told me what happened yesterday, I felt like the moon, the stars and all the planets had fallen on me."

The Truman in library in Independence is undergoing renovations, hopefully to be finished this Fall.

We were invited inside to have lunch with one of the Jewels in the research department.  No, we didn't have to make our own lunch as we brought our own.  This kitchen inside the Library and Museum has remained as it was when Truman was there.  Although he lived a very short distance from home, Bess didn't wan't him home for lunch.

This cartoon was done by Lou Grant, and appeared in the Oakland Tribune  It was given to President Truman as a birthday gift.

The "Jewel" has an office with audiovisual equipment all around the room; however, through the door in the background was a side entrance to Truman's office in the library.

After our wonderful, but abbreviated tour, we left to do a little sightseeing in Kansas City.  This Statue is called The Scout.  Although it was created in 1910 and depicts a Sioux Indian, it became a permanent fixture in the city to honor local Indian Tribes.

The Liberty Monument was finished in November 1921 as a memorial to honor those that fought in World War I.

The inscription at the base of the Memorial.

Overlooking the back wall of the monument looking down towards the city.  The building on the left is the Union Station.

As we were leaving the Liberty Memorial area, we passed the Money Museum.

With 2 museums down, we had a chance to visit a mini museum of sorts.  These belong to a well known artist in the Kansas City (Nokomis Graduate) area and although they are still used, probably won't make it in to a museum.

Grammie and escort are healthy.

March 12-17, 2020 Cheyenne

We have spent the last 5 days visiting family in Golden,  Thornton,   and Cheyenne.

Heading up I-25 towards Cheyenne, the price of Gas got as low as $1.88.  Definitely nice as in CA in certain areas, it was over $4.00

At Warren AFB, the Antelope are very common.  These were right next to the road and weren't even bothered by the presence of people.

When we arrived, the trees were still very pretty with frozen dew still on them.

 There were 2 geese taking their time walking across the street, even longer than it takes Maine Turkeys crossing the road.

Today, after covering 445 miles to Lincoln Nebraska, we decided to take a short detour in Kearney, NE to see some Sandhill  Cranes. They are in the area from February to April. For the local people, this is a yearly viewing event  numbering 600,000.  Today we drove by the corn fields to sight a few feeding before another long days journey.

 Along the road which is where the Kearney State Park is, there are many corn fields where they were feeding.

For more information on the event, Visit  Sandhill Cranes  

Tonight we are in Lincoln, Nebraska.  Today we went from 6000 feet above sea level to 890 feet.  We have been over 8500 miles in 68 days and we are within 2000 miles from home.  But we aren't done yet.   Although closed for renovations, we plan to go to the Harry S. Truman Library and Museum and have lunch with a former student.  There are more and more places where it is hard to find an open restaurant.

Although Grammy wasn't in any of the pictures, she is safe and healthy. and hopes to be home soon.

March 10, 2020 Georgia O'Keeffe Home and Studio

Today we left Santa Fe early to get to Abiquiu, to take a tour of the Georgia O'keeffe Home and Studio.
This is the view from her home and studio which has now been declared a National Historic Landmark in 1998.  She died in 1986 at the age of 98.  She became well known for her paintings of flowers and the New York skyline where she lived for several years when married.

This is a panoramic view of the land that she could see from her bedroom, which has large panes of glass along 2 walls  from which to view.

She spent many years growing her own food.  She did have a person that worked in the garden, and also a person that cooked for her.

She had water rights only on 1 day a week so, to adequately use the water, there was a system to spread the water throughout.  The water was fed into channels that were on the high side of the garden.

In a middle courtyard, there is a door that became a painting titled  Door.  

On the other side of the door was storage where she kept her art supplies.  

This was the inside of the entrance where visitors came through when they visited.

In several places around her home were rocks of many different sizes, shapes and colors gathered from her wandering the land.

Right next to the visitors center where you would start the tour, which takes a little over an hour, is the Abiquiu Inn where one might want to stay overnight for further exploration.

Although we did not visit, there are also tours of what is known as Ghost Ranch.  She lived in the home from 1949 until 1984.    For more interest in looking at her artwork, there is also the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe.

After the tour, we spent most of the afternoon driving up to Peterson AFB. We crossed over just south of the Rocky Mountains where we hit over 9200 feet.

We finally arrived in Colorado Springs which is also home to the Air Force Academy. This is not the sign at the front gate to the Academy although they have 2 golf courses there.

Grammy enjoyed the tour.  Thanks for looking for Grammy.

March 9, 2020 Santa Fe New Mexico

Today we went into Santa Fe, which is the state capitol of New Mexico.  To see pictures of the Capitol Building, look for the blog pictures from March 28, 2018.

We started the day in the city visiting the Prescott Gallery and Sculpture Garden.

The gallery has created many pieces using ideas and designs found around towns and putting them together with some of the parts moving.

The primary material for making the artwork is iron, using welding for the assembly and an artist that loves to use colorful paint.  The black circles at the bottom of the photo are metal counter weights that make the objects move back and forth.

Some of the smaller ones have lights.

They are designed and constructed so that the objects move.

The larger objects usually only have the head moving.

Fredrick Prescott's works can be seen around the City of Santa Fe however, his works are sold all over the world.

Run Moose Run

Grammie really liked this one.  The pieces of art seem to have personality of their own.

Many of the artwork is specifically done according to the buyers specifications, maybe for a park or a store.

 After we left Prescott's we went to the old part of the city.  There are many types of art on display.  This piece was all about butterflies.

If you look closely you can see the eagle ready to have a fish meal.

Even food can be turned into art.

Some people decorate their car.

Some of the artists have their own story to tell. For more of his stories, search for George Ossorgin, or look for him on facebook.  We happened to see him on the street when we got into town and saw him again when we had dinner at the San Francisco Bar and Grill.

Thanks to Grammie for finding the Prescott Gallery and Sculpture Garden.
She had a Great day.

March 6-7, 2020 Albuquerque, NM

On Friday, we finished packing up our van and noticed their were several bikers 4 or 5 units down.  We figured they were here for a little biking in the mountains.

What we didn't know until we saw a sign is that the city of Sedona was being inundated by cyclists.
  Interested? The web site is  Sedona Mountain Bike Festival

Heading up Rte 89A, our next stop is Albuquerque, New Mexico.  We went about 330 miles heading back east.  By chance, Tom happened to look down in time to see that we were approaching  a milestone for this part of the trip.

While traveling across the western part of the state the question was asked, What are you takin a picture of?  The answer...nothing.  miles and miles of nothing.  Sort of like Nebraska.

Getting in to Albuquerque, it is obvious that the city has no problem with painting the city.

The city was founded by  Don Francisco Cuervo y Valdés.  This statue was provided by the 1% for the arts.

Grammie? Yes

A monument recognizing the Navajo code talkers.

This art work can be seen on the side of a building that was built to replace one that was torn down.  The city has done a lot to repurpose old buildings.  This art work made a statement.

The sign in the artwork was a key part in persuasion city hall.

The topic of the artwork is left to the designer.

We stopped to buy a cookie but we were too early.  You can even get milk.  Rude Boy Cookies

Voted the best art by Stephanie, our tour guide and driver.

Tingley Beach is open to the public.  There are 3 ponds that are open for catch and release fishing.  No swimming, just fishing.

The ponds are stocked every month.

The birds are fed regularly.

The building design is open to change and looks great.  This is an apartment building.

If anyone comes to ABQ, consider taking the trolley tour.  We both enjoyed it.

Thanks for seeing the places where Grammie has been.