08 Jul-14 Aug 2013 – Allan Cross Country with Grandchildren (Nathaniel & Elle) and Daughter Jacky

We are first driving to Miami and then heading to Los Angeles via Louisiana, Texas and Arizona and then heading back home via Utah, Illinois and Pennsylvania.

11 July at Kennedy Space Center

09-11 April 2013 Mount Washington, New Hampshire

Great hiking with good snowy trails. First day Long Pond Trail, second day Tuckerman Ravine Trail and third day Great Gulf Trail.

First Day:

 

  

Second Day:

Third Day:

 

 

 

20-21 March 2012 Quebec City, Canada

Our travels have been a snowy one this spring.

31 January 2013 - Mount Washington, New Hampshire

Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays Allan and Lynne from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.

 

 

We came for some snow shoeing and cross country skiing at Mount Washington, New Hampshire, but instead on this rainy, snowy and warm day we did some hiking since all the snow has been washed away and it is too windy for the lifts to operate.

 

  At least we are eating well.

28 January 2013 North Conway, New Hampshire

There must be a better way.

April 11-12, 2012 - Mount Washington - Hiking

Short trek today at Mount Washington, New Hampshire, since Lynne was sure a bear would attack her, but now she purchased a bear bell and will go on a longer trek tomorrow.

Lynne got her bear bell and all the bears can hear her coming.

Believe it or not, there is still snow on the east coast; we found it on the Great Gulf Trail on the way to Mount Washington, New Hampshire.

January 3-4, 2012 - Mount Washington - Hiking

What to do the first week of the New Year and the coldest this winter, go where it is colder, Mount Washington, New Hampshire. No politicians here, just Lynne and I hiking at the foot of Mount Washington where the ground is covered with sheet of ice.

  

The view is Tuckerman Ravine as seen from Lost Pond.





Not many clear days here to get a picture like this. You can see the Mount Washington Operatory antennas in the upper left hand corner in this picture.

22nd Wedding Anniversary - December 3, 2011.

It has been awhile since my last update and since the holidays are coming up, I thought this would be a good time to say hello and wish everyone well.  Lynne and I spent last weekend at Mohonk Mountain House in New Paltz, NY. It was our 22 Wedding Anniversary and I though you would like these pictures taken on December 3, 2011.

First spring snow at Pinkham Notch, New Hampshire

Guess I picked the right (for those who like snow) day, March 21^st,  for some trekking in New Hampshire at Mount Washington Pinkham Notch. Last night, there was 5” of powder snow on top of 23” of hard packed snow on the trail. Trekking with just boots was fine, as long I stayed on the trail to Lost Pond. It’s great when you are the only sole making fresh tracks in the snow except for some animal friends that had beat me to the punch.

USA New Hampshire Mount Washington Valentine's Day 2011

This is how I spent Valentine’s Day, on top of Mount Washington. Lynne had to teach this week so I headed for North Conway, NH to have some adventures on Mount Washington. It was a warm day at 20F with winds
around 25mph when this picture was taken. Within two hours the winds were up to guests of 70mph with fog rolling in fast.

2010 Cross Country Trip: August 1-8

After 12,000 miles; 59 days; 58 nights; 199 meals; 31 different hotels; 7 national parks; 7 days, 16 hours, 19 minutes of driving and 31 states we are home. Our last few days were spent in Tennessee, North Carolina and Virginia.


After Lynne got back from seeing Elvis at Grace Land, we headed for downtown Memphis music scene and The National Civil Rights Museum where Martin Luther was assassinated. Being Sunday and 102 degrees, we mostly had the street to ourselves.

As we headed towards Nashville, we stopped at Andrews Jackson’s home and toured the grounds. This was his first house before he killed off all the Native Americans and became president.

Opryland was still being repaired from the May flood which turned out to be a plus for us since we enjoyed downtown Nashville. We ate at the Broadway bar and listened to the locals play music.

As we headed home by taking Virginia’s Shenandoah Skyline Drive, Lynne got into the car, yet, one more

 time.

2010 Cross Country Trip: July 5-31

We are in Memphis, TN and Lynne is off to see Elvis at Grace Land. Elvis not being my thing and not wanting to walk around with the heat index at 106, I decided to update our blog today.

Our stay in the Grand Canyon at the El Tovar Hotel was very enjoyable. However, our hiking was limited. My leg swelled up from a fall on the top of Pikes Peak. I can recommend the North Country Healthcare Clinic at Grand Canyon in case you are in the need of medical attention. After a checkup and antibiotics, we left the Grand Canyon for Williams, AZ.

What happened at Pikes Peak? Lynne wanted to take a picture of me next to the Pikes Peak summit sign. While stepping up on the rock platform, I held the camera in my right hand and the tripod in my left. After my next step, I feel onto the rock causing a bloody left shin and knee. All the while, I held the camera in the air to prevent any damage.

Williams, AZ turned out to be a gem of a small town on Route 66 where some locals staged a gun fight. Thecowboy wanted 2 bucks for Lynne’s ransom. But I told him that I was broke from my North Country Healthcare Clinic visit.

On the way from Williams to Phoenix, we stopped at Sedona and Jerome. We were not shopping for trinkets or artwork and also, we decided not to hike in the hills surrounding Sedona. Unfortunately, we found the city too commercialized and moved onto Jerome, an intriguing old mining town that we liked very much.

After visiting friends for a few days in Phoenix, we were off to Los Angeles for a ten day visit. We attended a conference on Jewish Genealogy and visited my daughter, Vikki. We stopped for gas at Chiriaco Summit, CA in the middle of nowhere where we discovered the General George S. Patton Memorial Museum to commemorate his training camp in the CA desert during WWII.

The significance of our visit to the Queen Mary at Long Beach, CA is my cruise from New York to Cherbourg, France in 1963. That was my first trip to Europe.

We started our trip back east from Los Angeles. Our first stop was Yosemite National Park which turned out not to be so great. After spending a half a day driving thru the park on roads that were under construction, we arrived at the Wawona Hotel in Yosemite. This place dates back to 1901. While it is supposed to be a charm of place, the temperature in our bedroom as well as outside was 99 degrees. We had an inside room with no ventilation other than a fan in the window which faced the hallway and just circulated the hot air. Not wanting to spend another night here, we headed for Lake Tahoe in Nevada.

As we continued northeast towards Yellowstone National Park, our stay in Park City, Utah was a good days rest from driving. This restaurant may not look like much, but we had a great meal here.

Our stay at the Lake Yellowstone Hotel was one our better eating experiences and I would say not typical of the rest of the places to stay in the Park. While we got to see the Old Faithful Geyser and other geysers along with the wild life, most of our time was spent driving from one part of the park to another. This is one place where you really need a week if you want to hike and see the wildlife.

Our stay in Rapid City, South Dakota to visit Mt. Rushmore and the Crazy Horse Memorial was relaxing as we were only 45 minutes from both. We were more impressed by the Crazy Horse Memorial than Mt. Rushmore.

We spent the next few days driving on US90 heading east towards St. Louis, MO and seeing a thousand of miles of corn fields. We stopped at the Corn Palace, SD but this was a bust, as we could not even get corn-on-the-cob. We finally settled for popcorn which tasted very good. In fact, none of the restaurants sold cooked corn-on-the-cob. I guess that corn is the last food that the locals want to see during meal time.

In St. Louis, MO our car was service for its 75,000 mile maintenance having already driven 10.000 on this trip. Early in the morning, before the downpour, we had time to visit the Arch and its museum. Later, we returned to our unique hotel room in Union Station to watch rain. This was the first real major rainfall since New Orleans.