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April-June 2011
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Scott & Deb's Excellent RV Adventures: Great Exuma, Bahamas |
Day 1:
As we departed Front Range Airport at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday morning, we were embarking upon an RV adventure that had been over a year in the making for us--even longer for those doing the planning. While our ultimate destination would be Great Exuma Island in the Bahamas, the first three days of our journey would be spent leap-frogging our way down to the jumping off point in Homestead, with planned overnight stops in South Central Texas, Northern Georgia, and Central Florida.
Ground temp at wheels up was a pleasant 62 degrees. Sky conditions between Front Range Airport and our first fuel / potty stop in Hereford, Texas were a mixture of broken and solid overcast. We started out with a headwind of about 22 knots on the nose at 8,500' and eventually climbed to 10,500'.
The good folks at the City of Hereford FBO took great care of us. Neat and tidy facility and excellent customer service. Most FBOs aim to please. A rare few just plain miss the mark. Some go above and beyond. We've come to really appreciate the latter.
The second leg of our first day brought us from Hereford to Stephenville, Texas. Skies were hazy and the ride was bumpy and hot. Our purpose in visiting the Lone Star State was two-fold: enjoy some excellent pit-smoked BBQ at The Hard-Eight and spend the night with friends/fellow RVers Scott & Tanya Card.
The good folks at the City of Hereford FBO took great care of us. Neat and tidy facility and excellent customer service. Most FBOs aim to please. A rare few just plain miss the mark. Some go above and beyond. We've come to really appreciate the latter.
The second leg of our first day brought us from Hereford to Stephenville, Texas. Skies were hazy and the ride was bumpy and hot. Our purpose in visiting the Lone Star State was two-fold: enjoy some excellent pit-smoked BBQ at The Hard-Eight and spend the night with friends/fellow RVers Scott & Tanya Card.
As we came in for a mid-afternoon landing at Clark Field in Stephenville, during the hottest part of the day, I began to seriously question the wisdom in this decision. Ground temp upon landing and popping open the canopy was a sweltering 100 degrees. Debbie was hot. Debbie was hungry. Debbie was snarky. My mood didn't improve much during the hot-and-sweaty 10-minute walk from the field to the restaurant.
But all misery faded once we entered the air conditioned restaurant and sank our teeth into that succulent melt-in-your-mouth chicken, ribs, and sausage. Well worth a little discomfort.
Having stuffed ourselves with large quantities of seared animal flesh, we opted to hang out in the deserted climate-controlled FBO and wait for the sun to sink a little lower in the sky before continuing on. A short phone conversation with Tanya dashed all hopes that the proverbial mercury would be dropping significantly anytime soon, so we sucked it up and pressed on.
Third and final leg of the day brought us from Stephenville into Georgetown, Texas. We climbed to 7,500' and for the 77-degree air. Ground temp in Georgetown at 7:00 p.m. was still 94 degrees.
Scott and Tanya stowed our 9A in one of their hangars and shuttled us off to their lovely home in Austin proper.
(photo by Card)
After a cold drink, a tour of the Cards' self-described "four-car garage (plane- building workshop) with house attached," and a nice shower for yours truly, the four of us sat outside on the back porch reveling in the "cooler" 83-degree air and discussing the island adventure that lay ahead.
To finish reading about our Exuma, Bahamas adventure, click here. Click the photo below to view our online photo album.
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| Scott & Deb's Excellent RV Adventures: Great Exuma, Bahamas |
| Week Ending 04/16/11 |
Picking up where I left off in last week's post, our time in the Northeast continues....
Before setting off on a tourist excursion Sunday morning, we sipped coffee and chatted with other B&Bers around the breakfast table at the Pleasant Street Inn. Every one of Rob's breakfast creations up to this point had been delicious, but he and Jan outdid themselves on this particular day with a decadent meal of baked French toast dressed in Maine blueberries and served along side some of the tastiest bacon one could ever hope to eat.
While flipping through books and periodicals in one of the seating areas of our home-away-from-home, we came across a blurb in DownEast Magazine about award-winning whoopie pies in Skowhegan, Maine. "Ma's Famous" whoopie Pies did not disappoint. These confectionery delights typically have a cream filling that consists of lard, powdered sugar, and marshmallow fluff. Far from healthy but oh so yummy!
Long before I had cracked open my first Stephen King book, I became familiar with the "master of horror" through movie adaptations of his books. In my twenties and thirties I grew to be quite the fan--though not his "number one fan." Although I am no longer what you'd call an avid reader of fiction, I do still enjoy a chiller now and then. This guy has the ability to weave a tapestry of the macabre that keeps me coming back for more in spite of myself. As someone who has enjoyed his work, it was indeed a rare treat to have a drive-by photo op of his home in Bangor.
I am currently re-reading "It", set in the fictional town of Derry, Maine, which is said to be King's interpretation of Bangor:
He took a step closer to the plastic Paul Bunyan statue, as amazed by its cheerful vulgarity now as he had been overwhelmed by its size as a child. The mythical Paul stood twenty feet high, and the base added another six feet. He stood smiling down at the car and pedestrian traffic on Outer Canal Street from the edge of the City Center lawn. City Center had been erected in the years 1954-55 for a minor-league basketball team that never materialized. The Derry City Council had voted money for the statue a year later, in 1956. It had been hotly debated both in the council's public meetings and in the letters-to-the-editor columns of the Derry News. Many thought it would be a perfectly lovely statue, certain to become a tourist attraction of note. There were others who found the idea of a plastic Paul Bunyan horrible, garish, and unbelievably gauche." (excerpted from "It")
After having gazed upon Mr. King's plastic muse, I must agree that it's a somewhat tacky addition to the lovely little park. Yet, after having read about Richie Tozier's fictional encounter with big B, it was neat to see it in person. Thankfully for Scott and me, however, it did not come to life and threaten to eat us on this particular day.
Things had been going quite well for Scott and Tom on the jobsite until they hit a snag on Tuesday night. The facility had some sort of problem which prohibited the guys from testing the unit they had been working on for a week. Rather unsatisfying to leave the job unfinished, but that's the way it goes in Scotty's line of work. Someone will be returning to Rangeley, Maine to finish things up.
After saying our goodbyes to inn keeper Rob, we headed back down to my sister Toni's house in Henniker, New Hampshire. Weather on the drive up had been snowy and nasty. Weather on the drive down would be rainy and equally as nasty. And so it goes in New England.
Toni's dinner of homemade turkey soup, Ceasar salad, and warm gingerbread really hit the spot after a long day in the car. Next night it was Kyle's turn in the kitchen and he prepared an equally tasty dinner of filet mignon, oven roasted potatoes and salad. So glad our youngest sister, Linda, was able to join us for dinner that evening.
In addition to playing tourist and visiting family members on both sides (in and outside of the cemetery), we were able to attend an informal Pinkerton Academy gathering on Friday night. It was great to reconnect with friends and classmates we had not seen since 1988; we were especially pleased to visit with our close friends Andy and Becky Bettez (red shirt & black sweater) whom we had not seen in 11 years.
On Saturday morning, we hit the friendly skies en route back to Denver. A two-hour weather delay at our stop-over in Dulles got us home later than we had planned, but at least we were able to sleep in our own comfy bed.
| Week Ending 04/09/11 |
Picking up where I left off in last week's post ...
First up on our Sunday agenda was a visit with Scott's mom in Derry, New Hampshire. She and Scott and I, as well as three of Scott's siblings, a nephew and a niece, met up for lunch. Two of the things I most love about this part of the country are its rich history and its early American style of architecture. Throw in a tasty chicken panini, and you've got yourself a winning combination with The Coach Stop Restaurant & Tavern.
Following a morning and afternoon of visiting with Scott's family, we drove up to Henniker for an overnight stay with middle sister and her husband. Before settling in around the TV for a friendly round of Wii and a movie, Toni served up a delicious dinner of home-made beans, franks, and brown bread--New England comfort food of the highest order--and warm apple crisp topped with vanilla ice cream.
Next morning, Scott and I left the warmth of Toni and Kyle's hearth and headed out into the bone-chillingly cold northeastern weather for an estimated 4-hour drive further north to our final destination of 104 Pleasant Street in Rangeley, Maine.
The steady fall of precipitation in its various forms made for a drive that was slow-going and sloppy, but Scotty took it all in stride without incident or complaint.
The winter-like weather of our first couple of days in The Pine Tree State eventually gave way to bright blue skies and warmer temps. Inn Keeper/Owners Rob and Jan Welch are taking top-notch care of us at their lovely Pleasant Street Inn B & B.
Many of the shops and restaurants in scenic Rangeley are closed up tight this time of year for annual cleaning and maintenance and/or owner vacations, so not a lot for yours truly to do all day.
But we have seen a thing or two here in Maine that you're not likely to see just anywhere: sap collection buckets hanging from maple trees and moose moseying right up the street bold as you please. As of this post, Maine is the nation's third largest producer of maple syrup (behind Vermont and New York) and has the second highest moose population (behind Alaska and ahead of Wyoming), so sights such as these are commonplace to locals.
More about our stay in the Northeast in next week's post.
| Week Ending 04/02/11 |
Aside from preparations for a work-related trip up to Maine, not much to report. Nini and G-Dad wanted to get some quality face time in with "the man" since they'd be two whole weeks without a Kota fix! He was a little cranky during dinner and proceeded to scold me when I took his picture without permission.
Our intent to fly 339A up to the Maine on Thursday didn't pan out due to predictions of inclement weather.We instead let that "big old jet airliner" carry us into Beantown on Saturday.
With plans to visit family on Sunday and drive up to Maine on Monday, we overnighted across the border in "The Gateway to New Hampshire."
More about our trip to the Northeast in next week's post.