Monday, September 22, 2008
A jumble of a day
...and a much needed rest
Hey - it's my turn to write! After all I can't let Denise have all of the writing fun, can I?
The first puzzle of the day was finding a place to get a new tire for the rental car. Unfortunately, our flat on Saturday was a bad one, one that meant a new tire was needed. And no, that's not covered by insurance. Denise tells me that it wouldn't be covered on her own car either. She called Hertz, and they referred her to the company that does tire replacements for them. Then she called that company, and they actually suggested finding a closer place since they were in Carlisle which is about 40 miles away from here. Those phone calls happened yesterday, and this morning Denise asked one of the people at the front desk for a suggestion. They sent us to Harold's Tyres in Penrith, and before we knew it we had a new tire (or tyre?). Great service!
I'm really glad we didn't need to go to Carlisle because the 15 mile drive to Penrith took a long time. Denise was really surprised when she was handed multimap directions that said "distance: 14.13 miles, about 39 minutes". And yes, it did take that long to traverse a mostly 2-lane (or maybe I should say less than 2-lane) road.
As long as we were in a larger town, we stopped at a real grocery store to pick up some fruit and other snack food. The selection of fruit in the little shops in Glenridding has been abysmal, and Denise said she had a severe case of banana withdrawal. I convinced her to get some ginger oat biscuits; that combination of ingredients sounds really good to me. Funny, I forget to tell her to get some chocolate.
I thought it was time to head back then, but the ruins of Penrith Castle jumped out in front of us. We had a quick stop there. Well, it took a little longer than it should have because we parked the car along the side of the road in an area with signs saying you needed a disk to park there, and that all of the local shops had them. Denise tried three places. Each one said they didn't have any and suggested we try the next shop. After that she decided to chance it and just hope that we didn't get a parking ticket. It was our lucky day, no ticket.
Then, it was time to head down the road again, to try to understand the signs as we circled two roundabouts, back to the very narrow route A592. Our first stop on the way back was at Dalemain. At first I thought it was a bit odd that we were stopping there; Denise tends to want to wander outside and she usually skips house tours. Oh! I see why she turned in here. She wanted to try to capture a field full of sheep with the big camera. She's going to keep tryng, but I don't think she's going to be happy with the results. It was a fabulous stop though. As long as we were there, Denise started to walk towards the house. She saw a field full of deer, a bit too far away. She kept walking, and there was a garden area with a sign saying that visiting was welcome. She walked in because she saw a cage housing what looked like a squirrel, a squirrel dresse in pure white. And there was a man standing at a fence feeding some fallow deer. He saw Denise with the camera, and he asked if we'd like to come closer. We went right up to the fence. And oh! the deer were beautiful. There were funny chickens running around too, chasing each other, grabbing and dropped food.
Once the deer had scattered, conversation continued in the garden, and the man we were talking with filled his hand with seed and held it out for the birds. A couple of birds came and snatched a seed. It must not have been eating time since they spent more time jumping and flitting among the flowers.
Ah, finally, the spot for our short hike through the woods to the tumbling waters of Aira Force. It's a waterfall where the Aira Beck tumbles down a steep slope, There was a bridge a bit below the falls, reachable by traversing a set of very steep stairs, a good place to stand to view the falls from afar. And there was a bridge sitting above the top of the falls too. And Denise did her usual wander off the path to try to catch a closer glimpse of the quickly moving waters. I barked to tell her not to walk on any slimy rocks. After all I didn't want to go swimming in what I suspect was very cold water.
On the path between the bridges, there were steps of stone, tall steps. There was one that was as high as Denise's knee. Wow, that was a really big step for her, and I don't think that I could have bounced that high by myself.
It was a good day of wandering, a good day of talking with strangers, and a much-needed light activity day. Resting can be a good thing.
Tomorrow? One more day of walking on our own. And tomorrow evening will be the start of our photography seminar.
Hey - it's my turn to write! After all I can't let Denise have all of the writing fun, can I?
The first puzzle of the day was finding a place to get a new tire for the rental car. Unfortunately, our flat on Saturday was a bad one, one that meant a new tire was needed. And no, that's not covered by insurance. Denise tells me that it wouldn't be covered on her own car either. She called Hertz, and they referred her to the company that does tire replacements for them. Then she called that company, and they actually suggested finding a closer place since they were in Carlisle which is about 40 miles away from here. Those phone calls happened yesterday, and this morning Denise asked one of the people at the front desk for a suggestion. They sent us to Harold's Tyres in Penrith, and before we knew it we had a new tire (or tyre?). Great service!
I'm really glad we didn't need to go to Carlisle because the 15 mile drive to Penrith took a long time. Denise was really surprised when she was handed multimap directions that said "distance: 14.13 miles, about 39 minutes". And yes, it did take that long to traverse a mostly 2-lane (or maybe I should say less than 2-lane) road.
As long as we were in a larger town, we stopped at a real grocery store to pick up some fruit and other snack food. The selection of fruit in the little shops in Glenridding has been abysmal, and Denise said she had a severe case of banana withdrawal. I convinced her to get some ginger oat biscuits; that combination of ingredients sounds really good to me. Funny, I forget to tell her to get some chocolate.
I thought it was time to head back then, but the ruins of Penrith Castle jumped out in front of us. We had a quick stop there. Well, it took a little longer than it should have because we parked the car along the side of the road in an area with signs saying you needed a disk to park there, and that all of the local shops had them. Denise tried three places. Each one said they didn't have any and suggested we try the next shop. After that she decided to chance it and just hope that we didn't get a parking ticket. It was our lucky day, no ticket.
Then, it was time to head down the road again, to try to understand the signs as we circled two roundabouts, back to the very narrow route A592. Our first stop on the way back was at Dalemain. At first I thought it was a bit odd that we were stopping there; Denise tends to want to wander outside and she usually skips house tours. Oh! I see why she turned in here. She wanted to try to capture a field full of sheep with the big camera. She's going to keep tryng, but I don't think she's going to be happy with the results. It was a fabulous stop though. As long as we were there, Denise started to walk towards the house. She saw a field full of deer, a bit too far away. She kept walking, and there was a garden area with a sign saying that visiting was welcome. She walked in because she saw a cage housing what looked like a squirrel, a squirrel dresse in pure white. And there was a man standing at a fence feeding some fallow deer. He saw Denise with the camera, and he asked if we'd like to come closer. We went right up to the fence. And oh! the deer were beautiful. There were funny chickens running around too, chasing each other, grabbing and dropped food.
Once the deer had scattered, conversation continued in the garden, and the man we were talking with filled his hand with seed and held it out for the birds. A couple of birds came and snatched a seed. It must not have been eating time since they spent more time jumping and flitting among the flowers.
Ah, finally, the spot for our short hike through the woods to the tumbling waters of Aira Force. It's a waterfall where the Aira Beck tumbles down a steep slope, There was a bridge a bit below the falls, reachable by traversing a set of very steep stairs, a good place to stand to view the falls from afar. And there was a bridge sitting above the top of the falls too. And Denise did her usual wander off the path to try to catch a closer glimpse of the quickly moving waters. I barked to tell her not to walk on any slimy rocks. After all I didn't want to go swimming in what I suspect was very cold water.
On the path between the bridges, there were steps of stone, tall steps. There was one that was as high as Denise's knee. Wow, that was a really big step for her, and I don't think that I could have bounced that high by myself.
Denise just reminded me that if you know the version of English from the west side of the Atlantic Ocean, you might not know what a Beck is. A Beck is a stream, in the case of Aira Beck, a quickly moving tumbling stream...The shores of Ullswater beckoned a bit later, and we headed down to the lake to have some conversations with two pairs of mute swans paddling about.
It was a good day of wandering, a good day of talking with strangers, and a much-needed light activity day. Resting can be a good thing.
Tomorrow? One more day of walking on our own. And tomorrow evening will be the start of our photography seminar.
--- Rover
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Place Fell
Hiking up, looking down
It was a respectable time for greeting the morning, not too early since breakfast here doesn't start until 8, but acceptable. With a 5-hour time change, it was still in the wee hours of the morning at home. I could have happily slept longer, but forcing myself to stay up all day yesterday seemed to work for jolting my body in the direction it doesn't like to go. For some reason, time adjustments to the west seem to be a lot easier for me. (Of course I could find that statement to be totally untrue when I return home next week.)
Breakfast, conversations, and a visit to the shop across the sreet to pick up some snack food left me almost ready to wander. Caroline & I meandered into the mountain shop since she was on the hunt for a hat. I ended up buying a Buff after a quick demonstration. Funny, I had looked at them in the past, but somehow seeing someone demonstrate its use made so much more sense than trying to understand the drawings on the packaging. What is it? It's a tube of light fabric that can be worn around your neck as a crumpled scarf, spread out a bit more for some protection, and in several variations of hats. It looks to be a good extra layer, a quick hat, thin enough to even fit beneath a cycling helmet.
We decided to walk together today, Caroline, her Border Collie Bessie, and me. It was noon by the time we headed out on the trail, amazing how fast time can just disappear, isn't it?
Our destination for the day was Place Fell. There were varying descriptions of the hike in the three guidebooks that I managed to accumulate, from 'A steep climb up a moderately high fell overlooking Ullswater' in the tiny Walks Ullswater to 'Place Fell rises steeply from the curve formed by the upper and middle reaches of Ullswater and its bulky mass dominates the head of the lake' in one of Wainright's classic guides. I had looked for the Wainright books at home, but the only way I could have purchased on before flying over the ocean was to order it from the UK. I would have happily done that, but there were so many different Wainright guidebooks that I didn't have a clue which one I needed. Not only does the Wainright book include notes on the trail, it also points out the sights that can be seen from the top.
The hike started in Patterdale - the next town to the south of where I am staying. Since it was a very short walk between the two towns, we started our walk from Glenridding. The 'trail' started with a short stretch down a 1-lane 2-way road. I first encountered these tiny roads on my two-wheeled trip in Ireland back in 2003. They surprised me then, and they surprise me now.
We went through a gate, and the trail started headinng up. Ah, a split in the trail, shall we take the upper path or the lower one? Look - there's a bench up a bit on the upper path. That was a good decision point, a walk to the bench, a bit of a rest, a chance to experiment with (camera) filters for a bit, and then we continued our upward walk.
Up, up, and then a decision point. Ah, follow the path to the left. We were close to the top when the trail headed up through some rocks in a path steep enough that I thought I'd have a problem coming back down. I opted to stay there while Caroline continued to the high point of the trail. Lucky for me, as soon as she climbed up that steep bit she saw a trail lower down (and close to where I was waiting) and called down to tell me about it. i didn't see the trail at first, but then I saw a couple coming down that way. I'm so glad that I was able to join Caroline and our hiking pal Bess at the high point of Place Fell.
The scenery was beautiful even though the valley seemed to be softened by gray haze. It wasn't really hazy, but it wasn't sunny either. I'd love to see the sights from Place Fell on a day that was more brightly lit.
There were sheep scattered through the hills, and as usual i was trying to grab their images. They weren't very cooperative though; as soon as I looked at them they turned tail and trotted away. By the end of the day I decided I needed a non-existent lens for my camera. I'd love to be able to get close-up shots of animals but still maintain the panorama behind them.
The hike was described as a loop. By the time we reached the high point it was quite late in the day, so instead of completing the loop we chose to reverse our hike. I wonder, does that mean that I need to do it again?
On the way down, Bess kept turning around to look at us, as if to say 'can't you walk any faster'? Oh, to have a dog's feet!
It was a respectable time for greeting the morning, not too early since breakfast here doesn't start until 8, but acceptable. With a 5-hour time change, it was still in the wee hours of the morning at home. I could have happily slept longer, but forcing myself to stay up all day yesterday seemed to work for jolting my body in the direction it doesn't like to go. For some reason, time adjustments to the west seem to be a lot easier for me. (Of course I could find that statement to be totally untrue when I return home next week.)
Breakfast, conversations, and a visit to the shop across the sreet to pick up some snack food left me almost ready to wander. Caroline & I meandered into the mountain shop since she was on the hunt for a hat. I ended up buying a Buff after a quick demonstration. Funny, I had looked at them in the past, but somehow seeing someone demonstrate its use made so much more sense than trying to understand the drawings on the packaging. What is it? It's a tube of light fabric that can be worn around your neck as a crumpled scarf, spread out a bit more for some protection, and in several variations of hats. It looks to be a good extra layer, a quick hat, thin enough to even fit beneath a cycling helmet.
We decided to walk together today, Caroline, her Border Collie Bessie, and me. It was noon by the time we headed out on the trail, amazing how fast time can just disappear, isn't it?
Our destination for the day was Place Fell. There were varying descriptions of the hike in the three guidebooks that I managed to accumulate, from 'A steep climb up a moderately high fell overlooking Ullswater' in the tiny Walks Ullswater to 'Place Fell rises steeply from the curve formed by the upper and middle reaches of Ullswater and its bulky mass dominates the head of the lake' in one of Wainright's classic guides. I had looked for the Wainright books at home, but the only way I could have purchased on before flying over the ocean was to order it from the UK. I would have happily done that, but there were so many different Wainright guidebooks that I didn't have a clue which one I needed. Not only does the Wainright book include notes on the trail, it also points out the sights that can be seen from the top.
The hike started in Patterdale - the next town to the south of where I am staying. Since it was a very short walk between the two towns, we started our walk from Glenridding. The 'trail' started with a short stretch down a 1-lane 2-way road. I first encountered these tiny roads on my two-wheeled trip in Ireland back in 2003. They surprised me then, and they surprise me now.
We went through a gate, and the trail started headinng up. Ah, a split in the trail, shall we take the upper path or the lower one? Look - there's a bench up a bit on the upper path. That was a good decision point, a walk to the bench, a bit of a rest, a chance to experiment with (camera) filters for a bit, and then we continued our upward walk.
Up, up, and then a decision point. Ah, follow the path to the left. We were close to the top when the trail headed up through some rocks in a path steep enough that I thought I'd have a problem coming back down. I opted to stay there while Caroline continued to the high point of the trail. Lucky for me, as soon as she climbed up that steep bit she saw a trail lower down (and close to where I was waiting) and called down to tell me about it. i didn't see the trail at first, but then I saw a couple coming down that way. I'm so glad that I was able to join Caroline and our hiking pal Bess at the high point of Place Fell.
The scenery was beautiful even though the valley seemed to be softened by gray haze. It wasn't really hazy, but it wasn't sunny either. I'd love to see the sights from Place Fell on a day that was more brightly lit.
There were sheep scattered through the hills, and as usual i was trying to grab their images. They weren't very cooperative though; as soon as I looked at them they turned tail and trotted away. By the end of the day I decided I needed a non-existent lens for my camera. I'd love to be able to get close-up shots of animals but still maintain the panorama behind them.
The hike was described as a loop. By the time we reached the high point it was quite late in the day, so instead of completing the loop we chose to reverse our hike. I wonder, does that mean that I need to do it again?
On the way down, Bess kept turning around to look at us, as if to say 'can't you walk any faster'? Oh, to have a dog's feet!
Saturday, September 20, 2008
A meeting & a walk
Up Glenridding Dodd
After the somewhat exciting end to my drive, I settled in to my room and did a quick loop through town (yes, on foot!) to get my bearings. I picked up a map and trail book, then wandered down to a snack bar at the edge of the lake. A little bit of food was in order before I headed out on a late afternoon walk with Caroline and her dog Bessie.
We headed up Glenridding Dodd, up and up. Up some more. The sun was sinking lower, painting shadows on the hills. I was a little concerned about having enough time to finish in daylight (since we started hiking quite late in the afternoon), but no problem. Sunshine continued to light our way all of the way down again. It was a bit of a steep walk down, with a couple of sections that made me more than a bit nervous - steep, and with loose terrain underfoot. I'd much rather head up than down, but there isn't any getting away from coming back down again. Maybe one of these days I'll get over my lack of comfort with steep downhills. In the meantime, I'm still walking!
A dodd? That's a new word for me too. According to the (little) walks book that I picked up, and a dodd is a rounded hill.
After the somewhat exciting end to my drive, I settled in to my room and did a quick loop through town (yes, on foot!) to get my bearings. I picked up a map and trail book, then wandered down to a snack bar at the edge of the lake. A little bit of food was in order before I headed out on a late afternoon walk with Caroline and her dog Bessie.
We headed up Glenridding Dodd, up and up. Up some more. The sun was sinking lower, painting shadows on the hills. I was a little concerned about having enough time to finish in daylight (since we started hiking quite late in the afternoon), but no problem. Sunshine continued to light our way all of the way down again. It was a bit of a steep walk down, with a couple of sections that made me more than a bit nervous - steep, and with loose terrain underfoot. I'd much rather head up than down, but there isn't any getting away from coming back down again. Maybe one of these days I'll get over my lack of comfort with steep downhills. In the meantime, I'm still walking!
A dodd? That's a new word for me too. According to the (little) walks book that I picked up, and a dodd is a rounded hill.
Rocks & tires
...the kindness of strangers
Morning rolled around, sun peeking over the horizon and coloring the sky. An airport morning... First stop, immigrations. First dumb Denise move? Not bringing a copy of my itinerary showing my return flight. It never occurred to me to bring a printed copy of my flights since I know I can easily access them online. Oops. Luckily, , the receipt for my photography seminar showing the end date served as a somewhat odd substitute. I realized the reason that I didn't run into this problem when I was in Ireland - during my last flying international trip - was that I had a paper ticket for that trip. This one? Electronic only. Next time I suppose I'd better bring a copy of my itinerary.
After waiting and waiting and waiting for luggage, I finally collected my bag and walked outside and into the car rental office. Paperwork done, I headed into the garage to find my car for the week. And - in the spot where my car was supposed to be waiting for me, there was a large van. Yikes! I'm driving on the opposite side of the road from my driving comfort factor, and the car waiting was huge. I went back to the rental office, and the agent said (again) that the car was a small Ford Focus. Hmm... I headed back to the garage once more and discovered that the car in the spot noted on my rental envelope did not match the license number on my contract. Time for a car hunt... Yes, there really was a small Ford Focus waiting for me. And yes, it was an automatic. It was enough to focus on driving on the left without needed to remember to shift with my left hand.
Finally, I was on the road, rolling north, driving on a high-speed road and trying to keep pace with the other cars. There was no posted speed limit - I suppose you're just supposed to know what the speed limit is on a motorway. I thought it was a bit odd.
I stopped at a couple of service stops to get food, to rest. And then my route to Glenridding veered off of the high-speed roads & took me on a series of very narrow two-lane roads. Not only was there no shoulder, the road was lined with walls made of stones. All of a sudden I heard bang! Somehow, I must have clipped a rock or hit a hole with a tire (in a very strange way). Somehow it was clipped seriously enough that there was a hole in the tire. Not what I needed today, a rental car, a flat tire on a lightly traveled very narrow road. Ouch. Bad luck, but good luck too. A cyclist heading uphill added to his workout by helping me change the tire, and three women from Australia stopped to help too. It took all of us to figure out how to get the last (trick) nut off of the wheel. It needed a funny extra attachment for to the wrench. Very odd.
My thanks go out to the strangers who helped me on the road today with a promise to (continue to) help people I meet along the way.
Tire changed, I finished the uphill climb and started the long down into Glenridding. I checked in to the hotel, then walked back to the car to get my bags. As I was walking down the hall to my room, Caroline opened her door to say hello. Finally, an in person meeting! Tea and conversations were a good relaxation. Ah, I'm really here!
Morning rolled around, sun peeking over the horizon and coloring the sky. An airport morning... First stop, immigrations. First dumb Denise move? Not bringing a copy of my itinerary showing my return flight. It never occurred to me to bring a printed copy of my flights since I know I can easily access them online. Oops. Luckily, , the receipt for my photography seminar showing the end date served as a somewhat odd substitute. I realized the reason that I didn't run into this problem when I was in Ireland - during my last flying international trip - was that I had a paper ticket for that trip. This one? Electronic only. Next time I suppose I'd better bring a copy of my itinerary.
After waiting and waiting and waiting for luggage, I finally collected my bag and walked outside and into the car rental office. Paperwork done, I headed into the garage to find my car for the week. And - in the spot where my car was supposed to be waiting for me, there was a large van. Yikes! I'm driving on the opposite side of the road from my driving comfort factor, and the car waiting was huge. I went back to the rental office, and the agent said (again) that the car was a small Ford Focus. Hmm... I headed back to the garage once more and discovered that the car in the spot noted on my rental envelope did not match the license number on my contract. Time for a car hunt... Yes, there really was a small Ford Focus waiting for me. And yes, it was an automatic. It was enough to focus on driving on the left without needed to remember to shift with my left hand.
Finally, I was on the road, rolling north, driving on a high-speed road and trying to keep pace with the other cars. There was no posted speed limit - I suppose you're just supposed to know what the speed limit is on a motorway. I thought it was a bit odd.
I stopped at a couple of service stops to get food, to rest. And then my route to Glenridding veered off of the high-speed roads & took me on a series of very narrow two-lane roads. Not only was there no shoulder, the road was lined with walls made of stones. All of a sudden I heard bang! Somehow, I must have clipped a rock or hit a hole with a tire (in a very strange way). Somehow it was clipped seriously enough that there was a hole in the tire. Not what I needed today, a rental car, a flat tire on a lightly traveled very narrow road. Ouch. Bad luck, but good luck too. A cyclist heading uphill added to his workout by helping me change the tire, and three women from Australia stopped to help too. It took all of us to figure out how to get the last (trick) nut off of the wheel. It needed a funny extra attachment for to the wrench. Very odd.
My thanks go out to the strangers who helped me on the road today with a promise to (continue to) help people I meet along the way.
Tire changed, I finished the uphill climb and started the long down into Glenridding. I checked in to the hotel, then walked back to the car to get my bags. As I was walking down the hall to my room, Caroline opened her door to say hello. Finally, an in person meeting! Tea and conversations were a good relaxation. Ah, I'm really here!
Friday, September 19, 2008
Afternoon & night... flying
Two flights, two planes, very different...
My first flight, from Logan to Newark, was a late afternoon packed plane. There was a large business traveler presence, a large contingent of people carrying multiple very large pieces of luggage onto the plane. It's flights like this one that make me appreciate Southwest Airline's no assigned seat policy. I'm sure I'm not imagining that boarding the flight to Newark took much longer than boarding a Southwest flight of the same size. Very interesting.
Entering the international wings of the day was much more peaceful. More people were traveling with little in the way of carry-on luggage, and boarding the flight was a much faster process.
Individual seat-back entertainment systems showed me our position in the flight, the time remaining, our speed and altitude. Hey - we just flew over Boston. Now why couldn't I just jump up in the air from home to board my flight?
My first flight, from Logan to Newark, was a late afternoon packed plane. There was a large business traveler presence, a large contingent of people carrying multiple very large pieces of luggage onto the plane. It's flights like this one that make me appreciate Southwest Airline's no assigned seat policy. I'm sure I'm not imagining that boarding the flight to Newark took much longer than boarding a Southwest flight of the same size. Very interesting.
Entering the international wings of the day was much more peaceful. More people were traveling with little in the way of carry-on luggage, and boarding the flight was a much faster process.
Individual seat-back entertainment systems showed me our position in the flight, the time remaining, our speed and altitude. Hey - we just flew over Boston. Now why couldn't I just jump up in the air from home to board my flight?
Hey Denise, it's a bit cold out there - minus 18 degrees Fahrenheit. Yikes! And I'm good at jumping, but I don't think even I could jump up to our current altitude of 36942 feet! But oh! look... we're currently flying at 564 miles per hour. No wonder airplanes get us places so much faster than traveling on our bike! Let's see, by (loaded) bike I think we average about 12 miles per hour. What a difference! Hmm... maybe we could go a little faster if I helped Denise to pedal.I managed a quick catnap as we were waiting to take off from Newark. Now I'm wide awake again, probably not a good thing. I don't sleep well on planes, and yet... I need to be alert to drive in the morning. Not only to drive, but to drive on the other side of the road. Remember Denise, drive on the left. Left, left. (Yes, I am talking to myself. Don't you?)
Remember - this is slanty writing. That means it's Rover writing!
Remembering... with a cube made of glass
I arrived at the airport early enough that I could wander over to Logan Airport's just dedicated September 11th memorial. If you happen to pass through Logan, it's worth a stop.
A glass cube surrounds glass panels containing the names of the passengers & crew of the two flights that left Logan that fateful day. The outside of the structure isn't solid. Instead it is made up of thin slabs of glass, alternating in placement, each panel offset from the next and previous. Looking up, there are floating pieces of glass. Two simple benches stand within the structure, a place to sit in quiet contemplation. It is a place of peace in a busy airport.
A beautiful structure, a memory of a terrible day...
Curious about the memorial? You might find these links interesting:
A glass cube surrounds glass panels containing the names of the passengers & crew of the two flights that left Logan that fateful day. The outside of the structure isn't solid. Instead it is made up of thin slabs of glass, alternating in placement, each panel offset from the next and previous. Looking up, there are floating pieces of glass. Two simple benches stand within the structure, a place to sit in quiet contemplation. It is a place of peace in a busy airport.
A beautiful structure, a memory of a terrible day...
Curious about the memorial? You might find these links interesting:
>>> Massport Unveils Boston Logan Airport 9/11 Memorial Design, September 2006
>>> Boston Memorial Marks Ill-Fated Planes' Departure, NPR story, September 2008
Stuff, stuff, and more stuff
Hi, Rover here... Wow, I've never seen Denise wait until the last minute to pack. She just didn't seem to have things together this week. But then again, she has been gathering things together for days. There were piles on the floor in two rooms - camera, lenses, flash cards, filters, stuff in one place, and clothing options in another. There was never any doubt in my mind that all of the stuff Denise carries to create photos would fit in the photo backpack, but the clothes? It really looked like there was no way the suitcase was going to be big enough for clothes plus Denise's tripod. Stacks and stacks and stacks of stuff!
Somehow, everything fit. And you know what? I think she could have fit in even more layers if she needed them.
It was interesting watching the packing decisions for this trip. It's been raining a lot in England, and it's cooler there than here. Denise didn't bring anything heavy other than a pretty serious fleece vest, but she has lots of clothes that can be layered for more warmth. Oh, and she did pack a rain jacket and a rain hat too. People are a bit silly about water coming from the sky, aren't they? My bright red fur gets wet in the rain, but it doesn't take that long to dry. Maybe people should take a lesson on dressing (or not dressing!) from dogs.
Somehow, everything fit. And you know what? I think she could have fit in even more layers if she needed them.
It was interesting watching the packing decisions for this trip. It's been raining a lot in England, and it's cooler there than here. Denise didn't bring anything heavy other than a pretty serious fleece vest, but she has lots of clothes that can be layered for more warmth. Oh, and she did pack a rain jacket and a rain hat too. People are a bit silly about water coming from the sky, aren't they? My bright red fur gets wet in the rain, but it doesn't take that long to dry. Maybe people should take a lesson on dressing (or not dressing!) from dogs.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Jumping closer... soon
I can't believe that it's almost time to fly across the expanse of the Atlantic Ocean to find my wandering grounds in the Lake District. The months since I committed to this trip have flown by, and now I'm counting the days. Three days...
I land in Manchester early Saturday morning, and I'll have a bit of a drive ahead of me to get to my stomping grounds for the week. Instead of wandering, I've decided to make Glenridding my home base for the week. That's where my photography seminar will be, so I'll have one bed for the entire stay. (Well, except for the last night, when I'll probably stay near the airport in Manchester.)
Plans? Nope, I don't have any of those. There are plenty of places to walk in the Lake District. Some of my wanderings will be close to Glenridding, some may involve a drive first. Some wanderings will be inside of Lake District, some may be elsewhere. I'm still toying with the idea of heading to Hadrian's Wall on one of my free days.
Let's see, how far north of home will I be? I talked about air miles before, but where will I be relative to where I am now?
My home town is at 42.68 degrees latitude, and Glenridding, my home away from home for this trip is at 54.54 degrees latitude. A degree of latitude is about 69 miles, so I'll be perched at a latitude that is 828 miles north of where I am right now. If I headed straight north from home and traveled 828 miles, it looks like I would end up in a very unpopulated area of Quebec. Turn right and head across the ocean from there, an oh! I think I'll land in England.
The weather? I'm sending strong wishes to the weather wizard for days that aren't totally wet. I'm sure there's no escaping wet weather in England at this time of year, but I can hope, can't I? Oh, you want to see the forecast? Take a look at Weatherline, showing a 5-day forecast for the park.
An interesting answer (and question) from the Weatherline page:
Packing? Yup, I do still need to figure out what clothing is coming with me. I'm using my cycle touring rules, even though I won't be traveling each day. A couple of changes of clothes, lots of layers (because I think it's going to be chilly and damp), clothes that can be washed out and that will dry overnight. Layers, fleece, layers, hiking shoes, layers, rain gear, clothing made of fast-dry fabrics, stuff to keep me comfortable...
I suppose it might be smart to take an umbrella with me. What do you think?
Cameras? More than one? Of course! My dSLR is coming along with a couple of lenses, some filters that I need to learn to use, a tripod... And I promised Rover that I'd bring a little camera for him to use. Two cameras...
I must meet the goals of my trip - to wander by foot, to play with cameras, to enhance my abilities to capture beautiful images with my camera.
I land in Manchester early Saturday morning, and I'll have a bit of a drive ahead of me to get to my stomping grounds for the week. Instead of wandering, I've decided to make Glenridding my home base for the week. That's where my photography seminar will be, so I'll have one bed for the entire stay. (Well, except for the last night, when I'll probably stay near the airport in Manchester.)
Plans? Nope, I don't have any of those. There are plenty of places to walk in the Lake District. Some of my wanderings will be close to Glenridding, some may involve a drive first. Some wanderings will be inside of Lake District, some may be elsewhere. I'm still toying with the idea of heading to Hadrian's Wall on one of my free days.
Let's see, how far north of home will I be? I talked about air miles before, but where will I be relative to where I am now?
My home town is at 42.68 degrees latitude, and Glenridding, my home away from home for this trip is at 54.54 degrees latitude. A degree of latitude is about 69 miles, so I'll be perched at a latitude that is 828 miles north of where I am right now. If I headed straight north from home and traveled 828 miles, it looks like I would end up in a very unpopulated area of Quebec. Turn right and head across the ocean from there, an oh! I think I'll land in England.
The weather? I'm sending strong wishes to the weather wizard for days that aren't totally wet. I'm sure there's no escaping wet weather in England at this time of year, but I can hope, can't I? Oh, you want to see the forecast? Take a look at Weatherline, showing a 5-day forecast for the park.
An interesting answer (and question) from the Weatherline page:
Why does it rain in the Lake District?
"The weather in Britain mostly comes from the Atlantic. When the clouds hit the mountains of the Lake District, they rise, the water vapour within the clouds cools, condenses and falls as rain or snow."
Packing? Yup, I do still need to figure out what clothing is coming with me. I'm using my cycle touring rules, even though I won't be traveling each day. A couple of changes of clothes, lots of layers (because I think it's going to be chilly and damp), clothes that can be washed out and that will dry overnight. Layers, fleece, layers, hiking shoes, layers, rain gear, clothing made of fast-dry fabrics, stuff to keep me comfortable...
I suppose it might be smart to take an umbrella with me. What do you think?
Cameras? More than one? Of course! My dSLR is coming along with a couple of lenses, some filters that I need to learn to use, a tripod... And I promised Rover that I'd bring a little camera for him to use. Two cameras...
I must meet the goals of my trip - to wander by foot, to play with cameras, to enhance my abilities to capture beautiful images with my camera.
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Wings to Manchester
I've been keeping my eye on air fares for my September trip to England. I wanted to wait a bit, hoping that the fares would drop - but as gasoline prices have been jumping higher and higher I figured it might be time to commit to a flight.
I didn't consider many of the flights that are available; I refuse to head west over North America to fly east to Europe. Oh, and I only wanted one flight change. There are no non-stop flights between here and Manchester, but there are 2-flight options. With those two strong requirements I headed off to search for flights. The last time I looked it appeared that I would either be taking American Airlines through New York, or British Airways through London. All of the other flights headed in the wrong direction before crossing the Atlantic.
OK, one more search... and I found another option, an option for less money. Continental Airlines flies to Manchester via Newark. I started looking at flight schedules and found some flights. The outbound flight had a 1 1/4 hour connection in Newark. At first that seemed fine to me, but then I saw a clickable "see on-time performance". Yup, I did click, and I found that the flight I was looking at had a 20% on-time performance. Ouch. That didn't make me very comfortable. I even went so far as to call the airline to talk to a reservation agent. She assured me that it was a legal connection, but suggested taking an earlier flight into Newark if the lack of connection time made me nervous. I had her check the flights for today & yesterday. Today's flight was only 15 minutes late, but yesterday's? Five hours late! Yikes!
Then I realized there was a flight that leaves Boston a little over an hour earlier. Yes, I may have too much time in Newark, but that means less worrying for me.
Done! I have plane reservations and a rental car. All I need to do now is decide where I'm going to spend the four days before my photography seminar. Should I spend the entire time in the Lake District, or should I wander into one of the other national parks in the area?
I didn't consider many of the flights that are available; I refuse to head west over North America to fly east to Europe. Oh, and I only wanted one flight change. There are no non-stop flights between here and Manchester, but there are 2-flight options. With those two strong requirements I headed off to search for flights. The last time I looked it appeared that I would either be taking American Airlines through New York, or British Airways through London. All of the other flights headed in the wrong direction before crossing the Atlantic.
OK, one more search... and I found another option, an option for less money. Continental Airlines flies to Manchester via Newark. I started looking at flight schedules and found some flights. The outbound flight had a 1 1/4 hour connection in Newark. At first that seemed fine to me, but then I saw a clickable "see on-time performance". Yup, I did click, and I found that the flight I was looking at had a 20% on-time performance. Ouch. That didn't make me very comfortable. I even went so far as to call the airline to talk to a reservation agent. She assured me that it was a legal connection, but suggested taking an earlier flight into Newark if the lack of connection time made me nervous. I had her check the flights for today & yesterday. Today's flight was only 15 minutes late, but yesterday's? Five hours late! Yikes!
Then I realized there was a flight that leaves Boston a little over an hour earlier. Yes, I may have too much time in Newark, but that means less worrying for me.
Done! I have plane reservations and a rental car. All I need to do now is decide where I'm going to spend the four days before my photography seminar. Should I spend the entire time in the Lake District, or should I wander into one of the other national parks in the area?
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Me too, me too!
Rover said he's coming too. He says that he still prefers biking, but he thought that hiking in Death Valley was pretty cool. Oh, you haven't met Rover? He jumped into my panniers in Vermont just after I started my cross-country adventure back in 2002, and he's been traveling with me ever since.
Hey all - this is Rover! England? I went to Ireland with Denise back in 2003, and we haven't crossed the Atlantic Ocean since then. Wow! now I get to go to England too! I've asked Denise to bring her baby camera for me to play with; this dSLR is kind of clunky for me. After all, it's bigger than I am.
Oh, Denise just reminded me that I should tell you that I'll probably write part of this journal too. If you see slanty writing, those are my words. It's really funny, it wasn't until last year that I decided to jump in and help Denise with the writing. Sometimes she has a day when the words just don't flow, and I discovered that I like playing with words too. So please join Denise and me as we wander.
Hey all - this is Rover! England? I went to Ireland with Denise back in 2003, and we haven't crossed the Atlantic Ocean since then. Wow! now I get to go to England too! I've asked Denise to bring her baby camera for me to play with; this dSLR is kind of clunky for me. After all, it's bigger than I am.
Oh, Denise just reminded me that I should tell you that I'll probably write part of this journal too. If you see slanty writing, those are my words. It's really funny, it wasn't until last year that I decided to jump in and help Denise with the writing. Sometimes she has a day when the words just don't flow, and I discovered that I like playing with words too. So please join Denise and me as we wander.
Manchester to Manchester?
I wasn't done thinking yet. Should I travel to England for just three days? I've traveled to the west coast for trips of that length - a little short of the distance to England - but this is going to be a vacation and not just a long weekend. I think I'll fly the Friday before the seminar and spend a few days wandering on two feet. Maybe I'll spend the entire time in the Lake District, maybe I'll escape the mountains and the lakes for a side trip, maybe...
The distance doesn't really matter, but my curiosity got the better of me and I looked for a tool to show me point to point distances. I found MapCrow, a travel distance calculator. I suspect the distances shown there are air miles, and it satisfied my curiosity for now. Flying from Boston to Manchester, England shows as 3145 miles (5061 kilometers), and flying from Boston to Los Angeles shows as 2588 miles (4166 kilometers). So my gut feel for distances wasn't too far off.
Manchester to Manchester?
I suppose it's a bit silly, but I thought it would be fun to fly from Manchester, NH to Manchester, England. I live mid-way between two airports, Boston's Logan Airport and Manchester Boston Regional Airport. While it is possible to fly from Manchester to Manchester, the flights between those two cities exceed my annoyance levels. United Airlines flies from Manchester to Chicago to Manchester, but I really don't want to start my trip by flying backwards. Somehow flying 1000 miles to the west just to turn around and fly those same 1000 miles to the east before heading out over the ocean to England just doesn't appeal to me.
OK, OK, I knew before I rambled down the Manchester to Manchester path that I'd probably be flying out of Boston. Manchester is a great choice if there is a non-stop flight from there (on Southwest) to my travel destination, but Boston is the right starting point for this flight. I found two reasonable flight choices - American Airlines via JFK, or British Airways via London. Either way I will only have one plane change. Those travel paths are a little more expensive than the wacky flights that go through Chicago, but I'll choose cash over aggravation. I'd rather pay a little more for my plane tickets and spend less time in the air.
I find it amazing that the price of the flight is just over 53% of the total cost of the airfare, with the remaining 47% allocated to taxes and fees.
Curious about what I might find? Check out the Enjoying page on Lake District National Park's web site.Before I move off to dreaming of a vacation with my bike for earlier in the year, I started to look at transportation options, and at distances.
The distance doesn't really matter, but my curiosity got the better of me and I looked for a tool to show me point to point distances. I found MapCrow, a travel distance calculator. I suspect the distances shown there are air miles, and it satisfied my curiosity for now. Flying from Boston to Manchester, England shows as 3145 miles (5061 kilometers), and flying from Boston to Los Angeles shows as 2588 miles (4166 kilometers). So my gut feel for distances wasn't too far off.
Manchester to Manchester?
I suppose it's a bit silly, but I thought it would be fun to fly from Manchester, NH to Manchester, England. I live mid-way between two airports, Boston's Logan Airport and Manchester Boston Regional Airport. While it is possible to fly from Manchester to Manchester, the flights between those two cities exceed my annoyance levels. United Airlines flies from Manchester to Chicago to Manchester, but I really don't want to start my trip by flying backwards. Somehow flying 1000 miles to the west just to turn around and fly those same 1000 miles to the east before heading out over the ocean to England just doesn't appeal to me.
OK, OK, I knew before I rambled down the Manchester to Manchester path that I'd probably be flying out of Boston. Manchester is a great choice if there is a non-stop flight from there (on Southwest) to my travel destination, but Boston is the right starting point for this flight. I found two reasonable flight choices - American Airlines via JFK, or British Airways via London. Either way I will only have one plane change. Those travel paths are a little more expensive than the wacky flights that go through Chicago, but I'll choose cash over aggravation. I'd rather pay a little more for my plane tickets and spend less time in the air.
I find it amazing that the price of the flight is just over 53% of the total cost of the airfare, with the remaining 47% allocated to taxes and fees.
Time to dream
One of my goals for this winter is to figure out my vacations for the year. Last minute planning worked for 2007, but I prefer to plan early, to have something to dream about, to look forward to (as opposed to dreaming about where I might wander). I've been dreaming, and I have an early plan for what will likely be my second vacation in 2008. I still need to noodle through some options for a cycling trip for earlier in the year.
Where am I going? Caroline mentioned a photography seminar run by Light & Land in one of our email conversations, and the dreams started. I wandered through the web site, and my eyes were caught by a photography tour in the Lakes District of England. I emailed the organization with some questions, and I received their response. Hmm... Should I fly to England for a 3-day photography tour? I thought, and I thought. I toyed with different vacation options - after all, I have a limited amount of vacation time, and I need (yes, need!) to have some time to wander on my bike in addition to playing with my camera. Hmmm... a week in England, in a beautiful park, walking, wandering.
Hey - it's time to stop thinking and start doing! Decision made; I'm going to be joining Caroline in Light & Land's Lake District photography workshop in September. The seminar will be led by Charlie Waite, a well known English landscape photographer. I'm so excited!
Ah, a vacation to dream about...
Where am I going? Caroline mentioned a photography seminar run by Light & Land in one of our email conversations, and the dreams started. I wandered through the web site, and my eyes were caught by a photography tour in the Lakes District of England. I emailed the organization with some questions, and I received their response. Hmm... Should I fly to England for a 3-day photography tour? I thought, and I thought. I toyed with different vacation options - after all, I have a limited amount of vacation time, and I need (yes, need!) to have some time to wander on my bike in addition to playing with my camera. Hmmm... a week in England, in a beautiful park, walking, wandering.
Hey - it's time to stop thinking and start doing! Decision made; I'm going to be joining Caroline in Light & Land's Lake District photography workshop in September. The seminar will be led by Charlie Waite, a well known English landscape photographer. I'm so excited!
Ah, a vacation to dream about...
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