Special Edition- Eagle trip 9/20/2022

 Eagles and Sturgeon

It was a clear, hot but not humid afternoon with the water temp about 74. I had T, A, and lil B with me as we left the O Landing (I had a little trouble finding it) around 4:30. We saw the splash from a sturgeon breech when we first got on the boat. 

Immediately we pulled up to the Rams research boat as Doc M pulled up a smallish (5 feet) male sturgeon out of the gill net. A went over to investigate the scutes and cartilage. T meanwhile noted that sturgeon have been around for 240mm years.

As for the size potential, here is a stock photo from the web-

Here are a couple of photos of our fish:

Good view of the strange mouth and barbels. In all we probably saw about 10 breeches up and down the river.

After our research was complete we went in search of eagles. At first they were hard to find but eventually we caught up with about 8 of them. Most came to the fish we threw them as in this stock photo (my camera isn't that good)-

We actually saw this several times, including a one talon pickup.

All in all we saw the eagles, osprey, egrets, herons (including two which came toward the pontoon boat and ate fish), and cormorant, and heard a kingfisher. Then we saw a giant hybrid eagle-

Home for gelato dinner.

Great Lakes, Nova Scotia, and Maine 2022

 We left home on Wednesday Aug 17 for Chicago. Other than for business or in transit I have never been there. The weather was beautiful- clear, 70s, actually for this whole trip except one rainy day in NS.

Our first interesting experience was finding the train from O’Hare to downtown. 19 stops and $5 on the famous El (Elevated Train) system. When we reached our stop I felt something touching my back wallet pocket.I slapped it away, found the zipper half open and zipped it closed. There was a crowd getting off and some buildup at the El door. I felt it again and slapped it away. This time my pocket was unzipped all the way but the wallet was still there. It was an older fellow wearing a mask trying to pick my pocket.

Our afternoon activity was the architecture tour by boat, which was really great. We had a great and lively guide named Jim who taught us that Chicago really does mean “stinking onion”, that Mrs. O’Leary and her cow have been cleared of causing the fire in 1871, and about how Chicago was rebuilt out into the lake out of the rubble and with its extensive parks. This tour makes you really love Chicago, especially in nice weather. 

 

For our solo day in Chicago we went to the Art Institute (5/5 stars). The very kind ticket woman gave us day’s member passes and free tickets to the Cezanne exhibit. We then walked to the Shedd Aquarium (too many people and loud children) while practice by the Blue Angels for an air show took place overhead. 

These are the invasive gobies present in the lake. But with a little luck they will figure out how to eat zebra mussels.
 

Back at the hotel we met up with C and D but had to go through the very complicated check in process for our cruise. Luckily there were guides there to take us through the Arrive Canada customs and Covid clearance process.

In the morning we met up with the cruise group for a bus tour of the Loop in downtown and then joined the boat. Highlights were the Bean and the Crown Fountain. Leaving the dock at about 7, we had fantastic sunset views of the Chicago skyline.

This fountain is super. When it was in planning they asked a large group of Chicagoans if they wanted to participate in a long term project about their city. 692 or so volunteered and were photographed smiling and whistling. Then their images were shown on this glass fountain (one of two shown) spewing water. Everyone loves it.
 

All night and all the next day we were heading up Lake Michigan toward the Grand Hotel and a small bit of Lake Superior.

 

At Grand Isle on the 21st the cruise excursion was a tour by horse drawn carriage (no cars allowed) around the island led by college students with summer jobs there. The tour script is somewhat freelance but full of corny jokes about the horses and the tourists. Our girl driver was from Romania, an engineering student, and she was full of charming personality. The tour ended at the hotel where we wandered for a while. Alcoholic drinks at the hotel were $29.95 (no thanks), the decorating similar to that of the Greenbrier by the late Carlton Varney. We enjoyed looking in the gallery at the photos of celebs and dignitaries who had visited. (Before the trip C and I watched Somewhere in Time again to reacquaint ourselves with the hotel and the by gone styles- not so good the second time). We hiked back to the Voyager via the Old Stone Church (which has some politically incorrect stained glass windows but is nonetheless worth a stop). C went in search of fudge and I went off to look at the flowers, to touch the lake (warm) and to get some photos.

 

The next day after a very short ride we were in Sault Ste. Marie on the Marie River and Lake Huron. The town was interesting but pretty small. However there was a “laker” converted into an extensive museum of the Great Lakes marine traffic including a special section on the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald in 1975. We had the best veggie panini and met a very talkative bookstore owner who led us to buy three books about Ojibwes, the local Indian tribe. He apparently singlehandedly built all the computers in the world but was very engaging. The Voyager then went through the locks there and to Little Current Island on Huron. 

 

Little Current on Tuesday the 23rd was great. The main attraction was our visit to the Ojibwa reservation where we observed O art and learned about O culture. They have a “smudge” ceremony with bark, grass, tobacco and something else for everyday purification. I think we should try to teach Betty about the Ojibwe- she would love them. An award winning group performed some O dances for us. They know how to really whack a drum. After a short walk around town, I fished at the stern of the boat and caught a bunch of smallmouth bass with my Tenkara. That was many firsts (T fish in Canada, on a Great Lake, on a cruise) and lots of fun.

 

All the next day we stayed on the lake on the Canadian side of Lake Huron until we got to Detroit. 

The 25th was our visit to Hitsville USA, the Motown Museum. “Now you’ve gone from me and left behind so many memories”. Really it was old age that left the memories. Then it was time for the overwhelming Henry Ford Museum, an amazing amalgamation of all things Americana, focusing mostly on the Industrial Revolution and , what else, cars.

 This is the actual chair Abe sat in at Ford's Theater when JW Booth shot him. The museum also has JFK's limo from Dallas and the real Rosa Parks bus from Montgomery.

Continuing with the music theme, we spent most of the 26th in Cleveland, on Lake Erie, at the Rock ‘N Roll Hall of Fame Museum. On the boat the previous day we heard a lecture/quiz show entitled “Beatles vs Beach Boys”. Guess who won with our old crowd?

 

On the evening of Friday the 26th into Saturday the 27th we crossed Lake Erie to get to the Welland Canal and Niagara Falls. A reminder- I have never been to any of these places. NF was a totally soaking, totally fun experience. The might of the Falls would or should make everyone fell very humble and small in the face of Mother Nature.

 

Overnight we crossed Lake Ontario into Toronto and got out early for part two of this trip on the MVSB.

On the morning of the 28th we flew from Toronto to Halifax to meet our friends. After we checked our bags and walked toward security there was an officer saying everyone needs to wear a mask in the airport and on the planes. No questions, no complaining- everyone complied. We rode in an unmarked, very fast cab to the harbor in Halifax and met the T’s right away. The N’s joined us in a couple of hours.

Next stop, Lunenburg after a smooth 8 hour cruise in the morning. I took off trying to find a stream to fish in (without luck) and met the others at St Andrew’s. C and I told this very nice young docent we were interested in the Bible (Parable of the Vineyard/ typo in St A’s Bible Parable of the Vinegar (the Luke version)). The docent was so engaging we prompted him to tell us more about the church. We were totally hooked when he told about the stars over the apse and the fire, the scholarly research, and the answer that the star alignment in the apse is the way the stars would have been over Lunenburg NS on the first Christmas. BTW the docent was a film studies guy and knew Beasts too.

 

Lunenburg has a great chandlery which is really a second or third hand shop. I would have stayed much longer looking at all the ship metal work and ropes if it didn’t close at 5.

I can visualize a painting of this scene from KN and SBT.
 

In the morning we left for Shelburne in the fog but the day once again turned into smooth clear sailing. Along the way we found out that the folks in Yarmouth NS who had told Dennis that we had a berth didn’t write it down. With some weather coming Dennis was left scratching his head.

In Shelburne Dennis and I took the inflatable and went looking for a stream, but we ran aground and turned back. The next morning K and I walked back to the same area and found a very beautiful stream that would have been perfect. But then the rain started and did not quit. Dennis recommended cruising all night for Bar Harbor. The ocean was pretty bouncy for the first few hours but gradually calmed.

 

In Bar Harbor (actually SW Harbor) we met the McC’s who were joining us for dinner and spending the night. The T’s and N’s left the next morning followed by the McC’s heading back to their lakeside camp.

 

We cruised on to the very familiar Boothbay Harbor. At night C and I gave the cook the night off and went to Sherman’s Unshelled for some “lobsta”. This was followed by too much ice cream.

Newburyport MA was next. We were the center of attraction at the dock- pilots, harbor police, a lot of current going against us, and a lot of onlookers. Anne, Wes, and baby E joined us for dinner. Newburyport has a great rail to trail walking path and the town is very quaint off the waterfront. After our morning walks we headed for Boston. 

 

Near the Constitution there is the WWII destroyer the Cassin Young. I went aboard and glimpsed the tight sleeping quarters, the armor storage locker that John talks about, and the officer’s mess. There I saw china just like the china I went on the salvage mission in Philly Harbor on the DH Fox in 1971. Memories…

 

Back to reality the next day but a great trip from the Great Lakes to Canada touching base with many friends and relatives. 

Dolomites family trip postponed from 2020 then 2021 to June July 2022

 Day 0- we meet from the US and from elsewhere in Italy in Bolzano. 

Day 1- We meet John and Anya in Bolzano and head to our first hike on the Col Raiser route from Ortisei.

Lots of ski gondola transport up and down and around. Short hike through Val Gardena, then to the Alpenroyal hotel for two nights. Great pool facilities.

Day 2- Biking through Ortisei. Gravel, downhill, on trails, thinking a lot about possibility of broken bones, Very fancy Michelin dinner at the hotel.

 

 

Day 3- Back to hiking from Colfosco and Corvara. Hotel for the next two nights at La Perla in Corvara.

Edelweiss from lunch overlooking Colfosco.

Day 4- Biking from San Vigilio, visiting the cheese farm, zip line for some. This was a really long ride into a national park which was lovely. Gordon in his Costume from his role as an Italian biker in "Breaking Away":

 

 

Day 5- Very interesting hiking day over rugged terrain and a visit to the Valparola Pass and a WWI museum on the front line where the Austrians and the Italians fought. Lots of old war time military equipment found and displayed. We ended up in Cortina D'Ampezzo at the Hotel Cristallo- very luxurious, great pool. Frank Sinatra rented the whole hotel for two months while filming Von Ryan's Express in the area.

Day 6- On to Portugal for some and to Switzerland for B, C, T&T.

Tauck with T&T June July 2022

      

       We left BackRoads and Cortina D’Ampezzo with Vlad as driver for Milan (C talking a lot to a stranger), another night at the Milan Hilton and then a long train ride to Lucerne to start the Tauck part of the trip. As I write this at the end of the trip, I realize I had unrealistic expectations for the trip with the boys. They were both totally engrossed in their screens (book for one and game for the other). There was no curiosity about what we were seeing or going to see, no questions asked, and little enthusiasm for anything. However, once we were with the other kids in the group after a couple of days of warming up,  there was lots of enthusiasm about doing things with the other kids.

       Our hotel in Lucerne for three nights was the Schweizerhof, an old classic with a rock ‘n roll attitude (a current description). It is right across the lake from the Bahnhof, walking distance to the covered bridge. For dinner we walked away from the festival crowds to a Spanish restaurant called Bolero. Th1 liked it.

     Speaking of food, I won’t mention it but once more because the breakfasts were all pretty much the same great buffets European restaurants have, the dinners were usually late and long drawn out affairs, and the boys subsisted on some combo of noodles, pizza, and burgers for most meals.

Sunday- On our own we went to the Museum of Transport, which is massive. We could easily have spent a day there. We met up with the Tauck group and did a “get to know you” exercise. Our leader is Anna, a very tall Austrian. She is funny and sounds like a female Arnold S when she talks. Then we did a little walk around Lucerne with the Tauck group.

Monday- Mount Pilatus (6957 feet) via cog rail road. Nice hike along the flower path in the clouds. We could not see the valley. We did see an ibex up close. Maybe the same Alpenhorn guy was there as in 2015.

After lunch we took a gondola down the mountain for two activities. Th1 and I went on a summer toboggan. I wasn’t even scared. Th2 and Connie went on a suspension rope park. You used gloves to slow you down, the gloves didn’t fit well, and Theron wanted it to be using carabiners. They went the wrong way only once or twice.
Dinner was on our own. We got to the Pickwick pub just in time for it to start pouring rain and some aggressive tourists took our table inside so we were outside under an umbrella. A nice guy who looked a little rough around the edges offered to swap tables with us so we only caught rain that was slowed by two umbrellas.

Tuesday- this was a day of busses, boat, and trains. We walked to the boat on the lake, crossed the lake (I got my picture taken driving the boat), got on our bus for an hour ride to Andermatt, then the 5 hour Glacier Express train to St. Moritz. Spectacular views but lots of rain and cloud cover. The kids started to warm up to each other over card games. Th is the youngest but found a friend Luke who is 12, and older Th became friends with Cameron who is a rising senior.

Wednesday- St. Moritz (elevation 1772 m or about 5000 feet). Somewhere in all this I picked up a cold and am staying home today. C, T, and T are riding a cable car up to Diavolezza (9000 feet), then hiking another hour up to a glacier (scary thinking about the glacier . Tho opted for mountain climbing class. Lunch at the cheese restaurant was a favorite because of the girls vs boys Olympic Games afterwards. Cross bow, multi Perón cross country skis. After lunch, there is a mountain bike ride back to the hotel that Tho took. Early dinner of pizza, the boys and me .

Today the boys will learn the scout motto Be Prepared. Both went off without enough clothes for the weather. I was way wrong- my staying home made the weather warm up.
I just now read ahead about tomorrow. I guess I should have read the book earlier. It is the white water day. I sure hope Austria is having a heat wave in Innsbruck.

Thursday- On from Switzerland to Austria and the Aquadome Hotel after Area 47. Area 47- a huge water park with a 27 meter dive platform, a blob, a slip and slide ski jump kind of thing and everything else, plus climbing wall, white water rafting down the Inns River (about 50 degrees and chalky). It seemed like every possible teen in the 12-17 age range in Austria was there. Tho went on the rafting with the older kids and The and Connie went with the younger kids. I hear The nudged one of the mom’s off the raft. Then we spent the night at the Aqua Dome hotel- modern architecture, impossible to find one’s way around the facilities, horrible pillows, wonderful pools, and breakfast. 

 

 

Friday- T and T decided to skip today’s tour of the Innsbruck Olympic facility and the town itself so they can rest and use the gym and pools. We stayed with them. Connie and I went for a walk with The for about an hour around Langerfeld and he spotted a couple of little trout in a drainage ditch.

Tho went to mini golf and the the gym. The to the pools. I tried to fish without a hook and “caught” a couple of brook trout. Then it started raining hard. For the evening we all went to the Outzi park, a place on this Austrian side that examines the ice age man found by some hikers in 1991 on the Italian side just over the mountains. We had dinner and yodeling on the site. C was in her element with the accordion.

Saturday- a long drive to Munich to the Bayerisch Hotel, a walking tour with Michael (one of the best guides I have ever had), farewell dinner.

Sunday- Airport and home at long last.

Comments- I don’t like duvets in summer in un airconditioned rooms. I don’t think I got more than 3 or 4 hours of sleep a night. Coffee- Italy best then Austria, then a distance to Germany and more distance to Switzerland. Towels- Italy’s were thick, the others thinner. Spas and sauna- not much on the all nude policy.

Look back at Wednesday where it says somewhere I picked up a cold. On Monday back home I read emails from John, Cliff, Nancy K and a couple of others. I noticed what they were relating as Covid symptoms was very like my "cold". Hmm. Tested positive although I was over symptoms in three days. So we postponed the trip twice because of Covid only to catch it on the trip. C followed me by a day.