Photos and happenings from Tim. Mostly photos.
We visited Anna B in Tampa for a few days. The Walls came down to Ft. DeSoto with their new Casita. Highlights included catching the Farmer’s Market on a Saturday, a few kayak floats, and Throw Golf, the new budget game sweeping the nation’s homeless encampments.
Visited The Villages on the way home, rented a small house for 3-4 days. Had our own stink-bomb of a 2-stroke golf cart!
Sprinted from Madison to Boulder in one long day. Stayed with Skovrons for 3 nights, then bolted for Tucson. Made it to Albuquerque the first night. Made a lucky find late at night, a hopping brew pub with good food.
The next day, we took I-40 west, then a wandering route through very mountainous territory on Hwy 77/60 in AZ, starting at Holbrook, wending our way through Snowflake, Show Low and Globe, on the way to Oracle. The most direct route, but slow going.
Stayed 3 nights with Keith and Corine, played some p-ball, hiked, golfed, road bikes. This neatly sums up what we did over and over for the next week.
Next stop, a cute Airbnb casita in Tucson, for 4 nights. Visited with Steve and Wendy, lately of Colo Spgs, and Dave and Nancy, of Missoula. Rode our bikes on the Loop trails, hiked.
Last stop – the Birds, of Lafayette. New house near Dove Mountain. Stayed there 3 days. Golf, pickleball, hiking.
One day drive from Tucson to Denver. Went I-10 east to I-25. Routine drive, but long (900 miles).
Made it in good time for the Jeremy and Amanda Gardner wedding. Cast of hundreds, lots of family on multiple sides, a party that lasted four days.
Photos and one video can be seen below. These links should bring you to a “lightbox” view of all the photos in a gallery. Clicking on any thumbnail gets you a larger single view. You can then arrow left and right, or use the on-screen arrows to go left and right.
Hit <esc> to go back to the lightbox view at any time. Close the tab when you’re done viewing, and you’re back to this page.
Gallery #1 is here. Oracle, Airbnb, Bird House.
Gallery #2 is here. Desert Hiking.
Gallery #3 is here. Gardner wedding
Philadelphia and Roz L.
Tom and Cathy W, Mario and Amelia R for most of the rest.
Portland – Bar Harbor – Acadia National – Camden – Waldaboro –
Portland (again)
Photos and one video can be seen HERE. This link should bring you to a “lightbox” view of all the photos in a gallery. Clicking on any thumbnail gets you a larger single view. You can then arrow left and right, or use the on-screen arrows to go left and right.
Hit <esc> to go back to the lightbox view at any time. Close the tab when you’re done viewing, and you’re back to this page.
Pictures are mostly in chronological order:
-Philadelphia
-Bar Harbor
-Acadia Campground
-Biking – Carriage Roads
-Hiking – Mount Desert Island
-Hiking and sight seeing – Camden
-Waldaboro
-Portland
Some pictures have a caption, which can be viewed on the lower left of the screen.
Tim and Eileen head to Chicago for Hamilton. We picked M up in Milwaukee on the way. We were exceedingly grateful to be offered lodging from Elizabeth B, of tennis fame, condo located on Michigan Ave., across from Grant Park, with an unrestricted view of Lake Michigan.
We bolted out of the gate with a ride north on the Chicago Lakefront Trail, a multi-use walking and biking path. Didn’t come close to the north terminus of the path. That first night we ate nearby at a Mediterranean restaurant and strolled. A bike ride south down the Lakefront Trail on day two. The Hamilton show that afternoon at the Oriental Theater, to which we walked. Caught dinner at Frontera Grill, on North Clark and W. Illinois Street. By then we were several miles from home. Walked halfway home, the rather sheer footwear on Eileen and Madeline caught up to them, we caught a taxi the rest of the way.
The last day we strolled Taste of Chicago, then packed it up and reversed our courses back home.
In general order: pics of the condo and views from the balcony, the ride south, strolling to Taste of Chicago, ending with iPhone pics walking around.
Picture gallery can be seen here. This link should bring you to a “lightbox” view of all the photos in a gallery. Clicking on any thumbnail gets you get a larger single view. You can arrow left and right, or use the on-screen arrows to go left and right.
Hit <esc> to go back to the lightbox view. Close the tab when you’re done viewing, and you’re back here.
Picture gallery can be seen here. This link should bring you to a “lightbox” view of all the photos in a gallery. Clicking on any thumbnail gets you get a larger single view. You can arrow left and right, or use the on-screen arrows to go left and right.
Hit <esc> to go back to the lightbox view. Close the tab when you’re done viewing, and you’re back here.
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A typical spring run to Florida. Pack the camper, hightail it to a Walmart somewhere south of Nashville (Franklin TN, in this case) so as to avoid horrible traffic on day two. Drive down I-65 through Birmingham and Montgomery, attempting to avoid rush hours. “Camp out” overnight in some Walmart close to Tampa. On day 3, arrive bright and early at the first camp ground, Oscar Scherer State Campground this time.
We stayed in Oscar Scherer for 3 nights. Hiked, kayaked, pedaled the Legacy Trail loop that includes Casey Key. Then drove up to Ft DeSoto for a full 2 week stay. The Dosches were there for three days or so before we showed up. They headed home after another four days.
Spent more time in the kayaks, paddling to Shell Key, and less time on the bikes this year. And way less time playing tennis. Only made it to the clay courts once.
The bugs were worse than usual. Noseeums. We were bit and scratching. They were worse in the evening, no so bad in the morning.
At the end of two weeks, we drove to TH Stone State Campground on Cape San Blas, up in the panhandle. Florida is a big state! It took us about 8 hours to get up there, between being slow in general, and having to stop constantly to gas up.
Noseeums were worse here. Camped next to Randy and Anna from McFarland. There were at least 3-4 other Cheeseheads in our campground. We rode bikes twice (30 mile RT to the Raw Bar), never got the boats out, strolled the beach. Drove to Apalachicola one day, strolled downtown, took in an old car/boat show, drank beer at a local brewpub.
Headed home after four nights. Rained all day the first day, really hard. Lost 1.5 hours sitting in traffic towards Birmingham due to a massive RV fire in the right lane. There was almost nothing left of this bus. Saw a lot of accidents in general, due no doubt to the weather. Made it to a Walmart north of Nashville. Uneventful drive on day 2, one minor delay from a horrible crash involving two large semitrucks, one smashing into the other and wrecking it before flipping on it’s top in the weeds. About 8 firemen were trying to pry open the cab on that one when we drove by.
For the hell of it, I shot pictures of housing and real estate on Cape San Blas from our moving truck as we were driving out of there at 40mph, so take it for what it’s worth. Lots of rich folks’ homes, facing the gulf . Most are on stilts. That gallery is here. It’s clear, you get that feeling, that these homes are exposed! A major storm could so easily roll over Cape San Blas and wipe it out. Be rich and have good insurance to own a home out there.