The Biologist's Great Escape - October 30-November 3, 2010

After an hellacious six months working on oil spill response, the Biologist was in major need of an escape from the realities of everyday life.  Due to a full class schedule at the University of North Florida, the Marine couldn't join the Biologist, so she took off on her own for her great waymarking escape (thanks to a free flight from United Airlines!).

Troy Gasholder House

Day 1:  The Marine took the Biologist to the airport bright and early and off she flew to Albany, New York.  Upon arrival she didn't waste any time, but picked up her rental car and made tracks to the nearby city of Troy to find the historic Troy Gasholder House that used to house a Gasometer.  According to a New York Historical Marker at the site, "Within this 19th century structure was a telescoping iron tank that stored manufactured coal gas until needed to illuminate streets and buildings in Troy."  How cool is that?  This interesting building was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 1971.

Historic Newtonville Marker

By now it was time to head back to Albany for a little waymarking before it got dark and was time to check into the hotel where the Biologist had reservations for the night.  She found several New York Historical Markers including one about Historic Newtonville at a U.S. Post Office that was formerly a Baptist Church.  This Old Church and Dated Building was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 1973.  She also found a New York Historical Marker (which was also a Community Commemoration) for Townsend Park, a Municipal Park where a nice Spanish-American War Memorial (which was also a Smithsonian Art Inventory Sculpture) and a Non-Specific Veterans Memorial were located.

District No. 6 School

Day 2:  Time to leave Albany and make tracks for Massachusetts, but not before stopping at yet another New York Historical Marker for the old District No. 6 School, a Former School and One-Room Schoolhouse, which according to Wikipedia was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 2008.  After making a stop in the charming little town of Grafton, New York, and checking out the World War II, Vietnam War, and Korean War Memorials, as well as two Old Churches, Baptist and Methodist, with nice Bell Towers, it was time to cross the border into Massachusetts.

Bascom Lodge

First stop in Massachusetts was Ashford and its Town Hall and Former One-Room Schoolhouse.  Then it was time to head to the Biologist's first real target in Massachusetts in the town of Becket.  However, she didn't get far before spotting a sign to Mount Greylock State Reservation, the First State Reservation in Massachusetts (a First of its Kind).  Hmm... wonder what's there?  Maybe a little detour wouldn't hurt...  Along the way she spotted a Massachusetts Historical Marker about the Rockwell Road to Greylock and about 20 minutes later she arrived at the Mountain Summit of Mount Greylock, the Geographic High Point in Massachusetts where she signed the Summit Register located in the Bascom Lodge.  This Lodge-Style Accomodation was partially constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1935-1938 and is a Contributing Building to the Mount Greylock Summit Historic District, which was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 1998.

Veterans War Memorial Tower

An Orientation Table near the lodge and an outdoor topographic display with a Compass Rose would have been very helpful had the fog not started rolling in as soon as the Biologist reached the summit. However, that didn't stop her from checking out the Massachusetts Veterans War Memorial Tower, a Non-Specific Veterans Memorial located on the summit.  According to Wikipedia, this Land-Locked Lighthouse, which is also a Contributing Building in the Historic District, was built in 1931-32 at a cost of $200,000. According to an Elevation Sign on the memorial, Mount Greylock is 3,491 feet in elevation.  A network of hiking trails traverse the mountain, including the 2,179-mile Appalachian Trail along which the Biologist spotted several Appalachian Trail signs, as well as a large rock with the writing of Henry David Thoreau Etched in Stone on it.  Wow, this place was awesome and well worth a detour, wouldn't you say?

Becket Town Pound

Back on track now, the Biologist continued her journey to Becket and only made a couple more stops, including a quick stop at an Arizona Pizza restaurant with a Kokopelli picture depicted on its sign. People in the restaurant thought she was acting a little Cuckoo for Kokopelli, but that didn't bother her in the least. Finally she reached Becket, a small town in Massachusetts with two Historic Districts on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places, as well as several nice Contributing Buildings, including the Becket Anthenaeum, an historic library with a Dead Poet's Society Memorial, a Citizen Memorial, and a large map, which was constructed as an Eagle Scout Project to show the locations of key historic spots in the town. One of the historic locations depicted on this map was the pièce de résistance and the main reason for the Biologist's visit to this little town...the historic Town Pound.  This stone structure was built in the 18th century and stray animals were taken there and held until taken away by owners after paying costs. Before leaving town, the Biologist stopped at the First Congregational Church.  This Old Church had a small Churchyard Cemetery, a Worldwide Cemetery where she spotted a couple of American Revolutionary War Veteran Graves.

Silhouette Sculpture in Hadley

After seeing most of what there was to see in Becket, the Biologist left town and started making her way to Hadley for the night.  She spotted a strange little building along the road in Chester and stopped to check it out.  It was at the base of a road leading to a Worldwide Cemetery and was a Mausoleum that was built by the Works Progress Administration in 1935-1936.  Within the cemetery were a couple of Improved Order of Red Men grave sites and a Sundial.  Continuing on to Hadley, the Biologist checked into her hotel and then grabbed some dinner at the Route 9 Diner, an Independent Diner with a Neon Sign.  On the way back to the hotel, she spotted a cute Silhouette Sculpture of a dog and a few Contributing Buildings in the Hadley Center Historic District.

Montague Horse Trough & Upping Stone

Day 3:  After departing Hadley this morning, the Biologist passed through the small town of Leverett where she spotted another Town Pound!  These simple old stone structures are so interesting.  Continuing on, the Biologist saw a sign for the Montague Center Historic District, which was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 2001.  Well, who could pass that up?  Here she spotted a cast iron horse trough and Upping Stone in the old Town Common and a Hitching Post across the street from the First Congregational Church of Montague.  This Old Church had a Unique Steeple, Bell Tower, and Town Clock, and is a Contributing Building in the Historic District. On leaving Montague, what should the Biologist see but another Former One-Room Schoolhouse.  They seem to be all over the place here in the Northeast.

Westminster Hitching Post

The next interesting place along the way was the town of Westminster where the Biologist spotted yet another Town Pound with a Hitching Post by the Town Common.  In the town proper were a few Old Churches and one Roman Catholic Church with a nice Coat of Arms above the main entrance and a Monarch of the World and Citizen Memorial on its grounds.  The Biologist next came to the town of Townsend and decided to spend a little time wandering around the Town Square, which has a Gazebo that was the subject of an Eagle Scout Project in its center.  Also in the Town Square was a nice American Civil War Memorial that is also a Smithsonian Art Inventory Sculpture.  Numerous other waymarks were ripe for the picking in this town, but the Biologist had a limited amount of time before she needed to make tracks for New Hampshire.

Northeast Velodrome

The first stop in New Hampshire was the Northeast Velodrome in Londonderry, a former race car track now used as a track for learning how to bike race.  Then it was time to head for Brattleboro for the night.  Of course, it wasn't that simple because there were quite a few distractions along the way.  While driving through Dublin, the Biologist spotted a street sign for Old Pound Road and had to check it out.  And, you guessed it!  There was yet another Town Pound, but this one had a New Hampshire Historical Marker with information about it.  After stopping for one more New Hampshire Historical Marker, the Biologist arrived at her hotel just before nightfall.  After a quick meal, she made it an early night.

Royal Diner

Day 4:  Today the Biologist continued heading west with the goal of spending the final night of her great escape back in Albany, New York.  She spotted the Royal Diner, a vintage Dining Car Restaurant with a cool Neon Sign, as she passed through West Brattleboro.  Shortly after she entered the state of Vermont and stopped at a small Cemetery along the way where she found a nice Zinc Headstone.  Then on to the town of Wilmington, Vermont, where she found a couple of Contributing Buildings in the Wilmington Village Historic District, which was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 1980.  She also spotted a 1938 High Level Mark on the Wilmington Town Hall.  Cool!  After checking out the historic Restland Cemetery, where the Biologist found a couple more Zinc Headstones, and after finding numerous other waymarks in town, she continued on her way.

Greenwich Cemetery Death Mask

Soon she entered the state of New York where she found many New York Historical Markers throughout the day and made stops for several waymarks in the towns of Cambridge (including six of 20 American Revolutionary War Veteran Graves in the Old White Church Cemetery) and Greenwich (including more Zinc Headstones, a Death Mask Gravestone, and a few Broken Column Headstones).  Also in Greenwich was the Ice Cream Man, an Ice Cream Parlor that was the site of a "Throwdown with Bobby Flay" of the Food Network in 2007 (making it a Diners, Drive-ins and Drives waymark).  Sweet!

Columbian Spring

The next stop was Saratoga Springs, where the Biologist checked out the Saratoga Gas, Electric Light and Power Company Complex, which was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 2001. It includes two brick buildings: a substation building and a Gasometer or gas holder house.  Since these structures are so rare in the United States, she didn't waymark this Gasometer, but she's ready to visit it once someone else claims it!  She also visited Congress Park, an Olmsted Designed Park with several Natural Springs, a Spring House, a Carousel, Cycling Routes, Donated Engraved Bricks and Pavers, World War I Memorial, American Civil War Memorial, a History Museum, and a few other waymarks.  The Biologist only made a few more stops on the way down to Albany, then it was time to check into her last hotel of the trip and prepare for the next day's flight home.

Hawley Mausoleum - Albany Rural Cemetery

Day 5:  Today was the final day of the Biologist's great escape.  It was time for her to head home and start posting all the waymarks she'd found during the trip.  However, she woke up early and decided to find just a few more waymarks before heading for the airport.  She discovered that the historic Albany Rural Cemetery was nearby and decided to check it out.  This was by far the most amazing cemetery the Biologist had ever seen.  It didn't hurt that the fall foliage was still at peak and the beautiful reds, yellows, and oranges of the leaves on the old hardwood trees in the cemetery were stunning.  She found several Broken Column Headstones and beautiful Mausoleums before she needed to head out.

While this trip may not have been relaxing, it was the perfect way for the Biologist to de-stress.  It was an excellent escape and just what she needed.

Adventures in Portugal - September 11-20, 2010

The Biologist traveled to Portugal this month for a business meeting in the Azores.  She was fortunate enough to squeeze in a little time for sightseeing and waymarking.  Yea!

Day 1:  The Biologist's flight left Jacksonville in the early afternoon.  The first leg of her journey took her to Newark Airport in New Jersey, where she had a 4 1/2 hour layover.  Yikes!  She wandered through the International Terminal and found a few 3 Dimensional Art waymarks.  Nothing overly exciting, but it was something to do to pass the time. Then a few of the other meeting attendees arrived and she spent the rest of the layover chatting with them and getting some Euros at the currency exchange booth.

Day 2:  We arrived in Lisbon and only had 1 hour and 20 minutes to make it through the Passport and Security Checks and then take a bus to transfer to the Domestic Terminal.  Wow, that was an adventure all on its own.  Thankfully some very nice staff helped us and we made our connecting flight with moments to spare.  The flight to the Azores actually involved us flying for 2 hours back over the same airspace we had just traveled through.  Yes, we had to travel back toward the United States to get to the Azores.  Anyway, we landed at the Horta Airport on Faial Island a little before noon and our hosts were there waiting for us.

Peter Cafe Sport

After checking in to the Hotel do Canal, a Recommended Accommodation, we went out to grab a bite to eat.  While waiting for everyone to meet in the lobby, the Biologist ran down the street for a block to check out the Peter Cafe Sport bar and restaurant, a Bifana's House!  We would have eaten there, but it wasn't open yet.

Caldeira do Faial

After a quick lunch, our hosts took us on a nice tour of some of the beautiful sites around Horta.  Our first stop was the Caldeira do Faial, a great place to do some Volcano Watching and learn about it on the You Are Here Map at the site.  There was also a Hiking and Walking Trailhead here for the 10 Volcanos Trail, a Long Distance Hiking Trail that ends at the Capelinhos Volcano.

Flemish Windmill

After enjoying the spectacular view, we made our way down the volcano and stop to check out two historic Windmills that were built by Flemish colonists hundreds of years ago.  Then onto the Miradouro de Nossa Senhora da Conceição where we stood in the shadow of a very tall Christian Cross located above the town of Horta.  While there, we looked through the Coin-op Binoculars at the Horta Harbor and Pico Island across the way.

Portugal Geodetic Monument

On our way down the hill to Horta, the Biologist spotted something interesting looking and asked if it would be possible to pull over.  It was a Portugal Geodetic Point, which also qualified under the European Historic Survey Stones, Monuments and Benchmarks category!  Woo hoo!  The rest of the group thought the Biologist was odd for wanting to take photos of this rather plain structure, but they were game and three of them even walked out to the point with her.  What a great group of people!

Day 3:  Today we had a full day to recover from jet lag and explore the island.  But who wants to sleep when you only have a little free time to explore a beautiful island in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean?!!!  So five of us wandered down the street from our hotel to a vehicle rental agency.  We tried to get a van, but they only had a compact car.  Oh well, what's a little discomfort when you have a chance to do some exploring?  We squeezed in the car and headed west and made a few stops along the coast to check out anything that caught our eyes.  Before long we arrived in Varadoura where we spotted another Portugal Geodetic Point and European Survey Monument, as well as a lovely natural tidal pool that is a popular Swimming Hole.

Capelinhos Lighthouse

Back in the Peugeot, we next made our way to the Capelinhos Volcano to do a little more Volcano Watching, this time from the top of a historic Lighthouse located there.  The lighthouse had been swamped by volcanic ash in a volcanic eruption in 1957.  We went inside the Nature Center for the volcano, surprised to discover it was an Earth Home!

By now it was getting late and we needed to get the rental car back before the office closed for the day.  After returning the car, the Biologist departed from the group and made her way to the nearby Horta Harbor to find her first geocache in Portugal.  It was a virtual cache and the coords took her to the pier and seawalls in the harbor and marina that are covered with small murals that are the "calling cards" of visiting yachts.  She ran into one of the other meeting participants that she'd met for the first time the night before and they found the virtual cache location together.  After taking down the necessary information, it was time to head back to the hotel and get ready for dinner.

Igreja Nossa Senhora das Angústias

Days 4-6:  Time to work.  We met in the Whale Museum, a History Museum located in the former local whale factory in Horta.  It was pretty much nose to the grindstone for the first two days of the meeting, but the meeting ended at around 1:30pm on the third day so the Biologist ran back to the hotel and grabbed her GPSr and camera and started wandering around the streets of Horta.  Her first stop was at the Igreja Nossa Senhora das Angústias, a 17th century church of Baroque Architecture located on Rua Vasco da Gama, a street named after the famous Portuguese explorer.  This Old Church is a beautiful Roman Catholic Church with an old baptismal font, a Church Stone Artifact.  In addition, there was a plaque in the church courtyard that offered a Commercial Commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the Philharmonic Society "Union Faialense".

Igreja Matriz São Salvador in Horta

There were a couple of other beautiful historic Baroque Roman Catholic Churches in town and the Biologist greatly enjoyed checking out These Old Churches.  On the walk back toward the hotel, she passed a statue of Duque D'Avila, a Statue of a Historic Figure of a Portuguese politician, as well as a statue of Bishop Alexander, the 25th bishop of the Diocese of Angra.  This Statue of a Religious Figure and Historic Figure was also a Dead Poet's Society Memorial.  Yes, this respected clergyman was also a poet of merit. After passing a Community Commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the autonomy of the Archipelago of the Azores, the Biologist had planned to go back to her hotel for some rest, but couldn't resist doing a little more wandering instead.  After all, it wasn't dark yet and there were waymarks to be found!

Gate of Porto Pim

Next stop was the historic Gate of Porto Pim (the old harbor gate) and the small Forte de São Sebastião (a Historic Fort), which are the only remaining 17th century fortifications that once protected what was Horta's main harbor until 1878.

Forte de São Sebastião

Day 7:  This morning the Biologist and the rest of the meeting attendees that don't live on Faial Island boarded the morning plane to Lisbon.  Several of us that were heading back to the USA had to stopover in Lisbon because the next flight home wasn't until the following morning.  After checking into our hotel in Lisbon, five of us decided to explore the city.  We hopped on Lisbon's Underground subway at the Campo Grande station, which is actually an above ground station. We made our way to the historic Alfama district where we headed down to the Tagus River.  We ended up at Commerce Square (Praça do Comércio), which is the home of an Equestrian Statue of a Historic Figure, King José I, a Monarch of the World.  It is also the site of an Infamous Crime Scene where the assassinations of King Carlos I of Portugal and his heir, Luis Filipe, the Prince Royal, occurred in 1908.

Casa Dos Bicos

We continued wandering around this area and soon spotted the Casa Dos Bicos (also known as the Spiky Mansion, House of Points, and House of Diamonds), which has a curious and interesting façade of Renaissance Architecture influence. Next we came across the Lisbon Cathedral, which is a Medieval Church dating back to 1147.  This Old Roman Catholic Church had it all, including a Doorway of the World, two Bell Towers, at least four Gargoyles, a Town Clock, and a lovely Stained Glass Window over the entrance.  After a quick stop at the Castle San Jorge at 20 minutes before it closed, we looked around for a place to eat then called it a night and hopped back on the subway to head back to our hotel.

Belém Tower

Day 8:  While the others in the group headed to the airport bright and early this morning, the Biologist remained to enjoy a weekend layover in Lisbon.  First thing on the agenda today was a 1/2-day organized tour of Lisbon.  The first stop was the Belém Tower or Torre de Belém, which was constructed in the 16th century and is considered one of the main works of the Portuguese late Gothic, Manueline Architecture style.  This Historic Fort also had two Rotary International Plaques and Monuments on site; one of them was a miniature Exact Replica of the Belém Tower.

Tomb of Vasco da Gama

Next we headed to the National Coach Museum, which is both a History and Oddball Museum that has the largest collection of magnificent royal coaches in the world.  The museum is located next to the Belém Palace.  This Palace or Castle has Baroque Architecture and is the official residence of the President of Portugal.  Our next stop was the Jerónimos Monastery and Church of Santa Maria of Belem.  This Old Roman Catholic Church had beautifully detailed Stained Glass Windows and an old Baptismal Font, an excellent example of a Stone Church Artifact.  The tomb of Vasco da Gama is located in Monastery, which is built on the site of the former Ermida do Restelo, a hermitage that was founded by Henry the Navigator circa 1450.  Vasco da Gama and his men spent the night in prayer at the former hermitage before departing for India in 1497.  The tomb of Luís de Camões, one of the greatest Portuguese poets and author of the maritime epic Os Lusíadas, an account of the exploits of the Portuguese navigators, particularly of Vasco da Gama.  This Dead Poets' Society Memorial was sculpted by the 19th century sculptor Costa Mota in a neo-Manueline style.  The tour ended in the historic Alfama area, where the Biologist caught the subway back to her hotel and made arrangements for her afternoon adventure.

Anta de Casaínhos

The hotel arranged for a taxi with an English-speaking driver to take her to the small town of Casainhos, whose claim to fame is the Anta de Casaínhos, a Megalithic Monument made of limestone.  This funerary monument was classified as a National Monument in 1977 and consists of a few stones in a poor state of repair.  The megalith was not easy to find and the taxi driver was extremely kind and asked several people in town how to get to it.  He even walked down the path with her to find it and took a picture of her with it.  What a nice man!  He took a few photos of the megalith as well, as he'd never heard of it and undoubtedly wanted to show his friends and family what the crazy American paid good money to go see!

Astronomical Observatory

Day 9:  Today was a day for wandering and exploring.  The Biologist found and admired several Statues of Historic Figures, Monarchs of the World, and/or Dead Poets' Society Memorials.  She also visited a few more subway stations of the Lisbon Underground and eventually ended up at the Jardim Botânico da Universidade de Lisboa, a lovely Botanical Garden in the Rato District of Lisbon.  After passing by the Astronomical Observatory on the way into the garden, she quickly spotted a couple of Sequoioideae Trees from the US Pacific Northwest.  Not long after that she came across the Lagartagis, a Butterfly House in the garden.  What a lovely, peaceful place to come and escape the hubbub of Lisbon!  With aching feet and calves, the Biologist headed back to the hotel to post a few waymarks and pack up her things.

Day 10:  Today it was time to say Adeus to Portugal.  What a wonderful place to visit.  Muito obrigada Portugal!

GeoWoodstock VIII or Bust! - June 30-July 5, 2010

We'd been looking forward to GeoWoodstock VIII for a year and at last it was here!  We'd made our flight, hotel, and rental car arrangements several months ago and could hardly stand the wait.  Neither of us had ever been to the Seattle area and now we had a great reason for going.

Day 1:  Our flight didn't leave Jacksonville until 6:30pm so we had a long day to wait for our adventure to begin, but at last it was here.  Not much to tell except that the flight to Dallas and then the second leg to Seattle seemed to take forever.  It was agonizing.  But at last we arrived... at 1:00am.  Yikes!  We quickly picked up our luggage and our rental car, then made our way to a hotel near the airport where we had reservations.  Time for some much needed sleep!

Fife Motel along U.S. Route 99

Day 2:  Today was our first full day after arriving in Washington and what did we do?  We headed to Oregon!  The hotel we stayed in the previous night was located on the historic U.S. Route 99 - The Pacific Highway so we decided to make our way south along this old road.  It wasn't long before we spotted an interesting piece of old Americana, the Fife Motel, a quaint little motor lodge.  We had our wireless computer in the car and the Biologist posted the waymark while we continued heading south.  Within minutes Hikenutty approved it.  Now that's what we call service!

Covington House Historical Marker

We continued south to Vancouver, Washington, where we stopped at the historic Covington House, an old log cabin and former boarding school that housed the first piano in the Oregon Country and was the center of social activity in the entire region.  We learned that piece of information from the Washington Historical Marker located on the property!  Also at this site was a Wagon Roads and Trails marker for the Oregon Trail, as well as a Blue Star Memorial Highway Marker that we visited.

Beacon Rock Historical Marker

Soon after, we crossed the Columbia River and the State border into Oregon and took a drive along Interstate 84 where we enjoyed the absolutely wonderful views of the river, mountains, and waterfalls.  We spotted a sign for the Bonneville Fish Hatchery and couldn't resist making a side trip to see what it had to offer.  Now that's an impressive operation.  We especially enjoyed the sturgeon viewing area.  Talk about a prehistoric looking animal.  What a beauty!  As we were departing the fish hatchery, we decided to turn to the left toward the overflow parking area so we could check out the view of the Columbia River from there and what did we see?  An unclaimed Oregon Historical Marker about Beacon Rock, a prominent geographic feature named by Lewis and Clark in 1805 that was located across the river in the State of Washington.  We hopped back on Interstate 84 and spotted another pull-off, this one at Mitchell Point where we found yet another Oregon Historical Marker and learned about the former famous Mitchell Point Tunnel that used to run through here.

Palmer Glacier

Back on the road again, we turned south onto Highway 35 in Hood River and made our way to Mount Hood.  Our plan was to head to the small town of Parkdale where we were hoping we could see the Eliot Glacier, one of many glaciers on Mount Hood.  No such luck, but we did meet some hikers/cross country skiers who suggested we head to the Timberline Lodge in the town of Government Camp where we would be able to see the Palmer Glacier.  Yea!  So off we went.  Unfortunately, the top of Mount Hood was starting to get socked in the day we visited the Timberline Lodge, but a lodge employee pointed out the lower part of the Palmer Glacier to us and we were able to snap a few photos before it got totally socked in.  Whew!  That was close!  After spending a little time wandering around the infamous lodge that served as the exterior of the Overlook Hotel in "The Shining" (ooh, very creepy!), we made our way to Portland and checked into our hotel.  A little while later, we met up with the Marine's cousin Dana, who now lives in the Portland area and whom he hadn't seen in 18 years.  We had a great time visiting with Dana, her husband Brian, and their daughter Kailyn over dinner and made them promise to come visit us in Florida.

A Family Get-together

 

Ramona Quimby

Day 3:  Today we needed to head back north to enjoy some of the pre-GeoWoodstock activities.  But first we had to stop in Grant Park, a Municipal Park and Plaza, where the Biologist had found through an internet search that the Beverly Cleary sculpture garden was located.  The sculpture garden was made up of statues of Ramona Quimby, Henry Huggins, and Henry's dog Ribsy, some of the most beloved characters in Cleary's childrens' books.  After grabbing some photos and the coordinates for these Famous Fictional Figures, we had just one more stop to make in Oregon and that was to Rocky Butte.  Rocky Butte and the area surrounding it were scoured by Ice Age floods and are a Glacial Lake Missoula Floods Feature.  Sweet!  At the top of Rocky Butte was a lovely little Municipal Park and Plaza named after Dr. Joseph Wood Hill.  A nice Citizen Memorial with a Relief Art Sculpture dedicated to Dr. Hill was located in the park, as well as a cool Orientation Table that points to several vistas including the City Center, Mt. Tabor, Mt. Jefferson, Mt. Hood, Mt. Adams, Mt. Saint Helens, Mt. Ranier, and the Columbia River.  It also turns out that Joseph Wood Hill Park was improved during 1937-1939 as a WPA Project, with stone walls, roadways, and a wide parking platform.  Wow, what a great place to visit.  And to think we probably would never have come here were it not for the Biologist's waymarking addiction!

Orientation Table

We hated to leave Portland without having had the opportunity to do much exploring there, but we needed to make tracks back to the Seattle area.  We checked into our hotel in Renton, just outside Seattle, in the early afternoon and decided to grab some lunch.  The front desk clerk highly recommended the Whistle Stop Ale House, which not only had great food, but was a nice addition to the Pubs and Inns category.  Then back to our hotel for a short rest before heading over to the "COWWS Friday Meet & Greet and Luau" at Lake Sammamish State Park.  Turns out we had to travel 3,000 miles to see some of our old friends from home!  We had a nice time catching up with Sights2c, IceCreamMan, Mrs. IceCreamMan, Turtletoes, and TeamSnook, as well as meeting many new geocachers and waymarkers from other places.

sights2c

TeamSnook's better half & Turtletoes

GeoWoodstock VIII

Day 4:  At last GeoWoodstock VIII arrived and off we went.  We ran into a few other folks from home today - Clan Barron, paintfiction, blakdogs, and MS Wahoo and had a great time trying to find the items on the Scavenger Hunt list.  We caught a glimpse of Doc-Dean while we were eating dinner, then never saw him again.  There were soooo many people there!  It was a Mega-Event after all!  Fun, fun, fun.

The Marine & Clan Barron

MS Wahoo & more Clan Barron

After leaving GeoWoodstock, we spent a little time wandering around Seattle, including the Seattle Center where the Space Needle is located.  We found a few geocaches and enjoyed all the interesting art work around town.  We visited several pieces of art that were part of the Seattle Art & Seek, as well as an interesting Abstract Sculpture, a Figurative Public Sculpture, a Peace Memorial, a piece of Kinetic Sculpture and Art, Coin-Op Binoculars, and some lovely Bottle Art.  This town is full of it!  Art that is!

The Marine, Tag-along2, & In-Cahoots

Day 5:  Our last day in Seattle and we decided to make the most of it.  We returned to the Seattle Center to try to find the "Under the Needle" cache.  We tried to find this one yesterday, but a couple of muggles were unknowingly guarding the cache and we didn't have time to wait them out.  Today, we decided to give it one more try, but alas a couple of different muggles were occupying ground zero today as well.  Darn it!  But then one of the muggles knelt down and started fiddling with her shoelaces while the other pulled out her camera and started to take pictures. Now why would a muggle take a picture of another muggle tying her shoelaces?  Aha!  These weren't muggles after all!  Yea.  So after we busted In-Cahoots and Tag-along2, the four of us started looking for the cache together.  Turns out we weren't actually at ground zero, but fortunately the real ground zero was muggle-free and we nabbed the cache at last.

Kobe Friendship Bell

After parting ways from our new caching friends, we stopped to check out a Kobe Friendship Bell at the Seattle Center, which was also a Permanent World Fair and Expo Structure, a Sister City Memorial, and a Gift from Another Country.  We decided to leave our car where we'd parked it at the Seattle Center and flagged down a taxi to take us over to the Groundspeak Headquarters for the "Lost and Found Celebration" event.  While wandering around the event, the Biologist spotted Signal the Frog and got her picture taken with him for a Photo Goal visit.  A bit later we called for another taxi and had it take us to Pike's Public Market, where we found a Magic Shop with a Coin-operated Fortune Telling Machine in front.  We finally found the famous Pike's Fish Market, but can you believe it, it was closed for the 4th of July holiday!  Shoot!  Oh, well, I guess we'll just have to come back some day.

The Biologist & Signal the Frog

Spirit of '76 Marker

We next decided to head toward the waterfront, but first passed by Beecher's Handmade Cheese shop, a nice little Dairy Creamery.  Upon reaching the waterfront, we found a virtual cache and another Washington Historical Marker and a Spirit of '76 bicentennial marker.  Then we headed downtown and passed several Neon Signs and Artistic Neon Lights on our way to the Monorail, which we decided to take back to the Seattle Center.  We took another stroll around the Seattle Center enjoying more of the Seattle Art & Seek targets, as well as a Citizen Memorial and another Peace Memorial, this time a Sri Chimnoy Peace-Blossom.  By now it was time to find a place to eat and get back to our hotel for an early night as we had a very early flight to catch the next day.

Day 6:  Alas, our trip was ending.  We got up around 3:30am so we could get to the airport in time to turn in our rental car and catch our flight.  We were two tired puppies by the time we got home, but it was well worth it.  We greatly enjoyed our visit to the Pacific Northwest and hope to go back some day.

Spring Break? - April 2-6, 2010

On March 31, we celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary!  Wow, time really flies when you're happy.  Last year, for our 1st wedding anniversary (and the Marine's Spring Break from college), the Marine surprised the Biologist by suggesting that we take a trip to New York City, and also visit several adjacent states while up that way so we could add some new historical marker icons to our waymarking grid.  For this year's Spring Break, the Marine suggested we go on another waymarking adventure.  It's not that he loves waymarking, but he loves the Biologist and making her happy.  Isn't he wonderful?  So, this year we decided to make a trip through the southern U.S. states to get historical marker icons for Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Texas.  Hmmm, maybe Spring BREAK isn't the best name for this adventure because I think we're going to really need a Break by the time we get home.

DAY 1:  Today we decided to hit the road dark and early.  Our goal was to leave the house by 6am.  We actually got out the door by 5:45.  We were so proud of ourselves.  Twenty miles into the trip, the Biologist turned on the laptop that we have set up on a mount in the waymobile.  As she went to log on to the waymarking site, she said to the Marine, "Uh oh, where's our wireless card?"  He replied, "It's in the computer bag, isn't it?"  The Biologist replied, "Probably.  Where's the computer bag?"  He just looked at her for a moment, then said, "Didn't you bring it?"  Oh boy.  So 40 additional miles and an hour later, after a detour back home, we were finally back to the point where the Biologist first decided to try to log onto the waymarking site.  Our adventure had truly begun..

 We made tracks through Florida and Alabama, but had to make a quick stop to admire a Doppler Weather Radar at the Mobile Regional Airport in Alabama.

Then we booked it for the Magnolia State where we found our first Mississippi Historical Marker about the "Salem Methodist Campground" -- the oldest regularly held Methodist camp meeting in Mississippi, what a Superlative find!  There was also a cute little Methodist Church at the campground site, so we took some coords and photos for it as well.  By this time, we were starting to feel the effects of our early start and made our way to Jackson, Mississippi, to bed down for the night.

DAY 2:  We left Jackson at about 9am and made our way toward Louisiana.  As we approached Vicksburg, we saw signs for the National Park Service's Vicksburg National Military Park and decided to check it out.  We bought a cd at the Visitor Center and passed through the Freestanding Arches at the park's entrance and began the driving tour describing the historic Civil War Battle and Siege of Vicksburg.  What an amazing piece of history.  It was hard to imagine the beauty and peacefulness of the present day Spring scenery dotted with splashes of pink flowers from the blooming redbud trees ever having been the site of such a large and bloody battle.  We even stood on the spot where General Pemberton (Confederacy) and General Grant (Union) stood and attempted to negotiate the surrender of Confederate forces.  We had expected to spend 3 hours here, but it turned into 6 hours.  Well worth the time.

It was after 3:30pm when we left Vicksburg and made our way to Louisiana.  As we drove through Tallulah, we spotted a Googie sign, a Louisiana Historical Marker about the city on the Madison Parish Courthouse grounds where we also discovered a Civil War Memorial and a lovely Gazebo.

From Tallulah, we headed north to Arkansas and spotted two more Louisiana Historical Markers.  As we passed through the town of Transylvania, we had a good laugh at their Water Tower, but started getting creeped out by all the signs in town inviting us to stop and visit.  Yea, I don't think so!

We booked it to Arkansas post haste and found a Geodesic Dome house and three Arkansas Historical Markers in the little town of Eudora.  By now we were exhausted, but there were no good hotels in the area.  So onward we drove to El Dorado, Arkansas, where we found a nice hotel and a Mexican restaurant with some very tasty food.


DAY 3:  Today it was time to make our way to Texas, Oklahoma, and Texas.  Yes, I know I said Texas twice.  But come on, you know they say everything's bigger in Texas, so we had to visit it twice!  As we passed through DeKalb, Texas, we spotted an already claimed Texas Historical Marker that we visited.  Before we knew it, however, we were in Oklahoma where we visited the small town of Idabel.  Idabel may be small, but it is the home of at least two beautiful houses that are on the National Register of Historic Places and that have Oklahoma Historical Markers on their front lawns.  We especially loved the Barnes-Stevenson House.  What a beauty!

On our second pass through Texas, we stopped at the old New Haven Cemetery, a Worldwide Cemetery with a Texas Historical Marker. Then into the city of Clarksville where we found two more Texas Historical Markers, one at the Home of Colonel DeMorse, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, and another at the First Baptist Church of Clarksville.  We also found an Architectural Remnant of the Red River County Courthouse's old cupola and a Zinc Headstone in the Clarksville Cemetery.

By now it was time to make tracks east and begin our journey toward home.  However, as we were driving the Biologist was checking out the Newest Groups on the waymarking site and noticed a new group had been formed to establish a category for the Graves of Texas Rangers.  Oh boy!  What if that gets approved?  Then we'll have to either come back to Texas or search high and low for a Texas Ranger gravesite located outside the state of Texas.  A quick Google search resulted in the discovery of such a gravesite in New Boston, Texas, which we were quickly approaching.  We made a short detour to the Read Hill Cemetery, another Worldwide Cemetery and the final resting place of Texas Ranger Dan LaFayette McDuffie, which was denoted with the presence of a Texas Historical Marker about his life.

We left New Boston and decided to push forth to Shreveport, Louisiana, before stopping for the night.  We found a Hampton Inn, our favorite place to stay while on the road, grabbed some dinner, then settled down to watch the Amazing Race.  I'm not really sure why we felt compelled to watch this show.  It feels like we're participating in our own version of the race.

DAY 4:  This morning we set the alarm for an early start and made our way to The Big Easy.  Neither of us had been to the New Orleans area since Hurricane Katrina nor had we ever been to the French Quarter.  Since we were going to pass by the area on our way home anyway, we decided to make a detour and spend an afternoon and evening exploring Bourbon Street and the rest of the French Quarter.  We hit town at around 2:00 pm, checked into our downtown hotel, and walked out the door and onto Bourbon Street.  Our first stop was for a couple of frozen drinks, a Hurricane for the Marine and a Mango Daiquiri for the Biologist.  Yum!

We spent a few hours walking up and down the streets of the French Quarter, wandered into the historic St. Louis Cathedral, and walked along the waterfront before heading back to the hotel for a little rest before dinner.  Then back to Bourbon Street and Sammy's restaurant where the Marine enjoyed a nice Jambalaya while the Biologist, a vegetarian, enjoyed a varied vegetable dinner.  On the way to the restaurant and on the way back to the hotel, we took some time to stop and waymark quite a few of the Neon Signs along Bourbon Street.  Quite an interesting experience.

 DAY 5:  Today we headed for home.  The only stops we made today were at a few rest areas and gas stations in Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida.  This whirlwind waymarking adventure was a lot of fun, but very exhausting.  We were sure glad when we reached Jacksonville.  Dorothy was right, there's no place like home.