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.

Wherefore Art Thou Chocolate? - December 27-28, 2009

What better way to head back home to Jacksonville, Florida, from Columbus, Ohio, than through the beautiful state of Pennsylvania!  Sure it's not the most direct route, but when you're an addicted waymarker (and chocolate eater), does that really matter?  Of course not!  So, we got up bright and early on the morning of December 27, loaded up the waymarking mobile, and hit the road.  Hershey, Pennsylvania, here we come!  Yea, baby!

We pulled into Hershey in the afternoon and lost no time making our way to the Antique Auto Museum of Hershey, a Motor Vehicle Museum!  And you'll never guess what was parked out front under the entrance portico -- it was the Kissmobile!  What a wonderful Sighting!  The Biologist had been keeping her eyes open for one of these luscious vehicles for a couple of years and she finally got to see it.  I'm not sure who was happier, her or the Marine.  Now he doesn't have to hear her say all the time, "I'd better bring along the camera and GPS in case we see the Kissmobile while we're out."

Next we decided to wander around Hershey a bit to get our bearings before heading to the hotel where we had a reservation for the night.  We spotted Hershey's Iconic Factory, a few Pennsylvania Historical Markers, This Old Church that was lovely, the Soda Jerk Diner where we had dinner, and some Unique Chimneys.  That was all we had time for before darkness fell and we dropped off to sleep at the hotel.

The next morning we headed over to the Official Local Tourism Attraction better known as Hershey's Chocolate World where we spotted some 3 Dimensional Art and Giants of Commerce.  We first took the free chocolate tour ride that includes animated singing cows and culminates with the distribution of a free sample of chocolate (yum!).  The ride ends at the entrance to a giant Candy Store where we wandered around salivating and sniffing all the wonderful smelling chocolate.  Of course we couldn't resist picking up a few items..

 After making off with the chocolate, we decided it was time to hit the road and start heading south.  We made yet another detour... a slight one to run by the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, a Research Institute in Laurel, Maryland.  The Biologist started her career here in the endangered species research program back in 1985.  This was the first time she's been back here since 1988.  There have been a lot of changes in the past 20 years!

A Visit to the Historic Green Lawn Cemetery - December 23, 2009

Today the Marine went off with his Dad for a full day of poker with his Dad's buddies.  With some time on my hands, I (the Biologist) decided to head to the nearby historic Green Lawn Cemetery to do a little waymarking.  It was a cold day with some snow on the ground,  The first thing I saw upon entering the cemetery was an Ohio Historical Marker.

The historical marker provides the following information:

SIDE 1: Landscape architect Howard Daniels designed the original portion of Green Lawn Cemetery in 1848. Noted Columbus architect Frank Packard designed Green Lawn's Chapel mausoleum, the Hayden family mausoleum, and the Packard mausoleum. Spanning over 360 acres, the cemetery's wooded setting provides a habitat for a variety of birds and other wildlife. The Chapel contains stunning stained glass windows and mosaic artwork by Tiffany & Company of New York. The monuments, obelisks, and memorials throughout the cemetery represent a wealth of artwork and a history of Columbus. As one of the oldest and largest cemeteries in Ohio, Green Lawn is the resting-place of many noted individuals who have made significant contributions to Columbus, Franklin County and the nation.

SIDE 2: Interments here include: Gordon Battelle - founder of Battelle Memorial Institute, a center for creative research and invention development; Samuel Bush - president of Buckeye Steel Castings and grandfather and great grandfather of United States Presidents George Bush and George W. Bush; Dr. Lincoln Goodale - first physician to practice in Franklinton, now Columbus; P. W. Huntington - founder of Huntington National Bank in Columbus in 1866 and member of Green Lawn's Board of Trustees for over forty years; Simon Lazarus - began Lazarus department stores in 1851; James Poindexter - barber, minister, conductor on the Underground Railroad, and first African American to be elected to Columbus City Council; James Rhodes - the longest serving governor of Ohio; Eddie Rickenbacker - famed racecar driver and World War I flying ace; Lucas Sullivant - surveyor and planner of the city of Franklinton in 1797; James Thurber - twentieth century humorist author and cartoonist; and honored veterans of every war since the Civil War.

Below are a few of the places I visited or waymarked while here:

The Grave of a Famous Person (Eddie Rickenbacker)












Three Zinc Headstones

Two Broken Column Headstones

Four Woodmen of the World Headstones (3 shown below)

Five Mausoleums (3 shown below)

An Odd Fellow Memorial

Bas Relief Art on a Bronze Sarcophagus

An American Civil War Monument

It's Cold in Columbus! - December 21, 2009

Today, we decided to head toward the Ohio State University to find a couple of waymarks for two new categories. Okay, so it was really the Biologist who decided to do this, but the Marine humored her and drove her to them. Our first stop was the Sleep and Breathing Research Institute on Olentangy River Road. Not much to see here, but this Research Institute is internationally recognized for their sleep apnea research. A bit of a snooze as far as waymarks go, but we nabbed it just the same!  UPDATE:  Turns out this Research Institute doesn't do enough research to qualify for approval.  Go figure...

Next, we headed to High Street, where we made a stop at the Improved Order of Red Men Sioux Tribe No. 128 lodge, which appears to still be a very active lodge. We particularly liked the defunct Neon Sign on this lodge. It wasn't much to look at, but we still liked it for its simplicity.

By this time, it was about 1pm, so we decided to
search for a restaurant in the area and spotted a Mexican restaurant called Mad Mex (http://www.madmex.com/regions/columbus/entrance). What an eclectic place! We had the Nachos Grande as an appetizer, then the Marine had the Mad Mex Huevo Burrito and the Biologist had the Black Beanie Quesadeenie. Yummy! It was Mexican food with a twist and absolutely delicious. They also have restaurants in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, and Happy Valley, Pennsylvania, and hope to expand elsewhere in the future. If you like Mexican food and are a bit adventurous, we highly recommend this place. It was awesome! As we exited the restaurant, we found another fun Neon Sign for the Ugly Tuna restaurant. Took photos and coords, then made our way back to the Marine's parents home.