Category Archives: Travel

Liquid Souvenirs – Our Favorite Kind!

Souvenirs from our October 2021 New England Road Trip!

How could you pass up a distillery named ‘Wiggly Bridge?’  You have to stop, right? 😉

Kathy & I enjoy stopping at wineries and distilleries on our road trips.  Partly because we like bringing home souvenirs, but mostly (really!) because we love hearing the stories.  Each place we visit has a story or two about their history, their products, their facilities and more.  Sometimes many stories!

While we were in Rockport, MA, we visited two distilleries.  Wiggly Bridge was about an hour up the road and just across the Maine border in York.  We combined that with a visit to Bob’s Clam Hut, a local and tourist-favorite clam shack in Kittery.  Two for one! 🙂

The story behind Wiggly Bridge is that it started as a bit of a joke between father and son, and turned into a full-time business.  They even taught themselves how to build their first still.  The distillery is located in an old barn, and windows in the tasting room look down on the distillery.  A tour there starts at the bar with a cocktail made with one of their products, moves “across the room” to look at the distilling room, then returns to the bar for a tasting.  The distillery produces whisky, rum, vodka, gin and agave spirits.  Since this was our first stop we limited ourselves to a whisky and a rum.

After that, we drove back to Gloucester, MA to Ryan & Wood Distillery.  Owner and co-founder Bob Ryan did our tasting and told the stories.  If it wasn’t for two guys who walked in just as we were finishing our tasting, we might still be there listening to Bob. 😉  But we were “saved” and managed to get away with just four bottles – a rye whisky, a wheat whisky and two gins, one of which is aged in former rye whisky barrels.  Yum!

Souvenirs from our October 2021 New England Road Trip!

Later in our trip, as we traveled from New Hampshire to Vermont, we stopped at the Vermont Spirits Distillery in Quechee, VT.  Their claim to fame is a vodka made from maple sugar. We tried it and it was interesting, but to me it wasn’t something I wanted to bring home.  Their 15 Hands bourbon and their bourbon barrel aged gin were pretty tasty, so we did bring home some samples of those.

In New York, we stopped by Finger Lakes Distilling, where we tasted but didn’t buy.  We were mostly killing time before a wine tasting. 😉  Their spirits were quite good, but since we were already getting overloaded (in the car, in the car!), we decided to pass until next time.

Also in the photo above is Gunpowder Rye from New England Distilling Co.  We didn’t visit there, but Kathy had that at a bar in Maine and loved it so much we had to track some down in Bar Harbor.  That also made the trip home!

Souvenirs from our October 2021 New England Road Trip!

We visited three wineries in the Finger Lakes Region of NY but bought from only two.  We purchased wine from Heron Hill and from Atwater, but chose to pass on wine from Dr. Konstanin Frank.  We liked all of the wine but we were kind of choosy about whether we were getting a deal or not.  If I can get a good discount and/or free shipping, I’m interested.  Otherwise I can always buy online from home.  Plus, we already have a pretty good supply on hand at home! 😉

One of the fun things about the Finger Lakes wineries is that we were introduced to several new – to us – varietals.  Blaufrankisch is a grape that is widely grown in Europe and was introduced in NY from Austria.  Baco Noir is a hybrid winemaking grape created in 1902 by French botanist François Baco.  The unique climate in New York state is ideal for growing these types of grapes, and the results are really good.  We were quite impressed and will continue to keep NY in mind as a source of good wine!

Oh, yeah, I almost forgot –  there was also maple syrup from Vermont! 🙂

Souvenirs from our October 2021 New England Road Trip!

Evidence Of A Meticulous Mechanic

Evidence of a meticulous mechanic! Steamtown National Historic Site in Scranton, Pennsylvania

I spotted these tool boards while we were visiting Steamtown National Historical Park in Scranton, PA.  I was on a catwalk over the work area and didn’t have a way to access the main floor for a better view.  I’d like to meet this guy! 🙂

Evidence of a meticulous mechanic! Steamtown National Historic Site in Scranton, Pennsylvania

As I often do when we travel, I’ve been adding selected photos to a page on my Adobe Portfolio website.  Check back periodically as I add more as often as I can.  Just know that I’m a few weeks behind!

A Rather Unproductive Week

Marina on Little Port Brook in Atlantic, North Carolina

I might have just as easily titled this post “A Week of Excuses.” 🙂

“Redneck (Y)acht Club”

Kathy & I have returned from our jaunt to the NC coast.  I did a little bit of photography, but not nearly as much as I had intended.  I came back with a few decent photographs, but since photography wasn’t really the main purpose of the trip, I’m not disappointed.

Fishing boats at a marina on Brooks Creek on Harker’s Island, North Carolina

– It was HOT and HUMID!  The kind of humidity that makes your glasses (and camera lenses) steam up when you go outside, even at 7:00 in the morning!  The low temperatures at night were in the low 80s, stretching to the upper 80s/low 90s during the day.  I’m not a fan of heat, so that made it tough.

Fishing boats at a marina on Brooks Creek on Harker’s Island, North Carolina

– I’ve been battling a recurring sore leg, which was not helped by walking on sand.  So we limited our beach walking a bit which limited my photographic opportunities.

Bridge on SR 12 over the Thorofare River on Cedar Island, North Carolina
Marina on Little Port Brook in Atlantic, North Carolina

– Mostly we were spending time with family and friends and generally relaxing, so it was overall a good trip.

Now we have a few weeks to rest up for our next adventure.  Coming soon! 🙂

Fixer-upper for sale on E Front Street in New Bern, North Carolina
Elvis Sighting – New Bern, North Carolina

A(nother) Visit To Bourbon Country

Bourbon Heritage Center at Heaven Hill Distillery in Bardstown, Kentucky

Our recent travels took us by way of Lexington, Kentucky today.  We decided to stay a couple of nights in order to take advantage of being close to several of our favorite distilleries.  It isn’t possible to visit all of our favorites in one day, so we visited the newly-opened Bourbon Heritage Center in Bardstown plus our perennial favorite, Maker’s Mark.  Needless to say, some liquid souvenirs – and a few photographs – will be accompanying us home. 😉

Bourbon Heritage Center at Heaven Hill Distillery in Bardstown, Kentucky
Bourbon Heritage Center at Heaven Hill Distillery in Bardstown, Kentucky
Bourbon Heritage Center at Heaven Hill Distillery in Bardstown, Kentucky
Bourbon Heritage Center at Heaven Hill Distillery in Bardstown, Kentucky
Makers Mark Distillery in Loretto, Kentucky
Makers Mark Distillery in Loretto, Kentucky
Makers Mark Distillery in Loretto, Kentucky
Makers Mark Distillery in Loretto, Kentucky
Makers Mark Distillery in Loretto, Kentucky

Rust And Peeling Paint

Illinois Railway Museum near Union, Illinois

While Kathy & I were in Wisconsin visiting our friends Jeff & Mary Pat, Jeff, his son Luca and I left the ladies at home and headed to the Illinois Railway Museum in Union, Illinois.  The museum boasts a huge collection of rolling stock of all varieties, from horse-drawn cars to vintage steam locomotives to more modern diesel-electric engines.  It was a great place to make photographs, and while I took some photographs of entire engines and cars, it was the the little details that really appealed to me – in this case what I’ve come to refer to generically as “Rust and Peeling Paint.”  It is the details that are “about” a place, taken “at” at place that I love to photograph.

Illinois Railway Museum near Union, Illinois

We spent several hours there and had a chance to take a ride on a vintage electric “Interurban” train car (much like a trolley but larger and faster).  It’s the kind of place where you can find something new with as much time as you have.  A few hours was plenty for us, but it wouldn’t be a bad place to return to some time in the future.

Illinois Railway Museum near Union, Illinois
Illinois Railway Museum near Union, Illinois
Illinois Railway Museum near Union, Illinois
Illinois Railway Museum near Union, Illinois
Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe Engine 2903. Illinois Railway Museum near Union, Illinois
Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe Engine 2903. Illinois Railway Museum near Union, Illinois
Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe Engine 2903. Illinois Railway Museum near Union, Illinois
Illinois Railway Museum near Union, Illinois
Illinois Railway Museum near Union, Illinois
Illinois Railway Museum near Union, Illinois
Illinois Railway Museum near Union, Illinois
Illinois Railway Museum near Union, Illinois
Illinois Railway Museum near Union, Illinois
Illinois Railway Museum near Union, Illinois
Illinois Railway Museum near Union, Illinois
Illinois Railway Museum near Union, Illinois

A Good Day For Clouds

Abandoned barn along SR 47 between Dwight and Forrest, Illinois

Kathy & I had some time to kill yesterday on our drive to Wisconsin, so what better way to stretch the 6 hour drive into 8 hours than to look for photos? 🙂

Rural farmland along SR 47 near Dwight, Illinois
Abandoned farm buildings at the Sibley State Habitat area along SR 47 near Sibley, Illinois

Earlier in the day we had encountered the tail end of some of the soaking rains that passed through central Illinois in previous days and were treated to beautiful skies as the storm clouds broke up into what I call “Ansel Adams Clouds.”  It was quite a treat.  We detoured down several side roads and came across some interesting scenes, including extensive wind farms and old barns.  Quite a nice day to extend a trip on a nice day!

I am trying to shoot exclusively with my prime lenses on this trip, but in a last-minute moment of weakness I tossed my 16-80 zoom into a bag.  I’m going to try hard not to use it, but it is with me in case the need should arise.  Interestingly, I started off the day with my 23, but at one point realized that I needed to switch to the 35.  My first though started out as “oh, I don’t want to bother changing lenses.”  But then my sensible side said, “you idiot, if you need to change lenses you change lenses!”  So I did.  I also remembered to put on my polarizer! 😉

Rural farmland along SR 47 near Dwight, Illinois
Rural farmland along SR 47 near Dwight, Illinois
Wind farm along SR 47 near Dwight, Illinois

Saguaro National Park

Saguaro National Park near Tucson, Arizona

I’m back at the computer and trying to finish up my photos from our visit to the southwest.  I’ve recently posted new galleries to my Adobe Portfolio site and am continuing to add more as I go.  It feels like I’m only halfway, but I think I’m a little further along than that!

Saguaro National Park near Tucson, Arizona

We visited Saguaro with our friends Cheryl & Mike, over the course of two days.  The park is divided into the West and the East, and we visited the East on a cloudy afternoon, and the West the following day with sunshine and blue-sky.  The sunshine and blue sky made all the difference in the world in appearance, quality of images, and not least, the heat!  It gets warm in the desert, although not nearly as warm in April as later in the summer!

Red Hills Visitor Center at Saguaro National Park near Tucson, Arizona

The Red Hills Visitor Center in Saguaro East was especially picturesque, with the lattice roof casting dramatic shadows at mid-day.  Interestingly, I’ve seen very few photos of this, although I managed to make more than a few of my own!  Maybe I just didn’t look in the right place.

Saguaro National Park near Tucson, Arizona
Saguaro National Park near Tucson, Arizona
Saguaro National Park near Tucson, Arizona
Saguaro National Park near Tucson, Arizona

Anyway, here is a sampling of my photos from our visit.  There are more to be found on my Adobe Portfolio site.

Saguaro National Park near Tucson, Arizona
Dead cactus at Saguaro National Park near Tucson, Arizona
Saguaro National Park near Tucson, Arizona

Thoughts On Route 66

The Blue Swallow Motel on Historic Route 66 in Tucumcari, New Mexico

When we first started planning our visit to the Southwest, I was attracted to the idea of visiting all or part of Route 66, that legendary highway from Chicago to LA that marked the beginning of the car craze and gave rise to the whole road trip mystique that persists in the US to this day.  A lot of photographers have documented portions of this iconic road over the years, and I wanted a chance to see and photograph parts of it myself.

The Motel Safari on Historic Route 66 in Tucumcari, New Mexico
“Standin’ On The Corner” in Winslow, Arizona. Corner of N Kinsley Ave and 2nd Street
Historic Route 66 in Seligman, Arizona

In doing our research, it seemed that a lot of the guidebooks are directed at people who want to travel every last remaining inch of the road.  There are lots of people who do that, and we ran into some of them, with their Official Route 66 T-shirts, hats, bumper stickers and guidebooks.  There were a few caravans of classic cars, motorcycles and other assorted vehicles.  But there seemed to be plenty of people like us, just attracted to the few remaining places that contain the nostalgia of the old “Mother Road” and wanting to see what it was all about.

Hackberry General Store along Historic Route 66 in Hackberry, Arizona
Burma Shave sign along Historic Route 66 approaching Seligman, Arizona

It wasn’t our intention to travel the whole route, or even all of the relatively small stretch we visited (we started in Oatman, AZ and kinda followed it as far as Yukon, Oklahoma.  After inadvertently finding ourselves on a 25+ mile long stretch of dirt road that “used to be” Route 66 at the New Mexico-Texas border I was glad weren’t expecting to cover the whole thing.  For the most part, the portions of the original route that remain are well marked with “Historic Route 66” signage.  But some parts are lost to time and conditions, and hardly suitable for travel by the people who live there, much less by tourists seeking to reconnect with history.

Historic Route 66 in Seligman, Arizona
Historic Route 66 in Seligman, Arizona

Sorry to say, but Momma’s showing some wear and tear these days, in my eyes.  I’m not sure what I expected with Route 66, but I came away from it a bit disappointed.  Maybe I was just 50 years too late, but it felt a lot like just another string of towns abandoned by time and the diversion of car traffic by freeways and bypasses.  Yes, there are pockets of apparent prosperity, mostly in towns that have other means of economic support but also in places like Tucumcari, NM where a handful of wonderful businesses hang on due to their owners’ efforts and longstanding reputation.  But mostly, we drove for miles and miles to get to a place or a thing, looked at it and said (or thought) ‘huh.”  The glory of Route 66 lives on in memories or the imagination, I guess.

The Jackrabbit Trading Post on Historic Route 66 near Joseph City, Arizona

I didn’t set out with a “shot list” or really any kind of preconceived notion of what I’d find to photograph.  I wasn’t looking to make my own definitive guide to Route 66 or even publish a comprehensive collection of photography.  I wanted to see what we found and to let that determine the direction I would take with my camera.  I shot some landmarks, photographed some abandoned buildings and other remains of the past.  I made some nice evening photographs of the lovely motels in Tucumcari.  And we drove right on by a fair number of places, partly due to time constraints but also due to lack of visually interesting subject matter.

Twin Arrows, an abandoned roadside trading post located along I-40 in Arizona between Flagstaff and Winslow
Abandoned buildings along a dirt road stretch of Historic Route 66 near the New Mexico-Texas border
Abandoned motel and restaurant on Historic Route 66 at the New Mexico-Texas border

But beauty is in the eye of the beholder, as they say. So don’t take my word for it!  There is plenty to see and photograph, just know that there are places where what there is, isn’t what it used to be, and that you may have to drive a long way between those places.  And in many parts of the route, especially in Arizona, New Mexico, Texas and Oklahoma, there ain’t a lot more to see!  Fortunately, there are National Parks and other landmarks to break up the drive.  But as far as Route 66 itself is concerned, get what you can while the gettin’s good.

Twin Guns, an abandoned settlement along I-40 between Flagstaff and Winslow, Arizona
Twin Guns, an abandoned settlement along I-40 between Flagstaff and Winslow, Arizona

We did it and I’m glad to have had the time and opportunity to check it out for myself.  There are a few places I won’t hesitate to go back to, and a lot of places that will be lost to time before I have a chance to return.  Everyone will find something there.  It all depends on what you are looking for.

The Midpoint Cafe, halfway point on Route 66, near Adrian, Texas

Woolly Mammoth, Batman!

Waco Mammoth National Monument in Waco, Texas

In 1978 a couple of Waco, Texas locals were searching for arrowheads and came across a large bone.  They took the bone to a scientist at Baylor University, who identified it as a mammoth bone.  A Baylor undergraduate started an archeological exploration of the site in 1979, uncovering 5 mammoths over a 2.5 year period.  In the following years, another 16 mammoths were discovered.

Waco Mammoth National Monument in Waco, Texas
Waco Mammoth National Monument in Waco, Texas
Waco Mammoth National Monument in Waco, Texas
Waco Mammoth National Monument in Waco, Texas

The area is managed by the National Park Service in cooperation with the City of Waco and Baylor University, and  became a National Monument in 2015 under President Obama.

Waco Mammoth National Monument in Waco, Texas
Waco Mammoth National Monument in Waco, Texas
Waco Mammoth National Monument in Waco, Texas
Waco Mammoth National Monument in Waco, Texas

The site is much smaller and much less dramatic than Dinosaur National Monument in Utah that we visited last fall, but interesting nevertheless in that it is one of only a few places where prehistoric remains in situ can be easily viewed by the public.  A building erected over the site provides viewing access while providing access to students and scientists for further study of the area.

Waco Mammoth National Monument in Waco, Texas
Waco Mammoth National Monument in Waco, Texas

The place was also practically deserted on the day of our visit, making it even more attractive to us! 😉

Waco Mammoth National Monument in Waco, Texas

Liquid Souvenirs – Our Favorite!

Garrison Brothers Distillery in Hye, Texas

When Kathy & I travel we don’t come home with a lot of “stuff.”  A few things for the kids sometimes, or a keepsake for the bookshelf at home.  But one thing we do like to do is bring home liquid souvenirs.  We enjoy stopping at distilleries or wineries, sampling their products and bringing some home.  It’s another way to extend the vacation, an ounce or two at a time! 😉

Balcones Distillery in Waco, Texas

On our recent trip through Texas, I had identified two distilleries I wanted to visit: Balcones Distilling in Waco, and Garrison Brothers, in Hye (near Fredericksburg).  I had hoped to pick up some Texas tequila, but these two distilleries only make brown liquor – whisky and rum at Balcones, and whisky (but very good whisky) at Garrison Brothers.  The tequila distilleries appear to be further south than we went, more like Austin and San Antonio.  Perhaps another time.

Balcones Distillery in Waco, Texas
Balcones Distillery in Waco, Texas

Balcones makes a number of different bourbons and rye whiskys, including one whisky made from blue corn.  It has a very interesting flavor, very sweet with hints of corn tortilla (my taste, anyway), fresh bread and brown sugar. We brought home a bottle of that along with a bottle each of their cask strength rye, their Texas single malt pot still whisky and their cask strength rum.  Those big boys will make good old fashioneds and Manhattans once the weather cools back down.

Balcones Distillery in Waco, Texas
Garrison Brothers Distillery in Hye, Texas

At Garrison Brothers, they make bourbon.  And only bourbon.  Several different kinds, something for everyone who likes bourbon.  We brought home a bottle each of their Small Batch and their Single Barrel.  A little on the pricey side, these will occupy the “occasional shelf” in our cabinet!

Garrison Brothers Distillery in Hye, Texas
Garrison Brothers Distillery in Hye, Texas
Garrison Brothers Distillery in Hye, Texas
Garrison Brothers Distillery in Hye, Texas

Every distillery has its own story, and we always enjoy hearing them.  It’s fun talking and listening to people who are passionate about their craft, whether it is in Kentucky, Texas or Barbados.  We’ll be ready for some more the next time we head out!

Garrison Brothers Distillery in Hye, Texas
Garrison Brothers Distillery in Hye, Texas