Tag Archives: Travel

Escape To The Cape: Cape Cod

October 30, 2021 Tom Dills 4 Comments

Houses in the so-called “Kennedy Compound” at the Hyannis Port Yacht Club in Hyannis, Massachusetts

When choosing where to stay and what to do in Massachusetts, we decided to keep with the smallish coastal fishing village vibe as much as possible. We wanted to avoid the larger cities with their traffic and congestion, understanding that even though we were past the peak travel season, anywhere we went was likely to be busy. We really want to visit Boston, and in fact were scheduled to spend some time there last year before a cruise that was cancelled. It’s a destination in itself, and this trip was already shaping up to be a long one!

Houses along the coast of Lewis Bay during our cruise with Bay Spirit Cruises out of Hyannis, Massachusetts

We wanted to stay near or on Cape Cod, so we looked for places to stay that suited our preferences – centrally located, a selection of restaurants, not too urban, etc. We also wanted to be able to take a coastal cruise, either sightseeing or whale watching. And we also hoped to get over the Martha’s Vineyard. We settled on Hyannis, because it met those criteria.

Seaman’s Bethel, non-denominational church at New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park in New Bedford, Massachusetts

New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park in New Bedford, Massachusetts

Visitor Center at New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park in New Bedford, Massachusetts

But first, we managed to do a little sightseeing on our drive from Mystic. I mentioned in a previous post that we had encountered traffic in Newport due to the boat show. We lost some valuable time there, and that cut into our visit to New Bedford, the New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park and the Jonathan Bourne Whaling Museum. We spent a couple of hours in New Bedford before moving on. The drive ended up taking most of the day, albeit with some good stops.

The late Senator Ted Kennedy’s sailboat “Mya” moored off the coast of Hyannis, Massachusetts

Unidentified sailboat moored to a “Kennedy” mooring ball off the coast of the Hyannis Port Yacht Club in Hyannis, Massachusetts

Since we only had two full days to spend on Cape Cod, we had to choose wisely. We ended up deciding against Martha’s Vineyard, as it would have taken an entire day. We would have had a boat ride on the ferry, but would not have seen the sights around Hyannis Harbor and Cape Cod Bay. We had to make a choice and decided to devote a day to some time in town, a coastal cruise and then some driving down to Falmouth and Woods Hole. The second day was devoted to Provincetown, Chatham and Cape Cod National Seashore. Sadly, the Cape Cod Potato Chip factory was closed to visitors, so we did not get to visit. 🙁 We did, however, find some good clam chowder for lunch, so all was not lost! 🙂

Nobska Lighthouse and Keeper’s Cottage near Falmouth, Massachusetts

Our coastal cruise was interesting, because it took us past a number of lighthouses, and houses built to look like lighthouses. The homes around the Hyannis Port Yacht Club include those once owned by members of the Kennedy family. We saw ‘Mya,’ the sailboat once owned by Ted Kennedy. It was moored in the harbor along with an unnamed sailboat that was moored to a mooring ball painted with the name “Kennedy.” No idea whose boat that was or who now owns Mya, but I’m guessing it is still in the family. That afternoon we visited Falmouth and Woods Hole, taking in a few more lighthouses.

“They Also Faced the Sea”: Art Installation by Provincetown artists Norma Holt and Ewa Nogiec at Provincetown Marina, Provincetown, Massachusetts https://www.iamprovincetown.com/PortugueseWomen/

MacMillan Pier in Provincetown, Massachusetts

Provincetown was an interesting place. A smaller version of Key West, perhaps. Funky shops, funky people and a real laid-back attitude. Probably not a place we would want to have stayed, but we were glad to have visited.

Distant view of the Race Point Lighthouse from Herring Cove Beach in Cape Cod National Seashore, Massachusetts

The Marconi Historic Site at Cape Cod National Seashore, Massachusetts

Coast Guard Station Chatham and Lighthouse in Chatham, Massachusetts

Along Cape Cod National Seashore, we made stops at the visitor center, Marconi Beach to see the remains of the original Marconi Wireless Station, Herring Cove, and the town of Chatham (more lighthouses!). No, we didn’t see any of the sharks reported to be making a comeback along the Cape, but we did see a few seals, which the sharks like to have for dinner! 🙂

The John F. Kennedy Memorial, located in Veterans Park in Hyannis, Massachusetts

Before returning to our hotel we made a stop at the John F. Kennedy Memorial. It was dark and cloudy and not the best conditions for photos, but I did manage to snap a few. The next day we headed up the coast, around Boston and on to Rockport. Stay tuned! 🙂

Photography

A Little Dinghy

October 29, 2021 Tom Dills 6 Comments

Dinghy in Rockport Harbor in Rockport, Massachusetts

I posted this on Instagram yesterday but not everyone here would have seen it. One of a number of interesting scenes in Rockport, MA. I need to and will begin to highlight some of my more favorite photos from the various places we visited on our recent road trip.

I’ve edited and processed my photos through Massachusetts, but realized this morning that I have over 2500 from Maine! 🙂 Many of them are burst shots of waves and whales, but still. We were there for 9 days, so there was a lot of subject matter!

Photo Project: 50 States

Mystic, Connecticut: More Than A Famous Pizza Shop

October 28, 2021 Tom Dills

Sunset along the Mystic River in Mystic, Connecticut

I’m not sure what attracted me to Mystic, Connecticut. It wasn’t ‘Mystic Pizza,’ the pizza shop made famous by the movie by the same name. I haven’t seen the movie, although I was familiar with the name. No, it had something to do with something I had once read or heard about ‘Mystic Seaport.’ And we found it to be an excellent home base for our short but busy exploration of Connecticut.

The Mystic River Highway Bridge over the Mystic River in Mystic, Connecticut. The Steamboat Inn on the left side of the photo is where we stayed.

The Mystic River Highway Bridge over the Mystic River in Mystic, Connecticut

View of The Steamboat Inn along the river in Mystic, Connecticut

Mystic Seaport is the name of the Mystic Maritime Center, which bills itself as “the nation’s leading maritime museum.” I’ll write about our visit to the museum in a separate post, so for now I’ll just talk about the town of Mystic itself.

The town of Mystic itself proved to be a quaint, albeit busy, seaside town. The Mystic River flows through the town, and there is a drawbridge on Main Street that opens once per hour to let sailboats and other larger vessels pass through.

Morning along the river in Mystic, Connecticut

We stayed at the Steamboat Inn, a small B&B right next to the river and the drawbridge, and it was the perfect location to explore the town while still making it easy to get out of town to see other places. I loved being able to walk out the door and photograph in the early morning, while Kathy caught a few extra Zs in our room. I’d get back in time for coffee and breakfast before starting off on whatever we had planned for the day.

We’re not big shoppers, so a few hours wandering around the town on afternoon was all the time we needed. We did buy ice cream, and yes, I did take a few obligatory photos of Mystic Pizza. There were several good restaurants within walking distance, including one we visited twice. S&P Restaurant & Oyster Bar impressed us so much on the first visit that we went back a second time. Fresh fish, excellent service and a decent wine selection is what we look for, especially at the coast, whether it is the northeast or the southeast. It fit the bill nicely for us.

Replica village at Mystic Seaport Museum in Mystic, Connecticut

In addition to the Maritime Museum, we ventured over to Groton, on the Thames River, to visit the USS Nautilus. The Nautilus was the first nuclear powered submarine and, among other feats, was the first to complete an underwater crossing of the North Pole. I remembered reading about the sub as a kid, and at one time seem to recall having a toy or plastic model. That was a long time ago! Photos from that visit and from the Maritime Museum are included in the gallery 2021-09 New England Part II on my Adobe Portfolio page.

Mystic Pizza, restaurant made famous by a movie in Mystic, Connecticut

Photo Project: 50 States

A Little Bit Of Rhode Island

October 27, 2021 Tom Dills 4 Comments

Distant view of the Claiborne Pell/Newport Bridge from Narragansett, Rhode Island

Some might say that it is hard to do a lot in Rhode Island, but I don’t think that is true. While it’s a small state, it packs a lot into a small area.

Waterfront homes along Ocean Road in Narragansett, Rhode Island

We had originally planned to just spend a day in the state, but when we made a last-minute adjustment to our itinerary we were able to add an overnight in Narragansett before backtracking just a bit to Connecticut. Narragansett is a lovely seaside town with lots of beautiful waterfront homes, without the hustle, bustle and big money of Newport. We spent an evening and most of the next day exploring the town as well as Cape Elizabeth and the Port of Galilee.

And I had my first of many Lobster Rolls! It wasn’t the best one I had, but you never forget your first one. 😉

Fishing boats in the Port of Gallilee in Narragansett, Rhode Island

On our drive from Mystic to Rockport, MA we passed through Newport. We had originally wanted to overnight in Newport but were put off by high hotel prices and low availability. When we drove through we quickly realized why – it was the first day of the annual Newport International Boat Show! Duh – our research had not discovered that. 🙁 So we gritted our teeth, drove through the crowded streets and out to Fort Adams State Park for views of the Newport Harbor, the Claiborne Pell/Newport Bridge and views back toward Narragansett. As it turned out, we were very glad to have spent the extra time in Narragansett, as we would have ended up really shortchanging the state without it.

Seagull on Narragansett Bay in Narragansett, Rhode Island

By the standards of a Rhode Island local, we certainly missed a lot. I’d be happy to return someday, possibly even to Newport. But we saw and photographed enough to “check it off the list” and moved on to the rest of New England. More to come, soon!

Point Judith Lighthouse near Narragansett, Rhode Island

The Beavertail Lighthouse overlooking Narragansett Bay near Jamestown, Rhode Island. The lighthouse, built in 1749, is the nation’s third oldest.

The Claiborne Pell/Newport Bridge over Narragansett Bay in Newport, Rhode Island

The Narragansett Towers, built in 1883, are the only remaining part of the original Narragansett Pier Casino. One of the most recognizable landmarks in Narragansett, The Towers currently hosts weddings, dances, dinners, plays, and fashion shows. Its location, adjacent to Narragansett town beach, makes it an ideal venue for social events.

Travel

Scranton, Pennsylvania

October 25, 2021 Tom Dills 2 Comments

Back to our regularly scheduled programming. 😉

After Staunton, VA we spent a night in Scranton, PA. We stayed at a Radisson hotel in the former Lackawanna railroad station in downtown, and the following morning visited Steamtown National Historical Site before heading off to Rhode Island.

From Wikipedia:

Steamtown National Historic Site is a railroad museum and heritage railroad located in downtown Scranton, PA at the site of the former Scranton yards of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad (DL&W). The museum is built around a working turntable and a roundhouse that are largely replications of the original DL&W facilities. The roundhouse, for example, was reconstructed from remnants of a 1932 structure. The site also features several original outbuildings dated between 1899 and 1902. All the buildings on the site are listed with the National Register of Historic Places as part of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad Yard-Dickson Manufacturing Co. site.

The Electric City Sign in downtown Scranton, Pennsylvania

This is but a small sample of the photos I took there, and as usual mostly just scratch the surface of the place. A real railroad fan could spend days there!

Steamtown National Historic Site in Scranton, Pennsylvania

Union Pacific #4012 is a 4-8-8-4 Big Boy. The Big Boys were among the largest and most powerful steam locomotives in the world, capable of speeds up to 80 mph. Steamtown National Historic Site in Scranton, Pennsylvania

I’ve posted a New England Part I gallery on Adobe Portfolio for anyone wanting to see more of my snapshots. The photos in that gallery take us through Rhode Island, which I’ll cover in a future post.

Central Railroad Of New Jersey Freight Terminal in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Building appears to be abanonded and is for sale.

Photography

Fall On The Blue Ridge Parkway

October 23, 2021 Tom Dills 2 Comments

Fog and fall colors at the Wolf Mountain Overlook at MP 424.8 on the Blue Ridge Parkway

I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with the Blue Ridge Parkway. I love to visit there, but hate dealing with the crowds that flock there, especially in fall when the colors are happening. Such was the case this week, when Kathy & I decided to head to the high country for a few days to check out the fall colors.

Like all the National Parks, the Blue Ridge Parkway, as the most-visited National Park in the country, has been overrun by tourists seeking an outdoor experience. I’ll be glad when many of them head back to the office, although there appears to be a large number of retired folks as well. Drivers on the Parkway range from the Floridian driving white-knucked around the winding corners at 30 MPH to the motorcycle riders trying to make the Parkway their personal Lime Rock Park. Add in those of us just trying to drive comfortably and enjoy the scenery and it can be a frustrating mix.

Steestachee Bald Overlook at MP 438.9 on the Blue Ridge Parkway

We left home on Wednesday morning with the goal of driving the Parkway from Blowing Rock to Mount Pisgah before heading to Waynesville for a couple of nights. We have friends who own a motel there, and I have a cousin who lives nearby who we don’t get to see often enough. Seeing both of them was long overdue.

Wednesday was a Chamber of Commerce Blue Sky Day on the Parkway. The leaves in the Grandfather Mountain area were just about at their peak. We stopped at an overlook and had lunch before continuing south toward our destination.

I didn’t take a single photograph all day.

Between having a case of “Get-There-Itis” * and all the people crowding into any overlook with a view, my heart just wasn’t in it. It was nice to see, but I rationalized that the mid-day light wasn’t ideal for good photographs and decided that any photograph I made would be no better than a cell phone photo, just taken with a nice camera.

Fog at the Richland Balsam Overlook at MP 431.4. At 6053 feet, the highest point on the Blue Ridge Parkway

On Thursday, we headed back to the Parkway with the express intention of making photographs. As we headed higher, it became clear that fog would be our companion for the day. That suited me just fine, because fog means interesting photography and…fewer people! The fog and the fall color varied greatly by elevation, and we drove in and out of the fog for several hours. Some places were pretty clear, while others – like Richland Balsam, the highest point on the Parkway at 6053 feet, were totally in the soup. But for the first time in a long time, I was able to get a photograph of the sign without someone’s car or motorcycle parked in front of it! 😉

On Friday, we headed toward home by a different route than we usually take. I got a few photographs from the drive home that I’ll share in another post. We may try to head back up to the Parkway early next week, weather permitting. If so, hopefully I can contain my “affliction” and make a few nice photos!

Fall colors in the Black Balsam area of the Blue Ridge Parkway near MP 420

*Get-There-Itis (my definition): (a) in photography, a condition where one is so focused on the final destination that it prevents stopping to take pictures; (b) in aviation, often referred to as exercising poor judgement, resulting in a decision to fly despite adverse conditions, often with sub-optimal results.

Travel

Meeting Friends Along The Way

October 20, 2021 Tom Dills 4 Comments

Joe Smith photographing on the Boothbay Harbor Footbridge in Boothbay Harbor, Maine

Over the years we have managed to create a nice group of “photo friends” here in the Land of Blog. As Kathy & I travel, we like to make a point of seeking out our photo friends whenever we are nearby. Interestingly, it seems that the friends we do meet are often the ones farther away. For example, Faye lives near Charlotte after a having lived in Atlanta, but we have never met. We saw Earl numerous times when he lived more than an hour away, but since he moved closer to us we haven’t seen him. We have visited Monte in Colorado a number of times. Although Jeff lives in Wisconsin and Michigan and we have visited him there, we met for the first time in Italy! 😉

When we planned our trip to New England, I knew that we would be “in the neighborhood” of several of our friends and worked to set up some meetings. Paul and Ken, both in the Rochester area of New York, and recent Maine transplant Joe were on the radar.

Kathy, Me, Michele Bello, Paul Maxim and Ken Bello at Jines Restaurant in Rochester, New York

Joe and his partner Katherine were up for meeting for lunch at a lobster shack on the Maine coast before spending time in Boothbay Harbor. He and I spent a little time photographing in Boothbay before we parted company. We managed to meet up with Ken, his wife Michele and Paul for lunch while we were in Rochester visiting the Eastman Museum.

Photographers being photographers, Joe and I never thought to get a photo of us together, although we each managed to get photos of each other so there is photographic evidence – albeit circumstantial – of us being in the same place! We asked our waitress in Rochester to take our picture, but when I looked at the camera she had never pushed the shutter button! Fortunately we corralled a waiter who was also a photographer, so he did manage to shoot a few photos, although the lighting could have been better. 😉

Paul Maxim, Me and Ken Bello at Jines Restaurant in Rochester, New York

It’s always nice to put faces and personalities with names and websites. We hope to do some more as we continue to travel! 🙂

Photography

The Importance Of Light

October 19, 2021 Tom Dills 2 Comments

Photographers know this, of course. But for the few non-photographers who read my blog (and possibly even the photographers!) this might be interesting.

I took these two photos exactly 30 seconds apart. For the first one, above, there was just the right amount of light filtering through the clouds to provide some shape and contrast to the scene. In the second shot, below, the cloud has moved over the sun and the light has gone flat. Both of these photos are pretty nice, but to me the one with the shaping light and subtle shadows is the superior one.

Travel

We Got Cameras: The Camera Heritage Museum

October 15, 2021 Tom Dills 8 Comments

The Camera Heritage Museum in downtown Staunton, Virginia

If you have any interest in cameras and find yourself in central Virginia, the Camera Heritage Museum in Staunton (pronounced STAN-ton) is a must-see. Located in a former camera store, this place is crazy full of cameras of all kinds, and the stuff in the showroom is only part of the collection. According to the guy we talked to (mostly he talked to us!) they have store rooms throughout the city with more cameras. They just don’t have room to display them all. They claim to be the largest camera store open to the public in the US, and although I have nothing to compare it to and even after visiting the George Eastman Museum in Rochester, I believe it!

Check out their website. It tells you more than I can ever tell in a blog post. But you definitely have to see it in person to really appreciate it!

Travel

Liquid Souvenirs – Our Favorite Kind!

October 14, 2021 Tom Dills 4 Comments

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!

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!

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! 🙂

Tom Dills Photography Blog

Tag Archives: Travel

Escape To The Cape: Cape Cod

A Little Dinghy

Mystic, Connecticut: More Than A Famous Pizza Shop

A Little Bit Of Rhode Island

Scranton, Pennsylvania

Fall On The Blue Ridge Parkway

Meeting Friends Along The Way

The Importance Of Light

We Got Cameras: The Camera Heritage Museum

Liquid Souvenirs – Our Favorite Kind!

Photographs and stuff!