Go Blue

We went to Florida for the week between Christmas and New Year's. Patty's brother Doug and his wife Natalie recently bought a house in Palm Bay, Florida, which is just south of Cape Canaveral. 

And one activity was a trip to the Orange Bowl for the first round of the college football playoffs.

Spoiler Alert: They did not go far.

We got there a bit on the early side. 

Pros: plenty of parking and no lines at the still clean porta-potties.

And plenty of space in the grilling field.

Cons: We were so early we ran out of beer.

So we headed on over to the Fan Fest. Where six beers and one water cost over $80. There was a bridge.

And a tunnel. The Ronald L. Book Pedestrian Tunnel to be specific. At first my thoughts were that the tunnel was named in Mr. Book's honor; what one had to do to have a tunnel named after them; and how proud his mom must be. But after a quick web search I discovered that Ronald L. Book is a law firm that specializes in lobbying. So the law firm bought the naming rights to a tunnel. I could see that meeting: "well team, the naming rights to the stadium are taken, but there is a tunnel available." And they said "yeah, let's do it!". And that is kinda sad.

And I still wonder how proud Ron's mom must be.

🏈  🏈  🏈  🏈  🏈

Patty's family are Michigan folk. Her grandfather was a Professor of Voice and Music Director of the Men's Glee Club.

The only Michigan gear I had was the mask I wore throughout the game (except when drinking very expensive beers).  And we are in the absolute last row in the building.

While enjoying those beers (and they had a nice selection, along with Bud Light) we were entertained by the Michigan Marching Band. Curiously the Georgia Band did not perform. Worse, neither band performed at halftime. Instead a country act (that Patty's sister Suey actually likes) played through the stadium sound system. It was awful.

The "Animal House" moment at the end of the performance. Alas, this would be a metaphor for the game, with Michigan marching into the wall that was Georgia.

ESPN was in the house. Have floor will travel.

I was a Michigan fan by association, but really was just hoping for an entertaining game. It was not a good game. Final score Georgia 34 - Michigan 11. And it wasn't that close. The ride home was not a joyous one. 

But I crossed Major Bowl Game and College Football Playoff Game off my bucket list. Of course, I had to add them to my bucket list as I don't really follow college football. 

What a Difference a Week Makes

This morning I took this picture looking out the window over my work laptop:

(You might recall the image on the laptop.)

I took this picture last week, of Patty's nephew Stephen 'working from home':

This morning:

Last week:

❄️  🏝  ❄️  🏝  ❄️

Mt Washington - Part 2

In the Mt Washington - Part 1 post I mentioned that both the Cog Railway and the Mt Washington Observatory would play a big role in our White Mountains adventure.

Our plan was to hike up the Valley Way Trail, taking the AMC shuttle bus from the Highland Center Lodge to the trailhead in the morning. We'd spend the night at the Madison Spring Hut and cross over to Mt Washington the next day. And we'd spend the night at the Lakes of the Clouds Hut. And then make our way back down to the Highlands Center Lodge.

As they say about the best laid plans ...

The weather forecast for our hike up called for torrential downpours. Highly non-optimal. The next day called for thunderstorms. Quite undesirable for a stroll above the tree line. What to do?

It was Patty who figured it out. Take the Cog Railway up! But how to get there? The shuttle bus! The bus does not go to the Cog Railway. But it does go to a nearby trailhead. Where nearby was less than a mile. Problem solved. We canceled our stay at the Madison Hut, booked another night at the Highlands Lodge, and enjoyed a day of local hiking and relaxing at the lodge.

On our walk up to the railway station we passed the original coal powered engine, Peppersass. It is occasionally fired up for a ride to the top.

Our train had a biodiesel engine. Much more efficient and environmentally friendly.

It was popular. Three trains, all filled up. With hourly departures. We arrived early enough to take the 10 o'clock train, despite having tickets for the 11 am trip. We got the last two seats.

Our seats were separated, Patty in the front row, me in the second. Which meant we could hear the conductor as he narrated the journey, mixing history with what was happening. Here we are approaching a switch for passing lanes. In the distance is a water tower. The coal engines would need to stop and refill there. The new engines just roll on by.

I mentioned in the Part I post that the average temperature at the top was 35° F. The conductor told us this, and that the record high was 72° F. As we headed up it was already 66° F. Alas, a new record was not set.

Our friend Liz sent this picture from when she rode the train to the top, not quite as warm that day.

Image courtesy Liz Schaefer.

The ticket is a round trip, but we planned to spend the night and walk down.

Bye bye train!

The "white splotch" just right of center is train station from where we started. And while warm, you can see it is still cloudy.

The building in the distance is where we are headed, our home for the night. And yep, shorts and t-shirt weather.

Our path to the Lakes of the Clouds Hut. A bit on the rocky side.

The night at the lodge was a warm one. I slept in the bunk closest to the window, and the window was open all night. And I slept in shorts and a t-shirt. Outside my sleeping bag most of the night.

The next morning was a clear day! Woo hoo! That's Mt Washington in the background. It was a very nice, albeit quite humid, hike back to the Highlands Center. But that's a story for another time.

Yummy

Our trip to New Hampshire and Maine would not be complete without a lobster roll (or several ...).

Our friend Marie recommended this place, the name of which escapes me at the moment (and no doubt for many other moments to come).

The food was yummy.

The view on the other hand ...

🦞  🦞  🦞  🦞  🦞

Mt Washinton - Part I

Our plan after our stay at Franconia Notch and doing the Ridge hike, was to do a three day trek up and across the Presidentials. And on our way to the Appalachian Club's Highland Center Lodge, our start and end point, we passed Mt Washington. And we decided to drive on up. Yep, we got one of the those "This Car Climbed Mt Washington" bumper stickers. No it is not on my car.

It was a scary drive up and down.

And as with the Ridge hike the view from the top was obscured by clouds.

But we were able to watch the Cog Railway as it traveled up and down the mountain.

Mt Washington is one of the most severe weather locations on Earth, with an average daily temperature of 35° F. Yet here we see Patty, who is always cold, wandering about in shorts. Our attempts to flee the hot and humid August New Jersey weather a complete and utter failure.

The Cog Railway was completed in 1869 and has been running ever since. It would play an important part in our visit.

As would this structure, and the folks who work there. The Mount Washington Observatory. A weather station on the summit.

And incase you were wondering, as I type this it is 6° F, with sustained winds of 75 MPH and gusts up to 97 MPH, for a wind chill of -29° F. A bit chillier than when we visited. 

More to come ...

Swinging Bridge

After spending several days on Mount Desert Island, we headed on down the road towards home. But there were stops along the way.

Including the Androscoggin Swinging Bridge.

Built in 1892 by the John A. Roebling company, the bridge is now a park. All but the suspension cables have been replaced.

The view from mid-span.

The view of Patty mid-span.

🌉  🌉  🌉  🌉  🌉

John A Roebling is perhaps better known for another bridge, one often for sale, and named after the place where I was born. The Brooklyn Bridge. Designed by the senior Roebling, the completion was overseen by his son, Washington Roebling, who, like me, has a degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. 

And also lived for a time in Troy, NY and Burlington County NJ.

Fork Run Recreation Area

After we finished our hike at Swallow Falls we stopped at Fork Run Recreation Area, some 3.7 miles away. What a difference a couple of miles made.

This is one of the three species of fungi I saw on the trails.

And this was another. There were plenty of downed logs throughout the are we hiked. I would have expected them to be covered in fungi.

There were plenty of interesting lichens though.

Which are made up of a fungi and an algae. So there is that.

We were no longer a wet woods, but rather a dry uplands. Albeit wet from the morning's rain.

There were rocks.

Some conveniently numbered.

And all used by rock climbers, although there were none around when we passed through.

We started at 1, took the red trail to 5 where we switched to the yellow trail. Our plan was to take the blue loop in numerical order, but we missed the turn by 11 (it was not marked). So instead we took the white trial to the blue trial, and did it in reverse. Finishing up by taking the yellow trail back to 1.  A short hike, two miles or so, but a nice walk all the same. We then headed back to the house at Deep Creek Lake for more food and drinks.

Swallow Falls - The Forest

This is the the third and final post about Swallow Falls State Park in Maryland (previous posts can be found here and here).

Right at the start of the we entered an old growth forest.

Although some are no longer growing.

Seems these chaps spent what would become my birthday weekend here in 1921, in which case I'd be 100 years old.

I wonder if dogs had hiking boots back then.

I suspect it was just as picturesque in those days, perhaps even more.

That's Marie, pretending to be Atlas, holding things up so we could safely pass by.

This tree was still growing.

Another shot of that cool rock.

This one reminded me of The Scream.

Partridgeberry, a plant of the forest floor, and one we have growing in the yard.

As you have seen, this was a very nice park. There was a longer trail, some five plus miles, that, on a drier day, no doubt would have been quite enjoyable methinks. We'll just have to go back.