Reset search
AROUND THE CONTINENTAROUND THE CONTINENT
SatelliteEdit route

AROUND THE CONTINENT

August - December 2017
A 94-day adventure by Catherine Read more
  • 26footprints
  • 2countries
  • 94days
  • 166photos
  • 0videos
  • 13.5kkilometers
  • 4.1kkilometers
Follow Calendar Share Bucket list
Date ascending
  • TravelerAROUND THE CONTINENT
    1
    Day 73

    LONE STAR STATE

    November 10, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    We left New Mexico after visiting the International UFO Museum in Roswell. It was fun and pretty amateurish. Then we entered Texas. .

    In Texas, flags were at half mast for the church massacre by a former American soldier. The hopeless split between the Gun-lovin’ rednecks and reasonable people meant we travelers simply did not discuss it — with strangers, anyway. (Headline: “Hometown Hero Uses Gun on Gunman”). In fact, when Tarjei became irritated with another driver, I had to warn him “That guy is probably armed, so just cool it.”

    On a cheerier note, we saw the Abilene International Short Film Festival — really great. Very eclectic mix. A Syrian man in a refugee camp tossed his young daughter off the wharf into the sea to teach her to swim because he knew she had to learn to survive on the boat journey accross the Mediterranean. A quirky animated film showed chameleon romance in a subway station.

    We went to a great little bar in downtown Abilene and discovered (much to my disappointment) Abilene Texas is NOT the “prettiest town that I ever seen” — that song is about Abilene Kansas. But there were some very interesting women there, and they didn’t “treat us mean” so we had fun.

    In Austin, we had booked an Air BnB on a whim — an Airstream Trailer in somebody’s backyard. The on-line photo was taken at an angle which made it look quite large, which shows how clever the photographer was. There was barely space for the 4 of us to be in the structure at one time. If Tarjei and I were lying in bed, Boots and Jabba could fit on the floor. So we were very snug.

    We met up with Charlotte (my med school friend) and her husband Barry — they were visiting their son who is doing his PhD in Austin. Charlotte and I went swimming in Barton Springs — a huge natural spring — and the Guys & Dogs went to a canine-friendly bar for local brew. Both the beer and Barton Springs were very large, very cold, and lovely. All of Austin seemed to be dog-friendly. The restaurants had outdoor patios where every table had one or two dogs on leash, and dogs were expected to treat people & other dogs with civility. Jabba and Boots adjusted quickly except for the occasional raised hackles and throaty growl by Boots.

    We had an evening kayak paddle on LadyBird Lake in downtown Austin and watched thousands of bats emerge from under a bridge.

    In San Antonio We visited the Museum of Art and the Zoo. We saw one of my favorite singers, Iris Dement, in concert. (“Let the Mystery Be”, brilliant song, will be heard at my funeral.) She galvanized the audience and had us singing along with protest songs like it was 1968.

    Right now we are driving to Wimberly, Texas to visit our friend Angier Peavy for a couple of days. Who knows what adventures we will have with Angier, who used to be in the American foreign service.    Read more

  • TravelerAROUND THE CONTINENT
    2
    Day 78

    LONE STAR STATE TWO

    November 15, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    We stayed for 3 glorious days in Wimberly, in the Texas Hill country, with kind friends. We ate Real Texas Barbecue, visited an olive orchard, swam in the Blanco River, and had a tour of President Lyndon Johnson’s ranch (known as the “Texas White House” because he spent a lot of time working there.) I never realized how much Lyndon Johnson and his wife “Lady Bird” did for social policy in the US — pro-education, anti poverty, pro-environment, implementing desegregation. It was fascinating.

    We then made a last stop in Austin for an electric bike tour around Lady Bird Lake. I really liked having that extra battery power to zip me up the hills when needed. It was almost like having Jabba or Boots attached by a harness — when they see a rabbit — super-charged.

    Then we drove south to the Gulf of Mexico, to the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge. This whole Gulf Shore was clobbered by Hurricane Harvey in August, and has not completely recovered. But the migrating birds from the north have returned as usual, including the Whooping Cranes. They were magnificent. Unfortunately our binoculars were lost earlier on this trip, so we had to make do with our own eagle-vision, but there are high platforms with good views of the habitat — coastal plains where there were 20 - 30 of the tall gawky white birds staring in the water in groups, fishing, occasionally lazily taking off and gliding around. In the background, pelicans circled and dove for fish in the shallow ocean beyond the swamps. We saw many other birds including vultures, gulls, hawks, herons, and egrets.

    After Aransas, we carried on to Galveston Texas on the shore of the Gulf of Mexico. This is a beautiful long white sand beach protected by a sea wall built after a hurricane in 1900 wiped out the city entirely. It is also a site with lots of oil tankers and rigs off shore. The Gulf water is and clear and clean, and about as warm in November as Malagash water in August. I swam for a short while but was a bit cautious of the strong surf with no life guards — I have great respect for the power of the ocean.

    Today we drove East to Louisiana, and are staying in Lafayette which apparently has great Cajun food and music. We are heading out for the evening to find out for sure.    Read more

  • TravelerAROUND THE CONTINENT
    1111
    Day 83

    TEMPUS FUGIT

    November 20, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 9 °C

    The weeks zip by and we are nearing the end of our journey.

    We travel North from the palm trees to the leafless oaks. December approaches. The days are short, the nights long and dark, the mornings crisp and clear. We drive toward the sunrise and we lose an hour, then regain 60 minutes, depending on our wandering path and the vagaries of time zones. In Arizona, the huge Navajo nation uses daylight savings time (like the rest of the State), but the small Hopi reservation (which is surrounded by Navajo) does not. While we are there, daylight savings time ends and even our cellphones display the wrong hour. Unlike Phileus Fogg in Around the World in Eighty Days, we have no deadline — but in 2017 it is impossible to be unaware of time.

    I find myself wondering how things have changed in the time we have been away.

    Time to go!    Read more

  • TravelerAROUND THE CONTINENT
    1
    Day 86

    WEST VIRGINIA

    November 23, 2017 in the United States ⋅ 🌫 2 °C

    We drove to Parkersburg, West Virginia for American Thanksgiving with the Northrup’s. Nora and John flew in from Brooklyn to be with John’s parents and relatives for the holiday.

    It was wonderful to be included in the whole tradition. The US holiday was about family, friendship, eating massive amounts of great traditional food, playing old fashioned games, and just being together.

    We (Tarjei, Caty, Jabba & Boots) stayed at the Blennerhassett Hotel which is a grand old downtown beauty. It was sumptuous and welcoming with multiple gorgeous Christmas Trees in the lobby. There was a welcome sign for the dogs, with complementary biscuits. We were amazed that the staff was so dog-friendly in such an elegant hotel.

    On Thursday morning in City Park there was a 3 mile race called the Turkey Trot. There were children & adults, runners & walkers, strollers & dogs of all sizes and shapes. It was quite exciting and a bit intimidating for Jabba and Boots — particularly when a pair of huge Great Danes towered over them and kept trying to smell their foreign fragrance. After the Turkey Trot we had brunch at the Northrup’s — delicious — including homemade cheese grits.

    The dinner on Thursday evening was held at the Blennerhassett — a feast with turkey, beef, salmon, and all the accompaniments (including lots of wine). Multiple cousins from age 1 to 35 got to renew their friendships. It was so much fun to see the small children running and giggling and tumbling, then getting up to do it again. After dinner, the 20 - 35 year olds went bowling while the rest of us staggered off to bed.

    On Friday morning we had a nice little hike with Nora and John, then said goodbye.

    Next stop: CANADA!    Read more

  • TravelerAROUND THE CONTINENT
    1
    Day 91

    MEANWHILE, BACK IN CANADA

    November 28, 2017 in Canada ⋅ ☀️ 13 °C

    It is hard to describe the feeling of crossing the border back into Canada. Relief? Joy? Maybe just the heartfelt warmth of being HOME (even though it was Ontario).

    When we crossed the Peace Bridge at Niagara, the border agent said “Truro! Do you know Michelle Frizzel? I used to ... know her ... years ago ....” wistfully. Oh, Canada!

    We stayed with Mary Jean Folinsbee in Nanticoke on the north shore of Lake Eerie. Mary Jean mentioned that she had a neighbor who was still swimming daily in the lake — in a wet suit — but the water was rough and uninviting. Oh, and there was a skiff of ice around the shore. I went in MJ’s hot tub (104 F) instead.

    We reminisced about old times, ate and drank well, hiked in the woods and saw the local Santa Claus Parade.

    From Nanticoke, we drove on to Toronto, where we saw the Viking exhibit at the ROM. We learned that they had dogs like Jabba (see photo) and were poets and explorers (as Tarjei has claimed for years).

    We drove east to Montreal where we saw the Leonard Cohen multimedia presentation at the Musée d’Art Contemporain. It was awe-inspiring. There were old NFB films, CBC interviews, dance and sculpture and Leonard’s songs everywhere. It was powerful and even moved Tarjei to tears. We went to the Jewish cemetery on Mount Royal where we visited his grave and walked with Jabba and Boots. We had a great dinner with niece Kaila and her family.

    Now we are back in the Maritimes, driving south on the Trans Canada through New Brunswick. In a twist of serendipity we are having our last dinner on the road with Gloria and Jorg in Fredericton. We started our trip — Day 1, August 30, with Gloria and Jorg in New Brunswick at their Cottage.

    We have come full circle Around The Continent.    Read more

  • TravelerAROUND THE CONTINENT
    2
    Day 93

    HOME AGAIN

    November 30, 2017 in Canada ⋅ ☀️ 0 °C

    We turned off NS102 into Truro around noon on December 1st. Jabba and Boots, in the back of the Volvo, jumped to attention as we drove up Fundy Drive. Three deer who were browsing on the yew tree by our front door glanced up, then ambled accross the front lawn to The Gibson’s house next door.

    We pulled into the driveway at 26 Fundy Drive. We were home.

    It was a wonderful journey.    Read more

  • 2024© FindPenguins
  • Home
  • About us
  • Blog
  • Group Tracking
  • Press
  • Terms
  • Privacy Policy & Cookies
  • Support
  • Legal notice
  • English