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Bike Riding in Full Bloom
Imagine a whole countryside of farmers’ fields planted with tulip bulbs and all the colors. We saw acres and acres of tulips in full bloom as we biked along the northern two provinces of the Netherlands.
Besides the pretty tulip blooms, we enjoyed spending time with four other couples we had met on other bike rides. Thank you, Cecilia, for getting us all together. It was a lot of fun.
We were in the Netherlands as part of a bike and barge tour organized by VBT. We say to our friends and family who ask, the weather was cool and rainy, and it was windy from the North Sea. And, we enjoyed biking and exploring this beautiful country.
We wanted to be acclimated when the bike and barge tour began, so we went early. Our trip began in Den Haag (The Hague); we thoroughly enjoyed exploring the city on bike, foot, and tram. We also got out to see a little of the area around Den Haag.
One of my running buddies asked about the trip; when I told him we were starting at The Hague, he asked “Who plans to go there?” Den Haag was a perfect introduction to the Netherlands, and this was a good place to begin our visit. That is part of the beauty of the arranged travel. We would not have set out to see The Hague, but we are glad we visited and explored this place. We were joined with our friends Bonnie and Adam in biking and walking in The Hague and learned a little more about the Netherlands.
The national legislature and the Prime Minister work out of a giant complex in The Hague called the Binnenhof. The Binnenhof is under re-construction so we toured The Hague’s Historic Museum and learned the history and saw great pictures and models of the legislature in action.
This picture typifies our visit to the Netherlands. We were at the beach, so sandals were appropriate. Next to the sandals for sale you will notice wool hats and scarves. The temperature changes often, and it is windy and cold near the North Sea.
We made a side trip to Delft. Delft is known for the blue pottery, and we did see it quite a lot. Delft is a quaint town, and to an American tourist it looked perfect. This was one of the places that we had ice cream.
Other fun in The Hague:
All over The Hague we saw the iconic image of the “Girl with the Pearl.” We spent several hours touring the Mauritshuis art museum and saw the actual painting of the “Girl with the Pearl Earring.” The museum has a lot to offer, including the building itself as well as the Rembrandts and Vermeers. My tip: bring your ear buds to hear the narration from the app—I wish I had brought mine. One of the paintings was actively being restored.
We were sad to leave The Hague, with more to experience, yet excited to begin our biking and barge tour from Amsterdam. Once on board we were given a quick tour of our boat, assigned a room and got settled in for a ride to our first stop. We did a warm up short ride to ensure the bikes were all working and we understood the rules of the road, keeping in mind that there are more bikes than people in the Netherlands.
Thinking of Holland (we were in the provinces of North and South Holland, in the country of the Netherlands) I thought about tulips, windmills, and wooden shoes. One of our memorable stops was biking into Zaanse Schans, a living history museum with working windmills. We experienced a guide making a pair of wooden shoes and explaining why they are still in use today (and not just sold to tourists). We spent the night moored outside a windmill, and at the beginning of our next day’s ride we explored a working windmill that saws lumber.
For the tour, our group of 10 friends met up with our traveling companions, 14 more riders who were in country to celebrate Sue’s 85th birthday. We also had two wonderful guides. We did have a great time with the group, and it was good to meet our fellow riders. The weather was cold, rainy, and sometimes very windy. Greg, one of our friends, told us that 100 bad days make for 100 good stories. Regardless of the weather, we had a fun time biking in the Netherlands.
I did see a windmill daily and I am pretty sure we also saw tulips blooming every day as well. However, we did not see too many people walking in wooden shoes.
Tulip fields and bulb growing was everywhere. Imagine driving through Nebraska, Illinois, or Indiana, and instead of corn and wheat fields there are fields of red, pink, purple, and yellow flowers. As far as the eye could see, sometimes on both sides of the road, were fields of blooming tulips. What a site! We learned that the farmers were bulb farmers and cut off the flowers to help the bulbs grow. Still, these fields were part of the reason to come, and they did not disappoint.
One of the bike ride tours was to the Hortus Bulborum, a historic garden with thousands of varieties. We learned that the lovely two-color tulips have a virus. The growers now know how to eliminate that virus. But the multi-colored varieties were once highly prized in the tulip mania.
A highlight for us was biking to the Keukenhof gardens and seeing the annual two-month exhibit with more than 7 million bulbs on display. It was a terrific presentation; this was a showcase event for growers and distribution companies. It was not a museum. We were at the Keukenhof about 4 hours; it rained off and on. The crowd did not diminish. We heard they average about 10,000 visitors a day, rain, or shine, and we believe it. It was a spectacular view all of the colors.
Other Experiences:
Our barge tour ended in Amsterdam and we spent a few days after the barge tour walking around Old Amsterdam. We saw the highlights, and missed some as well. We had a fun time and enjoyed the beer at the Heineken experience.
We were fortunate to experience the Anne Frank house. It was a very moving tour, not to be missed. It can happen anywhere. Thank goodness that good people helped hide these families for as long as they could.
We did a cruise on the Amsterdam canals. We enjoyed them as a scenic backdrop on our walks though the old city. Amsterdam apparently has more canals than Venice.
We saw several museums, and could have visited several more. Each one was well done. You can find any interest and it likely has a museum somewhere in the Netherlands.
Lessons learned:
- I can ride at less than 55 degrees F, provided I have the proper clothing. We had packed appropriately for the biking experience.
- Traveling on a barge with a small group of dedicated bikers is fun. Riding in a hailstorm and a strong wind is not fun, and I do not have to continue riding after reaching a natural resting point.
- A biking tour and a walking tour after arriving off the plane is a good way to be acclimated to the new city.
- Ferry crossings are a good way to cross the water. The Netherlands is full of water. It is amazing the amount of land reclaimed from the water. We began several bike rides at less than sea level.
- We took more than one ferry across a canal or river, always, it seemed, bringing us back to tulip fields.
A country with a tradition of biking everywhere is a good place to share the road. Land is at a premium. The bike lanes were sometimes marked. We rode on some bike paths. There are more bikes than people in the Netherlands, so the country knows about biking. This is an example of a typical two-way road. Some have canals on both sides. As you can see, there is not a lot of room.
We were sad to leave the Netherlands. All good things eventually have an end. Seeing Amsterdam at the end of our travel was a good way for us to say goodbye to the Netherlands.
See you on the road.
Walking and Visiting with Friends and Family
In late 2023 and early 2024 we took a few trips, visited kids and grandkids, and saw a presidential library.
It is enjoyable seeing family and friends. Sometimes we do new things. Sometimes we just repeat. It is a joy to be present for birthdays and celebrations like Christmas. Of course, any excuse to see a grandchild is good.
This last spring/winter we went back to see our grandson and reveled in him opening Christmas presents. We also went back again a few months later for his birthday. He had a good party. It is fun to turn three.
While we are in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, we do get out and walk. There are several local parks to visit. We enjoy the Gertrude M. Boyden Wildlife Refuge, near where the kids live, as a place to hike in all seasons. With 50 acres, this is a popular local spot for walking dogs. The scenery near the three-mile river is great as well.
I am again part of a local running group, and I am training for a half-marathon in May. This year, one of my kids will join me to run, so, it is good for me to keep in shape. I hear that exercise is important as we age. I will run for as long as I feel I can safely run. Of course, my kids call what I do jogging. Wait until they are my age and then see what they call it…I completed the Frozen 10k run and the 15k Heart mini, as well as running in Massachusetts and Rhode Island on our travels.
In the spring I flew out west to LA; one of the highlights was visiting the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum (besides visiting my youngest). I did not know that a retired Air Force One and Marine One were inside. It was a fun tour, and as usual with museums, I could have spent more time viewing the exhibits. I learned that Reagan kept a journal of his time in office and he liked to write note cards for speaking ideas. I also saw the jelly beans around the replica Oval Office and came away impressed with all he had accomplished.
I flew in and out of the Burbank airport. I did not realize it was an old Lockheed Martain facility. I was delayed in leaving due to the high winds, so I got to explore Santa Susana Pass, an area nearby. Walking through the park, I could just imagine the early settlers on horseback going through this area. Of course, Reagan was on my mind, and I can see where they could have filmed some old westerns here as well.
When in California, I am amazed at the plants that just grow along the roads and bloom. They look unreal to me. A bird of paradise? I do not see that very often where I live.
I did play disc golf at a couple of local courses. Elephant Rock was a favorite. It only had 12 baskets for discs, but the rock was interesting and the layout was fun.
When I got home, my local course was in full bloom, so it was nice to see spring coming to the area.
My friend Gary was one of the directors or judges for a national bridge tournament in Louisville. It was exciting to see all the bridge players and the tournament setup. We did see some games in progress. Maybe we will play next time we go to the tournament. We enjoyed time with Gary and our time in Louisville.
Other Fun:
Apparently, California passed Proposition 65 years ago to get labeling correct on their water, answering the question, “Is my water safe?” Unintended consequences happen. On my rental car was the notice that I should not breath the exhaust from the car. I now consider myself warned.
My only bike rides have been in the basement, getting ready for a trip in April. See you on the road.
Biking the Central Florida Rail Trails
An ideal way to spend a few days at the beginning of December is biking on Central Florida’s rail trail system. Our guide told us that Central Florida, back in the day, was where the money was made; timber and other material were transported out of Central Florida. The rich and powerful were not at the beach, they were in the center of the state where the natural resources were located. As the state has migrated to a population near the coast and the natural resources (like timber) are not as important, the railways have been reclaimed for biking, hiking, running and walking. We will want to go back and ride some of them again in the future.
We began our Charleston Bicycle Tour riding near Inverness, Florida, on the Withlacoochee State Trail. We rode from near the town to the end of the trail. The trail was well marked and maintained. We rode to the end of the trail (Mile 46) at Gulf Junction with two other couples before turning back for a great day out in the warm weather.
The second day we also went on the Withlacoochee State Trail, in the opposite direction. I wanted to go play disc golf and needed to go back to Inverness and ended up going a few miles out of my way. Whispering Pines Park is a good park in Inverness. Unfortunately, we encountered a little road construction and, due to my lack of planning, my bike computer took us unexpectantly on the park’s trail system.
Due to my desire to play disc golf, off the trail, we rode a little longer than the rest of the group and farther than we set out to do in the morning when we left.
We were transported from Inverness to the Oakland and Winter Gardens area of Central Florida for the rest of our week-long biking adventure.
Our first ride after Inverness was on the General James A. Van Fleet State Trail. We drove to the trailhead and were picked up at the other end of the trail. This is a paved bike (multi-use) path though the greenways. The website calls it “one of Florida’s most rural, paved rail-trails.” We talked with a biker who said he lived in the swamp. There were a few entrances near the trail.
On this ride I saw (I did not stop to take a picture) for the first time a “beware of alligators” sign along the trail. We did see some wildlife along the way, but thankfully we did not see any alligators on the path. After our ride we had lunch at the Lakeland BBQ Company. It was delicious. A few of our fellow riders had the “couch potato” which looked great; if I go back, I will plan to order that after a 30-mile bike ride.
We spent our last few days biking on the West Orange Trail and some of the connectors. We stayed in Oakland, Florida, and biked as well as drove to Winter Garden. Winter Garden was the focus for our meals, and we had good ones. We enjoyed the Christmas lights all over Winter Garden as well as in Oakland’s square that intersected the bike path. We walked along the path, ran on the path, and biked on the path. We did ride our bikes to both ends of the West Orange Trail.
Being December, even in Florida, not every day began warm enough to bike (our “requirement” is 55 degrees). But we biked anyway! We enjoyed the biking more as the day went on and the temperature warmed up. We enjoyed our cool start on several beautiful weather days. The trail was wide and well maintained. The Van Fleet Trail had very few intersections; it was a faster pace than the West Orange trail which had more frequent intersections.
We did like Apopka Station and the park nearby. Central Florida in December likes to decorate. We enjoyed the big park decorations and all the festive lights we saw along the path (even in the daylight) as we rode along.
We stayed in the Oakland Manor. It is near Lake Apopka. We were able to walk onto the pier at the lake and look at the scenery. We only saw glimpses of alligators in the lake and none on the street. The area is beautiful.
One of my favorite rides was the second disc golf adventure, which was planned better. I rode the West Orange Trail to the end at Killarney Station. Then took the South Lake Trail (it just merged into it). The South Lake Trail had some hills. We were surprised at this different trail feature as the week’s trails and our impression of Florida is that it is mostly flat. The hills were not that big and did not present any issues for us to ride up or down. The South Lake Trail got confusing; I am glad I had a map open on my phone telling me which way to go. I was headed to Lake Hiawatha, and around Lake Minneola to play a round of disc golf before biking back 15 miles to lunch at Winter Garden. It was less confusing going back, but I still used the app on my phone to keep me on track with the directions.
Other Fun:
I was able to bike to two different disc golf courses. The first one was hard to find from the bike path near Inverness (and I started in the wrong direction). The Whispering Pines course was very technical and it did not look as well used as some of the other courses I have played.
The Champions Pointe course in Lake Hiawatha Park was a well laid out (long) course in a beautiful park. Several others were playing on the day I visited. With only two discs, I had fun and spoke to several other disc golfers along the course.
My brother and sister-in-law live in the Orlando area and we were happy to spend time with them before our bike trip began.
We did see a peacock on the West Orange Trail at a Dunkin Donuts parking lot. So, all of America and its peacocks must run on Dunkin?
We biked over 180 miles on the trip, averaging over 37 miles biking a day. It was a fun week of biking; we will come again with our road bikes and enjoy the wonderful Central Florida rail trails.
See you on the road.
Alumni Band Weekend
It must be fall; football is beginning and the kids are back in school.
For me, it was the perfect weekend in the state of Michigan for the Alumni Band to get together. The Michigan State University (MSU) Marching Band has around 300 players. This year the Alumni Band had about 450 participants from 23 states. Together, we had over 700 marching at half time on the field. And we did drills.
It all started with an email from the Alumni Band asking for us to sign up. I waited a while and decided to go for it. Better now while I can still march and play. My former roommate and fellow E-flat trumpet player Steve said he would join me to march. Another one of my friends could only join for the game day due to a Friday night commitment.
They say you cannot go back. We did, and we had fun doing it. I have not played so much in 24 hours in a long time. The last reunion I attended, my second, was in 1991, ten years after I graduated. I do not remember the Alumni Band being so big.
The weekend started with a group rehearsal on Friday night; like we were still in school, bright and early the next morning we went over our drill with the students—who looked sharp. We marched to the Stadium after grabbing a lunch and performed in the stands and then on the field for half-time and again in the stands and then on the field again for a post-game show before marching back from the Stadium.
As a special treat on Friday night, after our rehearsal, before we were dismissed, we heard from the new women’s basketball coach, some former football players, the band director from my era (I did not even know I was part of an era) and the University interim president. I then went to the hotel room with my former college roommate Steve and spent the night again sharing a room. I feel younger just writing this.
During the Saturday morning rehearsal, the alumni members were corrected or reminded how to march. It is amazing how quickly it all comes back and how much faith the directors have in us. The show came together without too much trouble.
On Saturday morning, it was a treat to practice marching and join the Spartan Marching Band (SMB) on the practice field. This field is so much better than what we had, including a taller platform for the directors to see how we are doing. The students did not have a paper copy of the drill like we all did; they had it on some app on their phones. Times have changed. The SMB all had matching t-shirts and looked and sounded great. It has been over 40 years since I was part of this group.
During our practice, it was great to see that the SMB and the Alumni Band have several fans in the stands next to the band’s practice field. I was happy to see my fellow E-flat trumpet player Bill in the stands to greet us.
The march to the Stadium after lunch was one of the highlights of the day for us in the Alumni Band. We formed up on our former practice field, near the music building, and the alumni band marched to the Stadium. The SMB followed later. We marched to the familiar drum line cadence, which the Alumni played to perfection, we tried to keep in straight line, and play the fight song, as well as cheer and sing as we marched to the Stadium.
We had great seats for the SMB’s pre-game show and, of course, the football game. We did not know any of the drama that the football program would go through in the coming days and weeks with the firing of the head coach for our game. It is just as well that we could enjoy the moments for us and our fellow Alumni Band members.
Once the game began, we joined the band in playing for exciting moments in the game and then suddenly it was time to leave the stands and get onto the field to march the half-time show. Several good memories came flooding back playing in the Stadium that is now 100 years old. Just the exhilaration of being part of this big thing we call the marching band was an awesome time.
Halftime went well. Thanks to the guidance from the SMB on field, I hit my spots and remembered how to turn.
The postgame show was a blast, even though it took us a long time to exit the stands and get back onto the field. The SMB performed a number and then we joined them for Everybody’s Everything—which was fun to play and move with the band.
Until next time, we formed up and marched through the tunnel and marched and played on the way back to the Demonstration Hall where we began our Alumni Band journey on Friday night. I think the experience was typical from what I remember from being part of the SMB. It is a long day; it was 11 hours after we first came to Demonstration Hall Saturday morning to warm-up that we were done for our day. The SMB probably (as we once did) had an after-game party to attend. Our group went out to dinner and we were tired.
Lessons learned:
Wear a hat—the sun was great; I just was out in it for hours and needed a hat.
Bring the music for the post game show—I had to look on with a friend to get the parts. Now I know what to bring.
Other Fun:
Spending the weekend with my friends. Do we look any different?
This is us at the last alumni band day we attended in 1991:
I am happy to report that we all remembered our band jackets and they still (mostly) fit. It does get cool in September on campus at Michigan State University.
I drove by the house where I grew up and my old high school on the way home. I also stopped and played some disc golf as well. Always a fun time.
I was happy to spend time with my buddies from school and play my trumpet all day and catch up with friends and band members that I had not seen in a long time. I think I will have to go back next year.
As I was walking back to the stands after the half-time show, I met the trainer for Zeek the Wonder Dog IV. It was a good conversation and Zeek, to his credit, ignored the 700 of us mingling around him. I remember the first wonder dog. The trainer has been working with II-IV. A fun job going out to the field and throwing frisbees.
Walking to the Stadium and having to park for the early morning rehearsal, we walked by several alumni fans who were setting up their tailgate parties. We were amazed at the elaborate tailgate setups. Something new for me was seeing “Fowling.” I had not previously heard of this game, bowling with footballs. I was assured that Fowling is a Michigan based game. I will look for it to catch on next year across the country.
No bike rides on this journey. I did get a run in on a sleepy and foggy campus on Sunday.
See you on the road.
Creeping Along the Virginia Creeper Trail
We are still biking, just not as much this year as in past years. We took a trip to Virginia to ride on the Virginia Creeper trail. We were planning on riding with a group on this trip. Unfortunately, that group trip was cancelled. So, we decided we could have some fun on our own and enjoy the trail ourselves.
After arriving in Virginia, we were struck by all the “Love” signs around. Apparently, the big marketing campaign for Virginia is that “Virginia is for lovers.” We did enjoy the many “LOVE” sculptures along the roads and towns.
We stayed in the town of Abington. The locals told me that it has more restaurants per person than any other town in the USA. It was a pretty town and we did not go hungry. We were happy to stay in Abington for our trip to the Creeper Trail.
We ended up walking all over Abington, up and down main street as well as on some of the side streets. However, our main attraction was to bike the Creeper Trail. They have a nice welcome center just outside of the trailhead in Abington as well as a visitors center in town.
We had a good day of biking from Abington and then back from Damascus. We had glorious weather. There were not too many people on the trail. It was almost impossible to get lost as the trail was well marked and maintained. On our long bike ride we had an enjoyable lunch at the Wicked Chicken in Damascus.
About halfway to Damascus was the old railway stop called Alvarado Station. It was picturesque. It was a good place to stop and reflect how the countryside has changed.
Damascus was a good destination for our ride and were happy to have a spot to stop on our ride, about mile 15 from Abington along the trail.
The ride is a good one on a crushed gravel trail. We did not bring our road bikes because of the crushed gravel. Renting bikes worked out well for us. I enjoyed the many bridges that we came across, all numbered and well maintained. Some had a story to tell. Most were picturesque as well as functional.
We did pass through a few farms with gates. I am sure the gates keep in the livestock. I do not see many gates on rail trails. It is a testament to how long it has been since the train came through.
The engine used to pull the coal car and the lumber is on display at the start of the Creeper Trail in Abington. It was restored and looked in fine shape. One of the stories on the trail name is that the train crept along at a slow pace due to the curves and grades on the path.
Other fun:
We spent a day hiking into the Channels State Forest
We enjoyed a well-done rendition of “Clue” at Barter Theatre in Abington.
I was able to play disc golf at the Virginia Highlands Community College.
We managed to bike, walk, and run on the Creeper Trail. It is a joy to see things differently as we all have a different pace we go while walking, biking, or running.
We got back home in time to participate in the first annual Luther Run. We finished first in our age groups for the 5k. A fun time.
See you on the road for our next travel adventure.
Underground Travels
We were last in Carter Caves celebrating an anniversary years ago. We really like this lesser-known state park as it has much more than just caves to explore. We had done most of the hikes on our previous travels here, and they are worthwhile exploring. This time, during our visit to Carter Caves State Park, we focused on the cave system.
We were able to stay in a cabin and explore the hiking trails as well as take a few cave tours. It does get dark in the caves. Going with a group is always fun. The rangers were so knowledgeable about the caves and the systems.
Led by the park rangers we did two cave tours:
X-CAVE: a cave with two vertical joint passages that gave us up-close viewings of the cave formations. Each section was different. We did see cave spiders. We saw the highlights in this cave which include the Great Chandelier, cave coral, and formations with descriptive names including Giant Turkey, the Pipe Organ, and Headache Rock.
Cascade Cave is the longest cave tour in the park and is noted for its large chambers and many cave formations. A highlight of the tour is a 30-foot-high underground waterfall as well as the Lake Room’s reflecting pool, the Cathedral in North Cave, and the Dance Hall where a previous owner held weekly dances. It was a nice cool temperature in the caves as it was hot outside.
We explored a little of Laural Cave on our own. It was going to rain and we did not want to get in too far and then back out due to the rising water. It is different exploring on our own as the guided tour is lit up and we only had our flashlights to assist us on this walk. I appreciate the Park System’s work making the guided caves tours so accessible to us.
We enjoyed hiking the area and exploring the creek that runs through the park.
Other fun:
We saw a live snaping turtle up close and personal as one of the rangers caught one and was moving him farther away from the camping area.
The camping area had an axe throwing demonstration and we were able to throw a few. It was good to try. We were not very good.
No bike rides on this trip. See you on the road.
Novelty and Reality, I will try not to repeat the same story again…
The kids are back in school, and as was the case when I was a child, I wanted to report on what we have been doing this year since our travel to New Zealand. We have repeated many of the same travels in 2023 as we did in 2022. My family is in the same places. As we visit these places, I will point out a few new sights along the way as well as a few favorites. We have been to Massachusetts and Rhode Island as well as to North Carolina. One such change was running a half marathon with my two oldest in Providence this year.
We were able to celebrate Christmas with our grandson and his birthday (two already!).
Visiting Block Island, which is part of Rhode Island, was a new experience for us. It was a nice day to walk the beach and bike around the island. Happy that one of our sons took the day off to enjoy the adventure with us on the Island.
We did learn about fog warnings. The boat taking us to the island used a fog horn several times. We were safe and enjoyed the island. I was pleased to stop in the visitor’s center and receive a discount on the rental bikes. We also received good information on where to go and what to see at the center.
After the sun came out and the fog cleared, we had a satisfying bike ride, including riding to all four points of the compass on the island. At the end of our ride, we enjoyed some ice cream before going back to the harbor and turning in the bikes. All in all, a good day at the beach and on an island.
The way to and from our house to visit family in Massachusetts and Rhode Island is through Pennsylvania. We have gone several ways, including going though Erie, PA, the most northern edge, and taking I-76 on the southern route as well as I-80 through the heart of the commonwealth.
As we get older, we cannot drive straight through (like our kids sometimes do) for a 15-hour (not including stopping) car ride. We break it up. Where to stop in Pennsylvania is a planning challenge; it can be fun to think about alternative stops in the state.
We often take a different route home than we did on the way to Massachusetts. I have a friend who lives near Wilkes-Barre, not too far out of our way. It helps to have a place to spend the night. He and I recently stopped at Ricketts Glen State Park for a hike before continuing home for me. It was beautiful to hike, and had so many waterfalls. I am not sure I would have ever stopped at this park without Rob pointing it out for me. In reading about this park, it was slated to become a National Park before the Depression era budget cuts and WWII began heating up. Pennsylvania has turned this into a magnificent and underappreciated park.
We stopped to hike here in July as well, but we did not make it back to the car before the rain came. Fortunately, we had a set of dry clothes in the car.
I ran the Great Appalachian Valley 10K, which also counted for my virtual Big Ten 10K run. As we were driving to Massachusetts, we enjoyed the Shippensburg campus and the disc golf courses. The Great Appalachian Valley run was small (about 250 runners); we were happy that we could all start early even though we were running on a rail trail. It worked out great for us.
We have been back to North Carolina visiting our newlywed couple. Again, a fun trip and not too much new. We did get a family trip to one of the Charlotte area disc golf courses.
Other repeated travel this year has been to visit my mom and my in-laws as well as family and friends along the way.
Other fun:
Traveling on holidays can be interesting. We were in Pennsylvania for Valentine’s Day and had a great meal out; and I spent the day (in the car) with my lovely wife. Even more creative, on Christmas day we had dinner in the hotel in Pennsylvania, as all the restaurants are closed on Christmas day. My wonderful wife planned ahead, so we had all the trimmings for a fancy dinner in the lobby, alone. It was great.
I participated (a repeated story) in the Tri-State Running Group. This year the Frozen 5k went off as planned. The Heart Mini was cold but provided the right distance training (a 15k run) as we prepared for the half-marathon. We had several runs in and around Cincinnati with the running group.
As part of my training for the Providence half-marathon, I was able to do a training run in Providence. It was an eight-mile preview of the half-marathon course. This is a similar process that my running group was doing in Cincinnati on their half-marathon course. It was only 11 degrees when we started, but it was my opportunity to train and experience running on the Providence course.
I ran the Red’s Run, a 10K as part of my training that benefits the Cincinnati Red’s Foundation. This run made my training schedule to get ready for the 10K in July.
I played disc golf at a few new courses (for me). My favorite from my recent travels though Pennsylvania is the Faylor Lake DiscGolfPark. This is the top-rated free disc golf course in the world according to the 2023 UDisc ratings. I agree.
I did get to play the number one UDisc course in the world, Maple Hill. Based on my game, I decided to move up from Red (easy course) to White (moderately difficult course) and when I did, I was so excited to see that I was already playing well at the next level on this course. I needed to move up. I am not yet ready for the next two harder levels on this course.
We were able to visit friends as well on our travels. It is wonderful to reconnect with friends in person.
The summer means bikes, and we took our bikes to Massachusetts. We enjoyed (again) the ride to Dighton Rock and the East Bay trail in Rhode Island.
We spent the evening at the Old Silver Beach on Falmouth (Cape Cod). The water was refreshing and we got to see our oldest play ultimate Frisbee while we played with our grandson.
Lessons learned:
We have choices on what road to travel, flying or by car. It is important to explore alternative options. In May, on the way home from Massachusetts, I stopped at a disc golf course at a brewery and picked up some tasty beer. It is a better experience to be open to the possibilities.
See you on the road.
A trip to the Lake for an Anniversary Date
Having an anniversary at the end of March allows us to spend time together in all kinds of weather. We signed up for a cabin at the Lake Cumberland State Park in February not knowing what the weather would be like. Our anniversary turned out to be one of the nicest days in March.
The day after our anniversary, we hiked in the rain; not too cold but not ideal. We were soaked and fortunately could change our clothes and dry out. It has been said if you don’t like the weather, just wait and it will change.
We have been to Lake Cumberland in the past and enjoyed our time here. This is a vacation destination for Kentucky and is known as the houseboat capital. Certainly, the 101-mile-long lake is good for boating. That was not why we came, and it was before boating season opened. We enjoy hiking and just getting away for a few days. We were able to do that at a cabin near the lake.
Other fun:
We played disc golf near the lodge. It was challenging and fun to play this course. We played late in the day and saw the deer come out to also enjoy the course, although I did not see them with any discs.
The Lake Bluff and the Baugh Branch hiking trails were good. We got turned around a little on the Lake Bluff trail with all the leaves and the periodic stops near the road. We consulted our maps and made our way alright.
The Lake Bluff trail has several good views of all the boat docks, which go on for quite a while.
Spring was beginning just as we got to the lake. It was exciting for us to see the signs of spring as we hiked along. Several of the trees were budding and the redbuds were coming out.
No biking on this trip. See you on the road soon.
New Zealand—land of the long white cloud—Part 2
Part one of this two-part blog describes our adventure on New Zealand’s North Island. This blog tells the story of our South Island biking and hiking tour. We began by flying from Auckland to Christchurch. It is so much easier to fly within a country than into a country.
For part of my adventure, I got in a few rounds of disc golf in between the hiking and biking and managed to play four courses on the South Island. I also ran in a few of our locations enjoying areas that we explored biking or hiking. The planned tour took us to great hotels and showed us wonderful sights on the South Island.
We could have stayed longer at each location we visited on the South Island. Because it stays lighter later in the day in summer (AKA January!), we were able to visit attractions later in the evening. We biked though the Mona Vale Garden Park on our bike ride around Christchurch, and it was near our hotel. So, after dinner (it was light until after 9:30!) we walked over to the Mona Vale Garden Park. Wow! The following group of pictures was taken at about 9 PM local time, when the park closes to vehicle traffic.
We took advantage of our outdoor time in Christchurch and enjoyed the city. We were impressed with Hagley Park, one of the largest city parks in the world. I thought it needed a disc golf course. We did enjoy the Botanical gardens in the park.
Some of the tour members were going back to Christchurch after the tour to stay there for a month. We were envious of their extra time in this beautiful city. From Christchurch we took an open train ride to the mountains on the TranzAlpine Kiwi Rail to Arthur’s Pass. I had never been on one of these trains with large windows and a glass ceiling. The views on the train ride were breathtaking; we are happy to have taken this route to get our first experience in the Southern Alps. We got off the train at Arthur’s Pass and were driven to the west coast to begin biking.
We enjoyed biking and hiking in the west country of the South Island.
We were introduced to the beach town of Hokitika, and we were able to enjoy the Tasman Sea waves from our room.
Near Hokitika we began a bike ride from Lake Kaniere. The lake was a great backdrop as we got our riding instructions and options for the day ahead.
We enjoyed the quaint town of Franz Josef (population about 300 with over 2,000 rooms for rent) to see the Franz Josef Glacier. The scenery here was lovely and we got some great views of the Southern Alps on the western part of the South Island. We hiked, played their 9-hole disc golf course, and ran. I also took a helicopter ride to walk on the glacier.
When you are in a helicopter for the first time, like I was, you do not have a perspective on size. The pilot pointed out to us our landing area and all the people already out. In the picture I took, you must look closely to see where we are going to land and the other tiny helicopters in the distance.
Two helicopters here
Look closely for the two helicopters just over the “O” and “S”
I was happy to get out and walk on Fox Glacier. After walking around, I thought to myself, I have done kata on the beach, so why not try it on the glacier. It was not pretty, as the ice made it slippery and the marks from others’ feet made the surface uneven. Still, this was my first-time doing kata on a glacier, and it was fun.
Near the Southern Alps we took in the Lake Matheson hiking trail. We had a wonderful lunch after our hike. At one point on the hike, they displayed a postcard of New Zealand and it was exactly our view. This was a great spot for a bike ride and then a hike. My phone camera does not do justice to the view of Mount Cook and Mount Tasman reflecting off the water.
I did not think about rain forests or wilderness in New Zealand. We appreciated that our tour took us to the Wilderness Lodge at Lake Moeraki on the west coast of the South Island. We enjoyed the penguin signs. Because it was summer, we did not see any penguins.
We learned about some of the plants in the wilderness and were excited to see Koru, the Māori word for a loop or coil, a spiral shape based on the appearance of a new unfurling silver fern frond. We were introduced to this symbol by our walking tour guide in Auckland. We saw it in several places as we hiked the countryside.
After saying a fond farewell to the Wilderness Lodge, we made our way back into civilization. One of our first stops was the breathtaking Mount Aspiring National Park. The park is named for Mt. Aspiring, one of New Zealand’s highest peaks, which we were able to see on our hike. We were taking the Haast Pass back to the east side of the South Island and stopped to hike.
We enjoyed our hike to see the Blue Pools on the Makarora River. We laughed at the signs that limited the number of people on the bridges over the pools and marveled at how many people were using the pools and even jumping off bridges into the pools. The two-mile hike was beautiful; we were happy that our guides took us to see this amazing site.
We noticed along our journey that just stopping along the road provided a wonderful view of the surrounding area. Here we are looking at the top of Lake Wanaka from the highway leading into Wanaka prior to our bike ride—just outside of Mount Aspiring National Park.
After enjoying a day at Lake Wanaka, we hiked to Lismore Park for some disc golf and enjoyed ice cream on our way to play. It was twilight as we strolled back to our hotel along Lake Wanaka from Lismore Park. Such a pretty area! It is nice that it is light so late here in summer. January and late nights are a new concept for us.
Our last big hike in New Zealand was almost eight miles from Lake Wanaka with the tour group to Glenduh Bay. The hike is along Lake Wanaka. We had great views of the lake all along the route. We were also passed a few times by experienced mountain bikers on the trail. I would not have been comfortable biking on this hiking path.
Other Fun:
Our group leaders taught us to sing a Māori song. The tour group leaders brought in a Māori warrior. He greeted us with the traditional Haka performance and we were able to respond (apparently appropriately as friend) with our Māori song.
We visited Arrowtown and enjoyed walking in and around this historic town. It was good to get out and see the town. We did not stop and pan for gold. We did find some great merino wool items to take back with us. I also had another cup of the flat white coffee.
Prior to getting on our 14-hour flight home, I was able to get in one last disc golf round at the Queenstown Gardens. What a lovely setting for a public disc golf course. The Lake Wakatipu in the background was delightful. We would have liked to have spent a few more hours of viewing the gardens prior to our flight.
Lessons Learned:
Looking back on our travels, I learned that a smaller island, like New Zealand was the just right size for us. We left a lot of area in New Zealand unexplored. We loved the places we visited and the people we met.
We would like to come back to New Zealand. January was a good time to travel to this side of the world.
Retirement Travel with Glen 