Home » Posts tagged 'Running'
Tag Archives: Running
Summer 2025 Travel to Massachusetts
It is fun to spend some time in New England in the summer. July is especially nice. It is warm and sunny. We brought our bikes and a spirit of adventure with us exploring a few new trails as well as some we had been on before.
We enjoyed a new-to-us trail, the Erie to Pittsburg trail. We were on the Allegheny River Trail portion, on the way up to Massachusetts. I knew about the Rockland Tunnel (2868’ long) 10 miles into the trail, but I did not realize it would be so dark. I am glad we have bike lights, but we should have had a stronger light, as the trail guide says. It was a good experience biking in a tunnel. We enjoyed the pretty Allegheny River flowing along the trail.
We enjoyed our stop in Emlenton, Pennsylvania, and had a good dinner in town before heading to our hotel. The views of the Emlenton Bridge put the large span into perspective for us. The bridge is 270 feet above the water and is the largest in Pennsylvania, and the fifth largest span on the US interstate system. I was surprised to learn it touches three Pennsylvania counties.
One of the joys of being a grandparent is watching our grandson. From his perspective, I wonder what it is like to hang out with your grandparents. He looked like he enjoyed our time together. Since we are not enough on our own, his parents feel the need to have our grandchild play with other kids his age. That is part of the summer fun, playing in the water and keeping cool.
I am sure many other grandparents take their grandkids to the dentist. This was a first for us. We had an interesting time and, of course, ice cream afterwards for a visit “well” done.
We like to walk daily and so, when we are watching our grandchild, he also comes along for the walk. It may or may not be at the same pace we are used to, but it is sure a good time to be with him.
I remember from living in Massachusetts that almost everyone went to “the Cape” in the summer. We again visited the Old Silver Beach on Cape Cod. I know why most people come to the Cape. You should too, just not when we are planning to drive in. It is good to swim with your grandchild.
We like to stay active, and when we were not watching our grandchild, we were able to see some of the area. We biked the Coventry Greenway and Trestle Trail in Rhode Island, a new trial for us. We began with a tunnel, but we could see daylight, so it was not nearly as long as the one in Pennsylvania. This trail has several pretty stretches, and we were able to ride a 30-mile loop from Cranston.
Some days it is windy. I am a grandpa, so, let’s go fly a kite! My daughter-in-law already had kites, and it was her idea to fly kites on a windy day during our visit. I am glad to share kite flying with our grandson. Afterwards, we can blow bubbles.
The Dodgers came to Fenway, and we went into town with our kids, a friend and our grandson. We enjoyed seeing the Boston Red Sox play at Fenway. We had good seats. I am glad we got to take a train into town and enjoyed a good game against the eventual World Series champion Dodgers.
When we lived in Massachusetts, they did not have a boardwalk on Lake Williams. They do now. It was fun to explore with our grandson. He ran most of the way out and back—nearly a 2-mile run on Lake Williams.
We have two kids living within 30 minutes (driving) of each other. It is good for us; we get an extra visit each time we come. And our grandson loves his uncle.
What would you rather do? Go to the zoo in Providence with its dinosaurs exhibition or play on a playground? We were all set to take our 4-year-old grandson to the zoo. However, he was more interested in the playground. So, we had a fun morning on the playground. We also walked around the nearby Japanese Garden.
We enjoy playing games with our grandson, and he has been obsessed with playing Uno and now Candy Land. We found a candy land trail within the Hasbro Playground at the Roger Williams Park in Providence, and it inspired us to make one on his driveway. It is a good way to play and use our imagination as well.
Other Fun:
I did take a day and play Maple Hill disc golf course, the number one course in North America and ranked number 4 in the world. It is a magnificent course, and unlike that other golfing game, it costs $10.00 to play a round of 18 during the week ($18 on the weekend). No caddy or special shoes required.
Our daughter-in-law printed the book “the Blue Hippo” for our grandson so we could re-live the fun Uno games.
We took our grandson to soccer practice and kicked balls with some of his team members.
On the way back, we stopped and took a walking break at the Firestone Metro park. It was good to get out and stretch our legs.
See you on the road!
Vancouver Island
We enjoyed our biking adventure in western Canada this year. We flew into Victoria, a city in British Columbia on Vancouver Island. Before the trip, I did not know the difference between Vancouver and Vancouver Island; I had to ask a local. Vancouver is a major city in British Columbia. Vancouver Island is home to the city of Victoria and Victoria is the capital of British Columbia. Geographically, we were about 60 miles from both Vancouver and Seattle, Washington. We were in the southern portion of Canada, below the 49th parallel.
We began our journey, stopping in Montreal and arriving in Victoria after dark. A wonderful city, easy to walk and fun explore, was ready for us to see. To acclimate to the time change, being out west, we walked and enjoyed all Victoria had to offer for a full day prior to the beginning of our biking tour.
We had in mind prior to our visit to see the Craigdarroch Castle in Victoria. It was a bit of a long walk; we enjoyed the neighborhoods along the way. The “castle” was a good stop. The building itself had been a private residence and at one time a college.
The highlight of our first night on Vancouver Island was exploring the Butchart Gardens and seeing their final fireworks show at the garden for the season. Walking around the gardens at twilight and evening with lights on the pathways lent a different feeling to the gardens. We really enjoyed the experience and were glad to take part in it.
Pictures do not do justice to the grand fireworks show. It was unlike any I had seen. Sometimes it looked as if the fireworks were walking across the garden. I saw several YouTube videos filmed during one of the shows. Even they do not do justice to the amazing show set to music. They do provide some sense of the show.
At night the capital building is all lit up and looked terrific. We were staying in a hotel next to the capital building.
This is not the first adventure for our group of dedicated biking friends. VBT does a wonderful job arranging the trip and providing bikes. We show up, enjoy the tour and pedal.
Our biking group for Canada: Vancouver Island
We all started walking in downtown Victoria waiting for the bike adventure to begin. We had previously been on a bike tour to the Florida Keys and had our picture taken at Mile Zero in Florida. We were happy to have that landmark for us to walk to as we traveled around Victoria.
Our first ride was just around the streets of Victoria. It is a pretty city and we enjoyed the ride. We saw a giant totem pole, and we all stopped at the Mile Zero marker this time in our biking gear for a picture. We also pedaled though a park. They have beautiful gardens in Victoria.
On the second day we biked to the ferry and took it to Pender Island. We then rode across the island to our hotel.
Near the hotel, riding from the ferry, my wife and I could not resist stopping at the Enchanted Forest. You would have stopped as well. We took a hike to the forest after our biking adventure the next day. It was a fun place; we spotted several faerie doors hidden throughout the forest. If you find yourself on Pender Island, the view from the forest was worthwhile as is the path through the forest. It was a fun day.
I really enjoyed our time at Poets Cove Resort & Spa on Pedler Island. We could not get enough of the view from our room and the resort. The food was terrific and the accommodation was wonderful.
My wife loves kayaking. Part of this journey was a sea kayaking guided tour. We were treated to sweeping views of Boundary Pass, the Strait of Georgia, the San Juan Islands, and Mount Baker. I did not bring my phone on the kayak. But I am happy some of our friends did.
After kayaking, we went for a quiet bike ride to Brooks Point Regional Park. It was the shortest day of biking for us. We did have wonderful views and took our bikes over to the Enchanted Forest.
We were almost sorry to leave Poets Cove Resort, but we were looking to ride more and explore. We rode our bikes back to the ferry and back to Vancouver Island. After leaving a small island for a larger one, we were back on the bikes. We went to the family owned Sea Cider Farm & Cider house. After a fun lunch, we pedaled to the Oak Bay Beach Hotel in Victoria. We enjoyed taking a dip in the hotel’s heated seaside mineral pool.
We had a fun breakfast with the group and a final briefing on our last day’s big ride.
We took our longest ride from Victoria to the Butchart Gardens. We enjoyed the scenic ride and managed to get a little lost on the way; we found our way back to the path with the help of our guides and fellow bikers. We started early so we could have plenty of time to explore the gardens.
We enjoyed our second visit to Butchart Gardens. It was all in the daylight and we were able to take our time and see some of the sights we missed on our first visit.
Some of the members of our group wanted to ride the Rose Carousel. The carousel is comprised of 30 hand-carved wooden animals and two chariots. The artwork was very pretty, and it was a fun diversion from biking and walking around the gardens.
The gardens are the main attraction, and you will have to visit. It is well worth it. A beautiful layout of flowers, trees and shrubs. Every garden just flowed and it was hard to put the camera down.
We eventually got back on our bikes and pedaled back to our hotel. It was a good day at the gardens, and we were happy to visit twice.
We managed another day of wayfaring around Victoria prior to our plane leaving in the evening. The parks and inlets are gems. We enjoyed taking in the sights in and around Victoria, including palm trees in the yards.
It was sad to say goodbye to Vancouver Island. It is a place to visit again. Fortunately for us, we have signed up for another bike tour in 2026.
Other fun:
I was able to go on a few runs in and around the area. One of my favorite runs was along the water in Victoria and crossing bridges.
I was also able to run on the other side of Victoria after our return from Pender Island.
Of course, we prioritized stopping for ice cream. Or was it dinner? It was good, especially after a fun day of biking.
Getting in shape for our ride, we took a few rides on our local bike path.
See you on the road.
Charlotte Running – Want to Run a Half Marathon?
Looking back on it, every time I visited my daughter and son-in-law this year, I went running. So, when my daughter asked me to join her in running the Charlotte half marathon, I had to say yes.
This means I began training again with Tri-State Running and working on their fall half marathon plan. I had previously just signed up for the spring running group. The fall group trains in the summer months and it was hot on several runs.
When we visited our daughter and son-in-law after our anniversary trip to Florida, I was training to run the Flying Pig half marathon in May and wanted to go for a run or two during our visit. My daughter was just getting into running and since she had a running buddy, we went for a run together. I guess that was the seed that germinated into her wanting to run the Charlotte half marathon.
Fast forward to the fall, and we got together a month prior to the half marathon. We did a run on the Charlotte greenway. And, because I wanted to see the course that we would be running in November, off we went later in our visit to downtown Charlotte. Together, we ran the virtual Army ten miler. It was a good experience, and we learned a lot about the course.
My daughter and I did a warmup run prior to the half marathon–a fun trail run in Shelby. I liked the suspension bridge. It was a good day, and we felt ready to run the half marathon.
Like all good events, we enjoyed the expo the day prior to running. It was a beautiful day in downtown Charlotte, and the city was full of runners excited for the event. My wife enjoyed making a sign so she could cheer us on as we ran by. We saw some fun events and sampled some good products for runners.
My wife and son-in-law cheered us on from the road. It was great to be at an event where I knew the person cheering. At least my other events have had people cheering. Thank you if you are someone who cheers for people they do not know, it makes a difference.
Both my oldest son and my daughter ran the half marathon. We all ran separately as my oldest finished an hour prior to my finish. It was a perfect day for a run. Although I was not too fast on the course, I felt good about the effort.
Other Fun:
Road sign at a West Virginia rest stop.
The day after our ten mile run, we went to Chimney Rock and climbed to the top, and beyond. I was last up here in 2017, and it recently re-opened after all of the flooding in the area.
We went to the nearby town for lunch and toured some of the devastation that is still in the area. Our drive to and from Charlotte was impacted by the on-going road work. There is still a lot of work to accomplish.
We visited Cherryville, and of course we had ice cream downtown. We also ate dinner downtown and discovered a Halloween-themed party that had part of the downtown streets closed. It was fun.
I was able to get in all kinds of practice running. Summer is hot; I learned how to better run in the heat. I was not yet ready for the quickly changing temperatures in October and November. We had snow and then heat. The leaves have now come down, but I ran in a wide variety of conditions getting ready for the Charlotte half marathon.
Just prior to the Charlotte half marathon, I ran the Honor Run 10K. It was a fun event for me and a worthy cause to support.
Other runs in the area included the 10K run at the 29th annual Air Force Marathon in Dayton, Ohio.
No biking on this adventure. See you on the road.
Alumni Band Weekend!
The Alumni band weekend was a perfect September weekend at Michigan State University. Someone asked me recently if I ever played in front of people, and I was able to reply that I just played for 78,000. Of course, they were not in attendance to see me or my friends. It was a football game, and we were the half-time and the post-game show.
I shared with my fellow E-flat cornet player friend Bill the saying “you cannot go back.” However, this is the only event we can do on campus that we did when we were in school. It was great to connect with my friends and fellow band members.
We started with a rehearsal on Friday night and then a reception where we looked at the memorabilia from the star of the show this year—Dave Catron. Professor Catron was my marching band director and held the position of director of the Spartan Marching Band (SMB) for many years. It was great to see him and be able to honor the legacy of his time in the program. It was fun to see some of the memorabilia and charts. My fellow-E flat cornet player friend Tom told us how he (as a part of the band communication team) drew cover pictures and other items on the display table.
The alumni band organizers had Saturday well planned, and registration was a breeze. We all met and watched the SMB run through their rehearsal; they sounded great! We had a run through of our combined program: imagine 575 alumni members joining 300 SMB members on the field. It took a few minutes to get us going into the designated spots.
After the combined rehearsal, we heard from Dave Catron and the Athletic Director and then the University President. It was great to see them all. Of course, one of my friends reminded me that we are all potential doners.
After the morning rehearsal, we enjoyed lunch and visiting prior to lining up for the march to the stadium.
One of the best moments of the weekend comes when we are marching to the stadium from the music building. The 575-member alumni band gets to march and play just like we did when we were students, except without the hot uniform and inspection. Dave Catron was on hand to watch us and cheer us on. The alumni band marches first and a little later the SMB marches separately. This moment is when most think we are back at school with the crowd along both sides of the street and the drum cadence from our playing days. We strike up the fight song and the crowd cheers. They are as excited as we are.
We perform this march to the stadium in good order; before we enter the stadium, we sing the alma mater at the entrance. It takes a while for 575 of us to find our seats. We enjoy the warm fall day and admire the band’s pre-game entrance wondering if we were ever that good.
It is awesome for us to be back on the stadium turf. Entry to the playing field takes several minutes of the second quarter and we get to see some of the action at field level. I also get to catch up with some of my buddies from last year as we get ready to perform. The highlight of our marching is to spell out “CATRON” in honor of the former director of the SMB. If you look closely, I am on the left side of the “A.”
After the half-time performance, we had our traditional apples, played more pep band songs, and played again on the field for the post-game show. We then are left with our memories of another fun day on campus as we march and play on our way back from the stadium to Demo Hall.
Lessons learned:
- Marching with the band was a great experience. Each year marching with the alumni band continues that great feeling. I can go back and experience some of the fun as an undergrad.
- Live and in person at a Big Ten football game is an energizing experience. Win or lose all season, this is the school I graduated from and the weekend at the stadium with 78,000 other fans is terrific.
- Meeting and spending time with friends and over 575 alumni is an experience like no other I have had in retirement. I practice my trumpet so I can continue to play with this awesome group.
Other fun:
Running on campus. My training plan called for a four-mile run and I did it on Sunday morning in and around campus prior to driving home. I had never been to the Lewis Landscape Arboretum (dedicated three years after I graduated). It was great to explore the garden a little while I was running. I also managed to walk along campus after eating breakfast at Brody Hall, where I ate as a freshman and sophomore. They had re-done the building and the experience, but it was still a quiet place to eat on Sunday morning. I understand it is one of the largest if not the largest non-military cafeteria in the world.
On the way back from Michigan, I decided it would be interesting to visit the Neil Armstrong Museum. I have seen this museum on I-75 going to and from Michigan. It is a fascinating museum and has more than just great Neil Armstrong memorabilia. It did make a great to stop; I am glad I visited on my way back home.
No bike rides on campus, although I did ride as a student.
Vermont is Green
We left a hot and humid Kentucky, where it had not rained for a few weeks, and traveled to Vermont, where we hoped the weather would be cooler. It was not. But it was green and it had rained. The green landscape was a big contrast to our brown lawn at home.
In telling a friend about the trip we had planned to Vermont, he remarked, “Well, at least it is flat.” I said he was incorrect and asked if he had heard about Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys from the Revolutionary War. Apparently, he missed that class.
Vermont is not flat. It has the Green Mountains. They are not in any way near the height of the Western State mountains, with a high point of Mount Mansfield 4,393 feet above sea level. Although we did not bike in the mountains, the terrain was still hilly as we climbed them on regular bikes. It was fun and hard work all at the same time. It did threaten to rain at the beginning of the bike trip, but the weather held out and we did not get too much rain while riding.
We participated in a self-guided bike tour in Vermont sponsored by VBT. It was a good set of daily rides, and the accommodations were wonderful. Every day we saw the Green Mountains or the Adirondack Mountains. We also rode to and from Lake Champlain. I was reminded of my travels to the Rocky Mountains as the views were great. We also saw farms and cows, as expected.
We stopped at the monument for Benedict Arnold and his Revolutionary War victory on Lake Champlain at Arnold Bay. It was good to read about this victory and see him in a positive light. Arnold is also talked about in the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum we visited (pictures near the end of this blog).
We learned in our orientation for the bike rides that the state animal of Vermont is the Morgan Horse. We had a stop at the farm on our first and last day of riding. I had to look it up and found that the Kentucky state animal is the gray squirrel. I had no idea we had a state animal, let alone what it could be.
My favorite day of riding and relaxing was the day at the Basin Harbor Resort. We had a charming bike ride along Lake Champlain and enjoyed kayaking on the lake. We were taken in by the beauty of the lake as well as the resort.
Our ride to the Basin Harbor Resort was a long and hilly ride on a hot (over 86 F) and humid day for Vermont. We rode over 45 miles and climbed over 2,000 feet of elevation gain.
We were part of a group; however, as it was a self-guided tour, we used Ride with GPS and were following the routes and prompts using that app. We frequently saw the other riders, although we did not ride with them as often as we had on our guided bike tours, which also used the Ride with GPS app. It was good to know that other riders were around. I would do a self-guided ride again since my riding buddy, my wife, likes these tours as well.
The scenery was amazing, besides the mountains. We enjoyed the open roads, not too much traffic, and the destinations.
Biking or Disc Golfing?
Before traveling to Vermont for this biking trip, I looked for ways to play some disc golf. Did you know that two of the top ten courses in the world are in Vermont? Prior to starting our bike tour, I was able to play them both as they are conveniently located at Smugglers’ Notch Resort. Adding to my fun, I also played Maple Hill in Massachusetts after the bike tour was over, allowing me to notch three of the top-ten disc golf courses in the world in one trip.
The first course I played was Brewster Ridge. It was not raining at the first tee box, but we got out raincoats as it began raining on the way to the second tee box, and rained for the rest of the 17. It was a great course, although I would have enjoyed a little less water. I made the most of the time I had to play this top course.
The next morning, I played the companion course, Fox Run Meadows, another top ten course. It was an excellent disc golf course. Fox Run was a little more open (less woods) and it was the day after all the rain, so I did enjoy the experience a little better. Fox Run does not have the cement or pavers for the tee pads.
It was quite a treat to for me to go out and play Maple Hill, one of the best courses in the world. One of the reasons this and the other courses I played on this trip are so good, is that for a player like me they are accessible. I played Maple Hill a few years ago with my son and we played the red, white, and blue option, rotating from easiest (red) to a harder (blue) configuration. Maple Hill and the other courses I played also have a professional level option, all on the same course, with some different configurations.
After reflecting on playing these top courses, one of the reasons they are so good is that I was able to play them well at my level of play. I can say I played the same course as the top touring professionals in Disc Golf. Each round was enjoyable because it was challenging for me but not impossible for me to play. For the record, I played all three of the top courses at the white (novice not beginner) levels. Next time I think I will have to play at the blue level.
I also played the Basin Harbor 9-hole course. I was happy to find disc golf at Basin Harbor, but this course will not make the top 100 anytime soon.
A highlight for me was spending time with our grandson. He loves to run, and we all did a lot of that with him. He also learned to fly a kite and play baseball with a tee.
We were able to spend time with two of our kids while visiting. We enjoyed walking in Providence, and having ice cream was a bonus for us.
Other fun
We rode through a covered bridge (twice) and got to view the Middlebury Falls from a big chair.
We were excited to see the Vermont Jazz Ensemble performing near our hotel at the Middlebury Festival on the Green and took advantage of learning a swing dance from the free lesson during the performance. We enjoyed dancing on the street in Middlebury.
Near the Basin Harbor Resort is the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum. We arrived after the museum closed, but we were able to walk around the museum’s outside exhibits. Some in our group went through during the day and enjoyed the exhibits; I am sure we would have as well. I am glad they had so many outdoor exhibits open for us to explore.
We rode past a road sign about Silas Wright who was known for being from the area, although he was born in Massachusetts. This was a big monument and area. I learned about him reading the sign. He would be an important early figure forgotten to history for me if not for the sign we encountered.
I did some biking with friends in Kentucky prior to starting my bike adventure. It was good training to ride with a group of friends and tackle the hills near the Ohio River.
What a fun couple of July weeks. I was able to run, kayak, bike, and swim while away from home. I participated in the Red Legs 10K in Cincinnati in June as part of my preparation for the Big Ten 10K that I ran virtually in Middlebury in July on the first day of our bike rides. I should have chosen a flatter course for the Big Ten virtual 10K.
Our two hour kayacking cruise on Lake Champlain was just what we need to contrast with the bike riding. We did enjoy kayacking from Basin Harbor. We went a few miles, saw an island, enjoyed the breezes and perspective of being on water, so different from being on a bike.
I joined one of my sons and his training buddy for an early morning swim at the YMCA. It was a different experience for me as the pool was much wider than my normal pool. This event completed the weird vacation four sport activity of swimming, running, kayaking and biking.
Vermont has a “creature” called “Champ” and we were challenged to find Champ on our rides by our local host at the start of the biking adventure. We only “saw” bigfoot. We did come to learn that Champ was the sea monster of Lake Champlain and is like the Loc Ness Monster from Scotland.
See you on the road. And as the Basin Harbor sign says, try to have a little fun every day.
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.
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.
New Zealand—land of the long white cloud
In my thoughts about big travel, I have dreamed about going to Australia with no idea why or what I would do when I got there. On our last bike travel to the Golden Isles of Georgia, another couple in the group mentioned going to New Zealand and how much fun they had. When we got home, we looked it up and we booked the VBT biking and hiking tour of New Zealand.
Was traveling to New Zealand the trip of my lifetime? I am not sure, but it was a great time. I do know for sure I would like to go back.
We really liked the tour and believe we received the experiences we were looking for when we signed up. The scenery was even better than I could have imagined and the pictures do not do them justice. Also, we had a fun group, good guides, and wonderful accommodations. It did rain, and it did not dampen our experiences one bit!
Here are a few things I learned about New Zealand.
- It is a big country, but it was just right for a few weeks of exploring. We saw the Pacific Ocean on the east coast and the Tasman Sea on the west coast.
- New Zealand has rain forests, tall mountains, friendly people, and beautiful scenery of almost all descriptions.
- In January, summer in the southern hemisphere was in full force. We picked a good time to visit. However, we did discover that from late December (Christmas) until almost mid-January the country is on holiday. We were fortunate enough to arrive as the country was getting back into the new year.
- Not too many bugs, but sand flies or fleas can sometimes be bad near the water. Fortunately, the wind kept them mostly away from us.
- With flightless birds, natural predators were non-existent before the introduction of small animals intended for food or companionship, including cats and dogs. Dogs are discouraged on trails that may have flightless birds (like Kiwis) on them.
- I cannot wait to go back and enjoy another trip during summer in New Zealand.
There was a lot I did not know about New Zealand, prior to signing up for our travel. New Zealand is an island country consisting of two main landmasses—the North Island and the South Island. We knew that in New Zealand they drive on the “other side” of the road. We did not know that New Zealand has three official languages, English, Māori and New Zealand Sign Language. We knew about English. Māori is from the native Polynesian roots and is being re-introduced. We learned a few phrases on our journey as well as song taught to us by our guides.
What I did know prior to signing up for the journey is that it is summer in the southern hemisphere when it is winter where I live. I wanted to go to an English-speaking country where my language skills would help me get along on the travels just fine.
In hindsight, I had on my “bucket list” going to Australia. I am glad we instead chose New Zealand. Australia sounds like an exotic, yet still English-speaking destination. New Zealand fit this thought as well with a bonus bike tour and the Lord of the Rings dramatic scenery within a limited amount of geography.
New Zealand has a lush countryside due to the frequency and amounts of rainfall it receives. We rock bright yellow rain or wind jackets (they look the same in the pictures) because we were on a bike tour and the color is visible. We did not take that much luggage and are seen in the same outfits for most of our pictures.
We landed on New Zealand’s North Island and spent our first few days in Auckland. We did our best to see all of Auckland and could have spent a little longer exploring this city.
We did an e-bike ride in Auckland on our first day in town. It was a good way to defeat jet lag from our 16-hour flight. The leader of the Power to the Pedal! gave us a GPS animation of our ride: https://www.relive.cc/view/vdvm3YxK8N6. We really enjoyed the ride, and as Auckland has several hills, the e-bikes were a good call.
We enjoyed walking around Auckland and hiked over 10 miles on a guided hike from Domain Park. What an enjoyable garden and path from Domain Park back to the city center. I was encouraged by our guide to try, and I enjoyed, the “flat white” hot coffee. If you get to New Zealand, and you like coffee, you should give it a try.
We satisfied my need to see the Shire in the middle of the North Island. I knew that parts of the movies (The Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit) were filmed in New Zealand. I can see why the site we visited was selected for representing Hobbiton. As part of my journey, I re-read the Hobbit; after our visit to the Hobbiton movie set, I can see it come to life. If you are a fan of the books or the movies, or have never given them a thought, the visit to the Hobbiton movie set was wonderful. As part of our tour, we had lunch, just outside of the Green Dragon Inn. It was very festive and tasty. We took advantage of our visit to the Shire in the middle of New Zealand.
I did get a few runs in while in Auckland. I appreciated the rainbow after the morning rain. Also, I did a run in the mist and enjoyed the downtown overhanging protection while I ran.
We liked the many parks in Auckland. I was able to “play” disc golf in Domain Park. The only disc golf courses nearby were object courses. So, just playing in the park was the same as playing on an object course where you aim for trees, rocks, or other features of the area.
It was still just after Christmas in mid-January when we visited Auckland. We were surprised that the boxing day (December 26) sales were still on almost 3 weeks later.
We really enjoyed our visit to the North Island and Auckland. We concluded this part of the journey with a trip to the airport to start our biking and hiking tour of the South Island. That is part two of the blog.
On the Move, Helping Kids Move
Last year I assisted in moving one of my kids up to New England. This year again found me assisting a move to New England, for our oldest and his family. I am happy to say that in both cases a professional moving company did the actual move. My involvement was only driving a car and a moving a few boxes once the movers left.
After my oldest asked if I could help out on their move, I looked up the total one-way driving time from Colorado to Massachusetts. It is over 32 hours and about 2,100 miles. Some of the travel was just me in the car, following my oldest across the country, and part was driving from Kentucky with our grandson and my wife to the new home. And of course, the 14-hour, 900-mile drive back home and any driving along the way to see friends and family.
This adventure started with me landing at the Colorado Springs airport as my grandson and daughter-in-law were getting ready to fly to Kentucky. Good parents that they are, they do not want to have their child sitting in a car for the entire drive from Colorado to Massachusetts.
I feel like I just made this drive back in January 2022. When you think you know your plans for the next month, I was unexpectantly was looking forward to driving across Kansas again this year. In any case, I was happy to find myself flying to Colorado so that I could drive back to the east coast and spend time with family.
The timing of the airplanes was wonderful; too bad the movers were not finished with the packing in Colorado. Our original plan was for me to fly in, load the car and begin driving. I was able to take advantage of time in Colorado as the movers were delayed in finishing their packing.
On the weekend, instead of waiting for the movers to show up on Monday, my son and I were excited to hike Brown’s Creek Trail in the San Isabel National Forest. The views from Brown Lake at the top were wonderful. It was a 12-mile hike with over 2,400 feet in elevation gain. The waterfall is a picturesque spot to stop and take some refreshment, which is just what we did.
In Colorado, you just never know when it might rain or thunderstorm. On the way down from Brown Lake we did get rained on a little bit; we ran down some of the trail in case in the higher elevations it became bad. I am so glad to get another big hike in on the mountains in Colorado. Thank you to Anna for finding this terrific hike and driving us to the mountain and back.
The three of us hikers stopped at Buena Vista, Colorado, for dinner on our way back to Colorado Springs. This is a charming town on the Arkansas River with all the surrounding mountains making for great views while enjoying dining outdoors.
The move was again delayed; my son and I did not leave until Tuesday when I was originally expecting to leave on the prior Saturday. With an extra day in the Colorado Springs area, I was able to visit one of my favorite attractions, the Garden of the Gods. Even in the rain, I enjoyed walking along the peaks and the colorful rocks.
The other thing I did while waiting for the movers to finish up was playing disc golf at Cumberland Green, in Colorado Springs, a good beginner course. I managed to play three rounds while visiting for four days.
We finally got on the road, in the rain, late on Tuesday afternoon. We spent one night in Hayes, Kansas, and the next day I stopped in Topeka, Kansas, to play some disc golf and stretch my legs allowing my son to sleep in and catch up with me in his car when I finished my round.
My son and I arrived in Kentucky and had a few days together with our grandson and our daughter-in-law. It was fun to relax and make plans for the next leg of the journey. Our son and his wife needed to begin work (glad to be retired!) and prepare to receive the movers, which is best done without an 18-month-old in tow. Grandma and Grandpa enjoyed our alone time with our grandson prior to driving out to meet the parents now settled and working in Massachusetts.
While the family from Colorado was here, our recently married daughter came up to work from our home and spend time with all of us. We had a fun family challenge of running while everyone was here. Most of us are not too fast, but we all enjoy being active.
After about a week alone with our grandson, it was time for us to leave Kentucky and drive up to Massachusetts. Driving with a young child, we needed to take advantage of his time asleep and get him moving to sleep again in the car. Our grandson responded well to the car ride and stops we made.
Our first stop, about 4 hours from the house, was the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. We had driven by this park several times without noticing it. It was a fun stop and picnic. Just the right amount of walking around and energy release for an 18-month-old to explore. The rangers even indulged us by making him a junior ranger. When I was younger, the Cuyahoga River was best known for catching on fire. It has now been cleaned up and the biking path here looks like a fun path for us to take in the future.
When we arrived at the new place in Massachusetts, we were not surprised that the moving trucks were not coming as soon as planned. We took advantage of our three weeks waiting to explore the area and catch up with family and friends.
Some of our highlights from exploring New England include biking, running, hiking and playing disc golf. We were able to enjoy several state parks in Massachusetts that we had not visited when we lived there.
Our oldest was nice enough to give us some running tips. I know he has collected several since running on the high school cross country team and being in the Army. We learned a lot and hope to improve our running as a result of the private lessons.
Our Massachusetts park stops included:
Borderland where we ran and hiked trails as well as sampled the disc golf course.
Massasoit State Park where our grandson loved to play on the playground and we were able to get in a lot of hiking.
Boyden Wildlife Refuge where we took a few of our hikes. We enjoyed exploring here as it was near where the kids now live.
Dighton Rock State Park where we enjoyed biking to and from the park. We did the tour and saw the rock, which was exciting for us but not too much to look at.
We took a few different roads to go to Dighton Rock. Our favorite was a less traveled road that has a sign for the Pan Mass challenge; we have friends who rode in that event.
On the other side of the Taunton River from Dighton Rock is Sweets Knoll State Park. This place from the outside looks like a private residence. This is an interesting park, pretty and not too developed. One of the trails ends at the railroad bridge from where we think we can see Dighton Rock State Park. It has the promise of future funding to make connections with other state parks.
During our three-week stay, we also biked on the nearby trails.
We rode on the Assabet River Rail Trail starting in Marlborough. Years ago, I played in a band during the dedication of the trail. It is always fun to come back and ride on this trail, although it is not yet connected the way the organizers dream it will connect sometime in the future. We did enjoy riding over 11 miles total from Marlborough through to the adjoining town of Hudson and back again.
We took a ride on the Blackstone River Valley bike path, starting in Woonsocket, Rhode Island. This is another partially finished trail, with plans in the future to connect bike paths. We enjoyed the 11 completed miles and rode for over 21 miles. The parts that are completed are scenic and fun to ride.
We completed the East Bay Bike Path, Rhode Island, that we started last year. This year we rode from near the end to Bristol, riding roundtrip over 20 miles compared to the ride last year of about 24 miles.
We were able to get together in Rhode Island for some disc golf with family. It is always good to see the oldest two get competitive.
Eventually the movers made it to the new place. We took a few days to help the kids unload their possessions, enjoyed having a table to eat at and use plates and utensils, the small stuff that makes the house a home.
We were excited to be back home, although we miss being with our grandson, and our kids.
Lesson Learned:
We learned long ago that when our kids want us to be involved, it is good to say yes. So, we went on this journey moving across country for almost a month.
Happiness is found where we are. It does not come when some date or event occurs. It is what we do all the time. Maintaining a happy state is easy for us, being retired and hanging out with our kids and grandchild. Imagine that the movers are late coming to your new house as they were in packing up the former place. Also, imagine that the new place is being renovated and you do not have many toys for the grandchild and only a couple of dishes and an air mattress or two. We can; this was our life for a few weeks as we waited for the moving van to show up so we could help unpack prior to going back home. It was fun, and we kept reminding ourselves that we were having fun being with the people we wanted to be with.
Other Fun:
We had a fun stop for ice cream after the Blackstone River Trail. We managed to find Wright’s Dairy in Rhode Island. As the sign says “RI’s only cow to cone ice cream.” It was delicious!
We went with the family to Newport Beach, Rhode Island, and after we were tired of the water, we took the cliff walk.
A friend from Marlborough drove out to give us a bridge clinic, have some dinner and caught up on things. We had seen him at our daughter’s wedding and it was good to have a less formal setting (borrowed chairs and a card table) to get together.
I had a visit from a former co-worker, making his way to Boston for business, who stopped by to visit and see the house prior to furniture. The East Coast is a good place to reconnect with friends and family.
We rode for about 140 miles while visiting in Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
Retirement Travel with Glen 