Longwood Gardens Chrysanthemum Festival

Longwood Gardens, October 20 and 21, 2013:

Judy had a five day break from work, so we decided to take a mini road trip.  We wanted to visit my son Matt and his family in West Virginia.  I haven't seen them since August, and Judy has never met them.  So, we combined a visit to Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, PA and followed that with a visit to West Virginia.

I have visited Longwood several times.  When I was teaching, I used to take students there on field trips.  I also got to take a three day behind the scenes workshop there several years ago, along with a group of fellow North Country Ag Teachers.  While I have been to Longwood many times, I have never visited in the Fall, and besides, Judy has never been there at all.  At this time of the year, the Annual Chrysanthemum Festival is on display, and it was spectacular!

History of the Festival

Over 1,000 blooms on a single Mum plant.

It takes two years to grow this plant.

100 different Mum varieties grafted on a single plant.

Indoor garden pathway.

Stunning orange colored Coleus.

Desert Garden

Wall of Orchids

And more Orchids

We decided to spurge for lunch, and ate at the 1906 Fine Dinning Room.  The emphasis is on locally produced food, and wow, what an experience.  It was probably one of the finest lunches I have ever eaten.

I had crab cakes and cole slaw.

Judy had grilled trout with red cabbage.

A carrot cake to die for.

From Longwood, we drove to West Virginia.  We stopped and shopped at an Amish store along the way, and picked up some Christmas gifts.

We spent two wonderful days at Matt and Jaime's home in West Virginia.  I got to get my Grandpa fix and Judy got to meet more of my family.  We had a great time.

Chasen teaching Judy how to play Angry Birds.

The crib that I slept in as a baby and then my sons slept in,
now holding a stuffed toy collection.

The trip home was uneventful, although we had to dodge some Lake Effect snow along the way, both along I-79 near Erie, PA and then along I-81 north of Syracuse.  

We had a great time, and are ready to go back to West Virginia soon.  Who knows, maybe we will incorporate another stop at Longwood Gardens and catch a different seasonal display.

Road Trip 2013: Final stretch. Fort Collins to Gouverneur

Friday 9/27 to Monday 9/30:  1,784 miles and we camped three nights at:

• Grand Island, Nebraska KOA
• Steve Randall's drive way, Eldridge, Iowa
• Sandusky, Ohio KOA

We decided to make the run from Fort Collins to Gouverneur in a straight four day stretch.  While this ins't the ideal way to travel, it allowed us to spend as much time in the west as possible before making the sprint home.

Friday the 27th:  Grand Island, Nebraska

Fort Collins, Colorado to Grand Island, Nebraska

Grand Island KOA

We had breakfast with Stan and Betsy, and were on the road by 9:00.  After driving in the mountains the previous day, today verged on boring because the landscape is so flat.  Corn and soybean fields as far as you can see are the name of the game in this part of the country.

Saturday the 28th:  Eldridge, Iowa

Grand Island, Nebraska to Eldridge, Iowa

Steve Randall's drive way, Eldridge, Iowa

The drive today from Grand Island to Eldridge was wet.  A slow rain storm was moving from west to east.  I think the storm was traveling about as fast as we were, because we were in it all day.  It was extremely windy as well, so the driving was ugly.  Not fun!  My High School friend, Steve Randall, lives just off Interstate 80 in Eldridge, Iowa, so that turned out to be a convenient stop for an overnight.

Steve, Judy and I went out to dinner at the Faithful Pilot Cafe in Le Claire, Iowa.  The restaurant is located on the Mississippi River, and Steve had reserved window seats.  We got to see barges being moved on the river.  Dinner was pricey, but phenomenal.  We had a great evening out.

Sunday the 29th:  Sandusky, Ohio

Eldridge, Iowa to Sandusky, Ohio

We left Steve's house about 9:00 Sunday morning.  The weather was partly sunny and just a bit cool.  As for the landscape for today, well......just think corn and soybeans as far as you can see.  There was not much combine activity yet.  Harvesting was just beginning.  We did see a couple of HUGE ethanol manufacturing facilitates that use corn.  Judy and I ended up staying at a KOA in Sandusky, Ohio for the final night of the road trip.  Monday is the final stretch.

Monday the 30th:  Home, Gouverneur, NY

Sandusky, Ohio to Gouverneur, New York

Back at the homestead.

So, to sum up the 2013 Road Trip:

• Total miles:                7,855
• Gallons of fuel:             682
• Avg. MPG:                   11.5
• States visited                   18
• Days on the road:           40
• Memories:              PRICELESS!!!!

Road Trip 2013: Moab to Fort Collins

Thursday, 9/26:  427 miles and camped in the driveway of Stan and Betsy Johnston,

Fort Collins, Colorado.

Moab to Fort Collins

Stan and Betsy Johnston's driveway in Fort Collins, Colorado

We got an early start, leaving the Moab campground by 6:30.  It was still dark, and we got to see the sunrise over the eastern horizon.

Getting to Fort Collins means having to drive over the Continental Divide in the Rocky Mountains.  Technically, we drove under the Continental Divide by going through the Eisenhower Tunnel on Interstate 70 at 11,158 feet above sea level.  The tunnel is one of the highest vehicular tunnels in the world.  Literally, from the tunnel at 11,158, it is all downhill to Gouverneur at 447 feet above sea level.

Interstate 70 winding through a narrow mountain canyon.

Aspen trees showing their golden Fall color.

Eisenhower Tunnel

We had a scheduled 2:30 tour of the New Belgium Brewery in Fort Collins.  We met up briefly with Tanya, Dave and Ann Wright's daughter.  Tanya works at New Belgium and lives in Fort Collins.  The New Belgium folks really know how to put on a great tour.  It lasted 90 minutes and includes lots of sampling.  The guides are very knowledgeable, and they make the tour fun and interesting.

New Belgium Brewery

We ended the day at Stan and Betsy's home for dinner and some really great conversation.  From Fort Collins, we are going to log four straight driving days to make it home by Monday night.........

Road Trip 2013: Wells, Nevada to Moab, Utah

9/24:  415 miles, and camped at Canyonlands Campground in Moab, Utah.

Wells, Nevada to Moab, Utah.

Site 77, Canyonlands Campground.

We left the campground in Wells about 7:30 in the morning.  As we crossed the state border into Utah, the time changes to the Mountain Time Zone, so we moved the clocks ahead an hour.  The sped limit on Interstate 80 across Utah is an unbelievable 80 miles per hour!! We didn't even try it.  In fact, not many vehicles were going that fast.  Maybe Utah is short on police, so they just raise the speed limit, and therefore don't have to issue speeding tickets.  :-))

80 speed limit sign.

As we approached St. Lake City, the Bonneville Salt Flats appeared.  The flats are a layer of densely pack salt pan, and is the site of many land speed records.  Interestingly, because of the salt mining that is occurring there, the flats now cover only 30,000 acres instead of the original 90,000 acres.

After leaving the flat landscape of the salt flats and Great Salt Lake, we crossed the Wasatch Mountains and headed south toward the red rock formations that make up Arches and Canyonlands National Parks.

Pass through the Wasatch Mountain Range.

Entering the red rock formations of Moab.

We walked main street Moab for a bit and did some shopping.  Then it was just a short 10 minute walk from the campground to the Moab Brewery for dinner.

Wednesday 9/25: Drove 131 miles today.  We left the campground early in morning and arrived at Arches National Park by 7:15.  Good thing, because by 11:00, the park was mobbed with cars, campers and tour buses.  I have been to Arches twice before, but I have never seen so much traffic.  I don't know why it was so busy.

Delicate Arch

Trail to Sand Dune Arch.

Sand Dune Arch

Hiking to Broken Arch.

Broken Arch

Balanced Rock

Parked at a viewpoint.

Moon still showing in the sky.

The Three Gossips formation

After lunch in the camper, we moved on to Canyonlands National Park.

Monitor and Merrimac formation.

Geen River Overlook.

Green River canyons.

Pothole depressions, with Monitor and Merrimac formations in the distance.

We ended the day back at the campground and grilled a steak for dinner.  Thursday we head for Fort Collins and a tour of the New Belgium Brewery.  We will spend the night with Stan and Betsy (Koch) Johnston.  Getting closer to home........................