Planes, trains and automobiles

In preparation for my big trip home to NE for Christmas and partly because of a snow threat I stayed home in Worcester last weekend and bored myself almost to death! I had watched so many movies on TBS that it took me an entire week to name them all to Katie over Christmas. She replies, "Is there anything else you do there but watch TV?" Well Katie, sometimes no, that is it! The excitement was building for my triumphant return to the Midwest, my presents were all bought and at my mom's wrapped, my plane ticket was bought a month in advance, my ride was lined up to get to the airport in Boston (return trip was still up in the air), I had started to starve myself in advance to gain the weight of eating all of mom's goodies, and mentally/emotionally I was ready to return home to my family.

So here it was Tuesday night, packing my bag and tidying up the apartment for a 5day leave. The weather in the New England states was great, no precipitation and mid 30s for temperature. Mom had called with the impending doom of a blizzard to hit the Midwest but then our minds were slightly eased by Wednesday when the weather was "not too bad" in NE. Wednesday I got up and to work early, bags waiting at my apartment door and my driver on call for departure to Boston. Around noon I decided to recheck my flights to make sure they were still on schedule, although I had checked them about 10times that day already. There it was in clear blue writing, flight cancelled! PANIC led to calling friends for advice, which led to waiting on hold with United for 25min just to talk to customer service for another 25min. My only option for flights were the following day, Christmas Eve day. I took the earliest flight available and planned for that. I spent the evening watching movies and re planning my route to NE online, and feeling a little sorry for myself I must admit :(

Out of all of the trips I have been on in the past 3months the only one that has been delayed or interrupted was the one trip home to see my family! Now what is going on with this picture? I woke up early again on Thursday morning to return my movies, finish repacking and catch a cup of coffee. I then decided, while waiting for my ride to union station, that I would re look at my itinerary. Everything flight wise was right on schedule but then the unthinkable happened, it appeared that I had missed my train to Boston!! I looked again and again, turning my head sideways, rechecking the printed transit schedule I had in my carry-on, each one saying something different. I hoped for the best as my friend picked my up from my apt and he dropped me off at the train station. Walked into an empty station right up to the schedule board to yet a different schedule, and yes I had missed my train by 10min! Well we all have choices in life, traveling ones are still new to me though so I called my trusty travel buddy Allison! This is how that conversation went, "Ally I'm stuck at the train station and I missed the train to Boston, what do I do?" She replied, "well what are your options at this point?" I say, "well wait for the 10:30 train and risk being late for my flight or check the bus schedule that I have no idea about or I guess I could drive to Boston." Ally says, "well I would just drive then." Becky, "well that is what I thought but I'm stranded at Union station and I don't know how to get to Boston and I don't know what the traffic will be like, and I don't know where to park at the airport!!!" Ally calmly says, "Becky take a cab to your truck, I don't know what the traffic is like because I'm not there, you have a GPS to get you there and when I'm done walking the dog I will text you an address to a park and fly." Oh great! Now where do I begin with all of that crap?

So I called a cab, paid $9 to get back to the apt I had just left, took my truck, programmed Betty and drove like mad to the park and fly that Ally had texted me along my route! Apparently the Logan airport is on an island in the Atlantic ocean, as Ally again so nicely pointed out my lack of geography knowledge! So Betty kept going crazy on me when I passed through these ginormous tunnels, about 4lanes across including interstate exits inside the tunnel! The most amazing thing for sure. I circled in and out of the airport a couple of times to get Betty back on track, went over the bridge and through the woods to park my truck. Shuttle to the airport and went to check in at the Delta airline. The lady was less than friendly for the holiday season and proceeded to tell me that not only did I not have a confirmed seat on this flight she was almost certain that I would not get on that flight. I calmly as possible asked her what my options were. She replied, well not many at this point, just try to get on the flight and then the people at the gate will tell you what to do if you do not get on it! As I tried very hard to remain calm and push back tears and not loose it in the middle of the security check point, I removed my boots, coat, scarf, gloves, liquids, and all but my underwear to stand in line...calmly so I wasn't looking suspicious. After donning all of my clothing and collecting my things again I made it to the ticket counter to the nicest lady that ever lived in my opinion!

Due to the fact that I was now over 3 hours early for my flight, she graciously handed me a ticket with an actual seat number on it and told me that early birds are rewarded! YES! There I calmly sat at the airport, finally waiting for a my "on time" flight with an actual seat. Made it into Omaha without a hitch but then got stranded on the runway for almost 40min due to the weather/blizzard. So my family that had patiently drove through the blizzard on Christmas eve now had to sit at the airport for me. Well obviously they let me off the plane and to my family who were waving welcome home signs and wearing Christmas cheer. The lady walking up with me says, "oh I wonder whose family that is?" I proudly said, "that would be mine!" Thank goodness we had many stories to share for our long and dangerous ride back to the farm because shortly after we got home they closed the interstate!! Katie had 2 friends out to the farm for the holidays to save them from being alone in Omaha and Steph and Rafe and both kids were there to celebrate this odd Christmas. There was no Christmas eve service, no rushing around on Christmas day and no where to be the following day either because we were literally snowed in! Both direction to either Crete or Milford were blocked by huge snow bluffs, some 10ft tall and some about 200ft long (in my calculations).

The great part of the whole deal was, there was no rushing, no getting out of your pajamas, no need to speed through gifts, no reason not to sleep in late and then take a long nap, no need to stop the jigsaw puzzle at bedtime, because really there was no time schedule! We enjoyed the holiday for all new reasons to us and finally got Katie's friends out of the snowy farm late Saturday. We even made first human contact with others, heading over to our grandparents mainly to retrieve some well water. We narrowly made it back to our snow fortress before the road snow tunnels blew back in and again we were stranded. So along came Sunday morning, the day the Vosta family was to all meet at the farm...we're meeting, we're not meeting, we're meeting, we are definitely not meeting. Then Uncle John decided it was to snow again this week so postponing until next weekend would not be too wise, so indeed we met (right after John and his tractor cleared the road for us again). 35 family members or so made the impossible trek out to the snowy farm to celebrate one of life's most precious gifts! Everything was different this year from the snow, to the gift exchange, as well as the food. I guess I am getting older to mark milestones by Christmas traditions and their changing patterns.

Sunday night Katie and I headed into Omaha so not to have to wait to be plowed out again on Monday morning in order to catch my flight. We stopped for some much needed sushi, grabbed a movie and stayed at Katie's house downtown. Monday morning had breakfast at the coffee shop then started the trek back to Massachusetts. Fly from Omaha to Chicago, then to Boston, then shuttle to the truck then drive to Worcester. Katie had said the only forms of transportation I had left out were bicycle and boat, neither of which I wanted to attempt in the winter anyway! Home safe and sound and back to reality so I found out this morning when bright and early my renters called with a furnace emergency!! Yikes.

Not this way, but that way

I was the tour guide for the first time this weekend! If I don't say so myself, I make a good tour guide and it has little to do with my good looks :) I met Ally outside of Boston on Friday evening, she got in my truck and we headed up to Maine. I of course had to take her to my little lobster spot in Kennebunk, ME at Bartley's. Well we didn't realize that it was also going to be Karaoke this night as well....yeah us! Ally is also from small town in NE so it is not surprising to either of us that we enjoy the same type of places! After dinner though and some rather entertaining conversation, we decided to head on up to Portland, ME. Now the title of the blog actually came from our waiter describing an area in Maine and he says, "it goes this way (perpendicular) not this way (parallel)", and he just kept saying that with the hand actions to demonstrate. Maybe you had to be there but it was funny for us.

Made it up to Portland in a mainland hurricane I think, with high winds slicing through us especially with the coldness that happens in December! Checked into the hotel in downtown Portland and then asked the bartender down stairs where we should venture out. He was a "toolshed" if you will, saying well um you twos look like the type that would like a lounge, or you would really like this place with bumpin' music! Um obviously he did not know us twos at all! We then asked what time the bars close around Portland and he says to us, "they are usually open until last call!" Well no duh buddy and thanks for all of your non-help! So we traipsed around Portland in the bitter cold and found a Mexican restaurant. Not exactly what we were looking for but a good spot to warm up and for Ally to people watch. We ventured back out into the cold to go to another spot that we quickly realized was a college hangout! So we left and went to the pub that I was at the last time I was in Portland, and there it was we stayed until.....yep you guessed it....last call. I do have to write in here for reference one year from today. I made a bet with Ally, for a night out on the town, that I would be able to draw and name 40/50 US states! Now I did attempt this act this weekend and I was able to draw in and label 20/50 states, which I was fairly proud of!! :) Ally was not too impressed! She believes that someone "traveling the nation" as I am doing for this year, should have more knowledge of geography.....and history! I told her, yes I probably should but you, like most of my other friends, will learn to get over it!


Next morning set out to find first Dunkin' Donuts coffee then secondly Cape Elizabeth. This is the lighthouse that I had been too before but was now decorated for Christmas or "Holidays". We left there sipping our coffee, driving along the beaches, listening to a Christmas CD that Steph sent me. Unfortunately this is the only Christmas CD that I have so we got to listen to it about 12times along the trip :) We went back to Kennebunk to show Ally the beach and downtown in the daylight, then worked our way along the coast to Ogunquit Beach. Even at noon time with not a cloud in the sky, the temp hovered around 32degrees this date with high winds. Working our way down to Kittery, ME for the outlet shops we stopped and had lunch at the Lobster Barn. Prior to leaving we ask the waitress if we are getting close to the outlet stores and she said yes. She says just continue on the highway for a few miles but "don't go that way (perpendicular) but go this way (parallel), or you will end up at the ocean". Well we did go this way, and not that way and ended up at the one stop of the weekend that was requested by Ally, Hanna Andersson store (which for those of you that don't know like I didn't, this is a big deal for kids clothes).


Next stop was Cape Ann which I have also been to before and wrote about all of these stops but at least now I got to share them with someone else. You will see no pictures of me taken by me about 1foot from my face! We made it to Rockport, MA (there are two cities that make up cape ann, Gloucester and Rockport) just as the sun was setting. We pulled up to the foot path to the Atlantic, hustled into our coats, hats, gloves and headed to the ocean front. It was beautiful at sunset although the sun sets on the other side of the USA or "nation" as Ally would say. This walk or Atlantic foot path reminds me of a path from the Harry Potter books. But as Ally pointed out, I have not read any of the Harry Potter books, nor seen any of the movies so what the heck do I know about Harry Potter scenery! Well this is what I would imagine a Harry Potter path to look like, so there! Now that it was dark we found our way into Gloucester to our marina resort hotel. This is one of the dumpiest hotels we have stayed in, and the heat didn't work for about 2hrs, but the continental breakfast in the morning made up for that! We did go downtown for dinner and to watch the Heisman trophy presentation ceremony, in which Suh did not win. Went to a couple bars and chatted away about our exciting lives as we know them to be. Upon returning to the hotel room we found out that the heat does in fact work....quite well actually!!


Sunday we got up early thanks to the flock of seagulls that were sitting and squawking outside the door. Ally says, "It sounds like someone accidentally spilled a McDonald's bag outside on the patio!" ha ha. First stop memorial to the seamen that had lost their lives here at Gloucester, approx 5368 men lost their lives from 1623-1923 trying to harvest the sea. Second stop Dunkin' Donuts coffee, and third stop ocean walk by the cape ann motor inn hotel that I stayed in last time I was there. We were literally walking down the beach in fairly calm air with the sun shining so brightly it was difficult to take photos. Following about 1/2mi walk we turned around to head back and it was all of the sudden cloudy, windy as heck and it looked like it was going to rain! Weird turn of events, being that we were not expecting rain. We got in the truck just as it started to rain, we made a quick stop at Granite Pier for a looksey and headed off the island of Cape Ann. We drove down route 133 winding through small towns and shops, chatting about whatever and of course listening to that same Christmas music. We stopped and looked at Salisbury beach which is a huge/long/beautiful coast line of clean sand and sparse rocky jetties. Drove then into Hampton, NH along the coast line stopping when we could to take a peek or photo. Ate at a little spot, one of the few that were actually open this time of year, then headed back towards Boston to drop off Ally and make my way back home to Worcester. Of course in finding our way back to the interstate, we are sitting at a dead end. Ally says to me, "you really should have gone that way, not this way". Ha ha! If you have no opinions the entire trip then you can certainly offer no opinions related to my driving or directional sense!


I have missed being in my own home with my own things, especially to entertain. I usually have dinner parties or people over for no reason at all. Now I have nothing to offer for entertainment value, not even usually a good suggestion of where to eat. But now, for this weekend, I was the tour guide, the hostess, and it was good.

As we travel the "nation"

I have my travel buddy Ally back!! Yay me! After one of the worst weeks in work history, in all the history of any one's work, in every history book across the nation, Ally and I met in Providence, RI at the Hott Club for a beer and to discuss our route. I probably should have named this blog post about Betty, my GPS, because she led me astray this trip for sure. I ended up driving around downtown Providence, which was beautiful for about 20min, lost at every turn. The roads go anyway but straight and every road looks like an alley, but in fact is a road. Thank goodness I had some time to kill, because Betty led me all around downtown before arriving along the river at the Club which was not open anyway :( So Ally and I parked my truck Sammy at a local hospital for the weekend and started down to Newport, RI.

I was entertaining the idea with Ally on the way down the coastal/scenic drive to Newport that technically Rhode Island should have been named Rhode Islands. But then people probably would say it was a silent 's' anyway and still call it Rhode Island, hence missing the point that Rhode Island is actually a couple/few islands in one state. To get over to Newport, you must cross 2 huge, long, amazing bridges over the ocean. My Aunt Debbie would have had a heart attack just looking at them! Ally being the amazing tour guide that she is gave me the history of "one of the richest counties in America", toured along the ocean ave on a beautiful fall Friday afternoon, staring at all of the mansions that Ally claims are all hers! Well actually one is not, because it is owned by Jackie O's family. In fact Jackie O's marriage into the Kennedy family took place at a church in downtown Newport. The coast line is gorgeous and the little coves as I would say have all these millionaire's dingies tied up so they can just scoot along the coast line in their little boats whenever they want.

So we decide to go to the hotel and get checked in so we can in turn go eat! Checking into the Marriott right along the Newport harbor was quite a trip. It is a complete nautical theme for the entire hotel but then also sprinkled with an American theme and of course Christmas this time of year. So there was a hand made, life sized gingerbread house along with a matching lighthouse, sailboat sails hanging from the rafters, carpeting of boat ropes and steering wheels (not sure if that is the correct term for a boat steering device), curtains of red with gold stars with lounge chairs of blue and white stripes, glass elevators with underwater themes in the elevator shaft to make it feel like you are in a submarine, the ceiling in the bar was a mural of mermaids and mermen, and the dining area was pastel paint with pastel starfish hanging on the walls...yuk! We decided we needed captain hats for our next stay here! After finishing up some paperwork as Ally always brings with her on Friday night trips, we went about the city on foot. Quaint little downtown with many shops and pubs and restaurants, and quite the crowd for "off season".

Next morning packed up and set out to do the 3mi cliff walk in Newport along the Atlantic and back side of many mansions. Well we found out very quickly that we probably should have done this little walk the evening before because now it was raining, windy and quite chilly! So first step get candy and lots of it! Second step get umbrellas and big ones! Third step brave the wind and rain and cold to walk the cliff walk because it truly is/was amazing! The size of these homes, yards, fences and the fun walk along the ocean is really awesome even in the elements of fall. We only walked about half of the 3mi walk and then headed back to the car to thaw and dry off. Then we headed out to NYC for our second trip to the city that never sleeps. When we arrived in NYC it was raining pretty good and then started to snow as well. After we changed at Torri's apartment and headed out again, it was snowing more than raining, but still raining of course! Ally had decided that we would do one tourist thing this trip and that was to head to Rockefeller Center to see the Christmas tree.

We had about 2hrs before game time for NE to play TX for the championship game, but seeing the tree was a must do. As the cab approached Rockefeller it was apparent that about 2,000 other people also found this a necessary tourist thing to do this evening. Complicated by the rain/snow, everyone and their child had an umbrella! So now you didn't only have to worry about precipitation in your eye as much as you had to worry about an umbrella poking your eye out! About 10min of trying to get to the tree and one or two pictures later we were ready to head to the Irish Rogue again to watch the NE game. It was about a mile or two hike to the pub and it was a trek across the puddles, through times square, around umbrellas and people that were all looking down or from under umbrellas. By the time we got to the pub I had water soaked up all the way to my knees and my "sort of water proof" coat proved to be not waterproof! It took until about 3rd quarter to dry out. Well as most of you know, NE lost in a gallant attempt to beat the longhorns :( Caught some really good pizza on the way home to Torri's, mine had bacon bits and ranch dressing on it! I had no idea what I was ordering at the time, this city is way too fast for me to process!!!

Sunday woke up really late and went for "brunch" then left the city. I did talk Ally into driving me around central park, which was sooooo crowded with Park Ave shoppers and holiday traffic. Well actually it was probably just standard NYC traffic. Ally is such a patient tour guide, unless you come in the way of sports :) The city was truly beautiful all decorated for the holidays, Harlem was not so decorated, nor were the Bronx! Made it back to Providence to get Sammy (my SUV) and back to Worcester and to bed even without the aide of Betty (my GPS). She stopped working as soon as I got into my truck....I almost had a panic attack. This is why you should not depend on GPS systems too much. Thank goodness for Ally and her GPS that led me home to Worcester! Betty is now back in business :)

Thanksgiving and more!

Thanksgiving in the New England states....what shall I do? Ahh yes, go to Plymouth, MA and eat lobster. Thursday morning headed out to Plymouth to see the history involved in creating this great holiday we celebrate as Thanksgiving. The town is very historical and very tourist friendly. There is a walking/audio trail where you come up to certain historical sites/buildings and push the audio button. It then tells you the history of that particular site. As you may have concluded from my prior blogs, this too was not operating because it was "off season". There were quite a few people downtown due to the holiday events. I think there was some type of mourning walk, to mourn the fallen Indians. Not too sure about that one though. Confusing because there was also a celebration and giving of thanks. I found this to be contrasting!

I did get to walk along the Plymouth Harbor Pier which is made up of huge rocks, flattened on the top to walk across. It was really neat but you have to pay close attention and not be gawking around taking pictures or you would fall in for sure! I saw the Mayflower II which is a rebuilt Mayflower for touring. 104 Pilgrims came across first and befriended the Indians. It is said without the help of the Indians, the Pilgrims would have starved and all died that first few months here. Of course I saw Plymouth rock which is not big! It has a large structure around it but I literally had to zoom in using my camera to see the date on the rock. I think that I read somewhere though that the rock has been moved and damaged several times and that part of the rock is actually at another location.

I did get to see a lot of historical things and traipse around town looking at tourists and some people dressed up like Indians and Pilgrims. It was a little odd to see for sure. At one point I was talking on the phone to my sis Katie and I just started to giggle. Here I was sitting in Plymouth, MA on Thanksgiving day across from the Mayflower looking at a Pilgrim stroll through the park and Katie was driving to the farm in NE. Just an odd moment in this adventure. My Thanksgiving feast was a boiled lobster, stuffing and green bean casserole. The waitress looked at me a little funny when this is what I wanted to order! She understood a little more when I told her I was from KS :)

Friday I had to return to work for a short time then spent the evening watching movies on TV and being really bored! So Saturday morning, pulled back the covers, showered and devised a plan! Eat more lobster! I had been to Kennebunk, Maine as well as Portsmouth, NH in the past, however both places were only seen in the dark. Places of passing if you will. So I went right back to Maine where the 5 guys had taught me to eat a lobster and it was the best stuffed lobster that I have had since I've been here!! The guys at the restaurant were very surprised to see me, thought they had scared me away. I told them it would take a lot more than their obnoxiousness for one meal to keep me away from this lobster :) I did get to see Kennebunk beach and walk around Kennebunkport to all of the shops. It is a really pretty spot on the map, with good lobster!!

I then went back down to NH to Portsmouth which is a great city. Very historical and friendly, right on the water. I went out for a uneventful evening alone except the one weirdo that literally decided to stalk me around town! That was certainly interesting. Sunday morning I woke up without a plan! Odd I know :) I started driving around town, grabbed a coffee from Dunkin' Donuts, ended up on route 1 headed north bound, made a loop and ended right back in Portsmouth. That led me to an island called Pierce Island and at the tip of that island was a dog park....I had no dog :( Called my mom and complained about being dog less! I then decided to head back into Maine for a bit.

There are many many outlet malls around here! Good ones too with lots of high end shops. I however hate to shop and can't buy anything anyway, so this is good. I went to Kittery, Maine because I wanted to at least see what these outlets included. After about 15min of that I drove into Kittery further to scope things out. I ended up parking at this random gate and walking about a mile to the ocean, Fort Foster. There are many forts around these parts but each are different designs and functions. This one had a really neat pier, lighthouse and building on an island. The next Fort that I found was Fort McClary just down the way a bit. This one was really neat! I got to go in all of the buildings and the fort layout was pretty large and impressive with huge boulders and granite walls. Leaving there I drove back over to NH, ate lunch at a Mexican joint and headed back home to Worcester.

What am I going to do when I return home and have many weekends filled with nothingness?? I have already warned my friends, we will be traveling on the weekends a lot more that we used too! :)

The Inaugural Passenger Ride

This weekend was beautiful, all except my ability to be a tourist! I will admit that I am new to this game and traveling alone to new places has it's disadvantages......but come on Becky!!! So I headed to Cape Cod after work on Friday afternoon and got a room in Yarmouth for both nights. Got a few tips from the hotel bartender on places to go and places to eat, etc. I took a cab to downtown Hyannis to a blues restaurant/bar. Had a great time, met 2 older than me gentleman that claimed to be 2 of the Kennedy's. Well I do not disagree that they are brothers and their last names were indeed Kennedy, but famous.....not too sure. I informed them that I was one of the Anderson's! :) Free drinks and dinner was not too bad for the evening of entertainment and intelligent conversation that I provided! Many of you can agree to that!

Before heading to the Cape, I had researched a little online about where to go and activities held this weekend. I had found a train ride that claimed to be a "scenic, historical ride" along the Cape coast line. Well I thought this would be a neat way to view the Cape and to ride on an old train would be fun as well. I thankfully missed the first boarding opportunity at W. Barnstable, because I was at Barnstable station(not the west one), alone, no train, no humans. So, I went to the next stop on the list which was Buzzard Bay station. While waiting for the train to arrive I walked along the Cape Cod Canal on a gorgeously sunny fall day, watching the ducks and the boats and all the people walking their dogs. I met a pug named pugsley....hehehe! Along the canal is a vertical train bridge. The middle part of the bridge is up in the air to allow boats to pass by until a train comes. The train then stops and waits for the bridge to descend from the sky and hook up to the shores. Rather neat I would have to say. So I boarded this "train to nowhere" as I now call it with a hopeful glee! There was supposed to be a bar on the train and everyone was told to bring snacks if they wanted. Well the train took off from the station and headed about 1hr away from the canal to Middleborro station. It was then that I asked the guy across from me what exactly this train is for and where exactly we are going......

This was the inaugural passenger run for the Falmouth line, which had not been opened in 12yrs. Most people in the scenic cab along with me worked for the railroad or had a connection/love for the railroad that was beyond my grasp! They referred to us all day as the railphans!? The people that got on the train at W. Barnstable (where I originally planned to get on the train) boarded at 11:15am, riding the train back and forth 3 times past the same stops, same canal, same trees, same trash compactor company, returning to the station at approximately 7:45pm!!! The people like myself that got on at Buzzard Bay went back and forth twice along the same track from 1:15pm to 5:45pm! The people that got on at Middleborro were on the train for approximately 2.5hrs and they boarded the "dinner cabs" where they were served meals and drinks for the entire trip while conversing with friends/family. I was not in that cab, not at all! I was served one beer in the 4.5hrs I was on the train and I did see one pretty harbor at sunset, and I did get a souvenir which was a railroad tie from the Falmouth track, and I did run like heck away from that train as soon as it stopped!!! What an idiot I am! I felt bad that I was imposing on this "awesomely historic" trip for most of those people. I played along nicely, was polite and did not jump from the moving train! :)

Made it back to the hotel Saturday evening, changed and headed to Captain Parker's Pub for dinner. I had stuffed scrod, which is a white flaky fish, and was really good. This evening I found a sports bar/restaurant that played the NE game on 3 big screen TVs. That made my night! And they won so that was a bonus as well. Went home for a fairly early evening.

A month ago when asked if I wanted to go to Martha's Vineyard, I replied, "no, I don't really like wine"! Now I was headed to Martha's Vineyard alone on a beautiful fall day and not to drink any wine :) The Steamship Authority ferry from the Cape to Martha's Vineyard leaves from Falmouth about every hourish. You have to park 4mi up the road, board a shuttle bus, then get on the ferry for the 45min ride over to the island. The ride was great, sitting on the huge deck of the ferry crossing the waters that great movies have been filmed, such as Jaws! Makes you really try extra hard to not fall in!! Once landing at Martha's Vineyard in Vineyard Haven you now wait to board a bus. In the summer you can rent jeeps, bikes, mopeds and such to get around the town/island, but everything was pretty much closed down for the winter! The ferry runs all year round but people generally don't do too much touring in the winter months to the island. I boarded the bus and ended up in Edgartown to eat some seafood along the harbor, however the restaurant was closed!! Of course! So I wandered around this seemingly abandoned town and found the Wharf Pub still open. Ate some really good fish and chips then set out on a strange adventure.

Now if you are a shopper, this is what you would want to do for an entire weekend. Again, I don't like to shop, nor can I buy too much or I will be mailing it home in boxes in a couple months. So I walked around, looked at the towns, sat along the harbors and beaches, road the bus around. Made it to Oaks Bluff which is a great place on the island, except again....everything was closed. I did find a couple pieces of chocolate and sat in the Offshore Ale Co. and had a beer to warm up a bit. The wind on the island was powerful and cold. I made it back safely to Vineyard Haven, seeing about 1/2 the island and boarded the ferry back to Falmouth. Made it back to the mainland after watching the most beautiful sunset on the water, boarded the shuttle bus to my truck and then drove the 2hrs back to Worcester. What a weekend of travel! I officially covered most major transit options, train, bus, shuttle, taxi, SUV and ferry! Wheeh I am tired!

So I would say this is definitely a better spot in the summer! Now could I afford it in the summer? Not too sure on that one, unless I met these same famous Kennedy brothers again :)

Ida and me

I ended up at Cape Ann, Massachusetts this Friday night after work. Friday the 13th proved to be a not too great of day waking up to a flat tire! That didn't stop me though! Spare tire is a full tire, so the flat one will remain in the back of Sammy until I have some more time to fix it! I wasn't sure where to set out for this weekend, and I thought to myself...I have to spend at least one weekend in Massachusetts being that I live here. Did a little research over lunch one day about visiting Mass and ended up going to Cape Ann.

Driving in the dark has many disadvantages as you all are fully aware of but this next situation usually doesn't happen to us "landlocked" folks. I arrived at a little hotel called the Cape Ann Motor Inn. Walked into the "office" area which looks like a family room, including a parrot named Roberta "Bert". The office lady says hello, then Bert says hello, then I say hello, then Bert says hello. Then Bert starts calling like a seagull! I about peed myself...literally because you can't use the restroom unless you are going to rent a room and I was not too sure yet. So I asked the lady what there was to do in Gloucester, MA. She told me a few places and I reply...."can I walk to these places or is it far?" She says, "well the island isn't that big". I of course reply, "ohhhh so this is an island??" Well you see what happens when you drive in the dark!

Now I have been at some hotels with "ocean views" before but let me tell you all....the lady at the desk warned me that with the hurricane...the waves may come up to my patio door! Now that is ocean front property for sure! I could hear the waves before I opened the door to the horrible, gross smelling, 70's decor, moldy room! But after opening the blinds to the sliding glass door......there is nothing that could make you complain about a room actually on the beach, in the sand, right on the ocean! As I was talking on the phone with Steph a little dog, Lou, strolled into my room to say hello! Too cute! Called a cab and headed into town to have amazing food in downtown Gloucester, steak tips and shrimp! yummy!! Then went bar hoping as I do to meet folks and have a beverage. The first stop, met the owner of the place and a gentleman (loosely stated) that sales yachts! After describing his multiple homes and yacht, and offering to take me around the island and continually spitting on me when he spoke......I realized quickly that there would be more payment than just my great company with this guy!! He says, "well where are you going next, where are you going tomorrow?" I say, "I really don't know. Whatever comes up!" He says, "what? You really don't have any idea what you are doing tomorrow even?" I said honestly, "no! let's keep it that way and have a good night."

Next place was busy and encouraging to meet folks! Only seat open was next to a very nice older gentleman that I ended up speaking with the entire night. He, of course, was amazed by my adventures but however informed me that he thought I would meet someone sooner than I thought. I would meet someone that had a similar background location wise and that would make it easy for me to move back home.....hmmmmm! Anyway, called the cab back to the hotel and sat in the sand and talked to a friend on the phone while making sand angels! Next morning....POURING rain, wind and welcome hurricane Ida. We've been expecting you but hoping you would not arrive!

Up early to walk the beach! The weather conditions are not ideal for sure. Umbrella and stocking cap, started out on the sand. Along the beach are wooden platforms and stairs to get up to the cement walkway. Well as I was strolling along and taking photos, I realized when I looked back that the waves were reaching the cement wall, and when I looked forward the waves were not leaving the wall! With some good timing and cat-like reflexes I dashed back to the past staircase and made it up to safety before drowning! I then realized that if I would have stayed on the sand, there were no more staircases for me to get up out of the water! whoa that was close! Walked along the walkway with summer homes all boarded up and waves like I haven't seen. Made it to the end where there usually is a bridge onto an island and then onto another beach. Thank goodness the stairs were removed prior to Becky arriving or I would have tried to get over there and possibly still be there! Headed back to the hotel to pack up and start driving again.

A little tip from the cabby the night before landed me at a little restaurant off the ocean, Causeways. Had an entire platter of fried haddock, shrimp, calamari, scallops and fries. Really yummy. Then I just started driving around, Sammy and I against the hurricane! Not ever sure where to go! Just program stops into Betty and taking random roads to try to view the Atlantic. Ended up on Granite Pier to stop and look at the atlas. Sammy was actually moving from side to side with the winds at the end of the Pier, kind of frightening!! The most beautiful view and huge seagulls, they eat well obviously. I keep saying it is the most beautiful view don't I? Took the beach ave close to the water by the mansions and found a sign that read, "foot path to the Atlantic". Of course, parked Sam and took off on foot. The smallest little path right down to the most beautiful view of the ocean that I have seen! If it weren't for the rain I would have stayed for hours and walked the path.

Got back in the truck and headed off the island to Salisbury beach. Hotels looked closed or abandoned, which they were being that it is off season here, and the restaurants had all but one person in them. I stopped at a local bar to reevaluate the situation if you will. The owner tried to talk me into staying longer but I set off to Hampton. What a fun place! If it were summer, this would have been straight out of a movie. I found a hotel right along the ocean drive but then realized that I would be paying $80 for a room and not even be able to see the ocean anyway due to the weather. Frustrated at the weather and being a tourist.....I decided to drive home to Worcester!

Home by early evening, sleeping by 10pm! 11hrs of sleep later I decided to get up and go get an hour massage, get some sushi and watch a movie! Great day after all. :) I would love to head back to Cape Ann in nicer weather! Absolutely breathtaking! Everyone I meet says.....you should see this place in the summer! Well I couldn't afford to see all of these places in the summer silly! :) 1/3 of the way done with weekends! So far, so great!

Solo Mission

Well I finally made it to Maine, and boy was it worth every second of waiting!!!! After mulling it over for quite a bit and being a little nervous, I set out for Maine....all by myself! Well obviously I had my SUV which I have now named Sammy (Samantha if she is acting up). I did some research and took a few local polls of what to do and what order makes sense. Looked up a few key things like restaurants of interest and lodging. You know, important things!

Set out on Friday after work, headed into the unknown! The people at the little toll hut around the Maine border probably think I have lost my mind because I was hands up in the air cheering when I hit the big bridge to cross into Maine. I had it mapped out to eat lobster in Kennebunkport, ME at a little restaurant, but "Betty", my GPS lady, I think has also lost her mind! So I just stopped at a random place and ordered a stuffed lobster and a Samuel Adams. WOW how good fresh lobster tastes with a side of lobster stew and new potatoes! Let me also say that Maine is in it's "off season" right now as far as tourism, so I may have been the only tourist in all of Maine this weekend. So this particular restaurant had 5 locals, gentlemen, well sort of, sitting around me trying to teach me how to break into that lobster! It was quite funny for all of us! They tried to put that stupid bib on me, the plastic one with the lobster on the front! I said do not take another step closer to me with that thing! The waiter said, well you will get your shirt messy. I say, "I have lots of changes of clothes, but no changes of my dignity"! He set the bib down.

Well I narrowly escaped Kennebunkport without 5 strange men ridding along with me to Portland, ME. Portland is a rather large city, approximately 65,000 people said the taxi man, and their main business used to be fishing, but now.....tourism! Again, I am the only tourist in Maine this whole weekend! Headed downtown Portland to a brew pub where I quickly realized that Portland is a major college town. College town where they travel in massive herds from bar to bar and get quite obnoxious. I was taken into conversation by 2 older individuals (45-55yr) and was glad to have the company. There is only so long that you can pretend to watch the TV when you have no clue what team is playing and at what point should I pretend to cheer for one team or the other! The highlight of encounters this night was a Great Dane, Zeus at my hotel that was the largest dog or smallest Shutlen pony I have ever seen in my life! Its owner says he is quite the "lap dog", and she was serious!!

Saturday morning up early to head out. The couple at the pub the night before gave me a fabulous tip on a lighthouse right outside Portland, at Cape Elizabeth in Fort Williams Park. I have seen these on movies and puzzles and even calenders, but standing there looking at the bluffs and this amazing lighthouse facing the sea.......there are no words! So I pick my jaw up off the ground and get back in the truck. About 3.5hrs up to Bar Harbor, ME. Very neat drive, which would have been more so beautiful about 2 weeks ago when the leaves were still attached to the branches! And I would have also paid someone to drive so that I could actually look around, safely!

Bar Harbor is actually an island and is surrounded or part of the Acadia National Park. Folks, I wish that I could say this any differently without sounding so conceded.....I am the luckiest person to get to see all of these amazing places. I found a hotel right on the point of the harbor and checked into this quaint little room with a patio that faced the ocean (although I didn't pay for the ocean view....I didn't tell them that I could actually see water, hehe). about 2 seconds later I was out the door and 20ft from my patio was the most breath taking view imaginable!! Ocean waters, lapping onto big bluffs of rocks, rocky/tree filled islands, boats anchored in a gorgeous harbor with long docks and lobster fishing boats and walking trails along the ocean and a cute little downtown with rows of shops along the bluff. So again, catch my breath to go get some food! Found a fun spot for lunch, tried the crab meat roll which was really good, and a Samuel Adams :) Talked to another couple that led me to my next couple adventures....

Headed to the room to regroup and change into hiking gear. There is an ocean trail that leads you around bar harbor and then through town which was very peaceful and serene. I just kept thinking of the opening part of the movie Grease! I think it must have been filmed here, or should have been for that matter!! So ended up in town at the Thirsty Whale, and I was thirsty. This is also a good way to meet locals and get ideas for the next adventure. Well they sent me to the liquor store to get a beer and go sit on the bluffs to catch the sunset.....one problem.....no bottle opener! So I sat on the bluff holding a beer and watched the sunset! Just as good! That night, took a Jacuzzi bath, walked around town for a bit, met some strange locals and headed to bed to rest for my early morning adventure.

When the tide is low in the early mornings, you can actually walk along an "ocean bottom path" out to an island! This is where I called my mother and said, "mom, I'm hiking to an Island tomorrow morning". Mom says, "how are you going to get there dear, if it is an island?" Becky says, "well supposedly when the tide is low I can just walk over there" Mom says, "Do you know how long the tide will be low so you can get back?" Becky says, "No actually I have no idea, this is why I'm calling you now to tell you that I'm doing this. If you don't hear from me.....send a boat!" haha. Well I made it over there and it was the coolest thing to walk along the "ocean bottom" that is exposed for only a few hours. There were so many mussels that make a bond of some kind with snails and rocks and seaweed to form a long chain that holds together quite firmly! I also found a star fish and a neat rock. I did a little hiking on the island, but I did have in the back of my mind this fear of having to swim back to shore!!! It was the neatest thing for sure!

Packed up the room and jumped back in Sammy for another traveling day. With a tip from a friend, headed to Freeport, ME for lunch, expecting a cute little town on the water...hence the word port. Well I now know that this friend just wanted me to stop at the LL Bean outlet store to buy him a kayak I do believe! :) Actually it is a cute town, but blocks and blocks of outlet stores! So this friend says to me, "what's wrong with that?" I say, "whatever I buy has to fit into my SUV again, and it barely fit before these outlet stores!" Had a really good lunch, crab cake sandwich and headed off to the next spot. Another friendly tip landed me on a wonderful beach right at sunset, Ogunquit, ME. Now this is like a beach one would think of originally. It has sandy beaches with people playing in the water and houses/hotels along the bluffs. It was really gorgeous to see the sunset on a sandy beach, again thinking to myself.....how the heck do I get to be the one to do this today???? I then sadly got back into the truck and headed to Worcester.

My first solo mission, one of many this year I am sure. I am so thankful to be able to do this right now in my life. It is truly one of the most amazing places on earth and I'm lucky to have experienced it. This was the first weekend that it hasn't rained! I am trying to get pictures on this blog, but I am technically challenged. So look at them on facebook for now or email me and I can send you some on your email. Enjoy, book your trips now to Maine. I may start working at the visitors center, except I was the only visitor, wonder how that would work........

Almost Maine

Let me begin this week by saying that my travel buddy Allison is great! We have an awesome time together and she just happens to be a huge sports fanatic!!! Up until Friday by 3pm we had no official or unofficial plans for the weekend. We both wanted to go up to Maine, but she wanted to go to the world series even more! We settled on heading north around 5:30pm Friday night. Made it as far as Portsmouth, NH.

Such a cute little town! Ally is great at bargaining so she got a sweet deal on the hotel room. I tried to talk someone down as well, they said no! :( We even got fresh cookies, although they were oatmeal/raisin! What is the point of a cookie without any chocolate.....don't even get it a little bit! And we got a pumpkin pale for ice! Awww. Quick turn around then called a cab into town to grab a bite and a few sodas.

After about 20mins or so at the cute little brewery, Ally finds out that she is getting world series tickets! So for the next hour or 3 she is outside arranging details, for the rest of her now awesome weekend! Well, let me also say that I knew the risk! I am so happy that she got the opportunity to go and only wish that I slightly wanted to go and spend $800 on a trip to watch baseball that I don't ever end up watching anyway!

So thank goodness for a certain person that happened to enter my life this evening! The name and details will remain out of this blog indefinitely being that my luck with any relationship is not good. This person is probably married, with 8 kids, just released from jail and looking for someone to go on Jerry Springer with them!! I just can't do any of that ever again, especially the Jerry Springer thing....that was a little over embarrassing! :)

So after a rather fun night anyway, we headed back to Worcester the next morning. Ally was nice enough to drive me to the harbor and we did get to look at the bridge that takes you across into Maine! It was another gloomy day anyway, so the trees wouldn't have been that beautiful to look at, or the harbors or the mountains.....so good thing for baseball!

Saturday night had company from Boston and a little 4 legged friend that made me miss Simon more than human mothers should ever miss their hyper children! Went around this city which I still have not invested in knowing and had a really fun time. Sunday was the inevitable day that always comes November 1st. But this day I was in Massachusetts, following my dream which I know my dad would be so proud of! It was actually a great day for me, lounging around, which has not been in my vocabulary for about 4months now.

So change of plans! Not Maine this weekend, but it is not too far outta reach! I had such a good weekend and thank you everyone for your emails, calls, texts! I know what an awesome guy my dad was! He is living so much in all of us, we just need a pause, a memory, a stranger.....to figure it all out!

We are not being tourists this weekend!

We were off the New York City this past weekend. After a crazy and a bit disheartening day at the office, Allison met me in Worcester for the 3.5hr trek to Manhattan (which is an island). Driving in the rain and sometimes behind very slow buses, made for a little longer trip, but thanks to the road snacks left from out 25hr drive to MA, we did not starve! Stopped at a little shop off the pike and almost purchases some used Klenex from the presumed homeless guy, but then decided with the swine flu and all....not the best of ideas!



Allison's friend Torri lives in an apt right across from the university hospital, in a small studio. Although we didn't actually sleep in the same bed, we all probably could have held hands from our sleeping spots if we wanted! Quick turn around at the apt, then off to meet some of Allison's friends from Chicago. Now is where I will offer you Midwesterners a tip about mini-van cabs.....Make sure to shut the dang door when you exit the cab. For some reason, I forgot, and the cab driver sat and honked at us then all but gave me the finger as he shut it for me....whoops! Never lived that down all weekend!! Late night and into the morning, walking in not soooo comfy boots, and ended up at the diner (our morning stop).



Next morning woke up to Allison singing the NE fight song at 9am! What energy she has :) Got ready in our matching "Suh-per man" shirts and headed out to the Irish Rogue which holds NE games sponsored by the NE alumni association. It was quite the atmosphere and quite the day...well beginning to a day. I kept asking the gals to go to the Empire state building with me...being that I am a tourist and all....they said no, all day long. The going saying from Allison to me was, "we are not tourists and get your own food to eat whenever you're hungry!" Well we ended up eating all day and gallivanting around NYC with Allison's friends. Ending up in a hole-in-the wall bar dancing our NE butts off! We spent much of the day explaining what the heck our shirts meant and why we all matched. My usual response was, "Suh plays football, he is good, we wore shirts about him". The end. Of course back to the same diner for breakfast before bedtime.

Sunday morning up again to go eat lunch, sitting outside people watching. What interesting folks in NYC! Beautiful day in New York, walking around the streets, then meeting Allison's Chicago friends for more football! Why not? Did a little shopping then headed back to pack up and leave the great city. A little tired from the weekend of fun and traipsing around the big city (well actually Manhattan is quite small, but big/tall buildings). Thank goodness for Allison's great geographical sense and general knowledge of everything. She in fact asked me if I wanted to go to Martha's Vineyard this coming weekend. I of course respond with, "where is it"? She says it's an island. I say, "how would we get to it then?" She says a ferry of course. I say idiotically, "well I don't really like wine". She then looked at me blankly! Ooops, better start carrying my atlas to keep up with the pro!

Betty

So Betty is the name given to the GPS voice in my blackberry purchased only for this trip. Otherwise, everyone knows that technology is not my strong point. Where would I be without her right now? Well probably somewhere in south IL because that is where she led us astray....we didn't really plan this trip, at all. I'm too busy with all the other chaos and mom really hasn't the information from me because of my hate to "plan". The first time I slept on the trip I wake up to mom, Betty and an atlas. We went with Betty. We went 17mi off track in IL ending up at a rest stop then Betty says, "make the next legal U turn". You can never fully trust Betty.

Who do you trust on an adventure....your travel agent, your friend's opinion, intuition, instinct, prior knowledge, or just plain guess on life? I chose the latter of these which leads me to discuss my job! I work in 2 different facilities, skilled nursing facilities. One a psych unit and the other a locked down unit for Alzheimer's diseased patients. Now this is the last stop on my career path for sure. But is it?

There are certain things in your life that you know absolutely that you can not possibly get through....not one more second in that dentist chair, not two more hours at the circus with your kids, not one more time to the vet with your dog increasing the costs, only one trip to your favorite espresso shop on johnson drive, your dad's funeral, the last time you see your friend for a year, the day at the office where you know for sure that you are not helping anyone.

If there is anything in life that I know for certain, it is that you can do anything that you thought previously to be impossible. The job "opportunity" was a pre-planned sacrifice on my part professionally. I knew that I wanted to be in Mass to experience what I wanted/needed to and that meant some bargaining. I did not know quite the sacrifice, but "everything happens for a reason". This job is so counter-intuitive to my every fiber as an OT, but in many ways this is making me stronger already after one week.

So I do what I do as an OT. I help patients with their self-cares, I do wheelchair seating evaluations, I work on upper extremity strengthening, and functional transfers to toilets and showers, I train staff on proper handling, I help relearn feeding techniques, I buy nurses chocolate in turn for referrals, I kill the east-coasteners with kindness and I go home at night knowing that I still do what I love! Just in a different culture!

I started today with 4 patients from the psych unit, sitting at their breakfast table and evaluating how they can feed themselves more independently. The charge nurse glaring at me, the CNAs annoyed that I was taking up a chair. The patients thrilled at the company and talking about my home state of Nebraska. Middle of the day I fielded questions if I should leave Mass and my facilities/apt to a different location. End of the day evaluating a patient with Alzheimer's. I ask him if he has any pain, he says to me, "how could I? I'm in heaven right now. Can you come see me every day".

Life is simple on paper. When you get into the gray areas we have questions.

Road to Massachusetts

Mom and I left at 4:30am Thursday Oct 15th to drive through NE, IA, IL, IN, OH. Stopped at 9pm (after time change) to sleep in Mentor, OH. Mom was amazed at the hotel room, sweet $90 and made it in time for my shows on Thurs! Next morning driving through rain, snow, rain, sunshine we went through OH, PA stopping at lake Erie, then again in NY at Niagra falls. Well really what is all the hype about anyway? Is it the Canadians making a big deal about this waterfall, because in the land of Jackson Hole, WY we determined that you can find much neater waterfalls in much better scenery that it doesn't take border patrol and money to view!!! But it was great!

Made it to Worcester, MA at my downtown apartment in the dark around 7pm, finding no parking of course with a stuffed SUV!!! Dealt with the non-english speaking parking garage attendant across the street to leave the truck there and attempt to get my keys from an unknown security guard who was not on duty YET! Well me, being the go getter that I am and being that I had to pee really bad, I stole the keys to my apt from behind the desk! Why not!

Pulling up to the apt there is not parking/unloading zone! So we park in emergency zone and unload all my SUV onto a bellhop cart from the apt on the side of the curb!! Fun times with the mother!! So the apt is not exactly like the video by the way! Close but not close! We slept the first night on a bed of rocks listening to the police apparently "cleaning up downtown".

The next day went to buy apartment stuff which sent us on another adventure thanks to "Betty" the GPS lady in my blackberry. got home really late in which again, no parking!! So I now went to the apt and retrieved a shopping cart and unloaded my SUV. I sent my mother downtown Worcester with a shopping cart packed to the brim, walking with a limp to my apt while I parked the car!!! PRICELESS!

Sunday, Boston! Rainy/snowing all day of course. Hopped the commuter rail from union station Worcester to Boston, then onto the Trolley. Ate at Legal Seafood, walked through Quincy Hall and Fanuiel Hall. Had a crazy trolley driver that got mad at some passengers and we swore he was either going to quit and leave us stranded or drive us into the river/ocean/lake or whatever body of water those people had a war over and threw tea in!

Made it back safe and sound to Worcester, next day in Worcester....BEAUTIFUL. Who would have thought, right? I worked at my my new job, mom made her way around downtown blending in with the homeless and pissing off the apt managers asking for a wrench to reverse my fridge!! Who would have thought of doing that?? MY MOM! Love her! After my awesome...(not really just pretending so you don't have to send me pity mail) day of work, we went and had good Italian food and one great dirty martini!

Mom left today! Managed the commuter rail, to the silver line, to the airport, to Chicago, and to Omaha! Thanks so much mom, memories will be held for many years and stories shall be kept secret! Hoping for a new bed on Thursday and cable someday! Met a great pal named Cookie whom let me try on all her wigs tonight and hang with her dog....Casanova! Lovin' Mass.

Getting started

Most of you know all about my last 2 months but I found a great analogy to my crazy life as I know it. It was like planning a wedding, buying a home, selling a home, buying a car and selling a car, while starting a new job out of state! So if any of you can equivocate with one of these....try all of them at once! Yes my hair is falling out :(

So I have always wanted to be a traveler but managed to come up with some really great excuses not too. One night I decided, enough excuses, make it happen. So I found a company, rented out my house, Steph took my dog, packed up my entire house which is either at my families homes or in my attic, bought Heather's SUV, sold my car, went to Chicago for my new car and then to Mexico for vacation, was homeless for about 3wks living with friends and going back to NE, had 4 going away parties and now in MA!

Settled on Worcester for my first location because I have a fellow OT traveler here in Mass, Allison, whom will appear often on my later posts!!! I will be here through January 17th, then on to another location. My company is called Cross Country Travcorps. I am still doing the same job as an OT, but now I get to travel around the US every 13wks to do what I love.

I simply started this blog because someone told me too! :) And I thought all of you would find some fun/humor/comfort in hearing my wild, scary, boring stories from where ever the heck I am living! Thanks for following along and feel free to call/email me whenever!