Reunited II

The next morning Lizzie arrived from Boston

and the three of us met Emily for a traditional flambe lunch at the Guertlerhoft.  A flambe is a tasty Alsatian pizza—a thin crust covered with creme fraiche, onions, and bacon—and variations can include gruyere cheese and mushrooms.

We felt undressed without scarves so Lizzie, Don, and I walked to Galeries Lafayette to shop for some.  And we happened upon a very large group of high school students protesting Sarkozy’s proposal to increase the retirement age one year.

the cool guy

 The proposal did pass the French legislature, and we puzzled over why high school-aged kids were so concerned.

The riot police escorted them as they walked through the downtown area, interfering with the trams and traffic.  The unions were also protesting the change and strikes were blocking fuel deliveries causing gas stations to run out of gazole (diesel) and the cancellation of many international flights.  The propensity of the French to  strike makes travel to Strasbourg via Germany a good strategy. 

Reunited I

The flight and bus trip went smoothly and we had a joyous reunion with Emily upon arrival.  

Thanks to our son-in-law Marc, who is a superb tour organizer, we stayed in a lovely apartment in the University neighborhood of Strasbourg.  Our first dinner was a celebration at Papa Lisa, an American-style restaurant (by which I mean, one eats a single, large, course rather than two small ones).

review page (in case you want to go)

Europe Bound

It is off to Europe to visit Emily and Marc in Strasbourg for a few days and then join them on a tour to Rome.  Our departure is from Atlanta.  Accustomed to 20 plus hour trips from Alaska to Europe, I had booked direct flights from Atlanta to Frankfurt—a very humane 10 hours.  We would then take the Lufthansa bus to Strasbourg, which is a 2 1/2 hour trip.

The flight was curious.  There were a very large number of eastern Indian travelers, many of whom required wheelchair assistance.  We speculated about a medical pilgrimage.  Perhaps, health care is less expensive, or of better quality, in India (or, conversely, in Atlanta).  

Many apparently had ordered Indian-style food, and a lovely smell of curry wafted over us as we ate what was truly the worst airline mystery meat meal ever.  (The return meal was quite good so I don't fault Lufthansa.)

No room at the Inn

And no room at the campgrounds in the immediate area of Charlottesville, Virginia.  This is the pitfall of not planning ahead when you are in a popular place on a beautiful sunny fall weekend.  So, we are at Wal-mart, next to highway 29.  I can’t complain.  We arrived after 8:00 p.m. and were thrilled that the manager allowed us to camp here.  We had a wonderful day.  We started with a brief stop at Mannassas, to see the Civil War battle site.  We saw the visitors’ center but opted not to take a tour.

We had a full day planned for Charlottesville.  This is a beautiful college town with a nice pedestrian mall downtown.  We walked with the pups and bought a couple of slices at Christian’s pizza—a family favorite.  It was a very pleasant and casual lunch.

We then proceeded to Monticello, where we spent the entire afternoon and early evening touring the grounds and exhibits.

We saw the film and took all three tours offered—of the garden, the mansion, and the plantation.

I was here this spring and glad to see it again in better weather with Don.  I love all of the inventions and details that Jefferson included in his home,

and the grounds are lovely with beautiful views of the surrounding area

While the university of Virginia was being built, Jefferson watched
it from his terrace.  Trees have grown up since then but the gardeners
keep a hole cut in the understory and ...

and of the University of Virginia, which he founded.

through the magic of Lightroom, we can see it too.

Jefferson was a man of contradictions—most notably, of course, he was opposed to slavery while owning slaves.  But he was a true genius and it is hard to imagine anyone in this age with comparable gifts.

not measuring up

122 miles; Charlottesville, VA, N 38°05.798’, W078°27.930’

Lemonade out of lemons

We went for an early morning walk on the beach.

These tiny burrs got into Boomer's fur and my sandals, we
never figured out which plant they came from.

We were very disappointed that we could not stay on Assateague another night but Don said he wanted to see the National Air and Space Museum just outside of Washington, D.C., so we headed straight there from Maryland.  The drive was pleasant—lots of small farms and roadside produce stands—until we hit the beltway.  The museum was definitely worthwhile.  It is a huge warehouse filled with planes, rockets, and various assorted equipment spanning the history of aviation and space travel.

You could spend a day there and we spent a very pleasant couple of hours.  There is a lot of interesting trivia—such as a review of Hitler’s Luftwaffe and its contributions to aviation.

I also was interested in the personal hygiene of the astronauts because you cannot help but wonder about this as you look at the tiny space capsules that they lived in for days or even weeks.

We had hoped to go to Charlottesville but the traffic leaving D.C. was so terrible that we took the first exit promising camping, and we are here at the very pleasant Bull Run campground.  This is a Virginia park.  It did not provide the peaceful experience we have come to expect in the public parks because it is in the flight path for Dulles International and there is a popular shooting range next door.   Nevertheless, it is quite nice.  It is nearby, but does not include, the battle site.  Apparently that is down the road.  Perhaps we will have a chance to see it tomorrow.

191 miles, Bull Run Regional Park Campground, Centreville, VA, N 38°48.403’ W 077°28.704’

Horses gone wild

This morning we were able to see our campsite at Allaire State Campground.  We were in a thick oak forest.  It let very little light in and was very pretty.  We went to the office to pay for the night and someone had posted a “closed today” sign on the door, which had not been there the night before.  So, one on the state of New Jersey.  Thank you, New Jersey!

It was sunny and the drive down the coast to Maryland was quite pleasant.  The beaches in Delaware are beautiful.  Maryland seems to have more relaxed zoning because the scenery became more commercial immediately after we crossed into it—dinosaurs, water parks, mini-golf, and high density housing.  But Assateague Island is glorious.  There is both a state and national park here and we are in the state park.  We are a sand dune away from the water.  

Sheila, Kindle (thanks AKUSA), Don, and too much fill flash.

We can hear the waves and enjoyed a really lovely afternoon on the beach.  

Assateague is known for its wild horses and we saw several of them.   I also saw a deer.

It is really beautiful and one of our favorite stops on this trip.

We took a bike ride to the federal park and saw a group of horses together in the parking lot.

It was very obvious that one was playing the role of sentry.  I guess they will bite if you venture too close.  This lady doesn't believe that.

This evening is also lovely—it is clear

and the stars are all out.    We tried to stay another night here, but sadly, it is completely booked.

16 second exposure with Orion's belt and dagger at the top.

Extreme blowup reveals that the middle star of the dagger is a nebula.

212 miles, Assateague Island, Maryland, N 38°12.966’ W075°08.866 5’

A different kind of day: the Bronx and New Jersey

Last night I had decided on a different title, “The Lie in ‘Its not the destination, its the journey’’’ but I feel a bit better this morning.  We became lost in the Bronx, and it was quite stressful, to say the least.  I had wanted to route around New York—give it a wide berth—but Don didn’t see any problems with driving right through.  After all, it would cut close to 30 minutes off the drive, which was going to be quite long.  Our plan was to drive through to Maryland.  Well, as I write this, we are camped in Allaire State Park, along the Jersey shore.  We are several hours from Maryland because we spent them in the Bronx.  There was terrible traffic—particularly heading toward the George Washington Bridge.

But the real problem was that Karen routed us on parkways and there are many low bridges.  The clearance was not sufficient for the Tiger and we had to exit from her route.  We had trouble, without maps more detailed than the Michelin Guide, navigating a safe route.  I even called a telephone number listed on the Internet for information about clearances on New York City streets.  The man on the telephone was awfully nice and gave me 5 possible routes (in rapid succession) to exit the city, but the only real help was the message to stay off the parkways and stick to the expressways.  Don managed to get us back onto I-95 south and we made it out of the Bronx and across the northern tip of Manhattan.  

In the meantime we saw lots of the Bronx up close and it was certainly educational.  We don’t have places like this on the west coast.  Certainly not in Alaska.  In California, we knew enough to steer clear.  By the time we were out of the city it was quite late, and we decided to spend the night in New Jersey.  It has parks along the shore.  We were surprised to find an enormous salt marsh and lots of open space very near New York City.  We had trouble finding the campground because it was dark and we did not arrive until after it was dark.  Then, quite late, around 10, we found a sign on the restroom, declaring that pets were not permitted in the park.  My plan is to shower before Don walks the dogs so I won't miss my shower if we are asked to leave. 

So, we do not have many pictures of the journey.  And we are relieved to be on the south side of New York City. 

 I should mention our morning in Mystic, although it seems so long ago.

 It is another old and charming New England fishing town.  It has preserved much of its history in the seaport, and you can pay to see an old shipyard, boats, and other artifacts from an earlier era.  We walked around and went into the very nice museum shop but did not go into the attraction.  It really looked like you would need at least half a day.

We had a lot of miles to cover and it was raining

hard. 

219 hellish miles; Farmingdale, N.J., N 40°10.001’ W074°08.574’