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Published: October 22nd 2005
Our departure from Sarasota went well and we are once again on the road. The first stop of our journey was Stone Mountain Park near Atlanta, Georgia. Neither of us have ever been there before. We plan to return sometime in the future and climb the BIG rock.
From there we continued on to Nashville and visited the Parthenon. Yes, Nashville not Athens! Our visit was short but cheap since we arrived 5 minutes before closing. It was just enough time to see the new Athena statue. She was quite impressive at 18 feet tall. The gold and painted decorations were supposed to be an exact replica of the original Athena in Athens.
The following day we stopped at Abe Lincoln's boyhood home in southern Indiana. There was a nice memorial with great photos and many excellent quotes from Abe. The foundation of the cabin was there and also a replica of the cabin where he lived and read by the fireside.
Our time in Muncie, with Ron's mother, was spent doing chores and errands. The weather was beautiful (85 degrees) and we were able to picnic in the park, go on lots of
walks, and read outside in the sunshine.
Traverse City in northern Michigan was a quaint stop. Best of all was the drive out Mission Peninsula with visits to the wineries and the lighthouse. We did a wine tasting at the Old School House Winery. One wine was called "Detention" and the label had the following phrase, "I promise I will drink only good wine." written 100 times. Sounds like a worthy statement to me!!! Of couse I had to buy it, even if I am retired from my detention giving days.
We continued north, with stops at Charlevoix, Petoskey, Cross Village, and Mackinaw. The drive to Cross Village was especially nice. Route 119 is called the "Tunnel of Trees Road" and it was beautiful. The leaves weren't quite at their peak but the windy road in the woods along the lake shore was delightful.
And then it got cold..................... so, our drive through the Upper Peninsula was pretty quick with minimal stops. Once in Wisconsin we headed to Door Peninsula and explored the small villages there. We enjoyed the traditional "fish boil" dinner in Fish Creek. It was a good night to stand outside
by the fire and watch the boilover. They throw kerosene on the fire to make it blaze up which boils the fat and the salt off the pot. The resulting dinner of whitefish, boiled potatoes, and onions was fantastic.
The Wisconsin Dells was interesting but a little too commercialized for us. The trip on the WWII military Duck, through the woods and then into the water, was fun and interesting. The driver was full of corny humor and as we exited from the river, he had us look back so we could tell our friends that we saw the view from the rear end of a duck. The more traditional boat ride on the Upper Dells provided a scenic view of the sandstone formations in the gorge.
Our next destination was Elkhart Lake in Wisconsin. We met friends there, explored the town, walked around the lake, and had a great dinner with them in the evening.
In the morning, we headed to Madison to check out the capital and the Univ. of Wisconsin. The town is located on several lakes, has a nice capitol building, and some interesting strolling streets. Further down the road
we slipped into a little bit of Switzerland in the town of New Glarus. The buildings, town church, fondue, and bratwrust were all reminiscent of the real thing.
Now we are in Carlsbad, CA on the Pacific coast. There is a great beach walk here and we have done it twice. Later today we will head to La Jolla to do the beach walks and to visit the seals.
Adding photos was been a real challenge. The tech gods must have been with me today. It all worked like magic. I think that I have moved farther up the learning curve.
Our flight for Tahiti leaves Sun. night (10/23) at 10:15. Thanks to all who have written or called before our departure. We are excited about leaving and even Ron feels like he is truly retired now. We'll be thinking of you while we enjoy the weather in Tahiti. Ciao:-)
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Jody
non-member comment
Sorry to hear that the photos didnt make it? Did you find them or just couldnt upload? Hope your trip out of US goes smoothly, cant wait to hear the next update! Hugs Me