Celebration Moments

The stars were all aligned

1. Our tour for the Capitol was to start at 9:50. We were early so we got to go on the 8:50 Capitol Tour.

2. We then walked over to the Hart Building to get passes from Senator Sherrod Brown's office to tour the House and Senate floor.

3. While getting our tickets I asked if we could get in on the Senate Finance Committee meeting. YES. There were three seats left. The meeting was in progress. In the same building - on the second floor. Exciting!!!

4. We got into our seats just in time to hear Senator Rockefeller review his mark up for the public option for health care reform. It was like I stepped into C Span at the perfect moment. (unfortunately it didn't pass.)

5. Our luck continued as we heard Senator McCain speak on floor (didn't vote for him) and Senator Brown introduce their bills/agruments etc. Our political timing was perfect all day. Spent a little more time in the Capitol area then headed for the National Mall.

We just had to see the Dino Display for Joey. Took lots of pics to share with him. Also had to get Amelia something about the Sea. Still blogging from my IPhone. Sitting in Union Station waiting for our train to Connellsvillle PA.

What no WIFi!!

Who would have imagined that the Embassy Suites in D.C. would not have internet service in the rooms.

I'm creating this very short post with my IPhone.

We walked and walked and then walked a liitle more touring The Monuments in D.C. today. I have to say the Roosevelt Monument was the most moving to me. So many of his quotes are so very pertinent today. With this battle to pass an appropriate health care bill I believe that a lot of our representatives would be well served to visit this Memorial.

I have lots of photos to share but they'll have to wait until Wednesday night when we have wifi again. Tommorrow we are off to the Capitol. Rumor has it that a couple of our sane Senators are going to put the public option on the table during the Senate Finance hearing. Say a little prayer that their good sense prevails and we end up with a strong plan.

Received a wonderful Email from The Boys today saying what a wonderful time they are having at the Ultimutt Inn. This photo was included with the note.

Rain, rain go away ... come again another day! The Great Allegheny Passage

It was really funny riding down the trail in the rain today.  I had a huge smile on my face - filled with the excitement of the beginning of the trip.  As we passed other riders in the rain they were smiling too!  Was it because we were all insane enough to ride on this messy gravel trail as the rain pelted us in the face and the mud covered our bikes and gear.  NO!  It was because as we passed each other packed down with gear we all realized we were kindred spirits - on a mission - all on the same mission. 

Some were riding from Pittsburgh to D.C. some were riding from D.C. to Pittsburgh.  I'm LOL now - thinking of this one family we passed the mother of the group was packed down like a Llama climbing the mountains of Peru or maybe like an pack mule from an old Western movie. 

The 25 miles we rode in the rain were manageable - we had a goal to complete!  We started our ride in Connellsville, PA and rode to Boston, PA - covering 40.5 miles on our bikes.  We had a nice lunch in West Newton - a bowl of chili for me and a sandwich for Tom.

We are staying at the Uniontown, PA Hampton Inn this evening.  Heading to Washington D.C. tomorrow.

Chief Ladiga Trail

This is part of a 100 mile rail trail that runs from Anniston, Alabama to Smyrna, Georgia.

We picked the trail up in Piedmont, AL and road east to the Georgia state line. The trailhead at Piedmont is at the Eubanks Welcome Center. You can park here I a nice large lot. You can get trail and state maps inside the Welcome Center. We also picked up a couple of sorvener shirts - they also sell hats. The trail was paved the entire section that we rode with the scenery changing at every turn. It's an uphill ride leaving Piedmont and then mostly downhill heading back. We highly recommend a ride on this well done rail trail.

Good Start To The Day

After breakfast we packed up and moved to a much nicer site. I'll share some pics of the campground later. The Three Black Labs are all settled and we are off. Headed to the Eubanks Welcome Center to start our bike ride on the Chief Ladiga Rail Trail. I've loaded a bunch of caches into my GPS to find along the way. Almost to Piedmont. Gotta run.

Traveling With The Three Black Labs

First, I have to say how much I love technology!! I'm creating this blog entry away from my desk in my office - while we are driving down the road with my IPhone. Way too cool!! It's probably not cool to use the word "cool" but what the hey it's cool!

This all is probably just for my own amusement except for the few family members that might be following me.

Lex (our RV), Stella (our GPS) and the Three Black Labs are with Tom and me and we are all headed to Alabama. This will be our first time in Alabama.

I'll be updating our whereabouts on Twitter. If you Twitter you can follow us - our Twitter name is Three Black Labs. If you don't Twitter just checkout the right sidebar on this blog (scroll down a bit) and our Twitter updates will be there.

Going to run. The road is extemely bumpy and it's making it very difficult to type on this tiny key pad.

Catch you later.....

Belize, Vacation Package, Ebay Auction, Chan Chich Jungle Lodge, Ecotourism

My dear hubby and I won this trip on an auction we bid on and paid $817.00 for it.  We are not able to go - we'll be traveling in our RV with our Three Black Labs instead.  I just wanted to put this out there for everyone to see just incase you wanted an opportunity to take an incredible trip at a great price. 

Just click here  to see how beautiful the Chan Chich Jungle Lodge is in Belize, Central America.  If you have any questions let me know.  This auction will run until Sunday evening until approximately 8:30 PM.  I have the starting bid set at a no reserve of $100.00.  That means if no one bids on it there is a chance it could go for just $100.  All the details are listed on the Ebay Auction page.

       

Biking!

We've been bikers for along time.  We've been on some great trails in some beautiful places.  But none of the trails offer what Acadia National Park has to offer.  The trails are carraige trails built by John D. Rockefeller to be used only for non-automobile travel.  They are wide, gravel trails that travel up and down the sides of the mountains.

All the intersections are marked and take you spots high in the mountains, down by the lakes or to wonderful dining at the Jordan Pond House.

Just one of many fantastic views along the bike trail.  That's Tom up ahead.  The trail gradually leads uphill - you need to be geared down to make it - but what a wonderful climb!

  The view from the top!

Kayaking!

Have been wanting to try this for a long time! 

I may be hooked!! Tom and I had taken an intro

course at the Mentor Marsh before we left for our trip - but this was in a enclosed area - away from waves and wind.  In the intro class Tom and I each had our own Kayaks - I'm pretty sure I like that better.

Kayaking in the Ocean is a little different.  You have the wind and waves to contend with.

Also, on this trip Tom and I shared a kayak - a little more interesting (to say the least!).  But after our 2-1/2 hour trip with winds at 5 knots I was throughly invigorated - loved it!!

P.S.  added a few more photo's to the Travel Photo Album on the left sidebar - you need to scroll down a little to get to it.

Whale Tails!

I've been wanting to post some photo's of the trip we're on and we are taking a little morning break today so I thought I'd try to get caught up.  We stopped in Cape Cod, Massachusetts for a few days and were lucky enough to go on another Whale Watch Trip.  

We boarded the boat in Provincetown at the tip of the Cape and traveled about 1 hour out to sea in search of these manificient animals.

I was lucky enough to run into a lady from South Africa that showed me how to take continuous shots with my Minolta camera.  What a difference! With her help I was lucky enough to get some whale tail shots this year.

I didn't know this - but - on your digital camera if you look through the eye piece and press the menu button you get an entirely different menu.  This menu allows you to change the picture size, pixels, shot sequence and more.

We camped in Eastham, Massachusetts at the Atlantic Oaks Campground. This was right on the CCRT Bike Trail. 1/2 mile from the National Seashore and right next door to a great Restaurant.  This location was great but the campground ratings in Woodalls is off!!

Check out the Travel Album on the left sidebar for a few more photo's from the Cape.  I'll post some more tomorrow.  Hugs to everyone - Linda

Just Got Home - Getting Organized

I am planning on posting a giveaway today - but still getting things somewhat back to normal.  Check back - there will definitely be a giveaway sometime today!

Went on an incredible bike ride in Bar Harbour, Maine - just wanted to share:

I'm going to be posting a few more photo's in the Travel Album - it was a great trip!

Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada

I'll be back soon - stamping and scrapping.  Saw some beautiful country today outside of Saint John, New Brunswick - we travelled by car to St. Martin's and to the "Cave" and "Fundy Trail".  Check out the cool pics under the Travel Album.  In this photo the tide was out - the difference between the tide being out and in is 44 feet - I might have read that this is the highest tide in the world.  Correct me if I'm wrong - but either way 44 feet is pretty high. 

Thanks to everyone that's stopping by to visit.

All things Charleston...

Charleston, South Carolina - what a beautiful city - we were tourist - trying to capture a little of the essence of this historic beauty. We spent Saturday enjoying the architecture, the ironwork, the flowers, the food - the beautiful city!

Sunday we visited the sights of an Antebellum plantation that was owned by the Drayton's - Magnolia Plantation - we were most impressed with the wildlife - a couple of photo's below show the diversity of the creatures we spotted.

If you spotted one of these creatures we were told to stand still and stare them down - not to run - that they are able to run at 20 mph and jump 5 feet - okay then - we decided not to take the swamp walking tour!

First Leg ...

Tom, the boys and I arrived at the KOA in Charleston, South Carolina around 2:00 this afternoon.  Very quite here, nice amendities and close to Historic Charleston.  Tomorrow will start touring and eating some of that great Southern food - can't wait.