Travel – Page 4 – Thoughts From The Passenger Seat

2023, family, life, Travel

Wild Wild West

Posted on October 22, 2023October 22, 2023 by nancyb422

We were in Fort Collins, Colorado in early September for a family wedding. Because it was on Sunday evening, we decided to stay an extra day and fly home on Tuesday.

At one of the events for the wedding, someone mentioned they drove up to Laramie Wyoming to visit the Wyoming Territorial Prison! It was an hour away and all we had was time.

Once we said goodbye to everyone at the air bnb we shared with family, we headed out. When we got to Laramie we looked online for a restaurant for breakfast.

The remains of Sausage & Biscuits and our pretty inexpensive bill

Accomplice Beer Company in downtown Laramie is a bar / restaurant / brewery. No beers for us but we cozied up to the bar and had a delicious breakfast.

The Wyoming Territorial Prison was surprisingly close to town. In its prime it was probably a long way from town!

They have a welcome center to buy tickets and of course a variety of gifts to purchase! We knew we’d be back after our self-guided tour.

The first building was the wardens house and it was decorated for the era it was used.

Around the grounds were carriages that were used during the time of the prison

I’m sure some prisoners reminisced about robbing one of these!

Inside the prison, we walked through the two floors and throughout there was information about the rooms and the prisoners who were held there. The most famous prisoner was Butch Cassidy. His story is a little different than the movie!

After going through the prison, we walked through the prison yard and over to a building their used to make brooms for sale. We had a lot of these brooms in our home growing up and of course, we had to buy one to bring home! We had to get creative to get in in the suitcase but it survived!

On our way home we were just amazed at the wide open land and the clouds! The clouds were so huge and they looked close enough to touch. I couldn’t stop taking pictures of them!

We didn’t really notice on the way up to Laramie, but on the way back we were also amazed by the changing landscape between Wyoming and Colorado. It’s fun to watch it unfold through the miles.

We were excited to add Wyoming to our list of states visited but we’d like to explore more! Someday…!

2023, life, Memories, Travel

Hiking in the Lake George Region

Posted on October 14, 2023October 14, 2023 by nancyb422

My husband and I spent a week in Lake George in August. We brought our boat and stayed in a 1950s type resort about a mile or 2 north of downtown Lake George.

Our second hike of the week was at the Cook Mountain Preserve out of Ticonderoga.

We (I) always make a point to find someplace to hike because I really love to hike. But we (I) always manage to get lost! This trip was no exception because we got sort of lost finding the trailhead! First we drove to the “destination” but it was far past the trailhead. So we backtracked and you couldn’t really see the trailhead from that direction so we turned around again! We found it on the third try.

I made sure we signed the book and the time we started out just in case we disappeared on the trail! The trailhead had a map posted as well as maps to take with you (done, still managed to get lost).

The trail started out fairly flat but once it started on the Ridges Trail it was fairly steep – 680 feet over a 1/2 mile – then more gradually to the views. We had our hiking poles and I’m glad we did! The trails were clear so there wasn’t much climbing over and under.

We got to the Lake George view and were a little disappointed! I thought we’d have more of a view and I had to really walk around to find a good view. We sat for a bit and had a snack and then moved on to the Vermont view.

I spotted the flag on top of the mountain and remembered a trip to Fort Ticonderoga we took on the motorcycle. We never went to Mount Independence but I know we saw it from the Fort. This was definitely the better view.

We were pretty tired by the time we were done and stopped at this general store for lunch which was delicious! The owners were really nice too!

Overall, a great day in the Lake George Region.

2023, Goals, Music, Travel

Renewed Inspiration

Posted on August 13, 2023August 13, 2023 by nancyb422

A conversation with a taxi driver in Lake George NY has prompted me to sit down at my piano and start playing again. Sounds strange right? Here’s how it happened….

We needed a ride from Bolton Landing back to our resort cabin on Friday after we dropped our truck and trailer at the marina. We would spend the day on the lake and then take the boat out of the water to head home on Saturday. We were going to wait for the trolley but given the “well, yeah the schedule says 9am, but you never know”, we got from the gatekeeper at the Sagamore Hotel, we decided to pay the $45 one way. Not the end of the world. It is about a 20 mile ride after all. Next time we’ll definitely find a place to stay that either has a launch or is very close to a marina!

So anyway, we got into the cab, me in the front because my husband wouldn’t be able to hear him anyway (left ear has less hearing than the right!). We started talking, “where you from, trolleys, subways, NYC, travel, California, East Bay and finally, Tower of Power! Evidently he lived in California and saw then in their heyday as did my husband.

We started talking music and instruments and he is a guitar player. He and his friend enjoy playing along to music and recording themselves. He asked if we played any instruments and I said I played the piano but after 5 years of lessons I stopped and I haven’t really found myself playing very much.

He talked about how much he enjoyed playing and how the time went by when he did and how relaxing it was. I realized he was absolutely right! When I sat at the piano, working out a song, or even a section, everything else fell away. I didn’t think of anything going on around me.

When we reached our resort, I thanked him for the conversation and told him he inspired me to start playing the piano again. When I took it up in 2017, it was never to become perfect at it, but to enjoy learning and hearing what I could accomplish. I needed to be reminded and I have a Lake George cab driver to thank for that.

2023, Goals, life, Travel, Writing

Big Dreams!

Posted on July 26, 2023July 26, 2023 by nancyb422

What are your future travel plans?

My husband and I like to travel and we like to think about and plan our trips.

We were busy last year and early this year traveling for fun and family illness and we were both a little burnt out on air travel! We’ll be heading into the next state for a week next month at a lakeside cabin resort and towing our fishing boat. Simple plans!

But! We do have big travel plans to make for a trip to Morocco next late April/early May! My cousin and her husband own a Riad in Fez that I want to visit so much. She is the daughter of my first cousin and we hosted a couple of family get together when they traveled to the US. It’s been awhile since we’ve seen them but I enjoy following their daughter on Instagram.

Have you been there? If you have some highlights be sure and let me know in the comments!

2023, life, Travel, Writing

A Love of Travel

Posted on July 16, 2023July 16, 2023 by nancyb422

Are you seeking security or adventure?

I’ve spend most of my adult life working towards being secure. We have a beautiful home that is now set up for aging in place with an addition and full bath with laundry on the first floor. We’ve built up our remodeling business to be successful with a second generation in place. I think (oh, be more positive Nancy!), I KNOW I am secure so I guess that leaves adventure!

I enjoy adventure! Actually I always have enjoyed adventure. My travel or event motto has been “I’ll try anything once. If I don’t like it, I don’t have to do it again”. Win tickets to see a band play briefly at 7am in New York on the morning news show? Heck yeah! Tickets to a NY Giants football game the Sunday after thanksgiving and we’re in a suite and my husband won’t go with our son? Of Course I’ll do it! Drive in the pouring rain to get there? You betcha!

We’ve been fortunate to have taken some pretty fun motorcycle vacations and there has been a lot of adventure in them! They started as motorcycle trips and then the other female in the group of 6 and I got involved with the planning. They became vacations that we used motorcycles as transportation.

2013 our first motorcycle vacation to the Blue Ridge Parkway. This was a side trip to Chimney Rock. Begrudgingly made by the “travel director”. This is when I knew he would no longer be in charge.

I’ve been a willing participant to help with the driving when my niece moved from Connecticut to Pensacola Florida and from Connecticut to Las Vegas with sightseeing trips thrown in.

2011 Pensacola Florida to drop off my niece’s belongings, spend the night and then drove on to New Orleans for a few days. She drove back to Florida and my sister and I flew home.

My husband was never as willing to “give it a try” but I think over the years because of our motorcycle trips, he’s been more adventurous so I now I have a read and willing partner. He even planned our summer vacation at a cabin resort at Lake George with our boat!

October 2022, on our Viking Cruise from Paris to Normandy and back with my sister and her husband.

2022, Memories, Travel

Riding to Monet’s Garden

Posted on June 26, 2023June 26, 2023 by nancyb422

My husband and I took a Viking cruise with my sister and her husband in October of 2022. We started in Paris, cruised the Seine to Normandy and returned. It was really magical! We both agreed our favorite day was the round trip by bicycle to Monet’s garden.

We started the day in La Roche-Guyon and visited the town for 2 hours before taking off to Vernon and Monet’s Garden. It was delightful and I’ll share that excursion at another time!

We met our guide on the pier and everyone taking the bike ride was fitted for their appropriate bike and helmet. I applauded all the people that rode but some would have been better suited for the bus trip there. Not being mean, just truthful. We had a bike crash before we even got over the river. On the green in front of the pier there were monuments in recognition of the Allied troops liberating Vernon.

The ride was about 3-1/2 miles both ways! Luckily there are bike paths that we rode on. We did have to cross some streets and that was a little hairy! We stayed up close to the guide so we could ride freely and not fear crashing into the back of someone.

Once there, we stopped at the Elise Saints-Radegonde de Giverny (church) and we visited the burial site of Claude Monet and his family.

Then it was on to the grounds of Monet’s home. What a breathtaking sight! I had no idea what to expect and we couldn’t have asked for better weather. The sun was shining and the flowers were all in bloom. The colors were so vivid, I don’t think it was possible to take a bad picture. I selected some of my favorites to share.

A sample of the flowers and boats in the water

I was just lost in the scenery. I wasn’t worried about losing my people, we were all doing the same thing!

We made our way to the house and the garden around it.

We had a half hour left before we needed to meet our group, so my husband and I sat and had a latte and a tart as a snack before our bike ride back! We took a different route back and we thankfully didn’t have to cross any streets.

We gathered at a park and our guide and her helper had cider and the absolutely most delicious macrons I’d ever tasted in my life. It was so difficult not to eat them all right there! After our treat, we rode back to the boat and said our goodbyes.

From there it was dinner and a walk around the top deck to take in the full moon and think about the bucket list day we enjoyed.