Santa Barbara and More Southwest

Santa Barbara

July 1998

Tuesday, 7/21: 

Son Matt’s having a good time doing music in Santa Barbara, why should he have all the fun?  A parental visit sounds good to us.  Our very early flight leaves on time before 7am, but rerouting around some thunderstorms makes us late into Chicago.  Luckily, connecting flight also delayed, we’re only a little late into LA at 11:15.  Pick up our Thrifty car, a Neon, and head to Santa Barbara about 100 miles up the coast.  Clouds there, some hazy sun later, about 75°.  Weather along the coast usually low clouds & fog in the AM (a “marine layer”), at least some clearing by mid-to-late PM.  Plus nice cool temps & fresh breezes.  Into the Sandpiper Lodge, outside the city but on the main road, so easy access.  No AC when we arrive (tho it hardly seems necessary), but install it by our return on Thursday.  A drive thru ritzy Hope Ranch residential area  ̶  beautiful homes and landscaping  ̶  and along the shore and harbor areas, views of surfers, beach volleyball, other California diversions.  

We meet up with Matt at Music Academy of the West, in Montecito, where he’s rehearsing w/ percussion buddies.  A walk around the pretty grounds w/ flowers and a giant fig tree (these are common around here), then into Montecito to an Italian restaurant that’s a favorite of Matt’s.

Gardens

GARDENS

          This blog focuses on trip journals & photos. But some venues offer photo ops that cut across trips. In particular, 3 stand out: gardens, churches & other religious sites, and cemeteries. Here are photos from some favorite gardens & flowering locales. 

Marjorie’s gardens

          My most favorite (and most frequent) garden photo ops come courtesy of the resident gardener. There were humble beginnings at our first house, when fertile earth had to be created in space that had been an above-ground pool. With assistance from some helpers, that turned out well.

Block Island, Capes, & More Northeast

Block Island

September 1999

Thurs./Fri. 9/16-17:

          The original plan for Marjorie’s birthday weekend was to ferry to Block Island Fri. AM and return Mon.  But Hurricane (by now “Tropical Storm”) Floyd puts a crimp in those plans, coming thru Thurs. into Fri. AM w/ very high winds and lots of rain: about 6” here, a new 24-hour rainfall record (over 12” in Cairo, a little south of us).  We lose power for about 6 hours Thurs. evening and the water is more than our backup sump pump can handle.  Matt’s here and helps move most stuff away from the water in the basement (including a lot of his percussion equipment!), but carpeting on one side gets soaked.  And needless to say, ferries to BI are canceled Thurs. and Fri.  After mopping things up as best we can, Fri. night Matt makes his Mom’s birthday dinner, excellent ravioli with spinach; I supply treats from Bella Napoli for dessert.  Promising weather reports for the weekend, we decide to head for BI on Sat.

Midwest Road Trip and More Midwest

          We’ve traveled pretty widely thru the Midwest: Marjorie grew up in Wisconsin and we lived in Madison while I was in grad school; we have family & friends in Michigan, Wisconsin, Kansas City, Minneapolis, Springfield IL; professional conferences have taken me to cities like Chicago, Cincinnati, and Detroit. Following is the account of a driving trip back to Wisconsin for Marjorie’s high school reunion. Our other travels in the Midwest have mostly entailed family visiting or other not so much “trip journal” stuff. But I’ll include some of that after the reunion trip journal.

The Great Reunion Road Trip

Summer 2010

          Marjorie has been a regular attendee of her Portage HS class reunions, I’ve joined in a couple of times.  When Year 45 was coming up she suggested making a road trip out of it.  I was skeptical – nearly 2 weeks with lots of driving!  But she put together an itinerary of good friends and family (also good) to see to & fro, and I’ve gotten to be friends with several of her classmates, so I concluded (to get in a Wisconsin mood): “You betcha, Marge!”  We could be guided by some MapQuest directions and Penelope (as we call our GPS voice); I’m more a map person, Penelope & I would have a few run-ins along the way, but we learn to accept each other’s quirks and I come to appreciate her soft entreaties (“take the motorway,” or “turn around” if I’ve gone against her wishes).  I wasn’t going to bother with a trip journal a la our European and other jaunts, but changed my mind a few days in – we’ll cover a lot of ground, see a lot of folks along the way, so there’s lots to remember (for us anyway; I suppose this has less cachet than my accounts of European travel).

Vienna, Prague, & Budapest

A Group Experience in Vienna/Prague/Budapest

May/June 2002

Fri., 5/24:

We’re embarking on our 1^st escorted group travel experience, with Trafalgar Tours.  Plus we have our own “group of 7”: my brother Doug & sister-in-law Ann, Wisconsin friend Kay, Kay’s brother Dick & sister-in-law Sherrie.  Doug & Ann arrived in Vienna Thurs. for extra touring of the countryside, the Wisconsin contingent arrived today.  We’ll rendezvous tomorrow.  Friend Sherry drives us to the airport, only 10 minutes to get thru ticketing & security.  Feel we’ve packed efficiently, including handy Trafalgar carry-on bags.  Looking for warmer weather in Central Europe, since it snowed here last Sat.!  Depart Albany about 3pm for Washington/Dulles.  Shuttle (basically a room on wheels) to international terminal for Austrian Airlines direct to Vienna, departing 6pm.  Not as roomy as our last European flights on British Airways, but smooth quiet ride.  Video screen on backs of seats give views of takeoffs & landings, animated safety instructions in German & English, choice of movies (in 4 languages).  And duty-free shopping in the aisles (just in case you need a head start)!  Dinner after takeoff, a little breakfast before landing.

London

LONDON

April 2004

Saturday, April 3:

          A typical Saturday: take trash to the dump, vacuum, Marjorie at the fitness center, call Mom . . . leave for London!  On the road listening to “Chris Warren” (the nom de radio of Marjorie’s boss who moonlights as a DJ).  Cold & rainy here lately, snow forecast for tomorrow, but nicer today and more spring buds in NYC; we hope that foreshadows London.  Hangin’out at son Matt & Anthea’s with cat Lucy until Matt finishes a rehearsal to drive us to JFK.  We got air/hotel package thru go-today.com, a Frommer’s favorite.  We’re on our own this trip, no accompanying family and friends  ̶  hopefully we’ll get along OK.  At JFK an attendant helps w/ our first effort to check-in on a computer screen w/ e-tickets.  United flight leaves a little early at 9:15pm.  We start daylight saving time while in-flight.  I suspect there might be a “rip in the fabric of time” over the mid-Atlantic; Marjorie rolls her eyes.  We’re a bit worried when a large group of kids boards the plane, but they’re well-behaved, it’s an uneventful flight.  We’ve become pretty blasé now about trans-Atlantic flights.

Sunday, April 4:

Early into London Heathrow about 10:15am, beautiful view coming in of Tower Bridge, Parliament, Big Ben.  Sunshine, spring flowers and buds more advanced here than NYC.  Customs guy tells Marjorie there’s lots of shopping in London  ̶  like she didn’t know that!  But it’s expensive (1 pound=$1.80), as we particularly notice in meal prices.  Transfer ride to hotel yields first sights of London traffic, classic cabs & double-decker buses.   

To our Queens Park Hotel, on Queensborough Terr. off Bayswater Rd., above Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park.  We learn later Marjorie’s British co-worker Emma stayed here recently.  On a nice street w/ mix of small hotels and apartments, a good location w/ “underground” stops (aka the “tube;” “subway” here refers only to underground pedestrian walkways) 2 blocks away on Queensway, which also has lots of shops & restaurants.   

A very tiny (and very slow) lift to our tiny room, just big enough to maneuver single file past the bed, where Marjorie settles in for a brief nap.  Room’s on the 5^th (top) floor, view below of pretty gardens and a pool with big koi fish.  The hotel has mix of young people, families, older couples, and tour groups (mostly German).  We know we're in Europe: showers are a challenge (this time too much hot water!) and no washcloths.

Switzerland & Paris

Switzerland & Paris

June/July 2000

 Tues., June 27:

          Hazy, humid as we drive to JFK.  Marjorie takes 1^st  first Hedgehog shot with very pleasant British Airways ticket agent.  (toy Hedgehog is a “friend” of M’s coworker Liz at WMHT, enjoys having his picture taken as he travels around the world.  We think WMHT should do a “Travels with Hedgehog” documentary.  He’s a good travel companion: flexible, no complaints, fits inside a purse.)  McDonald’s lunch in the airport.  Some Swiss francs at airport exchange, tho we’ve learned to use credit card or ATM to get better rates ($1= 1.65 Swiss F, 6.85 French F).  Interior of the plane is very warm; they announce cooling not working properly but hope to be better when we got going (which it is).  A remote on the seat handle for a video screen on the seat back, allowing lots of viewing choices. [We’re still pretty new to transatlantic flights, doesn’t take much to excite us.]  Have to delay takeoff to not reach London too early; noise abatement rules prohibit landings before 6am.  Good service & food: dinner, breakfast, extra drinks.

Wed., June 28:

          Sunrise over Ireland.  Into London Heathrow a little ahead of schedule at 6:15am.  Somewhat torturous shuttle bus & hike from one terminal to another.  Another breakfast, then on time into Geneva at 10:20.  Partly sunny, low 60s.  Short train to Gare Cornavin (main station in center of Geneva).  Across the street to Hotel les Arcades, our room overlooking the Gare.  Marjorie curls up on the bed right away for a quick nap.  Some rain while resting, then OK most of the day until light rain as we walk back to hotel later.  I get our 1^st-class Europasses validated (for use any 5 days in 2 months; we got these via the WMHT Auction), success w/ Credit Suisse ATM.

Newport

Newport

May 2013

Tuesday, May 21:

           After good experiences last year w/ LivingSocial on-line vouchers for B&B inns in the Catskills & New Hampshire, another getaway to Newport seemed a good way to celebrate the end of the semester. A nice AM, unexpectedly warm & sunny, 7:30am start. Along the Mass Pike, then south to a friendly sign: “Welcome to Rhode Island: The Ocean State.” Across one bridge, then another w/ pretty fog bank underneath, to Newport at 11. Confusing maze of streets, one wrong-way turn, then successfully to the Inn on Bellevue. Our digs aren’t ready, so coffee & shared croissant at a friendly café before heading off to see some sights. Along pretty streets, colorful houses, flower boxes, flowering trees, fragrances of magnolia & wisteria.

Montreal . . . and More Canadian Jaunts

Montreal Weekend

September 2010

          About a year ago I spotted an item about a Chinese lantern festival in the Botanical Garden of Montreal.   We hadn’t been to Montreal in 30-some years (I've included here some previous photos, including "Man and His World" left from Expo 67). 

 











          Thought this trip would be fun to do with friends Steve & Jill, who’ve made several trips to the city.  Steve & I were unable to coordinate class schedules, so put it aside for another time.  But this year’s festival begins the weekend of Rosh Hashanah: no classes on Friday, so we could have a long weekend.  I didn’t plan to write up such a short trip, but things began to seem journal-worthy (and I did bring my voice recorder), so here we go.

Lisbon

LISBON

May 2005

 

          Our trip to Lisbon used a variety of planning sources.  Basic hotel/air arrangements thru go-today.com, a reprise of London.  The old standby Frommer’s book for basic tourist stuff.  We added info from friends who’d made recent trips to Lisbon; met an old Portuguese market owner in Providence while visiting friends; and I read Journey to Portugal by Portuguese Nobel-winner José Saramago.  So, following the style of Saramago, “the travelers” feel ready to experience Portugal.  But first a few other matters.  Marjorie spends several days beforehand with grandson William in Queens while Matt & Anthea have busy schedules.  She comes back with strep throat, but our “Dr. Dan” fixes her up quickly.  Then a filling repair the day before we leave  ̶  we’ll owe the dentist a Lisbon thank-you.  And M’s ready to test drive her new Mother’s Day digital camera, following tutorials from Matt & friend Alice.  [I’m still relying on my SLR for slides, haven’t overcome my reluctance to go digital.]

Wed., May 18:

          Down to Queens in the AM, a stroll with Matt & William to neighborhood deli Andrew & Frank’s for lunch stuff.  Matt can’t drive us to the airport  ̶  he promised some of his 4^th & 5^th grade students he’d come to their school performance; but he arranges a nearby car service to JFK.  Thru self-check-in we’re able to get better seats.  A mob next to us of Iberia passengers waiting for their crew, stuck in traffic on the way to the airport!  We don’t get bumped to business class for our British Airways flight (like an earlier trip), but we’re treated well: a little packet w/ socks, toothbrush, mask for sleeping; free wine with dinner; and pretty good food (!).  Flight departs on time at 6:30pm.

Virginia, DC, & Other Southeast

 Virginia

April 2003

Friday, 4/11:

          It’s been a long winter: over 100” of snow (3^rd highest ever), a big ice storm followed by snow just in the past week.  We’re ready for some spring warmth and flowers.  Our friend Kay joins us for a follow-up to our European trip last summer.  After her arrival from Wisconsin, we head to “The Trial at Gilligan’s Island,” a fundraising spoof for Literacy Volunteers.  Kay chats up local celebrity Alan Chartok (TV commentator/public radio guru/SUNY professor).

Saturday, 4/12:

          Still in a tizzy over son Matt and Anthea’s very recent engagement, we head off at 6am, before the crack of dawn.  Marjorie from the back seat: “Wake me when it’s warm.”  Both M & K seem to have no trouble napping in the car.  Rainy until NJ, where forsythia are our first flowers.  Some trouble finding a breakfast spot  ̶  we thought NJ had diners everywhere  ̶  but finally a nice place in a service area on the Turnpike.  Along the way we spot buses labeled “Greater Love Cruiser”  ̶  turns out to be for a church.  More green and flowers as we go thru the “Delmarva” peninsula: Delaware (where we begin to get sun and blue sky), Maryland, into Virginia.  We make good time, tho Kay seems to complain whenever we have a stoplight. 

Burgundy & Provence

Burgundy and Provence

June 2009

 

Our Viking River Cruises trip on the Rhine 6 years ago was wonderful, very relaxing and only something of an exaggeration to describe it as gourmet dining interrupted by sightseeing.  Saw a similar cruise in Burgundy/Provence (“Portraits of Southern France”); knowing Marjorie had a yen to travel to Provence . . . well, not a hard decision.  Arranged it well in advance, to get some discounts and in anticipation of being joined by several family and friends.  But all abandoned us (you know who you are!) w/ lame excuses about weddings and family reunions. Guess we’ll have to get along just the two of us.  We get into the mood by reading Hotel Pastis: A Novel of Provence, loaned by daughter-in-law Anthea; a very enjoyable read and intro to Provençal ambiance. My next book, historical novel The Dream of Scipio, is also coincidentally set in 3 historical periods around Avignon: fall of the Romans, the Avignon papacy and Black Death, and the period leading up to WWII; we encounter all 3 periods during the tour.  We also have the usual Frommer’s travel info and some detailed booklets from VRC.  There’ve been reports all month about swine flu becoming a possible worldwide pandemic (it was so labeled a week after we returned, the 1^st in 40 years); a reminder of bird flu concerns before our trip to Istanbul.  We’ll follow proper hygiene principles.  Another coincidence: Russ’ brother Doug & sister-in-law Ann will also be traveling in France at the same time, but no crossed paths.

Santa Fe & Colorado

Santa Fe & Colorado

August 2012

          We're headed to Santa Fe for something of a reunion w/ Wisconsin friends: Diane & Jerry, who retired to Santa Fe about 10 years ago, and Kay, who has retired but stayed in Madison (been to Santa Fe a number of times, both together and Marjorie alone; see the "Santa Fe" post in this blog). The impetus now is Jerry’s 75^th birthday celebration, and we’ve added a side trip up to southern Colorado.  Able to use United credit-card miles to score free flights.  And our recently added “Explorer” card gives some useful perks (as seen now on frequent TV ads): a free checked bag apiece, priority boarding, 2 passes per year for United Lounge.  Of course, leaving now means many tomatoes and beans may ripen while we’re gone; neighbors are green-lighted to harvest, back-door neighbor Baracat seems especially excited.  One annoyance: my camera stops working the day before we leave! Marjorie kindly agrees to share hers.  

Thursday, 8/16:

          An early thunderstorm (a foreshadowing?), but it lets up by the time we head to the airport.  Into McDonald’s for coffee, young man behind the counter greets me: “Hi, Prof. Ward.”  Another UAlbany success story.  Clear & sunny by takeoff a little after 7am.  Halfway out:  “This is your captain speaking.”  Uh-oh, that can’t be good.  T-storms around Chicago have us on hold and initially headed toward Minnesota to circle back.  But not enough fuel for that, so we divert to Grand Rapids MI to refuel.  They kindly allow 2 passengers headed here anyway to get off, then on our way pretty efficiently.  Speaking of kindly, Marjorie moved her seat to allow a young couple to sit together; and my grandpa reflexes kick in: I offer half my peanut-butter sandwich to a little girl, she declines because it isn’t white bread, tho she is willing to share my chocolate-peanut-butter granola bar.  Low clouds among Chicago skyscrapers as we come into O’Hare about 2½ hours late.  Waiting for our connecting flight, thankfully similarly delayed, we meet a couple who just drove from Grand Rapids for this flight.  About 1½ hours late into Albuquerque Internat’l Sunport (ABQ).  As we taxi in Kay calls  ̶  she’s just arrived and we’ll meet at baggage claim, so things have worked out quite well.  We pick up our Hertz black Nissan Versa, comfy tho not much get-up-and-go.

Italy

ITALY

October 1998

           Marjorie had 1^st choice for a European trip (Ireland), so to be fair I get the next choice. Italy in the Fall works out because I’m on sabbatical this semester. This is my most complicated trip so far, mostly on my own (w/ some help from AAA) patching together flights, hotels (mostly found via a website, a new experience for our travels), trains, rental cars, etc. I’d originally thought to do an escorted tour, but our friend Karen insisted we would have more fun on our own  ̶  and that we could manage OK even w/ the language difference. Whew, lots to do, but even the planning is lots of fun!

Thursday, 10/1:

          A drive to JFK in the morning, car into long-term parking (guard towers, barbed wire, and security patrols, so it should be safe).  Burger King lunch with son Matt, then takeoff on Delta at about 6:30, sun setting over NYC & Long Island.  Screen periodically shows our position, speed, altitude, etc..  In-flight movie is “The Truman Show” (Jim Carrey).

Friday, 10/2:

          A pretty sunrise over Europe, arrive Rome about 8:30.  A quick “wave” through Customs, exchange money, catch a train to Termini Stazione in downtown Rome.  We pass our 1st ruins on the way, but Marjorie is taking a little nap.  5 blocks thru an Upper-East-Side-type neighborhood to the Hotel Romae.  Very friendly owners speak several languages (including English, thankfully).  A nice room and big key, which seems typical of hotels in Rome.  Like Ireland, bathrooms lack washcloths and sometimes limited pressure in the showers (which have emergency pull cords); different towels, not the fluffy ones we’re used to.  After settling in briefly, we head out to see Italy!  Despite forecasts of rain for the next few days, it’s a nice sunny PM, even a bit steamy.  A few language struggles in a bank, but I finally figure out how to use an ATM here, and buy a book of “Metrebus” tickets. 

Choir Tour #2: Central Europe

Choir Tour: Bavaria, Austria, Czech Republic

Summer 2011

It’s our 2^nd choir tour, a follow-up to the wonderful Italy experience in 2007.  We’ve held enjoyable and successful fundraising events (and thanks especially to Terry for her efforts on these events!): 2 “murder mysteries” (1 set in a 1920s speakeasy, 1 in the 1950s w/ Marjorie as a Catholic schoolgirl and me totally out of character as a nerd), and an Octoberfest.  Tour arranged again by Peter’s Way, flights on Air France (more on AF below), and we were delighted to learn that Elisabeth will again be our tour manager/guide.  We’ll be a smaller group than Italy – 24 choir members, 33  family & parishioners – so 1 bus instead of 2.  No priest with us, guess it lacks the cachet of Rome and the Vatican.  M & I have covered almost all the same ground on our own trips, but don’t mind seeing the beautiful cities and countryside again; and Marjorie missed the special Italy experience of traveling w/ the choir.  She helped arrange an after-Mass gathering of tour members to get acquainted and share information. 

We’ve dodged a couple of dark clouds.  The world-ending “rapture” prophesied for May 21 didn’t come to fruition; or maybe we’re all part of the eternally damned who didn’t get called.  And there was a nasty E. coli outbreak, but pretty much confined to northern Germany and the WHO website says new cases have declined significantly.  Plus, with reports that it’s due to green veggies, Director Charles says don’t worry, we won’t see anything but meat & potatoes (and pastries?).  [During the trip it’s reported that imported Egyptian seed sprouts are the source of the problem.]

Maine

Maine Weekend

September 2011

          We’ve done other trips to Maine. The 1^st was 1976 w/ Uncle Bill. A drive to Bar Harbor & Acadia NP, views along the coast and from Cadillac Mtn.

A very hot summer, even Down East, little wind and ocean like glass!; and Marjorie had a breast-feeding child attached.  At our motel on the ocean, a man in the next room stepped out and said loudly into his video camera: “Wow, what a view!”  This phrase became a shared joke for our travels.  Beautiful trails along ocean cliffs.  

Pretty views of fishing boats & sunrises from our room.  

Good blueberry pie. Other views of inlets, Thunder Hole, and various nautical scenes. 

A stop in Boston on the way home. Public Gardens, John Hancock Bldg., 

                                 Faneuil Hall area, 

following the Freedom Trail to Old North Church.