Apologies and Bits & Pieces

Apologies

First, I want to once again apologize for not posting anything since 7/10/2010. When I started this blog to help people keep up with what I was doing, I never dreamed it would be so difficult to handle it while I was traveling. Part of the problem is that I can’t always get on the Internet and another problem is when I’m visiting friends and family, it’s sometimes difficult to make the time to update you all. I've decided to get a 3G modem from Verizon so I’ll be able to get on the Internet wherever I have cell phone coverage.

From My Dear Friends Don and Sandy:

Compliments to Google!

Not everybody has On Star or a phone book handy. Look what Google is doing................

This is something you will want to have and use! 
(I still remember when the telephone company charged me $1.50 to get a phone number from information)

Here's a number worth putting in your cell phone, or your home phone speed dial: 
1-800-goog411.

This is an awesome service from Google, and it's free -- great when you are driving on the road with no pen, pencil or paper handy. Don't waste your money on information calls and don't waste your time manually dialing the number. I am driving along in my car and I need to call the golf course and I don't know the number. I hit the speed dial for information that I have programmed.

The voice at the other end says, "City & State." I say, " Garland , Texas ." He says, "Business, Name or Type of Service." I say, " Garland Golf Course." He says, "Connecting" and  Garland Golf Course answers the phone.  How great is that? This is nationwide and it is absolutely free!

Click on the link below and watch the short clip for a quick demonstration.
http://www.google.com/ goog411/

Where I Am Right Now

As I write this, I am in room 411 in the Holiday Inn just off I-81 in Salem, VA, about 50 miles from I-77. It’s a beautiful room – much nicer than most I’ve ever been in, as you can see by the pictures:

The pictures really don’t do it justice.

Museums

Over the course of the last few days, I have had the privilege of visiting a number of museums. I’ve got some good pictures, but won’t bore you with them. The museums, all of which are worth a visit were:

• The Hornby Museum in Hornby, NY – lots of items from early Hornby settlement; references to early settlers, many of which are related to my cousins
• The Museum of the Earth in Ithaca, NY – full-sized mastodon and other fossils, interesting exhibits about the earth and their theories of how things came to be (I don’t subscribe to most of their continued lengthening of the time frame during which things evolved)
• The Tioga County Museum in Owego, NY (this month, they had exhibits of quilts); a one-of-a-kind picture of Abe Lincoln, taken by Matthew Brady; also there, but not on display was a rifle given to an Owego resident by Teddy Roosevelt; a research room with copies of the Owego paper going back to its beginning
• The Tioga Point Museum in Athens, PA (but it was closed)
• The Susquehanna River Archaeological Center of Native American Studies in Wavery, NY – features some great info on Native Americans in the Susquehanna River region, including an impressive array of arrowheads; learned that the flint from which the arrowheads were made came from someplace in Ohio, of all places

Cabela’s

On my way through Pennsylvania, I stopped at Cabela’s. I shop online there all of the time and was very excited to visit there. I was kind of disappointed. Their web site is so organized and easy to use. I found the store chaotic; it was like a big jumble. I did buy a pair of gore-tex hiking boots, some socks, and a chocolate and almond bar.

Great Family

As I have said before, I have a great family. As I may have told you, I planned to carry out the FIRST big black-water dump with my travel trailer at the Newtown Battlefield State Park. Providentially, NYS blocked entrance to east-bound traffic on Rte 17, so I had not been able to dump the black-water before I got to my brother-in-law’s house. He and his wife Rose volunteered to show me how to get to a waste water treatment plant that allowed dumping for free. They also volunteered to help me – a big mistake on their part – I took them up on it.

Well, the nozzle on the water hose supplied by the plant was very powerful. We all got wet from that. Don opened the valve on the tanks and got splattered a little with whatever was in the outside valve – you DON’T want to know. Rose and I took the hose into the camper so we could spray through the toilet and clean out the black water tank.

Do you have any idea how UNcoordinated I am? I don’t think I really knew until I tried to do that. My job was to open the valve on the toilet, put the hose in and spray the water into the tank. As I said, I am uncoordinated. Three or four times I closed the valve before releasing the nozzle – the bathroom and I were both soaked – am I ever glad I waited to take a shower until after we were done. At least, I kept my mouth shut…

Hopefully, my next experience will be more pleasant.

I don’t think Don or Rose realize how much I appreciate their help. Who else do you know who would willingly participate in such a venture. I don’t know what I would have done on this trip without the help of them or my cousin Elwyn or my cousin Kevin. What a GREAT family I have!

Well, I drove 10 or 11 hours today, so I’m getting sleepy.

Until next time…