JGG

The big adventure for Sunday was Blue Earth. They have a very large statue of the Jolly Green Giant. They also have two rest stops on I-90, with a connecting trail that goes under the interstate. This trail was important because it is paved (hence not muddy) and because it wasn’t actually raining while we were there. That gave us an opportunity to get out of the car and stretch our legs a little bit. Blue Earth’s main claim to fame is that the two crews working on I-90, one going east and one going west, met up at Blue Earth and put a strip of gold-colored cement to mark the completion of the road. The gold-colored cement is either long gone or buried under a more recent layer of paving, but the mosaic at the East-bound Blue Earth rest stop lives on.

Blue Earth Golden Spike

It’s about 30 minutes from Blue Earth to the South Dakota border. I gave Danita the keys and took a rest. When we stopped, the sun was out, the temperature was warm(er), and the speed limit was up from 70 to 80. Life is better in SD.

Danita lifting a car

We spent two nights in Sioux Falls. That was a good decision because Sioux Falls is a very nice place to be. We were lucky to have a very pleasant morning. The afternoon got a little windy, cool, and cloudy; but the forecasted rain didn’t start until we were back at the hotel.

We started with a tour of sculpture in downtown, We saw a lot of art. Some of it was interesting, fun, and/or beautiful. Some of it was funky. (I’m being as kind as possible here). But it was all fun.

We kept on walking after we got to the end of the sculptures and walked on into the Sioux Falls waterfall. When the town was first getting started, the falls was the focal point of local industry. The most ambitious effort was large flour mill that went bust in just a few years. New owners tried again a few years later, only to have it go bust again. It seems there wasn’t enough wheat or enough water to meet the break-even point the large investment required.

The Falls at Sioux Falls

There was a lot of information about how this beautiful place was trashed by the mill, hydroelectric plant, and railroad. Today, there are beautiful tree-lined streets everywhere. In 1900, there were no trees in the area except for a few near the falls that got destroyed. However, the addition of trees in Sioux Falls doesn’t fit into the story of reckless misuse of resources “they” want to tell, so it isn’t mentioned.

Pettigrew’s Window

The local hero is Pettigrew. We learned a lot of stories about him in visiting museums and his house. But there’s one story that lays his character bare. When the US was entering WW I, Pettigrew was so outspoken about staying out of the war that he was indicted. Years later, charges were dropped. He had the formal indictment mounted on the wall next to the Declaration of Independence, which he said was a symbol of his freedom of speech. Of course he had a house with all the modern conveniences, including the small stained glass window towards the left in the picture above. It is visible only from the outside of the house. On the other side is a fireplace in his formal reception area. When he wanted to accept visitors, he had a fire built in the fireplace. People saw the window lit up and knew they could visit.

After all this, we still had time to visit a small but delightful aquarium and indoor butterfly garden. I’ve never seen so many butterflies at once.

Diner

We’ve had two days of heavy rain with temperatures of 40 to 60 degrees. This is a part of the country where the interesting things are outdoors. We’ve bypassed most of our planned activities (except meals). We found a very good geological museum at U of Wisconsin. We had a dinner at a wonderful diner. It was a new building built as an old-fashioned diner. It had a wonderful mix of modern and retro. And the food was quite good. I had “Meatloaf of the gods” and rhubarb pie.

River tug

The good thing is that the inside of the car is quite comfortable. We didn’t bring much in the way of warm weather clothes. We each have a sweater and a rain jacket. I’ve learned how to put them on and take them off while in the driver’s seat by kneeling on the seat and facing backwards. It’s a cool trick. When we crossed the Mississippi River, we were lucky enough to stumble upon a lock. The Minnesota welcome center was just down the road from a small visitor’s building at the lock. Mississippi barges are huge beyond my imagination. One tug pushes two sets of barges (side by side).

Mississippi Barge

The rain has let up but it’s still cloudy and quite cool. We plan to get at least a short walk at one or two parks on our way to Sioux Falls today.

There are pics this time.

Columbian Exposition Wagon

Our objective the first day was to get through PA. Their interstates are so bad, they are a disgrace to the nation. We had 6 hours of driving to do. I took I-68 through Western MD. It added 45 minutes to the already long drive, but the road is much better. We still had to drive north to Pittsburgh and then west to Ohio. We stopped in Akron for the night (near Cleveland). We had time to take a short hike in Cuyahoga Park, which is very nice. But basically we just drove.

1902 Electric Car

Today we drove through Ohio. We stopped at the Great Lakes Museum in Toledo, mostly just to stretch our legs. We didn’t realize how dangerous it was to be on a commercial boat in the great lakes. They lost a ship every 11 days, on average — all the way up through 1970. We’re staying in South Bend, IN. Of course, one should never go through South Bend without visiting the National Studebaker Museum. I enjoyed this stop quite a bit and Danita was pleasantly patent.

1904 “C”

Studebaker started out as one of the best known and most successful manufacturers of horse-drawn wagons and buggies. Their first cars were electric. The one pictured here had a range of 60 miles and a top speed of 22 MPH. Not bad specs for 1902!

1919 Bix Six

Those of you who are younger may not realize that Studebaker was one of the most successful car manufacturers from the early 1900s up through the 1950s. The oldest gasoline Studebaker in existence is the 1904 “C”, which is quite a looker. Before WW II, they were especially known for building rugged, reliable cars – such as this 1919 “Big Six” that traveled 475,000 miles.

1935 President

Their big car before WW II was the “President”. They had several of various models and years in the museum. All were impressively large and attractive.

1931 Six Roadster

They made small cars as well as large ones, and they all looked great. They even made some entry level cars. They weren’t price competitive with Ford model Ts, but they consistently had top-of-the line styling, features, performance, and reliability.

1953 Champion Hardliner Hardtop

Immediately after WW II, they were the first company to come out with attractive cars. They kept their styling advantage throughout the 50s. The Champion Hardliner is considered one of the most beautiful production cars ever made.

My New Studebaker

At the end of the tour, Danita and I had a great little fantasy of what it might have been like to own one of these most desirable cars. The one pictured here was from the 40s and featured one of the most unique and identifiable styling queues — the rocket nose. It had all the fun of a great convertible, without any of the fussy seat belts and beeping warning buzzers.

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Jersey T’s second life

Joe and Toni got married Saturday. All three kids arrived in time for dinner Wednesday. Ryn made a big hit with her new backpack and duffle bag. They were made from Jersey T, a calf that lived at Eastwind.

Mark helping Bryon with a puzzle

We had different events for different folks Thursday morning. Pat, Mark, Ryn & Taeo toured a guitar factory. Danita & I took B & E to the Robinson Nature Center. In the afternoon, we played Monster Golf — a minigolf that is indoors (very important for a rainy day). Danita & I take yoga Thursday evenings. We are the only people in that yoga class, so we converted it into a family yoga class. Danita, Mark, and Jul played Scrabble after dinner.

Taeo & Ryn

Friday Danita & I took B, E, and Jul to Emmitsburg to see the Grotto (Shrine Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes). We had a picnic lunch during a break in the rain, then visited the Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton. It’s not a typical adventure, but everybody had a good time. We were fortunate to have very little rain during the day.

Scrabble

The wedding was on Kent Island (just on the other side of the bay bridge). The ceremony was very nice. Joe and Toni both obviously love each other. The reception was in Annapolis. The food was good,The wine (and beer) flowed freely. In between, we had some free time. It was rainy, so we hung at the Annapolis Mall, which fortunately had an interesting Lego store.

Ryn made this hat from a Racoon they trapped. (Racoons were attacking the ducks and had to go.)

The Reeds left early Sunday morning so they could go to work and school Monday. Ryn, Taeo, and Mark went to a celebratory brunch Sunday. If they get back in time, we’ll catch a movie — probably the highly reviewed “Guardians of the Galaxy”. Ryn & Taeo are moving on to New England. Ryn is looking at several farms where she can work a while and learn useful new stuff. Taeo is considering working as an assistant chef at this restaurant in South Carolina:
http://www.thebrentwoodrestaurant.com/low_country_french_cuisine/

Danita, doing her thing. The spaghetti was very good.

Livingroom Showdown

That’s a lot of stuff for one week. We’ll spend a couple of days packing before leaving on our great journey to South Dakota Wednesday morning. I hope this finds everybody doing well.

Ed, Rick, Bud, Danita, & Lynn

At the Lego Store

Wedding Reception Games

Bud and Danita

Toni and Joe – First Dance

Susie and Rick

Ed & Lynne

This is another quick note with no pics.

I had several doctor’s appointments scheduled this summer when we will be in South Dakota. I moved most of them out into October, but I wanted to move my opthamologist in. I see in the distance OK, but I can’t make out details very well. It is difficult for me to read. It’s nothing terribly bad, just something that might need some attention. The doctor gave me an eyeglass prescription with more magnification so I will have an easier time reading, but he said my corrected distance vision is 20/30 and can’t be improved. He said my problem is that I am developing cataracts. When I can’t stand it any more, I’ll need surgery. I’m a long way from the surgery for sure. But I’m looking forward to getting my new glasses so I will have an easier time reading.

We took part 1 of a 2-part class on Greek art. It’s an adult education class offered through the community college. We learned a lot and enjoyed the class quite a bit. We’ll take the second part on Monday. We’re looking forward to it.

The other fun thing we did this week is attend a show given by the Chinese Golden Dragon Acrobats. It was at the Meyerhoff (where the Baltimore Symphony usually performs). It was quite entertaining. Danita and I had a very good time.

Next week is our last normal week. Joe’s wedding is coming up. Jul, Ryn, and Mark will all be here. People start rolling in Wednesday, May 10. Everybody will be gone sometime the following Monday. We’ll have 2 day for packing before leaving for South Dakota. Thank goodness for Danita’s lists!

I hope this finds everybody doing well.

There are no pics this week.

We’ve had a lot of rainy, cool weather. That means there’s not so much bike riding going on. It’s a good time to catch up on chores & stuff. We’re real caught up.

Danita and I spent one entire rainy day filling out paperwork for our volunteer position at Jewel Cave. We aren’t being paid a salary, but we are still employees of the Federal Government. We still have to meet the requirements of personnel. They still want to know when we visited China, along with seemingly thousands of other details of our existence.

We haven’t attended any neighborhood parties recently. There was a casino night. (We don’t enjoy gambling). There was a concert by a violinist. (We didn’t like him last time he was here, so we’re not likely to like him this time either.) We don’t plan to go to the pool opening party. (Free hot dogs at 2:00, with a large number of other people’s grandkids.)

One of the chores I was working on was pressure washing the deck, porch, garage, and other areas of the outside of the house. The pressure washer has a nozzle with a trigger. When I pull the trigger, the pump is supposed to start and shoot a stream of water out the nozzle at a dirt-busting high pressure. When I release the trigger, the pump is supposed to stop. I cleaned the deck and was almost done with the porch. I released the trigger, and the pump didn’t stop. I turned the power switch off, and the pump still didn’t stop. I press the GFI test button, and the pump still didn’t stop. Finally, I unplugged the pressure washer. The pump finally stopped. I was able to finish the porch, but that was it. I looked at getting it fixed. It’s a familiar story. Labor costs are so high that it doesn’t pay to repair anything less than expensive, professional equipment. So I put it on Craig’s List, clearly stating it is busted and describing the problem. I listed it at $30, figuring somebody would want it, but would feel the need to negotiate the price down to $20. I actually had somebody who wanted it so badly they paid the full $30. It sure beats hauling it off to the dump. I have a feeling this guy will figure out how to fix it and get some more use out of it. I’ll get a new one when we come back in October — just in time for Fall cleaning.

I gave a cyber security talk for our neighborhood last week. It was well received. We had a very nice circle dinner at the Bertch’s yesterday.

That’s all the news for this week. I hope this finds everybody doing well.

It was a fairly quiet week. The highlight was Easter dinner at Ed & Lynne’s. We got back just a while ago and had a great time.

The big news is that we were accepted for a volunteer position at Jewel Cave National Monument in South Dakota. We’ll be leaving May 16, shortly after Joe and Toni’s wedding. We’ll return on September 9, which will give us a couple of days to do laundry and pack before going off to Greece. Busy, busy.

Danita and I are quite excited about this opportunity. We had a blast at Pipe Spring. The volunteer coordinator makes it sound like Jewel Cave will be just as much fun. We’ve never been to South Dakota, and there’s a lot of stuff to see in the Badlands area.

That’s it for now. I hope this finds everybody doing well.

We had a nice week, including a neighborhood party Friday and a Church dinner Saturday. But the best was an impromptu visit to the Inner Harbor for “Light City Baltimore”. Getting to the parking wasn’t fun, but after that the evening was delightful. They had several light exhibits, which was more or less the excuse to have a good time. The evening included live music, expensive light wand toys for the kids, food, craft beers, and local wines.

The portion of the Inner Harbor where it was legal to drink outdoors was quite crowded, but there were plenty of people throughout the area. Even surrounding neighborhoods participated with special colored lighting. This was the second year for Light CIty Baltimore, and certainly won’t be the last. Here’s a few pics .
The other thing I spent time on this weekend was an update for our community website. Some folks claimed the update corrupted their calendar. I spent over a day collecting information about our calendar’s events in case this happened to us. Fortunately, the update went without a hitch. I didn’t need the data, but it’s much better to have things go well then to have to re-enter a bunch of events.

I hope this finds everybody doing well.

Elizabeth

Here’s a few pics of the Reeds. We spent Saturday at Wise Acres, a seasonal pick-your-own farm with activities for the kids. We also saw the new movie Beauty and the Beast. The story is well known, but the telling was very good. Today after Church, Bryon will be fixing breakfast. Then we will paint the treehouse in the afternoon, while the Reeds go to an Easter Egg hunt where the eggs will be dropped from a helicopter. We’re hoping to get the painting done today, because the forecast for tomorrow looks ominously wet.

Pat Bryon Julia

Wise Acres goat

Wise Acres train ride

B & E

I have a bunch of pictures this time.

Augusta has some beautiful natural areas. This is taken at Phinizy Swamp.

We spent some time in Augusta. It’s a nice enough city. When the Augusta economy collapsed before the civil war, they decided to build a canal with the idea of creating hydro power to operate many cotton mills. Their engineer found that they could have a 53 foot water drop; plenty to get the pressure they needed to turn the wheels in a cotton mill. The project was late and had cost overruns. When they were done, they found their engineer had dramatically underestimated how much water flow was required to power the factories. They barely had enough hydro power for one factory. After the civil war, they hired an engineer who knew what he was doing. He dramatically increased the volume of water available and several major mills opened.

Augusta Canal Works

Not long after, Augusta found out how bad the factory jobs were. Augusta has much fewer historic buildings than Savannah has, and it hurts them quite a bit. The river walk area is attractive, clean, modern — and sterile. However, they also did some pretty cool things. In the late 1930s, the mills used the hydro power to run electric generators for the mills. They slowly converted their equipment so that each machine ran off its own electric motor, increasing automation as they went. A few of the old mills are still standing. They are being converted to modern uses. It works out very well, in part because the old electric power plants from the 30s and 40s still work. The canal museum is in an old mill building that generates 500 KW, which is twice the power the building needs. The excess power is sold to the local power company.

A picture can be worth 1,000 words. Here are some examples.

Blacksmith Shop

Taken at a state park / lunch stop. This is the first time I have knowingly eaten lunch in an area where water balloons were prohibited.

Turtle

Hawk

We had an excellent dinner in an old cotton warehouse. These lampshades made by a local artist fit the building perfectly.