HAPPY NEW WEEK!I hope everyone has a wonderful week!I don't have a picture this week, but I thought I'd include these two links for anyone who wants to look at them. (1) This is aerial video photography of the autumn foliage at Turkey Run State Park, which is just down the road from my house. The water is Sugar Creek. The video is 2 1/2 minutes, but the nicest footage is shown at about 1 minute 45 seconds in the video. (2) This is aerial video photography of the autumn foliage at Shades State Park, which is only a few minutes from me. The Shades is very, very special to me because that's where my grandfather was a Park Forest Ranger. I spent a lot of time there when I was young, as did my Mom when she was little. The bridge is the Deer's Mill Covered Bridge, which was built in 1829 over Sugar Creek. The photographic drone even goes inside the bridge. Swallows and other birds nest in the rocky canyon cliffs. The video is 3 minutes. Here are some videos showing the outside and inside of some of the other bridges near my house. (No one is obligated to look at them.) Every year, over a million people come to my area in October to attend the Covered Bridge Festival. These videos were taken this month, right after the end of the festival.Jackson Covered Bridge, built in 1861 during the Civil War. In the 1800s, at times of high water, people launched flat boats at this point on Sugar Creek to float goods over to the Wabash River, where they travelled to the Ohio River and then to the mighty Mississippi River and on to the markets in New Orleans. Video is 2 minutes.West Union Covered Bridge, built in 1876. This bridge and its earlier versions were used by stage coaches on their way to Lafayette in NW Indiana during frontier times. The famous Wabash and Erie Canal was east of this bridge. Video is 2 minutes. Cox Ford Covered Bridge, on the west side of Turkey Run State Park over Sugar Creek. Video is 2 1/2 minutes.The Narrows Covered Bridge , in Turkey Run State Park over Sugar Creek. It's one of the most photographed covered bridges in the nation. The local Native American tribes and settlers from several countries had various names for Sugar Creek, but they all knew the Sugar Creek valley for its maple trees, the source of maple sugar. Video is 2 minutes.
We sailed on, further out almost to the sea:
On the way, we saw this strange thing - a modern building something to do with the management of the river, made to look, well, different!
Even from a distance we could see that it was leaning!
The nearer you were, the more incongruous it seemed. The Portuguese like their modern architecture as much as their ancient monuments.
By now, we had travelled quite a way from where we had been docked.
This small town near to Lisbon had its own beach.
Last sight of land before we reached Southampton, two days later. This was just on the edge of the open sea.
LYNETTE thank you.
We were able to sit on deck for an hour that afternoon, before it got too cold. That evening, we were tired as we had had an exciting day. But we had a good dinner, on a "black tie" night, where also all of the ladies dressed in black and white (I wore a white blouse, as I look dreadful in black, with black trousers) and then went to a club venue on board, to hear a band playing Caribbean sounds. In another venue, the famous chef Marco Pierre White was doing a Q&A session and signing books (I didn't see him).
The following day, our last full day, we tried to sit on deck but it clouded over and we actually got some fog! We sat in one of the big lounges and enjoyed waiters bringing coffees and hot chocs, whilst we read our books. In the afternoon, there were Sales in some of the shops on board and I poked around and bought some small items as presents. That evening, we joined three other couples on a big table for dinner and one of the couples asked us if we would all like to join them in a celebration: they had a big bottle of champagne! They said that they were celebrating having been on this, their 70th cruise!! and they didn't look particularly ancient.... The lady told me that they had been going on cruises for over 20 years, often taking three per year. It was a nice jolly party for us to end our trip. Afterwards, we went to the theatre to see a big show, which was mostly rock and roll, but was spoiled (I complained!) by the strobe lighting effects.
Next morning we had to wake early and grab breakfast before being thrown out of our cabin and having to congregate in one of the club venues as a group, before we disembarked. Here is a pic of the huge chandelier in the club:
Made from thousands of tiny pieces of glass, most impressive.
We could see, as we were already docked during breakfast, that our tiny blue car was still sitting there in the big, busy car park in Southampton. When we collected our luggage and disembarked, it was thankfully not raining although it was very grey and dismal after all the sunshine we had enjoyed.
We walked with our rolling cases, back to the car park and I looked back at the enormous hotel we had just sailed in. Many wonderful memories.
Footnote: It's been nice to relive our trip, whilst sharing it with you.
Statistics:
No of miles travelled: 3374 nautical miles.
PaIrs of shoes taken: 8! (All worn, though I admit I could have managed with only 7.......)
No of hunky handsome waiters in the restaurants and bars -- only one! The rest were pretty ordinary, sadly ;-)
Number of times I said "Wow" -- at least two dozen times, mostly when looking at views and buildings.
No of muffins eaten at breakfast: 6 - I had waffles some of the time and others, I was good and only had fruit..... and a croissant.
No. of books read between us: 5, although one of mine is still unfinished on my Kindle.
No of handsome ships' captains: 1!! - never got the chance to speak to him, but saw him twice.
No of cross words between my OH and myself: none! - we got along fine, especially if he let me wander off on my own occasionally, sometimes near the shops, LOL!!
Lindybird: I love that monument to the Navigators. I'll have to Google it and see who's represented. Must also check out the Belem Tower. Sorry about your terrible awful ghastly day. Hope today is better. 70 cruises? Three a year? Where do these people get the money!? Financiers? Drug lords? No kids?
Rosy: Succulents would probably survive the mail as you're supposed to let the stems dry out (or whatever they call it) before you replant them.
Heather: I messed up our automatic irrigation system so many times before I finally figured it out, it was pathetic. Sometimes I think I should've been born back in the old days before all these electronic things - but wait - I was! :-) You might find the User Guide online; that's where they seem to hide them all these days...
Spent all day yesterday - well most of it - at home while the tree trimmers were here. They're certified arborists, which we really need what with our huge Chinese Elm having cables to stabilize some of the large limbs. They did a long and thoughtful job (no indiscriminate whacking), then did an equally careful job thinning out the three olive trees. The owner said the Elm should be good for about three years before it needs another haircut.
Lots of catch up today.....take care all
Unknown said:70 cruises? Three a year? Where do these people get the money!? Financiers? Drug lords? No kids?
Our herring gulls are red listed birds. Think about that the next time you hear some flaming idiot calling for a cull of them.
Sounds like a good day for your trees, Annette. I hate to see those "professionals" who murder the trees by hacking great lumps off them, anyhow.
If you Google the Navigators monument it tells you lots about the characters on there, including the Queen who financed some of their adventures. Also the Belem Tower, which is much revered by the Portuguese. I knew about the N. Monument before we went, as lots of people told me "You must see that!" but some of the other things I knew nothing about. I bought a small guide book to Lisbon itself, and didn't really digest most of it until we got back. When you are there, there is too much to see.
LYNETTE - thanks for the good wishes for St Andrew's Day. Not much celebrated here, but we are having chicken filled with haggis for dinner - not the full balmoral recipe with whisky sauce (because I forgot I would need cream to do that!)
Been a busy but productive day - church newsletter completed - just need OH to proof-read tomorrow and print on Saturday. We had a phonecall to collect my glasses with the new lens for my operated eye - still makes the other one so frustrating - but I think I'll wait till after Christmas to phone and ask for the left one to be done. Was bitterly cold outside, going to fetch them. Have I mentioned the doc phoned yesterday to instruct me to double one of my three BP drugs - the one which is to slow my heart - think that'll make me feel the cold even worse!
Ospreys Rule OK, but Goldfinches come a close second!
Understand OG ,about the medication. Nothing I can say to improve things, but keep warm whatever the cost. I'm sure that is what you are doing. Take care.
Good that you've had two productive days, OG. Hope you're pleased with the carpets. And that you feel OK on the meds.
I've done all sorts of things which have been niggling me, including sorting out the five thousand or so receipts in my handbag!