tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-68420492915507289972024-03-05T07:18:14.604-05:00Brooksby FamilyBrooksby FamilyMichelle Brooksbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07604925870238292421noreply@blogger.comBlogger160125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6842049291550728997.post-78687936138760123742017-04-15T20:46:00.000-04:002017-04-16T18:13:52.145-04:00日本 - 2017年From previous posts you may have seen that we've taken some trips on about a 2-year schedule. However, unique circumstances combined in such a way that we had a window of opportunity to take a trip this year at a substantial discount. So we did. In March of this year Michelle and I returned to the country where I served as a missionary 36 years ago. We visited Japan. That's right, <span style="font-family: "ms mincho";">日本</span>, the land of the rising sun. And what an amazing trip this turned out to be. We decided on the trip in December, so we took the opportunity to let two friend who live in Japan know we were coming and we made arrangements to visit them while we were there.<br />
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The trip started on March 13 when we left from Albany, just ahead of the biggest snowstorm in probably 10 years. We are thankful for good neighbors who plowed our driveway for us while we were gone! Though we left early in the morning on the 13th, we didn't arrive in Tokyo until the afternoon of Tuesday the 14th, courtesy of the international date line. On arrival we picked up our Japan Rail passes (a must), some Tokyo subway passes (also strongly recommended), and two "Hakone free" passes, and headed off to our hotel. By the time we checked in it was starting to get dark, but we still had some time so we headed off to Shibuya to see the famous crossing there.<br />
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We had dinner, then headed back to the hotel, walking through the Ginza district on the way. In our hotel we had a "semi-double bed". If you ever travel to Japan, know that they do not have the same bed sizes as in the USA. A semi-double in Japan is somewhere between a twin and a double in the USA. Suffice it to say, we were cozy. But we were fine since we were there to experience the country and not hotel beds.<br />
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The next morning we were going to visit the Tokyo Temple, but first wanted to make some train reservations. We stopped in the Tokyo station and made the reservations and then discovered Glen had lost his subway pass. So after a sad detour for a new pass, we were on the train headed to the temple. The temple is beautiful, but unlike many other temples, there are no temple grounds to speak of. Luckily, just across the street is a very nice park with a beautiful garden which makes up for it.<br />
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After a visit to the temple we went to the Meiji shrine and enjoyed touring around it a bit. Two temples in one day!<br />
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The Meiji shrine is just across the street from the famous Harajuku neighborhood. This neighborhood has two parts: one street has a lot of high-end shopping. However, the street that is popular with the young crowd is Takeshita street. This street is clogged with tweens, teens and young adults and stores targeting them. We passed one store that had an amazingly delicious smell coming from it and a line out the door. So we got in that line and ended up buying eating a delicious thing that's hard to describe. It was long, toasted, filled with custard and coated with something yummy.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3_pset14c5vYrlnShpY5huL09Dt2e8jXTCwjJLbwUmLf2a9t7ntQeiYJBj0H5lk8OdkvB3Yz2RVVRFV3GxpshBrEZiFmH-sguWmI__Xu7qfxgYda8ALgxq0GD-5qwVvy-L6GSGsx1ATS7/s1600/IMG_7269.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3_pset14c5vYrlnShpY5huL09Dt2e8jXTCwjJLbwUmLf2a9t7ntQeiYJBj0H5lk8OdkvB3Yz2RVVRFV3GxpshBrEZiFmH-sguWmI__Xu7qfxgYda8ALgxq0GD-5qwVvy-L6GSGsx1ATS7/s320/IMG_7269.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">That arrow pointing at my head does not mean I'm full of <br />
soft-serve ice cream or that I cost 450
<span style="font-family: "ms mincho"; font-size: 12.8px;">円</span>.</td></tr>
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At the end of Takeshita street they have a video banner hanging over the street and in the photo here you can see us looking up at it.<br />
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Since we were not far from Shinjuku at that point we went to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building because it has an observation floor that is free to visit. We went up to that floor and got an amazing view of all of Tokyo, which is an enormous city. We also got what would turn out to be our only view of Mt. Fuji.<br />
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The next day we visited the famous Tsukiji fish market and the neighborhood around it which sells all manner of seafood and got some good sushi for breakfast.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nothing like sushi for breakfast!</td></tr>
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Then we took a train to Daiba where we were booked on a cruise from Daiba to Asakusa on the Himiko river boat. The Himiko is a very unique boat and we got a nice view of Tokyo along the way. The most fun on the trip, though, was the group of elementary school children that was also on board. A small group of them gathered in a clutch near us and played rock-paper-scissors to see which one would have to approach us, but they finally did and asked us questions in English, which they were learning. We answered in English a bit, but Glen answered in Japanese too, which surprised and entertained them greatly. A great time was had by all.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Himiko<br />
(see panorama below)</td></tr>
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In Asakusa we had Tempura for lunch, because that's what you eat in Asakusa. We then visited the Kaminari gate and the Senso-ji Buddhist shrine. The gate and the shrine are connected by a street called Nakamise-dori, which is jam-packed full of stores selling all manner of touristy trinkets and food. On this particular day there were also a number of young men and women wearing kimonos, which was beautiful to see.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Michelle touching the lantern in the 雷門<br />
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(Kaminari-mon).</td></tr>
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Since we weren't far away, we decided to make a stop in Akihabara, which is famous for electronics, video games and maid cafes. We didn't stay long, because that kind of thing isn't really up our alley, but we did happen to see 4 or more go-carts go up the streets with their drivers dressed as different Mario-Kart characters. That was fun.<br />
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We wrapped up the day and our first stay in Tokyo with a trip to Mori tower for another panoramic view of Tokyo from the Sky Deck. The day was much colder than we had anticipated, so we were happy to get back to our warm hotel.<br />
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The next day was Friday and early in the morning we were up and boarding the Shinkansen for Hiroshima. We got there in the early afternoon and found our AirBnB apartment. This was a great place to stay. After dropping our luggage off we met our friends, the Konos. We haven't seen them since about 1996 so it was great to see them again. The Konos took us to a resort-like place where we enjoyed a walk in a beautiful garden and then an onsen (a public bath/hot tub). After the onsen we dressed in yukatas (because that's what you do after an onsen) and had a truly authentic multi-course Japanese meal at the <a href="http://kamogawaso.co.jp/" target="_blank">Hotel Kamogawa</a>.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Brooksbys and Konos</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hiroe and Kiroki</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Glen and Michelle<br />
Wearing yukatas after the onsen. It's what you do.</td></tr>
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The next day we met the Konos again and went together to Miyajima. By bus, ropeway and hiking we ascended to the top of Mt. Misen for a beautiful view of the inland sea. Coming back down we toured the town a bit eating various things along the way. <br />
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After leaving Miyajima our feet were very tired from all the walking an hiking so we made a brief stop at foot onsen. Here we just bathed our feet and drank hot lemonade. It felt great. We ended the day with dinner at a very nice Italian restaurant on a hill overlooking Hiroshima. It had a beautiful view.<br />
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On Sunday, Glen and Michelle went to church in the Hikari Ward in downtown Hiroshima. No, we did not run into anyone Glen knew from long ago. After church we met the Konos again and this time their son Takuto was with them. Takuto found a place for us to have Okonomiyaki for lunch. Okonomiyaki is the thing to eat in Hiroshima and ours was delicious. <br />
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We next headed over to the site Hiroshima is most famous for, Peace Memorial Park. This is the park near the epicenter of where the atomic bomb was dropped. It is sobering to see man's inhumanity toward man so graphically on display. War is terrible and it makes people do things they would never normally do.<br />
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To wrap up our visit to Hiroshima, the Konos took us to a great tempura dinner. It was sad to say good-bye to them since we know how hard it is to visit. We'll just have to find other ways to stay in touch.<br />
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Monday morning we boarded the shinkansen again, this time for Kobe, where we met the Naganuma family. Glen met Masahito in 1979, when he joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. They lost touch until about 2008, but then found each other again. It was great reunion after 36 years! We spent Monday-Wednesday with the Naganumas and had a great time. Monday we drove to Himeji Castle and toured it.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Naganumas and Brooksbys at Himeji Castle</td></tr>
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Then Tuesday we had a great time at the Arima onsen, which is one of the best in Japan. It was raining that day, so the combination of the cool rainy air while soaking in the hot bath was very enjoyable and relaxing.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoqNQ2icMVoKWPl2bnycSir-NRtNLXUaWPOIlTYe8jjrbpRUd3XQSM1eklMetUv1IHh6ZNc23Bz96dPVzd0aXqKyklv4oEQ4DIvV3nLIKE3stJjgsrw4VOb8dPunwpdWGqdOoKu8chi_H-/s1600/IMG_1306.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoqNQ2icMVoKWPl2bnycSir-NRtNLXUaWPOIlTYe8jjrbpRUd3XQSM1eklMetUv1IHh6ZNc23Bz96dPVzd0aXqKyklv4oEQ4DIvV3nLIKE3stJjgsrw4VOb8dPunwpdWGqdOoKu8chi_H-/s400/IMG_1306.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In our yukatas after the onsen.</td></tr>
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On Wednesday we drove to Kyoto and visite Kinkaku-ji, the Heian shrine, and Kiyomizu-dera. Kiyomizu-dera was apparently the place to be on Wednesday because there were lots of people and a great number of women in traditional kimonos and even some men too.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At Kinkaku-ji</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN9yeiP7C5lpA9CtJCfYNqGEfI_3vbKM2cOAlbKoNvGF4VWO2m_Au4vZzkVmt-EoJHc6ZFR67Lx_RwXM4uNj1MLJTFZO67AkHn9b8Dfiouta3k2E9wasnxtAjgmt0MsjMN3lRataSSCw5A/s1600/DSC_0517.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN9yeiP7C5lpA9CtJCfYNqGEfI_3vbKM2cOAlbKoNvGF4VWO2m_Au4vZzkVmt-EoJHc6ZFR67Lx_RwXM4uNj1MLJTFZO67AkHn9b8Dfiouta3k2E9wasnxtAjgmt0MsjMN3lRataSSCw5A/s400/DSC_0517.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At the Heian-shrine</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Heian-shrine</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDS18yphWwA85HhaOwUpBGVc9pWBUBE9Mn7zzVjObxNSX83VDbfqt4npO691VVhQAmoxGwsxfkzKfBLgcoeiaTtz2lEN99POY0AnbBo3rt8nctZAjU2PNSM6BL9c_KVUdsvjps5WLXXHTq/s1600/IMG_7716.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDS18yphWwA85HhaOwUpBGVc9pWBUBE9Mn7zzVjObxNSX83VDbfqt4npO691VVhQAmoxGwsxfkzKfBLgcoeiaTtz2lEN99POY0AnbBo3rt8nctZAjU2PNSM6BL9c_KVUdsvjps5WLXXHTq/s400/IMG_7716.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At Kiyomizu-dera</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">So many beautiful kimonos!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kiyomizu-dera means Temple of pure water. This is that water.</td></tr>
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Wednesday evening we said our sad good-bye to the Naganumas as they went home and we checked into a hotel near the train station in Kyoto. The train station itself in Kyoto is worth a visit. It's quite the place.<br />
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Because the Japan Rail pass made the trip free, we jumped on the train and made a brief run to the Fushimi-Inari shrine. This is one of the iconic places you see when you see photos of Japan. The shrine has a path spanned by thousands of red Torii gates. If you were to hike the whole thing it takes about 2 hours, which we did not have. To be honest, once you've seen a hundred meters of it you kind of get the idea what the rest will look like. Thursday we got up and made another quick trip to Fushimi-Inari again so we could see it in the daylight. After a stay of about an hour we headed back to the hotel to grab our bags and take the shinkansen to Hakone.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fushimi-Inari, going uphill.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fushimi-Inari, going downhill. <br />
The writing on the Torri gates can only be seen going downhill.</td></tr>
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<a href="https://www.google.com/maps/place/Hakone,+Ashigarashimo+District,+Kanagawa+Prefecture,+Japan/@35.2324716,138.9775371,12z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x6019a20c60b2dc7b:0x2605bd17ac977b26!8m2!3d35.2323553!4d139.1069375" target="_blank">Hakone </a>is a resort town, also famous for onsen, in the hills not far from Tokyo. Here we had booked a stay in a ryokan, or traditional Japanese accommodation in the small town of Gora. The room had tatami mats and we slept in futons on the floor. This night was spent very much like Glen spent many months of his mission in Japan. Despite forecasts to the contrary, the weather turned pretty cold while we were in Hakone. This made things interesting because the place we were staying was so traditional it did not have central heat. It did have a gas room heater, which worked well. But because it is gas, you can't leave it running all the time or you could run into carbon monoxide problems. So before bed, we went to the onsen on the property. This onsen was so hot! You could barely stand to be in it. So, so hot! After the onsen we were warmed up and we ran the heater to warm up the room, then got into bed. Except for noisy neighbors, we slept fine, and in the morning heated the room back up again.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our room in Gora (Hakone region).</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In yukatas again, after the onsen.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our futons!</td></tr>
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Gora is on a steep hill and transportation up and down the hill is by a cable car. We took the cable car up the hill to Sounzan where we caught a bus to Owakudani. From there we took a ropeway down to lake Ashi and then a tour boat to the south end of the lake. Did I mention it turned cold while we were in Hakone? Well at this point in our trip it started snowing! We knew it would be cold this day, so since we weren't prepared for snow, we just layered up. Glen wore 6 layers of clothing and Michelle wore 5. We stayed warm enough, but it was a good thing we had all those layers.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our sightseeing cruise ship.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguVjtgJ6SO2WPPbW2jKO3yzs-BHcuQYqNBGnOWy4knlPr9Tb7AKNabAWprCu_rRwRvXDx5fZaqouE22_d7A79GsiCqYcwO4j56WKgXKDg80I9nJuMtsdRJDO9pNWMbwxKxeTyeStAJSTVD/s1600/IMG_1350.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguVjtgJ6SO2WPPbW2jKO3yzs-BHcuQYqNBGnOWy4knlPr9Tb7AKNabAWprCu_rRwRvXDx5fZaqouE22_d7A79GsiCqYcwO4j56WKgXKDg80I9nJuMtsdRJDO9pNWMbwxKxeTyeStAJSTVD/s400/IMG_1350.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The avenue of the cedars.</td></tr>
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We took in some sights in that part of town and then reversed the whole process - Boat, ropeway, bus, cable car - back to our ryokan to pick up our bags. On our way back we stopped at Owakudani, which is a small area with sulfurous geysers. They boil eggs in the geysers and it turns the egg shells black. It's traditional to eat black, hard-geyser-boiled eggs there, so you know we did.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAwzz531uVJo1U8d9bvutmNE2te5SdR0sf20xftSFOBweyMzhMfnHBKtT1qlwG_lYgPothKz0a4X3OMtlxmVRH23s340Hv6xQFuzIxRE2i11ZnBCgP0oXOMAU0uZ_fksbiR7WhMFHnOeQE/s1600/IMG_7882.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAwzz531uVJo1U8d9bvutmNE2te5SdR0sf20xftSFOBweyMzhMfnHBKtT1qlwG_lYgPothKz0a4X3OMtlxmVRH23s340Hv6xQFuzIxRE2i11ZnBCgP0oXOMAU0uZ_fksbiR7WhMFHnOeQE/s400/IMG_7882.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Black, geyser-boiled eggs anyone?</td></tr>
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Finally we boarded various trains and made our way to our final night's stay in Tokyo. Saturday we only had half a day before we had to head to the airport. So we went to the imperial palace and got tickets for their morning tour. It was fun to see the castle and imperial buildings up close. By noon we were starting our trip back to the airport.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO2ME2NKhLLmBt-ayQnE_LejnngxaZxflwWM7g5FyUcbbinzeTS7YAoBHYrejvL3AKhh3DoqDGVEcHAXVwU2ERDnoXyrCSKgsEbvkmc6V_Rnx02llS9TvN3T6t9zE7aurEZ3nor88gIyBD/s1600/DSC_0728.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO2ME2NKhLLmBt-ayQnE_LejnngxaZxflwWM7g5FyUcbbinzeTS7YAoBHYrejvL3AKhh3DoqDGVEcHAXVwU2ERDnoXyrCSKgsEbvkmc6V_Rnx02llS9TvN3T6t9zE7aurEZ3nor88gIyBD/s400/DSC_0728.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On the grounds at the Imperial Palace.</td></tr>
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Visiting Japan was so much fun and such an enjoyable experience. We highly recommend it to anyone. It is so different from other places you may visit in the USA or Europe. But there are so many fun and interesting and unique things to do.
Glen Brooksbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17157527238376299217noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6842049291550728997.post-11005008841791348822017-02-10T22:06:00.001-05:002017-02-25T17:52:10.402-05:00Italy 2016In October of 2016 Michelle and I decided on a great way to celebrate our 32nd anniversary. We celebrated it early, and in Italy. It took a couple of years of saving, but we began planning early and started making reservations in March. I'll say it up front: there are a number of places you'll want to visit in Italy and several of them require reservations well in advance. Others require tickets that you can get on the spot, but you'll want to know the requirements in advance. To make the most of a trip like this, I recommend doing your research up front. Michelle handled most of this for us and we had so much more fun as a result. Tickets were so important to have in some places that I'm using the abbreviation AT in this post for the places we had advance tickets and found it helpful, not counting planes, trains and lodging.<br />
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We started by taking the bus from Albany to New York City, then the LIRR out to JFK airport. From JFK we flew Emirates Airlines directly to Milan. Then in Milan we took the train from the airport to the Milan Central train station. From there we walked to our apartment not far from the station. All our accommodations on this trip were at Airbnb's and they couldn't have been better. In every case we paid about what we would have for a hotel, but instead got something closer to an entire apartment. In many cases with laundry facilities.<br />
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Once in Milan we walked to the <a href="http://www.duomomilano.it/en/" target="_blank">Milan Cathedral</a>. We didn't have tickets for this one and we didn't want to wait in the two lines for tourists. So we agreed not to take pictures and reverently went in the side reserved for worshipers. We sat quietly in the cathedral and enjoyed it in a way closer to its intended purpose.<br />
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After leaving the cathedral we took a Metro train to a smaller church named <a href="https://legraziemilano.it/" target="_blank">Santa Maria delle Grazie</a>. This unassuming little church is where daVinci's "Last Supper" was painted. Thanks to tickets (AT) purchased far in advance we were able to go in and see this masterpiece. It is amazing to see, in person, this work that we've only seen in books for so many years. It was a great experience.<br />
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We left to go back to our apartment, and soon found that the train drivers were on strike! Initially we thought we would just walk back, but soon realized it would be too far, so with the help of a tobacconist with very good English we found a (very packed) streetcar that got us home.<br />
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The next day we boarded an early train to Venice and arrived mid-day. We dropped our bags at the apartment and walked over to St. Mark's square and Basilica. We toured St. Marks (AT), then in the evening we went to Chiesa di San Vidal and listened to a beautiful performance of Vivaldi's "Four Seasons" (AT). It was gorgeous.<br />
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In the morning we met our apartment-mates. In Venice we were in a two-room apartment, of which one room was ours. The couple from the other apartment was heading off on a cruise, so they gave us their day-pass for the vaporetto. We used that to scoot around the islands for the rest of the morning. Then in the afternoon we boarded the train to Florence.<br />
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Once in Florence we found our way to our apartment to drop our bags, then walked to the downtown area just for a quick glance... and gelato.<br />
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The next day was Monday and it was the first of many climbs we did in Italy. We were at Brunelleschi's dome by 8:30 AM to climb to the top (AT). This is the dome on top of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florence_Cathedral" target="_blank">Florence Cathedral</a>. It's quite a climb to the top, but you are rewarded with a great view when you get there. It was good to climb early in the morning while the air was still cool. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmZ0G7mDoqWK-1nfTVU2xC0kk4JgqkW9fKLysXY5gTATib6oU90-bYzRbUYznM-LHQMGVNMuhP4Bsw05fonQk5RBLPXw4LE2E_8O_6q6HLoOcFYzNA7vtDN09I3FPjQ4Xc9c72XLzTjg0P/s1600/DSC_0188.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmZ0G7mDoqWK-1nfTVU2xC0kk4JgqkW9fKLysXY5gTATib6oU90-bYzRbUYznM-LHQMGVNMuhP4Bsw05fonQk5RBLPXw4LE2E_8O_6q6HLoOcFYzNA7vtDN09I3FPjQ4Xc9c72XLzTjg0P/s400/DSC_0188.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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After climbing down from the dome we walked over to the Baptistery of St. John. You can read more about that <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florence_Baptistery" target="_blank">here</a>, but especially read about the doors. Since you weren't there, I'm including here a photo-sphere I took inside.<br />
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After the baptistery, we went to the <a href="https://www.museumflorence.com/" target="_blank">Duomo museum</a> (AT) and saw the actual doors from the baptistery along with a host of other beautiful pieces of art and scupture. At this point it was our appointed time to climb Giotto's Campanile (bell tower), where we were rewarded with another great view.<br />
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At this point in the day we didn't have firm plans so we accidentally made the best impromptu decision. We walked over and visited the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Croce,_Florence" target="_blank">Basilica di Santa Croce</a>. We didn't know it, but inside this single Basilica are the tombs of Galileo, Ghiberti, Machiavelli, Michelangelo, Rossini, and others, as well as funerary monuments to other Florentines such as Dante, Marconi and Fermi. The tombs and monuments were amazing and there was an equal amount of stunning artwork as well.<br />
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On Tuesday were were up bright and early to be in line for the <a href="http://www.accademia.org/" target="_blank">Galleria dell'Academia</a> (AT), which houses Michelangelo's statue of David. We were among the first in the door and went straight to the statue and so had a bit of time there with very few people before the crowd grew.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgksEDB-w8766cQU-ypJ-RP1zb1JPMDmNqxAYQAmgRVLnVy_Gh76TzUFv-0XYxU3PzVhJHfhVJ_fMZODEVskjN06GAOqt37rCfFVBSYAKoii4JTU__Q-aq7ruH756zOVYFeJqubsc52pnXF/s1600/IMG_6488.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgksEDB-w8766cQU-ypJ-RP1zb1JPMDmNqxAYQAmgRVLnVy_Gh76TzUFv-0XYxU3PzVhJHfhVJ_fMZODEVskjN06GAOqt37rCfFVBSYAKoii4JTU__Q-aq7ruH756zOVYFeJqubsc52pnXF/s400/IMG_6488.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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After the Galleria, we made another impromptu decision that turned out to be fun. We boarded a bus that would take us back closer to the center of town. But we decided that since our ticket was good for 90 minutes, to just ride the bus and see where it went. It went way out of town into the countryside before stopping for a few minutes and then returning. We still got where we wanted to go, but we got to see the true Italian countryside as well. The bus dropped us off near the <a href="http://www.museumsinflorence.com/musei/Pitti_palace.html" target="_blank">Pitti Palace</a>, which we toured next. This building is not terribly attractive from the outside, but the inside is a palace in every sense of the word. I've included another photo-sphere here to give you an idea.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" height="400" src="https://cdn.pannellum.org/2.3/pannellum.htm#panorama=https://3nka6a-dm2306.files.1drv.com/y3mnCYxGz7h-KqVVE3DV-mKBaR-KZHES81H6JBnmbckiCU3SYjVxW4BClZ1pTi9IUPSAE3bSWZcqu1ONkm-6SpPiFQbGMOwlEpmgoCmtvraoYrcL916NlsDF4O-Yki98SshieYDtqaYqygE2vIOU_vD-iywyHO5lybaEO09UP7CtoY&title=Pitti%20Palace&author=G.%20Brooksby&autoLoad=true" style="border-style: none;" width="400"></iframe>
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From the Pitti Palace we took the bus over to Piazzale Michelangelo where you get a great view of Florence.<br />
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Next we walked and rode the bus to the Uffizi museum. This museum is filled with so much art and sculpture that you could spend days there. We used a "Rick Steves" podcast as our tour guide and it took us through the museum stopping at the most important pieces without dwelling too long in any one place. This got us through in a reasonable amount of time without wondering if we missed something important. At this point we were quite tired so we went back to our apartment and found a restaurant nearby where we had Steak Florentine (of course).<br />
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Wednesday morning we checked out and headed to the train and rode to Pisa. In Pisa we did what everyone does: visited the leaning tower. Once again, we climbed to the top (AT). <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAPtUdH1m0lE0w0lfaFP_HhliArojFnLFj0yBwOx457lWzaOSdLe0y0YCVcret5O4bp474vbFXbsgJJDFcXdU03-MygK-9oE7Pq9EielCtlZBh_xNDCuPQfrQ6LD5lt65nmYcNx2mb6r5f/s1600/DSC_0401.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAPtUdH1m0lE0w0lfaFP_HhliArojFnLFj0yBwOx457lWzaOSdLe0y0YCVcret5O4bp474vbFXbsgJJDFcXdU03-MygK-9oE7Pq9EielCtlZBh_xNDCuPQfrQ6LD5lt65nmYcNx2mb6r5f/s400/DSC_0401.JPG" width="266" /></a></div>
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This was just a stop along the way, though, as we were headed to La Spezia. This is a town you may not have heard of but it is the gateway to the Cinque Terre, which was our destination for Thursday. Wednesday was the 26th and two earthquakes hit Italy this day, but in a region far from where we were, so we were unaffected.<br />
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Cinque Terre is a group of five small coastal towns that are connected by roads and hiking trails. We had heard it was a beautiful hike and we were not disappointed. Even though two shorter sections were closed due to rockfall, the longer sections were open and we had the most (strenuous and) beautiful hike imaginable. This was partly because the weather was perfect. A cloudless blue sky, a gentle sea breeze off the ocean to cool you down as you climb, and post-card-perfect scenery. This was definitely one of the highlights of the trip. Michelle's FitBit recorded 33,325
steps, 14.27 miles, and 210 flights of stairs for this day!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPYMeU5pyousZIlZilPTnSRkVv1SHcsZOS_pm0uULzirsNs6OtDF7t_Sqzn_eKQgU_uBgg7ctKMGJ8gyA0aimvlwiqEnoWh2J7BmJ-HuZTJ1R0xB2Vd3D4jM_QdSzkcYEIjZBFWtBaKD6m/s1600/DSC_0444.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPYMeU5pyousZIlZilPTnSRkVv1SHcsZOS_pm0uULzirsNs6OtDF7t_Sqzn_eKQgU_uBgg7ctKMGJ8gyA0aimvlwiqEnoWh2J7BmJ-HuZTJ1R0xB2Vd3D4jM_QdSzkcYEIjZBFWtBaKD6m/s400/DSC_0444.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Vernazza</center>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7aAGYyv4Bv9A7LsgwWnCvajjZIvYcy7h9iJZf85NXQVFY5B1JgRcFevDAqpBAsOU3J48xABtfweq2ndq9fYCJHH2VeC9Y614QiolLSgVst7gMMCtg3EA7gfDm8YtRTr99RmvS0e3lCGaC/s1600/IMG_6655.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7aAGYyv4Bv9A7LsgwWnCvajjZIvYcy7h9iJZf85NXQVFY5B1JgRcFevDAqpBAsOU3J48xABtfweq2ndq9fYCJHH2VeC9Y614QiolLSgVst7gMMCtg3EA7gfDm8YtRTr99RmvS0e3lCGaC/s320/IMG_6655.JPG" title="So many stairs. So many." width="240" /></a></div>
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So many stairs. So many.</center>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKuhiwR0INt-Hi1UxyhCi7wf4CvWbGgEG2A1XXd3QsERkkD0IRmEazv_ueXW7G45uWQM_F18kN72V90NhkmholxRP7W2seLEheqVy0ybeglqcRPUHBo9zJCuTmuo6-i4HJJeySMcD5DD2p/s1600/IMG_6667.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKuhiwR0INt-Hi1UxyhCi7wf4CvWbGgEG2A1XXd3QsERkkD0IRmEazv_ueXW7G45uWQM_F18kN72V90NhkmholxRP7W2seLEheqVy0ybeglqcRPUHBo9zJCuTmuo6-i4HJJeySMcD5DD2p/s400/IMG_6667.JPG" title="This is how narrow the trail got at one point!" width="400" /></a></div>
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This is how narrow the trail got at one point!</center>
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As wide as that one stone, and it drops of precipitously.</center>
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<center>
Sunset in Riomaggiore</center>
<br />
Needless to say on Friday we needed a down day. We relaxed in the apartment until about noon and then met our train to Rome. When we got to Rome, we found our apartment, but then we were hungry. The apartment was very close to the Vatican, so it should not be surprising that the restaurant we stumbled upon was <a href="http://www.osteriadeipontefici.com/english_restaurant_in_rome_st_peter_square.htm" target="_blank">Osteria dei Pontefici</a>. What a great place. The waiter spoke no English and we spoke no Italian, so there was much pointing and a bit of surprise in our orders, but it was delicious.<br />
<br />
Saturday morning we headed to the Villa Borghese. While the whole park around the Villa was beautiful, it was the <a href="http://www.galleriaborghese.it/eng/galleriaBorghese.html" target="_blank">Borghese Gallery</a> that we were headed to. Advance tickets are a must here. We saw several people turned away. It would be sad to travel thousands of miles for a once-in-a-lifetime visit and miss something like this. The gallery had amazing artwork, but it was the sculptures that we really enjoyed.<br />
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<br />
After the gallery, we spontaneously decided to rent and ride a "Bici Pincio". This little pedal buggy - with electric assist - was a blast.<br />
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<br />
From the Villa we walked down to the Spanish Steps. These are famous, but their fame brings crowds and they were too crowded to really be enjoyable. From the steps we took the subway to the Trevi Fountain and found the same. Massive crowds that really detracted from the enjoyment. We then took the subway again to the Piazza della Repubblica before taking a bus back to our apartment for the night.<br />
<br />
Sunday we planned to go to the Colosseum, Palatine Hill, the Roman Forum and many of the sites in the area. We took the bus to the train station where our plan was to take the Metro to the Colosseum. When we got off the bus we were met with an enormous crush of people trying to get <i><b><u>ON</u></b></i> our bus. We couldn't understand why, but we got off and headed to the Metro, only to find it closed. It turns out that in the night there had been another earthquake and the Metro was closed for a safety inspection. Boarding a bus looked like it would take forever, so we just walked to the Colosseum.<br />
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<br />
Then we walked all. over. town. The sites were amazing and we walked ourselves to death. We ended the day by visiting the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archbasilica_of_St._John_Lateran" target="_blank">Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano</a>.<br />
<br />
Monday was our last full day in Italy. We woke up and headed straight to the Vatican Museum (AT) which was a short walk from our apartment. This is an amazing museum, and there was an enormous crowd waiting to get in. After touring the museum we visited the Sistine Chapel. The chapel is beautiful, but our memories are all we took out because they don't allow photography in the chapel. After the chapel, we visited St. Peter's Basilica, which is an amazingly large and beautiful building. Among other things here we saw Michelangelo's "The Pieta". We saw a lot of sculptures on this trip, but this one was one of the best. Michelangelo truly was a master.<br />
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<br />
From St. Peter's we took the bus to the neighborhood of the Pantheon. This too is an amazing building to visit. At this point though, we were tired; especially our feet. We were fortunate enough to find a bench we could sit on and listen to a podcast about the building. After resting a while, we walked over to Piazza Navona, which is a nice public square. In this piazza we found a restaurant/gelateria named <a href="http://www.trescalini.it/en/" target="_blank">Tre Scalini</a>. Here we purchased the most delicious gelato treat called a <a href="http://www.trescalini.it/en/il-tartufo" target="_blank">Tartufo</a>. I do not think we could visit Rome again without buying and devouring one of these.<br />
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<br />
To end the day, and our stay in Rome, we took the bus to Castel Sant'Angelo. We climbed (again) to the top and made it there just before sunset. We were able to watch a beautiful sunset from the top and see the lights of Rome come on. It was a perfect ending to our trip.<br />
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<center>
St. Peter's Basilica at twilight.</center>
<br />
On Tuesday the hostess for our apartment had arranged a taxi for us to get to the train station. We had an early train and it turns out that since it was November 1st, it was a holiday in Italy (All Saints Day) and the buses and trains were not running on normal schedules. The taxi had to take the long way to the train station because the earthquake had damaged one of the bridges we would have taken. But we got to the station with plenty of time. From there it was the train to Milan (at 300Km/hr (186 mph)!), then another train to the airport. The plane back to JFK, then three more trains and we were back in Albany.<br />
<br />
If you're looking for a way to celebrate your 32nd anniversary, I recommend this itinerary.<br />
<br />
I would make 3 recommendations if you're planning a trip like this:<br />
<ol>
<li>Make as many advance reservations as you can. It may mean you call Italy and talk haltingly to an Italian agent, but it's worth it. Skype has cheap rates for calling abroad.</li>
<li>The Roma Pass. In Rome this gave us unlimited use of busses and the Metro as well as free or discounted admission to many sites. Well worth it.</li>
<li>Only take a backpack and a small carry-on bag. You'll appreciate the mobility. Laundry facilities in our apartments made it possible to carry fewer clothes and travel light.</li>
</ol>
Glen Brooksbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17157527238376299217noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6842049291550728997.post-44571298324994950352015-03-30T21:25:00.002-04:002015-05-07T20:49:02.993-04:00Reading RecommendationsI was recently perusing a blog written by a friend giving
recommendations for how to fit reading into our busy schedules. Modern advances
in electronic devices have made it possible for us to read books in a variety
of ways and places. This is to our advantage because as life gets busier, time
for reading becomes scarcer and we must seek out creative ways to fit reading
into our schedules. The old adage, of uncertain origin, that, “The man who
doesn’t read good books has no advantage over the man who can’t read them”
still holds true. My blogger friend gave a variety of recommendations for
reading material, but to my disappointment, they were almost entirely works of
fiction. As a genre I consider fiction to be reading about things that are not,
nor ever were, nor ever will be. With time becoming so precious that we must
seek out innovative ways to work reading into our lives, should we not focus on
making sure that the time spent with our books is time well spent? I prefer to
think that we should read “of things as they are, and as they were, and as they
are to come”*. This way when we finish a book we are left with something when
we are done. We have gained knowledge rather than simply entertained ourselves.
Perhaps some do not read non-fiction because it sounds like a class assignment.
Perhaps they are kept from good non-fiction because they know not where to find
it. As a counterpoint to my friend’s recommendations I would like to provide my
own list of recommendations for non-fiction reading. Maybe my friend will see
this list and find it interesting.<br />
<br />
In no particular order:
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
“The Journals of Lewis and Clark”, Bernard Augustine DeVoto,
Meriwether Lewis, William Clark, E. J. Carter. 1814. This is a difficult book
to read because it is recorded just as the original authors recorded their
journals, with spelling, grammar, punctuation, verbiage, colloquialisms and
capitalization – or lack thereof - intact. However, it is worth the price to be
able to see North America in its virgin state and discover it anew with Lewis
& Clark. While I read this in hard copy, it actually may be more accessible
in audio book form.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“The Guns of August”, Barbara Tuchman, 1962. This book is
the winner of the 1963 Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award, and is an
outstanding book. One might wonder how a book about just the first month of
fighting in the First World War could be interesting, when the war dragged on
for 4 more years. Reading this book establishes the answer.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Bible and Sword”, Barbara Tuchman, 1984. The Middle East is
never far from view in current events. Reading this book helps one understand
why the region is so utterly and completely messed up. Sadly, comprehending
this book also reveals how extraordinarily difficult it will be to unravel this
Gordian Knot of politics, religion and enmity.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“The Zimmerman Telegram”, Barbara Tuchman, 1958. This book
reads like a modern detective novel, with the added bonus that it is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">not</i> a novel. It is a very quick read
which reveals one of the causes that drew the United States into the War to End
All Wars.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Benjamin Franklin, An American Life”, Walter Isaacson,
2003. I listened to the audio CD version, though I confess to ripping it to MP3
for convenience. A very informative account of a truly amazing man and patriot.
His life was full of fantastic accomplishments, though I feel he had quite a
sad family life.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“The March of Folly”, Barbara Tuchman, 1984. An interesting
book in that it does not follow a single event or plot element. Rather, by
example, it illustrates how governments manage to work against their own
self-interests.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Massacre at Mountain Meadows. An American Tragedy”, 2011.
Ronald W. Walker, Richard E. Turley, Jr., Glen M. Leonard. I work at a research
center and I've read some scholarly research in my time, but nothing approaches
this for being authoritative.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don't
think a paragraph goes by in this book but there are 3 or more references.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To wit, the book is 430 pages, but of that,
200 pages is acknowledgements, notes and references.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is an unbelievably well researched
book.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you want to know what happened
in this tragic incident, this is the book to get. At first it's just an
interesting look into life in Utah circa 1857.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But it builds to its heart pounding and heart wrenching conclusion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>From the beginning you know how the story
ends, but you still feel amazed - and sickened - when it does.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Inferno. The World at War. 1939-1945”, Max Hastings, 2011.
An excellent book on what was really the sequel to World War I.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“D-Day. June 6, 1944”, Stephen Ambrose, 1994. You don’t need
to see “Saving Private Ryan”. Why settle for docu-drama or historical fiction
when you can have the whole, unvarnished truth. Read this book.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Over the Edge of the World”, Laurence Bergreen, 2003. An
amazing account of the circumnavigation of the earth. You thought Magellan did
that, when, in fact, he died before the journey ended.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just wait until the end of the book when you
learn that this was the voyage where they learned about the need for an
international date line.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Mayflower”, Nathaniel Philbrick, 2006. An excellent account
of the first pilgrims who arrived in North America and their interactions with
the Native Americans.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I listened to this
as an audio-book and highly recommend it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>There are many Native American names to stumble over and listening
avoids that hurdle to finishing the book.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Have you heard of King Philip’s war? Did you know King Philip was a
Native American?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I didn’t think so.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“The Big Short”, Michael Lewis, 2010. This book should be
required reading in congress and every high school. It is a relatively
accessible explanation of the financial meltdown of 2007-2008.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While written to focus on a few individuals
who saw the meltdown coming (hence the title), the description of the state of
affairs on Wall Street is jaw-droppingly appalling.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It makes me ashamed that our country allows
this to happen unchecked, and disgusted that people would want to operate in
such opposition to the interests of society.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Into Thin Air”, Jon Krakauer, 1997. A gripping account of a
tragic confluence of circumstances on Mt Everest.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At times I felt that the author got carried
away with superlatives, but overall a good read.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“A Night to Remember”, Walter Lloyd, 1955. A quick read,
this book is a very factual and not romanticized account of the sinking of the
Titanic. I'm glad I read it. I feel I have a much better understanding of the
tragic event. I also understand better the times in which it happened, which,
in part, contributed to the disaster. It was published in 1955 when the author
still had access to survivors of the accident for first-hand accounts.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Unbroken”, Laura Hillenbrand, 2010. If you have not heard
of this book, get someone to help you lift the rock under which you live.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Many things could be said about this book,
but what came across to me was the depth of human suffering that can be
endured, and escaped, though not unscathed. I have new appreciation for the human
capacity for cruelty as well as endurance and forgiveness.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“The Professor and the Madman”, Simon Winchester, 1999. A
fascinating account of the making of the Oxford English Dictionary. If you like
the Oxford comma, you’ll love the account of the dictionary. No really. It’s a
book about a dictionary and it really is interesting.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Endurance”, Alfred Lansing, 1959. This is another book that
illustrates the amount of suffering a human can pass through while retaining
their mental faculties.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is an exciting
adventure story that is as astonishing as it is true. It’s one of those “can’t
put it down” books. There are many accounts of this expedition. I recommend
Lansing’s account.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Lawrence in Arabia”, Scott Anderson, 2013. A very good
account of T. E. Lawrence's contributions to the war effort in the Middle East
during WWI, but also a good account of how imperialism really fouled up the
Middle East. It may have happened anyway, but Britain, France and the US
guaranteed and even hastened it. A side lesson that I took away was how much
can be accomplish in life in a short time. Read this book, then understand that
everything in this book Laurence accomplished by age 30.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Destiny of the Republic”, Candice Millard, 2011. A well
written book covering a topic that is not well known to Americans. It begs the
question, "What could have been?", had an intelligent man, without
huge political ambition, elected almost accidentally, been allowed to serve out
his term. It also illustrates the depths of depravity plumbed by those
motivated only by self-aggrandizement. An excellent read.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Operation Mincemeat”, Ben Mcintyre, 2010. A very enjoyable
book about one particularly interesting intelligence operation in WWII. An
excellent read which illustrates the detail that is required for a truly
successful intelligence operation to work.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“The immortal life of Henrietta Lacks”, Rebecca Skloot,
2010. This is another book that I was glad I listened to as an audio book.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There was a lot of Southern, African-American,
language in this book that was brought out in the audio version that I think
might not have been communicated as well in print. This is a remarkable account
of how African Americans were treated in the 1950’s.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Shot all to H**l” (title edited for sensitive readers).
Mark Lee Gardner, 2014. This is an account of the last major job pulled off by
Jesse James and his gang.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s a quick
read and you learn much more about the man you knew previously only by name.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Lost in Shangri-La”, Mitchell Zuckoff, 2011. This is a very
good book about a harrowing ordeal that you likely didn’t even know happened
during WWII. Yet there is video of it on YouTube now! I find it amazing that
aboriginal tribes could survive so long into the 20th century undetected by the
outside world. The ingenuity required for escape from this inaccessible,
primitive valley was remarkable.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Twelve Years a Slave”, Solomon Northrop, 1853. That’s
right. Not the movie, but the book. I did not watch the movie, nor do I intend
to. This book was sufficient to reveal to me the depths of man’s inhumanity
toward man.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We live today with the echos
of this kind of ill treatment of our fellow man. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“The Gathering Storm”, Winston Churchill, 1948. I just
finished this book and Churchill’s prose is amazing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is no wonder he was awarded the Nobel
Prize for literature in 1953, in part due to this book.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I consider it a classic that should be required reading in
government and in schools. Who would not want to learn the lessons of WWI and
WWII from those who were best acquainted with them?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I have many other recommendations, but I’ll stop here for
now. Some might criticize me for not allowing for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">any</i> reading of fiction.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That
is not so. I read fiction, but when I do, I choose very, very carefully.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So the following are my recommendations for
fictional works.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Pilgrim’s Progress”, John Bunyan, 1678. That’s right –
1678. This book has been in continual print longer than any book in the English
Language. Sure, they read this book in “Little Women”, but have <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">you</i> read it?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I didn’t think so. Is it a good book?
Meh.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But we don’t always read books
because they are the best book we’ll ever read. You will be a more educated
person for having read this book. You will also know where the term “Vanity
Fair” comes from. I’ll give you a hint: It’s not a 17<sup>th</sup> century fashion
magazine.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Uncle Tom’s Cabin”, Harriet Beecher Stowe, 1852. This is
fiction, but it reads like fact. Slavery was the worst. I cannot emphasize
enough how many problems I think we have brought upon ourselves through this
“peculiar institution”.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Frankenstein”, Marry Shelley, 1818.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This book is not the horror story you’re
thinking of.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is considered a classic
for a reason. It is a very dark book, but not full of gratuitous violence. The
creature in this book is actually a thinking, reasoning, intelligent being. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It becomes very understandable why he becomes
a “monster”.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc”, Mark Twain, 1896.
This book should be considered historical fiction.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, I consider it very educational about
a historical person people know little about beyond her name.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I highly recommend it.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
You may note that some of these books are old enough to be
in the public domain. I should point out that there are a number of free,
public domain audio books available through librivox.org.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Those are my recommendations. I hope you will find this list
helpful in broadening your reading horizons and as you consider what you will
gain from the next book you select for reading – whatever the format.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
- Glen</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
*Not my words. Reference available on request.</div>
Glen Brooksbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17157527238376299217noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6842049291550728997.post-8655348727417194002015-01-31T14:07:00.000-05:002015-02-02T14:09:03.223-05:00California Transit AuthorityWe went to Proctor's to see the California Transit Authority on Saturday night.<br />
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<br />
Yeah, we went to a rock concert - I know, very unlike us. But it was great - even if it was REALLY LOUD! Fortunately Glen remembered to get ear plugs for us, and I used mine from the start!<br />
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<br />
Danny Seraphine (drummer) and Bill Champlin (vocals/keyboard/guitar) were part of the original Chicago Transit Authority which became the CHICAGO we all know and love. Those two formed a band that plays a lot of old Chicago plus some new things they've done. I can only hope that when in my mid-60s like they are I'm still doing as well. <br />
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<br />
When they did "Saturday In the Park" it took me back to the summer of 1976 when I was 16 years old, it was Saturday, the 4th
of July, and I WAS at a park (Liberty Park) in Salt Lake City, UT. Good memories!<br />
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Glen and I had a blast! It was a great way to spend a super cold January night! <br />
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<br />Michelle Brooksbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07604925870238292421noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6842049291550728997.post-72512820593155176522014-12-20T16:09:00.000-05:002014-12-22T21:45:31.860-05:00Our Happy 30th Anniversary<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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In our last post I promised to follow up with more details
on our trip to England. This is to follow up. Get comfortable if you plan to
read this whole post.</div>
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We departed from JFK airport in New York on Thursday Oct. 23
and flew to Gatwick airport, South of London, arriving around noon on the 24th.
There we rented (ok, “hired”) a car to drive for the first 6 days of our trip.
In our whole trip I think we only made three wrong turns and the first one was
when we came right out of the airport. Thanks to the abundance of roundabouts
in England, that mistake was quickly remedied and we drove through terrible traffic
on the M23 and M25 to Windsor. We took with us our GPS (or, SatNav as the
locals call it), loaded with maps of England. It was an absolute lifesaver and
we feel it was indispensable for the trip we planned with so much driving.</div>
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We arrived in Windsor around 3PM after having flown through
the night with not much sleep. However, we forged ahead and visited Windsor
Castle that afternoon. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At the castle we toured
St. George’s Chapel, and the state apartments. Both were beautiful and
magnificent. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCV6YVlM9YkZ3bldZ2NvISsBvEk4MeQF-cqApb9tf4wWUsRWDSWoTix-rc21f-Eo_vJl-TI1T378BZLIehmRvm01FNgpXs3lX-EABAd2gql7eqtK7mgE-pavL-ihzk5hBqK5u1d5Sqb0so/s1600/DSC_0038.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCV6YVlM9YkZ3bldZ2NvISsBvEk4MeQF-cqApb9tf4wWUsRWDSWoTix-rc21f-Eo_vJl-TI1T378BZLIehmRvm01FNgpXs3lX-EABAd2gql7eqtK7mgE-pavL-ihzk5hBqK5u1d5Sqb0so/s1600/DSC_0038.JPG" height="265" width="400" /></a></div>
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After touring the castle we spent the night at a B&B in
Windsor called “<a href="http://www.deeandsteve.com/">Dee and Steve’s</a>”.
Michelle researched and booked all of our accommodations before our trip and
this B&B was a wonderful place to stay. We would recommend it without hesitation.
</div>
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The next day, Saturday, we left Windsor and headed to
Stonehenge, our next stop.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Anyone who
has used a GPS knows that it sometimes takes you on roads that you might not
have thought to take. This was the case during our whole trip, but since we
were on vacation and wanted to see the country we didn’t mind it a bit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We arrived at Stonehenge around noon on
Saturday after enduring horrible traffic on the A303 for the last 3 miles
before Stonehenge.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We were about 30
minutes late for our reservation time, but they were not particular about the times
so we had no problem getting our tickets. Stonehenge is one of many so called,
English Heritage sites. English Heritage sites offer what is called an <a href="https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/overseas-visitor-pass/">Overseas
Visitor Pass</a>. This pass allows you entrance to many such sites throughout
the country. We bought it in advance and picked it up at Stonehenge. We would
recommend this as well to anyone visiting the country. There are many places we
went because we had the pass and it made it free, or half-price.</div>
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Stonehenge was fascinating to visit. The countryside around
is largely flat and the day we were there it was a bit windy, but very
pleasant.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-YcDickCvVl81pBEXYyYcLig4ZnKQktUwqlHc_wNER0Naf0b0kWVRXhCoUC3FTGs_i-hrJPPESJAJFQzuIGtEfS4X2vtMyjc2gFhNns6IktT2RqfZ_py6ndinERH6JOU9Ss8HeVJ3VL58/s1600/DSC_0076.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-YcDickCvVl81pBEXYyYcLig4ZnKQktUwqlHc_wNER0Naf0b0kWVRXhCoUC3FTGs_i-hrJPPESJAJFQzuIGtEfS4X2vtMyjc2gFhNns6IktT2RqfZ_py6ndinERH6JOU9Ss8HeVJ3VL58/s1600/DSC_0076.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
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After leaving Stonehenge we drove to Bath. The entire city
of Bath is apparently a UNESCO world heritage site. We got there about 3PM and,
after wading through traffic, found a place to park.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One picture below we took in Bath just to remember
the car we drove.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We walked to the site
of the Roman Baths and took the tour there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It was amazing to see these ancient baths and learn how they were built
and have been used over the years.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuPp5tLrvwkGjyc5NYpTgcWTpFGHTw_3oqznd58Bt9IqEy-1faKmsM-colAaETalTvRVcBaaOqp-Sy1xHc-uN8Md2zCSXP81HUcO2ahpXuuwxeIUogEulkZ28l9QXhNofVJ55vPrTPRirb/s1600/DSC_0199.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuPp5tLrvwkGjyc5NYpTgcWTpFGHTw_3oqznd58Bt9IqEy-1faKmsM-colAaETalTvRVcBaaOqp-Sy1xHc-uN8Md2zCSXP81HUcO2ahpXuuwxeIUogEulkZ28l9QXhNofVJ55vPrTPRirb/s1600/DSC_0199.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzeEx1y-_5UNklv5HMwZFFhky8MfX-Dz03sJv_14oPsBMIZ89uuZgjSen7nyPzeZuT5dwd3_3HLsCMGkFi59jaKE0h-3ptzUnd4LODmzMLpSDu0M7r1kJPinRO_dRRmiUvAJBCv0yVe7TW/s1600/DSC_0124.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzeEx1y-_5UNklv5HMwZFFhky8MfX-Dz03sJv_14oPsBMIZ89uuZgjSen7nyPzeZuT5dwd3_3HLsCMGkFi59jaKE0h-3ptzUnd4LODmzMLpSDu0M7r1kJPinRO_dRRmiUvAJBCv0yVe7TW/s1600/DSC_0124.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
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Saturday night we spent at the <a href="http://www.whitehartbath.co.uk/accommodation.php">White Hart Inn</a> in
Bath. The next morning we drove to the area around Gloucester.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our first stop was the Gadfield Elm Chapel.
This tiny building, on an unbelievably tiny road, in the middle of absolutely
nowhere, was the first church building owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-Day Saints (the Mormons).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you’re
wondering how the first building owned by a church founded in New York in 1830
could be a building in a Gloucestershire backwater <a href="http://www.gadfieldelm.org/">you can read more
about that here</a>.</div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEeSrLvyTZxegynKjRvApP_nI-zRtnC93NjsfhkOXBfpoxshgdsoUnNzQy3pXaeEln3xCDZVM9ORpoIMy9bCViMLV1aCULYyAPmSuPFhNzGBpB0304s1g3NBq1S4mE1eACZrPfrxE3cUzO/s1600/DSC_0210_rotated.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEeSrLvyTZxegynKjRvApP_nI-zRtnC93NjsfhkOXBfpoxshgdsoUnNzQy3pXaeEln3xCDZVM9ORpoIMy9bCViMLV1aCULYyAPmSuPFhNzGBpB0304s1g3NBq1S4mE1eACZrPfrxE3cUzO/s1600/DSC_0210_rotated.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
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We gave ourselves a self-guided tour of the chapel, which
was quick, because it’s a tiny place. Then we drove over to Gloucester and
attended church in the Gloucester Ward. After church we drove over to the Gloucester
Cathedral and toured it. They were offering tours of the crypt that day so we
were able to go there, which you can’t do every day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For fans of the Harry Potter franchise you
should know that this Cathedral was used in one of the Harry Potter films.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While walking to the cathedral the church
bells were ringing and it was fun to listen to them.</div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dziEDJ2ZP--pDByX_gRfaznNgIciVXHk0w-kYZXaEXgg-o9uDPrRlgdD9MDkhkDWFjLXrBUEBFBSKAyeQIeXA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr_6q5SUT5XCiKiB5rB5R1J5Ll97Lanw_XL4d2G4IFJO6e2k-d394epj48JQv71A8zfweh96Y0NaGhxJyk95ji-zoaNcEv67yKBcaTirrclxn5bzQPi8pWtznkRXkvXqNWhTjDCAnwkptd/s1600/DSC_0247.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr_6q5SUT5XCiKiB5rB5R1J5Ll97Lanw_XL4d2G4IFJO6e2k-d394epj48JQv71A8zfweh96Y0NaGhxJyk95ji-zoaNcEv67yKBcaTirrclxn5bzQPi8pWtznkRXkvXqNWhTjDCAnwkptd/s1600/DSC_0247.JPG" height="400" width="266" /></a></div>
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After leaving Gloucester we were headed toward
Stratford-upon-Avon, which is where we planned to spend Sunday night. At this
point we had to make the painful decision to bypass some things that might have
been fun to do had we had more time. We bypassed Tewkesbury Abbey, and Sudley
Castle and just contented ourselves with our drive through the Cotswolds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>En route we called the guest house where we
were staying that evening and got directions as to where to park, we were told
to park on their “frontage”. This was puzzling to us at first, but when we
arrived it became clear what it meant. We were supposed to pull right up over
the curb and onto a patch of pavement right in front of the building. It was a
new concept to us, but as with most things in England it was extremely space
efficient. Stratford-upon-Avon is the birthplace, and burial place of William Shakespeare.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our schedule on this trip was tight, so we
did not take any official tours in this town. We spent Sunday night in the <a href="http://www.theemsley.co.uk/">Emsley Guest House</a>, which I believe was
our favorite place to stay in the entire trip. On Monday morning we simply
walked around the town and enjoyed the scenery, the history, the river, the
swans, and went to see where Shakespeare was buried. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_tEkBY7Iv9YW1wERaOVqmdoe6z_nuxmrnhS-hKAA4tGOjP2R45epsNc5fzT0tF73AzX2vBRFuemhedRMo1QM148Ubign4X3EwBtElAzwum0k_dut1KezuMjNn44uikGpPncmtOzA1gYEY/s1600/DSC_0264.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_tEkBY7Iv9YW1wERaOVqmdoe6z_nuxmrnhS-hKAA4tGOjP2R45epsNc5fzT0tF73AzX2vBRFuemhedRMo1QM148Ubign4X3EwBtElAzwum0k_dut1KezuMjNn44uikGpPncmtOzA1gYEY/s1600/DSC_0264.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
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After our short tour we got back in the car and headed to <a href="https://www.warwick-castle.com/">Warwick Castle</a>. We had heard it is
one of the best preserved castles in England. What we also learned is that it
has been turned into a bit of a commercial venue. Nevertheless, it was still
fun to visit and see the castle, climb the turrets and see the armor and
weapons of the knights.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because we were there
during the week preceding Halloween the castle was decorated accordingly. What
better place could host a Halloween celebration than a castle? It’s got
dungeons, they had witches and headless horsemen. It was a perfect Halloween
setting. We climbed the tall turret at Warwick Castle going around and around
the small circular stone staircases that lead up and down. It was the first of <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><u>many</u></i></b>
such staircases we would climb on this trip. One of the things we realized on
this trip was just how ancient the history in England is. Warwick castle had
signs thanking visitor for helping them celebrate their 1,100<sup>th</sup>
birthday!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHKRUBuzilHJCrPErsPRXw8Trrom50uxAKzmzuPz0xvmcLUAsePDPJbcvmscsxVugYE6gKHBUTDaavlYqnn3aNKFpwu-j4DFon3JahIXLrjh7emaFClTTX_JLpcMo0qThkHw_KR18v8SMC/s1600/DSC_0306.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHKRUBuzilHJCrPErsPRXw8Trrom50uxAKzmzuPz0xvmcLUAsePDPJbcvmscsxVugYE6gKHBUTDaavlYqnn3aNKFpwu-j4DFon3JahIXLrjh7emaFClTTX_JLpcMo0qThkHw_KR18v8SMC/s1600/DSC_0306.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjS_i__15Vlk_4bE5Ib8IEB9NATGpKVGkh6FnvTOVQRq8SEda_FgZbueFzS23zf18sP7Emhw-UftrS3nnud74EjKxGSeGSlLnrYEEoXLjq0tGn7EFJrgSpj-oYQ0tJdiR61PorqvTCtr8A/s1600/DSC_0323.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjS_i__15Vlk_4bE5Ib8IEB9NATGpKVGkh6FnvTOVQRq8SEda_FgZbueFzS23zf18sP7Emhw-UftrS3nnud74EjKxGSeGSlLnrYEEoXLjq0tGn7EFJrgSpj-oYQ0tJdiR61PorqvTCtr8A/s1600/DSC_0323.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
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From Warwick Castle our next planned stop was the small town
of Brooksby. But between us and Brooksby was <a href="http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/kenilworth-castle/">Kennilworth
Castle</a> with its Elizabethan Gardens. We didn’t have much time to spend here,
but since entrance was free with our English Heritage pass, we felt we could
make an abbreviated stop here. We visited for just about an hour before we were
on our way again.</div>
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We arrived in the small town of Brooksby at about 4PM. The
building which was previously Brooksby Manor is now a reception hall associated
with the Brooksby Melton agricultural college. The staff graciously allowed us
to see their central hall and visit the adjacent church of St. Michael and All
Angels. Since the buildings are part of an active college there was not much else to do,
so we drove off in the direction of the town of Hoby and found the spot we were
looking for. It’s the exact spot where our son, Brett, had taken his picture
when he was serving as a missionary in the area back in 2010.</div>
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From Brooksby we headed to our next stop, which was
Cambridge. This meant driving a considerable distance after dark. Let me state
here that this was the most nail-biting driving we did on our whole trip. It
was dark, I felt awkward driving on the left, and the speed limits on the tiny
British roads seemed amazingly fast.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>After quite an adventure-filled drive we arrived at the <a href="http://www.arundelhousehotels.co.uk/cambridge/index.php">Ashley Hotel</a>
in Cambridge. We got up Tuesday morning to glorious weather. We had worried
about visiting England in late October and had been warned that it could be
quite rainy. As it turned out we enjoyed great weather during all but one day
of our trip, and the weather on this Tuesday was truly magnificent. It was
perfect because on this day we wanted to take a punting tour on the River Cam. We
learned a lot about the town and colleges that make up Cambridge University on
this river trip.</div>
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After punting we walked into town and toured the Kings
College Chapel. What an amazingly beautiful church. This day in Cambridge was
one of the real highlights of the trip. Partly because of the weather and
partly because of the beautiful buildings we were able to see.</div>
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Some time in mid-afternoon we decided it was time to leave
and we began our next drive to Canterbury. This drive was a bit long, due
partly to hitting the outskirts of London at rush hour, but we finally got to
Canterbury at about 5:30PM. We were a bit rushed because we wanted to attend
and listen to their Evensong service. So we quickly checked into the <a href="http://www.canterburycathedrallodge.org/">Canterbury Cathedral Lodge</a>,
parked and dashed into the Canterbury Cathedral just in time to catch most of
the service. They had a wonderful choir and organ. It was a beautiful service.</div>
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The next morning, we got up and toured the Cathedral. The
Abbey in Canterbury was initially started in about the year 600. That’s right,
about 1,400 years ago! The Cathedral itself <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">only</i></b> dates back to the
time of William the Conqueror – 1066AD! A mere 948 years ago.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSEMFB2Y2tsETpDL-3qG_XPpRNBxy-Mxt6kpP_4v2gRXAWvOPzhvaYKUOyAvRYCJ6QdbbPRMjOxTvgc3tMAZ_JhiWqI-sx4McToNwl8jeag-aFxCLe9tBie_60w44fxDWQaHIeQsbySWuO/s1600/DSC_0594.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSEMFB2Y2tsETpDL-3qG_XPpRNBxy-Mxt6kpP_4v2gRXAWvOPzhvaYKUOyAvRYCJ6QdbbPRMjOxTvgc3tMAZ_JhiWqI-sx4McToNwl8jeag-aFxCLe9tBie_60w44fxDWQaHIeQsbySWuO/s1600/DSC_0594.JPG" height="400" width="266" /></a></div>
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In the early afternoon on Wednesday, we went back to our car
to find not one, but two parking tickets on our windshield. In our haste the
night before, we had placed our parking permit on our dashboard without filling
it out. The town of Canterbury has since graciously agreed to rescind our fines
since we were able to explain our case and provide proof of payment. Lesson
learned.</div>
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We next drove the short distance to Dover, but by now the
weather had turned very foggy and rainy. We drove to the White Cliffs of Dover,
but could barely even make them out through the fog. </div>
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This made it easy to shorten our stay there and we then
headed to the adjacent Dover Castle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This
was another English Heritage site. We toured the castle and climbed up and down
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><u>many</u></i></b>
more circular stone staircases. We saw them telling spooky ghost stories to
children in one of the chambers. Dover castle has been around since Roman times
and the remnants of a Roman lighthouse are still there.</div>
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At about 4:30PM we decided to head back to Gatwick. Our
arrival at Gatwick was the end of our driving tour. We’re so glad we “hired”
the car and took this trip because we saw so much more of the country,
including tiny, out-of-the-way, places on our own schedule. We were able to
stay in B&Bs and smaller hotels and meet locals in a way that most tourists
never do. </div>
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From Gatwick we took the Southern railway to Victoria
Station in London. Victoria Station is a short walk from the <a href="http://www.cherrycourthotel.co.uk/">Cherry Court Hotel</a> where we
stayed. If you’re interested in efficient use of space, England is your
country. And if you’re interested in the <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><u>ultimate</u></i></b> in space efficient
rooms, the Cherry Court Hotel is for you. Our room was very tiny, but it had a
private bath; and for a hotel located as conveniently as it is you can’t beat
it for the price.</div>
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On Thursday morning we took the Tube (London’s subway) to
Westminster. We came out and saw Big Ben and Parliament immediately, but then
turned and walked back through St. James Park toward Buckingham Palace, where
we watched the changing of the guard. Did you know that the soldiers at
Buckingham Palace don’t always wear red coats? Neither did we. This day they
were all dressed in gray (or is it grey?) coats. With an amazingly large throng
of people we watch the ceremony.</div>
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On this day we also visited the <a href="http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/wellington-arch/">Wellington
Arch</a> and the <a href="http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/apsley-house/">Apsley
house</a>, home of the Duke of Wellington. Both are English Heritage sites. We
had not heard of the Apsley house before, but were glad we went. Among other
things, there you can see the sword taken from Napoleon at Waterloo. </div>
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From the Apsley house we took the Tube to Trafalgar Square,
and then walked to Piccadilly Circus.</div>
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Friday morning we were up bright and early so we could visit
the Tower of London as soon as it opened. We had heard the best way to see the
Crown Jewels was to get there first thing. This we did and as this particular
day unfolded we realized it was the best decision we could have made. Because
we had gotten there early we were able to see the crown jewels without waiting
in line at all. This was Friday, October 31<sup>st</sup>; Halloween.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It also happened to be the warmest Oct. 31<sup>st</sup>
on record. It was sunny and 70⁰F. This also combined with a special display
they were having at the Tower commemorating Remembrance Day (Veterans Day in
the US). In the mote surrounding the Tower they had placed red ceramic poppies;
one for each life lost in World War I. We in the USA have no concept for the
sacrifices endured by the British people during the Great War. The display at
the Tower was beautiful and moving, and tens of thousands were there to see it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The press of crowds made it almost scary.</div>
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After the Tower, we took the Tube to visit <a href="https://www.stpauls.co.uk/">St. Paul’s Cathedral</a>. St. Paul’s
is another beautiful cathedral. Here we climbed yet more circular staircases,
ultimately climbing to the Golden Gallery, 111 meters (364 feet) above ground.
From there you get amazing views of London that you can’t get many other
places, except perhaps, the <a href="http://www.londoneye.com/">London Eye</a>;
which is where we headed next.</div>
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We heard that the best time to ride the London Eye was at
sunset. We wanted to do that, but the line is very long and timing things to do
that can be a challenge. We learned that you can buy tickets in advance and
that you cannot ride before your ticket time. But, you can ride any time after
your ticket time. So on Wednesday afternoon we had purchased tickets for 10AM
on Friday. Then we showed up around 3:30 on Friday and gauged when to get into
line. We managed to hit it perfectly. The sun set while we were riding so we
got to see the lights coming on all over London. When we came down we were able
to see the many sites around Westminster with their lights on, which make them
beautiful.</div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It was late after the Eye, but we decided we’d make a dash
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they had a pamphlet giving you highlights to see in about an hour. We took the
lightning tour and were so glad we did. We got to see, among other thing, the
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On Saturday, we got up and went to visit Westminster Abbey,
but found out that it was closed to the public for a special meeting for Scouts
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point in our trip we hardly felt cheated, having seen so many other
cathedrals.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We took some pictures around
the Abbey and Parliament, then took the Tube back to Trafalgar Square where we
did another lightning tour; this time of the National Gallery. Michelle
especially enjoyed seeing the Monet paintings. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPMWCLtgyeN8sTPlh6bHUj0PV_qXKBTp_2ulRuBnHXya58bUD9vsl34t46kvHhRntKl2tezYN9lFQfQn95J9p2AZBOyOhFEkBo0tyEBvtaDtWyu_3ioK-yqNHxdrITa7Ie9lQGiswUmO4H/s1600/DSC_0997.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPMWCLtgyeN8sTPlh6bHUj0PV_qXKBTp_2ulRuBnHXya58bUD9vsl34t46kvHhRntKl2tezYN9lFQfQn95J9p2AZBOyOhFEkBo0tyEBvtaDtWyu_3ioK-yqNHxdrITa7Ie9lQGiswUmO4H/s1600/DSC_0997.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
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After the Gallery we took the
Tube one last time to our Hotel, then the Southern railway to Gatwick, and the
flight back to JFK. In retrospect it feels like it was a bit of a whirlwind
trip, but it was a fantastic experience and a perfect way to celebrate 30 years
of marriage and the raising to adulthood of 4 children.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Congratulations if you read all the way to here!</div>
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<br /></div>
Glen Brooksbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17157527238376299217noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6842049291550728997.post-38782883766009836012014-11-04T21:13:00.000-05:002014-11-04T21:13:47.593-05:00England Trip At the end of October this year Michelle and I celebrated our 30th anniversary a little early by taking a trip to England together. We took about 1,500 pictures, but I'm sure we can eventually pare that down to just a few to post here. Here is one picture for now.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqMlQxYgnHu2QOhkJsvziPaxeKtp5o1-peH2Bso-GY0y-EUNad2TtTLoEpp8eDOxoboOIaGX3-pGWOSXnYC1epiYAhAdvrHSYqIbS3jSp2betKOwXynJWKuZTq_S0hfZwQpEupEY3r4c_c/s1600/DSC_0969_crop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqMlQxYgnHu2QOhkJsvziPaxeKtp5o1-peH2Bso-GY0y-EUNad2TtTLoEpp8eDOxoboOIaGX3-pGWOSXnYC1epiYAhAdvrHSYqIbS3jSp2betKOwXynJWKuZTq_S0hfZwQpEupEY3r4c_c/s1600/DSC_0969_crop.jpg" height="400" width="311" /></a></div>
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Until we post more pictures, the map below should give you an idea of the ground we covered. For the first 6 days we drove to various places, staying somewhere different each night. We drove over 600 miles and saw <u>Windsor</u> Castle, Stonehenge, <u>Bath</u>, Gloucester Cathedral, Gadfield Elm Chapel, <u>Stratford-upon-Avon</u>, Warwick Castle, Kenilworth Castle, Brooksby Manor, <u>Cambridge</u> University, <u>Canterbury</u> Cathedral, the White Cliffs of Dover, Dover Castle, and of course, the many sights in <u>London</u>. (The underlined cities are the places we stayed.)<br />
<br />
Here is a map of our travels before we got to London. The start and end point was Gatwick Airport and we did the circuit in clockwise fashion from there. Driving on the left-hand side of the road, in a manual transmission car, shifting with my left hand, was interesting to say the least; but we made it!<br />
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<iframe height="480" src="https://www.google.com/maps/d/embed?mid=zktdFeQ7mVNU.kEjxRJ6JzEJM" width="400"></iframe>Glen Brooksbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17157527238376299217noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6842049291550728997.post-54531301836280672112014-10-18T22:50:00.001-04:002014-10-18T22:55:03.098-04:00Saratoga & North Creek RailwayToday we went with Steve and Lisa Smith on the Saratoga & North Creek Railway. The day started off rainy and we were afraid that all the leaves would have already fallen off because we were headed even further North. But as you can see from the pictures, it turned out to be a beautiful day.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQoeU__TClXapTh6yFczislnZptQ9wFarwtYEKToFnEkPWWsaVV6jaYKXlArV5Jj3cYUQb6TScQW1H48tDO8k3-H3qZSa_s0X9XF2AX51uJi-u-nbybiBroZl7nVcua5bEHFVOmQfYGAK9/s1600/north_creek_trip_boarding.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQoeU__TClXapTh6yFczislnZptQ9wFarwtYEKToFnEkPWWsaVV6jaYKXlArV5Jj3cYUQb6TScQW1H48tDO8k3-H3qZSa_s0X9XF2AX51uJi-u-nbybiBroZl7nVcua5bEHFVOmQfYGAK9/s1600/north_creek_trip_boarding.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnbD1BYwuOxpKPTH_T2Fo4nPSz42XGTVKYjUFiq1Mp-VOqqE0tZ6QC9wpv7WyVruOm2y7NZBAJzXMavZKmQT3Q3zWm5orhp60nyrwqtZ9o70GPsgXnC70vCF-sJY-A9y_tQG04l9Omux5g/s1600/Ticket.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnbD1BYwuOxpKPTH_T2Fo4nPSz42XGTVKYjUFiq1Mp-VOqqE0tZ6QC9wpv7WyVruOm2y7NZBAJzXMavZKmQT3Q3zWm5orhp60nyrwqtZ9o70GPsgXnC70vCF-sJY-A9y_tQG04l9Omux5g/s1600/Ticket.jpg" height="400" width="325" /></a></div>
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The funniest thing happened. After we'd been going for about 1/2 hour on the train the conductor came by and said that because the rain had brought leaves down onto the track making it slippery they were going to have to back up and start forward again. So they backed all the way back to the station in Saratoga. Then they VERY SLOWLY started heading back to North Creek. It took forever. We left the station at 10:00am and were supposed to arrive at 12:12pm. We didn't end up getting to North Creek until 2:00pm. We were scheduled to have 3.5 hours in North Creek, but they told us they were going to keep to the schedule of leaving at 3:45pm giving us only 1 hour 45 minutes there. As it turned out we didn't end up leaving until 4:30pm which got us into the station in Saratoga at 7:00pm - an hour later than scheduled.<br />
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Lisa and I.</div>
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Can you believe how beautiful it was!<br />
And the mist from the rain just made it look even prettier.<br />
The contrast between the cloudy sky and the vibrant colors was amazing.</div>
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Glen and Steve.
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We ate at a cute little cafe - Cafe Sarah. Glen and I had ham, brie,
apple, and onion sandwiches on a baguette. Lisa and Steve had fresh mozzarella with basil pesto and tomato paninis. And we all got yummy cookies. It was a great place to eat.<br />
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We were a little disappointed that we didn't have more time in North
Creek. But after eating lunch and looking the the Hudson River Trading
Company store, there wasn't much else to do. So then we didn't feel as
bad that we didn't have more time. What a fun way to spend a Fall day!Michelle Brooksbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07604925870238292421noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6842049291550728997.post-70205159480087491442014-10-14T16:51:00.004-04:002014-10-14T16:52:14.277-04:00The Arkell Museum in Cahajoharie, NYToday I went to the Arkell Museum in Canajoharie, NY. It is a museum that has an extensive collection of American paintings, primarily from 1860–1940, as well as historical exhibits about the history of the Mohawk River Valley and of the Beech-Nut babyfood company. <br />
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The Canajoharie Library was founded in 1924, and a gallery was added in
1927. The museum was originally built to house copies of European
masterpieces and original 19th-century American paintings collected by
Bartlett Arkell, then the town's leading industrialist.
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The permanent collection includes twenty-one paintings by Winslow Homer,
works by all members of The Eight, and paintings by leading American
Impressionists such as Childe Hassam. George Inness and Ralph Blakelock
are also well represented by several
works in this impressive collection. American paintings from the 20th
century include realist and regionalist works by Paul Sample, Ogden
Pleissner and Thomas Hart Benton.<br />
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I got a postcard of this Winslow Homer called <i>The Pumpkin Patch</i>. It reminds me of living here in the Mohawk Valley.<br />
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This was another of my favorite Winslow Homer paintings. It's hard to
tell from the photo, the the actual painting was wonderful!<br />
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On the drive home we headed over to Palentine Bridge and saw some Amish horse and buggies.<br />
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I live in an incredibly beautiful part of upstate New York. And it is at it's most glorious in the Fall!</div>
<br />Michelle Brooksbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07604925870238292421noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6842049291550728997.post-90410381240565727282014-09-27T15:41:00.000-04:002014-09-29T15:43:35.276-04:00Lake George in the FallSaturday Glen and I went to Lake George. It was Museum Day Live! An annual event hosted by Smithsonian magazine in which participating museums across the country open their doors to anyone presenting a Museum Day Live! ticket… for free. <br />
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So we got tickets to Fort William Henry at the South end of Lake
George. We’ve lived here in upstate New York for almost 26 years and
have never gone into the fort. So we took advantage of the free pass
and went and saw it.<br />
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You can see the trees starting to change colors off in the distant hills. It was such a nice day!<br />
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Our tour guide talked all about the fort and the history. He also shot
off the cannon, a riffle, and threw a grenade (well, something that
looked like a grenade).<br />
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We were in the stocks. And it wasn't comfortable at all. After just a few minutes our thighs were starting to hurt. If you had to stand there very long you would be really miserable! But I guess that was the point, wasn't it.<br />
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<br />
The fort was completely destroyed in 1757 during the French and Indian War. But it was rebuilt in the 50s using the original building plans that were still in a file somewhere in England.<br />
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<br />
<br />
The trees surrounding Lake George haven’t changed a whole lot, but it was
still beautiful.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After we toured the
fort we went walking along the shoreline.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
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Adirondak chairs overlooking the lake and the Jensen’s walked by and were
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had a nice chat before heading our own directions. <br />
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<br />
Glen and I walked around the bottom of the lake and then up and then headed
back to the car.<br />
We went to the Barnsider Smoke House for dinner.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It’s become somewhat of a tradition lately.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We’ve eaten there at least three times over
the last couple of years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They have
fantastic ribs!<br />
<br />
Talk about a beautiful place to live. I always feel so blessed this
time of year to be able to live here where Fall is so beautiful!<br />
<br />
Then we headed home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Glen had to pack
for his trip to Qatar and I had to go to the General Women’s Broadcast.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Michelle Brooksbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07604925870238292421noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6842049291550728997.post-44375827304207651142014-07-24T10:18:00.000-04:002014-07-24T10:18:04.196-04:00Happy 18th Birthday Lauren!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPH29Om9EdOq7WLwvPefbtIBAvExUDPsiJEY_7NLCbzJnqIDhjR7bnHec2fO326ivG8jN3iBGdnNAo9CCuhqwyXAt95g9wq1pnJo32T0ChpuinhGwR2OddDph4KYRt3y5QRHfqClsTyg8f/s1600/DSC_0012.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPH29Om9EdOq7WLwvPefbtIBAvExUDPsiJEY_7NLCbzJnqIDhjR7bnHec2fO326ivG8jN3iBGdnNAo9CCuhqwyXAt95g9wq1pnJo32T0ChpuinhGwR2OddDph4KYRt3y5QRHfqClsTyg8f/s1600/DSC_0012.JPG" height="400" width="266" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
Happy 18th Birthday Lauren! We love you!</div>
Michelle Brooksbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07604925870238292421noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6842049291550728997.post-70261226971372259692014-05-27T19:51:00.002-04:002014-05-27T19:51:48.983-04:00Hudson River ValleyToday I went to the Vanderbilt Mansion, the Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Val-Kill, Eleanor Roosevelt's home after her husband passed away. It was a beautiful day and it was really fun to go see something I've wanted to see for a long time.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjgbQrFgHWEbMvhGMF7yWdJty3n_W4YVxlONYioeVl5mvyFUyT7NzcKNol0KUCVjPrTZUEqE40IVdyKl6cu_5uaB9QznHCmE0EKoeiSLc-x9bD3KvV0XaH7GJJRusWrHaGMJgqLhAx6pyF/s1600/IMG_4148.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjgbQrFgHWEbMvhGMF7yWdJty3n_W4YVxlONYioeVl5mvyFUyT7NzcKNol0KUCVjPrTZUEqE40IVdyKl6cu_5uaB9QznHCmE0EKoeiSLc-x9bD3KvV0XaH7GJJRusWrHaGMJgqLhAx6pyF/s1600/IMG_4148.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
You can see why they choose this piece of property. The views of the Hudson Valley were incredible!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZyBlFQ6oudixDCEJ4OQGw3blDsTsIKbPaOxQrWO8X_eNi6jg_K-Erz7_0IoQBdj869X9LcLWeE8l_zUBP4GDsnsvhlXUB_EBkRN68SrD91lqUJhKPF6hHrPgBEdvaKOXX33fJkVtk2T3X/s1600/IMG_4156.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZyBlFQ6oudixDCEJ4OQGw3blDsTsIKbPaOxQrWO8X_eNi6jg_K-Erz7_0IoQBdj869X9LcLWeE8l_zUBP4GDsnsvhlXUB_EBkRN68SrD91lqUJhKPF6hHrPgBEdvaKOXX33fJkVtk2T3X/s1600/IMG_4156.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
This home was the smallest of the 43 mansions built by Vanderbilt children. Hard to imagine the bigger ones isn't it!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF8BiLmhn3ItSupnfiT9peivtbdOo4Jd_djdnP-Mb3TMRJFbcF9qcuMoYFnBk2ciPaSPhsr-fuh2oNZeWFqFIEzvjVEy-dsJ7-DuQMQBAZT9PK_g87Jb-C-seVA3c8L-kNmbXRlpzpVohk/s1600/FDR+Home.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF8BiLmhn3ItSupnfiT9peivtbdOo4Jd_djdnP-Mb3TMRJFbcF9qcuMoYFnBk2ciPaSPhsr-fuh2oNZeWFqFIEzvjVEy-dsJ7-DuQMQBAZT9PK_g87Jb-C-seVA3c8L-kNmbXRlpzpVohk/s1600/FDR+Home.jpg" height="191" width="400" /></a></div>
Just down Route 9 a little further South is the home of Franklin D. Roosevelt. This is the home he was born in and the one he died in.<br />
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Because we were there the day after Memorial Day there were still all these wreaths by FDR's grave.<br />
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Nancy Crapo and I</div>
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This is Val-Kill, Eleanore Roosevelt's home after FDR passed away.</div>
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The Parks Service person said that they have preserved this home because of Eleanore's work with the United Nation. She met with many really important leaders of countries here.
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<br />Michelle Brooksbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07604925870238292421noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6842049291550728997.post-45812487949175344442014-05-25T19:07:00.001-04:002014-05-25T19:07:26.290-04:00Flute Recital<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Lauren was in a flute recital of Brittany Feuerstein. She was in a flute quartet with her at Schenectady County Community College. They had a week long music camp last summer where they learned about chamber music, then they gave Professor Brett Wery some ideas for the kind of music they'd like him to write for them. Mr. Wery spent his sabbatical semester writing the piece "a tough and resilient town" about the Boston bombing. The quartet got to debut the piece at a performance in January. <br />
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Brittany asked if the quartet would come perform the </div>
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piece again for her recital, which they did. </div>
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They also played an arrangement of the</div>
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"Stars and Stripes" that Brittany had arranged.</div>
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In the piece Lauren gets to play the alto flute for parts of it. </div>
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L to R: Samantha Burgess (she played a duet with Brittany) </div>
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Brittany Fuerstein, Alex DuMont, Graham Wolfe, and Lauren.</div>
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<br />Michelle Brooksbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07604925870238292421noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6842049291550728997.post-91268782364995685422014-05-24T19:59:00.000-04:002014-05-25T20:35:06.840-04:00Memorial Day WeekendGlen, Lauren and I went to the cemetery Saturday to put flowers on Glen's father's grave. As we were turning in there was a funeral procession ahead of us turning into the cemetery. We had taken the weed whacker to clean off Merrill's headstone, but the graveside service was just up the hill from where we were and out of respect we didn't want to use a loud power tool.<br />
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So we put the flowers in the vase along with the flag and then just wandered around for a bit pondering on the sacrifice of so many who had served in the military. <br />
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The funeral was for a military person. There were two men in uniforms
and another who played taps on the bugle. It was a touching and
sobering moment. </div>
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By the time we were done walking around, the graveside service was over and we were able to clean-up the headstone and put our flowers in the vase.</div>
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I can not begin to express the gratitude I feel for those who have
fought and died to keep us safe and free. May we always honor
those who have given their all in defense of our country and our
freedom! <br />
<br />Michelle Brooksbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07604925870238292421noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6842049291550728997.post-73378567749562251342014-05-21T18:51:00.000-04:002014-05-25T18:51:40.665-04:00BH-BL Honors Night<div style="text-align: center;">
May 21st was BH-BL Honors Night. </div>
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It's the night where all the scholarships and </div>
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awards are given to the graduating class.</div>
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Lauren got the President's Award for Educational</div>
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Excellence and Academic High Honors. </div>
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She also got the Friends of Music Scholarship</div>
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and the Jane Coffey Music Scholarship Award. </div>
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We're very proud of her!!!</div>
Michelle Brooksbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07604925870238292421noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6842049291550728997.post-12533545383504238172014-05-16T17:52:00.000-04:002014-05-25T18:38:43.268-04:00Lauren's Prom<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Prom at Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake High School was held at the </div>
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Hall of Springs in Saratoga on Friday, May 16, 2014. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6tNrG4QpwUVPWSdMApg_0Yaq0rl9jJHfSCbukvirZOMMaTbNUbbsqeb6UfVAC6Gxru6otuijor3Oroxe41g63xZiUAqgZ3hTmNKLDksLINfpPb7g29pq6BLzR8BsEBsZ5UH5vtm-todYv/s1600/IMG_4116.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe8uVkYNTl8a9H6v-LyPidlQYQujtFPxZBD8V5xCnzA0_OcWrfuroirdLgxJ8JNwtg83Rfvf4fKFUKIqzwlZxu1v58I_UxdGed0SMN57WXvn3RSQvPpHQrFHGyOFyKnJTRU9GlOX39ebyO/s1600/IMG.jpg" height="400" width="283" /> </div>
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Lauren is a class officer and helped arranging the Prom. </div>
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She got Erin to design the Prom Invitation.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwihYF9zk_7JiPg50E17ecR5WVrxvv_HPnl85NVbM7Hqa-xVKIf91xjT_oU4eWm67G8jJA-WJGKy-ez8yaeKhFG6A56JlHJaR_EtAv-2UmJ0H2ir_WFPjxKR_CmkvF6t4wDRghtmboWiRd/s1600/DSC_0041.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwihYF9zk_7JiPg50E17ecR5WVrxvv_HPnl85NVbM7Hqa-xVKIf91xjT_oU4eWm67G8jJA-WJGKy-ez8yaeKhFG6A56JlHJaR_EtAv-2UmJ0H2ir_WFPjxKR_CmkvF6t4wDRghtmboWiRd/s1600/DSC_0041.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifQJXoiEs6zZuaEMrBLxohbzOvFFR-cuCE-T88mPU-tDtKy1A3p48a53Tze0_iqu600C9Ng61akuruLDidOmQx9vwaHpHKUTH_NCsMxStbeADdyfVias3KCj6ywDQ_fzIWESpTkkYYfcyH/s1600/628x471.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
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We went to Paul Mitchell Beauty School to get Lauren's hair done. </div>
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I think they did a fantastic job!</div>
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Lauren went to Prom with Daken Broadhead, a friend from church.</div>
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This is a wide shot of the Hall of Springs. </div>
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It is a beautiful building built in 1935. </div>
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It was a place for people from around the world </div>
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to come and sample the water from the </div>
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springs on the property.</div>
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Here's what the front of the building looks like. </div>
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The kids don't enter here - they go in the side door below.</div>
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It is an amazingly beautiful building.<br />
I wish I'd been able to go inside to take pictures.</div>
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All the couples line up and walk down the long promenade. </div>
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All the parents line up to take pictures.</div>
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This is the picture from the Times Union newspaper. </div>
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Unfortunately the day of Prom was a rainy,</div>
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so we didn't get any pictures outside. </div>
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Lauren wore her dress to church the next day<br />
and when we got home we took some pictures outside.</div>
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<br />Michelle Brooksbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07604925870238292421noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6842049291550728997.post-1885020524723018812014-04-01T21:27:00.003-04:002014-04-01T21:27:35.068-04:00April Fool's Day Dinner<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2ZgCv6DmlqfuiZ5jVSrnFJeLWMnVMGXTKxXTc98fGKZvc4nwwzx98Tv09QifHBVOwKo2TPF2F0XsktMnYe5YtxkECCLjCQmx1EGZofD6k-KHOELYbNlg9xkCqd0x_tb7oL3DIFdDlQn1o/s1600/DSC_0027.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2ZgCv6DmlqfuiZ5jVSrnFJeLWMnVMGXTKxXTc98fGKZvc4nwwzx98Tv09QifHBVOwKo2TPF2F0XsktMnYe5YtxkECCLjCQmx1EGZofD6k-KHOELYbNlg9xkCqd0x_tb7oL3DIFdDlQn1o/s1600/DSC_0027.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
For the last ten years or so I've been making a special dinner for April Fool's Day. So here's what I made tonight.<br />
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So... how does this look. We had "buffalo chicken" (rice krispies covered with a glaze of brown sugar and apricot jam) with "blue cheese dressing"(vanilla yogurt), and "celery" and "peas" (shaped from sour apple taffy). Doesn't it look yummy?<br />
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And here's our "ice cream sundae" (pulled pork with mashed potatoes and a cherry tomato) that we had for "dessert"!<br />
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I think Lauren and Glen liked it!</div>
Michelle Brooksbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07604925870238292421noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6842049291550728997.post-50882584781757100822014-03-29T21:12:00.000-04:002014-04-01T21:14:08.856-04:00Nightingale's Maple Farm<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgocqPBU8xCQvvZHpfke9lEoGX2A3COlITtN2VtKwJa_1kh-uhb2XAIil5ZK64qHLZQjWU3pT-n9Lmxt2HaP11Xda2KIW1egUvrIS5Tb1S1bJhvoEMM0Mp4iThElc-7CVw9phVz1U8YO82X/s1600/DSC_0018.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgocqPBU8xCQvvZHpfke9lEoGX2A3COlITtN2VtKwJa_1kh-uhb2XAIil5ZK64qHLZQjWU3pT-n9Lmxt2HaP11Xda2KIW1egUvrIS5Tb1S1bJhvoEMM0Mp4iThElc-7CVw9phVz1U8YO82X/s400/DSC_0018.JPG" /></a></div>
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On Saturday we went to Nightingale's Maple Farm. We wanted to take Lauren to see how they made maple syrup because she wasn't able to go with us when we went to Thurman the week before.<br />
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We were able to see the sap running from the tree this Saturday. The
week before it was too cold and the sap wasn't running. The man let us
stick our finger under the tap and taste the sap. I was surprised that it didn't taste more sugary. </div>
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The man
showed us miles and miles of tubing. He explained that they use different colored tubing for different things. What you see here is the ruined tubing that they had removed the year before.</div>
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This is the vacuum system they use to help get the sap into the evaporator.</div>
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You can see the big evaporator they use to boil the sap.</div>
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Behind Glen and I you can see the old fashioned methods they used to collect the sap.</div>
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It's so nice to have a place to get syrup that is only 20 minutes away!
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Michelle Brooksbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07604925870238292421noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6842049291550728997.post-51653302530563728102014-03-22T20:05:00.000-04:002014-03-23T20:09:38.411-04:00Thurman Maple DaysAfter living in New York for 25 years we decided to do something we haven't done before. Go see where they make maple syrup. In the olden days they would tap the sugar maple trees and then hang a bucket to collect the sap. Now they all use tubing that runs downhill and collects in storage tanks.<br />
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The first place we went to was Toad Hill Maple Farm. They built this
beautiful building in 2010 from trees that were downed on their property. The tanks above hold the sap until they need it. Then they have tubes that take it from here into the evaporator below. <br />
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They said you have to boil 40 gallons of sap to get 1 gallon of maple syrup. And that as the weeks pass you have to boil 50 or 60 gallons to get 1 gallon.</div>
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We got to go into the kitchen where they had all kinds of maple things. Maple cotton candy, maple caramel corn, maple toffee peanuts, maple syrup, maple cream, and maple sugar. Yum!<br />
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When we first got there they hadn't started boiling the sap yet. When they did the steam from the boiling process filled the room and the smell was heavenly! Of course we had to go to the gift shop and buy some syrup.</div>
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Sadly for everyone it was a cold, snowy day. It was too cold for the sap to be running. So we never got to actually see that part of the process. However, it had been warmer the day before and it seemed like everyone had saved what sap they had gotten on Friday until Saturday so they could show all the tourists the process. I'm sure glad they did.<br />
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The next place we went to was the Adirondack Gold Maple Farm.</div>
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Three generations of the same family have run this maple farm for 80 years.</div>
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It was really interesting. They actually have a much larger evaporator in another building, but since they had so little sap they used the smaller evaporator in the old building. I was glad they did because we got to see they way it used to be. We bought some maple toffee peanuts and some maple sugar while we were there.<br />
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At the Valley Road Maple Farm we ate pancakes with maple syrup. It was so good. While we were waiting to eat our pancakes we sampled some of the things they'd made with maple. We had a dip made with cream cheese, cool whip, and maple sugar that was divine. So we bought some more maple sugar so we could make some when we got home.<br />
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Our last stop of the day was at Hidden Hollow Maple Farm. This place is run by two generations who work to produce all the yummy stuff. They had a window into their evaporator and Glen took this picture looking at the sap boiling.<br />
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All in all it was a fun day, and something that I can cross off my NY bucket list!Michelle Brooksbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07604925870238292421noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6842049291550728997.post-74497686589165542712014-03-22T14:41:00.002-04:002014-03-22T14:42:25.870-04:00Lauren's Science FairLauren presented her science research at the 24th Annual Greater Capital Region Science Fair at RPI. She has been working on this since her Sophomore year in High School.<br />
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On the drive there we saw the most beautiful sunrise. The photo doesn't
do it justice. That was one of the few perks for being on the road at
6:30am on a Saturday morning.<br />
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Here she is all set up in her assigned space in the lab. Crossing our fingers that it all goes well! Way to go Lauren!Michelle Brooksbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07604925870238292421noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6842049291550728997.post-41891386507007174362014-03-19T16:35:00.000-04:002014-03-21T16:36:53.238-04:00March "Music in our Schools" Concert<div style="text-align: center;">
March 19th was our last "Music in our Schools" concert. </div>
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Lauren played the sax in the Symphonic Band,<br />
and the flute in the Concert Band. </div>
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The Symphonic band sounded good,<br />
but the Concert band sounded FANTASTIC! </div>
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Lauren had a solo in Arabesque, and she nailed it. </div>
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Mr. Giroux (the band conductor) always lets the soloist stand up </div>
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and receive applause before he has all the rest of the band stand. </div>
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Way to go Lauren!</div>
Michelle Brooksbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07604925870238292421noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6842049291550728997.post-35058404856688014962014-03-15T11:15:00.002-04:002014-03-15T13:06:27.821-04:00BH-BL Presents Barnum!!!<div style="text-align: center;">
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Lauren got to play in the Pit Band for the high school musical "Barnum". She had a fun time doing it, and they sounded great. She said it was hard mostly because the music was hand written and hard to read. One more performance today, and then they're done! There were only three students in the pit band, the rest were paid performers.</div>
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Way to go Lauren!</div>
Michelle Brooksbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07604925870238292421noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6842049291550728997.post-43551798408387374002014-02-26T11:27:00.000-05:002014-03-15T11:28:44.931-04:00She DID get into BYU-Provo!!!So, it's official. Lauren DID get into BYU-Provo for Fall/Winter 2014-2015. We are all very excited!
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Congratulations Lauren!Michelle Brooksbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07604925870238292421noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6842049291550728997.post-49260276575882047332014-02-22T18:00:00.000-05:002014-02-22T18:01:59.274-05:00PancakesDo you like pancakes? If you do I thought I'd show you what we live through so that you can have maple syrup with those. This is what it's like living in a deciduous hardwood forest; the kind that sugar maple trees grow in. (You'll have to click on the image to get the full effect.)
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In a few weeks we’ll start to see the temperature swings that make the maple sap run. After that, green explodes all over the place. We will then mow and prune the "green" for months until we have to rake it up in the fall. But not before it turns to this.
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For now though, enjoy your pancakes and maple syrup!
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Glen Brooksbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17157527238376299217noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6842049291550728997.post-59065235643013806422014-02-03T16:07:00.000-05:002014-02-03T16:07:29.047-05:00BYU - Provo, Here She Comes, Maybe!!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Lauren got home from school today and got a tweet from a friend saying that she'd been accepted to BYU-Provo. At this point Lauren still hadn't heard from either BYU-Idaho or BYU-Provo. So she tweeted her friend to say congratulations. Her friend told her that she should go to the website and log-in. And if you enlarge this photo you can read the words "Addmitted Undergraduate". Right at that point our good friend called to tell Lauren to go look as well. She got to hear Lauren's screams of excitement. At that point Lauren went to the BYU directory and found her name there along with Jared's and a couple of other Brooksbys. The funny this is that shortly after taking this picture she got a text from her friend saying that her page went back to saying Non-matriculated. And Lauren checked hers, and it now says the same thing. So we think she's been accepted, but won't know until we get some kind of official notification. Back to waiting!Michelle Brooksbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07604925870238292421noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6842049291550728997.post-71642948213415072032013-12-31T16:55:00.000-05:002014-02-03T16:55:09.857-05:00Happy New Year!!!<div style="text-align: center;">
We invited Evan, Suzanne and family along with </div>
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our friends the Maughans over for New Year's Eve. </div>
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We had great finger food, played games, and had a great time!</div>
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Lauren and Emma doing their thing while waiting for the ball to drop.</div>
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Look at that cute girl. Stacy was making sure she stayed in </div>
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touch with all her friends to wish them a Happy New Year!</div>
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What night would be complete without video games. </div>
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All the boys were getting into it.</div>
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Justin and Bennett!</div>
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Bennett with Erin! Elsie went to bed at her regular time, </div>
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so she's not in any of these pictures.</div>
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Erin and Justin!</div>
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Jared toasting the New Year!</div>
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Lauren doing the same!</div>
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Craig, Scott, Sharon and James Maughan</div>
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Robb, Bradley, Suzanne, Evan, Emma, and Stacy Brooksby </div>
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Glen, Michelle, Lauren, Erin & Justin Wilson, and Jared Brooksby</div>
Michelle Brooksbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07604925870238292421noreply@blogger.com0