Bermuda 2023

08 Wednesday Nov 2023

Posted by Ronald Parks in Bermuda, cruise, Travel, vacation

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Bermuda, bridge, Caribbean, fort, Hamilton, Lighthouse, nature, photography, ships, sub, Sunset, vision of the seas

Headed to Baltimore from Salisbury about 9am. For whatever reason there was a back-up on the Bay Bridge. Got to the cruise terminal about noon. Everyone at the terminal was very nice. Lots of people instructing you to have all your documents ready – Cruise ticket, passport, ID. The Vision of the Seas, Royal Caribbean.

Our cabin was ready at 1pm which wasn’t bad. Exterior with view and this is what we could see.

Roamed around the deck. People already in the pool.

Went to the Windjammer Buffet and ate. We were a little late leaving port. It appeared that someone left the ship in an ambulance. Headed out and saw the Curtis Bay Water Tank.

Next we were going under the Key Bridge. Is she going to make it under?

And past Fort Carroll – Designed and built by Robert E. Lee.

A little while later we were under the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. Oooos and aaaahhs.

There was a submarine out there. Someone said it was a nuclear sub, another said it was a training sub for Annapolis Naval Academy.

Kathy said “Look, he just proposed to her” So as not to be Mr Obvious I looked through my camera. I asked if they wanted me to take their photos and she said “No, I’m not doing this again!” And he said, “Come on, we should have pictures of this!” So they gave me their camera and redid the whole thing over!

A nice sunset from the side of the ship.

The next day was just a lot of everything going on. Lots of eating! Entertainment galore. Because my back has been bothering me, I went to the excursion desk to see if I could trade our 3-1/2 hour kayak adventure for a mini-cab tour of the Island – no problem. All the staff were very nice. We were able to watch the Ravens beat the Lions. By early evening it was really windy up on deck.

The next morning a pilot boat came along side us to guide us in.

And here we are – Bermuda, Kings Wharf.

Off the ship and onto an adventure riding around town. Clarence was our driver. There were 2 other couples with us. To the right is a Disney ship. It is huge and holds over 5,000 people.

Clarence took us everywhere. We stopped in Hamilton and walked around for about 30 minutes.

Front St.

He told us about a souvenir shop around the corner, but this caught our eye.

Left Hamilton and headed for the coast. We stopped at an abandoned resort. Kind of eerie – looked nice but everyone is gone?

Here is our group. All very nice people.

Nice swimming area. I think this was called Elbow Beach.

Next stop was Gibbs Hill Lighthouse. Built in 1846.

No debating about me climbing to the top – there I go!

An inside look.

Looking down at Kathy and crew

This is interesting – The Somerset Bridge. The smallest drawbridge in the world. Only wide enough to let through the mast of a sailboat. Clarence said people had to get off their boat, climb a ladder, lift the boards by hand, allow boat to pass then climb back down the other side. I imagine it would be tricky by yourself!

because we couldn’t pull over anywhere to look at this, we bought a print.

Another abandoned property. There was a hotel on that little piece of land but salt water undermined it and they tore it down. Now a park.

Kings Wharf at night.

The next morning we tried to head out early and as soon as we left the ship, it started pouring down rain. Back to the ship and changed and grabbed our ponchos. Left the ship and the sun started to come out.

Lots of motor bikes all in a row.

Lots of cannons all in a row. We didn’t have enough time to visit the fort, or the old prison.

We did get to walk around some old buildings though.

Waiting for us to leave is the Norwegian Cruise Ship Escape. Another huge ship of 5,400+ passengers. Glad our ship was relatively small – 2,400.

Back out to see and the entertainment is wild – Belly Flop contest.

A couple more sunsets

And a Farewell Show with cast and crew.

Very nice adventure! Next time with the kids! Can’t wait.

Oyster Fritters, Antiques, a Hike (and a bad sign)

23 Tuesday Mar 2021

Posted by Ronald Parks in chincoteague, Eastern Shore, Hiking, kayaking, Road Trips, Trails

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Antiques, birding, Fritters, Lighthouse, Nassawango, Nature Conservancy, stuff found, unicorns, Veterans park

This was a two day adventure. On the 20th we went to the Chincoteague VFD for a fund raiser – oyster fritter sandwich, a bottle of water and a bag of chips. Although this was my first fritter and I enjoyed it, I must say, I like a fried oyster sandwich best. We picked up our lunch and headed to the Chincoteague Veterans Memorial Park.

It was a nice place to sit and look at the water. Part of Assateague, Va. is right across the water.

Man, are you kidding me? I can see why there is no swimming, but no kayaking?

We left Chincoteague after lunch (We did stop at the bookstore and I picked up a couple local, Eastern Shore history books). Decided to check out a couple antique shops heading up Route 13. Stopping first at Chesapeake Antiques. Last time we were here they had a lot of stuff. Not so much now. It actually looks like they are going out of business. Pickers Paradise next door is closed. Headed up the road a little further and stopped here – Worcester House Antiques. Wow…

We did stop at a very nice shop in Princess Anne – Somerset Choice Station Antiques. It is part of the Somerset Historical Society. http://www.somersetcountyhistoricalsociety.org/shop.html

So, the next day, the 21st, we decided to take a short hike. Went here once again. Always nice to be along the Nassawango Creek, among the cypress.

Found this in the swamp and Kathy wanted it, soooo. We will fix the baby carriage up and place it in the garden.

Looking for frogs. We heard them but did not see them.

Possible UFO sighting.

We did find that elusive Unicorn we have been looking for.

A favorite spot to sit and daydream about kayaking.

A little confusing. After this point the trails were not marked so we stayed next to the creek.

Not sure how this ended up here. Kathy suggested that it was brought up from the creek and the person just walked away. There is a house about a half-mile from here, but they have a ramp? We hiked to about the house and then headed through the woods to the road – Creek Road.

Saw this from the water while kayaking. Like I stated above, the closest house is about a half-mile away.

Nice two days of adventures. Thanks God for these days.

Cape Lookout

18 Friday Oct 2019

Posted by Ronald Parks in Hiking, National Parks, nature, Photography, Road Trips

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Beach Life, Cape Lookout, ferry, Hiking, Lighthouse, National Parks, nature, North Carolina, photography, sea shells

While at Indian Beach, North Carolina, we decided to visit the Cape Lookout National Park. To get there we needed to catch the ferry from Harkers Island. They have a nice visitors center there. A few blocks away is/was a museum, Core Sound Waterfowl Museum. It is still closed from the storm of a year ago.

Visitor Center, anchor from ship that sank in 1902

it was about a 4-1/2 mile ferry ride, making one stop at Shackleford Banks. People like to stop there and look at the 100+ wild horses on the island. Kathy and I visited the western end of this island back in June. Nice trip. Didn’t see any horses though.

Arrived at our destination and stopped at the Keepers House first.

We missed being able to climb up to the top by about a month.

Black diamonds face north and south. White, east and west.. So, not only does the light shine 24/7, you can also get your bearings by the diamonds.

Instead of taking the boardwalk to the ocean, we took a service road.

The ocean. Too many people before us so the pickings were slim for seashells.

So, Kathy decides instead of us walking back up the beach, we should cut across to the bay side. “Are you sure?” “Yes” Ok!

Not just a marsh but also a bunch of inlets of rushing water. I didn’t know we were doing this kind of hike or I would have worn my water shoes and not my Tevas!

Looking back from where we came from. It was actually a nice hike.

Random camera colorization of image. It does this sometimes.

The ferry coming to drop off people and pick us up.

Although I was only at the beach for about 4 days, it was so nice to get away! Ha! Get away from what??!! Kathy and I always go to the beach! A wonderful trip. Thanks Gail and John.

Chincoteague

15 Friday Feb 2019

Posted by Ronald Parks in Hiking, National Parks, nature

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chincoteague, Hiking, Lighthouse, nature, snow geese

We haven’t hiked here since May 2017. It is nice living close by. Less than an hour away. Kathy and I needed a nice little road trip. Selling homes, moving, moving again and retiring is a lot of work!

It was chilly and very windy on both the ocean and bay sides of the island. One large sand dune blocks the ocean from the parking lot, for the whole length of the lot. Kathy and Molly climbing over the dunes.

Glad I didn’t take my good camera – I’ve ruined two of them over the years from sand getting into them. The sand was stinging our faces. Looking up the beach.

After getting sandblasted on the ocean beach, we headed to bay side – Tom’s cove.

Windy still but nice. The snow geese were hanging out.

Including I believe, the Adult Blue Morph.

Seagulls were plentiful and a delight to watch (Always better watching them on the beach than at Thrasher’s!)

This guy, below, kept picking this object up, dropping it to crack it open and then taking it to the pool to wash it off. He discovered that it wasn’t edible.

Heading away from the ocean and driving to the mainland we saw this guy.

And this guy off in the distance, standing away from the rest of the herd.

Seeing the lighthouse off in the distance we headed that way.

Belongs to the Coast Guard. Last time we were here, there were way too many people to get a half way decent shot.

Historic info.

Nice day for a much needed hike. The park police did stop us to inform us that it is illegal to bring a pet onto a National Wildlife Refuge. Never would have guessed that Molly doesn’t count as wildlife!

First Hike 2019

02 Wednesday Jan 2019

Posted by Ronald Parks in Hiking, nature

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Calvert Cliffs, Chesapeake Bay, Hiking, Lighthouse, nature, State Parks

A couple weeks ago, Kathy signed us up for a State Park First Hike at Calvert Cliffs. Although overcast, the weather was great for hiking.

Here is the State Roads Commission historical marker.

The one thing about organized hikes, there are usually a lot of people. One of the rangers giving the tour said there were about 200 hikers here and about 50 dogs.

Heading down the path (like lemmings headed towards a cliff) it was somewhat congested.

But then, because of the different rates that people hike and how much a dog pulls you along, it started to thin out.

Trail was muddy but it was a really nice hike. About 3.6 miles. Many small streams that fed a lagoon. Geese frolicking in the water.

Nice boardwalk along the water.

An unnatural naturalist looking for wildlife.

Signs of beaver activity.

Looks like lightning struck this beaver feeding tree.

Not sure if the lagoon was man made or beaver made.

A lone turtle trying to catch some sun.

The road to nowhere.

Actually, on the other side of the water is a natural gas company. We made it to the cliffs, beach, along with everyone else. Too many people for me.

But that didn’t stop Kathy from kicking off her hiking boots and going into the bay.

Out in the bay is this monster. A natural gas loading/unloading structure.

And off in the far distance there is a light house. Pretty bad shot, but got me curious.

A nice hike but disappointed that the cliffs were blocked off.

I guess I was thinking they were more like the White Cliffs of Dover or something like that. Kind of small.

When Kathy was finished playing in the water, we took a casual stroll back, enjoying the colors on a less crowded path. Then we came upon this guy. sitting alone, so we stopped to keep him company.

For a couple years we have been looking for natural letters from the alphabet. Kathy found a small r –

And then an o –

I told her she now needs to find an n! (she wanted to find a g also, because that is what I am – (W)rong!) Anyway, personal humor aside, we found this little bridge.

Then back out, beyond the ranger’s station, Kathy saw this metal hoop.

Looking closely about, we found an old structure.

Another shot of the area.

Some purple/blue/black berries.

Then finally, a Bee Hotel and Kathy very happy at the end of our First Hike of 2019.

Leaving Calvert Cliffs we went in search of the light house. And here it is.

Locked up behind a fence!

All in all, a super nice day!

Thanks God.

Turkey Point at Elk Neck

06 Friday Oct 2017

Posted by Ronald Parks in Hiking, nature, Photography

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Chesapeake Bay, Hiking, Lighthouse, meditation, nature, photography, susquehanna, Trails

With Kathy at her sister’s for a week, I figured I’d see if my daughter wanted to go kayaking or hiking. She chose hiking so we went up to North East, Md. to Elk Neck State Park. Nice day for a hike. A little warm then started cooling off with the clouds moving in. I haven’t done this hike for about 5 years. Always nice to revisit places. This was a two part hike:

First we stopped at the lighthouse lot and walked the paths. Round trip here was about 2-1/2 miles.

A few of these signs scattered about.

With good reason. My daughter, Jules, has an app on her phone that measures distance. She said this cliff was 72′ up. This view is looking N.W. towards Havre De Grace. The head of the Chesapeake Bay.

Nice path. The fields on both sides have grown over some since the last time.

Not sure what this was.

Jules staying away from the hawk viewing sign. Multiple wasp nest on this thing. We did see a couple eagles while roaming around.

Finally made it to the lighthouse. Five years ago I was able to go inside. Not today.

We followed the light house trail down to the bottom. Another area seriously grown over. Use to be able to follow this trail south to an area just under the light house and look up the cliff.

So we headed the other way. So nice and peaceful listening to the water lap against the rocks. I could sit here for hours.

A little beach up ahead.

Driftwood and seashells.

Back up top.

No pee-call here! This spot-o-pot had a lot of stink bugs in it. Most fell off the roof, onto the toilet, when I opened the door.

Onto the next leg of our hike – Rogues Harbor and the Beaver Pond. This was a short hike. When we got to the upper left there was a detour around a ravine. I’ve done this hike before and it takes quite a while. We could see enough from our vantage point on this side. The trail does go all the way around the pond.

First stop though was at the marina bathrooms. Looking east across the Elk River.

Buttonwood Beach RV Resort. From this view it looks like sardine villa. From Google Earth, they are well spaced and looks like a nice place to set up an RV (or trailer home)