Tonto National Forest

Yesterday we took a road trip along the Apache Trail thru Apache Junction, past Superstition Mountain and thousands of Saguaro Cacti to Canyon Lake, known originally as Mormon Flat Lake,
which is one of the man-made lakes in Arizona formed by the construction of the Mormon Flat Dam (completed in 1925) and Roosevelt dam on the Salt River in 1911, which at the time it was built was the largest dam in America. It is the smallest of the four lakes in the Salt River chain. The other lakes are Apache Lake, Roosevelt Lake and Saguaro Lake.
We had lunch in the old town of Tortilla Flat (http://tinyurl.com/yhfhmgc) where every wall of the restaurant is covered floor to ceiling with dollar bills left by customers from all over the world.

Side Trip To California

I've been in Mesa, AZ since last Thursday, decompressing after Symposium. Spent some time visiting and relaxing and then got on the move again to Riverside California. The 4-hour drive through the desert seemed endless but Palm Springs showed off her Windmill Farm (http://tinyurl.com/yhwzzgr) and a beautiful view of snow on the distant mountains.

Some Visions of Arizona

Tucson: I spent the last 6 days at ElConquistador Hotel in Tucson, the ITMI Symposium has kept me busy networking and job interviewing but I did find some time to shoot some local scenes.

Desert Sunsets

San Xavier Mission

Into the sunshine....

It's 10:30 New York time, 8:30 Arizona time. I left Islip at noon on the 6 hour flight to Las Vegas, where I only lost $10.00 at a slot machine in the airport. Not bad.

Here's my first view of the Rocky Mountains and hopefully my last view of snow for the next two weeks.

It certainly looks beautiful from this distance, doesn't it?

I caught another flight from Vegas to Tucson and I finally got to my room at the El Conquistador Hotel in Tucson at 8:00 PM.

I'm pretty tired from the trip and all I have to say is..."Hello...Room Service..."

Arizona

Today I'm getting out of the cold of Long Island and into the warmth of Arizona. I'll be attending the 23rd Annual ITMI Symposium in Tucson at the Hotel El Conquistador http://www.hotelelconquistador.com/ for about a week and then spending some leisure time in Mesa. Check back here for details and pictures.

A Basket of Pears

When I first met with my driver, Steve, we talked about the route and plans for the tour. I asked him if he knew a city guide for Dallas as the tour company hadn't included it in the tour. Since I had scheduled 4 hours free I thought that a two hour tour would work nicely, still allowing 2 hours of free time. So Steve, being a local, happened to know a couple of city tour guides and was able to contact one and make the arrangements. I presented the plan to the passengers and all were willing to pay the small fee to pay the guide.
And so it was.
After the visit to Dealy Plaza and the Sixth Floor Museum the guide met us and showed us the city. One of the stops on the tour was the Dallas Farmers Market.

This is a wonderful open-air market with lots of vendors selling beautiful and delicious-looking fruits and vegetables. So everyone scrambled around purchasing goodies to snack on while on the coach.
I bought a bag of green grapes and a basket (about 6) beautiful, delicious-looking pears which happen to be my two favorite fruits. We re-boarded the coach and I placed my purchases on my seat. I then had to return to the jump seat of the bus so Danielle, the guide could assume my seat behind the driver to finish the tour. She also placed her purchases on my seat.
And so it was.
When the tour was done everyone said thank you to Danielle for a terrific and informative tour and she picked up her purchases and said good bye and left the coach. As she was waving goodbye from the sidewalk I moved back into my seat behind the driver. I quickly realized that one of my bags was missing. I searched all around my seat, on the floor, under other things that were there and only found my grapes. I knew it was unintentional but Danielle had taken one of my bags when she picked up hers. I immediately took the microphone and announced, "She took my pears!" Naturally I got a lot of comic mileage out of this. Sometimes when things are quiet on the bus I will say, "I wish I had a pear," or " I can't believe she stole my damn pears," or "I hope you enjoyed the Dallas City Tour, all it cost was a couple of hundred dollars and a basket of MY pears!"
It has become a great theme of the tour....She stole my pears! Everyone has found some way to make reference to the event and we have had a lot of laughs over it.
And all it cost me was a basket of pears!

Rodeo!!

Everyone enjoyed an evening of Country Music, Dancing, a Bull Riding show, and of course The Rodeo at Billy Bob's Texas Saloon http://www.billybobstexas.com/, alledgedly the world's largest Honky Tonk, located at the Fort Worth Stockyards. This could be true because inside Billy Bob's is a stage with a live band, a dance floor, a restaurant, a gift shop, a museum, at least 3 bars, live bull riding shows, a "Photo Bull," a casino, an arcade, about a dozen pool tables, and they offer live concerts, this night featuring Travis Tritt. The club can accomodate 6,000 people...that ain't just big, that's TEXAS Big!

We also had a city tour of Dallas and one of the highlights of that was "The Herd", which is the world's biggest bronze monument. Forty nine Texas Longhorn Steer and three cowboys by sculptor Robert Summers sprawl down a realistic cattle trail, thru a running stream and a limestone cliff. It's quite an impressive work and you can walk right among them without getting stampeded, kind of like the real Cattle Drive at the Stockyards!

We visited the Sixth Floor Museum at Dealy Plaza, a National Historic Landmark. It is a collection of photographs, articles, and news programs telling the whole sequence of events surrounding the assassination of JFK, housed in the School Book Depository from where Lee Harvey Oswald fired on the President's motorcade on November 22, 1963. There are two x's in the street denoting the spots where the presidents car was when each shot struck him. We also drove past the garage door where Oswald was shot and killed by Jack Ruby on national TV.

It was a very moving experience to relive that terrible day right in the spot where it took place.

Stampede!!!!

We traveled to the little town of Grapevine, so named for the wild mustang grapes prevalent in the area, where we boarded the Tarantula Vintage Steam Train for our journey to the Fort Worth Stockyards National Historic District, http://www.fortworthstockyards.org/

which is a 10 block neighborhood that consists of cobblestone streets, raised wooden sidewalks and streetlights designed to resemble gas lamps. The whole area offers a glimpse of life in Texas a century ago when the Texas Longhorn Steer drove the economy.

There is a Cowboy Hall of Fame, weekend rodeos and a twice-daily "Cattle Drive" down the main street. We were expecting a stampede of Longhorn steer. What we got was a stroll down the street by about 15 of the most docile, bored, non-stampeding animals one could imagine. The "wranglers" made sure no one stepped into the path of these huge animals but I really think if anyone said "boo" to them, they would have turned tail and stampeded in the opposite direction.

Anyway the stockyards was the place where over a million head of cattle passed thru between 1887 and 1904 on their way to the rail lines further north, or the marketing and auction blocks for sale to the meat processing companies.

The town is full of western shops, restaurants, souvenir stores, and honky tonks. It was a fun day and at least 5 of my group came away with their official cowboy hats. I exect all 28 of them will have one by the end of the tour.

Waking Up in Fort Worth

After a full day of traveling, waiting for flights, finding my driver, meeting my new group, and getting to the Hilton Hotel after dark, this morning I found myself in Fort Worth, Texas and went for an early morning stroll to see where I am.

What a beautiful, clean and friendly city it is:

The Bass Performance Hall, home of the city's symphony orchestra, ballet, and opera companies. An awesome 2,000 seat theatre.

Detail of the side of the building: Gigantic granite angels blowing 6' trumpets. The building also features a cloud-filled 80 ft wide Great Dome which soars above the auditorium.

Today we take an antique steam train to the Fort Worth Stockyards to see among other things a Cattle drive down the center of town.

This tour will take us to Dealey Plaza in Dallas, the 6th Floor Museum at the Texas School Book Depository, Dinner and Line Dancing Lessons at Billy Bob's Texas Saloon, The San Antonio Riverwalk, The Alamo, The Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum and more.

This is Texas! This is a BIG tour!

I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream for Ice Cream

Today one of our stops in Vermont was at the Queechee Gorge a 13,000 year old canyon cut during the Ice Age. One of the favorite things at this stop for my previous groups has been the ice cream shop at the gift shop complex after the gorge. There are picnic tables and it is a nice break to order an ice cream cone and sit at the tables when the weather is nice.
Today everything was perfect for such a break. So I told the group about the wonderful little shop with the delicious flavors and the picnic tables in the beautiful setting by the 13,000 year- old gorge. When we got there everyone on the bus immediately lined up to order their ice cream.
As I watched the line NOT move for several minutes I went over to see what the hold-up was. When I got there I realized that there was only one clerk taking orders, receiving money and scooping ice cream into cones. The process was clearly overwhelming, she was clearly unable to work any faster than she was, the group was clearly getting impatient and I could clearly see my day's schedule melting into chaos.
What to do?
I worked my way to the front of the line and said to the girl, “Can I help you? Can I come inside and help scoop the ice cream?” I really expected her to say, “No” but to my surprise and everyone else’s she said…”Yes, please.” So I went inside and quickly began taking orders, and scooping ice cream, and receiving money….Tammy even showed me how to use the cash register!
It was very funny, everyone got their cones, and when I finished with the last order, Tammy thanked me enthusiastically and told me I could have any size ice cream cone I wanted! I came out with my cone and everyone was sitting at the picnic tables in the beautiful setting by the 13,000 year-old gorge eating ice cream just like they were supposed to!
And we left the Queechee Gorge right on schedule.

Where have all the Autumn Leaves gone?...

they've gone to raindrops, everyone....
I just finished "New England in the Fall" with group 1. The Autumn colors in Vermont were almost completely yellows and pale oranges, and many had already fallen. My Group 2 (beginning today) may be surprised to see little color in the northern portion of the tour. Massachusetts holds more promise for color, but that will be later in the week so who knows.
The week went well and the main issue we had to contend with was the weather. We had some unseasonable coldness in Boston, and some horrendous rain on the last day. So much so that we had to scrap our plans to spend the day at the wharf in Rhode Island. I took the group to an outlet mall in Connecticut instead and they enjoyed the last minute opportunity to spend whatever money they had left so they wouldn't have to bother with changing those pesky American Dollars back into British Pounds.

The Countess Lives!

Today at the Vermont Country Store I spotted a display of masks and found a perfect one to wear on the bus when next I counted the passengers.

How Sweet It Is...

...to return to America after two rainy days in Canada. Especially when we made an unscheduled stop at the New England Maple Museum in Pittsford, VT (http://www.maplemuseum.com/tour.html). We had a tour of the history and process of maple syrup production, saw a film about the process, sampled maple syrup products and jams and other spreads and naturally ended our tour in the gift shop. It was an unexpected and unplanned education and a delicious surprise.

We also had our first covered bridge siting...at Shellburne, Vermont. Even the drizzle couldn't keep the group from getting off the bus to get the pictures.

Cohasset MA to Montreal

We left the hotel in Cohasset at 8:00 AM and between the pouring rain and rush hour traffic going to Boston we were running about an hour behind the planned lunch stop in Montpelier VT. The foliage was spectacular even in the rain. Once we got past Boston the rain was intermittent but I knew we needed a rest stop before lunch. There were no services on I-93 so we exited at a town called Hooksett, New Hampshire just to find a restroom an perhaps a snack to hold us till lunch. We came to an intersection where McDonalds was the main attraction in this small town. As we sat at the light our driver, Jose put his left turn signal on and as we made the turn we could see the manager and the drive-in attendant looking at the coach with their eyes and mouths wide open in an "Oh, my God, they're coming here!" expression of panic. Everyone on the coach laughed hysterically and as we entered the restaurant there was a noticable McFlurry of McActivity. As they all McManned their stations, the manager was shouting McDirections to all of the McEmployees.

They did a great job serving everyone and we were out of there and on our way in about 40 minutes.

McAmazing!!

The Countess

One of the most stressful chores of this job is counting the people. I have to count them everytime we board the coach before we can begin the journey...that is everytime...every morning, every rest area stop, every time we board the coach again. This probably doesn't seem like a very difficult thing to do but for some reason (old age) no matter what method I use I always come up with a different answer. So this process quickly becomes a comical event on the coach.
Now my passengers have begun to call me "The Countess". I rather enjoy the title...especially when they bow!
On Monday we spent the day in Boston and on Tuesday we went to Rhode Island, visited the Marble House, a Vanderbilt mansion on the Cliff Walk, then enjoyed free time at the restaurants and shops at the wharf in Newport.
Hopefully I will have a connection at our next hotel and will be able to post some pictures.

Getting There

The internet connection was troublesome in Cohasset so this is my first opportunity to post here using the Hotel's computer.
I picked up the group at Boston Airport, all except for 2 ladies, I'll call them Susan and Christine, because those are their names. Once all of my group had arrived and boarded the coach except for Susan and Christine I waited until the flight arrival announcement was removed from the board, found out they were never on the flight and proceeded with the group to the Cohasset Harbor Resort (http://www.cohassetharborresort.com/) which is a beautifully quaint Inn situated on a small harbor in Cohasset, MA.
The first thing I usually do when arriving at a hotel is set up my computer and try to get online.
Steve, the hotel manager was terriffic and very eager to help me get online but the signal was weak in Room 112. He took me to the 2nd floor to a room that he said they use for meetings so the connection might be better. It turned out to be the hotel"s "Presidential Suite"---livingroom/dining area/kitchenette combination and a very large separate bedroom on the harbor side with a beautiful view facing the sunrise and sliding glass doors onto the the balcony. The connection didn't work here either but I didn't mind so much.

Following Fall Foliage Farther Forthwith

I'm off on Sunday, October 4th to New England and Quebec, Canada.
I'm doing 3 consecutive 1-week tours and I'm not coming back until I see every last leaf from New York to Quebec change color and fall down.
I'm really looking forward to it...what better place to experience the spectacle of Mother Nature changing her clothes than New England and Eastern Canada?
And who knows what adventures lie ahead?
Not me.

More London

When the Queen enters Westminster for the State Opening of Parliament she enters the Queen's Robing Room to put on the Imperial State Crown and the parliamentary Robes.

This is the clock in the Robing Room. And below, the fireplace.

Buckingham Palace, The Queen was not in...as evidenced by the fact that the Royal Standard was not flying.

These guys were keeping an eye on things at Buckingham Palace and in the park across the street from the Palace. (The black swan was in the park)

I Spy With My Little Eye...

...some spectacular scenes in London.

Some of these images were shot from the London Eye, the giant rotating wheel that is 200 times the size of the average racing bike wheel, and the largest observation wheel ever built as well as the only cantilevered structure of its kind in the world. The panoramic views of London are amazing from there. The ride takes about 30 minutes.

The Houses of Parliament and Big Ben

from the South Bank of the River Thames


The Tower Bridge from the North Bank.

Big Ben through the structure of the London Eye

9/14/09 We Did It!

We left the villa in Contignano and drove for 2 hours through every little town and village between there and Cascina (it was only 78 miles). This was the shortcut that we didn't take the other day when it took us two hours too.

The rain started about half way there and never stopped but just kept getting more and more intense. Between the switchbacks and the roundabouts and the torrential downpours we were beginning to think that Massimina didn't want to be found.
But we persevered and finally made it to Cascina and found the Stato Civile where birth records are stored.

It is necessary to take a number from a ticket machine (I think they got the idea from the US Department of Motor Vehicles.)
We were feeling pretty proud of ourselves for finding the right office with 40 minutes to spare but were again frustrated when the ticket machine didn't work and the attendant who was trying to fix it left to find another one who could! Finally the machine got fixed, we got our ticket and we were only one number away from the one that was currently being helped at the counter we needed to be at. When that person left we thought surely our turn had come but the agent needed to do something at his computer that caused him to laugh and giggle for the next 10 minutes. Peter was sure he was receiving chain letter email jokes.
When we were finally called he spoke no English and although I had written the names and dates and the info that we were looking for, this guy had no interest in helping us and so he passed us off to another agent. She didn't speak any English either but was at least willing to listen to my clumsy attempt at Italian. She retrieved a large old leather-bound volume of an index of birth records from Cascina for 1876 which was the date we thought Massimina was born. There was no Massimina Barontini listed. She then called another agent over who spoke about as much English as I spoke Italian. They decided to check the years around 1876 and found a "Massimo Barontini" born to Caterina Picchi and Angiolo Barontini in 1875. I knew that was the right record even though I thought her parents were Angelo Barontini and Caterina Picchini. The agent noticed a notation in the margin indicating that the name was originally written wrongly as Massimo, wrong because the child was a girl. This is why they couldn't find her in the index. So the note corrected the name to read "Massimina." So we definitely had the right record! She further translated the address as #84 San Frediano as to where she was born. We asked how to find that address and they told us it no longer exists. Understandable, I guess.

Anyway we purchased 5 copies, thanked both women for their help and were on our way in the rain to catch our train from Florence to Paris. By the time we got to Florence we were drenched and hungry but happy to finally take Nona with us, if only on paper.
I never knew Massimina--she died before I was born so this is the closest I have been to her... we're off to see the Eiffel Tower now but I don't expect to be moved by it as much as I was this morning when I saw the original hand-written record of Nona's birth in 1875 (134 years ago). WOW!!

By the way, Massimina was born 14 years before the Eiffel tower was built.