Orlando Hamcation

We have arrived in sunny Florida and for the first time, I understand why Fred loves it here so much. I've known this place to be hot and steamy or home to torrential rains and flooded streets. This time, the skies are blue, the grass and trees are green and the weather is simply marvelous.

Our official first destination was the Orlando Hamcation. We reconnected with some folks that we met last summer and are now proud to call them friends. 

When Fred finished his presentation at a forum, a gentleman named M. Walter Maxwell came up to meet him. Turns out he had worked for RCA Laboratories and later became a charter member of its new Astro-Electronics Division in Princeton, New Jersey. From 1960 until retirement in 1980, Walter was in charge of Astro's Space Center Antenna Laboratory and Test Range. More than 30 Earth-orbiting spacecraft utilize antennas that were designed solely by Walt, which include the world's first weather satellite, TIROS1. He also designed the the follow-on TIROS-ESSA-NOAA weather satellites, and ECHO 1, the first satellite used in an attempt to achieve global TV. He invented so many other things it would make your head spin around if I continued to list them here like thingys for search and rescue and gizmos to relay signals from emergency locator transmitters aboard aircraft in distress.There is one that I think most of you will remember. He was one of the three-man team that designed the Moon-to-Earth TV dish antenna used on the Moon on Apollo's lunar rover-the moon buggy. 

It was an honor to meet someone who designed electronics equipment that sits on the surface of the moon still today. He was a pretty fascinating guy to us and we bought his book which he was eager to autograph. (I barely understand the introduction, and have no clue what “Impedance” Bridges or Evidence of a Conjugate Match are). Most surprising to us was the enthusiasm he showed for the opportunity to meet Fred. He requested a picture of us all together so he could post it on his own website to prove that he had, indeed, met the man who created QRZ.com. Simply astounding! 

Click here for more pictures of the Orlando Hamcation

Next time....True to his word, Fred took me to Disney World

from the road

-robin

Fred and Robin go to Florida

Imagine Willie Nelson singing...On the road again...doot doot doot doot doot... the road again....

That's right folks, Robin and Fred are rolling down Interstate 10 this time looking for adventures on our way to Florida. And once again things did not go as planned.

“The Plan,” was to host a QRZ users meeting at Quartzfest 2011 in Quartzsite Arizona the last week of January. It did not happen. Prior to that, “The Plan” was to move the QRZ software from our own equipment to equipment owned by other people. Other people being Amazon.com. Such operations are commonly referred to as running in the cloud, which means that you don't know where the hardware is and you don't care. It just automagically works. That did happen, however, the ascent into the cloud wasn't as divine as Fred anticipated. In fact, that cloud rained on his parade for weeks on end and it is still drizzling. Every lunch stop on the road so far involves a quick check of the website and minor adjustments. Every night requires at least two hours of programing and email. Fred keeps insisting that it is getting better. Of course, when everything is finally running smooth, it will be time for new improvements and additions to this website that keeps fuel in this bus and keeps us rolling down the highway to new ham radio adventures.

The mirrors, ah the mirrors. They are not as hard to keep clean this time since the entire bathroom cabinet mirror came off in my hand. I had little experience with standing in a pool of shattered glass with which to draw on so I just waited for Fred to come save me. And he did. One less mirror to clean.

Since I have so little to report, adventure wise, I'll update you on the current roadkill count. 1 coyote, 1 mouse, innumerable skunks (are they dumb, slow, or just can't resist a dare from their friends) 1 javalina, 8 deer, 1 raccoon, 1 armadillo, 3 dogs, 1 cat, 1 fox and 10 certified UFOs (unidentified furry objects). We just saw a live deer next to the road so Fred figures he still has a chance to bag one before the season's over. What a sportsman!

As we fast approach our destination of the Orlando Hamcation I would like to note that we drove so far around Fredricksburg, TX and New Orleans, LA that I have no clue what they even look like. Last year when I was disappointed at missing these places, Fred assured me that we were coming their way again in February and would explore them then. Well it is February and we blew past them once again with similar assurances that we could return on the way back. Fred must hope I'm as dumb as 10 skunks.

Smoky Mountain Memories

10/15/10 Day 99

Only 300 miles of road lie between us and the end of our grand adventure. We have driven 3,000 miles over the last 25 days documented by almost 400 pictures but not yet documented on the blog. Oh my....

The Great Smoky Mountains is where Fall began in earnest for us. Although we were too early to see much change in the color of the trees, the towns of Sevierville, Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg were all decorating upon our arrival. I can't wait to try and replicate some of it at home.

As a reward for enduring all the ham radio events, Fred took me to Dollywood. We took in a variety of stage shows and were impressed by how well the park was run. One day was not enough time to see all there was to see but we had to move on to see the Appalachian Trail.

The trail provided us with 100 yards of the most beautiful and challenging terrain we had hiked so far. We passed hikers on their way down wearing sturdy shoes, sensible hats and wielding sophisticated walking sticks. Fred had a camera and I had flips flops and a purse.

We discovered luxury mountain cabins for rent within earshot of the Dollywood train whistle. Some of the cabins could sleep up to 20 people, and amenities included private balcony hot tubs, high definition satellite TV, and internet. Because the cabins were perched on stilts on the hillside, the views were breathtaking from every cabin but those roads were steep! Fred took lots of pictures in case any of you ever wanted to rent one of them.

That brings us to the ducks. Behind the biggest Christmas store I have ever seen, is a parking lot full of ducks. There is a big creek running behind it where I assume the ducks call home, but as you will see in the pictures, they prefer the parking lot. Could it be because there is a coin operated duck food vending machine located there? We refer to it as “The Quacker Barrel.”

Click here to see the pictures...

From the road

-robin

An Impromptu Trip to Kennebunk and Kennebunkport

It is still day 98 and as I write my 26^th dispatch I am 300 miles closer to home than I was when I wrote dispatch #25. Egads, after I finish telling you about our four days in Kennebunk and Kennebunkport, I will still only be up to day 73.

I have captioned most of the pictures so I think I will let them tell the story. Except the picture of the fried squirrel. That one takes a bit of explaining.

Picture a tranquil campground; birds chirping, leaves rustling, children playing. Suddenly, an explosive bang rocks the trailerhood and the power is cut throughout the park. As it turns out, it was sabotage inflicted upon the camp by a lone kamikaze squirrel scampering up a high voltage transformer in pursuit of the perfect acorn. Within the hour, a singed carcass was brought forth by the investigative team and put on display as a warning to all others. Evidently, an effective deterrent, because there were no further such incidents for the remainder of our stay.

Don't miss the picture of former President George H. W. Bush's summer home. It played a big part in our political history and the neighborhood is a just a tad bit upscale.

In conclusion, I would say Maine was another favorite state worthy of a second look.

Click here to see the pictures...

From the road

-robin

Our trip Northeast of Up North

It is October 14^th, day 98 and we are on the road again after being parked for 8 days. You skeptics out there may note that I have indeed made it past the three month milestone. I admit I include myself in the skeptic pool. We have about 1000 miles between us and home and we are hurtling that way. I am attempting, once again, to report on the past while living in the present and looking toward the future.

We spent 6 days headquartered in Trenton, Maine from Sept. 11^th through Sept. 15. My last dispatch covered our lobster experience so I'll move on to New Brunswick, lighthouses and extreme tides.

We headed out in the jeep for the Downeast Experience of Lubec, Maine. It is the easternmost point in the US where the sun rises first and we should have spent three days there instead of one. The town was picturesque and we enjoyed dinner in a charming inn when darkness forced us inside. The real attraction, though, was across the International Bridge, over the Lubec Narrows on Campobello Island , New Brunswick.

I really wanted to ferry over to Machias Seal Island, home to one of the largest breeding colonies of Atlantic Puffins. I have a formerly undisclosed, secret love for Puffins. No time. There is a boardwalk which crosses a rare Arctic bog with an abundance of unusual plants. Missed it. In St. Andrews, New Brunswick there is an elegant Algonquin Hotel. Didn't see it. What we did see was Head Harbour Lightstation. It is located on the outermost of a group of small islands at the northeastern tip of beautiful Campobello Island. Built in 1829, it is the oldest surviving lighthouse in New Brunswick and one of the oldest in Canada. We neglected to check the tidal schedule and you can only walk over to the lighthouse island during the 4 hours surrounding low tide. It was still worth the drive for the incomparable scenery of Head Harbour Passage with its dramatic high tides, craggy seashore, rocky cliffs and numerous whale sightings. 

We missed low tide at the lighthouse because we were touring FDR's summer home. Since I am currently reading a book about Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, I was thrilled to go on this field trip through time. We did not leave enough time in the schedule to see it all but you won't believe it by the number of pictures Fred was able to take. Click here to see the pictures...

Next stop, Kennebunkport and another former president's home.

From the road

-robin

Maine, a first look

Day 64 was the Windsor Hamfest. The funniest thing I can think of there was that at the site where it was held, they were preparing for the belt sander drag races. No kidding, belt sander drag races. We were really sorry to miss that, but we had to move on to Trenton to start our exploration of Acadia National Park. Here is what you all are missing by not being on the hamfest circuit with me.

The next group of pictures are of our first few days exploring Maine. We have so many great pictures that I have divided them up into a few separate dispatches. In this group, we went to Bar Harbor, ate our fist 3 pound lobster and visited a number of sites on Mount Desert Island.

Click here to see the pictures...

From the road

-robin

Mystic Pizza and more

On September 9^th, Day 63, we explored the Mystic Seaport. As you all know, and if you didn't, you do now, Fred and I really enjoy film, theater and television. One place I always wanted to experience was Mystic Pizza. I loved the movie, Julia Robert's first, and I wanted to eat there. Well guess what, the movie was filmed all around Mystic, and the author placed the center of the storyline in the restaurant, but it was not filmed in the building. We ate there anyway and the pizza was terrific. The interior was filled with memorabilia and the movie played on a loop for everyone's enjoyment. It met the criteria needed to check it off the bucket list. For those of you who think our bucket list is a tad bit lightweight, we also explored the Appalachian Trail but that story comes later.

If you enjoy shops, ships,ship building, ship history, seafood and a sea breeze, this is the place to visit. We took a boat ride, drove all around the neighborhoods and seaports and enjoyed a nice light wine at lunch next to the water. It gave us another opportunity to reflect on our good fortune. We are having a ball.

When we started this adventure, Fred promised me we could come home any time I wanted. I thought I would give out at least by 60 days. The cool air in the East and the heat back home made it surprisingly easy to stay on the road a bit longer. We entered Maine into the GPS and headed to the Windsor Hamfest. It was a great choice.

Click here to see the pictures of our day in Mystic, Connecticut....

From the road

-robin