TravelStream™ news feed for member 9lives on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/9lives en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Fri, 27 Nov 2009 21:07:20 -0500 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/9lives/3/315793121/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/9lives/3/315793121/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/9lives/3/315793121/tpod.html Fri, 27 Nov 2009 21:07:20 -0500 Masquerade II Makeover

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Mississauga, Ontario, Canada

This story really began yesterday with the thoroughly frustrating pick up of our U-Haul truck three and a half hours late. After confirming that we would pick up the 10 foot van at Applewood Village at 9 am the office there didn't open until 9:40 in spite of a sign saying 9 am opening. At that time the fellow had the audacity to say we were early, after we'd confirmed the 9am time with him by phone the day before. The van we took from there had squealing belts that the Oakville U-Haul garage was unable to fix so Richard ended up going to Park Lawn and getting another van there. Unfortunately the attendant there would not help him move the dinghy out of the original van. Not a good starting experience with U-Haul to say the least!

Still our packing went well as we dodged rain squalls so we were ready at 7:30 this morning while it was still dark. This trip was so much better than the one we took in February - just rain instead of snow and no icy conditions. There were a few flurries near Bradford but not a big deal. Funnily enough the temperature has gotten colder as we've headed south - hovering around freezing in Ohio. We both had visions of the skating rink highway we tried to negotiate in February in the Daytona to Cinci stretch. This time there was only construction to deal with.

Our border crossing went as well as can be expected. The U-Haul was x-rayed but we got through in about half an hour and we've definitely spent longer than that in our car. Using the truck route meant we went through some of the less desirable areas of Detroit. I can't remember when I've seen so many burned buildings but at least the fire hall was in tact.

We lunched at a Tim Horton's that Dave Hunter's I75 book recommends and tonight we ate at a Korean restaurant we could walk to from our hotel. It was buffet where we cooked at our table over a charcoal grill. We were the only non-Korean folks there!

I think we'll sleep well tonight!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/9lives/2/1237825800/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/9lives/2/1237825800/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/9lives/2/1237825800/tpod.html Wed, 25 Mar 2009 20:12:21 -0400 A Snowbird's Snapshot

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Mississauga, Ontario, Canada

After nearly seven weeks to the day and 8,000 kilometres (way to go Puurfict) we're home safe and sound. This morning's trip through Pennsylvania and New York was uneventful though we saw our first snow left-overs and there was still ice on Lake Erie. It was beautifully clear however and we easily saw Nanticoke across the lake. The temperatures today never got above freezing - again excellent preparation for the while ahead I'm sure.

Clearing Customs was one of the best experiences we've ever had. Nice for a change. The traffic in Ontario was the worst we'd experienced all trip - tailgating, aggressive behaviour, lane changing. Got home in time for lunch after we picked up some groceries at the local Sobeys. We even remembered how to get into the house with the new security system. We've been away longer than we had it when we left.

The house was in great shape thanks to the dedicated efforts of our good neighbours, Paul and Barbara. Thanks!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/9lives/2/1237766280/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/9lives/2/1237766280/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/9lives/2/1237766280/tpod.html Wed, 25 Mar 2009 19:48:03 -0400 A Snowbird's Snapshot

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Grove City, Pennsylvania, United States

It's hard to believe that we started with frost on the car this morning. Of course the sun was burning it off pretty quickly but we encountered our first below freezing temperatures for a while. Took I 95 through Virginia, including downtown Richmond as we didn't expect much traffic on a Sunday morning. There were daffodils and forsythia blooming!

Luckily we narrowly avoided a nasty accident in the ring road around Washington, D.C. (I495) - literally seconds before we got there - that stopped all lanes of traffic completely for quite a while. We stopped north of Washington for lunch in a great Mexican/Salvadorian restaurant that it would have been nice to sample at dinner time.

By the time we got into Pennsylvania the daffodils had stopped blooming - there were leaves coming up only - and things were starting to look pretty bleak. We stopped at the Welcome Centre and think we spoke to the same woman as when we returned from North Carolina. Decided to press on beyond Pittsburgh as it was still light and we enjoyed the Allegheny Mountain terrain if not the tight traffic situations. Once again our CAA triptik disappointed us in not reporting the service centres that were closed and construction activity.

We had a great coupon for the Best Western at Grove City and stopped there before dinner at the Elephant and Castle pub across the road.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/9lives/2/1237681980/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/9lives/2/1237681980/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/9lives/2/1237681980/tpod.html Wed, 25 Mar 2009 17:49:55 -0400 A Snowbird's Snapshot

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Rocky Mount, North Carolina, United States

Decided against staying another 24 hours in Hilton Head due to the weather forecast for a nasty storm crossing the American mid-west. Even today was cool and very windy so it wasn't the ideal golfing weather. Before we left the Island we paid our $5 and entered the Sea Pines Plantation where I swear every home is right out of Architectural Digest. We drove right to the end at South Beach overlooking Calibogue Sound and then checked out Harbour Town. We climbed the 114 steps of the lighthouse there and had a wonderful view, including that of the 18th hole on a golf course that was preparing for an upcoming PGA championship. Before we left the Island we washed the car as it was ( and so were we every time we touched it) covered with pollen. Yes it's spring here!!

Drove then through all of South Carolina and most of North Carolina on I95. There were tons of Ontario license plates heading north and ending March Break. We were astounded by the lack of police officers compared to I75. There were lots of blossom trees in blossom and flower boulevards in North Carolina. I recognize many of the place names from our trip in May, 2007.

Drove to nearly 6:30 pm and had a hasty dinner at the Texas Steakhouse. I had a wonderful steak salad and Richard ate some surf and turf special. This was far better than the 45 minute wait at the local Outback restaurant.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/9lives/2/1237595880/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/9lives/2/1237595880/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/9lives/2/1237595880/tpod.html Fri, 20 Mar 2009 21:30:46 -0400 A Snowbird's Snapshot

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Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, United States

We awoke to another cloudy and foggy morning - maybe that justifies the hot breakfast we ate? I enjoyed apple and pecan pancakes and Richard had omelette with every ingredient you can think of added to the eggs. We stopped at a local market, Polks, before heading across the Hwy 17 suspension bridge to South Carolina. The port that Savannah is became very evident from the bridge - fourth largest container port in the US.

It wasn't far to Hilton Head Island and Richard managed to book a golf game at the Golden Bear Golf Club at Indigo Run. Although we got a room at the Comfort Inn it wasn't ready so Richard changed at the club and went golfing and I spent the rest of the day in the car visiting the beach, art galleries and shops.

Hilton Head is a beautiful destination and has some beautiful gated communities, many of which back onto golf courses. I got quite ticked off at the gates since some charged a fee to allow entrance and others made you re-direct a long way to get to where you wanted to go. And none of the maps indicated this! Nonetheless this is very atypical for the US - no big billboards, commercial malls are hidden behind trees and landscaping, there are traffic circles instead of lights, buildings do not exceed five stories etc. and I find it quite peaceful and charming.

We walked to the local plaza for dinner as we're both tired of researching every move.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/9lives/2/1237509240/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/9lives/2/1237509240/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/9lives/2/1237509240/tpod.html Fri, 20 Mar 2009 21:26:06 -0400 A Snowbird's Snapshot

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Savannah, Georgia, United States

We left the World Golf Village in fog - fitting for our (and Mum and Dad's) last day in Florida. It did clear up later but didn't get out of the 70s. We drove through Jacksonville on I95 without problems. This route really skirts the downtown area and you can see the high rises to the east but the expressway keeps you above everything. They are re-doing the highways and ramps just like the rest of I 95 in Georgia. The 100 mile stretch from St. Mary's to Savannah is pretty boring and is totally under re-construction. We were in the company of visitors to Georgia - car license plates from New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, West Virginia, Rhode Island, and even Quebec. We took a detour to see St. Mary's but it was as dead as the World Golf Hall of Fame had been. We then got stuck in a massive delay - two lanes of stopped traffic -about 40 miles outside of Savannah.

Our first stop in Savannah was the Visitor Centre where they do not book accommodation much to Richard's chagrin. We checked out the Kehoe House as it was in the historic district and decided to stay there in spite of its cost. It is a restored 1892 Renaissance Revival mansion on Columbia Square - one of 21 famous squares in Savannah. This home, listed on the National Register of Historical Places, has 13 rooms and we stayed in the Oglethorpe Room on the third floor. James Edward Oglethorpe is credited with the founding of Savannah and the squares. We immediately took a city tour on a trolley and explored the tree, azalea and statue-filled squares and perfectly preserved historical buildings. Savannah certainly lived up to its reputation.

After dinner at Bistro Savannah in the City Market area we walked back to Kehoe House and listened to horse hooves by-passing our house on their tours.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/9lives/2/1237420560/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/9lives/2/1237420560/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/9lives/2/1237420560/tpod.html Wed, 18 Mar 2009 20:11:56 -0400 A Snowbird's Snapshot

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St. Augustine, Florida, United States

"Charles", our GPS navigator, successfully led us out of the Villages this morning using some two lane highways that weren't even on my map of Florida. Nonetheless there was no traffic (hooray!!) and we saw some great rural and lake-studded countryside including the Ocala National Forest and agricultural land with orange/citrus groves and cabbages and potatoes (that I could recognize). We even had a crop duster fly right over us a couple of times. I didn't appreciate what stunt pilots they are! One of the biggest towns we passed through was Palatka where the azaleas were just outstanding. I can't remember when I've seen such a blaze of vibrant colours. Richard reminded me Augusta, Georgia is just north of here and the Masters tournament, with its outstanding azaleas, will soon be played.

I can't say I was sorry to say "goodbye" to the Waterfront Inn as their pillow top mattresses were so soft I had to spend our second night on the floor my back hurt so much from the night before. My chiropractor had warned me about too much pillow top even though that's the way the mattress manufacturers seem to be going and she was right.

We checked in to the Comfort Suites hotel before noon and made our way to the World Golf Village and World Golf Hall of Fame. After a quick bite to eat in the Fairways Café we took in the latest exhibit, the "Bob Hope: Shanks for the Memory". This is a collection of Hope memorabilia, photos, awards and other artifacts from his career and this is the first time it has been outside of California. I enjoyed this more than the rest of the museum but then I'm not a golfer.

Dinner was at a local Crab Shack just off the St. John River. It was very quiet tonight but you could see how they line up boats in the river when the season is busier.

Temperatures didn't make it out of the 70s today and there was a cold northeast wind. It appears to be a trend. Guess it's time to face the inevitable!!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/9lives/2/1237337760/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/9lives/2/1237337760/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/9lives/2/1237337760/tpod.html Tue, 17 Mar 2009 20:58:30 -0400 A Snowbird's Snapshot

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Lady Lake, Florida, United States

Little did we know when we arrived here nearly a week ago what we were getting into. I can honestly say it's been thoroughly enjoyable and we're sorry to be leaving tomorrow.

Today was St. Patrick's Day and boy did everyone get into the spirit of things. While the "Villagers" don't need an excuse to have fun they sure went all out today. They started setting up spots to sit hours before the parade and the streets were lined with golf cars backed in creating seating for observers. I've never seen so much green clothing and had a ball taking pictures of different hats. We watched the parade, several dance troupes, some Irish entertainers and ate corned beef and cabbage to accompany our green beer.

Earlier today we drove to Ocala which gave us a chance to see some of the countryside and horse farms that surround the Villages. We window shopped a couple of stores that we'd wanted to visit for some time - "Dick's Sporting Goods" and "Rooms To Go". We also visited a couple of "Open Houses" - a good activity for what started as a cloudy day with a few spots of rain.

Of course we fell in love with one of the homes - a stucco, three-bedroom, two-bathroom house that had all the features on our wish list including backing onto a golf course. It was beautifully decorated and had many upgrades.
So I guess now that we've discovered the perfect boat and the perfect house, neither of which we can afford with our "funny" money, it must be time to start coming home.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/9lives/2/1237248360/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/9lives/2/1237248360/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/9lives/2/1237248360/tpod.html Mon, 16 Mar 2009 20:19:58 -0400 A Snowbird's Snapshot

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Lady Lake, Florida, United States

Today we sadly left our "home" and moved about a block away to the Waterfront Inn - still very nice but it's not a house with a golf car and bikes. Instead it has secure high speed Internet access and a hot tub spa and pool. We've used them all but I already miss whipping around in our golf car!!

Richard didn't golf today and that's a good thing. It was so hot - the car thermometer showed 90 degrees and Richard was suffering a loss of electrolytes from yesterday's game even though he had plenty of water to drink. Instead we explored the second, and original, Town Centre, "Spanish Springs". They were setting up for the St. Patrick's Day celebrations. There was a neat boutique wine store called "Put a Cork In It" and a store that featured products from Peru where we chatted a length with the shopkeeper about our experiences in Peru, Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands.

We also saw another Open House in yet again a different area so we're getting a much better appreciation of different villages. A detailed map that we bought says there are 58 villages!!

Spent Happy Hour in the Market Square enjoying the music of "Just the Two of Us" followed by dinner alfresco watching the golf cars driving by. Such individual expression!!!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/9lives/2/1237165980/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/9lives/2/1237165980/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/9lives/2/1237165980/tpod.html Mon, 16 Mar 2009 19:15:48 -0400 A Snowbird's Snapshot

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Lady Lake, Florida, United States

Richard has managed to play two more rounds of golf - one at the Cane Garden Country Club playing the Allamanda and Jacaranda courses (he missed the Hibiscus course) and one at the Palmer Legends Country Club on the Riley Grove and Cherry Hill courses (he missed Laurel Valley). And I've managed to ride a bicycle for the first time in over a year - one of those big comfy ones with a wide seat and big upright handlebars. Yesterday I rode it quite a distance to a craft show they were having at a recreation centre, to the Market Square for some computer time and through some neighbourhoods. I've also visited four "Open Houses", three with Richard, and continue to be amazed at what one can buy here. Slowly I'm starting to get the whereabouts of some things. For example I visited the Nancy Lopez Country Club today in the northwest and then drove all the way to the Havana Country Club in the southeast. Neither of us can get over how perfect everything is.

Tonight we "carted" to the Cane Country Garden Club where we ate way too much and didn't come close to our $40 per person food allowance - that is we were way under even with an appetizer and dessert. The best thing was it was excellent! The space shuttle launched just as we finished dinner and everyone rushed out to see it ascend into a perfectly clear sky. I certainly feel a closer connection after our visit to the Kennedy Space Centre.

Last night we had free tickets to the local movie theatre and we chose to see "Slumdog Millionaire". It certainly brought back memories of India (hard to believe that was 16 months ago) and we both remarked on how glad we were that we'd traveled there in order to get a better appreciation and understanding of the movie.

Tomorrow we move to the Waterfront Inn, 1105 Lakeshore Drive, Lake Sumter Landing (800-528-3132) for a couple of days. Our last day in "The Villages" is St. Patrick's Day and it promises to be fun with a parade, green beer, Irish dancers, music and lots of entertainment.
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