In Erie Our first destination was Presque Isle State Park, where we drove around the peninsula. We saw Canada Geese, ducks and a Great Blue Heron.
Canada Geese in the Air
Two Female Mallards on a Log
Great Blue Heron
We ate lunch at Underground BBQ. Bob had a chopped brisket sandwich; I had a pulled pork sandwich. As a side dish, we both got macaroni and cheese. Lunch was good.
After lunch we drove to the nearby Giant Eagle, where Bob got his first shingles vaccine. Bob’s health insurance pays 100% of the vaccine cost. He will need a second vaccine in 2-6 months. I want to get a shingles vaccine as well. My health insurance doesn’t cover the vaccine shot. It appears that my prescription plan will cover a small percentage of the cost. I checked the vaccine cost at Good RX. It is the least expensive option. I will get my first Shingles vaccine this week or early next week.
Our next stop was Sam’s Club, where we filled up our fuel tank and added to our pantry. We paid $3.64/gallon for fuel, which was less expensive than $3.75 at Sheetz. I checked fuel prices today online. Sam’s Club is now charging $3.69/gallon, and Sheetz is charging $3.89/gallon. Imam glad that our car is fuel efficient.
Our next stop was at PetSmart to buy cat litter.
We left Erie from PetSmart, en route home. We stopped at Save a Lot in Corry to buy a few more groceries. Then we stopped at Tim Hortons for dessert – tea for me and coffee for Bob with a Boston Creme donut for me and an oatmeal raisin cookie for Bob.
I got up at 6:00 am this morning. Bob was already up. I made a cup of tea and drank it on the deck, as I watched the sun rise and listened to the birds singing.
Sunrise at our Hudson OH Airbnb
Bob went for a bicycle ride. I didn’t see him leave, as I did yesterday. He rode the same trail as yesterday but in the opposite direction. Bob rode as far as Brandywine Falls (the top of the falls) and back, for a total of 12 miles.
Later in the morning we drove to Kendall Lake in Cuyahoga Valley National Park. Kendall Lake is a manmade lake that was created by the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1935. It is the largest lake in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. We hiked the 1 mile trail around the lake. The terrain varies with some stairs to climb, however the loop trail was fairly flat and not too challenging.
Kendall Lake
We accessed the Kendall Lake Trail near the parking lot.
Kendall Lake Trail There are several trails at Kendall Lake. The trails are well marked. The lake trail is the right-hand trail.
Kendall Lake Trail
Kendall Lake Trail This portion of the trail was a short uphill climb.
This was our first view of Kendall Lake from the trail.
Kendall Lake Yesterday we ate a picnic lunch in the building across the lake.
Kendall Lake Trail We crossed over a small wooden bridge.
Kendall Lake Trail We climbed up these steps.
Kendall Lake Trail We had a good view of the fishing pier from the top of the steps.
Kendall Lake Trail We climbed down these steps. We were near the end of the trail here.
Kendall Lake We walked to the fishing pier.
Kendall Lake Canadian Geese
Kendall Lake Canadian Geese in a Row
Kendall Lake Canadian Geese Hey! Wait for me!
Kendall Lake Red-Winged Blackbird
Kendall Lake Barn Swallow
Leaving Kendall Lake, we attempted to go to Brandywine Falls but the parking lot was full. A sign said to try again after 5:00 pm. We went to the new Cuyahoga Valley National Park visitor center instead. Stay tuned! I will publish a new blog post soon about our visit to the visitor center.
I got up for the day at 5:45 am, as Bob was leaving for a bicycle ride. Bob rode a portion of the Bike and Hike Trail. He reached the trail by bicycling neighborhood streets across from our rental Airbnb. He got on the trail near the Bridgewater Blvd-Nottingham Gate Blvd-Terex Road intersections. He rode as far south as Bow Wow Beach. Bob said he rode 10 miles total.
While Bob was bicycling, I sat for a short time on the deck enjoying the view and birdsong.
We ate breakfast, after Bob returned from his bicycle ride. Bob had scrambled eggs and orange juice. I had orange juice and instant oatmeal.
We added another 10.15 miles to Bob’s total bicycle miles. We drove to Cuyahoga Valley National Park and rode the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail (Please click on link!) from the Ira Trailhead to Peninsula and back.
After our bicycle ride, we stayed in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park and drove to Kendall Lake.
We ate a picnic lunch at Kendall Lake.
There is a 1-mile trail around Kendall Lake. We hope to walk the trail another day.
Before returning to our rental Airbnb, we drove to Walmart and picked up a few more grocery items.
We stayed “home” for rest of the afternoon and evening and enjoyed the beauty of our rental Airbnb and its grounds. We walked down to the pond to check out the view of the pond from that vantage point.
Canadian Geese are frequent visitors to the wetlands at our Airbnb.
The wetlands at our Airbnb
Our Airbnb hosts have an aviary. nside the aviary are three parrots!
This is Mickey.
This is Kiwi.
This is Pepe, who is blind.
Later in the afternoon I captured photographs of songbirds and eagles. I photographed the songbirds and eagles from the comfort of our deck.
Female House Finch
Male and Female House Finches
Red-Winged Blackbird
Baltimore Oriole Enjoying Grape Jelly
Two eagles in a tree snag in the wetlands
An eagle in the wetlands
In addition to two adult eagles, we have seen two juvenile eagles as well. The eagles are way, way out in the pond. The pictures of the eagles were taken with a camera lens having an effective focal length of 1200mm. The pictures are heavily cropped.
Tonight’s dinner was stuffed green peppers with baked potatoes.
We enjoyed a colorful sunset, before going to bed.
This past Saturday (June 19th) Bob suggested that we drive to Pymatuning State Park. A change of scenery appealed to me.
The highlight of our visit to Pymatuning was seeing the Pymatuning Dam and the area near the dam.
Pymatuning State Park Dam and its Environ
Pymatuning Dam is located at the southern end of Pymatuning Reservoir. We have visited Pymatuning several times. This was our first visit to the dam and its surrounding area.
Our first stop was at Shenango River. We crossed over Pymatuning Dam via Dam Road. We turned right onto Water Trail Drive, which led us to the Shenango River.
Pymatuning State Park – Shenango River
We saw this great blue heron on the opposite side of the river. We noticed a trail that appeared close to where the heron was located.
We walked over the pedestrian bridge to reach Sugar Creek Run Trail. It was a short walk to where the great blue heron was perched.
I managed to capture this picture, through the foliage, before the great blue heron took off.
Our second stop was on the reservoir side of the dam. We backtracked and drove back over the dam. We pulled into the parking lot for pavilion shelter #3.
Pymatuning State Park the Dam Gatehouse, as seen from Pavilion Shelter #3 grounds
We, then, drove back across the dam but only half way. We parked across from the Dam Gatehouse.
Pymatuning State Park – Dam Gatehouse
According to signage at the site, the “castle-like stone gatehouse allows water flow through the dam. Water enters the gatehouse through a 20-foot-wide diversion channel and travels 280 feet to the outflow conduits.”
Entry to the Dam Gatehouse was barred.
Dam Gatehouse
We walked back across Dam Road and visited the outflow area.
Pymatuning Dam Outflow
Pymatuning Dam Outflow. We walked down two staircases to get closer to the outflow.
The Pymatuning Dam Outflow forms the Shenango River.
Leaving Pymatuning Dam and its environ our next stop was at the Linesville Spillway, where we saw lots of carp, ducks and geese.
The Geese, Ducks and Carp are fed bread at the spillway.
Pymatuning State Park – the Spillway You can’t see the Spillway in this picture. We are walking toward the Spillway.
Geese, Ducks and Carp at Pymatuning Spillway
The Spillway, which you can’t see, is behind us. We are walking back to our car.
It is said that ducks walk on carp at the Spillway, but we didn’t see that.
Leaving Pymatuning State Park in our rearview mirror, our next stop was for lunch in Spartansburg. We ate lunch at the Dutch Treat Restaurant.
This is the Dutch Treat Restaurant.
Bob had an egg sandwich with French fries and coleslaw. I had a BLT sandwich with French fries and applesauce. Our meals were delicious. Service was OK. It would have been better, if Bob had gotten the lunch he ordered–a steak salad. Bob should have been tipped off, when the waitress asked if Bob wanted coleslaw. A salad has a coleslaw side??? I did notice that the waitress was hard of hearing AND she was tired–overworked from lack of help. Bob decided to let it go. He saved $8.00 on our lunch price. The egg salad sandwich was a lot less expensive than the steak salad.
After lunch, we walked across the parking lot to Clear Lake.
On our way to Clear Lake we saw a white goose.
We checked out Clear Lake from a small bridge that crosses over the lake.
We returned home, after lunch. It was a good day, even with the rain that came in the afternoon.
We spent 5 nights (April 7th through April 11th), at Chincoteague, Virginia in an Airbnb rental called “Tranquil Shores”. Our host, Joseph, gave me permission to include details of his Airbnb in a blog post. The complete listing for this AirBnB rental may be seen by clicking here.
Here is a Google Map picture of our Airbnb accommodation.
“Tranquil Shores”
“Tranquil Shores” is the right side of this duplex house.We had use of that entire side of the duplex. The entrance to the home was via the wooden steps on the side of the house. We entered the door code, opened the door and we walked inside. The entry door opens to the kitchen.
Eat-in Kitchen
The kitchen contains all the essentials of cooking and dining to include cookware, dinnerware, utensils, stove, oven, microwave, toaster, coffeemaker, spices, and so much more. We didn’t use it, but there was coffee grounds in the freezer for the coffeemaker. We brought the tea kettle that you see in this picture. We boiled water for hot tea and coffee. Bob used an Aeropress to make coffee.
The kitchen and living room form a Great Room.
Living Room
There is access to a Screened Porch from the Living Room.
Screened Porch
The living room was comfortable, and we made frequent use of the screened porch.
In addition to the kitchen and living room, this Airbnb rental has three bedrooms and two bathrooms. Two of the bedrooms (queen bed and twin bed) and one bathroom are located downstairs. A washer and dryer are located in the downstairs bathroom. The master bedroom (king bed) and second bathroom are located on the second floor. There is access to a balcony from the master bedroom. We made use of only the master bedroom. The bed was very comfortable and provided for a good night’s sleep. Bed linens and towels are not provided in the rental cost. They are available, however, for an added fee of $10.00 per bed. We saved $10.00 by bringing our own towels and bed linens.
Tranquil Shores, as seen from Maddox Blvd.
This AirBnB rental is located at the end of a quiet road.
This is the view of the road on which “Tranquil Shores” sits. The house is at the end of this road.
The rental cost was approximately $55.00 less than the cost of a King Bed with Balcony hotel room at Best Western Chincoteague, where we have stayed in past visits. “Tranquil Shores” was a much nicer accommodation than staying in a room in a hotel! We had lots more space, and we were able to eat in or eat out, as desired. We ate breakfast and either lunch or dinner at home, during our stay. Our view at “Tranquil Shores” was much, much better than at Best Western Chincoteague too. At Best Western Chincoteague, if you booked a balcony room, your view was the McDonald’s Restaurant across the street. Compare that view with the view from the screened porch and balcony of our Airbnb rental.
When I took this picture, I was standing at the edge of the property. The water seen in this picture is Eel Creek.
We enjoyed daily sunrises, sunsets and wildlife viewings, while at Tranquil Shores.
Snowy Egret on Eel Creek
Osprey flying over “Tranquil Shores”
Sunset at “Tranquil Shores”, as seen from back porch
Canada Geese on Eel Creek
Sunrise at “Tranquil Shores”
Tern Gull Flying Over “Tranquil Shores”
Sunrise, on the morning of our departure
I highly recommend “Tranquil Shores” to individual travelers, couples, and families. You will be within a couple miles of downtown Chincoteague and Assateague Island where you can enjoy Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge and the Assateague Island National Seashore. We brought our bicycles with us and enjoyed rides in the neighborhood, several rides at the wildlife refuge, as well as one ride from “Tranquil Shores” to the wildlife refuge.
Thank you, Joseph, for sharing your home with us. We will return!
On Sunday, March 10, Bob and I went for a drive along NYS Route 5, between the Daniel Reed Pier in Westfield to the Dunkirk City Pier in Dunkirk, and NYS Route 60 to McCrea Point Park in Jamestown. We saw a waterfall, seagulls and waterfowl.
I published two prior blog posts about our drive. The blog post was about Barcelona Falls at the Daniel Reed Pier. The second blog post was about seagulls and geese that we saw, while at Lake Erie. This third, and final, blog post is about the ducks, geese and seagull that we saw at McCrea Point Park.
McCrea Point Park was my favorite stop.We saw ducks, seagulls, and geese.I took a few pictures of geese flying away from me.The lighting was getting dim, so the ISO was higher than I desired.The bird-in-flight pictures did come out OK. A big HIGH-5 for my new camera!
We spent 3 days and 2 nights in the East Syracuse, NY area.
We checked out of the Best Western East Syracuse, after breakfast, on Monday July 3, and were on our way home shortly before 8:00 am.
On our way to East Syracuse on Saturday, we stopped at Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge. We stopped at the wildlife refuge once again on our way back home. I am so glad that we visited Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge. I put my new camera lens to good use, as we drove around Wildlife Drive.
New camera lens, you ask? I just realized that I hadn’t shared on my blog that I purchased a new camera lens. I waited for well over 1-1/2 years to purchase this camera lens. At first the camera lens wasn’t in stock. Then I didn’t have the money available to purchase the lens. Finally, everything came together to make the purchase. I purchased an Olympus m.Zuiko ED 300mm f4.0 IS Pro lens, specifically for wildlife photography. Coupled with a 1.4x teleconverter, I have an effective focal length of 840mm! My new lens arrived on Friday, June 30, the day before we left on our weekend getaway. I need to use the lens more to increase my proficiency in its use, but I am very pleased with the images that I captured at Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge.
Sandpiper
Osprey in Flight, with Seaweed Attached to its Claw
Are these birds American Coot?
The highlight of our visit to Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge was the sighting of two American Bald Eagles. One eagle flew off to parts unknown, but one eagle landed in a tree not far from where we were on Wildlife Drive.
Bob took this photograph of me, while photographing the eagle.
And to think I didn’t want a moon roof, when we were car shopping. I didn’t want to spend the extra money. The car on the lot that we liked came with a moon roof. I am glad that we got a moon roof, because it enabled me to capture a couple good photographs of the eagle!
American Bald Eagle
American Bald Eagle
My new camera lens is a keeper! These two eagle images are the best pictures I have ever taken of an eagle!
We sat and watched a group of Canada Geese farther along on Wildlife Drive.
Canada geese, quietly enjoying the pond
The quiet didn’t last for long!
Noisy Canada geese!
This duck had one of the Wildlife Drive ponds all to herself.
Great Blue Heron
We stopped once again to admire the newly installed eagle sculpture.
The eagle sculpture was built in honor of the 40th anniversary of New York State’s bald eagle reintroduction program, which largely happened at Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge.
The eagle sculpture is visible from Interstate 90.
Leaving Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge, we drove to Mt. Morris, NY. We ate lunch at Brian’s USA Diner. We selected this restaurant for lunch, based on its positive reviews. Yes, as stated by reviewers, the service was quick and friendly. Bob ordered a Reuben sandwich with Onion Rings. I ordered pulled chicken in a hoagie bun with potato salad. The restaurant reviews indicated that the portions were large. I agree. My pulled chicken hoagie sandwich was huge! My potato salad was heaped high in a small bowl. At first, Bob’s Reuben sandwich looked average size. He said, though, that there was lots of meat in his sandwich, so much meat that he could barely taste the dressing. Reviewers raved about the taste of the food. The food tasted okay, nothing really to boast about. Nothing to complain about either.
After lunch, we drove to nearby Letchworth State Park. I will share details and photographs of Letchworth State Park in the next (and final) blog post I write about our East Syracuse NY weekend getaway.
The Beauty Around Us 