Dreaming of a White Christmas
Pink sky in the morning…
and, YES
a Winter Storm is approaching.
Winter Storm Watch obtained from Weather Underground.
I am dreaming of a White Christmas….
Posts tagged ‘Sunrise’
Chincoteague Vacation: “Tranquil Shores”
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!
Our Outer Banks Vacation – Bodie Island and Wright Brothers National Memorial
[NOTE: I uploaded this blog post during the afternoon on October 8 but backdated the published date to September 28, the date of the day’s activities detailed in this post.]
I appreciate the force of nature. The past two days we have experienced consistent strong winds and angry seas. Today, as I watched the sun rise while sitting on the beach, the wind was calm and the waves seemed almost normal. I haven’t seen one yet, but I heard that the pelicans are back.
The dawning of a new day
The wind is calm, and the waves seem almost normal.
If you are not able to view the embedded video, please click here for the direct link.
Bob took this picture of me sitting on the sand, capturing today’s sunrise.
The sun has risen!
What a fine day for sightseeing!
We were en route Bodie Island shortly after 9:00 am, arriving there around 10:00 am. For the next 45 minutes we admired the lighthouse from various vantage points.
A boardwalk that leads to an overlook of the wetlands offers very nice views of the lighthouse.
Sandy is walking on the boardwalk toward the wetlands overlook.
Sandy and Jim on the wetlands overlook
Bodie Island Lighthouse, as seen from the wetlands overlook
Before leaving Bodie Island I heard a National Park Service employee say that the Hatteras-Ocracoke ferry would begin crossings again at 1:00 pm today. This information was good to know, as we are planning a trip to Ocracoke tomorrow.
From Bodie Island we attempted to drive to Pea Island Wildlife Refuge, but the Herbert C. Bonner Bridge was closed until 1:00 pm to allow for time to remove sand and water from the roadway on Hatteras Island. We made a U-turn at the bridge and drove to the Wright Brothers National Memorial, located in Kill Devil Hills.
After paying the admission fee of $7.00 each, we found parking in the parking lot in front of the Visitor Center. The Visitor Center for the Wright Brothers National Memorial is closed for a renovation project. The visitor center has been closed since November 2016 and expected to reopen in late summer/fall of 2018. A temporary facility near the parking lot has an information desk where you can speak to a National Park Service employee, five small poster-style exhibit panels to learn more about the Wright brothers’ story, and a bookstore.
During our visit we walked to the First Flight Boulder and Flight Line which mark the location where the Wrights first flew, peeked into the reconstructed Wright brothers’ camp building and hangar, walked to the top of Big Kill Devil Hill to the base of the Wright Memorial, and saw the 1903 Bronze Sculpture of the First Flight featuring a life size model of the 1903 Wright Flyer.
Wright Brothers Flight Line
The numbered markers mark the landing spots of the Wright Brothers’ first four flights on December 17, 1903.
First Flight Boulder
The boulder marks the spot from which the Wright Brothers’ first flight was made. The picture displayed above shows the flight path as well.
Sandy and the First Flight Boulder
Wright brothers’ camp building and hangar
Big Kill Devil Hill and Wright Brothers Memorial
Sandy stayed inside the car, while Bob, Jim and I hiked to the top of Big Kill Devil Hill.
Wright Brothers Memorial on top of Big Kill Devil Hill
The view from the top of Big Kill Devil Hill was spectacular!
Jim is photographing the view from the top of Big Kill Devil Hill.
We could see all the way to the Atlantic Ocean.
Life size model of the 1903 Wright Flyer
1903 Bronze Sculpture of the First Flight
(Wright Memorial in the background)
This sign provides information about the first flight witnesses. I read the sign, but was more interested in recreating the scene shown on the sign. As I positioned myself to take a picture, other tourists began walking up to the bronze sculptures for a closer look. Getting the picture I wanted meant waiting until those people departed the grounds.
Jim, Bob and Sandy found the only shady spot to wait for me,
while I waited to take my picture.
I like to think that I am a patient person. My patience was just about running out, when the grounds were vacated. I had to quickly compose my picture, as I noticed more tourists arriving.
My recreation of the photograph of the first flight witnesses
We were glad that it was possible to drive to the base of Big Kill Devil Hill, as well as to the Sculpture of the First Flight. The three points of interest were spaced far apart!
Prior to leaving on vacation, Jim learned that a friend (another member of the Vulcan Riders and Owners Club of which Jim and Bob are members) would be vacationing in the Outer Banks at the same time as the four of us. “Rabbi” and his wife Vonna were vacationing in Salvo on Hatteras Island, until they were evacuated earlier in the week. We didn’t think we would be able to meet up with Rabbi and Vonna because they had gone home to Virginia. Jim received a message (today I believe) from Rabbi that they were back in the Outer Banks and staying in Kitty Hawk. Jim and Rabbi made plans for the six of us to meet for lunch at 1:00 pm at Mama Kwans Tiki Bar & Grill in Kill Devil Hills.
The first thing I noticed at Mama Kwans was the old van covered with stickers. I took a picture of Rabbi, Vonna, Jim and Sandy beside that van, after we had eaten lunch.
Sandy, Jim, Rabbi and Vonna at Mama Kwans
Rabbi attended at least one VROC motorcycle rally that Bob and I attended. That rally was the Wolfman Wandering Rally #3 held in Richmond, Kentucky in June 2009. Rabbi doesn’t recall meeting Bob or me at that rally; we don’t recall meeting him either. Rabbi is planning to attend the 20th anniversary of the Southeast Vulcan Riders and Owners Club (SEVROC) rally in May next year. Bob and I plan to attend that rally as well. So, we will meet again….
After lunch we returned to Flights of Fantasy (our vacation beach house), returning there around 3:00 pm.
Much of rest of the afternoon and evening was spent relaxing in (or sitting on a deck of) the beach house. Sandy and I did go for a short walk to beach access 7, a boardwalk that leads to the beach.
Sandy at the Beach Access 7 Boardwalk
The view from the end of Beach Access 7
The green house is our beach house.
Sandy at the end of Beach Access 7
The green house is our beach house.
Sandy and I returned back to our beach house just in time to see the sun set.
I photographed Brenda photographing the setting sun.
Tonight’s dinner was leftovers.
I retired to our bedroom around 8:30 pm, as many of my fellow vacationers were sitting down to watch the football game—Chicago Bears vs. Green Bay Packers.
For Jim’s account of the day, please click here.
Our Chincoteague Vacation (Part 3 of 3)
This blog post continues our 3-day Easter weekend vacation at Chincoteague Island. Our first vacation day was a travel day. We spent much of our second vacation day at the NASA Wallops Visitor Center and exploring the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge.
On Saturday, March 26th, we drove to the Assateague Island National Seashore at 6:00 am to watch the sun rise at 6:55 am.
Assateague Island Sunrise
While on our way back to the hotel from the seashore, we made a couple stops along Beach Access Road. Our first stop was at Little Toms Cove.
The Assateague Lighthouse is visible across from Little Toms Cove.
We opted not to walk the Assateague Lighthouse trail this year.
We saw Northern Shoveler Ducks on Friday.
We were rewarded with their presence again on Saturday.
We saw ponies at our second stop on Beach Access Road.
Chincoteague Wild Pony
Back at the hotel we ate breakfast in our hotel room, as it was quite crowded in the breakfast room and too chilly to sit on the outside patio.
After breakfast we drove into the town of Chincoteague. At the draw bridge we turned right onto Main Street and followed it to the end, where there was a turn around. We made three stops on Main Street.
Our first stop was at the Captain Timothy Hill House.
Captain Timothy Hill House (c. 1800)
Oldest house on Chincoteague Island
The Captain Timothy Hill House is the oldest house on Chincoteague Island. We were not able to tour the house interior, as the house was closed for the season.
Our second stop was at a house with a miniature replica of itself built beside a mailbox.
A house and its miniature replica
Our third stop was at a yard sale, where I picked up the game Connect and four bags of small plastic toys for our granddaughters.
We made our way back to the traffic light at the draw bridge. We crossed over VA 175 and drove into downtown Chincoteague on Main Street. We were soon stopped by runners.
Runners on Main Street
A search on Facebook revealed that Saturday was the Bay to Bay 10K & 5K Run/Walk Event. All proceeds from this event support the Chincoteague YMCA financial assistance program. We did continue our drive on Main Street, slowly, encountering runners all the way and on the return trip.
Chincoteague Island docked boat
The Chincoteague Channel runs alongside Main Street. This boat was docked near where we turned around to return to downtown Chincoteague. I applied a texture effect to the original photograph and love the result.
An Easter egg hunt followed the Bay to Bay 10K & 5K Run/Walk Event. Upon our return to downtown Chincoteague, we parked across from the Robert Reed Park. We walked over to the park and watched the Easter egg hunt.
Here comes the Easter bunny.
The Easter bunny posed for lots of pictures.
On your mark, get set and GO!
Some children picked up Easter eggs near them,
while others ran to pick up the eggs the farthest away.
Easter Egg Hunt
After the Easter egg hunt we made a return trip to the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge. The highlight of that trip was a great blue heron.
Great Blue Heron
I watched this great blue heron for about 30 minutes. The only movement the heron made, during that time, was to stretch its neck!
Later in the morning we returned to the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge. We parked at the Wildlife Loop and walked the ½ mile Marsh Trail.
Marsh Trail Scene
Marsh Trail Scene
Marsh Trail Scene
The overlook was our destination.
Marsh Trail Scene
I am standing on the overlook.
You can see Marsh Trail, leading up to the overlook.
After walking the Marsh Trail, we drove along Beach Access Road to the Assateague Island National Seashore. A Chincoteague wild pony was closer to the Beach Access Road than it had been all weekend.
Chincoteague Wild Pony
It was very clear along the Assateague Island National Seashore, a big difference from Friday’s foggy scene.
Assateague Island National Seashore
After leaving the seashore, we stopped opposite Little Toms Cove.
My best photograph of the Northern Shoveler Duck!
These wading birds were fun to watch!
UPDATE 4/1/2016:
I emailed Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge for help in identifying the birds in these two photographs. The top photograph “features a greater yellow legs on the left and that bird is transitioning to breeding plumage. The other two birds are also yellow legs, but probably lesser. The bottom photograph “Few birds. Foreground is another lesser yellow legs. Far right is a long billed dowitcher. Smaller birds are dunlin and the other larger birds middle and left are short billed dowitcher.” Thank you, Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge, for identifying these birds!
Farther along Beach Access Road we spotted a Kingfisher, a first for both of us.
Belted Kingfisher
We ate a late lunch about 20 miles from Chincoteague Island at Metompkin Seafood Market.
Metompkin Seafood Market
We found this seafood market by asking Siri, iPhone’s virtual assistant, where to find a good place to eat near Wallops Island. Siri made an excellent choice.
You place your order here, either for fresh seafood or for fried seafood.
The menu is behind the counter, but it is located outside on the patio wall as well. While looking at the outside menu, a woman walked by and remarked “Order one of everything. Everything is good.”
Fresh Seafood
We both ordered fried seafood platters. We waited 15-20 minutes, I believe, for our meals. It was standing room only inside that tiny shack! We struck up a conversation with a local man, who has been coming to Metompkin Seafood for 10+ years. He told us everything on the menu is good. We ate our meals on the patio outside. The man with whom we struck up a conversation inside joined us outside at our table. The conversation was pleasant, and our meals were very filling and tasted great! We would definitely make a return trip to Metompkin Seafood Market!
Returning to Chincoteague Island, we made another trip to the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge. It was after 3:00 pm, so it was possible once again to drive the car around the Wildlife Loop. We actually drove the loop two times. I am happy that we decided to drive twice around the Wildlife Loop, as we saw a deer the second time around.
Wildlife Loop Deer
As we approached the deer, a car was in front of us stopped on Wildlife Loop looking at the deer. The deer turned around and went back into the weeds. The stopped car moved on. We slowly approached the place where the deer had been. Bob pulled off the road and turned off the engine. I got out of the car, standing behind the hood. We waited for a few minutes. The deer popped its head out and quickly pranced across the road. It really wanted to get to the other side!
Before returning to the hotel we drove to the Island Creamery for dessert.
the Island Creamery
The Island Creamery, which sells homemade ice cream, is a popular place. It was busy, but the line moved faster than we expected.
Bob ordered 2 scoops of Java Jolt ice cream; I ordered one scoop of Marsh Mud ice cream and one scoop of Chocolate Peanut Butter ice cream. Delicious! I wouldn’t have ordered the Marsh Mud ice cream, if it hadn’t been recommended to me by a couple in line behind us. They told us, when that ice cream was first made, it was made incorrectly. However, everyone liked that ice cream, so they kept making it the wrong way.
We returned to our hotel, the Best Western Chincoteague, around 5:00 pm. I noticed that the hotel cleaning woman had placed an Easter chocolate on each of our pillows. What a nice touch!
We checked out of the hotel at 5:00 am on Easter Sunday and began our drive back home. Our ETA was 12:53 pm. We made a few stops on the way home, the longest stop being at Cracker Barrel in Hagerstown MD. We stopped there for breakfast. We both ordered the Sunrise Sampler. We returned home around 2:30 pm.
We are talking already about our next vacation in Chincoteague!
60th Birthday Celebration (Part 2 of 2)
We spent approximately 24 hours in Niagara Falls, Canada, as a continuation for my 60th birthday celebration. You may read about the first part of my birthday celebration by clicking here.
We awakened early the morning of Saturday, February 27, after a good night’s sleep. How soothing it is to fall asleep to the sound of falling water! Bob got up around 4:00 am, which is usual for him. I got up at 5:00 am.
We watched the sun rise around 7:00 am.
We watched the sun rise from our hotel room at Embassy Suites Niagara.
We were on the 28th floor, room 2801.
The sun was a pink glow and lasted for only a short time, as it was quite cloudy at sunrise.
Shortly after sunrise, we went to breakfast. Our Embassy Suites Niagara hotel deal provided for a complimentary hot breakfast. One of the many choices for breakfast was a made-to-order omelet. Sides includes sausage, home fries, French toast, coffee and tea, juices, cereals, fruit, and pastries. It is impossible to go away hungry from breakfast!
At 10:00 am Bob telephoned the Valet and asked that our car be brought up from the parking garage. Within 15 minutes the car had been brought up; we had loaded it with our overnight bag, my tripod and our Internet devices; and we had checked out of the hotel. Valet parking costs CA$35 but is very convenient. The valet will bring your car to you any number of times during your stay, plus it can remain parked at the hotel from arrival until 4:00 pm on the day that you check out of the hotel.
At 10:22 am we hopped onto one of the WEGO Blue Line buses, which stopped in front of our hotel and rode it to the Sheraton on the Falls bus stop on Falls Avenue. From there we walked to Bird Kingdom. According to its website, Bird Kingdom is the “largest indoor free-flying aviary in the world.” This was our second visit to Bird Kingdom. Our first visit was a number of years ago, in November 2008. As we did in 2008, we enjoyed our visit very much.
We began our tour of the Bird Kingdom by walking through the Old Museum. We didn’t spend much time in the museum, in which the history of the Bird Kingdom building is told via displayed photographs.
This photo opportunity was provided in the Old Museum.
I don’t know what the Daredevil Barrel had to do with the history of the Bird Kingdom building.
It did, though, provide a good photo opportunity!
The Explorer Base Camp allows the visitor to get up close and personal with exotic birds, animals and reptiles from around the world.
This is a Chinese Softshell Turtle.
A White Cockatoo greets visitors.
Kookaburra
Yellow-Headed Amazon
Green-winged macaw
The Blue-and-Gold Macaw waved hello to us.
Blue-fronted Amazon
In the Small Bird Aviary we saw small birds that flew freely about us.
a Zebra Finch in the Small Bird Aviary
In the Night Jungle we saw bats, owls and some non-flying creatures of the night.
a Boobook Owl
an Egyptian fruit bat
The Main Aviary features a 50,000 square foot tropical rainforest and a 40 foot waterfall. The Main Aviary is home to a diverse collection of birds from around the world.
Our visit to the Main Aviary started at the top level.
(Bob took this picture.)
Scarlet Ibis
We walked behind the 40 ft. waterfall and down to the jungle floor.
Pied Crow
Blue-and-Yellow Macaw
Victoria Crowned Pigeon
Pied Imperial Pigeon
Guinea Turaco
Swainson’s Lorikeet
Nicobar Pigeon
Golden Pheasant
Eastern Rosella
Giant Wood Rail
Ring Teal Duck
Silver Pheasant
From Bird Kingdom we hopped onto one of the WEGO Green Line buses and rode it to Table Rock. A WEGO Green Line bus stop is just outside the front door of Bird Kingdom. We had close to a 30-minute wait, so we walked to the next stop (Niagara Parkway/Victoria Park) along the Green Line bus route.
As we were walking to the bus stop, Bob took this picture of River Road to show the lack of traffic.
At Table Rock I photographed Horseshoe Falls and the American Falls.
Horseshoe Falls at Table Rock
Bob took this picture of me, while photographing Horseshoe Falls.
American Falls
Also, at Table Rock, we walked through one of the gift shops, looking but not buying anything.
From Table Rock we rode the Niagara Falls Incline back to Embassy Suites. We could have hopped back on a blue line WEGO bus and saved CA$2.75 each. The incline is a fun experience and was a much faster choice to return to the hotel.
Approach to Falls Incline from Table Rock
Falls Incline
Back at Embassy Suites (at top of incline) we asked that our car be brought up from the parking garage. Within 15 minutes of our request we were on our way back home. We made two stops on our way home.
Our first stop was at the duty free shop. We used some of our casino winnings from the day before to purchase the following: a 1-liter bottle of Bulleit bourbon, two boxes of maple cream cookies, a bag of biscuits and wafers and two kits to grow crystals at home. We plan to give each of our granddaughters a crystal growing kit as part of their Easter present.
Our second stop was for lunch at Aunt Millie’s in Irving, NY. Bob ordered a beef on weck with French fries for his lunch. I ordered a small meatloaf dinner. For dessert I ordered a slice of peanut butter chocolate pie, and Bob ordered a Brownie Tower. We took home a small piece of my peanut butter chocolate pie and half of the Brownie Tower. That Brownie Tower was huge!
We returned home at 5:00 pm. What was for dinner? Bob finished my peanut butter chocolate pie, and I ate about half of what was left of the Brownie Tower.
This was a wonderful way to celebrate my birthday. It was a good time, too, to go to Canada. My friend, Lorraina, left a comment on yesterday’s blog post. She wrote that I “didn’t mention the great rate and the extra money [we] got for [our] U.S. money…..you did notice that didn’t you?” Yes, Lorraina, we did notice how strong the U.S. Dollar is compared to the Canadian dollar. The currency rate for one Canadian dollar was approximately $0.74 U.S. dollars during our visit. The favorable exchange rate and the promotional hotel rate made our overnight stay in Niagara Falls quite affordable.
Winter Sunrise
I was sitting in the living room reading today’s local newspaper. The glow of light through the window across the room caught my eye. I raised myself up from the chair and walked to the window. I look to the western sky from this particular window. The sky was deep blue, not a cloud in view. The house at the end of our street was bathed in light. “There is going to be a beautiful sunrise”, said I. I opened the front door and looked to the eastern sky. Oh, yes, a beautiful sunrise was in the making!
I hurried into the bedroom and got my camera, changing settings as I walked quickly to the back door. Still in my pajamas and wearing a pair of fuzzy socks, I walked out the back door and onto our concrete. I know it was chilly, but I didn’t feel the cold. I was warmed by this morning’s sunrise!
“With the new day comes new strength and new thoughts”
~Eleanor Roosevelt
What a glorious show of color in this morning’s sunrise!
Easter Vacation in Virginia – Day 2: Good Friday Sunrise
We awakened early the morning of April 3. Bob got up at 4:00 am, and I got up about 30 minutes later. We ate breakfast at 6:00 am and watched the sunrise from our 8th floor hotel room balcony at 6:47 am.
The four sunrise photographs shown above were taken within the space of 8 minutes. What a beautiful start to the day!
Soon after sunrise we went for a walk on the boardwalk. I will share details and photographs of our walk in my next blog post.
The Beauty Around Us 