This day was all about Butchart Gardens.  Gene and I rented a car for the day and drove out the the gardens.  It was a beautiful, clear day with temps in the mid 60s to low 70s.  We spent several hours taking in the sights, sounds and fragrances of the gardens.  The best description I can offer is in the pictures.

On our way back into town we stopped at Craigdarroch Castle.  There are a few pictures at the end of our photos.  The Castle is undergoing renovation so it was difficult to get really good photos.

It was a perfect day for “The Glamour of the Road”.

Enjoy our photos

This day was all about Butchart Gardens.  Gene and I rented a car for the day and drove out the the gardens.  It was a beautiful, clear day with temps in the mid 60s to low 70s.  We spent several hours taking in the sights, sounds and fragrances of the gardens.  The best description I can offer is in the pictures.

On our way back into town we stopped at Craigdarroch Castle.  There are a few pictures at the end of our photos.  The Castle is undergoing renovation so it was difficult to get really good photos.

It was a perfect day for “The Glamour of the Road”.

Enjoy our photos

Yesterday was a really long travel day.  Once we arrived in Vancouver, we took a bus to the ferry for an 1 1/2 hour ride and then the bus continued on into Victoria.  The ferry ride was great.  This entire area of the northwest is just incredible.  It was late afternoon, clear and sunny and just wonderful.

Each year, Gene and I trek to wherever the I-CAN meeting of amazing kids is being held.  This year it was in St. Petersburg, FL.  It was hot and muggy during the day, but the bay breezes in the evening made eating on the patio of the restaurants along the bay very enjoyable.  St. Pete as the locals call it is what I consider the right-size city.  The locals know each other, there are neat and interesting things to do and it is close enough to the big city if you need an airport or something you can’t get locally.  St. Pete is rich in the arts.  Among other things It is home to the Salvador Dali Museum, which we have previously visited and it is amazing.

Yesterday, just for grins because it was my birthday, I read my horoscope.  See Leo.  The “Visit exotic location this week” made me laugh out loud.  My planned business trip this week is to Hobbs, NM.

I lived in Hobbs in 1968 and left in January 1969.  I did not return for 38 years.  That should give you a clue about my desire to visit.  I have been back a few times in the past few years.  First for my uncle’s funeral and this is my second visit for business.

Not much has changed.  The town is a bit larger, but it is still flat, no trees and when the wind blows so does dirt.  They must have had rain recently as the weeds on the sides of the roads are green.

Gene and I planned to visit here a few years ago and spend the weekend on Sanibel Island.  Well there was the small matter of a hurricane named Charley.  When we found out where the I-CAN meeting was going to be this year, we included an extra day in our plan so that we could hopefully accomplish this visit.  I am so glad we did.

A visit to the Edison & Ford Winter Estates is truly special.    These two men are icons of American business.  Some interesting facts:

• Ford worked for Edison before he began manufacturing automobiles.
• Edison searched the world for plants to bring to the estates.
• Edison, Ford and Harvey Firestone sought out plants that contained latex for the manufacture of rubber.
• The Banyan Tree shown in the picture above, is now over an acre in diameter, and it is understood to be the second largest in the world.

If you have the chance you should take a 1/2 day and visit.  You might want to choose a bit cooler weather, but come early in the day.  The crowds get heavier as the day goes on, even in the hot weather.  This is one those destinations I seek out in traveling “The Glamour of the Road”.  Enjoy our pictures.

SmugMug Photos

Technorati Tags: travel,Edison,Ford,Sanibel Island,Banyan Tree,Glamour of the Road,destinations

This morning I really didn’t feel like getting on an airplane and traveling for 4 hours.  Also, I had not received an upgrade to 1st class by the time I arrived at the airport.  I just wasn’t a very happy camper.

I did receive the 1st class upgrade just before boarding.  My day brightened immediately.  What I didn’t know how much more my day would be mean by receiving this upgrade.  I went and stood by the poll close to the Priority Boarding area.  The ticket agent pre-boarded a lady in a wheel chair and a spry, elderly gentlemen with a white tipped cane for the visually impaired.

Each year I am required to do 20 hours of classroom time to maintain my CIC designation.  For my non-insurance friends this is an insurance designation titled Certificated Insurance Counselor.  Once you have the designation, there are number of different types of curriculum available in different places around the US.   My first challenge is year is what I want to take and then where I want to go.

Several years ago we had the opportunity to visit Annapolis on a cold Sunday afternoon for lunch and a few shops.  I saw a class I was interested in and low and behold it was in Annapolis on a week I had available.  So it was meant to be.

My words for Annapolis are charming, historical and beautiful.  There are row houses, with almost each one a designated historical building.  Numerous great old buildings with wonderful architecture.  The Maryland State House is located here.  It is the oldest State House in the nation in continuous use.  It was also undergoing some renovation, but as you can see from the photos it is a grand old building.

Let’s talk about the food.  All of this area is famous for the blue crabs.  Oh my goodness.  I remembered these from my first visit and other visits to the Baltimore area and couldn’t wait.  Well there were blue crabs as lunch the day we went to the Navel Academy and several other occasions that week for crab cakes.  I am so glad we had the opportunity to spend some time in this wonderful area of our country.  Another good event in our travels on The Glamour of the Road.

On our recent trip to Annapolis we took the opportunity to visit the U. S. Naval Academy.  It was the highlight of our trip.  I highly recommend doing the guided tour to get the lay of the land and the history of the academy.

Once you have completed the guided tour you are free to visit areas not on the tour or revisit areas you would like to spend more time at.  We didn’t get to see a couple of areas as they were under renovation but what we saw was wonderful.

One of the highlights is the display of model ships and the scenes depicting how they are crafted.  I have included only a few of the photos from this exhibit.  This was the largest number of model ships I have ever seen in one exhibit.  It is amazing to me how anyone has the talent and patience to do this tiny, detailed craft.

If you are going to be in the DC or Baltimore area, you should include the Naval Academy in your plans if at all possible.  I rate this as one of the true joys of The Glamour of the Road.

U. S. Naval Academy June 09

Technorati Tags: travel,Naval Academy,Annapolis,history,Glamour of the Road

Usually not much changes from one visit to the next in Manhattan.  However, a few weeks ago a section of Broadway was made a pedestrian mall.  I found that this made getting around in that area much easier.  However, I am still trying to figure out why you would want to sit in a lawn chair for any period of time in this area.  But that is just me.