New York City to Maine

We continued our lengthy walks around Manhattan with Ziggy, who continued to attract attention from normally taciturn locals as well as from tourists from all over the world.  In the picture he is waiting patiently (in the rain) outside Starbucks while we update the blog.  In Bloomindale's, where we stopped for lunch, a woman visiting from Canada invited Ziggy to go walking with her red-colored standard poodle, Scarlet, when we get to Montreal.   We have her number and Ziggy is looking forward to it.   In the crowded plaza in front of the Apple Store on Fifth Avenue, a woman speaking Italian took one look at Ziggy, whipped out her i-phone and started to snap pictures of him.  Within seconds five or six others were doing the same, prompting the Italian woman to turn and say "paparazzi".   That said it all.  

Similar things happened everywhere we took Ziggy, including (see picture) Ziggy at the Met (why does this make me think of an Elton John song?).

Tuesday night we saw Curtains, with David Hyde Pierce.  A musical who-done-it which was great fun.  Wednesday we got last minute ticket to The Country Girl, a Clifford Odets play with Morgan Freeman, Frances McDormand, and Peter Gallagher, directed by Mike Nichols.  Not a lot of action by today's standards, but wonderful to see these actors.

Wednesday night, we saw the ultimate Gypsy with Patty Lupone as Mama Rose.  Nobody does it better.  Thursday night, In the Heights, a Hispanic Hip Hop Musical set in New York's Washington Heights, up for the Tony.  A great way to spend our last night in New York City.  

Friday morning we fetched the car, though Ziggy had his eye on a limo parked in front of the hotel.

The doorman thought Ziggy was so stylish he only needed a hat to complete his debonair look (see photo).

We headed for the Hudson River Valley, stopping at

the Cloisters along the way.  

We got to Poughkeepsie and toured Vassar College, which has a lovely art museum as well as its beautiful campus.  We considered this part of Ziggy's college tour. 

Saturday morning we toured Hyde Park, FDR's home.  There was a special military program with bands and WWII enactments for the Memorial Day weekend.  Ziggy enjoyed all the event and lined up to get dog tags.  On to the Vanderbilt Mansion 

nearby, the smallest of the family's mansions at only 50,000 square feet.  It was a little formal for our tastes, though the views of the Hudson were gorgeous.  

We drove on from there heading towards Maine, passing through Connecticut, stopping for the night in Auburn, Mass.  The next day we went on passing around Boston, through part of New Hampshire, to

get to Maine, where our first stop was at the Maine Diner, famous for their lobster rolls.  Ziggy had to wait outside while we were able to initiate our lobster roll tour of the state.

We spent the night at the Kineston Inn in Boothbay, Maine, where Susie and Ziggy passed some pleasant time on the veranda.  After attending the local Memorial Day Parade--Ziggy loves parades--we hit the road for our next destination, the Pilgrim's Inn on Deer Isle, a beautiful spot where we plan to spend two or three days.  On the way, we stopped for lunch in Camden, where we continued our lobster roll sampling.

In the Big Apple

With our precision planning, we arrived in NYC from DC during the evening rush hour on Tuesday, May 13.  Coming in from the south, we negotiated Chinatown and the lower east side to get to our hotel, the Affinia Gardens on the upper east side.  We were just in time for a weekly wine and cheese event for guests, where Ziggy was an immediate hit.  That night we settled into our apartment and explored the neighborhood.  We learned that before nine A.M. dogs are permitted off leash in Central Park, a short distance from our hotel.  

 

The next morning we dragged ourselves up early so Ziggy could go jogging in the park.  He met some new friends, including a group of poodles who are regulars (see picture of us all having breakfast).

The next task was to move the car out of Manhattan, where daily parking costs as much as some of the motels we stayed in on the trip out.  After depositing the car in Long Island City, an accommodating cabby agreed to take us back to Manhattan, and Ziggy had his first ride in a taxi.  That night we saw the musical Spring Awakening.

Weather permitting, we've been getting up early to get Ziggy to the park before 9.  The hotel lets us leave Ziggy in the room unattended when we're at the theater or places he's not allowed, but otherwise he's been walking all over Manhattan with us.  He's been to Times Square and Carnegie Hall, shopping on Fifth Avenue, and inspecting the street vendors.  We do occasionally get the feeling that he would just as soon be stretched out on the sofa.  One time we got caught in the rain, and finding a cab wasn't made any easier by Ziggy's presence.

Thursday night we saw the straight play, August, Osage County, which we agreed

 deserved the Tony and the 2008

Pulitzer Prize the author received.  Friday night the comedy, The 39 Steps, with dozens of parts performed by the cast of four.  Saturday we had lunch at one of our favorite NYC spots, the Atlantic Grill, while Ziggy waited patiently nearby, as usual, hoping for leftovers.

Saturday night, May 17, was the Frost-Johnson wedding at the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens, which was the impetus for our cross country trip.  The wedding was wonderful.

Sunday we got last minute tickets for a new off-Broadway musical called Saved, based on the movie of the same name.  We took Courtney's close friend Isabelle, who works in the Times Square area and graciously acts as our ticket agent when we come to New York, saving us the outrageous Ticketmaster charges.  We all agreed the show was an unexpected treat.

We spent much of Monday with our cousins Paula and Jack Frost, also in town for the wedding.  Ziggy was very happy to see them, particularly Paula (see picture).  We had lunch at one of the ubiquitous Italian restaurants that seem to populate every block.  We were hoping to find soft shelled crab, and we succeeded.  No theater this night, so we had a leisurely dinner at a little French restaurant, Fleur de Sel, recommended by some New Yorkers who, like so many others, stopped us on the street to admire Ziggy.

Almost Heaven, West Virginia

 

 

We called ahead for a change and made reservations in Slatyfork, West Virginia, at the Morning Glory Inn, deep in the Monongahela National Forest.  We picked it off the web, and were only somewhat discouraged when the woman in the tourist information center had never heard of Slatyfork.  It was a long, increasingly rainy drive on twisting mountinous roads with beautiful scenery.  We arrived after dark to cross an narrow plank bridge over a rushing torrent where we found an inviting inn (and innkeepers) and we were the only guests.  Our room was large and homelike after the recent run of Best Westerns and Super 8 Motels.

We awoke Friday morning to less rain, and 

headed off to a scenic drive in the National Forest.  Along the way we visited perhaps the largest bog in the nation (see Ziggy on the

wooden walkway, looking for Cranberries). Surrounded by forests, bogs have never looked so good.  

After a visit to a waterfall deep in the forest, we proceeded on the scenic drive.  When the rains and fog increased we returned to the oasis at the

Morning Glory Inn.  Dinner that night was just down the road at the Elk River Touring Center

 and Lodge Restaurant, a funky place with a great chef.

Saturday morning we started out for Washington D.C.  We hadn't been sure what route we would take to New York, but opted to go via D.C. where Susie's friend (since kindergarten) Cheryl had flown in from Chicago to see the ballet Cinderella, for which her son Joshua had designed the lighting.  We attended the ballet Saturday night and shared champaign afterwards with Josh and friends and family who had come from out of town for the occasion.

Sunday we walked around the the Mall, went to the Washington Monument, along the reflective pool, to the Vietnam memorial where Susie looked up a friend from high school on the wall.  When the weather started turning again, we sought refuge back at our hotel, the Westin, where dogs are welcome and Ziggy has been a big hit.  He attracts fans everywhere we go.  People want to take his picture with their kids (outside a restaurant--see picture), to shake his hand, or just to get a dog fix.  He's almost always obliging. 

In light of the bad weather we had Mother's Day dinner at the hotel, where we were able to 

keep Ziggy at our feet.  Afterwards, the three of us watched a movie in our room.  Ziggy is very partial to Westin's Heavenly Beds, barely leaving room for anyone else when he stretches out.

On Monday the weather improved only slightly, but we all wore our rain gear, including Ziggy, whose red raincoat attracted still more smiles.  We went to the Smithsonian where we visited the Hirshhorn collection and the Air and Space Museum, but Ziggy unfortunately had to wait in the van.  Tonight, dinner at Mark and Orlando's, a popular local restaurant, and tomorrow we'll make the drive to New York City.

My Old Kentucky Home

From Kansas City across Missouri.  We made the decision not to head up towards Chicago, but down to Kentucky, where we had never been.  We stopped for lunch in Columbia, and left the thousands of chain restaurants by the interstate and drove into the small college town (nice when you have the time) to find a decent restaurant.  We did, the Sycamore, where despite its being his fifth birthday, Ziggy had to wait outside.  Thankfully, he is used to this and has patiently waited on the street outside of some of the finest restaurants in the country.

Back on the road, we drove through St. Louis, so Susie could photograph the arch.  Then we had to drive through Southern Illinois and Indiana to get to Kentucky, where we set our sites on Mammoth Cave as our next destination.  We spent the night in Evansville, Indiana, another college town, judging from our waitress who was complaining about finals. Of course, leftovers were shared with Ziggy in honor of his birthday.  

The next morning, Wednesday, we awoke to rain and hit the road, left Indiana and arrived at Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky just before one o'clock, when a ranger-lead tour was about to start.  After listening to admonitions intended to discourage anyone unable to handle steep flights of stairs, tight, claustrophobic environments and vertigo inducing heights, we decided to brave it, only to find the cave itself quite disappointing compared to the

wondrous Lehman Caves we toured in Utah.   Only it's mammoth length and beautiful surrounding forest made it memorable.

We spent the rest of the afternoon finding our way on small roads through the bluegrass country.  We stopped at the Corvette Museum near Bowling Green, but alas, we didn't buy any samples.  On to Bardstown, Kentucky, a picturesque town where we dined on local cooking and spent the night.  Despite being told -- erroneously, thank heavens -- that Kurtz's restaurant did not serve alcohol, reports of their "famous coconut cream pie" motivated Ron to insist on eating there.  Ironically, the pie was the only disappointment of the meal.  

In the morning, a walk around Bardstown before it started to rain.  The town also hosts the "My Old Kentucky Home State Park" wherein one finds the house which inspired Stephen Foster to write My Old Kentucky Home (see picture).  Chimes play "Oh, Susannah" and "I Dream of Jeannie" (though not "Massa's in de Cold Cold Ground") as you stroll the immaculate grounds.

Many  bourbon distilleries are close by and we hoped to find time to tour one.  We visited Maker's Mark distillery (where we thought of our brother-in-law Sherman) but the tour had just left and we didn't want to wait.  On to West Virginia.  More to come.

Across the Great Plains

On Sunday, after leaving Pueblo, we drove up toward Colorado Springs to catch US-70. Eventually driving east towards Kansas, the dramatic rugged landscapes disappeared, turning gradually to soft rolling hills beyond the Continental Divide, still snow packed.   By the time we crossed the border into Kansas, the land was relatively flat.  There was mostly one wheat-colored farm after another, with occasional clusters of trees., including now and again some that were blooming a fabulous purple that made up for the monotony of the rest.  At least for Susie.  It was sunny and warm (in the 70s) which was nice and kept us moving.  

 The State of Kansas welcomes visitors with a fancy visitors center and free coffee and maps.  They even let dogs in the visitors center, trying hard to push attractions and court tourists but there just is not much there if you are not into Eisenhower or John Deere.  We stopped for the night in Hays, were we found the typical

 unsightly tangle of motel and chain fast-food signs near the highway exit.   However we did make it to Al's Chickenette, a local hole-in-the-wall just down the road, that we read about in one of our "drive USA" books.  The fried chicken lived up to the recommendation.

The next day we stopped in Abilene, KS, which we learned was where all that warring between the farmers and the cattle ranchers occurred.  The stuff of old westerns.  We had lunch at the Kirby House (see picture of red mansion) and took a tour of the Seelye house (see picture of white mansion), built with the money of one of the inventors of patent medicine (dear to Ron's heart)  on the main street which was filled with cattle being driven to market when it first went up.  By this time it was raining, and we drove on east to Kansas City to Fiorella's Jack Stack Barbecue to check out the famous local cuisine.  In Utah we went from national park to national park.  Here in the plains we seem to be going from restaurant to restaurant.  Spending the night in Kansas City MO, then on East.

Southern Utah, Who Knew?

Across Utah on US 50 to Moab, just south of Canyonlands and Arches National Parks.  On the way we crossed an another beautiful mountain range, where it was in the low 30s and snowing. It wasn't sticking to the road much but the car got filthy, which was perhaps more distressing to us than warranted.   Meanwhile, spectacular cliffs and gorges everywhere on the way in.  Moab is an interesting little recreation-oriented town with more amenities than we've seen in some time.  We got a room at the Gonzo Inn, as offbeat and charming as its name, but luxurious after Salina.  We even found a Thai restaurant for lunch.  Since we arrived at midday, we headed off to Canyonlands National Park in the afternoon.  Still more amazing rock formations.  Ziggy can be out of the car on a leash in parking lots and on roads only.  He's a little miffed, but takes it like a dog.  

 

After lunch we were on our way to another monument when the low tire pressure warning light appeared (this car has warnings for everything).  This caused some concern, as the Sienna doesn't come with a spare tire and we were heading into a remote area.  We checked and found one tire was down 10 psi from the others.  Back to town to fill it up, and we decided to go to a closer location.  Arches National Park (see pictures) with incredible towering red rock formations like something from another planet.

When we were done the tire was low again, so we went to a tire shop in town, where they found a nail and patched the tire.  Disaster avoided.  Plus we found a car wash in the process.  Of course, the real highlight of the day was discovering that Ron was old enough to qualify for a senior pass to all the National Parks!   After a one-time 10-buck fee,  he (and any passengers with him) have free admission for life to all the parks in the land -- for free!   One benefit to getting old that isn't so bad.  And one use of our tax dollars we won't complain about. 

On to Colorado.  At Grand Junction we went south on US 50 off the interstate and spent the night in Delta, a small town distinguished by a lovely classic old movie theater called the Egyption where Iron Man was playing, complete with a guy out front in a wonderfully tacky Iron Man costume waving at passersby.   It was Friday night, and suddenly we felt like seeing a movie.  The theater was packed with families, a great small town experience.

Saturday morning, back on the road, toured the Black Canyon National Park.  Uniform black stone walls 2000 feet down.  Then on, across the continental divide.  The Colorado terrain was as gorgeous as Utah's, just different.  Think  "A River Runs through It."  We planned to stay in Canon City, but there was a Rodeo in town and no rooms were available.  Next town was Pueblo Colorado, where we spent the night.

On Tuesday morning we left Tahoe Vista under pristine blue skies and headed to Reno as planned.  The new art museum there is small but impressive as was the Frank Lloyd Wright exhibit we came to see.   Although the weather remained balmy, the wind became increasing fierce.  By midday, we could barely open the van doors against the wind and Ziggy's lush tail and ears blew in every direction.  (Seeing his long, floppy ears propelled straight upward was a sight to behold.)  After lunch we headed across Nevada on HWY 80 where the increasingly ferocious winds turned the sky and ground light gray.  Visibility was poor and the desert scenery hopelessly bleak.   By the time we reached Winnemucca we decided to head south to the improved scenic prospects of HWY 50.  By nightfall we made it to Eureka, Nevada.  All the pet-friendly rooms at the Best Western were taken but the young woman at the desk convinced the owner to accept Ziggy anyway.   Thank goodness.  Towns here are few and far between.   

Leaving Eureka this morning (Wednesday), the scenery got better and better. We made it to Great Basin National Park, where we toured fabulous limestone caves, then passed into Utah, where I write from a surprisingly comfortable room at the Motel 8, the only motel in Salina (pronounced Saleena) that took pets.   So far so good.  Next stops are Arches and Canyonland National Parks in Eastern Utah.  

Susie