A Few Weird Museums

“To awaken quite alone in a strange town is one of the pleasantest sensations in the world.”

We have been to some really great museums.  Now neither of us like going to every museum we come across.  There are so many of them.  It’s kind of a pick and choose thing.  We loved the Mob Museum in Las Vegas but we blogged about that a few months ago.  We tend to lean towards most any museum that caters to airplanes and such.  I still like the smell of jet fuel.  Maybe that has something to do with where I worked.  Working for an airline you better learn to like the industry or it’s probably time to move on.  

Many times though we don’t always know what’s around unless we read it on another blog or have a friend who recommends.  A great website for unique places to see in an area is Roadside America.  Ever check it out?  I’m sure most of you have.  I also discovered fairly recently that they have a new iPhone app.  This one is Roadside Presidents and it lists birthplaces, graves, museums, libraries, monuments to slept-here, ate here and dropped dead here locations. Of course, most of the landmarks aren’t on the west coast but every state has at least a few interesting stops.

Another is Mad Maps but since you have to pay about a dollar for five trips and there is no sample trip, I’ve not been convinced we would find this helpful yet.  They advertise it’s all about finding the most scenic routes and cool stops from natural wonders to rock’n’ roll roadhouses.  It sounds cool but many of them sound cool and then don’t turn out to be so much.

Other than that, you can certainly Google for ideas on places to visit in your area.  Here are just a few different museums that might be interesting … or, might not be.

 

Cockroach Museum – Not sure if it is still in Plano, TX or relocated to Phoenix

Can’t imagine why one would think up a museum for cockroaches but there is one. The fellow that opened it is an exterminator and fascinated with cockroaches.  The dead cockroaches are dressed as famous personalities and set in exotic sets.

Julia Bulette Red Light Museum – Virginia City, NV
Interested in the history of a brothel?  If so, this just might be interesting to you especially viewing some of the “toys” used in the 19th century.

Circus World Museum – Baraboo, WI
Maybe the circus is your bag.  If so, don’t miss this one as it has an impressive collection of circus memorabilia.

Sing Sing Prison Museum – Ossining, NY
Remember hearing about Sing Sing.  Now you can visit the museum and check out the electric chair and listen to the stories of the famous or rather, infamous tenants.
 
Lizzie Borden - Fall River Historical Society – Fall River, MA

This isn’t a museum for everyone.  Lizzie is the “lady” who hit her father 40 times with an axe.  Exhibits at the museum include a lot of gruesome artifacts.  Now if this interests you, you just might enjoy it.  For me, I think we’ll just plan on staying away.

Glore Psychiatric Museum – St. Joseph, MO

This is another museum that isn’t for everyone. Psychiatric treatments have changed through the years.    Some of those treatments were cruel and this is one place that  takes you through that change.

There are a ton more museums.  Sometimes you never know what's in a town you just pulled into until you start looking around.  It's not the common ones that catch the interest.  It's the weird ones that stand out.

 
 
‘Tis life on the road.

Party Time … Again

“The old believe everything: the middle aged suspect everything: the young know everything.”

It’s always fun to meet other RVers and especially the ones we already know.  Saturday evening we met Tina and Jeff at the Masthead Restaurant in Kelso.  In January we had spent a couple weeks with them boondocking in Quartzsite.  We had a lot of catching up to do … and that we did.  We loved being with them and know we’ll be meeting on the road again …. sometime

and someplace.

 

Just two weeks ago we celebrated Jordan’s birthday.  This is the time of year we have most of our family birthdays. In a period of three months we have eight of them … including Duchess. Its definitely a busy, busy time.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MICHAEL.

Little Michael

All grown up Michael.

Sunday was party time as Michael and Duchess were celebrating! They share the July 30th date. We really just celebrated Michael’s. Duchess gets her party on her birthday.  She wasn’t invited to this party.  Well, she would have been welcome I’m sure but we figured she was better off not attending.

Duchess - 10 weeks old

Duchess - still a little pup

We’ve been working on lots of projects. With projects come many stops at Home Depot. We should own the store by now. After the party we made one more stop. We had lots of odds’n ends to pick up. It was a little here and a little there. It’s amazing how many projects you start and then discover you always need something to finish it. This was that kind of stop. There were seven different projects we had to get little things at the store so we could check them off as done!

Another stop was at our storage shed. We’re slowly but surely going through boxes we had shipped up here when we took off in the RV. Yesterday we loaded four boxes in the back of the Jeep and have already sorted those out. This stop we loaded another four boxes. Eventually we‘ll get this storage shed cleaned out but we still have a ways to go. Believe me when I say it’s no fun to do this.

Here’s one of the fun projects.  Terry’s finishing up on the caulking.

‘Tis life on the road.

Pick Your Weird Home

“Not all those who wander are lost.” – J. R. R. Tolkien

Ever experience writer's block or is it blogger's block?  It's not that I don't have a few blogs started.  I have several.  It's just that I'm having a bit of a problem finishing them.  Sometimes the blogs just flow and other times not so much.  Right now it's not so much.  So, here we go back to my last fill-in blog.   

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Now some may say it’s weird to travel and live in one of these:



I wonder what they’d say if we lived in one of these.  One thing for sure we’d certainly get a lot attention driving down the road.

Or, what about living in a five-level shoe house?   This little house is owned by a shoe factory owner in Pennsylvania.  Remember the Old Woman who lived in a shoe?  She had so many children, she didn’t know what to do.  Do you think this fella is living in his old family home?

What about living in a Volkswagen?  The real deal is in Austria.  This car is fully equipped with everything imaginable.  The same builder also built a VW shaped restaurant. I bet tourists line up for miles to view the home.  Well, that is if they can find it.

 

As long as you’re in Austria looking for the car-house, you might as well skip on over to Germany and check out the upside down house?  You might guess if the house is upside down then everything the occupants would use would probably be upside down inside if the home were flipped.  

If those homes aren’t weird enough for you, what about living in the belly of a shark.  Jonah lived in a whale.  This family lives in a shark.  I guess that’s close enough. Head to Mexico and you just might have an opportunity to meet people who do.

In my opinion living in an RV isn’t the only way to live and travel.  Others have chosen to travel on water and live in their “live aboard” boats.  We met several “sun-seekers” when we were in Grenada a few years back.  They traveled to the Caribbean during the winter and back up to the States during the summer.  I thought they were pretty adventuresome and truly real snowbirds.

Isn’t it great we all enjoy different things and don’t have to live where and how others think we should?

‘Tis life on the road.

This is It! This is Someday!

 

“There’s no next time.  It’s now or never.”

Every once in a while something comes along and triggers our memory.  (Thank goodness for that!!)   Such was the case recently.  The trigger reminded me of a blog I had written quite some time ago.   I want to re-post it along with the beautiful follow-up comment from Hobopals .  

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All our lives we seem to be waiting for something. Many times we find ourselves saying that we’ll buy something someday or that we’ll do something someday or even someday we won’t have to do something else. At times we actually wonder if someday will ever come. 

Well, for us and many of our friends this is our someday.  This is it, Folks.  It’s here and for some it’s not working out like planned. Yes, we know some are struggling from health issues to family problems to finance problems and last but certainly not least, to RV problems …. Someday is here!

Even though we know many enjoying their someday we also know quite a few retired folks who thought someday was finally here only to find out it’s still in the future. We have good friends with very serious illnesses, friends with devastating financial surprises and even others with brand new rigs that continue to need repairs. There have been fires and accidents and even premature deaths. What’s with this? Is this IT? 

The elusive someday was supposed to be the time when working for survival was behind and everything dreamed about was finally going to come true. It was supposed to be the time when people were carefree without worries or bills or obligations. It was being free to do what one wanted and when one wanted to do it.  It was a time to travel without worrying about returning from that annual two week vacation.  It was time to do what we wanted. Someday was the day we all looked forward to!

Is this our Someday ~~

For many the reality of Someday finally being here was the day they retired, moved into their RV and hoped to live happily ever after as they began their adventure of exploring the back roads. Their Someday was a much anticipated event.  For some Someday was a big disappointment.  Things didn't quite turn out as they expected them to turn out.  For others it was even better than anticipated.  It’s that half empty / half full glass way of looking at things. 

We need to make the best of today and savor each moment because with life there are no do-overs.  We will never walk down this road again.

Or, to explain Someday in another way as sent by Hobopals  …. tucked away in our subconscious we have a vision. We see ourselves on a long trip that spans the continent. We are traveling by train. Out the windows we drink in the passing scene of cars on nearby highways, of children waving at a crossing, of cattle grazing on a distant hillside, of row and row of corn and wheat, of flatlands and valleys, of mountains and rolling hillsides, of city skylines and village halls.

But uppermost in our minds is the final destination. On a certain day at a certain hour we will pull into the station. Bands will be playing and flags will be waving. Once we get there so many wonderful dreams will come true and pieces of our lives will fit together like a completed jigsaw puzzle. How restless we pace the aisles, damning the minutes for loitering - waiting, waiting, waiting for the station.

Sooner or later we must realize there is no station, no one place to arrive at once and for all. The true joy of life is the trip. The station is only a dream. It constantly outdistances us.

It isn't the burdens of today that drive men mad. It is the regret over yesterday and the fear of tomorrow. Regret and fear are twin thieves who rob us of today.

You’ve heard it before  .. so, stop pacing the aisles and counting the miles. Instead, climb more mountains, eat more ice cream, go barefoot more often, swim more rivers, watch more sunsets, laugh more, cry less. Life must be lived as we go along. The station will come soon enough.

And, one of my favorite quotes from Mark Twain, "Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do"


Yep, our someday is finally here.


‘Tis life on the road.

Family Reunion Time

"Family faces are magic mirrors. Looking at people who belong to us, we see the past, present and future."

Judy's photo of Ediz Hook and the log boom with eagle at the end getting ready to go fishing.

Family reunion time can be so much fun.  The family continues to grow.  The old faces begin to look older but the good times and getting together never changes.  Such was the case with this family reunion.

We are so lucky that we do have a beautiful area to meet in each year.  I posted a couple pictures I took the other day of Hurricane Ridge and Ediz Hook.  These are a couple my cousin took.

Hurricane Ridge above the clouds --->

Port Angeles is a great place to meet each and every year.  There is plenty of room for camping, lots of room to mingle and even a meeting area to eat and congregate in and share memories.

< --- First thing on the agenda was getting the hall ready.

Family bulletin board pictures covered the walls and the decorations this year were around red, white and blue.  There was even a tribute to those who had served.

Preparations took a while but the result was quite nice.

There was lots of activity from joining in on karaoke with Larry and Sandi to just gabbing.

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….. to playing the game cube.

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Even a little bit of horseshoes, baseball and some internet for the names of a few historical schools in the area.

We had plenty of fresh, wild salmon to put on the barbecue plus quite a supply of smoked salmon.

It took eight guys to oversee the salmon. I’m sure they solved all the world’s problems while doing so. 

There were many great dishes plus lots of smiles. 

Mike didn't waste any time getting in the food line.  Neither did I.  I figured if I was first they wouldn't run out of fish.  Terry was at the end of the line as you can see.  Of course, he isn't a fish eater.  He headed for the lasagna and ham.

That was Saturday.  Some folks came for the day.  Others stayed for the Sunday breakfast and to help with cleanup.  We could have stayed for a few more days or even the week in Port Angeles.  However, Terry was anxious to head south and see if the backhoe we had ordered a few weeks back had arrived.  So ….. it was on the road again.  However, we are thinking we just may head back for the rodeo in a few weeks.

My cousin had this on his t-shirt. It made me think of Jim ... always fishing and sometimes releasing.

 

 

 

Now it’s on to planning the next family reunion in 2013 which just may have a western theme.

‘Tis life on the road.

Crazy Laws

You're never too old to learn something stupid.

A while back I did a blog titled Hogwash.  It was about what I thought was Bloomberg’s overuse of his powers as mayor of New York City by wanting to make it illegal for restaurants to sell sugary beverages larger than 16 ounce.  Remember that?  Well this isn't about it.  This is one of those busy-day-posts.  We've been involved in a family reunion and I'm just beat!

The Hogwash post and the illegal sugar beverages made me wonder about some of the other stupid laws out there.  There are a lot of them and they are in each and every state.  Many RVers head south for the winter so that’s the first place I looked.  We certainly wouldn’t want to have to take up a collection to bail any snowbirds out of jail!

Arizona is a snowbird haven in the winter time.  Other than immigration laws, they have other laws on their books that someday someone might put up a stink about.

1. It is unlawful to refuse a person a glass of water.
2. Any misdemeanor committed while wearing a red mask is considered a felony.
3. In Nogales there is an ordinance which prohibits the wearing of suspenders.
4. In Tombstone it is illegal for men and women over the age of 18 to have less than one missing tooth visible when smiling.
5. In Tucson women may not wear pants.

To summarize and just to be safe.  Don’t wear a red mask while wearing suspenders and especially if you happen to be missing any teeth.  If you’re a woman, don’t wear any pants at all.

Florida is another hotspot for snowbirds.  That state has had it’s own problems even registering their voters.  No wonder they are having trouble getting laws right if they still have ones such as these on their books.

1. You may not kiss your wife’s breasts.
2. It is considered an offense to shower naked.
3. You may not fart in a public place after 6 PM.
4. Men may not be seen publicly in any kind of strapless gown.
5. It is illegal to sing in a public place while attired in a swimsuit.
6. Women may be fined for falling asleep under a hair dryer as can the salon owner.

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So, I’m not so sure what the punishment might be for these laws or even if they enforce them.  These two states have bigger problems with other state issues.  Perhaps, they’ll let snowbirds slide by if caught in the act of any of these. 

‘Tis life on the road.

Next Stop – Port Angeles and Hurricane Ridge

 

Apparently there is nothing that cannot happen today.

 

Moving from the Elks in Sequim to Port Angeles wasn’t a long move.  The distance between the two towns is only about 15 miles.  Our plan was to move Thursday afternoon.  However, with four people on board using water without an onsite dump, we had to move a little sooner than planned.  We had actually forgotten the Elks only had water and electricity.  Normally that wouldn’t have been a problem.  The problem was long showers for four people don’t cut it.  Most of you know exactly what I’m talking about.  You’ve been there, done that.  However, we were able to empty our tanks at the Chevron station which was only about 5 minutes away.

Shortly afterwards we pulled into my cousin, Bob’s place.  He has the perfect place for a large get together  -- lots of parking space and a hall for entertaining. Since most folks won’t be pulling in until Friday we got first pick of spots.  We picked one close enough to electrical outlets that we could run a cord.  You know what they say, the early bird gets the worm.  In this case the worm was electricity.

It was a fast setup and we were off to Hurricane Ridge in the Olympic National Park.   I wanted to take the kids to see the beauty of it.  It was a perfect day.  The sun was shining and wild flowers were in full bloom.  It’s just a short drive from where we were parked since my cousin lives on the road to Hurricane Ridge.  Every time we visit, I’m in awe of the beauty.  On one side by the Visitor’s Center you see all the snow peaked mountains.  On the other side you have a view of Port Angeles, Strait of Juan de Fuca and Canada.  It was definitely a gorgeous site. 

The road to the top of the mountain starts at an elevation near sea level and in 17 miles climbs to a little over 5400 feet. Some places the road is fairly level and not too windy. At other places it is definitely not level and quite windy. Obviously, RVs are not recommend but we did see a few Class C’s all the way at the top. We also saw one good sized Class A turning around in the first pull-out and that was just before the steeper climbs and just before the three tunnels.  There are  several fairly long 7% grade sections on the road to the top. 

The Visitor’s Center had this section of a tree displayed showing the life of a tree.  The life of this tree began in 1349.

After walking Duchess we were off again.  This time we were off to Ediz Hook.  This is another natural sand spit  and one we always have to visit.  I love it here.  Maybe because it’s where home used to be.

Years ago Port Angeles used to host a salmon derby.  The derby was held on two days over Labor Day weekend.  As the supply of salmon dwindled the derby had to be stopped.  At times there were so many boats in the water that we used to joke about almost being able to walk across to Canada from boat to boat.

It was another beautiful day in a very beautiful part of Washington.  Port Angeles has it all from the mountains to the seashore.

‘Tis life on the road. 

Sequim – The Old Homestead

 

So live that you wouldn't be ashamed to sell the family parrot to the town gossip.

 

We all have a place that we call the old Homestead.  It’s usually a place our parents or our grandparents lived.  We have that place too.  It’s in Sequim on the bluff overlooking the Strait of Juan de Fuca.  I never lived there but my mother did.  It was land owned by my grandparents.  It’s one of those places you wished had continued to be handed down.    As Michael said … it’s breathtaking.

The property was still in the family when we lived in Port Angeles.  We used to pick the cherries off the many cherry trees and climb down the bluff by way of a trail to the beach. The potato cellar is still there and so are a few of the cherry trees. We were told that occasionally odds’n ends of the old farmhouse are found in the dirt such as silverware.  When sold the land was divided into five parcels.  Two of the parcels are now gorgeous bed and breakfasts.  We visited the George Washington Inn. 

We figured it would be easy  to view the George Washington Inn since it now was also a lavender farm.  They were getting ready to host about 10,000 visitors over the weekend as part of the Lavender Festival tour.  The exterior of the B&B is a duplicate to George Washington’s Mt. Vernon.  That theme is carried through the home.

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Dan Abbott is the owner.  He purchased the property about ten years ago.  It is an amazing piece of property but it didn’t look like this when my grandparents owned it.   When I mentioned this to the owner he was most gracious and gave us a tour of the property and what they had done.  They have held many functions at the property including weddings.

There is also a history with this property during WWII.  During the war many lookout towers and gunners stood watch guarding our coast line.  The property still has some remains of that time.  No lights after dark were allowed.  Any vehicle driven along the roadways at night had to drive without their lights.  There were many blackouts in the area.  If not, you were stopped by the military.  My mom was stopped once and it was a very scary situation for her.

The Oregon coast was fired on by a Japanese submarine during WWII.  After an exchange of gunfire, the Japanese submarine disappeared. According to the Olympic Community Museum another Japanese submarine was rumored to have been spotted and destroyed off the Washington coast close to the entrance of the Straits. This bombing was never publicized because it might have hurt the war effort.  Is that really true?  Perhaps.  Many bunkers and gun nests are located around the area and also on the islands in Puget Sound.  Even my father was stationed in the area (Port Townsend’s Fort Worden).  He also had many stories of blackouts.

The following morning we decided to go into Port Angeles.  Our trusty little weatherman forecast that the clouds wouldn’t hang around too long over the water.  He was wrong.  We had originally planned on going to the “Spit” but since the sun didn’t pop out of the clouds early enough we put that little side trip off for another day.  It was a nice day but we preferred to be there when the sun was shining.

The town of Port Angeles is usually full of murals on the sides of buildings and also full of tourists during the summer.  Many of those tourists take day trips on the ferry to Victoria, Canada.  The ferry lanes were packed.  We walked around the terminal area a bit but decided to head back to Sequim.  We’ll visit Ediz Hook when we actually move the motorhome into the town and the sun is shining. 

‘Tis life on the road.