There are 243 posts filed in Travels (this is page 15 of 25).
Day 4 of our Thanksgiving reunion/beach vacation began a bit tamer than the previous ones. We had a leisurely breakfast and marveled at the glassy Gulf: the calmest we’ve seen it yet. The smooth water allowed us a perfect view of the passing marine life and while we watched from the balcony we saw a couple schools of stingrays and one small pod of dolphins amble by.
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I got up early this morning to tag along with our family friend Carl for a day at his office. Carl’s company has the contract at Tyndall Air Force Base to recover the drones used by fighter planes for target practice. The drones, known as BQM-167s, are rocket-launched, turbofan-powered, unmanned aircraft about 20 feet long with an 11 foot wingspan. His crew clears the launch range and stands by to recover the drone, if needed.
After Carl picked me up at the hotel we picked up Jim, one of Carl’s workers. Together we drove to a diner near the base where we had breakfast. Then Carl gave me a tour of his office and the boats, both located a short distance from the end of the Tyndall runway.
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Our second day of vacation here was not as much fun as the first.
We finished up our first full day in Panama City Beach, Florida today. So far its been a fun trip.
Yesterday we got up well before daybreak and made the long drive from Raleigh. The sun was just rising as we passed South of the Border and into South Carolina. We made good time all the way until just north of Florida, when we took a detour to Folkston, Georgia, to see the Folkston Funnel.
The Folkston Funnel is one of the busiest stretches of train track in the country, with up to 60 trains passing through each day. Being a family of railroad fans we looked forward to seeing it in person. Three freight trains went roaring through this stretch of track while we had lunch on the viewing platform. It was a good distraction from the day of driving.
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Damn it. My friend Ron sent me pictures yesterday from his home on Orcas Island. Now I can’t stop thinking about the place!
Oh, to have more vacation time and more money.
I found out today that Southwest Airlines will begin service to my hometown, Panama City, Florida this May. I can’t begin to tell you how psyched I am about this!
Getting to Panama City is an 11-hour trip by car. One can fly there, of course, but that means you’re stuck with flying Delta Airlines and that’s it. As such, there’s little or no competition – and prices are high. Southwest moving in will definitely slash the cost of getting to Panama City, possibly making it worth flying there rather than driving.
On the other hand, the tremendous growth that this will bring the city will forever change it. I’ll miss the hometown feel of my hometown. All in all, though, I think this is a good thing for Panama City. Way to go, Southwest!
For our last day in New Hampshire, Kelly and I had another leisurely morning at the hotel. We checked out around 10 and returned to the Red Arrow Diner for breakfast.
After eating another great meal, we hopped in the car and headed north to Bear Brook State Park in Allenstown. Bear Brook is New Hampshire’s largest state park with 10,500 acres. It has over 40 miles of trails and a pond or two. We were looking forward to exploring it.
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We got back from New Hampshire last night around 10 PM. Our flight from Baltimore was delayed about two hours by a late incoming connecting flight, mechanical issues (ignitor in left engine wouldn’t start), and weather (thunderstorms in Raleigh). Still, Kelly and I were just happy to be getting home.
As I waited to fetch our bags from the baggage claim area, another passenger behind me was picking up his bags. He was in his late 50s, grey hair, and had a Bluetooth headset stuck in his ear. As he hurriedly grabbed his bags he was cursing up a blue streak. I never will understand how some people have so much anger that they’ll fly off the handle over something that is completely out of their control.
In spite of Mr. Self-Absorbed Jerk, I’m still in awe of the miracle of aviation. It never ceases to amaze me how I can walk on a plane in one city, fly at great speed over all obstacles, and arrive safely in another city. In spite of my love of rail travel, nothing yet invented can take the place of the airplane.
As promised, we spent most of the day in Portsmouth and Kittery, having a great time looking around these two towns.
Before we left, we had to get “breakfast,” though it was already past 11 AM. The hotel manager suggested a few places, one of which is the Red Arrow Diner, a shoebox-sized diner that really packed ’em in. We waited patiently with a line of 20 other people to finally get two seats the bar. And you know what? It was worth it! People gladly wait however long it takes to get seated. We both enjoyed our meals and signed the guest book for good measure. If you’re ever in Manchester and are looking for food, check out the Red Arrow Diner: open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
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Rainy Manchester
Today we’ll spend some time at the coast, checking out Kittery, Maine and the area around it. We spent a night at a Kittery bed and breakfast early in our marriage and are looking forward to seeing the town again.
