Finally Finished

Linny in the Oriental Lily Dress

Oriental Lily is a free internet pattern. It was an easy knit. It called for a DK weight yarn but I had the Berroco Geode, a light worsted, in stash and it really knit up nicely. I would think of it as a winter dress, but the weather in Arcata is cool, even in August, and you can see Linny seems very comfortable wearing it for the farmers market on the Plaza.

Perry in Carlos aka Growling Dog Sweater

I started the growling dog sweater in May of 2008 intending to finish it before Perry turned one. Fortunately it's big enough because he's pretty close to turning two now. The pattern is called Carlos and is from the Berroco Design Team. It's knit in Berroco Comfort DK, a soft acrylic yarn.

Doggy

Facebook has an application called Foo Pets. Members can choose a cyber pet to care for. I have a chocolate lab named Bupkis. Foo Pets have to be fed, watered and played with on a regular basis the same as a real pet. I'm touched by the facial expressions. You can see above that Bupkis is hungry and thirsty.

When I was in California in late May I introduced the grandchildren to Bupkis. Perry, in particular, became quite attached. Everytime he saw my laptop he would ask for "Doggy." After a two month intervel, I was quite surprised that he remembered. As soon as he saw my computer, he asked for the dog.

We've been feeding Bupkis every morning and every evening since I arrived. Here's a photo of the three of us watching the cyber dog eat, drink and catch the frisbee.


When we've finished playing with her, we pet her and then watch her settle down for a nap. The children understand that she is sleeping and they are very willing for me to close the window.

Arcata Marsh

This morning we awoke to light drizzle. After a good breakfast we set off on our bikes (with Linny and Perry in the trailer being towed by their mother) to the Arcata Marsh. The city uses treated waste water in over 300 acres of created wetlands to provide a habitat for wildlife, particularly migrating birds. The property used to be a landfill. There are walking and bicycle paths and an interpretive center.


By the time we had completed the two mile bike ride the drizzle had stopped. While the sun never fully broke through the clouds, it became bright enough for sun glasses and warm enough to walk in shirt sleeves. Perry and Linny walked quite a way along the gravel paths and were quite interested in the various birds we saw. When they finally tired their parents hoisted them into back packs.



We made a stop at the interpretive center where there were kid friendly activities and much needed rest rooms.

There were wild blackberries and a wide variety of wild flowers along the trails. Here are some of my first flower closeups:

Queen Anne's Lace

Bull Thistle

Bull Thistle

Everlasting Pea

Everlasting Pea

There were lots of wild blackberries. You can see from the green ones pictured here that taking a walk in the Arcata Marsh in a week or two will be a delicious adventure.

Here are some that were already ripe and quite tasty.

Traveling

The alarm went off at 4:45 AM. It’s my mother’s alarm clock, one I purchased for her after my father died and she had trouble waking up. For years, he was her alarm clock, never allowing her to sleep much past 7 AM. Once he was gone she began to have real trouble getting up at all. Part of that, I believe, was depression. On the other hand, she may have always wanted to sleep later than 7 but was aware my father needed her company.

My mom had trouble hearing a conventional alarm clock, something I’m very familiar with. Once I take my hearing aids out at bedtime, the world is a very quiet place. So, I bought her a clock aptly named “Sonic Boom.” I’m not sure she ever used it and as we were clearing out her apartment last June, I claimed it.

I’m invariably awake every morning by 6 AM at the latest. Most days I’m up having my coffee before 5:30. Today, in order to make a 6:30 plane to California, I had to be up at 4:45 AM. Having to be up that early always causes some anxiety. I usually don’t hear the regular alarm clock. I can rely on Dick, but I thought it would be an opportunity to try the Sonic Boom to see how effective it is. The alarm clock not only has a very loud alarm; it also connects to the bedside light, causing it to flash off and on at the selected time.

I am happy to report the clock worked well. The alarm sounded and the light flashed. It woke me up. I don’t know if it also awoke our upstairs neighbor. It was pretty loud if I heard it without my hearing aids.

The flight from Newark to San Francisco left on time in spite of heavy rain. I think it was the first time I’ve been on a large plane flown by a woman. The flight was uneventful and arrived in SF on time. I had a window seat and once we were out of the cloudy, wet New York area, the views were amazing. It’s so interesting to see how the landscape changes as you travel west across the continent.

I’m now waiting for the connecting flight to Eureka/Arcata. I had hoped to post live, but the free local wi-fi does not seem to be working and T-Mobile put me through such an ordeal to get a one hour pass that I gave up. Every time I filled out the form, it was rejected for some minor reason. T-Mobile then totally cleared the form expecting me to start over. Even with auto fill, it just wasn’t worth the trouble.

When I wasn’t looking out the window, I was working on knitting projects. I took some progress pictures in the airport. Carlos is so close to being finished:

And, Laughing Carrots is really coming along:

My goal is to finish those two and Oriental Lily before it’s time to fly home.

Last Day on the AT

Sisters at the Wintturi Shelter

Enjoying Lunch at the Shelter

I had asked my nephew Matthew to do an AT section with me while I was in Vermont. He was free the last day of the conference. My sister and brother-in-law asked to join us. I decided the section from Green Gate Road to Vermont 12 would work well because the guide book stated there was a 400 foot elevation gain if one walked from south to north. The elevation diagram on the map showed a climb at the very beginning of the hike and then a long, gradual walk down to Route 12. The section is near Woodstock, VT, not that far from Matt's home in NH.

We met in downtown Woodstock, shuttled the cars and walked up an old woods road to access the AT. It was a bit of a climb up to the trail and the insects were out in force so we stopped to catch our breath and apply insect repellent. Soon we were at the ridge line and saw the first blaze. We continued to climb, passed a lookout rock that didn't have much of a view and then started down toward the Wintturi Shelter, about .2 mile off the trail. It was time for lunch and we spent about a half hour eating and relaxing.

According to the guidebook, the shelter was built in 1994 to replace an older structure with the same name. It is named for longtime trail maintainer Mauri Wintturi and is maintained by the Green Mountain Club. It has wooden sheathing and a metal roof and would be a dry spot to spend the night. The notes on the wall are distances to spots on the trail both north and south. Every shelter has a notebook where hikers make comments or leave messages for those who might be a day or two behind them. I always like to make a note myself to commemorate the fact that I stopped there.

Leaving the shelter we expected a 3.8 mile gradual downhill walk to Vermont Route 12. At least that's what the guidebook said. Much of the walk was downhill, but near the end there were three sizable "bumps" which required uphill pushes just when we were getting tired. We were rewarded by some good views of Mt. Ascutney at the top of one of them, but Virginia in particular, felt betrayed by the guide book. And she had every right to feel that way.

We did finish and were fortunate that it did not rain on us. Here we are entering the parking lot at the end of the trail.

Virginia and Tom crossing the bridge to the parking lot

In front of the signpost in the parking lot at Route 12

Total mileage for the day: 6.1, 5.4 AT miles.

Photos from Vermont

When I got home today and got everything unpacked I discovered the downloading cord for the camera in a pocket of the camera bag. It was a relief to find it but a disappointment to realize I had it with me the whole time and could have done more blogging with photos while I was in Vermont. Oh, well...

Here are two photos of houses in Castleton. On the main street there was one historic home after another, all of them beautifully maintained.



Both of them look as if they are from the Revolutionary era. I've always wondered what it must have been like to live in a small town during that time. These homes seem to be quite substantial, owned by people of means. Still, it must have been hard to live in such a remote place particularly in the winter.

Here are some photos taken in the dining hall.

We lined up here to get the main course. Usually the line stretched out the door to the dining room.

This is the salad bar which was very good.


The main dining room was large and there was an attached sun room with additional seating space. Both rooms became incredibly noisy when full and it was hard for me to follow conversations.

I had most of my meals with old friends from the Mountain Club of Maryland. Some of these women hiked sections of the trail with me earlier this decade and it was a real pleasure to visit with them at mealtime.

After a few days in the noisy main dining hall we discovered there was a room off to the side that few people knew existed. It was so much easier to hear each other that we made this our regular meeting place for breakfast and dinner.

My accommodations, in Adams dormitory, were comfortable, but a bit strange. I was assigned to a suite with four double rooms. I had a room to myself and there were two men, also with their own rooms. There was a common living room and a common bathroom. The bathroom had two toilet stalls, two sinks and two showers. The showers had a common dressing room. None of us could understand how this assignment had been made so I went over to the registration desk to inquire. I was told that couples had requested to room together and the assignments began to get complicated so they just put everyone in rooms randomly. Fortunately the two men in my suite were respectful and we were able to give each other privacy particularly in the shower. Adams seemed to be the only dorm without a working elevator. I didn't mind climbing to the third floor but getting all the luggage in and out on the first and last days was a chore.

The dorm room was standard issue, not very different from the one I had in college back in the early sixties. It did have internet access so I was able to use my laptop.

I've noticed that beds in dorms now are raised allowing for storage room beneath them. The closet and drawer space was rather limited.

While it is good to be home, it was a wonderful conference. I'm really looking forward to the next one in 2011 in Emory, Virginia.

Various

I had intended to blog regularly while here in Vermont at the Appalachian Trail Conservancy meeting but when I unpacked I discovered I had forgotten the cord for downloading photos from the camera to the computer. What a bummer. As a result, I haven't been very motivated to take pictures.

It's been a good meeting, at Castleton State College in Castleton, Vermont. It's a pleasant enough campus although there is a lot of construction going on. The most annoying aspect of this is the constant beeping of the back-up alarms on the various pieces of machinery. Work starts at around 7 AM and today, at least, is still going on at 5:10 PM. It's been great to see old friends, particularly the women from Maryland who hiked with me when I was completing Pennsylvania, West Virginia and parts of Virginia. I ran into a man who hiked the Tour du Mont Blanc with us all those many years ago and the sister of a Whiting neighbor who lives in Wisconsin. I only see her at these biennial events.

I had registered for a different trail segmant every day except Monday. Saturday, on a hike designated moderate, with a steep uphill climb at the outset, I developed symptoms of heat stroke about a mile in. There was a doctor in the group who stayed with me, helping to cool me down, while the group continued on without us. Ultimately we returned to our cars and drove back to the campus. That was a disappointment. The next day, on another section with a similar elevation gain, the leader went more slowly and I was able to complete the hike. The weather was a bit cooler and less humid, but I wasn't moving along as quickly as I did last year. I think it's a result of my not keeping up with an exercise regimen.

Monday was the biennial meeting. Afterward I went biking on the Delaware and Hudson rail trail with a group. We biked down to Poultney, had some ice cream and biked back.

There has been quite a bit of rain in Vermont this summer and the trails are very muddy. I decided not to hike again because of my lack of stamina (didn't want to be holding other hikers up) and because I was tired of the mud. I've been taking a power walk each day on the rail trail and then spending time knitting and listening to books on my Ipod. I finished The White Tiger by Avarind Adiga and Made in the USA by Billie Letts.

I've got about ten inches done on the body of the Laughing Carrots sweater and I'm about ready to do the waffle trim before I start the carrot pattern and I was drawn back to the pink charity sweater for some reason. I've finished the cuff on one sleeve, almost completed the garter stitch edging on the body and am also working on the second sleeve (both at the same time--don't ask--it's knitting ADD). I don't have too much to finish on the Carlos growling dog sweater and the sleeves need finishing on the Oriental Lily dress. Carlos and Oriental Lily need to be finished before I go to Cali on July 31. I just can't seem to focus on one project at a time but I do ultimately get everything done.

No photos to post because of the missing cord. I'll get some up when I get home.

Tomorrow I'm meeting my sister, brother-in-law and nephew to hike a section of the AT over near Woodstock. Going south to north, which is my preferred direction, it's only 400 feet of elevation gain. Since I did 1500 on Sunday, albeit near the back of the pack, I should be able to manage. I'm really looking forward to seeing them.

Then it's time to head home.