I heard part of the track “Twilight World” while driving the other day and wanted to hear it again, but when I got to the iTunes Store I ended up buying the whole album.
There’s an app for that
Although it’s free in cash terms, I’m sure I pay a hefty price in privacy to use Waze as my navigation app. Nonetheless, it earned its keep the other night by steering me around a big accident on the highway.
Carmel, IN growing
This is about the 5th time I’ve stayed in Carmel over the past few years. The whole area has been under construction. This time, I got to take advantage of a new underpass that let me cross to the other side of the highway much more easily. The Mormon Temple presides not only over some cornfields and a few houses, but also over an impressive and still under-construction development of shops and stores.
The whole shopping area is anchored by a ginormous grocery store, called Market District. Owned by the Giant Eagle chain, it has some of the best features of a Whole Foods, like a sitdown restaurant and absolutely stunning produce section (itself the size of a normal grocery store). It also has some of the best features of a Home Depot, including a footprint the size of a small village, and 25-foot ceilings. It’s hard to know whether such a store makes sense, but if bigger is better, this is absolutely awesome.
Sailor take warning, take 2
The dawn breaks over the award-winning French King Bridge in Erving, MA, as I was en route to the airport.
An ill he cannot cure
Samuel Hahnemann, founder of the homeopathic school of medicine, has only a stone bench to offer this patient.
Toiletine
Toiletine, Greenfield, MA, as seen through a stainy, rainy train pane. Toiletine was a popular patent medicine in the patent medicine era.
Yeah we planned it
You mean your shoes DON’T match the in-flight magazine???
Proper
Whatever else is wrong in the world, it’s refreshing and comforting to see that some people still dress to travel.
That’s close enough, thank you
On the way out of Indianapolis last week, we got caught behind a motorcade, complete with energetically swerving SUVs, flashing lights, the works.
There was a lot going on in Indy that day, between the NFL draft and the final paroxysms of the Cruz campaign. We don’t know for sure, but we guessed that we were following Carly Fiorina and/or Heidi Cruz. Whoever it was, we were glad that the private aviation turnoff was a couple exits before the main airport exit so we could drive normally.
Indianapolis heavy metal
Iron and brass, anyway
On my morning walk yesterday, I was impressed with the variety of access covers around downtown.
And while Brattleboro opted for Pamrex, the Hoosiers went for Swiveloc…
This one has a little more history:
And they even have a steam system like Hartford!
I happened on a Starbucks and went in. Turned out to be in the lobby of the Art Deco masterpiece Circle Tower, with amazing marble walls and brass sculpted panels by Joseph Willenborg.
Stormy weather
I’m in Indianapolis this week, and I narrowly avoided being in the same county as Donnie Trump last night. Even seeing him would have been less scary than seeing this tornado. Luckily, however, I didn’t see either one.
The emergency alerts came to all our phones, the building sirens went off, and somewhere a few miles away, this happened. Kinda exciting, but now get back to work… spring in Indiana.
Mt. Monadnock
Sherry and Jody invited me to join their hike up Mt. Monadnock the other day. My first time up this nearby landmark.
The trail starts out with an easy walk up a dirt road, then turns to forest trail and gets increasingly rocky.
For the last mile or so, you’re just scrambling up a stone staircase. And back down, which was harder on my old knees.
But the payoff was grand: true 360 degree views, and a rare interspecies gathering: grizzled H. Patagoniia lounged peacefully in the sun with puffy-vested H. Northfaciensis and even a few chattering H. Lululemoniae (although these latter seemed quite chilled by the cold wind blowing over the summit).
White River Junction
Yesterday we drive an hour north to White River Junction, partly to see Vermont Salvage and its supposedly extensive collection of front doors (meh) and partly because it was a beautiful spring day.
The town center is pretty sleepy, but we had an unexpectedly good lunch at the Tiptop Cafe, the knitting shop keeps busy, and I bagged an access cover I hadn’t seen before.
And a side of Lipitor, please
Super-delicious breakfast at the Early Girl cafe.
Biltmore gardens
We didn’t really stop to tour the gardens, but they are obviously amazing. In this season, it’s a sea of tulips.
Brattleboro Adventure – the Auckland Edition 