Maine at Last!

The trip continues to go well as the weather has cooled and we are now in New England where the Celtics, Patriots and Red Sox rule. (Sorry Yankee fans). We left our friends in northern New Jersey and bravely headed for Manhattan on Interstate 95. The roads here are about 30 years past needing to be repaired, and they get very heavy traffic 24/7. We were buzzing along, dodging semis, buses, dump trucks, etc. when we crossed the George Washington Bridge into Manhattan. We were thrilled as we saw the wonderful skyline, and I received a second thrill as I felt a big daddy long-legs crawling on my neck! I somehow managed to stay in my lane as I handed it to Gloria who kindly deposited it out the window. We continued on through the Bronx and into Connecticut where the gas prices are at least 20 cents higher per gallon than anywhere else, much to our surprise and disappointment. Who would have thought that we'd be happy to see $4.09 a gallon?
Connecticut is beautiful with winding roads and picturesque small towns, including Mystic Seaport where the great movie "Mystic Pizza" starring Julia Roberts in her first film was produced. We found the restaurant, enjoyed the pizza with its' secret recipe and arrived at 5 PM for our tee time at Elmridge Golf Course in Pawcatuck, a few miles from the Rhode Island border. They were having their usual Wednesday afternoon tournament, so we couldn't get on any earlier. We just barely finished our round before dark, despite seeing a cute little furry black animal with a white stripe down its back cross right in front of us.
Rhode Island was next, our smallest state, but a very nice one. We visited Newport with its massive "summer cottages," and toured Cornelius Vanderbilt's "The Breakers." This little place has about 42 bedrooms and the walls are adorned with 24 carat gold plated everything -- it's a real showplace to the excesses of the late 1800's. We drove a few miles north to Portsmouth, the second oldest town in the state, where I played golf while Gloria ran errands. It's on the eastern part of the state, the true Rhode Island, as the western part of the state is called Providence Plantation. We learned the correct state name is Rhode Island and Providence Plantation, which is ironic because our smallest state has the longest name.
Montaup Country Club is semi-private and a nice old course with a couple of really pretty holes along the bay. I teamed up with a fine older gentleman who is an attorney and teaches at Roger Williams University. We had a few laughs together as neither one of us played very well, but it didn't matter as the day was beautiful, the ocean clear blue, and the heat wave was over. Gloria picked me up and mentioned she had discovered Flo's Clam Shack--would I like some fried clams for dinner? Not wanting to disappoint her, I agreed, so we ordered a big takeout bag of delicious fried clams, then added fresh fried scallops, oysters and onion rings. It was a real test of our gallbladders, but absolutely scrumptious! We decided the food in the South was good, but this was even better.
Heading north to Massachusetts, we stopped off at Louisa May Allcott's home in Concord, just around the corner from Ralph Waldo Emerson's and Henry David Thoreau's places. The traffic was terrible until we got past Interstate 93, then it was clear sailing to Maine where we joyfully met up with Gloria's 89 year old mother Janet Reimer and her brother Michael. We spent yesterday relaxing, writing, riding bikes around the quaint old country roads and then went out for a lobster dinner last night. For research purposes we had to try this New England delicacy which was wonderfully rich and buttery, the best food of all. Unfortunately, the cost of lobster has risen so much that you have to check in with a loan officer before you order, so we may not get another chance to research it.
Next golf will be in Fairbanks on June 24th, as we leave for Oregon on Tuesday, the 17th, then fly to Anchorage on the 20th, take a shuttle van to Fairbanks on the 23rd, then fly back to Oregon on the 26th. We have an 8 PM tee time and should finish around midnight, but it's the "land of the midnight sun," so we should have plenty of daylight. We're bringing our baseball caps with mosquito nets just in case -- as a friend of ours said who once lived there - "Hope the mosquitoes don't slow down the ball too much."

February 20 -- Our plans are progressing, we're getting excited, and Glenn has been seen with a crazy look in his eyes like Mr. Toad from his wild ride. Gloria is being extra patient with him. After all, he's retired, sort of. We're getting the 21 foot Roadtrek ready, Glenn bought a new used golf bag and he's busy planning the route. We'll stop in to every state, play a round of golf, explore the town, then write a book about the whole experience, complete with ratings of the towns and golf courses. Of course we will also see friends and family along the way, go birding and jogging, and keep you up to date through this weblog. Some of the towns are well-known, including Cooperstown, New York, Branson, Missouri, and Fairbanks, Alaska. Some are not -- have you ever heard of Chuckey, Tennessee, Pawcatuck, Connecticut, or Worley, Idaho? You will if you follow our trail. Sounds like a lot of fun, so welcome aboard this 50 state roadie!

Hello!! Welcome to Our New Blog

Greetings from Glenn and Gloria

To our wonderful friends and family: Here's a picture from our last great adventure, a 2 1/2 month trip to Asia in Fall, 2007. You might just recognize this 14th century monument of love in the background -- The Taj Majal in Agra, India.
We're delighted to have you along on our next great adventure: a 50 state road trip with a planned round of golf in a smallish town with a nice golf course. We hope to leave in April, heading south to California and finishing in November with Hawaii. We'll camp along the way and already have plans for flights to Alaska and Hawaii. As they say in Wisconsin, hope you come with!