Papal intervention

Despite some weather in the area, we made great time and arrived in Philadelphia early, only to be immediately told by ground control to park beside the runway.  Today was the Pope's visit to Philly and we knew that he was scheduled to leave slightly before we arrived, but between our early arrival and some delays on the Papal side, he was still on the ground and this meant all planes were ordered to stop where they were.  By luck we were stopped adjacent to the Pope's plane and my window had a perfect view of the American Airlines jet the Pope had chartered as his motorcade drove up.  I watched them load (too far away to actually see the Pope), taxi away, and take off on one of the far runways.  Yet, we still sat there.  Apparently the Vice President was also at the airport having met with the Pope, and we were now waiting for Air Force Two to take off, which it eventually did in spectacular fashion on the runway only a short distance outside my window, in fact our plane shook slightly as it whizzed by.  Now we are rolling again . . . an unexpected ending to our trip.

Over the bubbles and through the woods

Our kayaking friends finally reach
the far shore of Jordan Pond.

One last chance to hike Acadia.  Our flight leaves from Bangor at 6pm, so we check out, store our bags, and jump on a park bus once more.  We head to Jordan Pond.  Not to have pop-overs, which sadly I will miss out on this trip, but to hike around the pond and over the Bubble Mountains beyond.  We set out on the pond trail and are surprised that it is almost entirely planks.  Not smooth boardwalk that would be handicap accessible, but two plank wide balance beams almost all the way.  The ground is not that rough, so I can only assume this is to prevent erosion.  For most of the hike we see noone save two kayakers who are fighting the wind and quite a few white caps in the pond next to us.  In fact, they may be losing the battle as we manage to keep up and eventually pass them as we walk . . .  It makes us grateful that we didn't go with "Plan A" today, which was in fact to rent sea kayaks.  We meet more hikers as we reach the far side of the pond, but quickly duck onto the side trail over the bubbles, two bulbous mountains that stand watch over Jordan Pond.  One of the Bubbles is home to the famous Bubble Rock, a perched boulder that has looked primed to fall over the edge for centuries.  The trail we are on goes up a saddle between the two and we also do the side trails to summits of both North and South Bubble before heading down the other side to Eagle Lake, and onto a carriage path that ends our journey at Bubble Lake just missing the bus by a 30 seconds.  So we got an extended rest as we waited 40 minutes for the next bus.  We roll back into town, catch up with Kat and Kathy (our friends from the Schooner picture) eat lunch at the Side Street Cafe for what TripAdvisor rates as Bar Harbor's second best lobster roll (#1 was closed today).  They were excellent and I doubt #1 could have been any better.  Out of time, we catch a ride to Bangor for our flight home.

On top of one of the Bubbles . . .
probably South Bubble.

Bubble Rock.

And we're climbing the staircase to . . .

With a handful of daylight hours to spare after the cruise, Bruce and I set out for a nearby hike.  We caught the Bus to Sieur de Mont and headed up Dorr Mountain.  The trail is almost straight up with a staircase carved directly out of the mountain's granite bedrock acting as the trail for most of the >1000 ft ascent (my fitbit registered over 100 flights of stairs during the ascent).  We reached the top where we got great views of the Bay (including the next cruise on the schooner) and of nearby Cadillac Mountain.  At this point it was nearing dark, so we weighed the several options: head down and back up a saddle to Cadillac Mountain where we'd have to hitch a ride (no buses up there), or three other trails that could return us to Sieur de Mont.  We opted for the North Ridge trail which ended up being a 30+ degreee decent through a boulder field, which very quickly left the ridge top onto the east side of the mountain where the sun had already set.  We somehow managed to avoid limb breakage in our dark stumble down and made our way back to the bus stop just as darkness fell at the base.  We took a brief tour of the gardens where I once again viewed the "bird home" that we first discovered back in 2004, and then waited in pitch darkness and building cold until the last bus arrived to take us back to town.

View from Dorr Mountain, including our schooner on its next cruise.

Schooner Cruise

Under sail.

Conference ended after lunch today.  We hooked up with a group of ten plus Delaware people from the conference and jumped on a schooner for a cruise around Frenchman's Bay.  A National Park ranger was along for the ride and gave us all the low-down on the islands and their stories.  Including tiny Rum Island, completely shielded from view of town and for which you can guess its role during prohibition.  Not many animal sightings, a bald eagle several hundred yards away, a pod of harbor porpoises, and assorted seabirds, but the cruise was nice and it was good to see one of these tall ships being preserved and manned.

Our group heading out to sea

Wandering the ocean bottom

I'm so bad at selfies!

Our conference is at the Bar Harbor Club.  Immediately behind the club is Bar Island, which at every low tide becomes attached to the mainland when the water uncovers a large section of seafloor.  I've never actually made it out there at low tide, so today when I noticed during a break that it was low tide I couldn't resist, so I slipped away and walked along the bottom of Frenchman's Bay in my conference clothes (very appropriate).  I envision a Rockefeller probably doing this same activity in a tuxedo at some point, today even in a polo shirt I'm definitely the most over-dressed person out today.  Mussels, barnacles and beautifully encrusted rocks are everywhere and despite my expectation, relatively little smell.  A nice escape for a few minutes.

Scooting Acadia

This morning Bruce and I got up early and were sitting outside a local outfitter when they opened.  We were picking up our motor scooters for a half day of cruising the park.  After a safety video and a brief checkout ride, we tore off at our governor-limited speed of 35 mph and headed for the Acadia loop road.  Since the park speed limit is 25, scooters may actually be an optimal way to see Acadia.  We drove the loop all the way around to Jordan Pond, stopping occasionally to soak in the views.  Jordan Pond restaurant was crowded as usual, so we grabbed some quick snacks in the gift shop and got back on the road.  We were warned at the rental place that Cadillac Mountain was not recommended, but up to us, so of course we took our scooters to the top of the highest mountain on the east coast of North America.  The ride was not bad at all, so not sure what they were worried about.  We enjoyed the views from the false summit (see 2011 post) and headed back down.  Realizing we still had plenty of time left, we backtracked and left the park visiting the towns of Seal Harbor and Northeast Harbor.  Before completing the loop and rolling back into town exactly on time and fortunately just before my gas gauge reached "E" (*wipes sweat from brow*).  Conference starts in a couple of hours, so lunch and a brief break and then off to work.

My noble stead.
I named him "Dunkey"

Cruising the loop.

Trodding the Beehive

Met up with my friend Bruce from work and jumped on a plane to Bangor, Maine this morning.  We're headed to Bar Harbor for a conference, but the Maine attraction is nearby Acadia National Park.  It is my third visit to Acadia and its one of those places I can never get enough of.  We made it into town just after noon and immediately made our way to the waterfront for a lobster lunch.  It would seem extravagant anywhere else, but we were far from the only ones doing it today.  Bruce got extra points for managing a lobster tail squirt that was so spectacular as to attract comments from nearby tables.  He was of course bib-less and got soaked.

Acadia has an excellent bus system which is absolutely free (sponsored by LL Bean).   Not only does it make it easy to see the park without a car, but it also reduces traffic and makes hiking easier as you don't need to do a round trip, but can do point to point hikes.  I think its a great model for all national parks, even if a corporate sponsor can't make it free.  Our waitress at lunch had recommended we do the Beehive hike, so we headed to Sand Beach and set out.  Beehive is a combination between a hike and a climb and several areas are traversed clinging to iron rungs mounted in the stone face.  The hike is fairly short but strenuous, and the views are definitely worthwhile.  Looking up from the ground it seems impossible to find a hikeable route up this face that wouldn't be a technical climb, but its there.  We took a brief rest on top and then took off on a hike around the Bowl and then to the summit of nearby Gorham Mountain before making our way back down to the coast and hiking back through Thunderhole and finally back to Sandy Beach; where we caught the last bus to Bar Harbor as the sun set.

The beehive from the base.  We climbed this face.

Still stinking of hiking and half-day old lobster (its a miracle we didn't get confronted by a seafood-loving Bear on the trail), we found a seat on the patio at Jalapeno's for excellent Maine-inspired (seafood) Mexican dishes.

My day as a Shockey

A's face painting after
the big race

This morning we woke up early, jumped in the car and headed to Stone Mountain Park to participate in the Children's Miracle Network walk sponsored by K's work.  The kids had fun and ran a significant portion of the "walk" and were also excited to get their faces painted during the after-festivities.  We then jumped back in the car and returned to Fayetteville for soccer matches.  Both kids had games and it was really special to have the opportunity to see them play and cheer them on.  I even got to watch L score a goal.  A also played well, although he was obviously a wee bit tired from his exuberant running of the 5k :-).  In any case Unc Shawn was very proud and hopes to get to see the play again in the future.  Afterward, we met Cyndal and Josh (who I haven't seen for several years) for excellent tacos downtown and then retired to the house to catch up.  A great visit, but far too short as tomorrow I make the drive back to DE.  I'll have to do it again soon.

L dribbling on the sideline

The beach of my youth

Back from Spain Saturday pm and Sunday morning I made the drive from Delaware to Edisto Beach, SC (yes I'm crazy) to join Mom and Aunt Joyce and Uncle Bill for some beach time.  Edisto is the beach we would go to every year when I was a kid, but I haven't been back in probably 10 years (since I lived in Charleston).  Everything seems so familiar, some names have changed but its still the same quiet family beach.  I've always liked the fact that Edisto has resisted the commercialization and hotels that characterize so many other beaches.  Almost everyone on Edisto is staying in a house which keeps the beaches from ever getting too crowded.  This time of year, its even quieter, and easy to find a near-vacant stretch of sand to call your own any time of the day.  Its been a good stay catching up with family, grabbing a meal at the Old Post Office, doing some fishing, and even a little super-muddy shrimping.

Yes, the flash was that bright . . . Thanks Joyce.  ;-)

Earlier today, I made the drive to my home town, Aiken, to see the rest of the family.  It was good to see everyone if even for a brief time this evening.  I even got time to grab a few rounds at the Aiken Brewing Company with Pat, and take a nice walk around downtown.  Aiken is definitely evolving and changing, but it still manages to keep the same character that makes it a great place.  I hope it can continue to hold on to its identity.

Tomorrow I will drive to Fayetteville, GA to visit Jes and family.  I can't wait!

Finding the Bear

It seemed like everyone I told that I went to Madrid, asked me if I saw the Bear and Tree statue . . . so apparently I missed the essence of Madrid during my random one day tour.  Today I am catching a late afternoon train back to Madrid in prep for my flight tomorrow morning, I'll get in about an hour before dark, so I decide I must locate this most quintessential Madrid experience.  I quickly check into my hotel and start walking.  Its a long walk, mostly up hill, but not too strenuous.  Eventually I hone in on the plaza that hosts the statue, I turn a corner and it is . . . filled with more than a thousand people, many protesting various things including pro and con Catalan independence (which is garnering a lot of attention at the moment).  I walk the length of the plaza and nothing: Where's the Bear?  I look at google maps and it places it very near where I entered the plaza, so I turn around and start looking.  Finally I spot this diminutive statue (4 feet tall?) perched on a small pedestal behind some protesters.  Don't get me wrong, its a nice statue, but I was expecting something bigger.  I am reminded of a previous experience: looking for the Mannekin-Pis statue/fountain in Brussels.  Again the symbol of the city and in that case a near life size statue of 3 or 4 year old child relieving himself into a tiny pool and tucked away in a back alley.  Perhaps centering your city's identity around an under-sized statue is a source of eccentric pride among European cities.  Copenhagen did have that hard-to-find mermaid statue.  I'll followup on future trips . . .

In any case, that's all for my Spain checklist.  Adios España.

The plaza hosting to the Bear.

Found it.  It looks bigger than it was.

Flamenco!

The conference's social event tonight was a flamenco performance.  A four person group: guitarist, vocalist, female dancer, and male dancer.  It was a small venue, which made for a very intimate feel.  The energy was amazing, but what I really didn't expect was how loud the dancing would be, so much stomping.  They were all very good, but the visual flair of the female dancer stole the show.  I was very impressed and would definitely go again.

Seville Olympics?

My conference started today, so this morning after a massive hotel provided breakfast buffet, I set out on the half hour walk to the venue.  The conference is located on the Isla de Cartuja.  An interesting thing about Cartuja: its the site of an Olympic Stadium for the Seville Olympic Games . . . which you've never heard of because they never occurred.  I guess building a stadium seemed like a good way to attract the Olympics, but then their Olympic bids failed in 2004 and 2008 and apparently the stadium has gotten hardly any use:  A UEFA Cup Final, four international friendlies, and a handful of big concerts.  Just below the stadium is the proposed site of the Olympic village which has since been converted into a science and technology park.  It also had hosted a world's fair in 1992.  This makes for a weird mix of science-themed street names, Expo-style art exhibitions, and custom manhole covers.  In any case one of the science park buildings was hosting the conference, so these elements all add up to an interesting morning walk . .  . feels kinda like a science theme-park.

Spanish EPCOT?

Shade art of some sort?

And the manhole covers . . . they were
everywhere. (not always upside down).

Yes, they have their own rocket.

Siesta

At this point I'm very hungry, and I make my way back to a sidewalk table near the Cathedral and order some tapas.  My food is very quickly prepared.  A squid dish that seems to be three whole and fairly large squid with an inked aioli and Seville's signature potato dish which is a bit like home fries with a spicy ketchup sauce.  Very good, but almost immediately as I start eating I notice the place starting to close around me.  It is almost 4pm, and apparently I am witnessing the beginning of Siesta.  As I learn, Siesta here is ~4-8pm and seems to apply to pretty much any business, but especially restaurants.  In fact the locals often eat dinner at 10 or 11pm and seemingly enforce this practice by closing their restaurants to prevent tourists from eating earlier.

Food is not the only area where Spain's clock seems to tick to its own beat.  Spain is due South of England, however has decided to use Central European time (like Germany), so the sun is still visible well after 9pm even now and there is light in the sky after 10pm.  Maybe somewhat explains the late meals . . . but not quite.  Even if the schedule is a bit unorthodox there's not much to complain about Spanish cuisine.  Varied and delicious.

Searching for the Barber

Checked into my new digs at the Hotel NH Plaza de Armas, I decide to head out and see Seville.  I walk south along the river.  Not far away I pass the Plaza de toros de la Real Maestranza de Caballería de Sevilla (the Seville Bull Fighting Ring) and accompanying museum.  I'm a bit torn.  I'm not really on board with this particular form of entertainment, however as with most things, I feel the need to learn more so I can be more informed.  I enter and book a walking tour.  The building is very impressive, apparently it is the oldest active ring in Spain and the building took 132 years complete.  No fights are scheduled for the next couple of weeks.  The tour guide gives a very good background on the fight and traditions.  She is very careful to talk about how the best fighters are scored highly for finding the most humane methods to dispatch the bulls of the day.  She also talks about how the bull fighting corporation is well-known for its charitable causes.  All this seems to be a well-orchestrated attempt to place the sport in a good light.  She does gloss over the fact that by the time the matador quickly dispatches the animal, it has already been weakened by lancing and pinning by a series of banderilleros and picadores.  I kept an open-mind and I appreciate the tradition and pageantry, but its hard to not view this as a legitimized form of animal mistreatment.

The royal box at the Seville Bull Ring.

Seville Cathedral entryway detail

I walk onward to the south-ish.  Seville is hot, thermometers are reading 36C (~97F) today, but no humidity.  Its perfectly comfortable in the shade, but in the sun you are sweating profusely before you realize you are hot.  I find myself choosing my route based more on the amount of shade a street can afford rather than any set destination. Regardless I quickly find myself at the Cathedral, which after the Moorish occupation, was built over the mosque as the "largest church in Christendom".  It has an interesting gothic architecture, with unusually large flying buttresses, which I suspect are awkwardly dimensioned due to the desire to obscure the Moorish elements of the underlying building.  This part of the city is busy with street restaurants, but I decide to pass on eating to explore further.  I wander through the gardens surrounding the Alcazar, the former home of the Moorish Kings.  The Moorish influences are everywhere in Seville, but mainly as accents.  In this area it really has the feel of what I think Morocco may be like (which is after all less than 100 miles away).  Orange trees line the streets and I see homes that seem to have interior courtyards.

Orange trees line the plaza behind the Alcazar

No barbers witnessed, but all very cool (or hot rather).

Seville-bound

I'm onboard the AVE train from Madrid to Seville.  I scored a seat on the quiet car with no one in my row.  Time to stretch out and watch the Spanish countryside blur by at 275 km/hr (170 mph).  Nice ride!

My cross-country high-speed chariot

Madrid

AC room

After the typical lose a night, get thrown into the next day NA to Europe flight, I arrived in Madrid this morning.  I eventually made my way onto a city center bound train (two trains in a row never turned up), and here I was.  Arriving at Atocha station, I had to navigate what must be the world's largest taxi stand (there had to be 200 taxis lined up), and in fact circumnavigated the sizeable building before figuring out how to exit onto street-level.  Luckily the weather today was beautiful: sunny,  70's (or mid/low 20's depending where you are from), just an occasional cloud.  I checked into the AC Hotel near Atocha  AC is Marriott's new brand, I was surprised at the ultramodern room, glassed in shower in the bedroom with 27 shower nozzles/heads/rain makers.  Very nice.  Unfortunately this is my one day to explore Madrid, so I wanted to make the most of the time I had left.  Already tired, I decided to take a quick shower to wake myself up and head out on foot. 

Art in the Reina Sofia Terrace

I had a general direction where "interesting stuff" might be, but kind of just took it in stumble-upon mode.  First Stumble-upon was the Reina Sofia, part of the Spanish National Art Museum.  Much smaller than its much bigger sibling the Prada (which I knew I didn't have time for), the Reina Sofia has more specialized exhibits and is famous as the home of Picasso's Guernica.  I toured two of the three permanent exhibit floors, and was duly impressed by the size and number of paintings by masters for being Madrid's "Other" art museum.  Many Dali's and Picasso's, and a handful of Van Gogh's, Gaugin's, Manet's, and various other Spanish and non-Spanish artists.  The Guernica itself was impressive as billed.  Its a huge masterwork taking up a wall, and there are many subtleties to the painting that were never apparent to me in pictures, such as the way undersketches had been allowed to come through in places providing additional layers to the work.

Guernica (stock pic . . .no cameras allowed).

I then marched up, up, up the hill in the general direction of the royal palace.  My random walk afforded me some views of family life living in old Madrid, kid's playing football in the street, dogs running around, and grandparents chasing grandchildren.  It was a very authentic experience and probably not one that is found on the typical tourist routes.  I eventually walked into the Mayor's Square, which was surrounded on four sides by an impressive wrap of government buildings.  It reminded me a lot of a similar square I saw in Brussels a few years ago. 

Town hall on the Plaza Mayor

I then continued on my way and found the Palacio Real (Royal Palace).  At first I stumbled on the side of the building and even that was quite impressive, but I eventually discovered how to access the front and it immediately struck me the similarity of this building to another Habsburg palace I visited last year in Vienna.  In fact they must have been modeled after one another so as not to confuse the royal family.  Slowly I wound my way back down the hill, and made it back to the hotel just seconds before I completely collapsed of exhaustion.  I think its going to be room service tonight, then sleep!

Palacio Real -  Habsburg palace number 3 for me

Cathedral near Palace

A neat market I found

España

Today I'm headed across the pond for a quick trip to Spain to attend a conference.  I'm hoping to have a little time in Madrid and Seville to tourist.  I'll brush off my three major words of Spanish: cerveza, banos, and champiñones (as in 'NO champiñones, por favor').