Name: Susie
Where Was I?
UPDATE (7/9): Thanks for the guesses. We went to Vermont. More details here in the comments. It will take me a few days to sort through all the pix and get more up on flickr. My flickr badge is still not welcome in my sidebar for some reason, so if you want to check for more photos, just click on any one posted here and it will take you to my flickr place. (I've never invited you to my flickr place before, have I? This is a new level of commitment for us.)
I'm baaaa-aaack. I promised y'all I'd show you some pix and see if you could guess where I went. Slight glitch in that plan. I used a new camera (a gift received over a year ago, and just now getting the energy/wherewithal to really try it) and I didn't know what I was doing, and I ended up with some really bad pix. In fact, I'm quite bummed out about it because we went to a very lovely place and the photos don't do it justice at all. I had the settings screwed up; I hope the new fancy camera will do better when I learn it better. As it stands now, I can take better pix with my 3.3 megapixel dinosaur camera, when I'm drunk, than I can with the new one. End of camera whine. It was a really nice vacation. WTF went along, but only overpowered me for one night and one afternoon. The rest of the time, I maintained the upper hand. So. Here's some of what we saw. You ever seen this place?
Some of the first things we noticed were the unusual (to us) road signs. This is a place where the signs are (mostly) clear and to the point:
OK, the above? That one tickled us. We had never seen it before, but Jif and I understood it, didn't think much of it, didn't comment. LG didn't get it, though:
LG: What is that a picture of?
Jif: What?
LG: They're telling us "do not run over . . ." something, but what is it we're not supposed to run over? What's the other thing on that sign, besides the car?
Jif: No, that's a cocktail. A martini. It means don't drink and drive.
LG: Oooohhhh. I thought it meant, like, don't run over your giant drink. Because if you do, you'll have to clean up the mess. And that is strictly enforced. The clean-up part, I mean.
There are LOTS of these where we went:
And quite a few places to do this:
And lovely farms with rolling hills:
This man made me cry on July 4th, because he read the entire Declaration of Independence, in a clear, passionate voice, and it was very moving. I'd never heard it read before. He said that in the 19th century, no July 4th celebration was complete without a reading of the Declaration. What a great tradition! How have I missed that? Why don't we have more of that?
The place where we went is rather well known for its cow products, among other things:
See the little enclosed porch that comes out over the river? We had lunch there! Beautiful and delicious. A famous potter and glass-blower has his shops there.
And this is a gorge. Gorge-ous. Near where we stayed.
Guesses? I'll tell you soon, and I'll put up more (sucky) pix as I get time. Missed you guys. Hope you had a good holiday. xxx
posted by Susie | 2:03 PM
39 heads are better than one . . .
I am so, so glad you got away. What a beautiful place! Yes, I think, especially now, it would be a wonderful tradition to read the Declaration of Independence to go along with the hot dogs and fireworks.
Looks like you had a wonderful vacation. Vermont? Connecticut? Massachusetts? Somewhere in New England? These pics certainly look great, in any case.
Rolling hills and historical gorge.
I'm thinking Blackwater Falls in West Virginia.
A reader with a strong voice reading the Declaration of Independence is a fine way to remember the birth of our nation.
MrsDoF
A famous potter has his shop there? You mean HARRY Potter? ;) Lame, I know, but I couldn't resist.
Owensboro, Kentucky! Or Montana maybe.
That's got Canada written all over it, but since they wouldn't be celebrating the 4th, I'll say it's somewhere near there... maybe Maine. Wherever it was, I'm so glad you had a nice time! Sorry about the camera difficulties -- that's so disappointing. But you'll have the memories all the same, and these photos at least are lovely! Happy Sunday, sis.
HI!
So nice to see you back. Your vacay looks lovely. I will not even try to guess the location as I am woefully ignorant of US scenery. But it looks beautiful. I am so happy you kept the upper hand of WTF and had a great time. Yay!
S
xxoo
The photos are fine, Susie. I can’t wait to see what you do after you’re more familiar with the camera.
The reading of the D. of I. on the 4th is one of the oldest traditions in the U.S. I’ve done it meself for years.
As for my guess on location: it looks like West Virginia but I’ll guess New England.
I'm so glad you had a nice vacation! I have no idea where you went. My thoughts were Minnesota or Wisconsin...but that's a pretty long trip, so I don't know...
The signs are hilarious! I especially like the "bad intersection" one and "this is NOT route 12!"
Yay you're back! I think the pictures are great and not at all sucky. Obviously I have the faintest idea where you went but it looks beautiful and I love the Moose Crossing sign. That's one I'd steal for the house... The closest we have to that here is 'ducks crossing' and that just makes me snigger.
htgt, thanks, it really was lovely. Too many kids don't even know what July 4th is all about -- the courage, the risks...
ortizzle, you're a smart cookie. Yep, somewhere in NE.
mrsDoF, WV would have been a lot closer, but nope, we headed north.
character builder, OK, I handed you that one on a silver platter :) Your portrait with the kitties is gorgeous. You're a supermodel.
mrB, your town looks like that? Lucky boy. Montana is my favorite place, so far. Didn't go there this time, though.
eclectic, we were closer to Canada than I realized, being rather geography-challenged.
kranki, nice to see you, too :)
ssnick, I always read the DofI to myself on Independence Day, but it occurred to me that I'd never heard it read aloud. Quite something.
ern, it was a long trip, but northeast. Those signs cracked us up, too. The intersection really was an odd one; and the "not Route 12" was after Rt. 12 made a sharp left turn; if you stayed straight, you ended up in this little neighborhood. The residents got tired of people stopping at their homes and asking "Am I still on Rt. 12?" so they passed the hat and bought this sign. At least that's what the guide book said. Too funny.
platy, no mooses(?) crossed while we were there, but I liked those signs, too.
My town looks EXACTLY like that, only without all the pretty scenery and with more intermittent yawns. We don't call it "Owensboring" for nuttin'.
See?:
http://tinyurl.com/2l6joz
Well, if it's not Wisconsin, then is it Maine? Wisconsin was my first guess, though. I'm glad you had a good time and that WTF was only a part-time companion.
Love you and I'm glad you're back. Happy Sunday, Sis!
I'm guessing New Hampshire. Rt. 12 goes through there...and dairy and cow products come from there. It looks beautiful wherever it was...and I can't wait to find out, cause I want to visit now!
bethel vermont
based on my mad google skilz
My guess is Connecticutt. Wherever, I'm glad you had such a great and relatively WTFless time.
No guesses here--just some photo advice. When you have pics that are less than picture-perfect, it's time to use an action or some sort of cross-processing technique--then they look Artsy. :)
Actually, I think your photos are great, and I'm excited that you finally broke out that new camera! Is that a cross in the photo of the rolling hills?
Next year, come to Philly for the Fourth. I believe they read the Declaration every year, and JP and I will come down and meet you.
Glad you got to go, and glad you're back! And those are lovely photos, if you ask me.
Hi Susie! Glad you got away and good to have you back. I'm guessing Connecticut.
I love your photos!
Have no idea where you went, but it was beautiful.
I'm thinking somewhere in Conneticut or New Hampshire...just guessing. ;)
Many of you are very close. Ortizzle was first to get it right. We stayed in Woodstock, VT. Incredibly beautiful place. The potter was Simon Pearce; the gorge is Quechee Gorge. Andrea, you do have mad skilz; the sign is a few miles north of Woodstock, in Bethel. The best clue was the "Billings" on the wagon where the Declaration orator is standing. That is the name of the farm/museum where we spent July 4th.
mrB, your town . . . uh . . . you need to come visit here:
http://tinyurl.com/26adl6
squirl, I love you, too. I thought of you while I was away. I think you'd like it there.
sometrouble, we went to NH; visited the Dartmouth campus, it's very close. You must go! If you plan to visit, email me, I'll tell you some spots to check out.
mrtl, close. I took a photo in your honor. I'll email it soon.
shawkey, that looked like a cross to me. There was nothing religious about the farm, and I could not find out how that formation was made, but yea, that's why I wanted the pic. I was SO disappointed in how all my pix turned out. Apparently is was a compression/resolution setting problem. I didn't even know about such things. On the display screen, colors were vivid, everything was sharp. I won't whine more, but I was really bummed. Once I saw how good things looked on the display, I didn't take backups with my old faithful camera, so I don't have much from the trip that I'm happy about. Must learn more. I like Philly; I haven't been to the Const. Museum, although LG has. I'd like to do that.
kalki, you're being too kind, but that's OK :)
katy, went through CT. :)
MoDis, you were very warm ;)
I was going to guess Vermont, just based on the cows. I was on the Ben and Jerry's mindset.
Those are beautiful pictures, and all I know, none of them look anything like where I am! :)
Happy belated 4th!
Woodstock, VT? Really?
I was thinking Branson. Looks just the same.
Those are bad photos? Jeepers. They look terrific to me. What a beautiful place. Glad you got to go. Thanks for sharing the pics.
The signs look like the Midwest. The bridge of course is New England. The moose ... Montana. The gorge and mountains looked like W. Va. So if you average all that out, you were somewhere in the middle of Lake Michigan.
I support the law of "Do not run over the Martini".
It looks like a great vacation.
Vermont, of course!
Glad to hear your holiday was good, and I think every US'ian should hear or read the Declaration of Independence on the fourth of July every year. We forget it's not just about bbq and fireworks.
Frankly the older I get the more the fireworks seem wasteful, irrelevant, uninteresting.
Yes I'm grouchy because we're still dealing with daily barrages of M80s and M100s at 3 am every morning in our neighborhood.]
I love your pictures.....they really look good to me.....but being a person with a fairly new camera it really does pay to read them.....I have found out so many things that my good camera can do.. and am still learning.... isn't photography great....it shows us beauty, and keeps our minds a workin.....
Great tradition and pictures! I have no guess to where you went but it sure is purdy!! :)
Billings Farm & Museum, Woodstock VT, Simon Pearce Glass, Quechee Gorge. My favs. Went there in Dec. hadn't been in awhile. Beautiful place. I couldn't believe how built up the place had gotten since we'd been last. We met Simon waaaaayyy back when he started that mill, it's really cool and self-sufficient. Looks like you had tons of fun.
So glad you had a good time, dear. Missed you.
As to where you went, I don't have a clue. But the bridge photo reminded me of "The Bridges of Madison County," so I guess I'll make that my guess.
Love. Prayers.
I am too late to guess, but I wouldn't have been right anyway.
Glad you had a good time!
Oooohhhh! You're back!!! YAY!
Big hugs!
Great pics! I love "This is not Route 12" -- that's funny!
Ok, my guess is Vermont. Because of the cows. Vermont is where Ben and Jerry are from. I love Ben and Jerry.
....so glad you're back..I came back here a lot while you were gone and read comments to your last post..I love that post and you have some really groovy people that come here!..I love the pics! Welcome back! (eeks, I got sidetracked mid comment here..forgot I was here....I need a vacation!)
xoxoxo
I just received a ice bucket by Simon Pearce and after doing a little research I figured it was a very nice gift. Just a little odd to come across that name twice in one week when I previously had no clue....
jana, we almost did the Ben & Jerry's tour, but didn't get to it. Maybe next time.
summer, yea, really. I never think Branson. Except I did when mrB was performing there last year.
stringmuse, funny thing, we commented often on how much the landscape resembled Ashe County. Don't know if any of these pix look like that to you, but the place really does.
william, that would just be wrong, wouldn't it? ;)
sheryl, I do still like the fireworks, but by the professionals, NOT by the neighbors.
judyp, I guess so. I hope I can make my head work well enough to make friends with my new camera.
loislane, I just read your most recent post. We needed some of your kinfolk. See, LG spotted cars from 39 states on our trip, but not a single one from Missouri.
babs, yes! It was all a first for us, and we were delighted. We would like to go back.
ladybug, I googled those bridges, and they are in Iowa. So, nope. Vermont. I didn't see that movie. xxx
nina, thank you, we really did. :)
ck, Ben and Jerry love you, too, honey. In fact, they fight over you. :)
elizabeth, once, while I was away (no internet access and rarely cellphone access), I read the comments using Jif's cell phone, and they made me feel really good :) There are some really nice people here.
andrea, it is funny how that happens sometimes, with a name, a word, etc. I would say that anyone who sent you a Simon Pearce gift really likes you. Or owes you. Or feels guilty about something . . . (I'll stop now.)
well--i knew it wasn't Canada--the sign said something about 1 mile...we don't do miles up here... and my first guess was out vermont way--so I was close--just not quick enough!
Purty scenery!
Vermont looks lovely and peaceful. I am so glad you had a great time and that WTF took a break! I missed you a lot and I am glad you're back,I even blogged about it in my blog! (that's the selfish part of me talking; the none selfish part would of course been happy if you'd stay as long as you needed)
Wait... what? You "didn't have time" for the Ben and Jerry tour? Isn't that the whole reason for going to Vermont in the first place?! Oh wait... maybe that's just MY reason for wanting to go to Vermont...
Yeah, they may fight over me, but what they don't realize is that my heart belongs to another... Chocolate Fudge Brownie ice cream... *sigh*
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