Do it Yourself Vacations Part 2

   I assume if you are reading this post, you read Part 1. Having done everything on the REI tour of the Everglades gave me an understanding of what the people on the tour expect. You could see I was pretty focused on how much the tour cost compared to what it cost me. This was easy, I had been to all the places the van was going to pull up. I knew the cost, the weather, and where we would be staying each night. 

  I also don't want people thinking I was picking on REI. As I said in the last paragraph yesterday, the reviews are great. Everyone seemed happy and wants to do it again. There are a zillion tour companies. You can find many of them if you've ever went to a AAA Travel Marketplace. It looks as though REI trips are extremely well done and customers are happy. I just could not justify the expense and loss of freedom on a trip to the Everglades.

  What about a guided to a place I had never been? What are the upsides and downsides? There are multiple branches of answers to these two questions. Lets start with trips in America

   No matter the upsides of going on a guided tour in the USA, I would never take one. The reason, two words- English and Freedom. As long as things are in English I am comfortable. It doesn't matter where I plan a trip in the US, I'd rather do it on my own than go on someone else's tour. Doing the research is almost as fun to me as actually going. I love to plan the itinerary for a trip. 

   Planning a week in Washington DC was fun. There is so much to do and not enough time to see it all. Trying to figure out which museums to visit and when to see the monuments (the museums close at 5 pm, go see the monuments after hours, so you can stay at the museums longer. It's also cooler later in the day, and the museums are air conditioned). I worry about what we are doing but don't think very much at all about what or where we will eat. Seeing a statue in the Museum of Natural History from Easter Island is far more important to me than the food afterwards. 

   I have dozens of backpacking trips planned for wilderness areas and national parks out west. I assume that someday, I will get to them. For example, I really want to go to Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota. You've never heard of it? Exactly why I want to go there. I know the trips I want to take in the back country, the wildlife, and what to expect on the way. 

   Likewise, I have a trip planned for the Sawtooth Mountains in Idaho. There are multiple overnight hikes I'd like to do as well as a 2-3 day backpacking trip. I hope to get there one day also. The point is, I enjoy the reading of guidebooks, the taking of notes, and the planning.  

   I know many other people that would never take the time to plan their vacations (never mind dozens of hypothetical vacations in a notebook). My friend Scott has seen almost 800 species of birds in the Lower 48. He has travelled all over to see rarities when they show up. Yet, when he travels, he has AAA set up the flights, rental cars, and accommodations.  I will never travel as much as Scott, so although we have two totally different pre-travel styles, who am I to judge. 

   Above, I wrote the words English and Freedom. English is obvious. I can travel to any place in the United States and not have to worry about communicating with a hotel manager, park ranger, or a museum docent. It is not like going to Rome where I would be totally out of my element. My son has no problem going to foreign countries and the language barrier does not bother him at all. That is a topic for another paragraph. Suffice to say, travelling anywhere in the USA (other than high crime parts of major cities) and I am still in my comfort zone.

  The second word id freedom. Freedom to eat when I am hungry, not to eat if I am enjoying something. Freedom to linger in a museum or a mountain top ( I can loaf at the top of a mountain with the best of them). Freedom to take side roads and side trips. These are all things you can do on your own but not on a guided tour. I know many guided tours will give you a "free afternoon" to do what you want, but that does not seem like enough for me. 

  I have my own schedule and do things my way. For example, if I am camping and it is cold in the morning, I probably will jump straight in my car and drive to the day's adventure to warm up. I'll probably eat my breakfast while driving (Pop Tarts and Bananas are my go-to). I can't tell you how many times I've done this and brushed my teeth in the parking lot before starting the day. I do not want to waste precious daylight hours waiting for bacon and eggs to cooked and eaten by twelve of your new best friends. 

 
When DJ and I went to Yellowstone, we had a week planned. Most National Park tours hit a park a day or at best two days in one park. We explored a different section each day. We went to Yellowstone Lake one day, the Artist Point/ Lower Falls area another day and so on. The day we went to Old Faithful and the Geyser Basin, we saw Old Faithful go off three times. We got up very early and saw it go off about 6:30 am. This was by far the most memorable time for us. Not because it was the first time we saw it, but because it was July 10 and there was frost on the boardwalk. The recycled plastic boardwalk was so slippery from the ice. July 10!. We had the place to ourself. There were maybe five other cars in the giant parking lot. Fast forward a few hours later. All the tour buses showed up, it was seventy degrees and the tourist were thick as ants on a rotting apple.  We spent more time amazed at how many people were at the once peaceful geyser basin than we did watching Old Faithful go off a third time. 

He had the freedom to spend a day at the geyser basin, not just an hour or two. We weren't lined up like robots getting out of a tour bus and hurried right back on to rush to Artist Point. Instead we got to see multiple geysers go off. DJ and I spent half an hour with two rangers watching a minor underwater geyser blow smelly air bubbles at us. It was just us and the rangers for the full 30 minutes. We saw how many people get packed into the benches and truthfully, it was morbidly interesting to see. This is what I mean by freedom. 

Well, that leaves me with the possibility of international travel...someday. Would I take a guided tour? Good question. First off, let me say I'd be more willing. However, I don't want to visit other countries just to say I have. I want to see specific things. There are only a few places I want to go internationally and I can count them on one hand. I'd like to go on an African Safari, England/Scotland, Galapagos, and Paris. Of these, by far Paris is where I want to go most (followed by safari). So I'm going to concentrate this section on Paris. If I ever leave this country Paris is the number one place on my bucket list, so it would make sense to plan a vacation there instead of something down the list.

   For me, Paris has more things I want to see than anywhere else in the world. I've researched the museums, the boat trips on the Seine, and the Cathedrals. I even have a walking route planned out. A week seems like enough time to see almost everything. 

   So, the obvious disadvantage for me would be my lacking of speaking or reading French. This would be my number one reason for going on a guided tour. I wouldn't have to worry about accommodations. I would just have to follow the crowd into a museum. 

  However, the downside would be the same is at Yellowstone. Time. I can not imagine going on a week long tour and spending only four hours at the Louvre. This would be unfathomable to me. If I go to Paris I'd like to spend a couple days there. I have been the victim of "information overload" too many times at museums. At some point your feet hurt and all the descriptions of paintings blur together and you just don't care anymore. I'd like to leave a museum when that happens and go eat some bread and cheese. But, I know I'd want to go back. The Louvre is the largest museum in the world and four hours doesn't do it for me. 

   I've checked out some quality guided tours of Paris, and honestly, they are pretty affordable. They seem to be a much better value than the Anhinga Trail in the Everglades. So the cost really isn't a deciding factor. In fact, in the case of Paris, the value of not having to worry about where to sleep and the safety of a group might be worth the few hundred extra Euros to go on a tour. 

   You can even make an argument that going on a tour will save you time and you will see more. The attractions know you are coming. You can bypass waiting lines. You will go to restaurants that you know are good.

   However, for me, the downside is that lack of freedom. I don't know how I would fair if I wasn't ready to leave a museum.  There are times when I'd rather get a little hungry and stay at something I am interested in than go get lunch. And there are times I know I'll have more fun on a full stomach so I eat first. 

   I don't have a clear answer (for me) on whether an international (Paris) guided tour is for me or not. I've weighed the pros and cons. I've checked out multiple tours, some of them seem to be almost what I am looking for. I guess I have plenty of time to figure it out. There's plenty to see in the United States for me first.

An Argument for Do it Yourself Trips, Part 1 The Everglades

 

  While we were in the Everglades, Laurie and I noticed large REI tents at the Lone Pine Key Campground where we stayed a night. There were so many so close together there was no way it could be a coincidence. After five minutes of research on the REI website, we saw that we ran into one of their travel tours.  We read about the itinerary and what is included and not included. Of course we checked out the price. It got me thinking of the benefits of a taking a tour versus the benefits of doing it yourself. 

    Full disclosure, I love to plan vacations. I love doing the research. I have a full size seven foot bookcase full of travel guides, hiking guides, fishing destination books, maps, Backpacker Magazines,and birds from many regions. I can pour over a state atlas for hours looking for petroglyphs, national grasslands, and wilderness areas I've never heard of. So, it goes without saying I am biased towards DIY trips. Also, I like to stretch my money if I can do a ten day trip for a thousand dollars or a six day trip for a thousand dollars, I'm choosing the ten day trip. There are plenty of rich people out there were money does not factor into their decision at all. For me it does.

   When we looked up the itinerary for the Everglades REI trip (link below) triphttps://www.rei.com/adventures/trips/weekend/everglades-hiking-cycling.html?fbclid=IwAR1qBZExgFGSZANxrfZlugoHolM9CZzG9YPJTaySgLLQc6ZAjW9et_BSr7A

we realized we had done everything on their trip. So we didn't just have a rough baseline to compare our own journey to theirs, he had the exact trip to compare it to. The only thing we didn't do was a kayak trip. However we did see the rentals while in Flamingo. The most expensive kayak rental is a full day, 8 hr rental for $55. 

To our surprise the four day REI trip cost $1699 for a member and almost two grand for a non-member. So, obviously Laurie and I tried to figure out how much our four day total in the Everglades and John Pennekamp State Park. We realized we did those four days for under $600. Not six hundred each, six hundred total, or roughly three hundred dollars a person. 

My breakdown Camping $200, Gas one tank, $40, National Park Pass $30, Snorkel Trip at Pennekamp $80, Pennekamp Admission $8, Rental car $50/day Food-variable. Not including food we spent $558, there were a few other expenses I guess. I know we spent $15 on snacks and Gatorade at a convenient store in Flamingo. However, if the REI people went to the store, that wasn't included in their price either. Also, we did not go on a kayak trip, but as I stated above, that would only tack on less than thirty dollars a person. 

  So, an REI trip for two people would cost $3400 for two people over four days. We spent under six hundred dollars total for a savings of twenty eight hundred dollars!!!! Now, what did they get that we didn't. First off, it looks like the motel they stay at after arriving is included in the price (the airfare is not included). So they did get a night in a motel, and possibly one at the end of their trip. Where as, after our four days in the glades, we went off to our next adventure (Sanibel Island). For the record, our last night in Florida, we got a motel four miles from the airport for $80. So, you could include that in the "total cost". 

  Secondly, the meals were paid for. However, these folks weren't going to fancy restaurants, they were eating picnic lunches just like Laurie and I. Read the itinerary, they stop  for picnics. There isn't fine dining in the Everglades. I assume they had nicer suppers than we did. I can imagine the tour guides made nice meals of steaks with potatoes or other nice side dishes. We ate pasta and sauce one night and soup and Stove Top another night. I will gladly admit, they probably got served meals that cost ten dollars a person where as ours was less than ten dollars total. Instead of going back to camp at supper time to prepare a big meal, Laurie and I use as much of the daylight hours to explore. We spent four hours at the marina in Flamingo looking at wildlife and rushed back to camp at dusk to make food before dark. I'll take that trade off any day. 

  Lastly the people get things you can't put a price on. They got to go on a trip to meet like minded outdoors people. They made new friends. They hung out with people from all over the country. If Laurie and I got into an argument we were stuck with each other. They also had the peace of mind that they didn't have to make any decisions. They didn't have to plan. Their food was cooked for them while they lounged and chatted. How much are these things worth? It depends on the person.

   Personally, all those things you can't put a price on mean nothing to me. As I said, I love research. I enjoy making my own decisions. I like the freedom of driving the rental car. I can stop and look at a gator for as long as I want to. I don't mind making supper while camping. Food tastes better after a long day of exploring anyway. The only time I eat Mac and Cheese is while camping. I find it delicious after a day of hiking, but never eat it at home. 

   As for making the new friends and comradery, I personally can't say I care. I suppose if you met the love of your life on one of these trips, you really couldn't put a price tag on that. However, meeting new people that you'll exchange emails with a few times does not seem like its worth the extra thousand dollars a person. But again, it's not my money. 

   For the record, I have read many reviews from this particular REI trip to the Everglades. They are all five star. From what I read, the tour guides are amazing. They are knowledgeable, helpful, and always trying to give you snacks. I can verify from being at all the places they've been the wildlife and snorkeling is amazing. So I have no doubt they people on this trip have a great time. Would I ever go back to the Everglades and John Pennekamp State Park? Absolutely, I think about it a lot. Would I pay $1699 to do it with twenty other people? Not a chance in hell!

First Half To Do List

    Someone pointed out that instead of having a "bucket list" one should change the name to a "to do list". Since I have wrote the term "bucket list" hundreds of times on this blog, that may be a hard transition for me. That said, "to do list" seems much more likely to get done than something on a "bucket list". Unless you are actively checking off boxes on a bucket list, you are more likely going to put these goals and dreams on the back burner and use the term "someday".

   The above paragraph is just a thought about something I read and really irrelevant to this post anyway.  I'm going to divide my year up into two halves (well almost halves Jan-the first week of June and the second week of June- December). The first half of the year will concentrate on things I have wanted to do for a long time in New England. I will worry about the second half of the year when it gets closer to June. I will revisit this list around the last week of May. 

To do list January-early June

 1. Go up to New Hampshire in late April and see some back country waterfalls swollen by snow melt. I went a couple years ago, but really saw only roadside falls. I feel as though I did not accomplish my goal.

2. The musical I most want to see is called "Million Dollar Quartet". It is about a jam session at Sun Records in the 50's with Elvis, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, and Jerry Lee Lewis. I've wanted to see it for years. It is playing at Theater by the Sea in Matunuck in late May. 

3. Smallmouth Bass fishing at Indian Lake in South Kingstown, RI

4. Smallmouth Bass fishing at Stafford Pond, Tiverton, RI

5. Northern Pike fishing at Moore Reservoir in New Hampshire. This is more than just going to fish. I'm staying there until I catch one!

6. There are worm spawns in RI. I caught the tail end of one two years ago. I want to spend more time fishing for stripers during the spawns this year. 

7. Try to catch a tautog from my kayak. I will not beat myself up too much if I don't give it a shot. It's really more because I have thought about it for so long as opposed to actually caring if I do it. That said, if high tide lines up with an afternoon and I birded all morning, I really have nothing better to do.

8. Again not as much of a priority. I want to spend a few days in Northern NH fishing the small ponds around the Connecticut Lakes. I've done this before and would like to go back. The only reason I might not do this even if I can find the time is I'd rather fish Moore Reservoir for pike than fish a pond for stocked trout. Still, these ponds are beautiful and I love fly-fishing so I'll figure it out when the time arrives.

9. If all goes well, I want to go back to the Outer Banks for my summer vacation and take another pelagic trip. I slept too much on the last trip I took and feel like I missed out. I won't feel right unless I do it again. Instead of leaving it on my bucket list, I'm putting it back on my 2022 to do list!

Added post publishing

10. I have always wanted to see a Spring Peeper, we hear them all the time but seeing them is a different challenge

11. I try not to make too many species of a birds a goal, but Monk Parakeets used to breed in Rhode Island but they don't anymore. I found out they live in Bridgeport, CT. I'd love to see them

12. I start a lot of blogs with  "my number one goal on my bucket list is..." That is because once I do something that is number one on my bucket list, I then have a new number one as #2 moves up to the top spot. My new number one on my East Bucket list is to see the Cherry Blossoms in Washington Dc. I am going the week of March 28. Also possibly crossed off of my list is to catch a big catfish (Potomac River) and see a Sika Deer (Blackwater NWR, MD) 

This list will be added to as I think of things or get invited to things. As I look forward to upcoming plans I will add them. 

End of the Year Review

 

This post probably won't be of much use to you as a reader. I write my annual end of the year post so I can look back on things. Usually they are filled with numbers like how many bird species I've seen or trout I've caught. Since I didn't fish much I can't give an overview of how the season went. Since I didn't keep a Rhode Island bird list I truly have no idea how many species I saw in the state. 

Theme- "Go Big or Stay Home"

   As I've said many times each year takes on a theme. I don't generally plan this. It just happens organically. One year I fell in love with trout fishing and fished for them all year. I kept track of how many I caught, what I caught them on, how many I caught in each state and water body. I did not start out in January planning this, it just happened. Another year, DJ and I hiked in New Hampshire every chance we could. We did multiple four thousand footers. The following year I was introduced to surf fishing and only went to New Hampshire once or twice.

   This year's theme is unlike any other in my life. First off, the first half of the year was not good for me. Too much emotional stress and stress at work. April and May, two of my favorite months were awful and I actually lost fifteen pounds due to stress despite eating anything I wanted. 

   Once June got here, things turned around. My North Carolina trip started the last couple days of May and went into the first week of June. Never in my life did I need a vacation more than this one, I needed to get away. That trip "righted me" and things got better from there. 

   From the beginning of my vacation till the end of the year, my theme began. I had very major high intensity peaks followed by an extended boring status quo, then another peak, followed by more boredom, etc... In the last twenty five years, never had I done so little after work. Usually I would fish almost every night or take a trip to chase a bird. However, since I have been doing the delivery for work a couple weeknights a week, I just never had the time. I'd deliver the donuts, then have a couple days off, hang out with my friend Laurie, and it would be back to deliveries. I just never had much time after work  to get out. So the theme for this year, for better or worse, really was "Go Big or Stay Home".

Make no mistake, this was my choice. Doing the delivery a couple days a week is my decision. I could have asked my boss to look for another driver. Yet, I have chosen to take the money. I want to pay off my car within a year and the extra  money means that will probably happen. The above paragraph is not complaining, it is a choice. 

To break up these boughts of boredom I did have a lot to look forward to. Only two weeks after coming home from North Carolina I went to Maine with my friend Sue to Machias Seal Island and saw breeding puffins. The weather was perfect and Puffins, Murres, and Razorbills were only feet from us. 

   I didn't do much over the early summer for fun. As I said, most afternoons were just a couple of hours in-between jobs so I could go back to work. However once mid-August came around, almost every day off was an adventure. I told my boss that with all the stress I needed things to look forward to. So I asked for three days off over the next two months so I could have some three day weekends. The first was to Philly. We spent two days in Philly and a day at Brigantine where I saw a lifer Roseate Spoonbill.

  September was unbelievable. It started with a perfect weather day at the Bronx Zoo. The Skating Club of Boston hosted two international events with high quality skaters. Laurie loves skating so we went to both. I took hundreds of photos practicing shooting moving targets. Before those events we went to Robert Frost House in Derry, NH and the Wydah Pirate Museum in Yarmouth, MA. The week of Sept 25 I spent two nights on Block Island birding with some of my best friends. The end of the month Laurie and I went to Saratoga Battlefield followed by two days in Lake George. That trip was way more fun than I expected

   October brought me to New Hampshire to a fun hike and overnight on Rogers Ledge. The following week  I went to a Owl banding thanks to Barbara Seith. The week after that I caught Kokanee in Connecticut. 

   November I went pike fishing the first week. I struck out, but caught some Smallmouth and had a fun day anyway. Then I went to Florida for twelve days. If you've been reading, I had a great time there. After Florida, I've seen some cool birds (Cattle Egret, Tundra Swan, Snowy Owl, Clay Colored Sparrow, Western Tanager)  I went to The Nutcracker and A Christmas Carol at the Stadium Theater.  

    Like I said, a lot of down time followed by really fun days, followed by more downtime doing next to nothing. There are worse "themes" but it was a very unusual year for me indeed.

Technical Difficulties- 

   To make things even more unusual both my computer and big camera lens broke this summer. My computer broke during the early summer. I was so busy I didn't end up getting one until the first week of September. I took the new one with me to Block Island expecting to write a bunch of blog posts. The LCD ended up breaking on the trip (I don't know how, I was careful with it) so I had to send it to the manufacturer for repairs while I was in Florida.

   My lens was much more disheartening. It broke the week I came home from North Carolina. I brought it to be fixed immediately. Due to back ordered parts, it took over two months for it to be repaired. This was a crushing circumstance for me. I really wanted it for Machias Seal Island, but luckily the birds were so close my 300 mm was fine. I was miserable at Brigantine without it though. I could have gotten great photos of the Spoonbill, Skimmers, and Gull Billed Terns if I would have had it. I probably didn't do much this summer because I was cameraless.

   Birding

   Unlike most years, there will be very few stats. I didn't keep a list and really don't know how many species I saw. Consequently, I also have no idea where I finished in Rhode Island, though I'm sure it is not in the top 15. Nor do I care. Not keeping a list had the desired affect of keeping the tension off. I did not chase many birds after work. I kept thousands of miles off of my car. I did bird almost all the weekends I wasn't away, but I did all those day trips in the above paragraphs on my days off. 

  I did miss some birds I usually see every year. I know I didn't see any Cape May, Blackburnian, or Bay-Breasted Warblers. For shorebirds, I missed Marbled Godwit, Baird's and Buff Breasted Sandpiper. I'm sure I missed a lot more than that, but I do not plan on going over the master list to check. I am quite sure not keeping a year list was the right decision and may never keep one again.

   Despite the noted misses, I had a really good year birding. Though I never found a mega-rarity, I found a lot of good birds on my own. In Rhode Island I found Acadian Flycatcher, summer Eastern Meadowlarks, I found Yellow Billed Cuckoo in Rhode Island and three other states (FL, NC, and ME)

  In other states I found Black Backed Woodpecker, Leach's Storm Petrel, nesting Alder Flycatchers, Ruffed Grouse, Pileated Woodpeckers, Carolina Chickadee, Brown Headed Nuthatch, Gull Billed Tern, Magnificent Frigatebird, Yellow Throated Warbler, White Winged Crossbill, White Crowned Pigeons, Crested Caracara, Limpkins, Wood Storks, and I'm sure others I haven't thought of.

  I did keep track of lifers-  I ended up with an unbelievable 26 species. I will list all of them here, not to bore you, but so I have them listed in a place that won't burn in a fire

RI- Black Bellied Whistling Duck, Rufus Hummingbird, Barn Owl

ME- Arctic Tern, Redwing

MA- White Winged Crossbill, Long Eared Owl, Yellow Throated Warbler, Townsend's Warbler

NC-  (from land) Bobwhite, Henslow Sparrow, Carolina Chickadee, Brown Headed Nuthatch, Cinnamon Teal, Gull Billed Tern,

NC-  (from pelagic) Masked Booby, Black Capped Petrel, Band Rumped Storm Petrel, Audubon's Shearwater

NJ- Roseate Spoonbill

FL- Muscovy Duck, White Crowned Pigeon, Common Myna, Magnificent Frigatebird, Grey Headed Swamphen, Crested Caracara

I got a photo of all species except the Swamphen and the White Winged Crossbill. 

  I did miss two "very big deal" birds in RI. The first was a Brown Booby in Narragansett Bay. The other was a first ever Sharp-Tailed Sandpiper.  I also missed White Winged Crossbill and Hoary Redpoll last winter.  Of course, the big news was the Steller's Sea Eagle in MA, which I did not see. 

I also ended up with photo upgrades of 47 species. I won't list them all here. But since I did not have my big lens for over two months, I am very happy with that number. Some species I will never be able to improve upon because they were so cooperative. Hudsonian Godwit, Rusty Blackbird, Puffins, American Bittern, and Pink Footed Goose are just a few that put on a spectacular show for me. 

I got four RI state birds, the three lifers above and a Painted Bunting

Bucket List-

  Since much of my time was taken up with a crazy stressful year at work and very little "me" time after work, it is not a coincidence that I fit as many adventures as I could in the second half of the year. when I wasn't working. I wiped as many things off of my drivable bucket list as I possibly could. Much of this is parroting what I wrote above, so I'll just write it in list form. The top two things were the things I most wanted to do east of the Mississippi. Doing them in the same year was amazing

1. Machias Seal Island Boat Trip

2. North Carolina Pelagic on the Patterson's Boat

3. Brigantine National Wildlife Refuge

4. Rogers Ledge Hike (there were 8 hikes in NH I really want to do, this was one of them)

5. Catch a Kokanee Salmon

6. See a Roseate Spoonbill (the number one species I wanted to see in the U.S.A.)

7. Saratoga Battlefield (been wanting to go there for years)

8. Brownfield Bog, ME birding

9. Bronx Zoo

Less adventurous things, but still were on my list

10. Get a photo upgrade of Rusty Blackbird

11. Find a Winter Wren (without the use of playback)

12. Robert Frost Farm

13. Whydah Pirate Museum

Doing thirteen things off a bucket list, nine of them pretty big adventures is more than I could have ever expected. After 2020 and once I was vaccinated, I was ready to begin life again. When the year started, I had my reservation for my boat trip to Machias Seal Island and the NC Patterson's Pelagic. Everything else just came as events fell into place

Lasting Memories

   Such a strange year doing so many things off of my bucket list but also having so much down time (or really, too busy to have fun time) However, I did manage to find time to do some other cool daytrips. I understand this is not high drama reading, and I understand if you have better things to do than read that I went to Plum Island in January. But I did not keep a very good journal this year. Add to that that I was without a camera and computer for months, I'd like to have some concrete back up to my memories.

  Besides the above bucket list items

 Sue and I went to ME to see the Redwing and on the way back we got a Long Eared Owl (lifer). We also had a very nice Dickcissel

  Laurie and I did an overnight to Plum Island and Salisbury Beach in January. White Winged Crossbill

  Sue and I met up to see Pine Grosbeaks then went to stake out a Yellow Throated Warbler

  Seeing the Townsends Warbler in a snow flurry

  Rusty Blackbirds put on an amazing show in Cranston. Watched them for hours

  The skating events in August and Sept were fun. We saw countless Olympians and met a few also. People we saw included Vincent Zhou, Jimmy Ma, Hubble and Donahue, Pate and Bye, Alysa Liu, Gracie Gold, Alexa Knerim and Brendan Frazier, Russian medalists, Todd Eldredge, Chris Knerim, and more.

  Block Island overnight birding with friends. I got to see a  Barn Owl thanks to Tim and Sue.

  Rhode Island Whale Watch, saw literally thousands of Common Short Beaked Dolphins

   Cape Ann Whale Watch wasn't as good.

  Two ghost tours. Newport and Plymouth

  Rhode Island Philharmonic and Fireworks at Slater Park

  The Nutcracker at the Stadium Theater

  Redwing, Dickcissel, Hudsonian Godwit, Pink Footed Goose, Clay Colored Sparrow, Black Bear, American Bittern, Machias Seal Island, Pileated Woodpecker, Snowy Owl, Western Kingbird, Rufus Hummingbird Photoshoots 

I couldn't have done North Carolina, and my pelagic without Scott's support, Carlos's planning, and Wayne's knowledge of amphibian sounds

Lake George Boat trips and the Natural Cave were fun. Lake George is a beautiful lake. 

In Florida my favorite moments were seeing the Cottonmouths. My favorite part of the trip were the two days in the Everglades. Flamingo was awesome with the Manatees, Crocs and all the birds. Ding Darling, the Crocs, Anhinga Trail, Purple Galinule, Croczilla, Bowman Beach (shells, Dolphins, Sandwich Terns, Royal Terns)  were all so much fun to photograph. Wastewater 5/6, Corkscrew, and not getting out to a Coral Reef were disappointments. Almost drowning at Fort Zachary Taylor is something I'll never forget. The food in Key West is great. The best KLP is at Sloppy Joe's. Bahia Honda is one of the most beautiful places I've been. 

With a little luck, a fun, healthy, birdy, fishy, 2022 is in all of our future.

    

Well, that didn't suck

 

   Yesterday I went to Avondale in Westerly, RI to hopefully see the Western Tanager ( there were actually two at some points) that had been hanging out there for over a week. I wanted to go on Christmas Eve and/or Christmas but the weather was bad. I spent three and a half hours looking for the Western Tanager(s) without any luck.

   Western Tanager would be a state bird for me. I've seen them in South Dakota but never in Rhode Island. Since the weather forecast for today was just clouds I decided to go back and try again. When I got to Avondale I came across my friends Tim Metcalf and Bill Thompson. We all walked to the area the tanager had been seen. Tim had to leave pretty quickly leaving Bill and I. Soon after Dianne Auld showed up. 

  About an hour after I got there, I spotted the Western Tanager in what I have been told is one of its favorite trees, a Cedar full of berries. I called Bill over and another guy I had never met. The three of us watched it hop into multiple trees. Dianne came around a corner and we waved her over. 

   The bird put on a fantastic show for fifteen minutes. The sky was overcast and nasty white. However, the bird stayed low in the green background. The light was absolutely perfect as long as we didn't have to point our cameras into the sky. The Tanager was absolutely amazing for us. When it finally flew out of sight, Bill remarked "Well, that didn't suck".  I couldn't have worded it any better.  

Pike Fishing Moore Reservoir New Hampshire.

 The week before I left for Florida I went to Moore Reservoir in northern New Hampshire. The goal was to catch a Northern Pike, a species I have never caught. I did the round trip drive in a day. It was over three hours in each direction. 

   I left early and got to the first of three boat ramps I would launch my canoe at 8:30 AM. When I left my house it was a balmy 39 degrees in the 5 AM darkness. As I drove further north I watched the temperature gauge in my CRV plummet. When I reached the boat ramp it was 26 degrees. I knew I had at least twenty minutes of work to do at my car before I could launch. This was on purpose to slow me down and come up with a game plan. I put my lures on my fishing poles. I made a lunch. I lost my anchor a while back and forgot to buy a new one. However, a makeshift anchor of rocks in a couple socks I had in my trunk worked out nicely. I opened up some hand warmers. I warmed up for a couple minutes in the car. After doing all that, I launched.

   Moore Reservoir is an impoundment on the Connecticut River. There are multiple launches on the New Hampshire side not far from where I-93 crosses into Vermont. I had two rods set up. One was with a slow sinking Sebile Swimbait. I used it every few minutes. However, my main lure was a 3/4 ounce Spinnerbait. I had asked advice from Mark Beauchesne a NH fishing guide that spent a career at NH Fish and Game, when I last saw him at the Boxboro Outdoor Expo. He gave me some pointers. I also watched a short video he posted on Youtube. 

  I fished my first location for a couple of hours. When I first got on the water the view was only fifty feet of gray air. Because of the fog I was careful not to lose my sense of direction. I followed the shoreline counter-clockwise. That way I knew all I had to do was turn around and follow the same shoreline back to the car. About thirty minutes into fishing I caught a fish, but was "disappointed" to have caught a Smallmouth Bass. After the fog lifted, I realized that I was fishing a lake connected to the main reservoir through a culvert. Though connected to the main body of water, I knew my chances were better in the main reservoir. I loaded the canoe on the car and moved west up the New Hampshire shoreline.

My second location was near Moore Dam. This was a cool spot. From the dam the water drops at least a hundred feet into a valley and the water of  Connecticut River moves on. The boat ramp was a few hundred yards up lake from the dam. You are not allowed to boat, swim, or fish near the dam so you don't go over. I followed the shoreline for a while casting my spinnerbait toward any structure I could find. I soon realized the shoreline I was fishing was shallow and wasn't going to be productive. On the other hand, the shoreline across the lake about half mile away looked to have downed trees and protruding rocks and an island. I decided to take the long paddle over. The water was flat calm all day. There wasn't any breeze at all. It was perfect for canoeing. 

   When I got to the other side I wasn't disappointed by the structure. There was plenty to cast at. Within a few minutes, I had another fish. It was a carbon copy of the Smallie I caught earlier. It surprised me to be catching foot long smallmouth on such a big spinnerbait. It made me wonder how many smallies I'd catch if I targeted them. This was only speculation though. I purposely did not bring any bass gear so that I would have to target pike all day even if I didn't catch one.  I fished this area for three hours without a pike. I packed up a little after 2 pm and moved to my third and final ramp. 

   I moved further north up the lake. The boat ramp I pulled up to was one of the nicest I've ever seen. It had a large parking area, a dock for boats to tie to while the driver parked the car. I loved the location too. To my left a half mile out was a large piece of land that extended left far enough that I couldn't tell if it was a peninsular or an island. This piece of land made a huge couple hundred acre cove. I paddled out to the point and worked my way left. As I stopped paddling and reached for my rod, a Bald Eagle that I hadn't seen flew off a dead snag right above me. I worked my way all around this cove. It had a small cove inside this cove. I saw some small fish busting on some surface insects. This was the only sign of underwater life I had seen all day. Despite the calm conditions, I hadn't seen one fish splash in seven hours. 

   Knowing there was baitfish I got excited and really concentrated on my casts. I worked the cove casting over the baitfish and working my spinnerbait through it. On one of the casts I had a pike follow my lure. I watched it follow it then turn around. It was painful and exciting at the same time. It wasn't a monster but bigger than any pickerel I've ever caught. Maybe in the thirty inch range. Obviously my heart started pumping and every cast became another chance. Ten minutes after my follow, I caught, sigh, another Smallmouth. 

  Spoiler alert! I never caught a pike that day.I worked my way back to the car but it was not to be. I fished until 4:30. I had a long ride home. I know this is going to sound like a lie, I really enjoyed my day. Despite the cold start, and fishing in thirty degree temps most of the day, I was never really cold. When it warmed up in the afternoon (to the mid-forties) I was very comfortable. The scenery was great (once the fog lifted). I didn't catch the fish I wanted, but I did catch three fish. I knew in advance that I had at best a 50/50 chance of catching a pike. If I didn't catch one, I knew I'd have over a three hour ride home to pout about it. But the truth was, I didn't pout. It was a fun day. Instead of beating me down, Moore Reservoir made me want more. I will be back there next May for sure. I will take a couple days away from bird migration and Stripers. Catching a Pike has moved high up my East Bucket List and I really want to catch one, and I fell in love with Moore Reservoir!

Meeting people along the way

 

Joanna was the lady in green on the left.
The chair at the bottom of the photo
was Earnest Hemingway's
original chair when he ate at the 
dining room

   I rag on my friend Sue constantly because of her ability to talk to new people. She will chat with anyone and within fifteen minutes she will know their life story. Sometimes, the problem is, the rest of us (me specifically) don't want to wait that fifteen minutes. Many times while birding with her I've walked away to continue birding. Laurie saw this first hand in Florida. At the first stop at Ding Darling, Sue started up a conversation with a volunteer. Laurie and I were already to move on to the next stop. Sue did learn a couple good spots to bird in the following days from that conversation. Meanwhile, Laurie and I walked back to the rental as a signal it was time to go. Though it was only a bluff, we were at Sue's mercy because we carpooled in her rental. 

   Despite the above true story, Sue will be proud of me when she reads this. I consider myself a traveler and not a tourist. I certainly do not want to be mentioned as a touron (a tourist that is a moron). When I vacation, my main goal is to find things I am in awe of. Put me in Independence Hall and all I see is the history, Put me in front of a bear and I can sit there for hours watching it and taking photos. Talking and meeting other travelers or locals has never been a priority. Seeing wildlife, scenery and history are the things I want to do.

   However, this trip, I decided I was going to converse with people I met along the way. If I knew I was having a good conversation I would purposely introduce myself so I could get their name. I considered it a social experiment on myself. I wanted to see if meeting people added to my experience. I wasn't going to force myself into a conversation, but if it happened naturally, I would invest my time into getting to know/listening to/ learn something from people I met along the way.

   This experiment started off with a bang. We had to take two flights to get to Ft. Lauderdale. Our first flight from Providence went to BWI. Sitting next to me was a large black man named Terrence. Terrence and his girlfriend were on their way to the Dominican for four days. The main goal was to drink and relax. He is a Providence Police Detective Supervisor. We discussed everything form Midnight Basketball to the Florida Keys. Since we were trapped thirty thousand feet up, this was my longest conversation with anyone I'm going to write about. There was no question that Terrance is a stand up guy. As I like to say, usually to be annoying, he's a good egg.

   Next up is Gordon. Gordon was staying at Bahia Honda a few sites up from us. He is a retired man that may be nearing seventy, but is in the shape of a forty year old. He lives near North Hampton, MA, which is about two hours from my house. Gordon's favorite hobby is wind surfing. He was staying at Bahia Honda alone (he is married) for twelve days. We went wind surfing almost every day. He pointed out that on breezy days its fun to go fast. On calmer days its fun because he can see in the water. One day he went out he saw tarpons and a huge Manta Ray.  Gordon gave us a bunch of tips on where to snorkel, eat, and how to get camping reservations last minute. He was a talker and every time he saw us he struck up a lengthy conversation. His knowledge was very useful on our trip.

   The only person I'm going to write about that I didn't really converse with is Joanna. She was a tour guide at the Hemmingway House. She was from Poland and had a very strong accent. However, she was an amazing tour guide. Because of her accent, she pronounced every syllable and word slowly and clearly. She was very articulate. Because of her slow speech and pronunciation she was very easy to listen to. She knew everything about the house and Hemingway. She was asked ten to fifteen questions and had answers for all of them. For sure, she enhanced our visit. Our tour guide at the Truman White House, Kirk, was just as knowledgeable and a great guide.

   One of the rangers at the gate at Bahia Honda was a woman named Mona. She was over the top enthusiastic. Like really over the top. However, I think she was genuine. Though our conversation was limited to us checking in, she was extremely helpful with advice. She told us where to look for sea turtles. She explained every detail of the campground map. More than a half hour with her would probably be all I could have taken. But she was nice and caring.

   While I was looking at the sunning Crocodile at Flamingo, we were talking to a guy named Michael. He was in his late fifties and walked with a cane. We was a little off of his rocker for sure. There was something a little odd  about him. None the less, the guy likes learning and wasn't afraid to tell you what he knew. I know this is coming off as he was a know-it-all, but it was more like he enjoyed sharing info. He told us a lot of stuff about crocs, gators, and the Everglades. Though I already knew seventy five percent of what he said, I didn't interrupt him.  I did pick up some useful tidbits from him. Also, we were twenty feet from an eight foot crocodile, and I knew I could outrun Michael, so there's that. 

   As I said before, Corkscrew Swamp was a big disappointment. After we finished the boardwalk Laurie went inside to use the bathroom. I stayed out where the feeders used to be. There were two kids that had just graduated college outside as well. Their names were Connor and Nick. Connor liked to talk, and Nick, true to his name, was the quieter one. Both boys live in the area and they both had done work at Corkscrew. They agreed that they didn't see much of anything either. Connor then told me a place to go that had thousands of birds. There is an abandoned tomato farm twenty minutes from Corkscrew that was loaded with birds because of the rain the previous days. Thanks to Connor's info, we saw Limpkins, Wood Storks, every heron in Florida, and Roseate Spoonbills. I owe these boys big for that tip.

   Lastly there's Harvey. Harvey was the flight attendant on our trip back to Providence. I learned nothing of value from him. Instead, I just enjoyed talking to him. He was the flight attendant for the back third of the plane. We had last row seats so we had multiple brief conversations. He was from Texas. After leaving Providence he had another connecting flight before a third flight back home in Ft Worth. He had a wedding in Oklahoma the following day. Since he had to be on the road at 5 am Saturday, and they were scheduled to land at Ft. Worth at 1 am, he wasn't going to get much sleep. 

   So there you have it, my social experiment in writing. To be honest, when I got home I really hadn't thought they added much to my trip. I probably would have enjoyed the Crocodile as much without Michael there. However, there is no doubt that Gordon, Connor,  and Harvey added to my experience. Just by writing this, I have realized they will be part of the memory of Florida 2021. And did I mention how great the tour guides were?