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Spartana
10-3-12, 2:14pm
Guess I should post an update before I start posting here. Back in SoCal after about 6 weeks touring around the western and upper midwest part of the country. Took a diffferent route then planned and went east instead of up to Washington so went thru Colorado, Wym. Montana, Nebraka, S. and N. Dakota, upper midwest, etc... Had a great time, great weather but dry everywhere and lots of wildfires. Thanks alot to everyone (especially Tussmussies) for all the info on the upper midwest areas (which I LOVE!!!). Will hopefully spend more time there in the future. Didn't make it to New England either (i'm so sllooowwwww...) Next time. Just made it back before the snow flew anyways :-)!

Tradd - i did stay the night in Alpena and saw a big radio station and tower just outside of town and wondered if that was where you had worked at.
Mrs-M
10-3-12, 2:28pm
http://ic.hobh.org/forums/images/smilies/1237380ar500lxyn4.gif

Hi, Spartana! So happy to have you back! Missed you (a lot)!
ApatheticNoMore
10-3-12, 2:35pm
I went stalking you in Temecula but couldn't find you, no wonder! Ok just kidding about the stalking part, not even sure your still there anyway, I just went there to check it out.
Spartana
10-3-12, 2:40pm
I went stalking you in Temecula but couldn't find you, no wonder! Ok just kidding about the stalking part, not even sure your still there anyway, I just went there to check it out.

I know you where REALLY there for the wineries :-)! Sold the place a few months ago and am (sort of) living in Huntington Beach now (i.e. staying with my sister until I decide what to do next). What to do next? Hmm...............
ApatheticNoMore
10-3-12, 2:43pm
Well let's just say, I had to wait it out for a few hours as I became hmm unfit for driving :laff:
Gardenarian
10-3-12, 2:44pm
Welcome back Spartana!
Tussiemussies
10-4-12, 5:27am
Welcome back and glad you had a good time! How did your dog handle the trip this time?:)
CeciliaW
10-4-12, 6:56am
Yay!!!!
Spartana
10-4-12, 3:10pm
Welcome back and glad you had a good time! How did your dog handle the trip this time?:)

I ended up leaving the "Barkinater" with my sister in SoCal. That's why I came back early and didn't go as far east as I planned. But without the dog I was able to do more and see more then I could have if she was with me and I didn't have to worry about her barking in motels, so it all worked out OK.
shadowmoss
10-5-12, 12:38pm
Welcome back. I noticed your posts as I read through. Glad you had a good time.
awakenedsoul
10-5-12, 2:49pm
Hi Spartana!
I wondered what had happened to you. I thought maybe you were in the middle of a real estate transaction. I went to a hot springs in Temecula once, and I really liked it. (Warner Springs.)

I thought of you because I took both of my German shepherds to Carmel and visited my parents. One of the dogs was creating a scene in the restaurant, (barking really loudly at a third German shepherd,) so I had to put mine in the car. Ugh! At least they were quiet and well behaved at the hotel, though.
Spartana
10-9-12, 1:19pm
Hi Spartana!
I wondered what had happened to you. I thought maybe you were in the middle of a real estate transaction. I went to a hot springs in Temecula once, and I really liked it. (Warner Springs.)

I thought of you because I took both of my German shepherds to Carmel and visited my parents. One of the dogs was creating a scene in the restaurant, (barking really loudly at a third German shepherd,) so I had to put mine in the car. Ugh! At least they were quiet and well behaved at the hotel, though.

Hi to you too! I was on a road trip and didn't bring my laptop so was internet-less for awhile. Will be again soon as I'm flying to New England for a couple of weeks soon. Sorry to hear about your dog problems (been there, done that!!) but Carmel is one of the most dog-friendly place on the planet. And it's one of the most beautiful places on the planet too!

Warner Hot Springs is actually fairly far from Temecula but there is another hot spings nearby called Murrietta Hot Springs. Temecula itself is a nice town with around 50 wineries (all of which I'm sure Apathiticnomore visited :devil:) as well as a cool old timey main street and lots of horse ranches, orchards and farmland surrounding the town. But, unfortunately, like most of SoCal it has sprawled during the housing boom and is now McMansionville. But still a nice town to visit I just don't want to live there.
herbgeek
10-9-12, 1:22pm
What's your planned itinerary in New England? I know there are a number of us represented on this board, and maybe we can meet up in real life.
Spartana
10-9-12, 1:56pm
What's your planned itinerary in New England? I know there are a number of us represented on this board, and maybe we can meet up in real life.

That would be fun! I still haven't found a cheap flight yet or made firm arrangements for my sister to pet sit so it's not 100% yet. I would probably fly into Boston and pick up a rental car there so would be free to go anywhere. I would be staying with some friends in Cape Elizabeth, Maine for awhile but otherwise I'm free. Will let you know when (if) I do make firm plans.
Spartana
10-10-12, 4:13pm
Hey Herbgeek - Looks like I won't be coming back east this month as my sister couldn't pet sit and I don't want to take the dog on that long of a drive. So I'm going to stay here and concentrate on finding on finding a house to rent for the winter. Next spring maybe - just in time for Mud Season :-)!
herbgeek
10-10-12, 5:57pm
bummer. :(
San Onofre Guy
10-11-12, 10:31am
Lindi,

You may want to take the bus from Logan to Portland and then rent a car locally. Buses run almost hourly and it is something like $50 roundtrip. I'm flying overnight Halloween for a few days in Maine and then travelling down to DC.

I can't tell you how much my flight is as I cashed in frequent flier miles. I figured that with American Airlines troubles I better cash in the miles before they go away
awakenedsoul
10-11-12, 10:40am
Hi to you too! I was on a road trip and didn't bring my laptop so was internet-less for awhile. Will be again soon as I'm flying to New England for a couple of weeks soon. Sorry to hear about your dog problems (been there, done that!!) but Carmel is one of the most dog-friendly place on the planet. And it's one of the most beautiful places on the planet too!

Warner Hot Springs is actually fairly far from Temecula but there is another hot spings nearby called Murrietta Hot Springs. Temecula itself is a nice town with around 50 wineries (all of which I'm sure Apathiticnomore visited :devil:) as well as a cool old timey main street and lots of horse ranches, orchards and farmland surrounding the town. But, unfortunately, like most of SoCal it has sprawled during the housing boom and is now McMansionville. But still a nice town to visit I just don't want to live there.

Yeah, I love Carmel. It's a nice treat. I've been looking at cottages there. It's fun to dream. Murietta Hot Springs sounds nice. I've been to Glen Ivy, too.
Spartana
10-11-12, 1:36pm
Lindi,

You may want to take the bus from Logan to Portland and then rent a car locally. Buses run almost hourly and it is something like $50 roundtrip. I'm flying overnight Halloween for a few days in Maine and then travelling down to DC.

I can't tell you how much my flight is as I cashed in frequent flier miles. I figured that with American Airlines troubles I better cash in the miles before they go away

Thanks for the advice but it doesn't look like I'll be going. My sister can't pet sit that long and I haven't found anyone else yet who can do it. And I can't go later (like over halloween like you - which is a great time to go!) as I'm moving into a place up in Big Bear for the winter at the 1 st of the month. I did find some cheap flights on Jet Blue out of Long Beach though - something you might want to check out in the future as they fly non-stop to Boston. So now I have almost 3 weeks to kill and ned to think of somewhere exciting I can go by car with the dog. Of course with gas being close to $5/gal I'll probably just stay around here.
Spartana
10-11-12, 1:43pm
Yeah, I love Carmel. It's a nice treat. I've been looking at cottages there. It's fun to dream. Murietta Hot Springs sounds nice. I've been to Glen Ivy, too.

Ooh... the mud baths at Glen Ivy - yep I've been there too. You might want to look at some of the vacation rental sites like www.VRBO.com or www.homeaway.com for off season rental cottages in Carmel. They are usually too expensive for me even off-season, but if you look around the Pacific Grove and Monterey areas they are usually cheaper. There is also a great little motel in Pacific Grove that has individual little cottages ionstead of connected motel rooms and it's fairly inexpensive and VERY dog friendly - I've stayed there when I had 2 big dogs and it was no problem. I can't remember ther name off hand but will try to find it and let you know. Also Cambria is pretty dog friendly and has lots of beach front motels (and the little individual cabins too) on Moonstone Beach that are very dog friendly. Most don't have an extra dog fee either which is huge!
If you haven't read it yet, check out the "Calif Dog Lovers Guide" - or something like that. It lists lots of places to visit and stay with your dogs, trails, dog parks, campsites, etc... It's probably online nowadays.
San Onofre Guy
10-11-12, 2:17pm
When Jet Blue began flying Long Beach to Boston it was our airline/flight of choice. However they are not always the best deal anymore. I got a ticket on Delta a few years ago into Portland for $310! I have never in 25 years had a coast to coast flight that cheap and to actually get to Portland it was a steal.

I did have a tough time once with Jet Blue out of Boston. December 27 I left Portland at 11:00 on the bus for a 4:00pm flight to Long Beach. Clear sunny skies in Portland. At the circle in Portsmouth we drove into a Blizzard. This bus went into South Station before going to Logan and I got to the ticket counter 10 minutes too late! (we should have arrived at 1:15 plenty of time for a 4:00 pm flight). I ended up going standby to Oakland and then flew to Long Beach in the morning. This Oakland flight was a 8:00 pm departure. We didn't load until 10:30 and finally took off at midnight. The storm was such that they would de-ice one side of the plane and when they finished the other side they had to begin again. When we had done the second de ice work they pulled back to the gate and allowed people to get off but they said that due to the holiday that there were no seats on a Jet Blue flight out of Boston available until January 3. A few people got off the plane. The pilot said that as long as it was safe they would take off and that the plane would go to Oakland as soon as it could. I think we were the only plane to leave Logan that night. It was odd being the only plane at the end of the taxi way. An Air France jet landed just before we took off.

My sister and her husband were leaving to drive to New York two hours after I left. Portland had sunny skies all day, they spent the night in a motel room in Portsmouth.

This trip made my decision to never go to Maine during the Chirstmas/ New Years season ever again.

And by the way I spent last Halloween at the airport in Newark watching them plow the runway. We took off on time but the airport had been closed for 5 hours!
Spartana
10-11-12, 3:01pm
UGH!! You just reminded me of why I hate to fly in winter! Well you reminded me why I hate to fly anytime but especially winter. I use to take that little commuter plane from Portland to Boston they had but had such a bad experience on it because of turbulence in a winter storm (seriously thought we were going down) that I always just rented a car in Boston instead (did take the bus once too). When I lived in a suburb of Boston (Melrose) I could just walk down to the train station or, with a further walk, the "T" subway and go straight to the airport. It was great and made me very fond of city living. I heard they now have a train that goes from Boston to Portland but they didn't have it back when I lived in those places.
San Onofre Guy
10-11-12, 4:49pm
The train from Boston to Portland and now Brunswick goes from the North Station aka "The Gahden" which makes it very inconvenient for Amtrak from the South Station. The Concord Trailways bus from the South Station and Logan is much more convenient and cheaper and faster(in normal traffic) than the train.

I had an interesting flight from Portland to Boston. I was in Maine visiting when my boss called and said "meet me in London Monday morning". I had a roomate Fedex me my passport and two suits. I had a 7:00 pm Flight to Boston connecting to British Air at 9:15, plenty of time. I had been sailing all afternoon off Harpswell and arrived at the airport at 6:00 the plane wasn't arriving and continued. The plane finally arrived and took off at 8:35. As we landed another guy and I were summoned to the front of the plane while taxiing. We both had carry on bags. We stood at the door while taxiing, when we pulled up to the jetway we went down the outside stairs got into a stationwagon and were driven across the runway up the outside stairs into the British Airways 747 checked passports took the first available seat, "Business Class"!!! they closed the door and we took off. Ah the joys of flying in the early 90's partially full flights and no TSA. I was single and travelling over 50,000 miles per year wasn't a problem.
Spartana
10-17-12, 3:55pm
Thaqt's great that they have a train all the way to Brunswick (a town I love). Definetly make going back and forth much easier for everyone. I always thought that Maine could use a commuter train between Boston and maybe Augusta - but Portland for sure. But I guess when the biggest city in the entire state has a population of around 65,000 people, putting in a commuter train doesn't seem very important. Especially when there isn't much north of you except the Great North Woods and 10,000 moose!