Winding Up 2023
I have to admit I got well fed over Thanksgiving. I actually got TWO thanksgiving dinners. It makes up for some lean years in the past. And oddly, I never seem to get tired of Turkey and Dressing leftovers, as long as the Cranberry sauce doesn't run out. But if that was all there was to my trip to upstate New York in 2023 it would not have been enough for a posting. There were a couple of unexpected outings that make for a modest little story to fill in my history for the late part of 2023.
By now, as you may know, Gail had sold her boat. Though our sailing days are over I still joined her and her and her mom for Thanksgiving. While I was up there we did a few of little side trips. The trip to the Funny Bone Comedy Club was nice, although not photogenic since pictures aren't allowed. I can't even recall the last time I was in a comedy club. Maybe it was 25 years ago. I enjoyed the show, it was funny. Comics play these small clubs to refine their material, so audience feedback is very important, but I have to admit, I'm not a big laugh-out-loud kinda guy so I wonder if I am the most useful audience for them.
The very next day we went to an Art Museum I had never heard of. The Clark Art Institute. It was a fairly long drive and my first ride in a plug in Hybrid car. It wasn't fully charged when we left but we made it about halfway before the engine started. On the way back we had more downhill than uphill and I think the regenerative braking actually put a slight charge back in the battery by the time we got back.
At the Schenectady public library I stumbled across the three DVD set of the new Beatles "Get Back" documentary. We watched some of it. It's both tedious and riveting at the same time. The creative process can be tedious to watch and yet here you are watching the Beatles work out the lyrics to and play iconic songs like "A long and winding Road" for the first time.
We didn't watch the whole thing while I was there. The full documentary is over 7-1/2 hours long. Don't tell anyone, but I ripped a copy to a thumb drive to watch later.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Beatles:_Get_Back
The Beatles
Saratoga Spa State Park
And we did something else unexpected while I was in New York. Gail had told me about something called "Spouters" in Saratoga Springs, New York. She said she had never seen them and suggested we have a look. I guess this demonstrates that if you take a close look yo can find something interesting to see in almost any region. Just seek and you will find. I had no idea what she was talking about, but sure, I said, "Let's go see".
It turned out that the Spouters are naturally occurring springs. In this area some people have mistakenly called them geysers, probably because of the very high mineral content. But geysers erupt intermittently and are driven by geothermal heat. These are cold water springs driven by pockets of carbonic gas trapped underground. The water that emerges is heavily carbonated and has lot's of mineral content. Historically wells were dug here and companies pumped out the water to be sold for medicinal use. So much pumping was done that it was ruining the system and laws were passed to stop the pumping so the natural pressure slowly restored. Later the area of the springs was made into Saratoga Spa State Park. See the Short Video below.
We tasted the water at several of the springs and it was, for the most part, truly awful tasting. I guess the assumption back then was that if it tasted awful it must be good for you. One information sign said that its medical use was as a laxative (I can believe that) and that it would clear you sinuses. And I did fancy that after a small taste my nose did seem extra clear.
The water in these all tasted awful
Most of the spring were quite small but this one shot up several feet in the air and you can see a large mound of limestone called Tufa deposited from the minerals in the water. It's shaped a little like a whale spouting, maybe that's they they call it a Spouter.
Oddly enough though not ALL the wells tasted bad. The one below was quite fresh and good tasting. Many people come and fill containers here. So many in fact that they have a sign with guidelines for sharing.
The remarkable thing is that this fresh tasting well is located just a stones throw from some of the terrible tasting ones. How the water can be so different so nearby is a mystery to me.
Late Addition. Uploaded after the newsletter was sent out. A short video of the spouters was saw at Saratoga Spa State Park. (Below)
And now some little travels tip for Y'all.
I had been planning a trip to Ft. Lauderdale, hoping to see some friends there and visit my favorite dentist. It looked like the timing would be good right after I got back from New York. Here in Dawsonville one of the biggest hassles with travel is getting back and forth to the airport. It occurred to me that I could just book a trip the afternoon of my return to Atlanta, self transfer and save a grueling round trip to the airport.
SPIRIT AND FRONTIER AIRLINES
The discount airlines, Spirit and Frontier advertise incredibly low fares but there is a trap. Both have high baggage fees, even for a carry on (No extra charge on many Airlines). The carry on fee is often much more than the airfare for the person. And I pity those who innocents who show up at the gate with an unpaid carry on, the charge then is even higher. I saw a few people get shocked like this. But here's the thing, if you can fit everything into a "Personal Item" (18x14x8 inches) then there is no baggage fee and on certain days and times you can fly ATL to FLL, for as low as $20 one way. That's a pretty small bag, but not impossible and I was determined to do it. I bought this little duffel. just the right size. Since it is just made of thin cloth I made some frames out of yardsticks from Home Depot to help it keep it's shape and reduce the tendency to bulge at the sides. It worked great. I even tested it in the official Spirit bag sizer at the gate. (See the video)
By the way, if you can't get by with that small bag and need a carry on, you are sometimes better off just flying Delta. The fare is higher but there is no extra charge for a carry on with them. Some travel sites are now allowing you to enter your baggage needs when you search and they try to include that in the pricing comparison.
My special 18x14x8 duffel bag
The wood frames (made from Home Depot Yardsticks) helps a little bit to keep it's shape
Video, Checking the size at the gate
My trip was cut short because of medical concerns with my friends but I did get my dentist visit out of the way ( a great checkup) and visit my Lauderdale mailbox. I have been using AirBnB on these trips but AirBnB seems to somehow be getting less useful of late, at least in Lauderdale. On this short trip I went back to an old favorite Hotwire and just booked a regular hotel room. I haven't used Hotwire in a while but the system still works great and I really like the "HotRates" feature, especially for booking last minute. It's very fast and easy. The caution though is that it's so quick and easy that you might not double check all the details. If you make any mistake there is absolutely no recourse to fix it. I swore off those third party booking sites for a while after I booked a wrong night and had to eat the charge Arrggg. That hasn't happened to me with HotWire and I'm warming back up to that one. You can get some good deals sometimes. Just slow down and make DAMN sure you are booking the right location and night.
And I might as well mention
I'll shout out to my Cousin and his Wife who I visited on Christmas Eve. Great seeing them after several years. And I briefly saw another friend in Richmond after several years on Christmas day.
Cousin Cliff and his wife Betty, Long time no see.
And (just to round out the end of the year) Ellie organized a group of us to go to an Escape Room on the afternoon of New Years Eve. I have been curious about these, this was my first time in one.
The theme was a Lunar research station and we were to find proof of illegal experiments combining human and Allen DNA. We (mostly they) managed to solve all the puzzles and get the proof. Those green Chromosome looking things. We did have to get a few hints though.
Our group at Urban Escape Games in Alpharetta, GA. We (they) solved it.
Ya know, I had not intended to do a posting for this time frame but the spirit just moved me. Next will probably be after the Eclipse in April.