Karen at Fifty Four

  What an awesome trip this was!!! The scenery and cycling was amazing. I can't wait to return. Here's a picture dump.  This is the trailer from the tour company. There were two guides, Melanie and Ruth. They did a fantastic job keeping our bikes ready to go and keeping the group of us happy. I will definitely be taking another one of their tours, I just need to decide which one. The harbor view from our hotel. We couldn't have asked for a nicer place to stay. The rooms were great, the lobby, restaurant, and breakfast spots were fantastic, and location was amazing. Except for one day when we took a ferry to our ride start, all the rides left right from the hotel and within a mile or two you were in the national park. There were from day one. We were all getting acquainted with out bikes. Some people brought theirs from home, but I think most were rentals. I rented an e-bike and boy was I in heaven!! I highly recommend it if you are going to b in hills and you are on vacatio...

I was pleasantly surprised with Minneapolis. It was really pretty, quant, and bike-friendly. Too bad the winters are so brutal or I'd think of moving there! Well, not to the city (nothing could turn me into a city girl), but the pricey suburbs just to the south of the city. I only had a few free hours to explore the city so I took a drive along the Mississippi River and ended up in downtown. I didn't even realize the Mississippi River started that far north! Minneapolis-St Paul are referred to as the twin cities. Minneapolis is on the west side of the river and St Paul is on the east side.  Minneapolis St Paul (as seen from the Minneapolis side of the Mississippi River)

Philadelphia was my second trip for Adacel to conduct the onsite FSR trainings. Miami was the first, but I had no pictures of that trip, so apparently I did not feel the need to document it. I've been to Miami before and was not impressed, so maybe it is best forgotten. I'll only return if my job requires it. Now for Philadelphia. On the last day of training I got done early so I took the train into the city. It was an experience. I always wondered what it would be like to live in a city that required me to commute by train. I'm very thankful I don't!! This is the train station in the city. It took me a little bit to get my bearings and make sure I knew how to get back to the correct platform to return to the airport. It was a beautiful lobby, but if you walked down any of the corridors or outside, hang on, because it was rough. Sadly, there were a lot of homeless people and "crazies". It was the middle of the day though, so I felt safe enough and ventured out...

Mom, Donna, and I had a fantastic weekend in Lexington visiting Jennifer. We had the quintessential KY experience with bourbon tasting and horse racing. Jennifer did a beautiful job as the host and Mom and Donna were both very impressed with her home. I was also very happy to have a chance to catch up with my friend, Chrisula.  Selfie in Jennifer's kitchen. Jennifer's front yard. Another selfie.   On our first full day we went on a tour of Buffalo Trace Distillery and even did a tasting. Yummm... the bourbon cream mixed with root beer was a favorite! We were all impressed with the tulips. Springtime in KY is beautiful. It was chilly, but that added to the fun of the visit. On the second day we toured around the KY Horse Park. Chrisula drove down from Erlanger to meet us. It was a lot of fun introducing her to my family and catching up on all the news.  On our last day we went to the Keenland to see live horse racing. Always a fun experience.

  Happy New Year!! I can't remember what I did for Christmas, but there are no pictures on my phone, so I will be reviving this blog starting on the first day of 2024! I need to do a lot of catching up. My mid-year new year's resolution will be to keep this up to date. For New Years Day, Donna, Gerald, Leah, and I went to Snowcat Ridge, which is Florida's version of snow tubing. I don't recommend it... at all. There simply no way for Florida to replicate snow. I had fun with the family, but the good things to say end there. So, no more commentary, just the pictures.

Yes, I full week in the park!! I didn't actually stay in the park, so it was more like a full week in Pigeon Forge with the opportunity to visit the park every day. Unfortunately, it was rainy a few of the days so I stayed at the cabin one day and went to the aquarium another day. Other than that, I did visit the park every day. Jenn joined me on the day after Thanksgiving and we explored the Cades Cove section of the park. Here is the cabin I rented for the week. It was just a 10-minute drive from Pigeon Forge and about a 30-minute drive from the park. It was a scary drive up a steep road and my car couldn't even make it up the driveway. Well, it would have made it up the driveway if they had sweep for me, but there was a thick blanket of wet leaves and halfway up the tires lost traction. The cabin itself was terribly dusty and it leaked on the few days we had rain. I could go on and on about my other complaints, but I won't. I'll leave it to say, never again will I re...