The photos for this post are all from a set of experiments with a special program. Let me know what you like or don't like.
Our GPS Says to Us: Damn It, Do It My Way (A New Story)
On our recent trip from Las Vegas to Death Valley, Lizzie Our GPS had a wee tantrum when she couldn’t get her way. After a nice breakfast at Mom’s Diner in Pahrump, Nevada, we wanted to go to Death Valley. There are two routes into the valley from the east (the Nevada side): the south entrance heading into Furnace Creek and the north entrance into Stovepipe Wells from Beatty, Nevada. We wanted to go into Death Valley from the south—that created the problem.
As we left Mom’s we were heading north on Hwy 160 toward Beatty and wanted to turn off on Bella Vista Road to Hwy 190 towards Furnace Creek. As we approached the turn-off a couple miles out of Pahrump, we knew Lizzie was planning a route through Beatty. Sure enough, as soon as we made a left (west) off Hwy 160, Lizzie said, “In point two miles, turn right on 33rd Avenue, and then turn right.” She was trying to get us to go back to Hwy 160. But we weren’t listening. A few blocks further she said, “In point two miles, turn right on Melrose Place, and then turn right.” Again we weren’t listening. In a couple more blocks she said (only this time I could swear there was a grunt prefacing her comment), “In point two miles, turn right on 42nd Avenue, and then turn right.” We just laughed at her audacity. In another couple of blocks, with some viciousness, we were sure she said, “In point two miles, damn it, turn right on McGuire Street, and then turn right.” We sort of apprehensively chuckled, but kept going straight. There was a slight pause, then Lizzie took a new tact and sweetly said, “In point two miles, turn left on Bradford Way, and then turn left (please).” We knew we had gained the upper hand.
Lizzie, our faithful GPS, got the last word though. About a half mile past her last direction, with an exasperated sigh she said, “Continue straight on for 35 miles.” We could hear in her undertones, “You will do it my way.”
The next two stories are samples from our latest book, THE RAMBLING
ADVENTURES OF A TRAVELER AND GOLFER, which is only weeks away from
publication. It will be available on amazon.com and amazon.co.uk and a Kindle version
will follow shortly.
The Good and the Bad of a Travel Dinner
On a Saturday night in September we ate at the Brasserie at the Townhouse Hotel in Melrose in the Scottish Borders. Supposedly the restaurant is rated the #1 restaurant in the area by Trip Advisor. The food was excellent--we shared a fish cake as a starter and I had pan fried duck breast as a main. The service, though, didn’t match the food.
Our waitress was not local (Polish or Romanian most probably) and was new to the job so we could forgive some things. We had a difficult time making ourselves understood and she didn’t do things she was supposed to--give us bread, check that our meal was right, see if we needed anything. She basically took our order, disappeared, brought our food, disappeared. At the end I had to get the manager to get our bill. When she brought the bill I asked about the lack of service. The manager said all those things should have been automatic, but she blew it too. She didn’t apologize for the poor service and made no effort to correct or make up for the problems--a free coffee or dessert or adjustment of the bill would have been nice, but we didn’t even get a “sorry about that.” She did say she would speak to the girl, but that’s no consolation for us.
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| Himalayan Blue Poppies, Perth, Scotland |
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| View: Valley of Fire, Nevada |
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| Hieland Coos, also called Hairy Cows |
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| Old Mission Santa Barbara |
Our GPS Says to Us: Damn It, Do It My Way (A New Story)
On our recent trip from Las Vegas to Death Valley, Lizzie Our GPS had a wee tantrum when she couldn’t get her way. After a nice breakfast at Mom’s Diner in Pahrump, Nevada, we wanted to go to Death Valley. There are two routes into the valley from the east (the Nevada side): the south entrance heading into Furnace Creek and the north entrance into Stovepipe Wells from Beatty, Nevada. We wanted to go into Death Valley from the south—that created the problem.
As we left Mom’s we were heading north on Hwy 160 toward Beatty and wanted to turn off on Bella Vista Road to Hwy 190 towards Furnace Creek. As we approached the turn-off a couple miles out of Pahrump, we knew Lizzie was planning a route through Beatty. Sure enough, as soon as we made a left (west) off Hwy 160, Lizzie said, “In point two miles, turn right on 33rd Avenue, and then turn right.” She was trying to get us to go back to Hwy 160. But we weren’t listening. A few blocks further she said, “In point two miles, turn right on Melrose Place, and then turn right.” Again we weren’t listening. In a couple more blocks she said (only this time I could swear there was a grunt prefacing her comment), “In point two miles, turn right on 42nd Avenue, and then turn right.” We just laughed at her audacity. In another couple of blocks, with some viciousness, we were sure she said, “In point two miles, damn it, turn right on McGuire Street, and then turn right.” We sort of apprehensively chuckled, but kept going straight. There was a slight pause, then Lizzie took a new tact and sweetly said, “In point two miles, turn left on Bradford Way, and then turn left (please).” We knew we had gained the upper hand.
Lizzie, our faithful GPS, got the last word though. About a half mile past her last direction, with an exasperated sigh she said, “Continue straight on for 35 miles.” We could hear in her undertones, “You will do it my way.”
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| Iris, Branklyn Gardens, Perth, Scotland |
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| New York New York in Las Vegas |
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| Canadian Geese in Flight |
The Good and the Bad of a Travel Dinner
On a Saturday night in September we ate at the Brasserie at the Townhouse Hotel in Melrose in the Scottish Borders. Supposedly the restaurant is rated the #1 restaurant in the area by Trip Advisor. The food was excellent--we shared a fish cake as a starter and I had pan fried duck breast as a main. The service, though, didn’t match the food.
Our waitress was not local (Polish or Romanian most probably) and was new to the job so we could forgive some things. We had a difficult time making ourselves understood and she didn’t do things she was supposed to--give us bread, check that our meal was right, see if we needed anything. She basically took our order, disappeared, brought our food, disappeared. At the end I had to get the manager to get our bill. When she brought the bill I asked about the lack of service. The manager said all those things should have been automatic, but she blew it too. She didn’t apologize for the poor service and made no effort to correct or make up for the problems--a free coffee or dessert or adjustment of the bill would have been nice, but we didn’t even get a “sorry about that.” She did say she would speak to the girl, but that’s no consolation for us.
Oh, well, so far about 57,000 people have read my Trip Advisor review of the
good (the food) and the bad (the service) of our Townhouse Hotel dinner.
And Where Is Canmore GC?
We arrived at Canmore Golf Course just outside Dunfermline at the edge of Fife in Scotland. They weren’t ready for us. The manager whom we had made arrangements with wasn’t there. The pro shop was closed. Luckily the girl in the clubhouse lounge was flexible. With our email confirmation for comped golf she got us on behind a group of locals. We could find only one functioning trolley, so Anne took that one and I carried my clubs (after lightening my bag by five clubs). Only once or twice I didn’t have the club I wanted, but I managed to adapt fairly well. I loved the weather--cool and slightly foggy--but Anne thought it was miserable. Of course, I won our match.
That’s not the real story; it’s just the set up for the rest. Earlier in the year we planned a road trip (Love road trips!) to Alberta Canada to see Lake Louise and the surrounding area. We booked in at our Worldmark timeshare in Canmore, Canada next to Banff National Park. Before our Canada trip I worked on planning the fall Scotland trip which included trying to book into the Canmore GC near Dunfermline. I sent my usual email and a few days later got a surprising response: “Your books sound interesting, but I think you’ve sent your request to the wrong Canmore GC. Our club is located in Canmore, Alberta, Canada. If you are ever in the area I’d love to comp you golf for your book. Regards, Secretary Canmore GC, Alberta, Canada”
I checked back at my email and could see that I’d pulled the Canada course instead of the Scotland track. I wrote back an apology and said, “By the way, we’ll be in your Canmore in about two weeks and would love to bring you a book for a round.”
So now I know where Canmore GC is. At least two of them. We’ve played them both and I can highly recommend them both as well.
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| Campbeltown, Scotland |
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| Daisies |
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| Festival Dance, Loch Fyne, Scotland |
We arrived at Canmore Golf Course just outside Dunfermline at the edge of Fife in Scotland. They weren’t ready for us. The manager whom we had made arrangements with wasn’t there. The pro shop was closed. Luckily the girl in the clubhouse lounge was flexible. With our email confirmation for comped golf she got us on behind a group of locals. We could find only one functioning trolley, so Anne took that one and I carried my clubs (after lightening my bag by five clubs). Only once or twice I didn’t have the club I wanted, but I managed to adapt fairly well. I loved the weather--cool and slightly foggy--but Anne thought it was miserable. Of course, I won our match.
That’s not the real story; it’s just the set up for the rest. Earlier in the year we planned a road trip (Love road trips!) to Alberta Canada to see Lake Louise and the surrounding area. We booked in at our Worldmark timeshare in Canmore, Canada next to Banff National Park. Before our Canada trip I worked on planning the fall Scotland trip which included trying to book into the Canmore GC near Dunfermline. I sent my usual email and a few days later got a surprising response: “Your books sound interesting, but I think you’ve sent your request to the wrong Canmore GC. Our club is located in Canmore, Alberta, Canada. If you are ever in the area I’d love to comp you golf for your book. Regards, Secretary Canmore GC, Alberta, Canada”
I checked back at my email and could see that I’d pulled the Canada course instead of the Scotland track. I wrote back an apology and said, “By the way, we’ll be in your Canmore in about two weeks and would love to bring you a book for a round.”
So now I know where Canmore GC is. At least two of them. We’ve played them both and I can highly recommend them both as well.
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| Abandoned in Beattie, Nevada |
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| Wet Lily |
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| Truro Cathedral, Truro, Cornwall, England |
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| Wary Cat |
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