France Magnifique tour - Sept 2015

Two nights in Paris, two nights at the Normandy coast, two nights in Loire valley (city of Tours), two nights at Avignon, and two nights at Cote d'Azure (Nice & Monaco).  Included in our tour was a TGV train ride.   The remainder of our travel was on a tour bus.  We had a wonderful group of 40 people; strangers at the start and friends at the end.

Sherry and I especially enjoyed Avignon, famous because seven popes resided there during the fourteenth century (approx 1309 - 1377) at the invitation of the French King Phillip the Fair.  Palace du Papes is an impressive and intimidating structure, built atop a rock outcrop on the east (left) bank of the Rhone River as it descends from northern France (Lyon) and empties into the Mediterranean.  The palace took some thirty years to build.

Avignon is a walled town from the medieval period in French history.  Except for Palace du Papes and papal gardens, the town is mostly flat and at riverbank level.  Very walkable.  The bridge (Pont St. Benezet) originally extended all the way across the Rhone (1177 - 1185), but was abandoned in 1680 and fell into disrepair.

Parrot friends at Topeka Zoo

Topeka Zoo is a small zoo, located about 60 miles W of Olathe.  We took grandaughters Lizzie (age 4) and Ainsley (age 3) on an exploratory trip.  They had a great time.  One of the exhibits was a hands-on parrot experience....feeding time!

To top off our visit, we rode the kids train, which runs on a one mile loop.

Great Allegheny Gap bike trail

April 2015 - my sister Kitty invited me to ride on the famous GAP (Great Allegheny Passage) bike trail.  Kitty was preparing to go on a self-supporting bicycle ride along the Rhine in late summer, and she wanted to do a shakedown ride using her Bike Friday and all her travelling gear, including panniers.

The GAP trail is a crushed-rock and packed-dirt trail built along the right-of-way of the Western Maryland RR.

I met Kitty and her Rhine group (friends Susan, Mark, Chuck, Helen) near Pittsburgh.  I rode with them for 3 days.   They hauled all their clothing/personal gear on their bicycles, which created a 30 lb load for each rider.

Because I was supported by my wife Sherry and a vehicle, I only had to haul myself.   (We drove from Olathe, KS to join the bike ride).   While I was riding with Kitty, Sherry was able to do a bit of sightseeing (Falling Waters, Ft. Necessity).

Overnight stops were at Ohiopyle and Meyersdale in Pennsylvania, and Cumberland in Maryland.

On the third day, I broke off from the shakedown group and rode ahead, biking across the eastern Continental Divide and through the Big Savage Tunnel riding NW to SE, then downhill to Cumberland, MD where I met up with Sherry.

On the downhill leg, I crossed the Mason-Dixon Line, from Pennsylvania into Maryland.   The M-D Line is beautifully marked on the bike trail.

    - Art -