Blog for adaysouting.com

Since I have been writing about my travel adventures for A Day’s Outing, I have done many new things. I have taken trips to natural bridges and caverns, visited botanical gardens and recently, I have begun to stop by roadside graveyards.  I know that graveyards are not a typical destination, but I have come to appreciate their quite serenity and the glimpse they offer into the past and into the history of a community.

In most parts of the world, stone is the material most often used to mark graves.  Many of the headstones are marble, granite, slate, sandstone or some other local stone that could be carved or inscribed.  Markers can be a simple stone or an ornate, carved statue.

I really like the old headstones and statues.  The design, inscription and the personal information all help to paint a picture of the person and their life.  The graveyard itself is often surrounded by an old wrought iron fence or stonewall that lends a sense of permanence to the place.  On a recent trip to Abingdon, Virginia I stopped by a graveyard that had a tall, mounded hill in it. I have never seen one before, but I believe this is an earthen mausoleum.  There was an iron gate in front that one could open, but out of respect, I didn’t go inside.

Visiting graveyards might not be for everyone, but if you do see one on your travels, you might want to stop by for a peek at history and a moment of quiet contemplation.

I am guessing you have heard of a gristmill before, but have you ever visited one?

Luckily, you can find old mills all around the world.  Mills were a central part of local communities for hundreds of years, maybe a few thousand years. The earliest reference to a mill is from 71 BC – from a king’s palace in Asia Minor.

Growing up, I have heard a mill referred to as a gristmill or a corn mill – these are really any mill that grinds grain. Historically, a local mill is where the farmers brought their own grain and had it ground into meal or flour. They gave the miller a small percentage of the meal or flour as the “miller’s toll,” instead of cash.  Most towns and villages were dependent on their local mill to turn their crops into flour because bread was such an important part of their diet.

While the local mill may be long gone, millstones can be easily found. The millstones are what grind the grain. They are laid one on top of the other. The bottom stone, called the bed, is fixed to the floor, while the top stone, the “runner” is mounted on a separate spindle. A wheel called the “stone nut” connects the runner’s spindle to the main shaft, and this can be moved out of the way to disconnect the stone and stop it turning, leaving the main shaft turning to drive other machinery. This might be a bit confusing, so here’s a really fun graphic of how a water driven gristmill works. (the two gray circles at the top of the graphic are the millstones)

Keep an eye out for historic mills as your traveling. You might come across a millstone in a town’s square or find a working mill and bring home some freshly ground corn meal. Here are just a few that you will find on A Day’s Outing:

Bale Grist Mill, Napa, CA

Cedar Creek Grist Mill, Woodland, WA

East Rockaway Grist Mill Museum, Rockaway, NY

Historic Prater’s Mill, Dalton, GA

Kerr Mill at Sloan Park, Mount Ulla, NC

Pine Creek Grist Mill, Muscatine, IA

Find historic districts gristmills on A Day’s Outing…. and don’t forget to download the iPhone app so you can find new places to visit while you’re out and about.

I have a fear of the open ocean.  It’s not rational, but I do.  So it’s pretty exciting that I went out on a sea kayak for the first time this summer. My family has kayaked each year in the ocean, but I had only watched from the shore. This year, I psyched myself up and joined in the fun, and I am really glad that I did.

My bravery was rewarded with the sighting of a swarm of cannonball jellyfish all around the kayak.  The ocean was particularly calm, which was a big factor in getting me into the kayak in the first place.  We could easily see 15 feet down into the South Carolina water. The cannonball jellyfish were amazing colors of peach and pink. Oddly, half of the jellyfish had small, yellow crabs riding on top of them or attached to their undersides.  I learned when I came back from the kayak adventure that spider crabs often hitch rides with cannonball jellyfish.  The jellies have a symbiotic relationship with the crabs, which eat the zooplankton off the jellyfish.

I was so excited by the cannonball jellyfish that I reached out of the kayak to touch the tops of the jellyfish.  I had heard that the tops of jellyfish didn’t hurt and since they were so close to the surface it was fun to touch many of them. Another fact I learned when I returned to the shore, do not touch jellyfish!  While cannonballs do not commonly sting humans, the jellyfish still have toxins that can cause cardiac problems in animals and humans.

My last fun jellyfish encounter was with a sea turtle. We could see a huge turtle in the water 50 yards away from the boat, but it wouldn’t let us get close enough for a good look.  We could see partly eaten jellyfish in the water every now and then, but wondered why a turtle would eat jellyfish.  Apparently, leatherback turtles eat cannonball jellyfish and as an endangered species we were really lucky to have encountered one.

Now that I am safely back on shore, I will continue to enjoy jellyfish at aquariums and in the ocean. I know now that I won’t touch one ever again, even the cute cannonball jellyfish.

Find a local beach or nearby aquarium to visit on A Day’s Outing…. and don’t forget to download the iPhone app so you can find new places to visit while you’re out and about.

I have always liked the look of cobblestone roads, but had never thought about their history or function before.   It wasn’t until I was being guided through historic Richmond, VA that I learned where all those rounded “cobble” rocks came from.

In the 1700 and 1800’s, ships arrived in port cities up and down the east coast of the United States. The ships unloaded cargo and took on new cargo at each port. To keep a ship from riding too high in the water when the cargo weigh was low and to control its buoyancy and stability, ballast was added to weigh the ship down. Cobblestones from river cobble and quarried stone were used as inexpensive ballast weight.

In port cities, the earliest streets were little more than sandy and muddy avenues.  As sailing vessels arrived, the cobblestones they carried as ballast were often deposited along the shoreline.  For many cities, such as Richmond, Jamestown and Savannah, cobble ballast became an inexpensive and durable material for paving sandy or muddy streets.  Cobblestones prevented ruts from forming in the road during dry weather and allowed roads to remain passable in wet weather.  Cobblestones were the perfect recycled material for building roads.

Find historic districts with cobblestone streets on A Day’s Outing…. and don’t forget to download the iPhone app so you can find new places to visit while you’re out and about. Then the next time you are walking down a cobblestone street, you can imagine the stones as ballast cargo that an ancient ship carried from some far-flung place to that port city.

It’s National Rose Month and there are garden tours, rose festivals and beautiful blooms to be enjoyed all across the country.

Did you know that rose colors range from white through yellows and from deep red to pale pinks?  Blue seems to be the elusive color for rose growers.  I have seen “blue” roses advertised for sale, but really these are pale lavender roses.   While most rose species are native to Asia, there are a few that are native to Europe, North America, and northwest Africa. And one last rose fact — while we may call the sharp objects along a rose stem “thorns,” they are technically prickles. Who knew?

To find roses in bloom near you — search A Day’s Outing for parks and gardens in your area.  If you’re enjoying a weekend trip or a summer vacation away from home, you can use our handy iPhone App to find the nearest blossoms.

Here are a few rose gardens around the country in full bloom:

Ben Lomond Historic Site & Old Rose Garden, Manassas, VA

Rose Garden at FDR National Historic Site, Hyde Park, NY

Rose Walk of Fame, Carlsbad, CA

Heritage Rose Garden, Gray, IA

Owen Memorial Rose Garden, Eugene, OR

Walnut Springs Memorial Rose Garden, Seguin, TX

Find rose gardens near you on A Day’s Outing…. and don’t forget to download the iPhone app so you can find new places to visit while you’re out and about.

My visit to the Art Institute of Chicago reminded me how wonderful volunteers are.  As I walked into the museum, a smiling woman greeted me.  She waved me over to the front desk and asked if I had ever visited the Art Institute before.  I clearly had the — this museum is huge and don’t know where to begin — look on my face.  When I said it was my first visit, the volunteer pulled out a map and started showing me all the wonderful exhibits the museum had to offer.  This amazing volunteer had been with the Art Institute for more than twenty years.  She knew each collection and offered different ideas on how I could enjoy the museum and where some of their signature pieces were to be found.

As I made my way around the museum, I saw other volunteers with huge stickers on their shirts that read “ASK ME”.  This was a simple reminder that volunteers are waiting to answer any question that you may have about the art and to guide you to the galleries you are looking for.

My favorite question to ask a volunteer in a museum is “What is your favorite piece of art?”  I enjoy seeing their face light up as they share their passion for their institution and a special piece of the collection that they adore.  The wonderful volunteer that greeted me as I entered the Art Institute of Chicago told me about the gallery with the Miniature Rooms. I too fell in love with these wonderful pieces and I may never have found them without the help of a volunteer.

Find museums on A Day’s Outing…. and don’t forget to download the iPhone app so you can find new places to visit while you’re out and about.

Have you ever seen the blossom of a Tulip Poplar tree?  I am guessing that you haven’t. Usually, the blossoms are dozens of feet in the air and all you can see are the petals that have fallen to the ground.

Living in Charlottesville, Va, the home of Thomas Jefferson, I have learned that he described the Tulip Poplar as “The Juno of our Groves” when he forwarded seeds to a Parisian friend in 1805. The Tulip Poplar, also called Yellow Poplar or the Tulip Tree, is a fast growing tree and the tallest hardwood species in the eastern North American forest. It is a massive and graceful tree with branches that sweep downward. In the spring it has large ornamental, orange and green, tulip-like flowers. In the fall, it’s tulip shaped leaves turn a golden yellow color.

I am a huge fan of the Tulip Poplar tree. I am fortunate enough to have two massive trees near my home.  I am guessing they are more than 250 years old simply because of their size. If you find yourself at a State Park this summer scan the top of the forest for a Tulip Poplar, they are often the tallest trees you will see. You might not see one of their blooms, but the tree itself is a sight to behold.

Find historic districts gristmills on A Day’s Outing…. and don’t forget to download the iPhone app so you can find new places to visit while you’re out and about.

It’s strawberry time.  You can pick your own berries at a pick-your-own farm or you can find strawberries at a farmers’ market.  There are also plenty to be found at your local grocery store.

Once you get those beauties home, it’s time to hull them and make something wonderful. Look for berries that are small to medium size – they tend to be sweeter than the large ones.  To hull a strawberry you can either use a specialized toolor a small paring knife.  You simply want to cut away the stem and a small cone-shaped section of the top of the berry - leaving as much of the fruit intact as possible.

Once you have hulled the berries, it’s time to eat.  I love to eat strawberries by simply dipping them into a bit of sour cream and then into brown sugar.  For a more sophisticated dessert, nothing is better than Zingerman’s Strawberries with Balsamico ( … or Strawberries with Balsamic Vinegar)

Zingerman’s Strawberries with Balsamico

2 Quarts strawberries, hulled
5 Tablespoons well-aged Balsamic Vinegar
Sugar (optional)

In a blender or food processor, puree ½ quart (1 pint) of the strawberries with the vinegar.

In a large bowl, toss the remaining strawberries with the strawberry puree. Add a little sugar if desired. Macerate in the refrigerator, covered for at least an hour before serving. Serve the strawberries as they are with fresh whipped cream on top, or spoon them over ice cream or pound cake. If you want to plan a dessert ahead of time – the Strawberries with Balsamico will keep for several days in the fridge.

It’s strawberry season. Enjoy!

Find local farmers’ markets on A Day’s Outing…. and don’t forget to download the iPhone app so you can find new places to visit while you’re out and about.

I was at a Huntington Beach State Park last year for an early morning walk with family and friends.  We were out looking for seashells when we came across an amazing pattern in the sand that led from the waterline to the dunes.  I confess that it took me a few moments to realize that the patterns in the sand were tracks and then another moment or two more to realize that they were from a sea turtle.  Since I hadn’t seen tracks like this before, my mind went through all sorts of possibilities.  When we went to the dunes to look, we could see that a volunteer from a local rescue group had already come along to mark the nest and create a barrier around it for protection.

I have seen many types of animal tracks on walks in the woods, by the water’s edge and even around my own garden.  I am the most fascinated by the different sizes of bird tracks that I see in the soft ground at the base of a bird feeder, around a pond or at the ocean’s edge.  Each bird’s foot reveals whether they are a water bird that needs support with long toes on the soft sand or a small bird with feet that help it grip a branch on a tree. Of course, I can’t identify a bird from its tracks but some really good birdwatchers can.

If you want a book to carry along on your next adventure to help you identify tracks, Peterson Field Guide to Animal Tracks is the one I have.  I keep it right beside my copy National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America where I have written notes in the margin of the first time I saw a bird, where I was and who I was with. It’s a lot of fun to read a note and remember the first snowy egret or sea turtle tracks you ever saw.

Find fun places to look for animal tracks on A Day’s Outing…. and don’t forget to download the iPhone app so you can find new places to visit while you’re out and about.

I grew up in Roanoke, Virginia where a neon sign of an H&R coffee pot loomed large over the historic downtown market and a huge neon star shown across the Roanoke Valley.  These two icons from my childhood led to my lasting love of neon signs.

When I was young I had no idea how the amazing colors were created or how neon could make it look as if coffee poured from a pot and into a cup.  I have since learned that neon signs are made using electrified, luminous tubes of light that contain neon or other gases.  Although only neon gas was originally used in “neon” signs, it is now simply used to make the reds and oranges we see. Argon, or an argon-neon mixture, is now used in most signs to produce a range of colors, along with adding phosphorous to sides of the bent glass tubing.  To improve the color of the light, a small amount of mercury can be added as well. When the tube is ionized by electrification, the mercury evaporates into mercury vapor, which fills the tube and produces strong ultraviolet light. The ultraviolet light interacts with the phosphor coatings in the tube to produce different colors.

As you travel around the country, you’ll find both old and new neon signs.  Of course, you’ll see dozens of neon signs for beer, but I’m a fan of the large, bold neon signs that take artistry to create.  And if you happen to be visiting Roanoke, Virginia make sure you look up on Mill Mountain for a glimpse of the neon star – then you’ll know you are in the Star City of the South.

Find great things-to-do on A Day’s Outing…. and don’t forget to download the iPhone app so you can find new places to visit while you’re out and about.