Author Archives: Barbara Pattee

URGENT MESSAGE: Get the Real ID

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“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” St. Augustine

Everyone enjoys traveling without a hitch. No one likes delays, cancelations, lost luggage, or any other problem. Now we have something new to worry about. If you fly domestically, you must have a federally compliant driver’s license called the Real ID to pass through security. This new requirement goes into effect October 1, 2020. To get this Real ID, take your driver’s license, proof of your Social Security number, and proof of citizenship to a Secretary of State office.

“If everything is in order, you’ll get a new license that has a gold star in the upper right corner – or an American flag on Michigan Enhanced driver’s licenses.” **

If you try to board a domestic flight on October 1, 2020 or later without the Real ID, you won’t be allowed to board the flight. “If you get turned away at the airport and forget to cancel your flight, you can kiss your ticket goodbye.” **

There won’t be a refund of your ticket.

Why haven’t we been notified about this before? 14 years ago, this mandate was signed into law; however, there have been numerous delays. Now the matter is urgent. Don’t wait until the last minute to take care of the matter. The lines will get longer, the delays numerous, and the urgency will hit all at once.

Get ahead of the game. Get your Real ID now!

**Detroit Free Press Sunday, October 27, 2019.

The World is a Book

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“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” St. Augustine

Efficient packing for trips begins with great shopping. Your luggage choices depend upon your destination and how much you wish to pack. I suggest bags with wheels unless you’re traveling to cities that don’t allow wheeled bags that ruin their cobbled streets and walkways. A backpack to handle short excursions into town is helpful. When my husband, Roger, and I travel by plane we don’t use our twenty-seven-inch bag because I always overpack. That bag is reserved for our road trips when we don’t have to worry about weight limits.

When we travel by plane or train, we take bags no larger than twenty-one-inches. Usually two carry-on bags, a backpack, and a large purse work for me. Roger takes two carry-on bags and a backpack. Some of our friends asked how we can travel with so few bags. The secret is in the purchases we make prior to our trips. Some of our purchases were made at Travelsmith.com, Magellans.com, llbean.com, as well as other department stores.

I purchased a dressy black lightweight three-piece wrinkle-resistant outfit that I can mix with various colorful dressy tops. My wrinkle-resistant casual clothes include slacks, shorts, and a variety of tops. I pack one pair of dressy shoes, one pair of casual shoes, and I wear comfortable walking shoes. I also pack a sweater, rain jacket, a small lightweight blanket, and a foldable sunhat depending on our destination.

I keep my costume jewelry to a minimum in a small carrying case. My lingerie is hand washable and quick dry. The shampoo and conditioner I prefer to use on my hair are packed in small, reusable plastic containers as is my body lotion. We always carry a foldable cloth laundry bag to take our dirty clothes to a laundromat.

Roger packs a sport coat, wrinkle-resistant pants, shorts, sport shirts, hand washable quick-drying underwear, one pair of dress shoes, and a Dopp kit for his toiletry items. We each pack a camera and books to read. We still have room for small souvenirs we purchase during our trips.

Prior to our twenty-seven-day trip to Australia and New Zealand, I searched online for information on packing suitcases efficiently. My plan was to take only a wheeled carry-on bag, a backpack, and a large purse. Rolling soft fabrics and folding stiffer ones seemed like an interesting way to pack. Once my bag was packed, I took a picture of my opened bag so that I could remember where each item was placed. This helped me when I repacked for our return home.

Does this give you good ideas for your future travels?

How do you pack for a trip?

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“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” St. Augustine

During your travels, have you dealt with extreme weather conditions? On a recent trip, my husband, Roger, and I experienced a humid Vermont with temperatures in the high eighties and low nineties. This contrasted with a winter trip there where one day the temperature dropped to thirty-five degrees below zero. We’ve also traveled there during the beautiful fall foliage where the temperature ranged from the mid-forties to the mid-seventies. We love Vermont.

Packing efficiently for our various trips depends on us knowing the temperature range of our destinations and the activities in which we’ll take part. During our early vacations, I always over packed. Over the years, I learned to make do with a lot less.

This learning curve came in handy for our twenty-seven-day trip to Australia and New Zealand. Our traveling companions couldn’t believe that I packed all my belongings in a twenty-one-inch carry-on, a backpack, and a large purse. Roger used a twenty-four-inch suitcase and a backpack. I should mention that doing laundry a couple of times during our trip played a large part in our ability to pack less. Do you have a difficult time deciding what to take for a trip or have you mastered the art of efficient packing? Do you have any helpful hints that could make traveling easier?

Leaf Peepers

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“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” St. Augustine

My husband, Roger, and I enjoy seeing natures’ beauty whenever we can. We decided to see the fall foliage in the six New England states where I heard it is magnificent.

During the first week of October a few years ago, we traveled to New York and the six New England states during one fall foliage season. People who invade these states at that time are called “leaf peepers” by the locals.

The hardwood trees in northernmost Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont start to change in early to mid-September. Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island begin to change soon afterward. The peak leaf peeper season usually happens during the first two weeks of October. Our timing of this adventure was perfect. The millions of beautiful red, orange, gold, yellow, and purple leaves among the evergreen trees didn’t disappoint us.

We previously traveled to Vermont and New Hampshire together, but this time we wanted to visit these states on the same trip. What better time than during the lush fall foliage season?

We left Michigan taking the bridge into Canada and spent the night in Ontario near Thousand Islands. We had a full breakfast at a restaurant overlooking the St Lawrence River. Refreshed, we continued to our scheduled stop in Vermont where Roger has family members. We took pictures of the colorful hillsides, rustic barns, crossed one of the few remaining old-fashioned covered wood bridges, and picked fruit at an apple orchard. His sister baked a scrumptious pie for us using the fresh raspberries we picked at a raspberry farm. We also ate decadent maple syrup ice cream at Roger’s favorite Vermont ice cream stand.

Our four star-filled nights in Vermont were followed by a short stay in New Hampshire where Roger has family. We played on a beautiful leaf-covered golf course and lost a number of golf balls under piles of colorful leaves. We made several stops to take pictures of the awesome pallet of natures’ colors. After eating dinner with his family and spending the night, we headed for Maine. 

After a long drive over winding roads, past colorful hillsides, we parked at a tourist spot south of Kennebunkport, Maine. Before shopping for souvenirs, we decided to walk on the beautiful sandy beach right into the Atlantic Ocean and I immediately jumped back out. The waters off the shores of Maine were way too cold for me to take a real dip in the waters. At least I could say I got in the Atlantic Ocean for the first time. Our souvenir shopping included t-shirts and postcards for our grandchildren and a magnet of the state of Maine for ourselves.

Following a lunch of fresh seafood, we drove through Massachusetts enjoying the lovely foliage on our way to Providence, Rhode Island for an overnight stay. From there we stopped in Connecticut for lunch. After driving around New London, we headed up through Hartford, Connecticut to Springfield, Massachusetts where we turned west onto I-90 which took us through Albany, New York on our way to Niagara Falls just north of Buffalo. We saw Niagara Falls from both the American and Canadian sides. Colorful lighting enhanced the American view of the awesome cascading waters. We stayed one night in Niagara Falls before heading back home by way of Canada.

Once we left Vermont, we covered the remaining New England states and New York in four days. New England is not an expansive area. This trip helped us fill our magnetic map of the United States.

How many states have you visited?

“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” St. Augustine

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My husband, Roger, and I have traveled to some of our fifty states more than once. Because I’m an amateur genealogist, I wanted to use one of our trips to research the little-known paternal side of my family. While Roger golfed, I spent time in Frankfort, Kentucky researching the Kentucky Archives and Libraries for clues to my family’s records. Frankfort is second only to Salt Lake City, Utah in genealogical research opportunities.

Birth, death, and divorce records weren’t consistently maintained during the years key members of my family lived in Kentucky. In the few records I found, my father’s maternal grandmother’s name appeared only once. Using words of dedication written by my daughter, Autumn, I had a memorial brick for my great-grandmother placed on the walkway outside of the library alongside other Kentucky ancestors.

Autumn conducted online genealogy research to try to discover additional information on her and our other ancestors. She discovered that the 1920 census in Horse Cave, Kentucky, town of my father’s birth, recorded 864 residents. Years ago, my father told me that a one-block area there called Henry Town was named for his father, Henry, a popular man in his day. In 2011, Autumn decided that we should take a family trip to Horse Cave. The population there at that time was about 2,311. We were pleasantly surprised to hear a lady at city hall mention Henry Town.

Autumn, her husband Daniel, their eight-year-old daughter, and one-year-old son accompanied Roger and me on our trip. While our husbands and the children enjoyed the Louisville Zoo and the hotel swimming pool, Autumn and I went to the local colored cemetery to see if we could locate the tombstones of our relatives thought to be buried there.

The well-maintained Guthrie Street Municipal Cemetery has 200 to 300 graves. Much to our delight, we found the gravestones of many of our ancestors. Because some tombstones were situated in family groupings, we were able to find additional names for Autumn’s growing poster of our genealogy tree. We happily photographed all the family groupings as well as individual headstones we knew belonged to our ancestors.

Some graves were marked with obviously hand carved rocks rather than the more expensive headstones. The wording on these rocks has worn away over time leaving some graves unmarked. We couldn’t find my great-grandmother’s grave. Because of the estimated time of her death, we’re sure that one of the worn-away stones was hers. Tears of sadness filled our eyes at that sad thought.

Have you tried searching for your ancestral records? Were you successful? Did you have any surprises in your findings?