There
was enough free time built into the Road Scholar trip so we could do
some trips on our own, have a meal together, and talk around the fire
in the evening (when we could stay awake long enough!).
The
group walked to downtown Rockport. Motif #1 is supposed to be the
most painted building in the United States. It was Labor Day weekend
so the area was full of tourists, but cool. BTW, the weather all week
was perfect. No rain and 60s to low 70s. Heaven compared to Florida
weather.
I
did my morning walk thing every morning. The first was to find a
geocache near downtown. It was in an area that I had no idea existed.
I love when geocaching takes me to unexpected places like this for
sunrise.
The
2nd morning was quite interesting. I was walking before
the sun came up and saw something move on the sidewalk in front of
me. When I took a picture, the flash came on before the picture when
I realized it was a skunk! The actual picture is a blur as I moved
quickly away. Otherwise, I found another geocache. The walk took me
through town where I could see all the granite fences, buildings, and
even curbs.
Granite
was another big industry in town with quite a few quarries that are
now waterholes. This was one that I saw the next day.
The
hike to this quarry took Mark (fellow ONU’er and geocacher) and I
under this bridge. It was great fun to stomp, scream, and clap to
hear the echos under the bridge. Sure, we’re adults and even senior
citizens.
Geocaching
in the morning on the next day was a bit frustrating. I searched for
quite a while using the flashlight on my phone since it was still
dark in the woods. After I gave up and was leaving, I saw it
immediately. Anyhow, here’s a granite home that’s now a museum.
For
our free time afternoon, I talked most of the group into doing the
weird stuff I like. The Paper House was enjoyed by all. The walls and
furniture is all made of newspapers. Lots of work here!
We
both geocached and hiked at a local state park. The park was on the
ocean plus had a granite quarry too.
Why,
though, was the most memorable part the granite statue we called
“Sasquatch Taking a Dump”. I am SO cultured.
Our
group dinner that evening was quite memorable too. The plates of food
were both excellent and amazingly large. Most of us boxed up the
leftovers and had it for breakfast the next day (I can highly
recommend lobster ravioli as breakfast food). One of our ladies
ordered a single order of key lime pie. It was so big it fed 6 of us
perfectly.
Three
of the group joined me the next morning for a hike through Dogtown.
Lots of history here plus boulders that had different words carved
into them. The humor was that the trails are not well marked and we
weren’t quite sure where we were most of the time. At one point we
found a rock that said “Be On Time” that we were sure was our
tour guide speaking to us. We made it back in time after a 4-mile
hike through the woods.
The
final hike was a different section of Dogtown. This one had a marsh.
Lots of good hiking during the week in perfect weather.