Lassen - Shasta (June 2015)

Mt. Shasta

Burney Falls

Link to more photos.

This was another Road Scholar tour.

There was plenty to see and do in the area, much more than I knew about. The one problem we had was that the van forced on us by the small size of our group was a bit cramped, and not everyone could see everything when we were on the road.

We were based in Redding. I didn't know how hot Redding typically is. It was over 100° on several days. Fortunately, we went elsewhere almost every day.

I very much liked the time we spent in Lassen Volcanic National Park. Although we spent most of a day there, we saw fewer than half of the sights. I wanted to see more.

Because I had toured Hoover Dam in the past, our tour of Shasta Dam wasn't very interesting for me. I liked our time on Shasta Lake, in Lake Shasta Caverns, and on Mt. Shasta itself.

Turtle Bay (animals and botanical gardens and "Mindbender Mansion" exhibit), Sundial Bridge, and walking a portion of the Sacramento River Trail were all great fun. I have long admired Santiago Calatrava's work, but I didn't realize that one of his bridges was in Northern California. Burney Falls was very good, too. I wasn't into Weaverville much.

This trip began just two days after my trip to Boston and Maine! Happily, on this trip I ate a little less, walked a good deal more, and did not put on more weight.

Maine (June 2015)

Thunder Hole, Acadia National Park

Bibbed and ready for lobster

Link to more photos.

The forecast was not very good -- rainy for most of the week I would be there, but in fact, the fog and rain let up after a few days. True, we couldn't see much on our day in Acadia National Park, but after that, things got better.

It was this tour.

In Boston, we went to "Gospel Night" with the Boston Pops. I would have preferred a different concert, but it was OK. The next day, I passed up Quincy Market and a harbor tour to have lunch and walk with a high school friend and his wife. We hadn't seen each other since high school.

I would have spent more time in Maine, especially given the rainy first couple of days. We only saw the southern half of the coast of the large state. I did enjoy what we saw.

Of course, I again ate too much and exercised too little.