I'm captivated by the right most bloom on Legs Limmer, but it doesn't look like the rest of the blooms have that shape. If the rest of the blooms looked like that, I would add it for sure. I see you were captivated enough by Mint Octopus to photograph it a second time. I'm liking it more each time I see it! The last photo with Viva Pinata and the red coneflowers is very striking. I'm enjoying your tours. Please post more photos if you have them. Debra

Good Morning All; I had thought it was going to be a gorgeous sunrise so I scooted down to the beach to take a picture. Well there was weather out to sea so it was not very colorful In fact the red sky is not good news, "Red sky in the morning, sailors take warning, red sky at night, sailors delight." But I had heard there was a storm heading for the weekend. So I came home. Well then as I was doing some work, the sun appeared. So I returned to the beach and now it was almost too bright. Here is the dunes away from the rising sun And finally, I did take some pictures in the yard yesterday. The leaves have pretty much gone by but there is one tree over the house that still looks nice. Then again this one is into winter already. And finally, one remaining rose. Hope everyone has a howling good time today. diene

According to their brochure, Long Island Railroad did not offer specific train/tour packages to the sunken forest at Sailor's Haven in Fire Island National Seashore this year. However, they did offer day trips that sound wonderful to other places. You might want to check them out for similar tours next year: http://mta.info/lirr/getaways/LongIsland2004/ You don't need an organized tour to visit the sunken forest. Take the LIRR to Sayville, and hop on a Colonial or Village transport van for $3.00 that will get you to Sayville Ferry in about four minutes. The vans and/or cabs wait at the train station to meet every train. The Sayville ferries go to either Cherry Grove, the Pines or Sailor's Haven: http://www.sayvilleferry.com/sf.shtml You want to go to Sailor's Haven, and here is the website for it: http://www.nps.gov/fiis/WestDist/shhp.html Although the boardwalks and trails of the sunken forest are open year-round, the Sailor's Haven visitor's center, snack bar and ranger tours are closed until next spring. From late spring to late summer, there are weekly free tours and other activities, some focused on kids. They have had to cut down on their programs and staff in recent years, due to funding cuts (sadly, this trend won't likely be changed for the next four years). It is possible to take a ferry year-round from Sayville to Cherry Grove ($12.00 round trip). The sunken forest area is about a mile and a half walk west from Cherry Grove dock, along the ocean-side beach. One severe limitation of a winter trip is that the last returning ferry is at 3:40 PM which does not leave too much time for a nice visit. Still, there is great beauty here in winter. There are no hotels or motels open in Cherry Grove in winter, so you are pretty much stuck with doing a day trip. You could take a water taxi from Sayville or Bay Shore directly to Sailor's Haven and come and go when you please, but this is quite expensive. The sunken forest is a remarkable and unique place. The boardwalk trails go through an old holly forest (which appears to be sunken because it is at the bottom of wooded dunes, but it is not below sea level) as well as marshland and dunes. It does seem that most people who go to Sailor's Haven in the summer come to go to the great beach, which has a lifeguard. There are also changing rooms and a bathroom.

Great trip and at the best time of the year for that location. Northern Wisconsin and Upper Michigan tend to have a rainy season starting after May 15th and lasting through June 15th. However, this is not predictable; Each year is different. I live west of Milwaukee and have traveled roads in Illinois, I do have advice about potential routes from Missouri to Upper Michigan. I do not know which route you will be taking. The best route for a trip like this one is to explore and let the road take you to points of interest, an unplanned amble. I do have an aversion to certain locations when I'm on a pleasure trip. Listed below are places best avoided. Traveling from west to east through the heart of St. Louis to cross the Mississippi into Illinois. It can be congested, drivers ignoring the rules of the road, with potential for accident. 2. Chicago: Traveling south to north on the toll way. Yep, I94 is a tollway in Illinois from I80 north to the Wisconsin border. Avoid the morning and evening rush hours plus noon time. Sometimes, this route works and sometimes it does not. The best way to handle tolls here is to purchase a transponder at an Oasis or other locations. Go on-line and fill it with $20 to $40. This section of the tollway has high speed gates suspended over the road. The only rule is don't change lanes while passing through the gate. In the Chicago area, toll charges using the transponder is half of that for the manual gates. This is an I-Pass system and works for many other toll roads in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland, etc. An e-mail notification is sent when the account runs low on cash. Also, you will be notified by e-mail when it is time to exchange the transponder. Apparently, it is battery powered and needs to be changed out when the battery runs low, or replaced by a revised unit. Typically, the unit we have lasts about 5 years. 3. Milwaukee can't seem to ever finish building an expressway before revising it. Summer is road construction season with lane closures. Almost every morning during rush hour, there is an accident in this system. Its assured if it rains or snows. With the above comments in mind, these are the routes I recommend. For passing trough St. Louis from the SW, bypass the city. If you are arriving via I-44, take the beltline, I-270, to the east and cross the river, then follow this road north to I-55/I-70. Of course, this will shunt you around the St. Louis Arch. If you wish to visit this item, you'll have to deal with the city. Travel northward on I-55 past Springfield and Lincoln to Bloomington. Here, decide if you will continue on I-55 to Chicago, or turn due north. I recommend due north on I-39 to Wisconsin. The main problem you'll have on this stretch is staying awake. There is very little food or fuel stops on this part and radio stations don't have decent music. Bring you own music if that is what you like while traveling. At Rockford, IL, I-39/US-51 blends into I-90. This part to the state line is tollway. A short distance north of the state line, turn NE onto I-43. This road will be uncongested until the outskirts of Milwaukee. Unless you are familiar with the local roads, there is not good way around Milwaukee, therefore, I'll plot a path keeping to the main highways with minimal road changes. When I-43 meets the beltline of the city, go east. It should be labeled i-43. At the east side of town, turn north. It should be labeled I-43. Stay on this to go north out of town and continue the trip. I-43 goes to Green Bay (Home of the Packers!). There, pickup US-41 to take you to Marinette, WI, and Menominee, Mich. Points of Interest: A. If you are interested in geology, this part of Wisconsin has features left over from the last glacier. Geologically speaking, it was not long ago, only about 10,000 to 11,000 years. These features are found in the South and North Kettle Moraine units. The best kettles, eskers, and kames are in the north unit. There good examples of drumlins where I live and I know the location of a crevasse fill. It is more rare than the other features. The western part of Wisconsin was not covered by the last glacier. B. Milwaukee County Zoo. This is a very good zoo. You can spend most of a day viewing the exhibits. C. Milwaukee Baseball Stadium. It has a retractable cover over the entire field with a heating system. D. Port Washington (north of Milwaukee). One hundred years ago, this was a fishing village. Today, its a quaint small town nestled by Lake Michigan with a marina catering to sport fishermen. It has restaurants in full view of the lake. Standard fare is Fish Fry on Friday nights. E. Sheboygan. The best sausage and bratwurst in Wisconsin are made here. F. Elkhart Lake. Road America Race Track. G. Green Bay. Home of the Green Bay Packers Football Team. H. Summer Fest Grounds. These grounds are located in downtown Milwaukee and on the Lake Front. Several weeks of the summer are filled with ethnic festivals. Irish Fest is one of the largest Irish festivals in the world. I. Cedarburg Covered Bridge. This bridge on Cedar Creek is the last remaining covered bridge in Wisconsin. There are a few other small covered bridges, but these are mostly late model props to attract clients. The Cedarburg bridge was open to traffic until 1961 when it was retired. Its unique feature is that no nails or bolts were used to hold the frame together. It is fastened with 2 inch dia. wood pegs. J. Oshkosh. EAA Air Museum with examples of old aircraft. Oshkosh airport is the location of the annual week long EAA Fly In and show. K. Milwaukee: Harley-Davidson Museum Menomonee Falls: Harley-Davidson Factory.