More about the trip later... I HAVE to share what I saw Sunday! The cold air lent itself to some incredible atmospheric optics. About 4-4:30 we were walking across a store parking lot when I saw a rainbow sundog. I should have gone back to the truck for the camera right then, but it was cold... bad excuse, I know... but it started fading not long after I saw it, and by the time we were inside it was gone. That's event #1. We were leaving the same parking lot a while later and of course I was trying to see the sunset through the back window... something caught my eye and I asked hubby to pull into the lot behind the store where there was a better view. Events #2 and #3 not long apart... a beautiful upper sun pillar and my first viewing of what I believed to be a weak, but still awesome, circumzenithal arc! (That's an upside-down rainbow over the sun.) I scrambled for the camera, which I'd foolishly stashed in a bag... I managed to get a few shots of the sun pillar before it went away completely, though my photos were too late for the full effect. Missed the arc entirely, drat it! Here's the tail end of the pillar, as it was fading:
Winter is the best time for seeing halos and anything caused by ice crystals in the air. Pillars can happen any time, I believe, but seeing 3 optics in one day really had me stoked.
On to the rest of the weekend... Saturday, as we were cruising through Hershey, we saw a sign for the Antique Automobile Collector's Association museum. Having a fondness for spontaneous detours, and especially for ones involving old cars, we turned left instead of right and went to check it out. It looked small at first... we were a bit disappointed, and didn't want to pay a lot to see just a dozen or so cars, but when we rode by the main window a 1987 Buick Grand National on display changed MY mind. After drooling over the GN we paid eight dollars each for admission (dollar off with AAA, by the way) and went to see what else was inside. The museum turned out to be huge and chock-full of not just autos but memorabilia, including a service-station diorama and a complete (!) mobile diner from the 50s that you could walk into. There was an antique bus display and part of the Nicola Bulgari car collection. As it turns out, Bulgari (of watch and jewelry fame) just happens to be a Buick aficionado... yay!... And like I am (or would be, if I could afford it) he doesn't buy cars just to show off, he actually drives them! I was pleased. And he owns a GN... *sigh*
Onward... to the Eastern Outdoor Expo... where within 5 minutes I fell in love with a pontoon boat. And a minute later was trying (halfheartedly) to convince my husband to move down South, move into my great-grandfather's empty house, and haul that boat out to my cousin's dock. He actually thought about it for a good 30 seconds before laughing.
There were a million and one things to look at there... we managed to get through about 3/4 of a million... saw a booth for the charter-boat guy who took us striper-fishing on our honeymoon. He wasn't there but it was nice to have that bit of memory pop up unexpectedly.
Had to check out the 4x4 section too. Decided I liked the Toyota Highlander almost as much as the Tacoma. B found a hybrid Chevy fullsize pickup. I could go with or without the hybrid option. Nice idea, but I think it will be a while yet before the technology is streamlined and fine-tuned.
Saw an accessorized van that we decided NEEDS to be in any A-Team remake from here on out. Mr. T would have traded his gold bling for this van:
I also learned why I rarely see red foxes around, and why I've never seen a wild cat (bobcat, lynx, etc). They're all dead, stuffed, and mounted, and put on display at the Expo. Seems like every booth had some kind of mounted critter hanging around. One booth had a revolving rack full of fox pelts. *Shudder* Yes, I hunt. But I eat what I kill, and I don't agree with animals suffering in traps... I hate the idea of trapping them just so their pelts can be sold at flea markets and sports shows. Does anyone really eat fox, mink, or bobcat? I don't think so. And we're long beyond the age where fur clothing is necessary for survival, at least in the majority of the world today. (If you all want to sell critter skins, find a use for groundhog hides and leave the foxes alone, okay? And come up with a few woodchuck recipes while you're at it.)
Off my soapbox now... we bought a new deer drag harness, a really neat one. Hope it works. Got a few samples here and there, crawled in, under, around and through a bunch of boats and trucks... watched two Grizzly bear cubs playing at the animal exhibit, which also had a young grey wolf, tigers, a black bear and a coatimundi... watched the log-rolling and chainsaw show... I recommend the Expo to anyone who likes that sort of thing because it's a lot of fun. Just leave your credit cards at home!
So... between the snow, sky, cars, and Expo, and a couple of ostrich burgers at Fuddruckers, we had a great time. Left with a lingering urge to go fishing and camping but what we need to do first is go wash the salt off the truck. ;-P
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