Swimming With The Manatees

Before Aric even came to stay for the week with us, we planned a trip to swim with the manatees with him. Nathan and I went last year and enjoyed the experience so much, we highly recommended it to Aric. This trip was with a much bigger group. We had less encounters with manatees and the water was cloudy, making it impossible to see the manatees. I decided to stay on the boat and take pictures and let the guys hang out with the manatees. It was still a great day even with those factors.



According to the information they gave us, this is the only place you can swim alongside the West Indian Manatee. In the winter, they estimate up to 700 manatees are in this area. During this time of the year that drops to 70. They are not sure why some migrate north and some stay put here in Florida. We encountered a mama and her baby. You are not allowed to touch babies until they reach a certain age/size but it is still neat to see them like we did last year. It is amazing how gentle the manatees are for their size. They are not intimidating at all to hang out with, beyond I would not want to be trapped underneath one!



I hope we can make this trip with all of our kids at some point. It is one of the neatest animal encounters that we've ever experienced!

Hurrican Irene's Destruction

When we left the OBX area, we had plans to come back quickly. Today we realized that is not likely to happen given the devastation there. Out of all the places we have visited so far, this was by far the one that felt the most like "home" to me so I'm sad we won't be going back just yet. We hope to return in the spring and in the meantime we will send supplies and do other things to help this area as they rebuild.

Wow! I've been nominated...

Thank you so much to everyone who nominated Kinexxions for the Family Tree Magazine 40 Best Genealogy Blogs (in the Personal/Family Category)! And congratulations go out to all of the other nominees.

The editorial staff of Family Tree Magazine will be selecting 40 blogs in the various categories for an article scheduled to be published in the May .. issue. Blogs were nominated by readers last month and the voting is now open (and will continue to November 5th) to determine the final 80 blogs that will make the cut.

Blogs were grouped into 10 different categories based on the purpose or intent of the blog: All-around, Personal/Family, Local/Regional, Cemetery, Photos/Heirlooms, Heritage, News/Resources, How-to, Genealogy Companies, and Genetic Genealogy. The Genealogy Insider has more information about the categories.


Caution, shameless plug coming. . . I realize that Kinexxions has been a bit preoccupied with some traveling and hasn't posted much content recently that is related to family history but if you'd care to vote for me I'm near the bottom of the list (hopefully that doesn't really mean anything ;-) in the Personal/Family category. And, hey, you can even vote more than once if you'd like to!

Update October 6th:
I've been informed by Bill West (thanks Bill!) that the list of blogs in each category changes each time you view the poll, so you'll just have to look for the blogs for which you want to vote. Also, the illustrious footnoteMaven (who has been nominated in two categories!) has created a list of links to each of the nominated blogs, which is quite helpful in reviewing the nominees prior to voting.

Sand Trails Meet Road Tires

I know that some people are afraid to venture off road on road tires, but you might be surprised how versatile a good road tire can be.

We were cycling along the coast in Wellfleet, Mass., when we came upon this spectacular fire road.

The sand road, which is no more than a narrow trail in some stretches, runs trough several miles of dunes and saltwater marshes. You can see the depth of the sand here by the tire tracks on the left and the foot prints on the right.

There were no other cyclists on the trail and at first we did not think that our bicycles could handle it, but apparently they could. We rode at a slow and even pace without incident, enjoying the gorgeous views that were inaccessible from the road.

We both have 32mm tires on our Motobecanes: mine are Panaracer Pasela Tourguards and his are Continental Ultra GatorSkins. Both of these have good kevlar protection and are pretty fast on the road. Great to know that they perform off road as well. The above photo gives a pretty good sense of the depth of the sand we were able to cycle through. If you have never encountered sand on a bicycle before, the thing to keep in mind is that you should avoid making sudden or sharp turns. If you need to turn, make it a very wide turn and do it smoothly and gradually.

Here is a deeper pile of sand where we had to stop and walk the bikes (or in my case, push the bike forward with my feet). There were a couple of these patches, but not many.

As the trail wound closer to the water's edge, the sand became increasingly wet and covered in shards of sea shells.

Here is a close-up. We rode through that too.

I was worried that the sea shell shards might puncture our tires, and here I am yelling something to that effect. But in the end we decided to go through with it, and que sera sera.

The tires emerged filthy, but intact.

Cycling through the sand felt wonderful, especially since it gave us access to places that would otherwise have gone unexplored. One does not necessarily need a mountain bike just to go on some fire trails, even if they involve dunes and marshes. Invest in good tires with kevlar protection and don't underestimate your roadbike!

In The Rain

This is how it looked when we parked to let the rain let up as it was raining extreamly hard. This is the Jemez Pueblo Visitors Center where we buy fry bread to eat. You can just barely see one of the remadas on the right edge of the photo where they put out their food items and cook the fry bread in big pans of hot greese over wood fires.

Lake Superior Ice Ornaments

Yesterday while walking the shoreline to photograph the first sunrise of the new year, I found countless fascinating ice formations hanging from the rocks at the water's edge. These particular formations were my favorite. The first thing I thought of when seeing them was "they look like Christmas ornaments!" The sun was just starting to hit the rock on the upper right. The "ornaments" were still in the shade had this beautiful blue color. As the water lapped at the ornaments, they would momentarily lose the blue color. When the water receded, they once again turned blue. You never know just what you're going to find when you're out exploring in nature :-)

Oh, John? I'm Looking for You!

My heart sank as I went through the Grantee and Grantor Deed Index Books for Columbiana County. There was just one entry for John Ruppard between 1803-1850. Lots of entries showed up for Adam Rupert and Jacob Rupert during that time period. But just a single entry for John.



That entry (v9 p47) showed that John Ruppard and Barbara his wife and Andrew Richard Ruppard and Mary his wife of the county of Columbiana in consideration of the sum of $300 sold a parcel of landto Durs Walserin the SW 1/4 of Section 26 of Township 15 in Range 4, which quarter section was confirmed to John Ruppard by Patent under the hand of James Madison President dated the seventh day of December Annon Domini One Thousand eight hundred and nine... [description of the land...] containing 70 and 79/100 acres.



Bottom of page 47 in Columbiana County, Ohio deed book 9from microfilm 926865 at the Family History Library, Salt Lake CityJohn Ruppard and Andrew Richard Ruppard selling land to Durs Walser(As always, double-click on the images to view a larger version.)

Page 48 in Columbiana County, Ohio deed book 9

page 48 in Columbiana County, Ohio deed book 9Signatures of John (in “German”), Andrew Richard, Mary, and Barbery Rupert/Rupard

That was nice, to say the least!



The deed confirmed that Barbara was John's wife. And, Township 15 in Range 4 is Hanover township. And that means that he is probably the John Rupert mentioned on page 157 in the “History of Columbiana County, Ohio” (Mack, 1879).

“John Rupert, a German, who upon his arrival in Baltimore from Germany, being unable to pay his passage money, was sold by the captain of the vessel to a person who, in consideration of receiving Rupert's services free for the ensuing three years, paid the captain's demand. Rupert lived in Hanover until his death, after reaching the age of one hundred years. The farm he owned is now owned by C. Pfeffer, in section 26, Hanover twp.”

But just as interesting was the fact that John Ruppard had obtained the land by Patent. A quick search of the patent records at the BLM Website using his last name, as well as variations, brought up nothing. A search for township 15, range 4, section 26 displayed three entries – for the NW 1/4, the NE 1/4, and the SE 1/4. That was a bit confusing. What happened to the SW 1/4?



In a moment of serendipity later that day, I decided to take a look at the May issue of “Genealogy Gems: News from the Fort Wayne Library” that was still sitting in my email unread. That issue included an article by John D. Beatty on Ohio Public Land Records. Talking about the BLM database, Mr. Beatty states “While Ohio is represented, the database does not contain the names of those who bought land on credit before 1820.”



That could explain why John Ruppard does not show up in the BLM database! A trip to the Allen County Library will be forthcoming since “the records of Ohio’s public land sales, including those omitted from the GLO database, are available on microfilm in The Genealogy Center.” The article continues by providing a resource, also at the Genealogy Center, to find out whether an ancestor purchased land on credit.



There were two enticing grantor entries for “Conrad Yarian Exr etal” one in 1834 selling land to John Sheets and the other in 1842 selling land to Wm Ehrhart. From this entry in a WorldConnect database I knew that Catharina Rupert (presumed daughter of John Rupert) had married David Ehrhart.



In the 1834 entry, Conrad Yarian and George Snoke were the executors of the estate of John Snoke. For $2,000.00 they sold 190 and 75/100ths acres in the SW corner of Section 6 Township 8 Range 1 to George Sheets. Date of transaction was July 3, 1834. John Snoke (Snook) was married to Mary Rupert, daughter of Adam. I moved on to the next item.



As I began reading the deed record of the 1842 transaction (v33 p649), my heart skipped a beat and then started pumping faster. The names David Ehrhart and Conrod Yarian were there but the name John Rupart nearly jumped off the page! The record stated, in part:



“This Indenture made this sixth day of October in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and forty two between David Ehrhart and Conrod Yerrien Executors of the last will and testament of John Rupart late of the county of Columbiana and state of Ohio, deceased, of the one part and William Ehrhart of the same county and State of the other part witnesseth that whereas the said John Rupart by his said last will and testament did authorise, impower and require his said executors to grant, bargain and sell the West 1/2 of the South West 1/4 of Section 26 Township 15 Range 4 in the said county of Columbiana...”



Page 649 in Columbiana County, Ohio deed book 33David Ehrhart & Conrod Yarian executors of John RupartSelling land to William Ehrhart

Page 650 in Columbiana County, Ohio deed book 33

It was almost “happy dance” time, but not quite. It still didn't prove that John was Eva's father. I was thrilled that I had found this because it meant that he DID have a will, and there would be estate papers! But when did John Rupert die?



I pulled microfilm (927750), which contained “Probate records, v. 11-13 1841-1846” and found an entry for the estate of John Rupert (I neglected to write down the volume number, but it was on page 360 and dated the August term of 1842, so probably book 11). But all it contained was the financial accounting of the final settlement of the estate. No mention of a distribution to heirs. It did, however, provide a clue to his date of death in an item for “Cash for Rent of Real estate” dated July 14, 1836.



Presuming that John died prior to July 14, 1836 when money was received for renting his land, I pulled the microfilm (2032650) “Estate records, no. 1694-1862 1834-1837” and went through the entire roll without finding anything on John Rupert. It had taken over an hour to read that roll of microfilm, looking at the names on the packets and hoping for positive results. I was concerned when I kept seeing the “Missing Packet” place holders and I was more than a little disappointed that I hadn't found the estate record for John. Was his one of the missing packets?

Reunited

After what seems like ages, beloved Patrizia has finally returned to me. This is my personal Bella Ciao bicycle that has undergone many customisations and served as the "Superba" prototype guineapig. Having spent months in various states of disassembly, she then endured a long stay at the rack-maker's workshop - all without a word of complaint. And now she is back, her slender curves enticing me with promises of a romantic Indian summer.

I am also reunited with the wonderful Ideale saddle I'd acquired in a trade some time ago. I had installed it on a vintage mixte I owned at the time, but after that bicycle was sold the saddle lived in my closet for over a year, waiting for the right moment to re-emerge. It looks and feels quite at home here.

Ideale was a French saddle manufacturer and the Model 6 is a wide, short-nosed women's saddle that was made some time in the '70s. Although some have drawn parallels between the vintage Ideale and contemporary Berthoud saddles, in my opinion they are nothing alike and Berthoud is not an Ideale remake.



Finding a vintage Ideale in good condition is not all that common. After years of use, these saddles tend to suffer from the type of distortion where a painful center ridge forms that is resistant even to the "blocking" (wet reshaping) remedy. It is an amazing stroke of luck that mine does not suffer from this defect. Truthfully, I am somewhat torn between wanting to use it because it is comfortable and wanting to preserve it because it is rare.

Finally, I am reunited with the wooden grips I began to experiment with a few months back. I've decided to keep them on this bike, and they have been surprisingly comfortable. I thought that I might get blisters on my hands, but it hasn't happened. I am also happy to report that they haven't cracked or distorted despite plenty of humidity and temperature changes over the summer. I am not going to finish them with any kind of sealant, because I'd like to see what happens to them in the winter. Vintage collectors who are experienced with wooden grips have told me that if the grips are made "in the right way" they should not need any sealant and will be fine as they are. We'll see. While I'd be reluctant to recommend these for mainstream use, personally I love them.

Riding this particular bicycle always makes me realise how weird my tastes are. Responses to it have included "Ew, that colour!", "How can you ride with those things on the handlebars?" and "Is that a woman's army bike??" - all of which I've found oddly gratifying. Looking with fondness at her wooden grips, pukey powdercoat, trigger shifter and mottled 40 year old saddle makes me want to put my arm around Patrizia: "Looks like it's just you and me, babe."

Boulderstash, The No Name Forest photos

The No Name Forest quiet awaits our return

Laura and I had fun bouldering at a local spot the other day... Here's a couple photos

Laura on a clean slabby classic

Laura throwin' down her best
"Goodman on MOJO" impression.

Faster than a speeding bullet... Chipmunk parkour.
Photo by Laura Hahn

Laura working the sloping edge of Pyramid Block

Despite our best efforts the boulders always win the battle!
Until next time... Shhhhh

Ice Cave Sunrise

There is so much good ice along the north shore of Lake Superior right now, I'm sort of wishing I didn't have a day job so I could spend all day every day exploring and photographing the ice! This is another shot from yesterday morning's sunrise near Cascade River State Park. This cave wasn't very big. I basically crawled into it head first then turned on my side to make photographs of the sun rising behind the icicles. I sure love the color of the ice as the sun illuminated it from behind. What a beautiful sight!

Imitation is the greatest form of flattery....

Newest pack from Arcteryx. Simple is always good.



"Weighing in at just 680 grams, the Alpha FL is an ultralight and highly weather-resistant alpine climbing pack. Designed with custom-engineered N400r-AC2 nylon ripstop fabric, it is weatherproof, exceptionally durable, and yet supple enough to accommodate the shape of its contents, making the bag less prone to punctures. "



More here:

http://www.arcteryx.com/Article.aspx?EN&article=Arc%E2%80%99teryx-Alpha-FL-Pack



and here:



http://coldthistle.blogspot.com//05/climbing-packs-part-4.html

Welcome to Cebu, Philippines!

Hello, just a quick post right now as it’s almost 2AM Sunday here in Cebu, Philippines (my body time clock needs major adjusting). Earlier my laptop was having a tantrum—it’s not picking up any Wi-Fi connection which is strange because it was working well in Spain last August and Ireland as well just last month, September. Techie Dutchman came to rescue this damsel’s laptop in distress, AND NOW I CAN POST! Hallelujah!
Our plane to Manila in Schiphol Amsterdam Airport: 12 hours non-stop flight. It was an uneventful flight and we only slept 3 hours before landing. Dutchman did ask about the person sitting beside me—if it’s male or female? Huh, lol.

On board I read Volkskrant, Telegraaf and FD (I know I can be boring). Japan is not in top form and it is leading the national debt position.

I also watched a few travel documentaries and listened in between to Blof, a cool Dutch band from Zeeland. As for food, let’s just say that its ‘airline food’ and not worthy for posting.

Manila approaching for landing! I have a video of the landing but I cannot seem to transfer videos from the camera to the laptop.

From the old NAIA airport we took the free shuttle bus to Terminal 2 for our Cebu leg. We are now on board here with PAL (Philippine Airlines) and waiting to taxi on the runway.



By the way, when will all foreign flights land on the new NAIA or Manila airport? The old NAIA or Manila Airport is really so embarrassing. When will the Philippine government realize that its international airport is a symbol of the country and is therefore a major, MAJOR investment?
Ah, we are now about to land in Cebu. I can see an islet with white sands...

We were starving so we quickly had lunch at Gerry’s Grill in Ayala before heading home. I miss the original Gerry’s Grill in Jupiter Street Makati, they used to serve really great food, now it’s just so ordinary. I also don’t quite like the sweet taste of the dishes. Maybe it’s just my taste buds? I told my mom that I would like my usual Cebuano welcome food for evening’s dinner at home.

Unpretentious Cebuano food: yummy grilled dried mini squid and guso (seaweed salad)! And I miss Chippy as well!

If you travel a lot, especially to different continents, this international plug adaptor/converter would be a necessity.

Sunrise on Mormon Row

Another beautiful morning... and another crowd of photographers! This is certainly not something that I am used to... usually when I am out shooting back home its just me out there, by myself. Its kind of nice, though, on occasion, to shoot in places where other photographers gather. It certainly makes for interesting conversation and sometimes new friends are made.



Odds are, if you've seen images from Grand Teton National Park before, then you've probably seen pictures of this barn before. Its sort of a rite of passage for photographers visiting the Tetons... if you're in the area, even if you don't normally shoot old barns or buildings, you feel compelled to shoot this one. It definitely is a photogenic location, without a doubt.



This barn is located in an area of the park known as "Mormon Row", so named because the barns and cabins represent some historic Mormon settlements.