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Post by connrock on Jul 18, 2008 7:12:53 GMT -5
Hi folks, This Monday 7/21 I'll be picking up 3 mates at the air port after their 27 hours in the air!! They'll be staying with me and my wife for a bit over a week and then move on to other parts of the country.I think they will be in the states for a couple of months total! We have quite a schedule for their stay here and I REALLY doubt if I'll be able to keep up with them. Franklin NJ for fluorescent minerals,Portland Main to the Poland Mines,tour NYC,local collecting for 2 days,deep sea fishing for a day and a trip to the local Bass Pro shop in East Hartford CT. I am DESPERATELY trying to talk them out of the NYC trip but they seem bound and determined to go. I HATE NYC (and most big cities) cuz "I'm just a country boy" and would MUCH rather hunt rocks and minerals or go fishin or eat tar and saw dust for that matter!!!!!!! Maybe I can coax the wife into baking some Exlax brownies for them to eat the night before the planned NYC trip!! Do ya think? ? HELP PLEASE!!!! These guys are non stop action with no holds barred!!They like to have a beer or 2 as well!!! LOL LOL I don't drink so I'll be the designated driver.We'll be using our gas guzzling Dodge Durango for our "treks" so I hope they bring lotsa money cuz I aint got it!!! LOL Kiddin aside,they are great guys and VERY knowledgeable rockhounds or fossikers as they are called Down Under. After their visit my wife will post my funeral info for ya!!! Tom connrock
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Post by Titania on Jul 18, 2008 7:22:51 GMT -5
Sounds like it'll be a fun time! Take lots of photos for us.
I've yet to make it to Franklin. It's maybe 30 mins from where my in-laws live. One day. Let me know how the Poland Mines are. That's another trip I can easily make, as my folks live near there...honestly never heard of them before.
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Post by krazydiamond on Jul 18, 2008 8:07:59 GMT -5
Aussies are the most well balanced people on the planet.......they have a chip on both shoulders. ;D ;D just kidding. really..... NYC ain't too bad unless you are driving in it. park the Durango, put them on of them tour thingies, let them see the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and then pick 'em up several hours later and get the heck out of Dodge. I speak somewhat of experience, after about the 14th trip to take foreign visitors to see Niagara Falls, we've got the drill down to a science. we dump them off, go have a beer, pick them up take them to another "fascinatin' attraction", drop'em off, go have another beer. repeat until friends are totally frazzled and you are more than a wee bit tipsy. this technique won't work exactly for you, Tom, if you are a tee totaller, but you get the drift. have fun, and i hope your friends have a great time in the USA! ;D cheers, KD
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Post by connrock on Jul 19, 2008 4:37:57 GMT -5
Titania,,
I've never been to either place but am looking forward to the trips.
KD,,,
I've been saved with some of the misery of the NYC trip!!!
I contacted a friend of my son's who LOVES NYC and knows it well.He will be going down with us to the "Dark Side" (as I call it) and give us a tour of a lifetime.Of course ones lifetime can be VERY short in NYC so it may be a quick trip after all!!! LOL
One thing for sure,,,,,,It will be a "walk-about" my "mates" will never forget,,,,,,me either!!
With my legs in the condition they are in I will prolly have to rent a wheel chair!!! LOL
Tom
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Post by docone31 on Jul 19, 2008 22:10:33 GMT -5
The solution is simple, make lots of, instead of Exlax brownies, Alice B Toklas brownies. Stuffed with special herbs and spices. They can spend lots of time eating Granola, homemade of course, talking esoteric things, like creation, saving the world, the miracle of "isness". Lots of things like we used to do. After a warm up of brownies, how about some loaves of 'bread? You remember, the ones with seeds on top, either three fingers, or a lid. That will keep them close to the hearth. They won't need to see NYC. Just get them Crocodile Dundee, a fresh batch of brownies, some shrooms. After the film festival, you will probably have to see it many times to remember it once, get some Ravi Shankar, headphones, more Granola, homemade of course, and sparklers! Watch the sparks! In a pinch, a cigarette will do. Turn out the lights and move the red tip around in circles. Ask the one who giggles if things would be different if there was no air. Or perhaps what would happen if the ocean had no salt. Things like that. Don't forget the Boones Farm Apple Wine. Sangria also works but you have to fortify it with some EverClear. Make some more Brownies, and get some Monte Alban Tequila with the worms. Make some more Brownies, do some more worms, and have an "Happening". I bet if Syd Barrett reappeared, people would talk.
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Post by connrock on Jul 20, 2008 9:10:25 GMT -5
Wow doc,,,,Are you wearing the aluminum foil hat again? LOL
I like the idea of the shrooms though.
Hows bout shroom/lax brownies? Then they'll be "high" on the "throne"!! LOL
Tom connrock
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Post by larrywyland3 on Jul 20, 2008 9:54:08 GMT -5
Hi Tom
I just saw the post. I'd like to meet up with you at one of your stops (not NYC; I'm a country boy too LOL) send me a pm or give me a call on my cell (I will PM you the number). If you are coming out to the east side of the state; I can get you into Pelham Grayson (they deal in lots of different rock stuff) also Ivanwalkers place is fun to look around.
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chassroc
Cave Dweller
Rocks are abundant when you have rocktumblinghobby pals
Member since January 2005
Posts: 3,586
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Post by chassroc on Jul 21, 2008 12:30:57 GMT -5
I hope you have a great time. Sounds like a well thought out plan. Grew up in Jersey and never went to Franklin. My next door neighbor worked Summers in his college days and has lots of stories. Poland Springs Camp is suppossed to be another good one. NYC is great for tourists..lots to do and see...sounds like they have a ride. You could have driven them to the Train Station in Conn and let them on their own.
enjoy csroc
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RockyBlue
fully equipped rock polisher
Go U.K.
Member since June 2006
Posts: 1,719
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Post by RockyBlue on Jul 23, 2008 14:19:46 GMT -5
Hey Tom! Are they bringing any Chinchilla Wood with them?............Rocky
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Post by connrock on Jul 28, 2008 16:05:13 GMT -5
Rocky, Yes they did bring some "wood" and Queensland agates as well!
connrock Tom
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Post by connrock on Jul 28, 2008 16:50:43 GMT -5
Well my "Mates" left yesterday and went up to the Poland Mines in Maine. I picked them up at Tweed New Haven air port on Monday 21 July at about 11am.They were VERY tired from that long flight.Monday and Tuesday were kind of a wash with them getting a bit of sleep and just relaxing. We had quite a full week as it was so we couldn't fit the Maine trip in from here so they continued along on their own.They will meet a man from WI,do some collecting and then fly to Green Bay for a weeks stay there.Then it's off to OR for 2 weeks and LA for a week.Two of the guys will then go to Alberta Canada for 2 more weeks and the other will return to Australia alone. We had an interesting "find" in the processed stone around my pond.It seems that the rocks are chuck full of tiny garnets and some have VERY nice garnet crystals! The crystals are only about 3mm but very nicely formed,,,,,, A little closer,,,,,, I also found whats called "massive" garnet but it's it's not very "gemmy",,,,,,It's about the size of an acorn,,, You can get a pretty good look at it's color here,,,,,, We did manage to get down to Franklin NJ to see the fluorescent museum and do some collecting as well.We did the trip in 1 day and I was POOPED out,,,to say the least!! We collected about 50+ lbs of fluorescents in all in the hot sun! I was soaked to the bone with sweat but the Aussies refused to shed even one single drop of that salt water!!! Hmmmmmm,,,I wonder why!!!! LOL We hit some bumper to bumper traffic in Danbury CT on the way home so I got off of I84E and took the mates on a "ride-about"! They really enjoyed the scenic route while they "consumed" a LOT of beer!! Man oh man can they drink beer!!! WOW!!!!!! We spent 1 entire day shopping at a Mall in Milford CT. They walked my legs off for about 5 hrs and I ended up back in the Durango waiting for them to clean out every store in the place!!! I tried to tell them that CT has the highest prices and sales tax in th Country and for them to wait till they got to OR but they were like kids in a candy store!! We spent a rainy day here at my home just throwing the bull and seeing just how many beers the mates could consume! LOL I gave them each a canvas bag and told them that anything that was out in the open was fair game and they could help themselves!!!Rough rocks,slabs(polished and un-polished)minerals,faceted gem stones,minerals,sea shells,fossils,Rock & Gem magazines,catalogs,fluorescent minerals( from our own Steve in Utah),,,,(the mates said "Thanks Steve").Then we cracked open about 50-60 Mexican coconuts that I had from some VERY old stock and they went nuts over them! Just what the picked up at my place they shipped home a bit over 125 lbs of goodies,,,,,not to mention all the "stuff" they bought at the mall and other places they shopped at! I am VERY happy to say they we didn't have time to visit NYC!!!!! WOW was I happy!!! My wife cooked some awesome meals for all of us and we ate out a few times as well.One night I took them to have apizza at a place I consider the best in the USA.It's called Roseland Apizza and EVERYTHING is home made there.It's quite expensive but well worth it.We had 3 large with the works,2 root beers and about 15 gallons of beer for about $145.00 including the tip. I know I'm forgetting a lot but maybe it will come back to me later. Anyway ,,,,we had a blast and can't wait to see each other in another 2 years!! connrock Tom
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Post by krazydiamond on Jul 28, 2008 17:47:02 GMT -5
sounds like everyone had a rollicking good time AND you didn't have to suffer the City! please DO take some photos of the rocks they brought! and anything else you remember!
KD
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Post by cpdad on Jul 28, 2008 18:56:34 GMT -5
cool ;D...kev.
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Post by connrock on Jul 29, 2008 7:50:44 GMT -5
Is it just my computer or did the photo's of the garnets disappear??
Tom
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Post by krazydiamond on Jul 29, 2008 7:53:22 GMT -5
not just you.....they done disappeared here too.
KD
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chassroc
Cave Dweller
Rocks are abundant when you have rocktumblinghobby pals
Member since January 2005
Posts: 3,586
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Post by chassroc on Jul 29, 2008 12:02:06 GMT -5
Tom, What an awesome experience and ir sounds like you were a good "mate" for the Aussies. Those garnets are very nice...did you collect them in Connecticut? Don't feel bad about sweating; from everything I know it's natures way of cooling off so you were much cooler than they were
csroc
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Post by connrock on Jul 29, 2008 15:15:28 GMT -5
They're hearrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!! Must be The Twilight Zone or Doc's wearin that darn aluminum foil hat again!! Tom
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Post by docone31 on Jul 29, 2008 16:14:40 GMT -5
Tom, as an unofficial ambassador to the folks whose toilet flushes backwards. Yes, it flushes backwards. Take them into the bathroom and show them. They will be amazed. As ambassador, take them out to a good greasey spoon and have some Global Warming Special. Show them how we fight the establishment. We are not socialized! Get some French toast, slather lots of Jalepeno pepper sauce on it before the Maple Syrup. The reason, If you do it before the syrup, it burns your eyes. However, Inform them that cows have two stomaches. When they cut cheese, they produce Methane. There is one atom of carbon in the Methane molecule. When we cut cheese, we produce Hydrogen! (Yay!). Everytime we cut cheese, our hydrogen displaces one atom of carbon from Methane. Get flatulent, save the planet! Beans, beans, the musical fruit. The more we eat, the more we toot! The more we toot, the better we feel! So, Eat beans at every meal, and save the planet! Beano is a part of the conspiracy. Make sure you show them what electricity can do. They might not be used to it.
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Post by larrywyland3 on Jul 30, 2008 6:39:14 GMT -5
Sounds like everyone had a great time; sounds like you need a rest. Nice garnets
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Post by connrock on Jul 30, 2008 7:31:47 GMT -5
csroc, It was an awesome treat just being with these guys.
The garnets came from my back yard! There are zillions of them in the processed stone I bought for a walk way around my pond!A lot of them are smashed or rounded off from the process but some are still in nice crystal form,,,,,VERY small but nice!
Doc, One of the many meals we fed the mates consisted in part of,,,,baked beans,ribs and sour kraut and a LOT of broccoli!!! The tossed salad had big chunks of REAL imported provolone cheese in it too!!Ya know?? The cheese that smells like dirty socks??? Yup,,,,,,,that's the stuff!
The next morning we all woke up to a beautiful purple haze about 3 feet thick just hanging down from the ceilings!METHANE CITY!!!
Ps:Thanks for putting my garnet photo's back! LOL
SS, Yes we all had a blast and I AM pooped out to the max! I don't know if or when my legs will be back to normal(if you can call it that) but I had the time of my life!
Tom
Tom
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