Nor Easter Get Away

When you make vacation reservations 6 months in advance you never know what weather is going to be, but you hope it won't be too bad. This is especially true if you plan a beach vacation. Our vacation to Cape Cod had two main purposes. The main one was to get away for a few days to relax on a quiet beach. September is a good time to go to Cape Cod because the crowds are gone but the weather is still warm enough for outdoor activities. The second reason we came to Cape Cod was to spread the ashes of my in-laws whose final wish was to have to ashes spread on their favorite beach in Wellfleet. 

The plan was to spend the first day of our vacation doing a quick tour of the places around Wellfleet where my wife's family vacationed when they were kids. I'm familiar with a lot of these places as for her parent's 50th wedding anniversary we all came up to Wellfleet and relived their years in this area. 

We never planned on trying to do this during an early season nor easter but since it would have been hard to cancel the trip, we decided to just go and hope for the best. We actually ended up leaving a day early for Cape Cod and getting a cheap hotel in Wellfleet for the first night so that we could "take care of her parents" before the weather got too bad.  So we spent Friday morning doing a quick tour of their favorite places in and around Wellfleet before spreading their ashes on the beach. It was a bit emotional as this was a funeral of sorts, but it was also a fitting send off. 

At this point the wind had started to pick up and it was blowing 30mph with gusts in the 50s. On our way down to South Yarmouth to the hotel we booked we made a few stops along the beach to check out the wind and the waves. 

The waves were in the 10-foot range and the water was really turned up

And yet the seagulls were just hanging on the beach like this was normal. 

By the time we got to our hotel the rain and wind started in earnest. It was now time to hunker down and wait out the storm. My biggest concern was power outages and coastal flooding. Being in a hotel without power is not a lot of fun. The hotel we stayed out was on the beach on the south coast of Cape Cod so any minor coastal flooding would have had us evacuating. Luckily the wind was from the northeast so although we were on the beach we were on the opposite side from where the wind was piling the waves against the shore. I also think the path of the storm was more onshore than expected which moved the worst of the tidal surges away from the cape. In fact, I think NJ got it worst than we did.

It still was a pretty nasty storm with a couple inches of wind-blown rain 40mph winds with gusts of 70mph. But the good news is that we didn't lose power or get flooded out. On Saturday there was an hour here and there where the rain let up but it was still extremely windy. We did venture out to a brewery I wanted to check out. It turned out to be Doxie day at the brewery. This meant the brewery was overrun with over 100 dachshunds. This celebration is usually held at a local park but because of the weather the brewery, who sponsors the event, moved it into their tap room and tented beer garden. We spend about an hour at the brewery drinking some beer, watching a couple of dachshund races and watching the amazing variety of dachshunds walking around. I didn't realize there were that many types of them. We saw some very tiny and very big ones as well as some white ones. I thought they only came in brown and black.

After experiencing Doxie day we got some dinner at one of our favorite restaurants before heading back to the hotel to hunker down for another windy and stormy night. 

By Sunday we still had power and although there was some ponding on the road there was no widespread flooding. It was still windy but not as bad as the previous day and the rain was more intermittent. We spent the day doing a scenic drive past a few light houses and beaches. We even managed to find a seal in Chatham.

It wasn't a bad way to waste a day. We even had a moment of blue sky before the clouds came back and the rain started again.

On Monday we were hoping for improving weather and although the wind had died down it was still overcast with intermittent rain so we hung out in our room. We had splurged a for a good room on the beach hoping for good weather to relax on the beach. It didn't work out that way, but the room had a full kitchen, living room and bedroom along with wall to ceiling windows facing the ocean. So although we couldn't sit on the beach we could watch it from the comfort of our room though the windows. 

The hotel also had an indoor pool and hot tub so we took advantage of that. We have been to Cape Cod many times so have some favorite stores, art galleries and restaurants we like so even though we couldn't hang out at the beach we had enough to keep us busy.

Tuesday was our last day and we were hoping for some dryer weather but even though the forecast did not show rain it was still misting. We decided to take another scenic drive to one of our favorite beaches. It did stop raining by the time we got to the beach so we hung out for a couple hours. We walked around the beach a little and sat in the car. What kept us at the beach was a mass of swallows. We saw them high up in the sky flying in formation. It was like a large black cloud moving in unison. Eventually they landed on the beach then took off again zooming pass the car. There were hundreds of them. It might have been close to a thousand.

I have never seen that many birds flying around at the same time. It was pretty cool to watch. After about a half hour of frenzy activity the birds flew away and we went back to the hotel to pack for the trip home. 

Because of the nor easter and its aftereffects we didn't the beach time that we wanted. We did get to enjoy the scenery, food, some monster waves, doxie day and swarms of birds. Most importantly we put the in-laws to rest. It wasn't the vacation we were expecting but it was still fun to get away. Hopefully next time we go to Cape Cod we have more sun and sand. 

 

Ioniq 5 Long Term Road Test

I can't believe it has been a year since I bought my Ioniq 5. I'm still getting used to the car, but it has served me well. The Ioniq 5 is a technological marvel compared to the 23 old Baja it replaced. When I drove the car home from the dealer last year, I remember being overwhelmed by the amount of information in front of me and all the controls I had to get used to. 

The main difference is of course that this car is an EV. It's really not that different than any other car except for the fact that you need to charge it instead of filling it up with gas. This has a number of advantages especially since 99% of the time you can charge it at home instead of having to take it to a charging station. We installed a level 2 charger so can easily fully charge it overnight. An EV is mechanically a lot simpler than a normal car. It's basically a battery with an electric motor. There is no oil, radiator, or transmission fluid to change so the scheduled maintenance is just rotating the tires. This makes an EV a lot cheaper to maintain. 

The main downside to owning an EV is range. It takes around 20mins to charge the Ioniq 5 at a DC fast charging station as opposed to just filling it up with gas in a few minutes. This gives people range anxiety. I will say that I had a little range anxiety the first few months I had the car but after a year I can say that range is not a problem at all. 

We bought the Ioniq 5 to be our short distance car, which means we use it for any trip under 200 miles. I can say that even in the worst conditions, like cold weather (we drove this car to and from Paramus in 18-degree weather), I know this car can do at least 200 miles in any weather. The car is rated for 270 miles on average and I pretty sure we can get close to that if needed on a mild day (i.e. between 40-80 degrees). But the truth is that most of the trips with this car are between 20 and 80 miles so there is very few time where I need more than 100 miles in range. 

The few times that I have taking this car long distances, like my recent overnight trip to Hawk Mountain, I was able to find a DC charger to top it off at night. For most of the places I plan to drive this car there are usually chargers close by. 

The one change in behavior you have to make with an EV is to just do a little more planning. Before each trip you just have to remember to plug the car, so it has enough power to make the trip. This isn't a problem as I just have to remember to plug it in at night. It you are taking a long trip you just have to plan out where the chargers are. It's not a big deal.

I can also say, after a year of owning an EV, that that the upsides of owning an EV far, far out weight any downside. I get the equivalent of 90 miles a gallon so it's a lot cheaper to drive especially with the cost of gas these days. An EV doesn't have a transmission so there are no gears to shift there just a reduction gear between the electric motor and the wheels. This leads to quick linear acceleration. The Ioniq 5 that I have can go 0-60 in 4.5 seconds. I don't really drive it that fast, but it is nice to have the quick acceleration when needed to get on highways and get past other cars. 

The Ioniq 5 has a good suspension and handles well. The suspension has a good balance between stiffness and comfort. It's not a sporty as my Baja was but it handles well enough to be fun to drive. 

Driving the Ioniq 5 is a much different experience from my Baja. Cars have a lot more features to assist drivers now and the Ioniq 5 has a lot of them. All new cars now have collision avoidance features to automatically brake if you about to hit a car. The Ioniq 5 takes driver assistance to a new level with lane warning, lane keeping, adaptive cruise control, backup collision avoidance and many other features that make it a lot safer to drive. These warnings can be a little annoying at times but now that I'm used to them and trust them, I feel a lot more comfortable in the car. 

Take the lane keeping/adaptive cruise feature. This is a simple self-driving feature. It's not as advanced as Tesla's full self-driving but when I'm on the highway the car basically drives itself and keeps itself in the lane and at the speed I set or as fast as the car in front of me if that car is going slower. This means I'm monitoring the car and not driving it. I find this reduces the stress of driving a little and makes me be more situationally aware. It's really useful in stop and go traffic as the car controls the gas and brake and I just watch. 

After a year, I'm no longer overwhelmed by all the information on the screens in the car. In fact, now that I'm used to it, I really like the display and how it is organized. Some EVs, like the Tesla, just have a single iPad like screen in the middle of the dashboard with all the information on it. I don't like having to look at the middle of the dashboard for my speed or other information as that takes my eyes off the road. The Ioniq 5 has a regular dashboard display along with an infotainment screen integrated into one long linear display. It's easier to view than other cars which have two completely separate displays. 

The different screens that can be displayed on the infotainment system are well organized once you get used to them and switching between screens can be done mostly from the well-organized buttons on the steering wheel. One of my favorite screens/features of the car is the parking assist view which shows you a 3D view of car. 

This makes it much easier to see if you properly in a parking space or if you have enough clearance to get around a car or other obstacle. All the technology in the car does take some effort and time to learn. However, once you understand it you can see the benefits of using it. Just like smart TVs and streaming have revolutionized entertainment I believe that the advances of technology in cars will make them much safer and change how we interact with them. The Ioniq 5 is as much a computer as it is a car. I can actually talk to it and ask it to find an ice cream shop with in 10 miles of my current location and it will bring up a map to show me how to get there. 

As I said at the top of the post the Ioniq 5 is a technological marvel and shows how far cars have come in the last 20 years. It's still a vehicle that gets you from point A to point B but it encompasses so much more now. The car has Android auto play and Apple car play so your smart phone is fully integrated into the car. This makes it easy to bring your life with you into the car. So your playlist, podcast, GPS, phone and most other apps are now part of the car. 

After a year I can say that I'm very happy with the Ioniq 5 and it was the right car to buy for my lifestyle. With the 1-up bike rack it's a great vehicle to get me to and from my rides and a good car for our day-to-day driving. It's a much different car than my Baja but I expect it to be a fun drive for many years to come. 

Hawk Mountain (What no Bikes!)

Click Here for All the Pictures from this Trip

I had this weird feeling when I pulled up to Laura's house at 6:30am that I forgot something for the trip. Jim, Laura and I were heading up to Hawk Mountain to meet Jack and Dorthy, but we weren't bringing our bikes. I don't think I have even been on a trip with these people and not brought a bike along. 

The main purpose of this trip was to watch the hawk migration from the Hawk Mountain Sanctuary, which is just northwest of Allentown PA. This sanctuary was created to stop the practice of shooting the hawks and create a place where bird watchers could come and watch the migration. Hawk Mountain sits along the Kitteny Ridge which provides a lot of updrafts and thermals which the hawks use in their migration. 

I didn't know a lot about hawk migration before I started planning this trip. The migration is very weather dependent. Hawks use thermals and wind to migrate, so the amount of sun and direction and strength of the wind determines how many hawks you will see on a given day. Each type of hawk has a slightly different migration times and patterns. The main type of hawk we saw at Hawk Mountain was the broad-winded hawk which migrates in the hundreds to thousands. The peak migration time is usually mid Sept which is why we chose now to go the Hawk Mountain

It was about a 2-hour drive to get there. While waiting for Jack and Dorthy to get there we checked out the amphitheater which had some neat carvings.

 Jack and Dorthy got there about 15 mins after we arrived. Then we all made the made the mile walk to the North Lookout which is the best place to see the migrating hawk. We quickly passed the South Overlook which a good view of the valley even though it was a little hazy. 

The trail to the North Lookout was a little rocky but as long as we took it slow it wasn't a problem. There were a few places where we had to walk up a set of bolder steps but there were usually handrails that made it a little easier.

Once we got to the lookout, we had an unobstructed view of the valley and surrounding mountains. 

The North Lookout is a big pile of rocks, so you find a comfortable rock and hopefully bring a cushion with you and hang out and watch for hawks. There is a naturalist there who explains the lay of the land and what to watch for. They also point out hawks or any other interesting wildlife they see like monarch butterflies and dragonflies who are also migrating at this time. 

The way the hawk migrate is that they wait for sun to create the updrafts and thermals then use them to gain altitude. 

Once they are high enough the soar/glide to the next ridge/mountain then do the same thing throughout the day to head south eventually ending up in central or south America. The wind was out of the southwest so when they soared past us it was in the direction of the sun, so I didn't get any great pictures mostly silhouettes.

But it was interesting watching them go by and listening to the naturalist talk about the hawks and their behavior. I also got a few pictures of a turkey vulture cruising by the ridge.

I had never really been to a hawk watch before so wasn't sure what to expect. I was thinking it might be like a flock of geese flying in formation but what it ended up being is kettles (that what a flock of hawks is called) of 5 to 15 hawks slowing rising in the thermals and then gliding by us. According to HawkCount there were at least 300 broad-wing hawks passing us during the two hours we were hanging out there. So, it ended up being a slow trickle of hawks going by instead of large groups. When we first got to the look out there were only a few people there including a couple of guys from Texas who we talked with for a while. They were serious bird watchers since they knew everything about the migration and seemed excited about each one they saw. 

After a couple of hours there we had had enough. Also a half hour or so after we got there a bunch of middle school kids and another bunch an hour later. They were a little annoying so just after noon we headed back to the parking lot. After a stop in the visitor center, we headed for ice cream and then the hotel. We stayed at the same hotel we did for the Trexlertown trip earlier in the year so it was familiar and we knew where to go for dinner. 

The next day instead of going back to Hawk Mountain we decided to check out the Trexlertown Nature Preserve. This was created in 1854 as a game preserve to protect the bison, elk and deer herds that were there. Eventually this became a county park (that still have wild bison, elk, and deer). There is over 20 miles of trails so there was plenty of hikes to choose from. We did the Elk View trail which goes by the bison and elk pastures. It starts down by the river, so we had to climb up a ridge after going past the covered bridge. This is one of the bridges we cycled over on the Trexlertown trip in May.

We did saw the bison at the top of the trail.

They were just grazing in the field giving me the side eye. From here we also go a good view of the valley and the zoo that is inside the preserve.

Going to the zoo was one of the other things we thought of doing but there was some light rain at the end of our hike, so we decided to skip it. After the hike we headed to the Allentown Farmers market for some lunch and to pick up some other goodies. It was a really big farmers market probably about 4 or 5 bigger than the one in Trenton. I had to restrain myself from picking up too many sweets and good-looking pastries. After lunch we headed home. 

It was another good overnight trip to the Trexlertown area. It was good that Jim and Jack came along as they haven't riding with us as much. Jim and I spent a lot of time talking about my Ioniq 5 EV which is now a year old. He has a curious mind and he and I like talking about technology so it was good catching up with him. This wasn't a bike trip but felt a little like one. I may do some more of these types of trips in the future as there are some of interesting places to explore that are better done without a bike. 

My Different Tribes

If you regularly dress in lycra and spandex, it helps you look a little less dorky if you are with other people dressed the same way. That is one of the reasons I joined the PFW club. Although I still ride by myself sometimes, at least half of the rides I do are with people from PFW. I first joined the club to learn the roads around the area and the best places to ride. After a few years I learned enough to start leading rides. 

Being a member of the PFW has really made biking a lot more fun. It has made me a better rider. I have learned the best places in and around NJ to ride and I have made a number of good friends. When you get serious about biking there is a lot of things to learn about the bike and riding in general. Learning and gaining experience is a lot easier when you have people around you that are doing the same thing and sharing their experiences. 

Of course, there is the social aspect of being in a club and riding with a group. On the weekend rides I end up spending 3-4 hours with the people on the rides. We talk about a lot of different things while we are riding. Usually, we talk about the news of the day is or what's going on in our lives. We also joke around a lot and kid each other. I'm not a very social person but I look forward to riding with my core groups as it feels like some where I belong. 

And that it the benefit of joining a club or hanging around like minded people. You are in a place where you feel safe indulging in an activity the other people might consider strange.   

Although going for long rides on a bike might seem like a weird hobby to some people most people consider people that are into astronomy total geeks. I can't really disagree with that much so will be happy to be called an astronomy geek. The number of people that are into astronomy have decreased over the past 20 years. With the information and easily accessible picture available through the internet less people are spending nights starring at faint blurry objects in a telescope. Most of my observing has been of the Sun, Moon, and bright comets. My main interest was solar and lunar eclipses which doesn't require a lot of time or expensive equipment, so I really didn't invest a lot of time or money into the hobby. I also never join an astronomy club although I did go to a number of different sky watch and star parties around the area. 

Recently however I got a smart telescope and join the South Jersey astronomy club. My Dwarf 3 has let me explore and take good pictures of a lot of objects I have only read about and seen pictures of. It's easy to use and I can set it out on patio and let it do all the work of getting the image I want. The only problem with my back patio is that I don't have a good view of the southern sky as it is blocked by woods. That is why I joined the South Jersey astronomy club as they have a field about an hour away in Belleplain state forest that has a clear and less light polluted view of the skies. They hold a star party once a month so at their last one a couple of weeks ago, when it was a clear night, I went down to get some views of the southern sky and talk to some other astronomy geeks. 

My main goal was to get a good picture of the Eagle Nebula (M16). The reason I wanted a picture of this nebula is because it contains the famous pillars of creation which is an iconic picture taken by the Hubble telescope. Here the picture I got

I have circled the pillars which are in the middle of the nebula.

Here is close up. The three pillars are in the center. It's a little hard to see if you don't know what you are looking for. The dark blog in the middle of this photo is the middle pillar with a lighter fainter one to the left with a star close to the middle of it. To the right of the center pillar is a smaller one almost as dark. 

Here is the Hubble telescope of a close-up picture of just the pillars for reference. 

Of course, my photo isn't nearly as clear or detailed as the Hubble, but I'm impress by what I could get with the Dwarf 3. Most people won't care but when I hang out with a bunch of other astronomy geeks they get why this is cool and we can discuss nebulas and star formation and other topics I find interesting. 

I am also a member of a couple of other clubs in my community like the photography club and pickleball club. Each of these clubs let me indulge in some hobby without the stigma of being strange. Although I spend a good amount of solitary time pursing my hobbies, I do enjoy the fellowship of clubs to share my experiences and learn more about my hobby. 

Late Nights and Early Mornings

 

If you enjoy astronomy then you are always on the look out for clear night skies. We haven't had that many this summer so when we get a few like we did this past week you stay up late trying to get a few good photographs of things in the night sky. I got a Dwarf 3 smart telescope last year and have been using it during clear nights to take some pictures of some of the more interesting things in the night sky. I have been really impressed on how well the Dwarf3 works and how much detail it can get from the light polluted New Jersey skies. The image at the top of this post is a mosaic of three different nights of imaging that shows the Veil Nebula. The Veil nebula is the gaseous remnants of a super nova explosion that happen some where between 10,000 and 20,000 years ago. This nebula is about 2500 light years away. 

To get this images I set up the Dwarf about an hour after sunset, on my back patio, and then programed it to follow a specific target in the sky for a certain about of time. It then takes a long exposure picture of 60 seconds and keeps stacking them to create the image. Stacking each picture helps bring out more detail and improves the signal to noise ratio. I can monitor the progress on my phone while I sit inside. I usually end up trying to image a target for around 2 hours if I can. The house and the woods behind the house limit what I can see so I have to pick a target that is high in the sky and something that won't move behind the house or trees for 2 hours. 

The fact that I can get an image like this of something so far away and dim with just a few hours of imaging is a testament how far the technology has come for smart telescopes. Five or six years ago you would have had to spend at around $10,000 on a telescope, electronics and sensor to get similar results. And it would have taken a lot more time both imaging and processing the data. Now in an hour or two you can get a very good image of any Messier Object you want like this image of M27 the Dumbbell Nebula

 

This nebula shows what our solar system will look like in 5-8 billion years when the hydrogen is exhausted from our sun and it blows off it outer layer (and kills off all life as we know it). The diameter of this nebula is 2 light years so that gives you some scale to how violent the explosion was.

These are interesting and decent pictures but don't rival the Hubble telescope or more dedicated astrophotographers who get a lot more detail that I can. However what I enjoy as much as taking the picture is gaining insight and knowledge about the objects in our universe. It's interesting how many strange phenomena are happening in our night sky.

Of course some of the things happening in the sky are man made. After staying up a few hours late taking pictures with my Dwarf, I got up early the next morning to see a rocket launch.

 

SpaceX is in the process of launching a series of Starlink satellites. Sometimes the launch trajectories take them up the east coast and if those launches are in the early morning they can be easily seen. So I got up this past Tuesday morning at 5am to see if I could get a picture of the rocket as it went by. When I got up I checked the Space Launch Schedule site to make sure the launch was still on. I then headed to the park near my house that had a good view of the south eastern sky. The rocket launched at 5:33am in Florida and I saw it fly by just before 5:40am. It took about 5 mins to cross the sky. I did not know how big or bright it would be so I kept scanning the sky. When it came by it was much bigger and brighter than I expected. Since the rocket was high in the atmosphere it was backlit by the sun while I was still in darkness so looked like a steam train going across the sky. They call this the jellyfish effect for the pattern it makes. It was definitely worth getting up early to see so I will have to keep and eye on the launch schedule to see when the next time this will happen.

Later that same day even though I was a little sleep deprived I decided to go down to the Edwin Forsythe wildlife refuse to try and get pictures of some birds. The refuse is a very scenic place especially early morning or late in the day

 

This is a good time of year to go as the place is filled with all kinds of different birds especially egrets and herrings. I spent a good about of time trying to get pictures of the terns grabbing fish and managed to get this picture of one with a fish in its mouth

However the best picture I got was this one. 

Until I studied this picture and did some research I didn't realize that terns shake like a dog sometimes after they dive into the water. I got this one mid shake. If you click on the picture you can see the water droplets flying off the bird. My brain had a hard time making sense of this picture when I first saw it. This is another example that sometimes the knowledge learned from taking the picture is as interesting as the picture itself. 

 

It's a Tom Ride

As I said a few post ago I have had a few new people on my rides who let's just say weren't used to my style of leading. A couple weeks ago we had to go through a little dirt and some one complained that the dirt clogged up their cleats. The response from one of the members of my insane posse was that it was a Tom ride and dirt and detours should be expected. I will admit that do things a little differently than other leaders. For each ride I try to have one interesting thing to see and try to have fun during the ride. I am a bit adventurous so when there is a bridge out I will investigate it to see if it is possible to get around it. I won't do anything unsafe but I may push the boundaries a little. We have had to walk through water a couple of times and climb over a few barriers but most of the time there is an easy way to get around most detours with out doing anything to hard or dangerous.

I also don't mine a short dirt road every now and then. Sometimes its better than going on a busy road or taking a long detour. My posse is use to and accepts this and even misses it when it doesn't happen. The truth is I always try to do something a little unexpected with a ride if I can. 

For example for my Robling ride besides doing the trail through Robling we went down to visit the eagle statue by the Burlington Bristol bridge. There is really no good reason to ride into the middle of Burlington to just see the eagle statue but it just something stupid and fun to do as part of the ride. 

 

 

This pass week I lead a ride out of Mercer County Park. It was a simple route down to Cream Ridge and back. We did run into a couple of detours and a closed road but we went through the barrier and couldn't understand why the road was closed.  On the way back to Mercer park I took a detour on the way back just to go down Line Rd. Line Rd is a road through a swamp that was closed to traffic for some reason but is still rideable on a bike. It was over grown a couple of years ago but it was cut back last year so it is still passable. Few people know our use this road anymore. I learned about it from Norm years ago and try to take it once a year or so. It's just something different and stupid to do that puts a little fun into my rides.

The August 12 Solar Eclipse

In case you were unaware there was a solar eclipse today. The total eclipse could be seen in Greenland, Iceland, Spain. Here in NJ it was only a partial eclipse. The eclipse only covered around 10% of the sun so not real interesting but we had sunny skies and it was easy enough to put the solar filter on the camera and get a pic. The next total solar eclipse visible from the US won't happen until 2044 so until then we will have to be satisfied with these partial eclipses or do some traveling