Things go bump in the night and kerplunk in the day regularly but their sounds often are muted by the rhythm of our live-a-day lives. But living our lives on the road the bumps and kerplunks are more noticeable.
First it was the loss of our interior lights in the minivan in Boston. That was the 4th of July weekend so we waited till Tuesday after the 4th to visit the Nissan Dealer in Keene, NH. They were most accommodating, even took Kirk on a test ride in the Nissan Rogue while the service guy ran it through a diagnostic work-up and concluded he didn’t know why the lights went out, but here’s a new fuse, and let’s hope it doesn’t happen again.
Well, it did happen again, a week later in Columbus, GA. The service guys at the Nissan dealer of Columbus were not confidence inspiring and their fees were greater than the previous dealership, but the wrench found the problem--a shorted out rear interior light that was blowing the fuse. Nice work guys.
Next it was my Kindle that worked perfectly at lunch in Durham, NC, but by the time we arrived in Seneca, SC the screen looked like someone had erased it with an incompetent eraser. Amazon delivered service beyond my expectations. A new Kindle arrived at G’ma Mary’s house in two working days!!!! Didn’t even need to return the broken one before receiving the new one. How sweet is that??
Next it was a broken foot. You’ve already heard the “how it happened” story, but that it happened while we were in Columbus where G’ma knows both of the leading orthopods way better than yankees know their neighbors is short of miraculous. That the doc I saw was the Dad of the Baker kids whose house our kids swam at every day in those GA summers is doubly short or miraculous. And, that one of those Baker kids is now an orthopedist himself and that Dad and son consulted on my treatment plan, well...we’re truly blessed.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Oh No!!!!!
Nasty coral bugger
The pool at G’ma’s was more popular than the hotel pool cuz it was diveable at the deep end. The pool deck at G’ma’s was actually quite lovely, too: imported coral. BUT, it was full of divots, imperfections, and just plain holes waiting to turn an ankle or break a foot. And that’s just what happened. As BBQ was being served I rolled my right foot in a divot and...
• it’s 4-6 weeks off the bike
• no weight bearing for at least 4 weeks which means crutches for the same length of time
• aircast/boot only because I’ll be car-bound for another 10,000 miles. Otherwise it would have been a non-weight-bearing cast
• no Circle Tour of Lake Michigan
• no helping Kirk drive most of the next 10,000 miles
• no getting SC, DE, MO, and KS under my bike wheels on this trip
I guess it’s a blessing that we’re on this trek. If we were at home living Wilmette life, I would be seriously curtailed with Kirk working FT and my being housebound unable to ride or drive.
Celebration #90
G’ma Mary celebrates her 90th b-day this August, but we celebrated a month early given the schedule of 19 busy family members. Planning actually began 11 months ago at Nate and Danielle’s wedding in Leesburg, VA.
Mary and Dan moved to Columbus in 1960 when Kirk was in the 7th grade, Pat the 5th. Except for a brief interlude in Atlanta in the early 70’s, Columbus has been home. Both Mary and Dan have been, and continue to be deeply connected to the fabric of Columbus, mostly through Rotary and St. Luke United Methodist Church. Dan died on Bryan’s wedding day in 1999; over 800 people attended his funeral. Mary took over his responsibilities as the Executive Secretary of the 340 member Columbus Rotary Club. Until last year she worked full time. She’s cut back to 3 days a week and anticipates reducing further to 2 days a week in 2012 as her work is interfering with her social and travel schedule.
Without a doubt she is a model for us all about how to grow older in years with enthusiasm, grace, and gratitude.
She invited 350 people to her birthday bash; 250 attended, about 40 of whom arrived 30 minutes early in order to be assured of a parking space.
Quotes of the day:
“If you received an invitation to my birthday party, you are obligated to attend my funeral.”
“Attending my birthday party does NOT count as a Rotary Make-up.”
Pix to follow
Mary and Dan moved to Columbus in 1960 when Kirk was in the 7th grade, Pat the 5th. Except for a brief interlude in Atlanta in the early 70’s, Columbus has been home. Both Mary and Dan have been, and continue to be deeply connected to the fabric of Columbus, mostly through Rotary and St. Luke United Methodist Church. Dan died on Bryan’s wedding day in 1999; over 800 people attended his funeral. Mary took over his responsibilities as the Executive Secretary of the 340 member Columbus Rotary Club. Until last year she worked full time. She’s cut back to 3 days a week and anticipates reducing further to 2 days a week in 2012 as her work is interfering with her social and travel schedule.
Without a doubt she is a model for us all about how to grow older in years with enthusiasm, grace, and gratitude.
She invited 350 people to her birthday bash; 250 attended, about 40 of whom arrived 30 minutes early in order to be assured of a parking space.
Quotes of the day:
“If you received an invitation to my birthday party, you are obligated to attend my funeral.”
“Attending my birthday party does NOT count as a Rotary Make-up.”
Pix to follow
Memories
Our kids spent a couple of weeks most summers of their childhood with G’ma Mary and G’pa Dan in Columbus--catching snakes and frogs with Meg and Chris, chasing ducks at Cooper Creek, touring all the houses in construction identifying plumbing and electric hook-ups, and playing Marco Polo in all the neighbors’ swimming pools.
G’ma’s house on Bondale Drive, the homestead of all these memories, burned down about 2 years ago, including her collection of 300 Santa Clauses which graced and ruled every square inch of surface space both high and low.
First order of business was a return visit to the reconstructed house on Bondale and a trip to Cooper Creek. 25 years ago the woods was so dense between G’ma’s house and Cooper Creek the kids had to tie strips of cloth to the trees to find their way home. Chiggers, Poison Ivy and the nastier cousin, Poison Oak were given hazards well worth the treasures of tadpoles, frogs, and maybe a coveted snake. Despite G’ma’s protests, once Bryan snuck his jar of tadpoles onto the Chicago-bound plane. Obviously that was pre 9/11.
The older 3 grandchildren, Elijah, Mya, and Ayva (ages 10, 9, and 8) did, indeed, find a box turtle which they named Dribble (no clue why) and a miniature frog named Drop; no clue on that one either. They were most certain Dribble and Drop would do well in the hotel bath tub, but the parents prevailed. Dribble and Drop were relieved to sink once more into the muck and silt of Cooper Creek.
Since G’Pa Dan died December 27, 1999 he was not around to help Mary put away the Christmas decorations, a process that took about a month. So, she just decided to have a Christmas House leaving all the decorations up all year round. After the fire and her relocation to a condo, she and her decorator decided to continue the tradition of decorating the house all year round as a Christmas House.
Six sets of great grandkids’ eyes were dinner-plate wide with wonder. While the current collection of Sandy Clauses is only 80, down from 300, Ayva (age 8) won the quote of this day:
Ayva: “With all these Sandy Clauses around, kinda makes you wonder.”
Mandy: “Wonder what, Ayva?”
Ayva: “You know.”
Mandy: “That maybe G’ma is Mrs. Claus?”
Ayva: “Bingo!”
Pix to follow
G’ma’s house on Bondale Drive, the homestead of all these memories, burned down about 2 years ago, including her collection of 300 Santa Clauses which graced and ruled every square inch of surface space both high and low.
First order of business was a return visit to the reconstructed house on Bondale and a trip to Cooper Creek. 25 years ago the woods was so dense between G’ma’s house and Cooper Creek the kids had to tie strips of cloth to the trees to find their way home. Chiggers, Poison Ivy and the nastier cousin, Poison Oak were given hazards well worth the treasures of tadpoles, frogs, and maybe a coveted snake. Despite G’ma’s protests, once Bryan snuck his jar of tadpoles onto the Chicago-bound plane. Obviously that was pre 9/11.
The older 3 grandchildren, Elijah, Mya, and Ayva (ages 10, 9, and 8) did, indeed, find a box turtle which they named Dribble (no clue why) and a miniature frog named Drop; no clue on that one either. They were most certain Dribble and Drop would do well in the hotel bath tub, but the parents prevailed. Dribble and Drop were relieved to sink once more into the muck and silt of Cooper Creek.
Since G’Pa Dan died December 27, 1999 he was not around to help Mary put away the Christmas decorations, a process that took about a month. So, she just decided to have a Christmas House leaving all the decorations up all year round. After the fire and her relocation to a condo, she and her decorator decided to continue the tradition of decorating the house all year round as a Christmas House.
Six sets of great grandkids’ eyes were dinner-plate wide with wonder. While the current collection of Sandy Clauses is only 80, down from 300, Ayva (age 8) won the quote of this day:
Ayva: “With all these Sandy Clauses around, kinda makes you wonder.”
Mandy: “Wonder what, Ayva?”
Ayva: “You know.”
Mandy: “That maybe G’ma is Mrs. Claus?”
Ayva: “Bingo!”
Pix to follow
Arrivals
It’s a big deal for families with young children to travel long distances by plane. Bryan and Mandy’s flight from Eugene to Atlanta with 2 intermediate stops was to have been about 12 hours, but add another hour for an Atlanta weather delay.
Katie and Aaron’s flight from Chicago, with no intermediate stops, should have been a proverbial piece of cake, but their flight was canceled. Anyone have experience entertaining a 3 year old for 6 hours at O’Hare before the 1-1/2 hr flight followed by a 1-3/4 hr drive from Atlanta to Columbus? They arrived in their hotel at 2:00 a.m.
Daniel’s flight was rather straightforward save for the luggage, + 2 child seats, + a 2 and 5 year old, + toting an Aerobed which goes with him everywhere given his particular flavor of back issues.
All the travel annoyances dissipated into ethereum as sibs and cousins reunited after a spate of years, and visions of swimming pools danced in their heads.
The family was about as complete as it could be by Friday after Kirk’s brother, Patrick and his wife, Pam, and their adult children, Emily and Nate and his wife, Danielle arrived in time for a pool-side BBQ.
Quote of the day: 3-year old Jet to 2-year old Kallil: “Are you my cousin?”
Pix to follow
Katie and Aaron’s flight from Chicago, with no intermediate stops, should have been a proverbial piece of cake, but their flight was canceled. Anyone have experience entertaining a 3 year old for 6 hours at O’Hare before the 1-1/2 hr flight followed by a 1-3/4 hr drive from Atlanta to Columbus? They arrived in their hotel at 2:00 a.m.
Daniel’s flight was rather straightforward save for the luggage, + 2 child seats, + a 2 and 5 year old, + toting an Aerobed which goes with him everywhere given his particular flavor of back issues.
All the travel annoyances dissipated into ethereum as sibs and cousins reunited after a spate of years, and visions of swimming pools danced in their heads.
The family was about as complete as it could be by Friday after Kirk’s brother, Patrick and his wife, Pam, and their adult children, Emily and Nate and his wife, Danielle arrived in time for a pool-side BBQ.
Quote of the day: 3-year old Jet to 2-year old Kallil: “Are you my cousin?”
Pix to follow
Scouting A Route
So good to unpack, scrub the car inside and out, sort through clothes that we don’t need for shipping to Tucson, and just generally regroup after the first 2 weeks of road-trippin.
Got in two longish rides before all the kids and grandkids arrived: one to Hamilton, GA just south of Callaway Gardens, and one to Andersonville, GA the historic site of the Confederate POW Camp. Columbus is decidedly bike unfriendly--no bike lanes, no shared lanes, no shoulders, and generally just very unaware drivers. On top of that roads are a lot like Boston in that they meander, change names every few blocks, and a lot like Austin in that they often bang into 4-lane expressways when you least expect.
So, my 60 miles to Hamilton was a slow go as a I dug out a route. My route to Andersonville was, initially, much less successful than Hamilton as US Highway 280 out of Columbus turned out to be life-threatening: 4-lane, high speed, less than 3 inch “shoulder”, and trucks unceasing.
The plan was that Kirk would visit Jimmy Carter’s Farm in Plains while I rode to Andersonville and then we’d hook up there to visit the POW Museum and Cemetery together. As I had been relegated to a weed-walk far off the road along Rt 280, I called Kirk for a SAG to my next road, GA 26, which was just delightful. As it turned out we both arrived within 5 minutes of each other at Andersonville.
On each of my transcons as we “marched through Georgia” we stopped briefly at Andersonville. I had always wanted to come back to truly visit; doing it with Kirk, who, despite growing up in GA had never been there, was best of all.
Pix will follow later.
Got in two longish rides before all the kids and grandkids arrived: one to Hamilton, GA just south of Callaway Gardens, and one to Andersonville, GA the historic site of the Confederate POW Camp. Columbus is decidedly bike unfriendly--no bike lanes, no shared lanes, no shoulders, and generally just very unaware drivers. On top of that roads are a lot like Boston in that they meander, change names every few blocks, and a lot like Austin in that they often bang into 4-lane expressways when you least expect.
So, my 60 miles to Hamilton was a slow go as a I dug out a route. My route to Andersonville was, initially, much less successful than Hamilton as US Highway 280 out of Columbus turned out to be life-threatening: 4-lane, high speed, less than 3 inch “shoulder”, and trucks unceasing.
The plan was that Kirk would visit Jimmy Carter’s Farm in Plains while I rode to Andersonville and then we’d hook up there to visit the POW Museum and Cemetery together. As I had been relegated to a weed-walk far off the road along Rt 280, I called Kirk for a SAG to my next road, GA 26, which was just delightful. As it turned out we both arrived within 5 minutes of each other at Andersonville.
On each of my transcons as we “marched through Georgia” we stopped briefly at Andersonville. I had always wanted to come back to truly visit; doing it with Kirk, who, despite growing up in GA had never been there, was best of all.
Pix will follow later.
Monday, July 11, 2011
Georgia On Our Minds
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| En Route to The Soldier Museum at Ft Benning |
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| The Soldier Museum At Ft. Benning |
Family reunioning in Columbus, GA this summer has been in the works for 11 months.
The reunion wheels started to turn last August when Kirk and I joined his mother, Mary, in Leesburg, VA for Nathan’s wedding, Kirk’s brother’s son. What could be a better idea than to celebrate Mary’s 90th birthday by having all of our kids, their spouses, and our grandkids + Patrick and Pam and their 3 adult kids + Danielle, Nathan’s wife rendezvous in Columbus, GA. The last time “the cousins”, minus Bryan and Mandy, were all together was January 2000 for Kirk’s Dad’s funeral; Bryan and Mandy were honeymooning in Cancun. And, of course, there were no grandkids in 2000.
Mary loves to celebrate and 90 is an awesome reason to do just that; so, she invited 350 friends to her party scheduled for Saturday, July 16th. 275 have responded “Yes! Of course I’ll be there”.
We arrived a couple of days ahead of the traveling entourage and how good it was to land for a few days. We’ve been homeless for 17 days; traveled in 18 states for a total of 3,100 miles; and have 82 more travel days and an estimated 10,000 more miles before finally arriving in Tucson October 1st.
It felt great to unload the car, wash and vacuum it, change it’s oil, and triage our duffle bags for items we now know we will not be needing the next 82 days.
I’ve finally been able to stretch out my legs on the bike after a series of 20 mile rides hopping out of the car and back in again. Today was a fun 60 mile ride from Columbus to Hamilton GA. Good heat acclimatization opportunity with the heat index at 101.
Saturday, July 9, 2011
He's An Excellent SAGGer
We’ve got it down now, this stop along side the road, get the bike out, I ride for 20 miles and pop back in and off we drive for another 300 miles.
Such was yesterday, July 8th, Day 15 and today, July 9th Day 16.
Left Harrisburg, PA the morning of the 8th and headed for WV where, thanks to "Ride With GPS". I’d found a route not too far off our primary route and, thankfully, was not an endless series of up, ups, and upper ups.
It’s funny how I get this anxiety ball when I head out into new geography. It’s not about getting lost, it’s not about traffic. It’s about, "is their terrain out there that exceeds my strength and capabilities?" I guess you could say it’s about the fear of the unknown. But yet the unknown calls me over and over again. So WV here I come. BUT, this is a 350+ mile day and there really isn’t time for me to pick my way through my route and maybe make a few wrong turns. Plus the road was a shoulder-less, 2-lane road and it is WV.
So, Kirk gladly stepped up as a SAG par excellence. He rode ahead to the next turn, we confirmed directions and met up again at the next turn. He is so worth his weight in gold--as SAGGer and so much more.
We used the same model to capture my 4th new state today, NC.
These past two days have been rich, too, with visiting old college friends and expat Wilmettians.
Kirk and Rick Harrell were classmates at Davidson, back in the days when it was all male. Rick has been to Chicago many times on business but this was our first time to visit Rick and Frances in South Boston, VA, home to the Harrell family for over 150 years! We will long remember their graciousness and hospitality.
Jan Davis and Scott Arnold moved to North Carolina a year ago, so after capturing my NC miles we met them in Durham for lunch at the Watt's Grocery. And finally, 300+ miles later, we arrived at Joe and Connie Stoker’s wonderful new home on Lake Keowee just outside of Seneca, SC. Wonderful reconnection with them over dinner followed by a cruise on “their” lake.
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Harrisburg, PA Surprise Ride
Isidor Weiner As Seen At The Fenimore Art Museum in Cooperstown, NY
Before Leaving Cooperstown this morning we stopped by the Fenimore Art Museum. They were featuring visiting exhibitions by Edward Hopper and Frieda Kahlo; their niche is American Folk Art and Native American artifacts all of which were quite well done.
Then it was as fast a 286 mile trip as possible from Cooperstown to Harrisburg, PA.
We noticed a couple of interesting things on our fast 286. One was that, this being Day 14, we have had only one day so far that didn't feature something special--visiting friends, a bike ride, Bally's, a museum. That was a pretty exciting realization.
It was also pretty exciting to discover we had a very large refund from our mortgage company that had just been riding around in one of our brief cases for six weeks. Didn't take us long to find a an envelope, stamp and mailbox.
Initially it wasn't quite as exciting to bump into each other's differences. Kirk is a strong sensate, meaning he needs accurate and timely factual information. I am much less of one. We have bumped into each other a few time around this issue in the process of route navigation on this trip: Beverly's GPS function just doesn't give us the big picture. We satisfied our differences by stopping by the AAA office and picking up some paper maps. Between the two, paper and Beverly, we hummed along so well we arrived in Harrisburg in time for an hour and a half ride and walk. That was quite a treat as neither of us was expecting to get any outside activity in today.
We found the Capital Area Greenbelt: I rode 18 miles including riding with another cyclist I happened on to. Kirk walked 4-5 miles in the heart of downtown and learned a ton about Harrisburg including the Methodist Church's role in securing Harrisburg as the State Capital in the 1890's.
I guess The Cows made it to Harrisburg, too. ;-)
One of many bridges over the Susquehanna
The Susquehanna is full of little islands some of which are big enough to be farmed, I am told.
A Five Guys burger and back to the hotel to route plan for tomorrow which will include a brief bike ride in West VA, a new state.
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Laughing All The Way
Joan Chittister in her book "Gift Of Years", Brene Brown in her book "The Gifts Of Imperfection", and Barbra Brown Taylor in her book,"An Altar In The World" all talk about the importance of play in adults' lives. The business and busyness of adult life leeches play right out of most of us so by the time we have some discretionary time in our lives again we've forgotten how to. One of the ways retirement can be life-giving is if we can use it to help us re-learn how to play.
Well, today has been just one of those days. We only had about 70 miles to drive from the outskirts of Albany to Cooperstown, but Beverly was feeling very playful and routed us through fields of buttercups, hairpin turns, through the metropoli of Duanesville, Roseboom, Dorloo (which even had a street named Mesick) and more. Must have taken us 2-1/2 hours to go those 70 miles. We found ourselves laughing so hard at Beverly's choice of routes tears were streaming down our faces.
In Cobleskill we stopped at McDonald's. Mind you I have not eaten anything from a McDonalds in 25 years. But I was somewhat desperate. Being GFDF (Gluten Free/Dairy Free) it's not easy to find breakfast food. Not easy even at home, but on the road, well...
Apples with sunflower seed butter has been my morning fare the last 12 mornings, but I didn't have it in me for another nut-buttered apple. So, we stopped at McDonalds and I ate the sausage out of a couple of sausage biscuits. And these were two of the dining guests at MickeyD's today:
Sadly her large pink bow doesn't show up well that was decorating the front of her head while a black bow decorated the back of her head. I couldn't quite tell if her outfit was intimate wear or evening wear. Either way, it was not your typical McDonalds attire. In response to my comment that she was all dressed up, she smiled coyly, giggled, and denied she was dressed up for any special occasion.
And then this gentleman joined our section of the dining room. His hat has is decorated with powerful flames on either side while the front reads: Brotherhood of Three Wheels. Now that was a conversation starter for me, for sure. Turns out the Brotherhood is a motorcycle or-gan-i'-za-tion with a national membership of about 6,000. He became an active member after he took a spill on his two-wheeler and he decided it was time to make the switch.
Good fun en route to Cooperstown. I'll let Kirk write about Cooperstown, the museum, the town, and his life-long dream finally realized--to be here, to soak it all up which we did for 9 hours.
Well, today has been just one of those days. We only had about 70 miles to drive from the outskirts of Albany to Cooperstown, but Beverly was feeling very playful and routed us through fields of buttercups, hairpin turns, through the metropoli of Duanesville, Roseboom, Dorloo (which even had a street named Mesick) and more. Must have taken us 2-1/2 hours to go those 70 miles. We found ourselves laughing so hard at Beverly's choice of routes tears were streaming down our faces.
In Cobleskill we stopped at McDonald's. Mind you I have not eaten anything from a McDonalds in 25 years. But I was somewhat desperate. Being GFDF (Gluten Free/Dairy Free) it's not easy to find breakfast food. Not easy even at home, but on the road, well...
Apples with sunflower seed butter has been my morning fare the last 12 mornings, but I didn't have it in me for another nut-buttered apple. So, we stopped at McDonalds and I ate the sausage out of a couple of sausage biscuits. And these were two of the dining guests at MickeyD's today:
Sadly her large pink bow doesn't show up well that was decorating the front of her head while a black bow decorated the back of her head. I couldn't quite tell if her outfit was intimate wear or evening wear. Either way, it was not your typical McDonalds attire. In response to my comment that she was all dressed up, she smiled coyly, giggled, and denied she was dressed up for any special occasion.
And then this gentleman joined our section of the dining room. His hat has is decorated with powerful flames on either side while the front reads: Brotherhood of Three Wheels. Now that was a conversation starter for me, for sure. Turns out the Brotherhood is a motorcycle or-gan-i'-za-tion with a national membership of about 6,000. He became an active member after he took a spill on his two-wheeler and he decided it was time to make the switch.
Good fun en route to Cooperstown. I'll let Kirk write about Cooperstown, the museum, the town, and his life-long dream finally realized--to be here, to soak it all up which we did for 9 hours.
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Barb, Fergus, NH, ME, and VT
Barb and I toured together in 2008: I rode solo to Chautauqua, NY; she drove solo to Chautauqua, NY. There we rendezvoused and toured from Chautauqua to Stoddard, NH, her home: she drove, I rode. We'd arrive at our destination about 2:00, have a late lunch and sight-see the jewel of a town we'd chosen. I hadn't seen Barb since that Tour.
Leaving Boston after breakfast on Saturday, July 2nd we headed to Stoddard by way of Hancock, NH, home of the most photographed church in New England and their Saturday Farmer's Market (that also sells clothes) held in the horse and buggy stalls behind the church. Barb bought a winter coat, 2 sweaters, and 3 pairs of pants for $7.50
Barb lives in what I call a doll house on the edge of 500 acres of wooded wilderness which she shares with her Labradoodle, Fergus, and her Maine Coon cat, GB (short for gray belly).
Barb made the ladder that runs from ground to deck for GB to come and go while keeping out the coons and fox. Seems the wild critters don't like with sway of the ladder; good thing because our bedroom was at the head of ladder.
Fergus sounded his alarm each night as bear, fox, and coons stalked around the house. Good thing Barb had instructed us which garbage to compost and which not so as not to further attract her ursine neighbors. Evidence they had, indeed, been there at some point was the "bear post" at woods-edge where they come to sharpen their claws.
We joined Barb and Fergus on a couple of their daily walks in the woods that can range from 20 minutes to 4 hours. Even saw a snake sunning on our path.
The 4th of July found us in Kittery, ME. Before sharing dinner with Elliott, Andrea, and Ella, friends from Trinity Wilmette, I was able to get in a short ride now being able to claim one more state for my "Ridden In" book.
Tuesday, July 5th I added Vermont to my "Ridden In" book which brings my newly ridden in states on this trip to 4. In the last 12 days our so-far-driven in State count is up to 10 and our slept-in-different bed count up to 8.
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Lots Comin'; We're Goin'
Admiring our open road on West bound US Route 6 leaving Cape Cod Thursday mid-day as the East bound lane began its endless gridlock in anticipation of the Holiday Weekend. That sight made up for our gridlock on I-90 last Sunday outside of Erie: 3 miles in 1-1/2 hours. Never did know why.
I dropped Kirk off at Bally's in Brighton, MA for a mid-afternoon workout before we headed over to Bobby and Mary Etta's in Lexington, MA for dinner and an overnight. Kirk and Bobby went to Davidson College together; Bobby was in our wedding at Chautauqua, NY in 1969; they honeymooned at Chautauqua in 1970; we've been back to see them in the Boston area several times since as well as a couple of rendezvous' at Chautauqua over the last 42 years.
A screened-in porch, restful, waning warmth of the day, fish from the grill, reflections on 40+ years of marriage and hopes of living this next life stage both gracefully and graciously. Joan Chittister's book, The Gift Of Years, is a wise guide.
I dropped Kirk off at Bally's in Brighton, MA for a mid-afternoon workout before we headed over to Bobby and Mary Etta's in Lexington, MA for dinner and an overnight. Kirk and Bobby went to Davidson College together; Bobby was in our wedding at Chautauqua, NY in 1969; they honeymooned at Chautauqua in 1970; we've been back to see them in the Boston area several times since as well as a couple of rendezvous' at Chautauqua over the last 42 years.
A screened-in porch, restful, waning warmth of the day, fish from the grill, reflections on 40+ years of marriage and hopes of living this next life stage both gracefully and graciously. Joan Chittister's book, The Gift Of Years, is a wise guide.
Friday, July 1, 2011
Lots of Vitamin D in P-Town
Chatham Harbor
The weather, the planets, our schedule, and my body all aligned on June 30th for me to grab a century ride on Cape Cod. The Cape has a great Rails To Trails trail from Dennis-->Chatham-->Provincetown and back to Dennis. Actually, Wellsfleet-->Provincetown and back was on Route 6. The treat was that I didn't have to worry about Cape traffic or routing. The disappointment was that I could have been in Anywhere, USA. Nothing, save the Chatham Harbor gave my geography away.
One of several tunnels on Cape Cod Rails To Trails Trail
While I was riding Kirk visited the National Seashore Headquarters, and guess what? For $10 he bought a life-long pass for old-timers (62+) to any National Park Service property in the US!
He caught up on his reading, and hiked to his heart's content coming home that night with 30,000 steps, equivalent to about 15 miles. We met in Provincetown at the Townsend for lunch--delicious sea morsels fresh off the boat.
Townsend's For Lunch
Cape Cod has been a great respite for us. Lots of pressured commotion the last days in Wilmette--packers, movers, hotelling it while Kirk was still actively serving at the church. Lots of miles the first couple of days on the road and staying with friends. Cape Cod gave us a place to stop, regroup, reground, and get our new little rituals and rhythms down as to where all of our earthly possessions live in our car and our duffel bags.
Hyannis Kids Sharing A Gallon Of Ice Cream
Two New States
Voluntown must be where all the "teers" live
Never have needed any such worms. Wouldn't know what to do with them.
I so appreciate Kirk's support of my bicycle dreams. (BTW, if you haven't seen Bicycle Dreams, the moive, check out the trailer. You may decide you want to see the whole thing.)
One of those dreams is to ride in all 50 states. This 99-day trek will add 11 new states to my collection leaving only 5 to go by the time I get to Tucson: MT, ND, SD, NE, and AK.
Connecticut and Rhode Island are two currently missing states. So, we left AndyBev's in East Longmeadow, MA and drove to Hopeville, CT. 30 miles later Kirk picked me up in Coventry, RI.
Back in the car off we went to Cape Cod, West Yarmouth, to be exact. We honeymooned on the Cape in 1969. So young we were (21 and 22) we drove away with no money for our wedding trip. Didn't even own a credit card. As we left my grandmother slipped Kirk a $100 bill. We almost made it the whole week on our $100, but Kirk had to bribe a bank to cash a $30 check. Guess many of us started out that poor and equally naive.
The 1969 honeymoon cottage.
Re-connecting
This trek is about connecting and reconnecting: with ourselves, with friends of long-ago some not seen in over 50 years; it's about transitioning from more-than-full-time jobs to retirement; about looking forward to choosing new ways to serve, and building new relationships that are not defined by professional roles.
This first week on the road we rediscovered what it's like to have each other available for laughter over our silly word-play, sharing three meals a day, and lots of convos unencumbered by responsibilities and expectations.
And so, on Day 2 we rolled up to Provence, a restaurant in the Stuyvesant Plaza in Albany, NY to lunch with Andrea and Paul Lurie. Paul was an intern and my father his resident at Yale New Haven Hospital back in the early-mid 40's. They both came to the Indiana University Medical Center in Indianapolis as medical school faculty after completing their medical training. Andrea is about a year younger than I. I remember playing at her house in Indy a few times and she at mine. Had no clue she graduated from my HS--a clue I was really, really out of it back then. Andrea and I had not thought of each other for over 50 years till somehow we reconnected on FB and now at Provence. I'm sure there will be continuing conversations.
On to East Longmeadow, MA to see Bev Premo. Our first married year Bev and I taught together in a Practical Nursing Program in Springfield, MA; Kirk was a 1st Lieutenant in the Army at the Springfield Armed Forces Examining and Entrance Station. As a Personnel Psychologist he administered tests to all the draftees to determine if they were fit psychologically to go to Viet Nam. Makes one wonder what the criteria for "fit" were?
Andy and Bev, (AndyBev as we called them back then) and we were bonded for life back in 1971 when they stayed in our guest room for two weeks waiting for their new house construction to be finished. Our guest room was called "The Garden" wallpapered with garish pink, yellow, and green lilacs; the door made of strings of plastic pop beads.
We've had the pleasure of visiting AndyBev several times over these last 41 years. Looking forward to Bev checking out our new digs in Tucson real soon.
This first week on the road we rediscovered what it's like to have each other available for laughter over our silly word-play, sharing three meals a day, and lots of convos unencumbered by responsibilities and expectations.
And so, on Day 2 we rolled up to Provence, a restaurant in the Stuyvesant Plaza in Albany, NY to lunch with Andrea and Paul Lurie. Paul was an intern and my father his resident at Yale New Haven Hospital back in the early-mid 40's. They both came to the Indiana University Medical Center in Indianapolis as medical school faculty after completing their medical training. Andrea is about a year younger than I. I remember playing at her house in Indy a few times and she at mine. Had no clue she graduated from my HS--a clue I was really, really out of it back then. Andrea and I had not thought of each other for over 50 years till somehow we reconnected on FB and now at Provence. I'm sure there will be continuing conversations.
On to East Longmeadow, MA to see Bev Premo. Our first married year Bev and I taught together in a Practical Nursing Program in Springfield, MA; Kirk was a 1st Lieutenant in the Army at the Springfield Armed Forces Examining and Entrance Station. As a Personnel Psychologist he administered tests to all the draftees to determine if they were fit psychologically to go to Viet Nam. Makes one wonder what the criteria for "fit" were?
Andy and Bev, (AndyBev as we called them back then) and we were bonded for life back in 1971 when they stayed in our guest room for two weeks waiting for their new house construction to be finished. Our guest room was called "The Garden" wallpapered with garish pink, yellow, and green lilacs; the door made of strings of plastic pop beads.
We've had the pleasure of visiting AndyBev several times over these last 41 years. Looking forward to Bev checking out our new digs in Tucson real soon.
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