This morning MA cooked Belgian Waffles for Sylvia and Terry Hix and I cooked bacon. I did my bacon cooking outside using a griddle and the outside electrical hook-up. Bacon is such a strong smell that the coach would smell like bacon for days if we cooked it inside.
Drove thru St. Johnsbury and Montpelier, Vermont
enroute to our staging area in Shelburne, VT, several miles south of Burlington. The scenry along Vermont US-2 is simply breathtaking! This is a pic of the Vermont State Capitol building in Montpeler.
I got up early to see the start of the Ryder Cup golf TV coverage. I should have stayed in bed! It started off rainy and windy but cleared up in mid-afternoon. A group of us went to a local (Franconia) seafood restaurant this evening...good shrimp!
We went to breakfast at Polly's Pancake Parlor with Terry & Sylvia Hix. Polly's is one of our favorite places in New England. We have been eating breakfasts here for over thirty years.
Quinn, former owners of the Sugar Hill Inn in Sugar Hill, NH. Four years ago, Jim & Barbara sold the inn and two owners later, dinner prices are so expensive there that none of our group will be eating there. We will just have to be content with warm memories of some great autumn and winter week-ends staying and dining there when Jim & Barbara owned the inn. We had a great visit with Jim & Barbara. They currently own Bishop's Ice Cream Parlor in Littleton and will be relocating to The Villages near Ocala, Florida in the near future.
we SAVED about $100...go figure.Got a haircut and then we drove down to Bath and North Haverhill, NH looking for the farmer's market. Didn't find it but did get some Courtland apples from the Windy Hill Orchard. This is the covered bridge in Bath, NH.
For dinner, Fred Walton cooked up a batch of Tamale Soup for the group. It was not easy to find tamales in New England, but we finally found some. I had never eaten tamale soup...very good (with plenty of cheese).Today drove 80 miles across the Kancamagus Highway, one of our favorites, to Franconia, NH and the Fransted Family Campground. This is the nicest of the campgrounds that we have stayed in New England on this trip. I used the sunny, warm afternoon to wash a very dirty coach.
Had a chance to play golf at the Indian Mounds Golf Club with Wayne Smith, one of the Kountry Klub members from Texas that are traveling with us. It was a beautiful day and the course was very pretty and the golf game was pretty lousy.
came over and enjoyed some soup with us. Afterwards, the group (of 16) came over to our coach and surprised Sylvia with a birthday cake. Sylvia was celebrating the anniversary of her 39th birthday. It WAS a crowded coach!WE drove down to Wolfeboro, NH for lunch. Wolfeboro is on the shore of Lake Winnipesaukee and is reputed to be the first summer resort in America.
engagement trip in 1973. Lots of memories here. It was the first covered bridge either of us had seen and it left quite an impression.This morning we drove 58 miles to our camp for the next three nights, Beaver Hollow CG in Ossipee, NH. This is a very old campground with VERY tight turns, overhanging limbs and poor electrical service. I think the Texans in our group are getting frustrated with the quality of CG's here in New England. Most are very tight, old and expensive.
And those that are here are barely visible from the water. Twenty-five years ago On Golden Pond was filmed here, almost in its entirety. The day became rainy and the atmosphere on the lake was almost brooding and pensive. We all enjoyed this trip very much and then we all went to dinner at George's Diner in Meredith, NH. 
Sorry about the slow postings. We have had VERY limited cell and WiFi access in Maine.
Drove the 30 miles from the Bar Harbor area to the area nearest Sebago Lake that would accommodate 40-45 foot motorhomes. We are near Portland, ME where Tony formerly lived. We will be here two nights before heading to New Hampshire on Tuesday.
Slowed down today after running ourselves crazy chasing lobsters yesterday.
Today, MA and I made arrangements with a local lobsterman to meet him at the docks to buy 18, 1.75 pound lobsters. Most everyone wanted one lobster each with Fred & Marlyn wanting two additional to eat later. We drove the 25 miles from our camp to the pier in the Blue Hill, Maine area (so named for the blueberries covering the hill). On the way, we passed
hundreds of people waving US flags in Blue Hill. They were awaiting a parade honoring Cpl. Brian Smith, USMC, a native son who was wounded in Iraq. Kinda puts things into perspective.
Starting around 10 am this morning seven Newmar coaches arrived from Texas and Louisiana. We are here with Fred & Marlyn, Raymond & Birgit, Terry & Sylvia, Marilyn & Troy, Jim & Jame, Wayne & Lou Ann and Doris & Bill. Over the next two weeks, we will be traveling to Burlington, VT for the Newmar International Rally.
Very early if our life together, MA & I would occasionally see the sun rise at the END of our day. Never, in 33.5 years together, has she VOLUNTARILY witnessed a sunrise to start her day. This morning, that all changed.
with the wind. We sat for about 1/2 hour and waited...waited for the firey ball to first appear. It was a long 1/2 hour! The clouds prevented us from seeing a perfect sunrise. But the effect of the sun thru broken clouds 
was exciting.It had to happen sooner or later...one of us had to get sick. That would be me this time. I have developed a sinus infection that makes me feel puny. If I am not noticeable better by Friday morning, I will make a trip to a doc to get some antibiotics and maybe a shot for congestion. That is what I had to do last March and the shots worked.
Got moving at 7:30 this morning because the Seminary students were going to start arriving and we did not want to create any traffic hazards. The roads within the campus are very narrow and a fairly low hanging tree canopy. At times we had to weave into the opposing lane to miss overhead obstacles.
Tenacious Mary Alice! Kept trying and finally
made contact with Sharon Eidsness. We drove the coach and Jeep over to Wenham, MA and parked on the campus of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. Joel is assisting Dr. Haddon Robinson in teaching a semester on effective preaching.We had the great opportunity to spend most of the day and evening with Joel and Sharon. They are such close friends! They are living in a two-bedroom dorm room while on this assignment. They return to their Sun City, Arizona home in December. Meanwhile, they get to enjoy another spectacular New England autumn.
We are spending the night in the coach, on campus with the OK of the campus police.
Drove 29 miles to Tewksbury, MA and ate breakfast at Cracker Barrel. Neither of us have ever seen a Cracker Barrel so busy!
I drove the 50 miles out to Cape Ann, Massachusetts. Rockport is an artist colony on the Cape and is best known as the place I proposed to 
Mary Alice in 1973. Thirty-three years ago!Thatcher Gearhart drove out from his home near
downtown Boston to pick us up in his new Jaguar. MA reminded Thatcher that when he was in the first grade, he promised MA that he would someday come to pick her up in his "limo". I think his new Jaguar fulfills that promise.
had a wonderful dinner at Longfellow's Wayside Inn. This is purported to be the oldest inn in America. We have eaten here several times in the past, always for lunch.This morning, there was a bike rally highlighting
Connecticut farms, sponsored by bike manufacturer, Cannondale, a local Bethel, CT company. There were dozens of bikers that stopped by John & Lynn’s farm market…maybe more after we left. We said goodbye and thanks to John & Lynn Holbrook. They had hosted us for nine days. We interrupted the lives of many people while here in the Danbury area. We have often said, “Don’t invite us if you don’t want us because…we WILL show up!”.
Drove up to Hudson, Massachusetts, a suburb of Boston. Thatcher Gearhart, son of Susie & Jock Gearhart, Pennsylvania neighbors, is here in Boston. He is coming out to pick us up and we are going to Longfellow’s Wayside Inn, a classic colonial New England inn and restaurant, immortalized in 1863 by Longfellow in his Tales of a Wayside Inn.
We extended our stay in Danbury by two days for several reasons, one of which was to be able to
play poker with the guys. Most of my years in Danbury, I played a monthly game with Bill Bodnar, John Ashkar, Ed March and others who, like me, have moved on. Bill invited me to join them tonight. I am richer for the experience and poorer for the evening. Some things have never changed…you never want to sit next to Bill and you always want to “call” John's bets. Great guys! Earlier, I dropped by Richter Park Golf Course and visited with many friends from my days as a member of the Richter Park Men’s Club. This is the week-end of their annual Member – Guest tournament, an event that I enjoyed so much while in Connecticut. The Friday Dinner was always exciting with teams betting, bragging, poor-mouthing, etc., all trying to get the psychological “edge”. I played in this tourney 12 times, twice when my brother, John, came up from Texas and other times with John Ashkar, a neighbor in Danbury.
This day got off to a rocky start. It seems that we picked up some stowaways prior to coming north. ROACHES! MA is certain that the wretched little buggers came aboard in South Carolina. In our 13 years in Connecticut, we never saw ROACHES. Since we left SC, we would see maybe 1-2 ROACHES a week. But, when Bill & Diana Wirz came to visit Wednesday night, two ROACHES made their appearance. The final straw came last night when MA had one crawling on her arm when she was asleep. She jumped up and screamed. Woke me up from a sound sleep. A VERY restless sleep for both of us. So... I took matters into my own hands. This morning, I got Gypsy out of the coach for about 5 hours and I sprayed all over the inside of the coach. Also in the outside hatches. I am declaring victory! We are seeing several dead ROACHES this morning.
DePasquale, daughter of dear friends Don & Chris Stevens and very close friend to our daughter, Berri. Carrie and husband, Adam, have one child, 19 month old son, Elias. What a fine looking young man! They live in a 120 year-old home near downtown Danbury. They have made major updates and it is a very cute home. Carrie told us some new news...they are expecting their second child!
husband, Charlie, were in our Small Group Bible Study when we lived in Danbury. Linda shared stories and pix of one of her mission trips to Zambia. She has also been on mission trips to the Ukraine and Central America.This week we have been catching up with old friends in the Danbury area. Wednesday, we ate dinner at Nico's Italian Rest. in downtown Danbury with former neighbors, Bill & Diane Wirz. It was sure great to visit with these wonderful people.
little business that the Holbrooks have built up. It smells so good when you walk in from the outside. Lynn is always baking something: pies, cookies, scones, etc. MA really enjoys helping at the market and we are considering returning next year for an extended stay during their busy 
season. It is very convenient to be parked here on their property. We have water and electric available and we would only need to move the coach to dump the holding tanks (approximately two weeks).
This morning we attended worship service at Walnut Hill Community Church, our former church home for eight years. It was so great to visit with so many friends who welcomed us like we had never left. The physical facility has grown a lot; the warmth of the people remains constant.
Tropical Storm Ernesto hit the tri-state area today, downing trees and power lines in Westchester County, NY but leaving the Danbury area largely unaffected...just constant rain but no significant winds.
This morning we went over to the Lake Avenue Cafe. The breakfast was still very good but our favorite waitress had moved on about two years ago.
office to arrange a visit (or is it an audience) with the mayor. Mark had taught both Ashley and Berri at Danbury High School and had spent afternoons on our porch discussing many deep topics and drinking beer. Mark's schedule permitted a short visit so we got in to see him. After bringing him up-to-date on our girls' and Tony's lives he presented us with KEYS to the City (see pic). As we were leaving, Mark specifically asked Ashley to bring by Cammy & Cecilia when she is here in October.
from her days at Ridgefield Bank. Sycamore is a 50's style drive-in with curb service. They still have cruise nights on summer week-ends.
Today we drove the 30 miles to Danbury, CT, our home for 13 years (1985 - 1999).
coach into the same parking area. John came out to tell me that because the farm market is so busy, I needed to move over to the area around their home. So John stopped traffic on hwy 53 and MA used the walkie-talkie to give me directions and I backed up into the highway and drove down to the area of the house. Once in that area I had to do a 180 and reverse the direction of the coach. It took at least 10 back-and-forths to do this maneuver.
