Last Stop Before Home

 

Kolya loves climbing the "rocks" at the
playground near their home. 

Our last stop was a Memorial Day weekend with our son James, daughter-in-law Morgen and grandson Kolya in Washington DC. We left Walt & Honoree at 8 AM after a terrific big breakfast and arrived at our Cherry Hill RV Park at 6 PM - a very long day. The last two hours were spent crawling along the highways around Washington. What a relief to settle in for the night with some excellent leftovers from the night before. 

A scattering of beautiful waterlilies were in 
bloom

We saw a lot of herons - green and here, blue.

It's an easy drive on a Saturday morning into the Capitol District where they live and the weather was lovely. Morgen's parents came for dinner and we were able to sit outside outside and eat James' excellent mixed grilled meats. The next day, after some time at the park with Kolya, we drove to the Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens. This National Park Service site was once a thriving business in aquatic plants back in the early 1900's and since 1921 was run by Helen Shaw Fowler, one of the few woman running a big business. The government bought the property in 1938 and it encompasses many ponds of rare waterlilies and lotuses plus the biggest preserved marsh land in the District. 

Grassy and gravel walkways wend their way through the watery landscape.

Kolya's inseparable companion that weekend
was the sea otter we brought him from 
Vancouver. 

James and Morgen

The weather continued to be lovely so we all went out to our RV park on Monday and enjoyed the playground and water park before having dinner on the patio at our RV. We needed to make an early start on Tuesday morning as we had another long day before reaching home. And it was long - another 10 hours. We were so tired that when we got to the border of Vermont, we stopped at the Welcome Center and had our dinner! We found a lovely spot in the truck/trailer parking lot and had a nice view of the Bennington Monument and the hills. 

Enjoying dinner at Baby at the Cherry Hill RV Park - where we have stayed now many times. But this was the first time in warm weather where we got to enjoy their amenities. 

Like the water park.

So we were a bit rested when we pulled into our driveway at 7 PM and found enough energy to unpack a few things. But it was an early night to bed. Our own bed...after 5 months away. "There's no place like home", to quote Dorothy. 

And a fire where we made s'mores!

On the Road Again!

The view from our deck down to Baby's usual spot. We're finished with digging her out and careening down the driveway!

Our little tree down by the pond 
looks quite wintery and sweet.

After Michal and our 5 grandchildren left, we had five days to pack and get the house ready for the winter (without us, but with expected visits from our kids and friends). I did yeoman's duty at Pierce's, working there (volunteering) running the store 4 hour shifts on 3 days! We left January 2nd from Exit 1 RV in Fairhaven, VT where we have been storing Baby since late October. We had only a sprinkling of snow there. But we had around 8 inches at home as you can see from the photo! The truck was packed as we are gone for almost 5 months. 

Scott at Chez Pierre in Gansevoort, NY near the Saratoga
RV Park. This was a favorite spot of Brian Armstrong and
myself back in the 1970's. It's still run by the same family!

From there we drove an hour and a half over to Saratoga RV and spent one night before a long day driving down to Washington DC. We can't use the tunnels in Baltimore because we carry propane tanks, so had to drive right through the city. After 2 nights there visiting our son James and his family, we hightailed south again to try and get out of the coming snowstorm. We got as far as Ashland, VA and spent one night there. We didn't escape the snow though, as we woke up to several inches of snow and slush. It took several hours of careful driving before we left the snow line. The temperatures however didn't go up.

The view out our RV window at the Americamps
RV Park in Ashland, VA in the morning.

Walt & Honoree in their kitchen

Our next stop was our yearly visit to our old traveling buddies, Walt & Honoree, at their beautiful home in Carthage, NC. Baby's spot on the edge of their pond is one of our all time favorites. We had a great time as usual with cold but clear sunny days. Some great walks, meals, card games, and conversation! One wonderful surprise too. They have volunteered to keep Baby on their property while we are away in New Zealand and Australia! We're flying out of Raleigh, about an hour away. This will save us a lot of money in storage fees and we'll get to visit them again in the spring!

Now we're off for another visit with old friends, Stephen & Kate Kelley in Pawley's Island, SC. But that will be covered in my next post!

That's Baby in her favorite spot at Walt & Honorees home in Carthage, NC

 

Last Days of This Year's Trip

Heather, James, Morgen, Kolya and Scott at Artomatic

We spent 3 nights enjoying a visit with our son James, daughter-in-law Morgen and our 5 year old grandson Kolya. They live in the Capitol District of Washington DC and spring was in full bloom there. The gardens are small but packed with flowers - some spring bulbs but the roses were in full bloom and every color was represented. 

Kolya is quite an artist and we enjoy working
together.

He loves wearing as little clothes as possible 
around the house.

James and Morgen, surrounded by books. Morgen
works in a bookshop nearby and she and James
are voracious readers.

Our first full day we got to take Kolya to school. It's a half a block away! Then Scott and I went downtown and visited the National Portrait Gallery and have lunch. We picked that museum due to the opening of Brilliant Exiles: American Women in Paris. But we also enjoyed Struggle for Justice and the portraits of recent Presidents.

On Saturday we took Kolya to the Arboretum - he loves it there. His interests are the buttercups (which he can sit and enjoy, and pick) and the Koi in the pond surrounding the Visitor's Center. . But he also loved the walks through the Azalea Garden - he found lots of little paths between the official trail!

Kolya among the buttercups.

Enjoying the Koi with a new friend. 

Sunday we all went out for Brunch and then to the last day of the Artomatic show. This pop up month long sporadic, peripatetic art festival by local artists takes place in an empty office building. This one had 5 floors packed with artists shows - hundreds. Morgen entered one year and another friend of her and James', who we met there, has also entered several times.  It was a celebratory crowd (there were several bars available, also pop up). Kolya is very creative and loves art. He really enjoyed it (for awhile anyway). 

Enjoying the art!

This is one small section of a single floor. Some were open
totally and others divided into small rooms, each with a 
different artist. 

But all too soon we had to return up to our RV Sunday night. We stopped in to see Paula that evening and again in the morning before hitting the road north and home. We left Maryland at 9 AM and arrived back in Shrewsbury at 4:30 PM - 8.5 hours, not bad and especially since we stopped and had lunch at Panera. It's wonderful to be home and although the trees are still bare, there are lots of daffodils and other early spring flowers. But we only have barely a week here. On Sunday we drive to Boston to babysit our 9 month old grandson Rowan for the week. Our son Sean and son-in-law Will are both away with work commitments. 

Home Again!

 

Kolya is a budding artist in all mediums. Here
he has created an island in play dough 
populated by dinosaurs!

Kolya shares the family red hair!

We left the campground in West Virginia early as it was a 4 hour plus Google trip to Washington. That usually means another hour or more as we go slower than the speed limit. But we enjoyed the scenery on the first half before joining an interstate. Cherry Hill RV Park in College Park, MD is a beautiful full service resort.. Unfortunately we pay for that but never really spend any time there. We stay with our son James and his family in the Capitol District of Washington. We arrived Friday afternoon so had a full weekend with he, Morgen and our (so far) youngest grandson Kolya. 

The weather wasn't great, cool with occasional showers but we had some good walks, a fun trip to Kolya's favorite, the Smithsonian Natural History Museum, and a great lunch out at Belga's. James is a excellent cook so we enjoyed some wonderful meals at the house. On Monday we drove up to my sister's in Belcamp, MD  We planned to drive her to the doctor's that same day so rented a car nearby (she can't get into our truck). Again, we left Baby & Junior at the Bar Harbor RV Resort for the week while we stayed with Paula. We had 5 days with her and managed to help her organize doctor appointments and hire an agency to provide in house services. 

Brent lights the birthday candles while Kimmy 
and Wandi look on with Heather.

Wilma, Brent and Wandi at home in South Orange.

On Saturday we drove north to South Orange, NJ to spend the night with Scott's brother Brent, his wife Wilma and their daughter Wandi. It was Wandi's birthday so we shared a celebration meal with her friend Kimmy. Brent made a great Jambalaya for dinner. They got special permission for us to park the RV in front of their house. This really splits up the trip home and allows us to spend time with them. 

Rustic Rooster is our "local", only a mile
away in our village of Cuttingsville

Although it was 70 degrees out, no one seems to
be ready to eat their dinner outside on this day.

We didn't rush out on Sunday but had a great walk up at a nearby Reserve with views of NYC with Brent. Then drove home after lunch in sunny warm weather. We laughed as it was over 70 degrees and sunny at home - better than a lot of weather down south these last months! It was too late to cook a meal at home so we parked our rig at our "local" (British slang for your nearby special bar/restaurant), the Rustic Rooster. There we were greeted with hugs from the owners and welcomed home. 

This year's journey has ended. It has been an amazing trip. We're already planning the next one! But it's wonderful to be home and there are lots of things planned here. So the blog will go on....

Baby upon our return in May

And to contrast, the day we left in December

Looking up at the house in December

The same view in May!

Song of the South

 

Sunny but cool - in front of the Capitol in 
Washington with the Mall behind me.

My sister Paula and ourselves take a selfie.

After a wintery freezing start to our trip, the song of the south beckons us onward with warmer, sunny weather. Right now we are in South Carolina and it was 70 degrees yesterday with clear skies! My last post finished with our arrival at my sister Paula's for a visit. We spent four days with her and enjoyed some holiday meals and lots of conversation. Then we drove back to the RV park to repack for our visit with our son James and his family in Washington DC. We basically left the RV at the park, staying with first Paula and then, James 

The traditional Pavlovic dessert on Christmas Eve,
a Strawberry Pavlova. 

Scott and Grace, Morgen's niece. 

Our grandson Kolya with James and Morgen's
father Karl in the background on Christmas
morning at Morgen's sister's home.

This was our second time celebrating Christmas with Morgen's family. Her sister Claire and brother-in-law Bill have a home just blocks from James and Morgen on Capitol Hill. They have 2 girls, Grace and Nora. We had Christmas Eve and the next day with them, along with both of their parents. Morgen's family have traditional meals at this time. The first is Cheese Fondue and Salad followed by a Strawberry Pavlova. On the day itself, a big brunch followed by Spaghetti and Meatballs, Salad and Christmas cookies. With three children you can imagine there were tons of presents. 

The weather stayed cool but several days it was clear. One day we went to the Arboretum to see the toy trains race around a world wide landscape out in the garden area. Four trains wound around tiny towns representing countries from all over the world.  Inside it was beautifully decorated for Christmas. 

Our next stop was Colonial Williamsburg for two nights. We'd been there twice before when the children were young. The first time we exchanged homes with the Vice President of Williamsburg and lived in their home right in the center of the historic district for a week  We had glorious weather - 65 degrees with bright sunshine. Visits to the craftspeople and conversations with the "townsfolk" were highlights. That evening we had dinner and then attended a organ recital at the 1715 Episcopal Church in the center of town - marvelous!

We had a great visit in the Carpentry shop and learned about the Apprentice program and careers in the crafts at Williamsburg.

On December 30th we continued on to our close friends Walt & Honoree Cooper in Carthage, NC. We first met them in 2006 in Trinidad and Bonaire. Since then we traveled together in Peru for 2 months, France & Italy for another 2 months and more recently a week in Amsterdam and a 2 week cruise up the Norwegian coast to above the Artic Circle. We spent 3 nights with them, celebrating the New Year with their neighbors and attending their New Year's Day pickle ball party. They are avid pickle ball players and constructed a beautiful court on their property. 

That's Junior and Baby across the Cooper's pond - what a lovely spot!

Here's the view the other direction near sunset from our RV.

We are now spending 3 nights with our former Brookline neighbors and friends, Kate & Stephen Kelley. They have a second home in Litchfield By The Sea on Pawley's Island, SC. It's a beautiful area and the beach here is endless! We've parked our RV in the Huntington Beach State Park right next door. This is the location of Atalaya, which was the winter home of the industrialist and philanthropist Archer M. Huntington and his wife, the sculptor Anna Hyatt Huntington. They donated 2,600 acres including the castle and Brookgreen Gardens, a showcase for Anna's sculptures and others. We spent hours walking around admiring the beautiful landscaping and works of art. 

Scott, Kate, Heather and Stephen. 

Today, Thursday 1/5 we continue on to Skidaway Island State Park outside of Savannah. It promises to be another beautiful day!

I loved the small lovely vistas around 
Williamsburg

Walt & Honoree's Pickleball Court in action..

Watching the fierce competition

Walt & Honoree with ourselves

The gorgeous wide endless beach at Pawley's Island where Kate & Stephen have their vacation home

We had breakfast with Stephen's mother Rives one morning

One of the beautiful statues at Brookgreen Gardens

Moving Into Fall

 

Here's the view of the back side of our former townhouse condominium at Marina Bay in Quincy. We bought it over 30 years ago as a rental property. Unlike our sale of the boat, this was a difficult experience. We had a great realtor who helped us manage 4 months of renovations while we were bringing the Scott Free up from Guatemala. Once that was done, the condo sold quickly.

Our big news recently is the sale of our townhouse condo on Boston Harbor in Marina Bay, Quincy.  Our realtor, Colleen Russo, was amazing. It was a huge relief to finally close on the property. So now we are down to The Hundred Acre Wood here in Vermont and our 24 foot trailer, Baby. We hitched her up to our truck, Junior, and enjoyed a 3 day mini shakedown trip to the southwest corner of Vermont. The Pine Hollow Campground was a lovely spot. We brought our new E-bikes and returned to the Ashuwillticook Rail Trail, starting in Adams, MA. The next day, which was rainy, the Clark Art Institute in Williamstown was our refuge for the day.  The Allegro Bistro in Bennington and the Cozy Corner Restaurant in Williamstown were excellent choices for dinner and the Chef's Hat for our last breakfast was perfect. The chef was mostly on vacation as well!

Here's the view from our site at Pine Hollow Campground. Our first day we enjoyed some lovely weather!

This fall we've continued to enjoy theater and music. Shrewsbury had weekend concerts up at our Meeting House and the day long Shrewsbury Day with a parade, lunch and music. Heather got to march in the parade this year with the Pierce's Store group! A fantastic Memorial to Robert De Cormier at the Grace Church featured 6 different choruses. This coming weekend we'll be at the Brandon Music to see the Swing Noir, a Gypsy Jazz Band from the UK. 

It looked like every resident of Shrewbury was there for Shrewsbury Day. After the parade, there was a free lunch and live music. Luckily we had perfect weather!

We took two trips to visit friends and family. First, to Gloucester to see Gail, Colin and Leslie Smith. Carol and Bill Fonvielle also came over for lunch on the porch one day. Again, we lucked out on the weather and took lots of walks on the beaches between wonderful meals over looking the ocean. Then we drove down to Maryland to visit my sister Paula and spend the weekend with our son James, daughter-in-law Morgen and grandson Kolya. They came for a brunch at Paula's as well. On the way back to Washington James' family and ourselves enjoyed the National Aquarium in Baltimore. Then Scott and I took Kolya off for a visit to the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. We spent a week with Paula and took her to several medical appointments - between some wonderful meals and conversation. This weekend we will be hosting the Silversteins, Martins, Bond-D'Arpas and Wolfs!

Scott, Leslie and Gail enjoy lots of oysters out on the porch. Colin and I aren't fans, but loved the stuffed clams. 

The foliage is glorious now. Just walking our driveway is a treat. The farmer's market is awash in colorful peppers, squashes and pumpkins. But it has turned cold with a high in the 50's and evening lows close to freezing. Yesterday Heather worked (volunteered) at Pierce's Store, opening it up in the morning at 7:30 AM (the safe is a bear to unlock, an old fashioned one with a dial) till Noon while Scott attended his Quaker meeting. Then the two of us manned the gate at the Art in the Park event in Rutland for a few hours. 

Here's a few of the peppers for sale and the Rutland Farmer's Market!

Heather has spent a lot of time planning our trip south and west starting December 20th. We wanted to get camping spots in the National Parks so needed to have the trip pretty much organized. But we failed to get spots right in the four big parks we will visit despite being ready 6 months in advance at the opening time with both computers. So we'll stay outside the parks but nearby.  Our itinerary takes us down the east coast to Florida with visits on the way to Walt & Honoree Cooper and Steve & Kate Kelley. We have a lot of friends and family to visit in Florida before heading west to Arizona. We won't be going as far as California this year.

Take a walk up our driveway with Scott up ahead. It's late foliage time here October 9th with the leaves gone from most of our trees. 

Now looking back towards Spring Lake Rd.

A little further up the driveway, still not in sight of the house.

Still further up, the house is around the bend.

Sean & Will at Beziers in France during their 3 
week vacation. They visited London, Paris, the south
of France, and Portugal. 

Heather with her new folding E-bike!

The view from the Smith's porch in Gloucester.

The living room of our former condo in Quincy.