Boston and Boxboro

We left the Berkshires and headed to my cousin Sheila’s house in Boxboro.  On the way we stopped for a picnic lunch in Charlemont at a roadside park.  Despite the loud music it was a good stop and the river was beautiful!

We landed in Boxboro and Hilda was able to negotiate the narrow circular drive and get plugged in.  Of course she has a driver who is getting more and more experienced at this parking stuff.  We relaxed for a little bit and then headed out to dinner to meet yet another cousin whom I have only known by name - never met in person!  

Midge, Sean, and Sheila 

Next up on Sunday we drove to Riverside, leaving Hilda in Sheila’s good care, and hopped the Green Line to the Fenway stop.  That stop was not even open when we lived in Boston (‘94 to early ‘01) and none of the enormous buildings were there either.  But we felt at home when we saw this building...

Looks like Hilda’s sister!!! How did she get up there???  She may be an Airbnb and rent for $500 a night!  As son in law Ronnie says: “Nice Campground!”   We didn’t come all the way to Boston to look at Shastas on buildings or marvel at the neighborhood growth - we came to see the Sox!

It was a great day for the Sox!!!  Back to Boxboro for another jaunt tomorrow!

The Berkshires

It ‘s been a long time since I blogged anything because we have been so busy seeing old (and young😉) friends.  We arrived at the campground Sunday around 5:00 PM and after getting set up went with friends to Public, a good restaurant in North Adams.  That town is on the move with artists arriving ro stay from all over...  Monday was Lee and Lenox day with lunch at Roscoe’s former office mate’s newly restored Victorian house (forgot to take photos 😢); hot chocolate at Chocolate Springs with Roscoe’s paralegal; and finally dinner in Lee.   Between lunch and dinner we drove the Cliffwood Undermountain circle and came across an old buddy having a snack...  he really did not mind being disturbed...

Tuesday morning I slept in while Roscoe played Waubeeka with a friend.  Weather is fabulous for sleeping.  In the afternoon we headed to the Heritage Tavern in Lenox to watch the World Cup and have a late lunch.  In the evening we had a drink and a small snack with a friend at the Hotel on North in Pittsfield. Between lunch and drinks we scouted out the boat launch at Onota Lake.

Wednesday was again a Lenox day!  We spent the afternoon with friends at their newly renovated and added on to cabin.  Their little weekend home has been transformed into a comfortable year round abode.  I learned all about the mushrooms that are everywhere in their woods.  We capped off the day going to Guido’s to buy a picnic dinner for the Lilac Park Concert.

Thursday Roscoe played golf again while I had a long breakfast (9:30 to 1:00???) with an old colleague at the Blueberry Hill Cafe in New Lebanon NY.  Such a big omelet I did not eat again until we cooked steaks at the campground, the first meal we cooked all week!  A great day.

Friday we kayaked Lake Onota for a couple hours with friends.  What a gorgeous lake!!!  We crashed after that to get ready for a fun dinner party with our Poker Group buddies.  It was great time with plenty of laughter and love.  It was a fitting finale to our stay in our former home town.

Gettysburg

We had plenty of time to explore Gettysburg today since it is only a couple hours from Annapolis.  Weather was beginning to cool somewhat - still not cool enough for walking around the battlefields.  We did the driving tour with narration on 3 CDs.  There are so many monuments and sculptures that it is known as one of the largest sculpture parks in the world.  Each state has a monument to their men who fought in the war with Pennsylvania’s being one of the largest.  (So big I missed the top!)

The tour was almost overwhelming in its beauty and the vastness of the lands.  But nothing could compare with the Re-enactment we attended in the morning.  The parking lot was an enormous field and quickly filled.  Then there were long lines to get to the bleachers in the occasional sprinkling rain.  We brought umbrellas but forgot our rain/wind breakers...  The battle began at about 10:00 and lasted several hours.  The terrain is rolling hills so in the beginning we could not see both sides - only gunsmoke and cannon fire over the hills.  The battle was narrated live so we sort of understood what was happening.  There were thousands of soldiers and hundreds of horses.  It was truly an unforgettable day.  The number of casualties during the three day battle of Gettysburg was only about a few thousand less than all the casualties in the Viet Nam War.  

Tomorrow we are touring some of the battlefields on horseback.  

Great ride for two hours with an experienced guide giving us the history of each field we passed.  We saw the side of a brick barn with a cannon hole in it.  Some of the stories she told of the families and what they endured during the battle and the aftermath were chilling.



Love these fences that outline many of the properties and battlefields.  At the very top you can see another monument

Annapolis

Arrived in Annapolis without horrendous traffic - what a pleasant surprise!  We did have a small problem with our GPS - she must know someone at the Naval Academy because she took us through the campus instead if a more direct route to Cape St Clair.  Hilda found a good spot with electricity in the driveway -but she could not see the water.  The heat followed us from SC and NC - what a disappointment!  We went to a fabulous seafood restaurant - The Point - crab cakes out of this world.  The staff all wear Tee shirts that say “get to the point!”

Weather cooled down enough to enjoy a gorgeous sunset that promised cooler weather for the Fourth. 

The Fourth was family fun day with too much food and a glorious fireworks display over the water for over an hour!  Photos do not do justice to them so none are included.  

On the Road Again

    For the third time I am trying to write a few lines about Day One of Hilda’s trip to New England and parts beyond.  This old brain is having trouble remembering which key does what...🤪  We are parked at a nice campground in Roanoke Rapids NC and the heat from SC has definitely followed us to NC - not quite 100 degrees when we got here at 3:30.  Inside poor little Hilda it was almost as hot, and two fans and the AC have barely made a dent in the heat.  We might get a really early start on the leg to Annapolis - or sleep on the floor in front of the AC...

    As usual we forgot something vital in SC: tonight’s meal!  Fortunately we are very flexible and found a funky grocery store - passed on the gizzards, though.  And we also had the first injury:  Note to Roscoe: walking between the car and the camper is dangerous when the tailgate is open.  Photos show the bloodied concrete and paper towels.  No stitches needed - just another battle scar!  

Riverbend Campground

Here we are on the Hiawassee River at a small Vintage Camper Rally.  Ronnie arrived yesterday as did we and Caroline will be here after work tonight.  Had a great Fish Fry last night and met other vintage campers (yup, both camper trailers and campers are vintage...)

Campground is very nice with the river at our sites, ice cream available til 9:30PM, nice bathrooms, and gorgeous gardens.  Once again I am reminded that gardens do much better in cool weather, unlike the deer infested, hot, humid gardens in Bluffton SC.  The guys are off golfing and I took a nice walk - cool enough to do that midmorning.  The photo is the first glimpse of the Blue Ridge Mountains on our way here.

Mississippi

Saturday was cross the Mississippi River Day!  We were on our way to Natchez, hoping to see a bit of the town Greg Iles describes so well in his novels.  The bridge we crossed looked like Christo had visited - they were working on the lanes heading West and had draped tge bridge with canvas.  Hard to see in the photo...

Decided to have lunch at the Magnolia  Bluff Casino that is right on the river - just in case there was an empty seat at a Black Jack table.  Unfortunately when we finished it started raining hard so our tour of Natchez was shortened to seeing buildings on our way out of town.  The downtown area was reminiscent of Charleston.  

We found our campground outside Meridian MS - a pretty city that reminded us of many Southern cities with sprawling suburbs.  The campground was at Lake Okatibbee - close in name to Okatie!  Maybe our GPS knows we are heading home!   This was our last night camping with Hilda.  Sunday we will be at Bradberry's "Trailer Park". And home on Tuesday.  It has been a great adventure!