New England

September 29 - October 26, 2002

Pictures at the bottom - be sure to click on them to see the captions.

Wow, Pittsburgh seems like months ago! We have been negligent in travelogues, but our style of travel has changed.

This writing finds us near New York City in Cold Spring, NY parked in the driveway of Michael, a friend of David’s from high school, and his wife, Wendy (Belfiore and Kagan). They live in a converted red barn about an hour outside of The City - where they also run their writing business and Michael writes his own stories. We’ve enjoyed a day in NYC (taking the commuter train down), but mostly have been enjoying the Cold Spring area - enjoying the idyllic Hudson River Valley atmosphere, Michael and Wendy’s gracious hosting, and their fast internet access. As for the past month, I won’t even begin to tell you all that we have done because (a) it would be boring and (b) I don't remember it all.  Here are some highlights:

• Niagara Falls was impressive at night. (We overnighted at a Wal-Mart in Cheektowaga, NY - I like that name.)
• Cooperstown, NY - Baseball Hall of Fame - A pilgrimage of sorts for David. For a couple weeks we planned our days around watching to the Minnesota Twins playoff games. They obviously did not make it to the World Series, but they did better than anyone thought they would. I know their performance is directly related to my husband's cheering. They did provide us with some great games. Oh, a benefit of Cooperstown was the campground where we had a fantastic hike that Pluto got to be off leash for - gave me something to do while David watched TV. Don't bother with the link unless you are actually looking for a place to stay.
• The Williams College area allowed David to watch more ball games and for me to walk down memory lane showing David my old college. Orrin had told me our old house / dorm had been torn down and I was pleasantly surprised to find Woodbridge still there and still housing folks. We called Anne and Orrin on the cell phone to let them know the old haunts were still there.
• Some more old haunts of mine were revisited when we camped at a great beach in Salisbury, MA. I think I am enjoying our campgrounds more for two reasons: one, I am getting better at picking them, but two (and more likely) is that we have them to ourselves as most people have stopped RV-ing this far north. (Note from David: given the chilly weather, I’m not convinced that we’re the smart ones.)
• Driving in Boston proved to be just as bad as I remembered, but with a little patience, David and I made it through. We spent an afternoon at Harvard and actually called Julie at Tierra Linda (my old co-teacher and alum of Harvard). She hooked us up with THE place to get a sandwich (a cheese-steak with pickles).
• We got together with two nice folks from my college days, Tom Feist and Art Hutchinson. Tom and I were ski patrol partners and Art and I were freshman dorm mates. Plus, both got me through my tougher geology classes. I enjoyed catching up with both of them and spending time with their families. They both have charming kids.
• Vermont and New Hampshire with Vadim: Vadim is a great traveler. He is active and isn't scared to state his travel preferences. We visited Ben and Jerry's (well, David actually sat in their parking lot and listened to a Twins game while Vadim and I enjoyed the tour) and a glass factory that we later saw featured in the current movie "Sweet Home Alabama.” We hiked up to and briefly on the Appalachian Trail and went to Queechee Gorge. We hit some great dives from our Eat Your Way across the USA book, and in general, we were good little leaf peepers, stopping often for pictures of the amazing colors.
• Maine was as promised: quaint towns, beautiful scenery, David's first lobster, and a small bite of lobster for the now-allergic to shellfish Betsy. Our campground couldn't have been prettier. In fact, it might have been the prettiest we have ever stayed at. We tried to be good consumers at the Maine outlets, but there just isn't much we need or want to buy anymore. We both did get new tennis shoes though.
• Connecticut: David and I decided we needed to think about the rest of our trip a bit and plan our next few months. We choose a campground near Norwich, CT to kind of retreat for a while and strategize about what we wanted the rest of the trip to look like. We picked a monster campground near Mystic, CT as I had always wanted to visit there. The weather cooperated with our desire to huddle up and think. We experienced a pretty good nor'easter with lots of rain and wind, perfect for staying in and talking. More on our decisions later. The campground we stayed at had 77 acres and it seemed to have a rule for each one of them. The bizzarest rule was that although they allowed dogs and feature a happy dog on their brochure, you were not allowed to walk dogs except on your postage size site. So every morning I got Pluto into the car and went for a great hike in a nearby wooded park. I thought Mystic was cute and I enjoyed kicking boats along the waterfront. We had the famed Mystic Pizza, but mostly we talked, went to some movies, and hung out.
• After Connecticut, Newport, Rhode Island and a visit to see how the top 1% lived during the Gilded Era of no income taxes. We visited one mansion whose footprint was an entire acre. We "did" the mansions, enjoyed the Cliff Walk, and my favorite dog walking area, the Sachueset Wildlife Sanctuary (check out the view!) On the way to New York, we also visited old friends of mine, Russell and Emily Rhea. They have bought a mid 1700's farm (that is pre-Revolutionary, kids) with barns, hen house, etc.) in New Milford, CT. Emily has decided it is now her life's work to restore it. They even have 2 sheep and are awaiting chickens. It is quite a beautiful area.

And that brings us to New York. It is a bit cold, but tolerable. We have only hit the city one day so far - Empire State Building, Times Square, Grand Central, Toys R Us, and general soaking in. Michael (our host) had just bought a book called The Cheap Bastard's Guide to New York City (sorry Mom, it is the title of the book). In the book, it explains how to get into see certain shows free by ushering. We decided that would be an adventure so on Halloween Night we will be ushering at The Blue Man Group (think Intel commercials) and seeing the show free. We hope to go check out some Halloween festivities in Greenwich Village after the show. I'll write another travelogue with what we have been thinking for the next couple of months and how we a

David at Cooperstown View from Campsite in NH Betsy at Williams Vadim, David, Betsy, and Pluto Queechee Gorge from the bottom Acadia National Park Flavor Graveyard at B & J's Near Mystic, CT

re changing some of the details of our trip.