College Park, Maryland

October 29, 2007

We attended Trinity Lutheran Church with the Lerdas. It was a great way to end a rich and informative 4 days with friends. The Reformation Sunday celebration, in high church style, was very uplifting. Barb and I had not heard such wonderful music, braced by a huge pipe organ, in a long time.

We left at noon. Traffic started out light but became very heavy as we entered the D.C. beltway (I495). Barb and the GPS (we call her Ms Garmin) brought me in without a miscue. The campground is nicely appointed however, at $48 a night, these are the highest prices we have paid. When you consider that we are 16 miles from the Whitehouse, just a few miles from our friends, and that the RV park has access to the metro system, the location overrides the cost. We will be here a week.

Gettysburg II

Even though the battle occurred here, the remains are of a Life sustained. The Lutheran Seminary and the Eisenhower farm.

Transition and Amish

October 27

It rained throughout the day Friday so we took some time to catch up on details. Barb and Linda attended Linda’s grandson’s preschool Halloween party then visited a quilting demonstration in Chambersburg. Lou and I took the RV in to get serviced. This sounds uneventful but it turned out not to be so. On the way home from retrieving the RV, I was rear ended and considerable damage was done to the bumper and a rear cargo hold door. It is drivable and temporary repairs were done by using the cure-all duct tape. We will get it fixed when we are in the Atlanta area, I hope. The lady admitted fault to the police so I pray that the process of getting it fixed will go smoothly.

October 28

Lou and Linda drove us to Lancaster County for a day of exploring the Amish country. We drove through Bird in Hand, Intercourse, Paradise and Soudersburg. Amish carriages, although frequent, were greatly outnumbered by tourist cars and buses. We stopped at many “homecraft industry” shops. Barb and Linda surveyed the linens, quilts, and other handicrafts while Lou and I watched the tourists mingle with the locals. The farms were small by eastern Washington standards but the buildings, barns, sheds, and houses were huge. The houses and yards were well maintained. Efficiency and productivity appeared to be the norm. Extended families live on the farms and it appears that several homes, built in a tight cluster around the barns, were present on most farms. The main crops were corn, alfalfa, and canola and each farm and village home appeared to have extensive gardens. Dairy is a major industry. Amish farms, as they lay mixed in with other farms, could be identified through a variety of ways. The men, boys and young girls were easily identified doing their chores around the farm and buildings. Amish farms usually had no electric lines leading to the buildings. If there were lines, the lines only went to the barn or workshop. There were carriages and wagons instead of cars and trucks. Motorized balers and choppers were present but the hitches were modified so they could be pulled by horses. Sometimes there were tractors on the farms. The tractors, however, had steel wheels, something which remains unexplained to me. And the major indication of an Amish farm, yards of laundry hung to cables strung high into the air on this fair weather Saturday. Pictures show the Lancaster area, an Amish farm with steel wheeled tractor, an Amish farm yard with carriages and man using gas blower, and a family in transit. The picture I missed was a young Amish man driving his carriage down the road while he was talking on a cell phone. Somehow, I don't understand the evil of modernism vs. the tools that makes one prosper. Did God say if a convenience however unholy, makes one prosper, than it is acceptable? Did He also say that a convenience, if one makes one comfortable, is sin? I missed that in scripture. Remember, you can click on each picture to enlarge it.

Pictures from Gettysburg

I couldn't send pictures of Gettysburg due to a weak signal. The following are the field of battle, Barb, Lou, and Linda at the site of Pickett's charge, and me, reading the memorial at the high water mark where the Confederate charge was repulsed.

Gettysburg

October 25

I didn’t sleep much last night. It may have been in anticipation of today’s visit. Gettysburg was unexplainable - horrible, sad, tragic, and, like many battles and wars, a waste of human life, talent, and treasure. It was a failure of leadership, a failure to achieve consensus and a failure to embrace change. But yet, here we acknowledge and commemorate the young men who are called to arms to carry out our nation’s policies. Whether wearing blue or grey, they were carrying out their mission for America.

Our friend, Lou, drove us along the path that Lee took as he left Chambersburg. Lou was a thorough and detailed guide. We entered the battlefield and he drove us around the 18 miles of roads through the almost 20 square times of battlefield. As the days’ events were explained, one had difficulty soaking it all in. The pastures and village, home of the Lutheran Theological Seminary and some of it overlooking the Eisenhower farm, were almost idyllic in the fall setting. But the horrors of the battle are what define this town. In three days, there were 51 thousand casualties, far more than DDay or any other day. In one hour, there were 5 thousand casualties in the hand to hand battle of Pickett’s charge. The High Water Mark marks the point at which the Confederates were repulsed and Lee began his retreat. Sadly, the carnage would continue for two more years.

There is no statue of Lincoln here. The focus is on the soldiers. There are hundreds of monuments from states and locales honoring the regiments of brave young men that were sent to fight for principles. For the Confederacy, it was for state’s rights. For the Federalists it was to preserve the Union. But we all know the true reason for this battle and war. The foundation of the southern economy was slave labor. All 51 thousand causalities were incurred here because, somehow, it was felt by one side, that to own slaves was a God given right. Unfathomable.

A homecooked meal

October 24

We’ve been on the road 50 days and this is the first day that we had to break camp and hook up the Jeep in the rain. It was a Puyallup weather day as we drove in mist to rain most of the 150 miles. We arrived in Chambersburg, PA at 2 p.m. This is the town that Lee amassed his troops before he marched toward Gettysburg. This is the only town north of the Mason Dixon line that was burned by the Confederate troops. But that is not why we are here. Lou and Linda, good friends from Puyallup, now live here. Lou, a former Colonel in the Army, is a war history buff. He will lead us into Gettysburg. Linda will lead us into the Amish country. We look forward to four days with good friends. Barb and I celebrated a rare event tonight. We had another first for our 50 days on the road. Tonight, we ate a meal in a house.

Philadelphia

October 23

The train ride into Philly was quite different from those of Boston or New York. The villages in the suburbs appear tight knit and each appears to have their own train station. Thus there seemed to be a stop every five miles or so and the train speed never appeared to be above 30 MPH. It was a slow ride so we didn’t get in to downtown until around noon. But we saw the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, Congress Hall (site of our first Congress), Carpenters Hall (site of the first Continental Congress) and we ate lunch at the City Tavern, a restored pub that was the “unofficial meeting place”. After lunch we visited Christ’s Church, Betsy Ross’s home, Franklin’s grave, and his shop/commercial buildings.
The middle picture is the room where the Second Continental Congress was held. The last is Ben's auto epitaph.

By 4:30 my ankles were firing off growls of disrespect so we boarded the train for the trip home.

We did not give Philly its due. There was so much to see, but what we did see we felt we covered adequately. Things moved quickly as the historical area which, during the summer, directs and transports thousands, only had to deal with a few hundred of us. There were no lines or crowds.

Tomorrow, we leave here and head south and west to visit the Lerdas, our friends from Puyallup who now live in Chambersburg, PA. From there we hope to visit Gettysburg and, perhaps, Lancaster County (Amish).

Valley Forge

October 22, 2007

We found that many of the historical sites in Philadelphia were closed on Mondays so we changed our plans and drove to Valley Forge. We stayed off the major roads and drove the small local roads through the suburban countryside. Valley Forge is a large area traversed with walking and bike trails to the sites. It was almost 80 degrees as we boarded our bikes to begin the 6.5 mile trail to visit the encampment, the headquarters, and several other exhibits. We enjoyed the fresh air, the fall color, and the representation of history before our eyes. Another great day in a very special place. The first picture is the only original structure that has survived to this day. It was Washington's headquarters. The second picture is a reproduction of a box of "official messages" Official messages were bound with red tape to show their importance. Thus the origination of the phrase "red tape".

We did stop at the John J. Audubon home and museum on the way home. It was closed so we just walked the grounds. We were disappointed because we were anticipating seeing many of his original paintings (they call them elephant books?).

Crossing the Delaware

October 21

A big day. We left NY early this Sunday morning. Traffic was light and the biggest hurdles, the Throng Neck Bridge back on to NY mainland and the George Washington Bridge across the Hudson River, were both easy to transverse. We settled back after getting on the interstate to PA. We arrived at the Quakertown area around noon. The roads were narrow and the traffic was heavy. We made a couple of wrong turns but we, thankfully, did not run into any low bridges that we knew are in the area.

We made it to the campground early enough to settle in then headed out to Washington Crossing which was around 40 miles away. It is the spot that Washington ferried his troops across the Delaware River to surprise the Hessian troops in Trenton on Christmas night, 1776. The day was beautiful and we rode our bikes through the park.

We are very impressed with this area. Except for the few interstates, the roads are narrow and windy. Since it is the suburbs of Philadelphia, it is a crowded rural area. Again, like the Hamptons, huge houses are set on massive lots – an acre, usually more. Traffic on the narrow two lane roads was heavy but traffic moved smoothly.

Long Island

October 20

Our timing was right weather wise. The sun came out after a day of downpour. The Hamptons were about 60 miles, the tip of the island about 100 miles away. The Hamptons are made up of at least four villages. We picked out one, Southhampton and visited the beach and ate lunch in the village. The homes in the area were huge, sitting on a couple of acres each, and completely surrounded, in most cases, with squarely trimmed 10 foot high hedges. It was hard to see very much of the houses. The village was just a few blocks long and the stores were of the Tiffany and Gucci caliber. It was pure entertainment just to watch the cars go by, RR, Lamborghini, etc.

After lunch, we drove to the tip. The Montauk lighthouse stood against the clear blue sky and there was no wind. We walked about in our shirt sleeves and viewed fisherman and surfers.

A day at home

October 19, 2007

It was even warmer, 70 degrees at 9 a.m. and even more muggy. The rain started at noon, sometimes very heavy. We hunkered down to research, plan, write, and read. I again needed a break after 3 days of “pounding the pavement” on these dysfunctional ankles. Barb was right. The city was welcoming yesterday. It would have been miserable today.

I feel called to send a torpedo into a stereotype. New Yorkers are often labeled as loud, caustic and opinionated. Some are. Some in Puyallup are as well. We have found New Yorkers to be welcoming, respectful, proud, resilient, hard working, resourceful, and helpful. It is crowded here. And New York, like other huge cities we have visited, has its own peculiar odor which is a blend of diesel and gas exhaust, cooking aromas, and the wafting emissions from sewer vents. We could live here. We have 19,995 restaurants to go.

Uptown

October 18

Barb urged me on to make it 3 days in a row into the city. The weather was changing. Rain was on the way. Arrival at the Museum of Modern Art was midmorning. We could have spent days there. One takes pause when standing inches away from a Cezanne, Dali, Picasso, van Gogh, Wythe and many others. We did breeze through the Pollocks and the Warhols. We lingered longer than we planned and, after a short walk, arrived at Central Park. We had planned to rent bikes to explore the park but the lateness did not allow it. We did take a buggy ride then rented a cab to the middle of the park. There we stumbled across a tribute to John Lennon’s Imagine Memorial and the nearby Dakota Apartments where he lived and was shot as he exited one day.

A Pedi cab delivered us to the Tavern on the Green for dinner. Barb and I had dressed for the warm, mid 70’s day on bicycles. The tavern had limos out front and a doorman, dressed to the nines, top hat included, greeted us as we disembarked. “Do you have a dress code, sir?” I asked. “Yes,” was his reply. “We require all of our patrons to keep their clothes on at all times.” We were escorted to the patio, a garden setting with white tablecloths under tall trees surrounded with topiary. We were underdressed but no one appeared to mind. The food was excellent, the ambiance, as day gave way to night, superb.

A taxi cab took us through Times Square on our way back to Penn Station. The streets and sidewalks were bustling, even more than the night before. At one place, two fire trucks edged out in front of us with their lights and sirens blaring. Within a few blocks, as we swerved from lane to lane, our cab had passed the fire trucks, still blaring their sirens and horns.

We exited the cab at Penn Station to hoards of people. One young lady stood with her hand, the V sign for victory, high above her head. I asked her what she was doing. “I need two tickets,” was her response. The Springsteen concert was due to start in 40 minutes.

We wormed our way through the Madison Square crowd and descended into Penn Station. We arrived home, again, around 9:30.

Midtown

October 17

We were eager to enter the city again. This time we surfaced from the inner bowels of the subway onto Times Square. The gigantic signs bursting with electric streams of light bordered both sides of the streets from all directions, as far as one could see. Barb stood in line at the Marriott to get 50% off tickets for a matinee. Then we looked for a place for lunch.

I had some trepidation at first about experiencing this aspect of NYC. There are 20,000 restaurants here. Barb’s normal routine of researching and choosing restaurants is well known for its thorough and painstaking process. Our family readily shares, that while traveling and having lunch with Barb, most of the conversation centers on where to have dinner. One of the locals put me at ease. “They are all good,” he stated. “If they weren’t they’d be out of business in no time.”

We walked down the side streets meandering toward our theater when we walked right into St. Luke’s Lutheran Church. Theaters, restaurants, and office buildings were built up against its walls. The front door was ajar so we walked in. Rev. Schmiege, wearing his robe, was sitting on a bench in the Narthex. He stood up to greet us. We introduced ourselves, we confessed that we had not been to church in a month, and we asked if we could sit in the sanctuary for a time. “Sure,” he replied. “We have a service in the corner chapel at 12:10. You are welcome to join us. We are also serving communion.” I looked at my watch. It was 12:05. We joined 6 others in the “lunch hour” service. It was an opportunity for reflection and worship just off Broadway.

Lunch was in a “hole in the wall” crowded Thai restaurant just around the corner.

The musical comedy we attended was “Curtains” staring David Hyde Pierce (formerly Niles on Frazier). The house was full and the production excellent.

After the show we made our way to the Rockefeller Center (NBC). We took the elevator the 70 stories up to the “Top of the Rock”. Unfortunately, the weather was beginning to change and a pale of haze had engulfed the city - humidity, not pollution. The skyline view offered no sunset moment and the thousand of stalagmite-like skyscrapers were draped in light fog.

Dinner was New York pizza at a nearby spot. We hung around the center into the evening then boarded the subway and train to return home around 9:30.

The Big Apple

October 16, 2007

The short drive to Farmingdale, the nearest Long Island railroad stop, took us past the Old Bethpage Golf and Country Club. The train ride to Pennsylvania Station in mid Manhattan was just an hour. A short subway ride then took us to Battery Park. There we caught the ferry to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. The security to get on the boat was far tighter than any airport that I have experienced. The weather was glorious and Lady Liberty sparkled in the sun. We had been to the statue once before in 1973 but Ellis Island was closed for renovation that year.

Ellis was very impressive. Most likely, my father passed through here when he was one or two years old. I say most likely because, even though I have spent considerable time on the Ellis web site doing research, I have not found my father’s, grandfather’s or grandmother’s name on any manifest. I talked with an immigrant research specialist at the island and she assured that given the year, given Norway as the country of origin, and Minnesota as the state of their sponsor, there is probably a 99% chance that they came through Ellis. If any of you have any more clues such as date of arrival, name of ship, etc., please let me know.

We spent the rest of the day exploring lower Manhattan. We walked to Wall Street, the Stock Exchange, Federal Hall where Washington was inaugurated in 1789, and Ground Zero.

The security at the Stock Exchange was impressive. The streets have been blocked off and no cars are now allowed on the streets around it. The trees that were there have been removed, and there were at least 14 heavily armed police officers in that block. Federal Hall was just across the street. Ground Zero looks just like any other major construction site but the sense of awe is still there. There were many tourists and they spoke in soft tones and often just stared in silence.

Leaving that area we took a subway to Greenwich Village. We had an early dinner at an Italian Restaurant, at tables on the curb of the street. It was pure entertainment observing the varied and often eccentric people. NYU is close by so the population was young and very vibrant. The food was delicious.

It was now deep into rush hour as we boarded a subway back to Penn station. We packed into the car and I’m not sure there was room for one more person. We took the two floors of escalators to the surface and came out into the night life in front of Madison Square Garden. Fatigue and the effects of a great meal had set in and we descended back into the station. The train back to Farmingdale was full also but we got a seat and the trip went quickly.

My impressions of the day: Tall buildings, crowds, many languages, friendly and helpful people, wealth, cluttered and not so clean railroad stations, clean subway and railroad cars, and a commitment to remember but a strength to move on.

The pictures, Lady Liberty and Lady Starbucks, registry room at Ellis, and the streets near the Stock Exchange.

Time Out

October 15, 2007

It is time to call a “time out.”

Yesterday we left Plymouth in early morning. We chose Sunday to travel as it is the day, if you travel in the early to middle of the day, that traffic is at its least. I don’t think I have ever seen more cars in one day in my life. “It is a jungle out there.” :-)

The campground on Long Island, New York was calculated at 220 miles so it was not going to be a long trip, mileage wise. We caught I-95 in Providence, RI and drove it through CT and into NY. There were few slowdowns but every lane, at least in the last 80 miles or so, was full of cars. Thankfully, there were few trucks on the road. This was unnerving to a degree. In NY, there are Parkways, which are freeways reserved only for cars. Not even pickups are allowed in some cases. Bridge clearance can be as low as nine feet. We are almost 12 feet. There is a fluorescent green post-it-note taped by our speedometer with our dimensions. The visual reminder is reassuring that we will be able to pass through. It also reassures us to see a truck or two on the road with us.

Thankfully our speed slowed as we entered the Bronx. The roads were rough due to the daily volume of traffic. We crossed the Throgs Neck Bridge and skirted Queens onto Long Island. We are camped in Old Bethpage, just a mile or so from the famous golf course.

We arrived about 2 and Barb and I spent the rest of the day relaxing. At about 8 p.m. we looked at each other and we both agreed. We need a day off. The pace has been rigorous. For several days we left the RV around 9 a.m. to return after dark. The "in basket" is full. The RAM has too much information. We need a day to think, to process, to organize, to write, to plan, to exercise and to work on the rig.

So today, Monday, we had a leisurely breakfast at a local diner and are sitting in the sun catching up on correspondence. I worked on the rig a bit, will get in a bike ride, and plan a serious nap this afternoon. Barb and I will plan the itinerary this evening, then tomorrow we plan to catch a train into the city.

Greater Boston

October 14

It is hard to leave Plymouth and the Boston area. Three million people live in the greater metropolitan area and you feel the numbers. However, the city and suburbs appear clean, the people are respectful, friendly and helpful, and there is definitely a feeling that Boston is a very special place. It is. Travel, as long as you stay off the highways, is organized and efficient. Some of this aura, however, may be due to the fact that Boston is playing in the ALCS. I wonder if we would have received a different impression if the Redsox had lost to the Angels.

There is so much to see and do. We gave it a gallant effort but six full days barely scratched the surface. Sorry, Carol J., we did not make it to your favorite art museum. We didn’t do Salem as we received reports that it has become very commercialized, especially close to Halloween. We missed Lowell, considered to be the birth place of the industrial revolution, and didn’t visit Harvard. There were reasons to stay longer, even more to return. Boston is high on my list of the several international cities I have visited. It may be number 1.

Pictures include Concord's North Bridge where the "first shots" were fired, Boston Harbor with the spire of the Old North Church rising into the sky( the cables that appear to be attached to the spire are actually part of a bridge which is located less then a mile from the church), and the Minuteman statue located just outside Concord.

Walden, Lexington to Concord

October 13, 2007

We awoke to a blue sky and emerging sunshine. We had been watching the weather report and saved the best for the last day which turned out as predicted, cool but sunny. This time we were seeing the Boston suburbs by Jeep and bike. We drove to Walden Pond and sat on the banks for a bit. As it was a beautiful autumn Saturday, many people planned as Barb and I did. The water was very clear. There were swimmers, fisherman, kayakers, canoers, and hikers.

Then we headed to nearby Lexington. There, an 11 mile bike/walking trail followed the old carriage road (The Battlefield Trail) that led us down toward Concord. It is the road that Revere followed. There in 1775, the war began when the Redcoats tried to take the stored arms in Concord. We sat at the North Bridge where “the shot heard around the world” was recorded, then followed the trail back stopping at several points to read the record of the day’s battles. It was a beautiful and peaceful day as we explored the horrific events of war.

Barb at Walden Pond, at the site on the trail where Paul Revere was arrested, and the trail, now, in places, covered with a canopy of trees.

From the Mayflower to Fenway

October 12

We boarded the Mayflower II this morning and viewed the ship. About an hour later we boarded the “T” for another trip into Boston. The mass transit system here makes it so easy to see the city. We took the subway from the Boston train station to Fenway which was preparing for the night’s ALCS game. Then we crossed town in the subway to visit Lesley University through which Barb received her masters years ago. We rode the day neath the streets of Boston and returned to the RV about 6 p.m.

Pictures are the Mayflower II in Plymouth Harbor, the street outside Fenway, and Barb touching the Green Monster.

Cod is grey, Cod is good.

October 11

We try to schedule our activities around the weather here. It has been cloudy and raining lightly at times. The forecast was to clear up in the afternoon so we headed to Cape Cod. We enjoyed the villages of Falmouth, Hyannis (Kennedy land) and Provincetown (at the tip). However, the fog and mist continued to increase as the day progressed. Therefore, we never got to enjoy the views and beauty of this incredible landscape. The Puritans first landed here and found the weather we experienced (probably 30 degrees colder when they landed) and so they headed on to present day Plymouth. Cape Cod is charming and alluring even in the fog. It is understandable that so many have their vacation homes here. One of the interesting things we noted was the number of libraries and book stores on the cape. It seemed that at every few miles there was a sign for a public library and book stores where present at most intersections. The picture is the Cape Cod lighthouse which George Washington commissioned to be built in 1797. It has been renovated several times.

Colonist side

Pictures here include the colony proper, Barb talking to Miles Standish, Barb discussing gardens in 1626, and the homemaker discussing her daily chores in her home.

The Mayflower Compact has been highly regarded as one of the major documents that led to the founding of our republic. I was struck particularly by a comment by one of the colonists. He spoke of the ill planning of the colony landing in the new world in December, the loss of life as a result, and the on going struggles to make the colony successful. He also spoke of the ongoing process of electing effective leaders and the responsibility of each individual being diligent in their tasks. He highlighted the challenges, however, by stating, "The great work of living is living with others."

I contemplated this statement for a while. Then Barb and I returned to the almost empty RV campground and spent the evening alone.

Plimouth

October 10

Today we visited the Plimouth (You see it spelled two ways. Governor Bradford spelled with an “i” so that spelling is used here.) Colony. It is a reproduction of the village as it stood in 1626, six years after the landing. There were native and colonist actors staying in character during our conversations. We readily mixed with them, asking questions and discussing their present and past conditions. We were told by some other people in our campground that it would take two hours. Barb and I spent 6 hours there. It was amazing. The role players were so eloquent, so knowledgeable, so dedicated to preserving this part of our culture. A truly informative day.

I did ask the museum curator as we exited as to why the difference in the spelling of Plymouth. She related that many words were spelled in a variety of ways. Since there was no Webster dictionary to canonize spelling in colonial times, the writer could show his/her creativity in spelling a word in a variety of ways. I don’t think it is creativity that causes me to use “creative spelling” at times.

Pictures from the native side: Wampanoag Hut, women cooking inside, children, and native Vanessa, a recent grad from UMass and will attend Harvard graduate school starting in September.

Was it one if by land and two if by sea, or was it two if by land...

October 9

We rode the MTA into Boston today. Boston Harbor, the Old North Church, Paul Revere’s house, Old Ironsides, Bunker Hill, Old South Meeting Hall, the Boston Commons. So rich in history is this city I cannot put today’s events into description. Except, I will try one venue. In the Old South Meeting Hall, which was just down the street of the site of the Boston massacre, I sat in the pews and tried to imagine how it must have been in that church (churches were meeting halls where secular issues were regularly debated) to listen to Paul Revere, George Washington, John Hancock, Benjamin Franklin, Samuel Adams, John Adams, and others as they spoke and openly debated the issues of the times. There were no marketing geniuses or public relation analysts. It must have been substance rather than party affiliation. How informative and genuine those words must have been.

The pictures are Paul Revere's house, inside the North Church where the lamps signaled the arrival of the British, and the memorial to Mary Dyer, who was hanged in the Boston Common in 1660 because she professed to be a Quaker, not a Puritan.

Plymouth

October 8

The weather has definitely changed. It rained most of the night but stopped for most of the day. The trip into Massachusetts was fairly dry but we saw no sun. Traffic was heavy even though we skirted Boston. We are in a RV park in Plymouth, thus the pictures. There was a walk through another graveyard and a visit to the landing site. I am again reminded of the severe challenges that this colony faced in the first two years, losing over half to death. Meanwhile, our only sacrifice here is being without cable TV and not be able to see Cleveland beat the Yankees. Tuesday will hopefully find us boarding a train just 10 minutes from the RV camp and taking the hour ride into Boston.

President Bush I

October 7, 2007

FYI: If you want a more detailed image on any of the pictures in our blog, click on them and they will be shown in a much larger format.

Kennebunkport is famous for its beautiful shoreline, its historic roots, the mansions, and the Bush compound.

This morning we drove a short distance north looking for St. Ann’s Church, an old Episcopal church frequented by the Bush family. We found it, but it was closed for the season. We drove on a bit further along Ocean Drive and found ourselves looking directly at the Bush compound over about a 100 yards of water. It sits on Walker Point which is the only designation given to this area on the tourist maps. There is no mention of the location of the Bush compound but you can find that on the internet.

We stopped to take some pictures and noticed some people gathering. They were locals. “The boat is at the dock,” they shared. “That means that GHW Bush is taking someone out for a cruise.” Soon a Secret Service boat appeared and we could see them preparing the Bush boat for launching. Within a few minutes GHW appeared and walked with a group to the boat and boarded. GHW took control of the boat and eased it from the dock. Before exiting the harbor, he reved up all three outboards and did a quick 360 for the party on shore. Then, at high speed, they headed out for the open water. We did not find out who was on the boat with the former president. About an hour later, the boat returned and docked in the same fashion, except without the fanfare of the 360.

There were some interesting dynamics on shore. First of all, other than the secret service boat, we saw no security on the shore. Several cars stopped as we did and there must have been forty or so people taking pictures. Many were parked on the road illegally, and there was no police presence evident.

When we first stopped the car, Barb got out to inquire as to what was going on. Meanwhile, I temporarily parked the Jeep in a parking lot labeled “Reserved for Langley B&B Only”. However, it appeared that the B&B was closed so I left it parked there. Barb wanted to walk down further to take pictures but I did not want to leave sight of the Jeep for fear of it being ticketed or towed. I stood about 100 yards from the Jeep watching the compound and the Jeep. Barb was another 100 yards down the road closer to the compound.

I was standing there alone, looking back at the Jeep back down the road then turning my attention on the boat. I continued the surveillance of both the Jeep and the boarding preparations when I saw four adults watching me. The two couples were about 20 yards from me and they would look at me then turn away. One would say something then another one would look at me. I soon figured out what their interest was. So to play the game, I turned toward the compound and brought my watch up to my mouth and spoke a few words into it. Then I went back to watching the Jeep, then the compound. In the next few minutes, while we were waiting for the Bush party to board, I did this several times. I was about ready to break up in laughter and I finally walked over to them and told them that I was not from the Secret Service. They howled. They were tourists from New York and were experiencing this for the first time, just like Barb and I.

About three hours later, I was sitting on a bench in the Kennebunkport town square (which is actually a triangle) talking to a couple from Boston. One of the hundreds of cars that passed by us during that time stopped and rolled down the window. A lady from the two couples back on the road at the Bush compound stuck her head out the window and yelled, “Look out for that guy. He’s from the CIA.” We both laughed and, of course, I had to explain the comment to the Boston couple.

After Kennebunkport Barb visited one of the local light houses.

Tomorrow we head for the area south of Plymouth, MA and west of Cape Cod. It is called East Falmouth. We plan to settle in for a few days there to see Boston, Cape Cod and Plymouth.