HEADED HOME!!!

On the way to Doug's party, we stopped on the side of the road to let the puppies have a potty break. Sandy pointed out the memorial, as seen below, across the street. It turns out to be a Memorial to the veterans of World War I from the State of Delaware. Just below the inscription on the top of the memorial are all the names of the soldiers who died in that war.

Just across the street, was this beautiful church. Obviously what caught my eye was the red door. Interesting how many churches, offices, and houses now have bright red doors. It's supposed to be a Feng Shui thing, but I think it looks really great and very eye-catching. For churches, just what they need to bring attention to their location.

Last night, Sandy, Dax (the 6 mo. old German short-haired pointer puppy) and I went to the training center. Sandy was dropping off her computer to be repaired. While Dax was supposed to be sitting in the back seat, he often poked his head up front to lay it on either Sandy's or my shoulder. He is such a lover and a very sweet puppy. Smart, too!!! This is the last litter they are going to have and Dax is the son of Ice who is the daughter of Rosie, Sandy's absolute favorite dog. Rosie is the dog who has earned all the MACH titles. Dax follows Rosie around the house all day, learning all her bad habits and then when he gets into trouble, he tries to hide behind her. She seems to tolerate him for the most part, although sometimes he goes too far and she has to reprimand him.

Tomorrow I leave for home. Back to my old stomping grounds. I'll be set up at Sardis Lake from October 1st until about the 10th of November. I'm so looking forward to reconnecting with all my friends and my book club group.

"On the road again, just can't wait to get on the road again........"

DOUG'S 40TH CELEBRATION!!!

Last night we had a wonderful time celebrating Doug's 40th birthday, along with his mother-in-law, Lin's, 60th birthday, and his step-aunt, Dawn's, 50th birthday. Here are some of the pictures of the event. Doug's wife, Heather, put together the "island" celebration with a smoked pig and all the fixings.

To the far right is Madison with her Dad, Doug.

Just above is Heather and Doug and to the right is Sandy and Tom, who played "I don't want my picture made" all night. By this time Sandy and I are having a good time trying to catch him, which I finally did, but I did not include the picture in this tale.

Here's my sweet great niece, Madison, entertaining herself at the party. She played the entire time we were there, mostly with her walker, but eventually getting into her wheelchair. She's something else!!!

Then, of course, there's Zachary. Here he's showing off his purple tongue from eating cake icing. What a powerhouse of energy. He never stops, but he's got a great personality, except when he's running trucks over people, or knocking his sister down, which we heard he did once. I guess boys will be boys, but he's definitely a cutie. Doug says he has his hands full and Tom says "it can't be as bad as when you and your brother were little!" Seems to be some disagreement as to who had or has it worse. Let's ask the Moms!!!

Anybody out there, hope you guys are enjoying the pictures and the stories. Love ya!!!

WHERE'S WALDO?????

WHEW!!!!! What a day!! What a trek!! I left Pine Valley RV Park at 6:45 a.m. to begin my journey to my sister's house. After checking out the Garmin and talking to my two experts, my sister and brother-in-law, I decided to travel a "little" out of my way in order to avoid going through the New York City area. If I had traveled the way of the Garmin, I would have arrived at Sandy and Tom's by 3:40 p.m., about an 8.5 hour drive.

So I headed through the State of Massachusettes, a really wide State I might add. Here I am la la la la la, driving down the highway, "on the road again, can't wait to get on the road again...", my favorite Willie Nelson song. Driving through really beautiful wooded land, rolling hills, headed to Albany, New York, looking to connect with an Interstate system that would take me down south of New York City.

Here's the only picture I could get of some of the leaves turning. As you can see, there's not much color yet, but when it happens, it happens in a big way. So I continue my trek.

I have now crossed over into New York State, this bridge takes me across the Hudson River. I'm thinking when I get to Albany, I'll be able to hit the Interstate I'm looking for and be headed south. I even, at one point, pull off the side of the road to look at my road atlas, just to make sure I'm on the right "path". Then I discover in order to get to the road I want I need to drive to Schenectady, New York, about another 75-100 miles further west.

I make the executive decision to get on I-87 to start heading south, and what happens... I end up traveling right through New York City. So the long and the short of it is, I went about 150 miles out of my way to end right back where I started in the first place. So I ended up at Sandy's at 7:15 pm, and had to unpack in the dark. Oh, well!!! Another adventure, and I did get to see some beautiful country, including upstate New York. Came through the Catskills and passed Bear Mountain, which I've been to before. I'm now in Delaware, again!!! At this moment taking a break from life, relaxing in the recliner with my pajamas on!!! Does life get any better than that?!

TWO LIGHTS LOBSTER SHACK!!!

I had been told the view from this particular point in Cape Elizabeth had the absolute view of the Atlantic of any place in Maine.

It's near Two Lights State Park, so named for the two lighthouses in the area. Both can be seen from a place called Two Lights Lobster Shack, known for its spectacular view and the food is very tasty, as well.

Here is one of the lighthouses.

My buddies, Lynn, Judy, Cathy, and Ted. My last get together with all of them. We ordered our meals of lobster rolls, haddock sandwich, clam cakes, and Maine shrimp. Mmmmmm good!!!

Here's the other lighthouse, way in the background. Lynn said they probably are no longer being used, otherwise we'd be seeing lights turning in the top, and we never saw one.

The Portland Lighthouse is just around the bend, also in Cape Elizabeth.

You can see by the sky, we had another gorgeous day in Maine, weather a little cool, but felt wonderful.

Now, you can see the view, with large rocks down below, all of them look just like petrified wood, but I don't know what kind of stone it is. The tide had started to come in while we were sitting at the picnic tables so the waves were crashing into the rocks, sometimes sounding like thunder coming in.

This was a very bittersweet afternoon. When we left the restaurant, we all parted company to go our separate ways. Lynn and Judy did follow me to my camper and stayed to have a shot of Fleur de Cana, a deep, dark rum from Nicaragua.

I'm here, packing and planning to hit the road on Tuesday. I'm headed for Delaware and sister, Sandy's home. So off I go. Back real soon!!! See ya' later, bye!!!!

MORE FROM CUMBERLAND!!!

Just a couple more pictures of Lynn and Judy's new house. To the right is a two car garage with the doors obviously painted yellow. To the left of the garage is the room below, their sunroom. Coley, I thought about you when I saw the sunflowers. I'm like you, I love sunflowers, they always look so "sunny".

Just to the left of the sunroom, as you're looking at the front of the house, is the kitchen/dining room, and off that is the living room, beginning at the yellow door. There's a guest room and bathroom off the living room, and Lynn and Judy have their offices, master bedroom and full bath on the second floor.

This sunroom is where Jacques stays when Lynn and Judy are at work. I must say, Jacques didn't take to me immediately, but then one of my dearest friends, Alpha, didn't take to me immediately either. I guess I take some getting used to. I will say that by the end of my three day stay with L & J, Jacques was getting alot cozier with me.

This is one of my favorite pictures of him. He usually has one ear that stays up and one that flops over. Judy says he only listens half ass, and Lynn says he hears the squirrels and birds, not the ear that flops down is the one he doesn't listen to Lynn with.

When they got Jacques from the rescue group, Mainers pronounce Jacques like Jakes, and Lynn said he couldn't use his name in front of the rescue people because he didn't want to embarrass anyone by pronouncing is the French way. So, anyway, Jacques loves the find the sun and lay down in the middle of it.

And here is Judy and Jacques playing his favorite game, frisbee. Look at that form, the same flowing movement, and this is one time Judy actually threw it straight (ha!, Judy, got ya!!!)

I had an awesome time with this delightful couple. We are all so alike, and so easy to be with. We literally spent the entire time (except for moments when we needed fresh air!) eating, drinking, relaxing, watching old movies, and listening to jazz music. Oops! Except when Lynn was making his most fabulous red sauce and we got inspired by his Dean Martin music!!!

I'm sending Lynn and Judy and Jacques, great BIG HUGS!!! Thanks again for such a great getaway!!! Already looking forward to our next get together!!!

HIKING AGAIN????!!!!

Yesterday, the day started a little on the rocky side, no pun intended. Lynn, Judy and I started our evening of drink off at 3pm (at my suggestion I'll admit). Lynn and I were drinking gin martinis and Judy was having her margaritas.

How many drinks we had, I have no idea, but Lynn said "C, I'm impressed you kept up with me, drink for drink!" Probably not the wisest choice I've made in a long time.

When I "staggered" out of bed at 9:30 am, I was still wobbly. If I bent over to pet Jacques, I nearly fell on my face, that's how bad I still felt. Fortunately, after several cups of coffee, something to eat and a nice, longgggggg hot shower, I was starting to feel human again.

So Lynn says "C, are you up for a hike?" "Sure!!!?", although I wasn't as sure as I expressed. We headed out for Bradbury Mountain State Park, about 15 to 20 minutes from their house. The hike up the mountain was a mile in length and it was a small challenge for me, especially since I had not fully gained my equilibrium from drinking all that gin. But up we went and these are the pictures I took at the top. As you look down towards Cumberland, it looks like there's a vast forest below, and very few houses appeared. We sat up there for about 40 minutes then headed back down. So all in all, I hiked 2 miles yesterday. And, I was exhausted last night.

For dinner, Lynn cooked the most delicious steaks out on the grill and Judy made her famous green bean casserole. She adds a secret ingredient that makes it taste really yummy (I learned from Lynn the secret ingredient is cheddar cheese). We also had lettuce with bleu cheese dressing. The dinner was scrumptious!!! Today, Judy has gone for a 13 mile run, in preparation for a half marathon she's running in October. Lynn and I are doing the brunch food, eggs, bacon, home fries and fruit salad along with champagne to drink.

Hope your Sunday is as delightful as mine!!!!

NOW I'M IN CUMBERLAND, MAINE

I'm finally reconnecting with my friends, Lynn and Judy, shown here with their newest addition to the family, Jacques. This is their new home in the background, purchased last December. They used to live in Portland, and now they are in a place called Cumberland Center, between Yarmouth and Falmouth. I so love this couple and love being in their home. They are both born and raised in the Memphis area, but vacationed in Maine one year, came back about 4 years in a row and one year, about 15 years ago, decided to move up here. They love it, winters and all.

We decided to have our drinks in the back yard, but you can see Judy all wrapped up in her blanket, it was rather on the chilly side. Didn't stop us. We stayed out there having our gin martinis (Lynn and I) while Judy had her margaritas. Our appetizers were kalamata olives, big green olives, two types of cheese, one a bleu and the other manchego, which I love, and two types of crackers. Really wonderful food!!!

Here's Lynn and Jacques working on commands. Jacques is about a year old, but he's really smart. He's part dachsund and part rat terrier. He was in a "kill" shelter in Arkansas and one of the Maine rescue facilities found out they were going to euthanize some of the dogs, Jacques being one of them, so they had them moved up to Maine where Lynn and Judy found him. They had a beautiful dog, Queenie, who died about three years ago, and so they just a few months ago decided to get another dog. Queenie had a lot to do with them picking out their newest family member, he even acts a little bit like her.

I'll be here at their house until Monday, then back to Saco, Maine. Sending love to all of you!!!

AN AFTERNOON AT THE LOCAL PUB!!!

Cathy, Ted and I headed from Ellsworth, Maine back to Saco around 11 a.m. We decided to take Route 1, which tends to follow the coastline of Maine from North to South. We stopped in Brunswick, Maine to have lunch at the Lions Pub.

Here are some posters which graced the walls. This pub had 36 beers on tap, from all over the world.

How about this little guy, looks like he's enjoying the brewski!!!

And, here's one of my favorite titles. I'll take a Smuttynose, please!!!!

Back in Saco enjoying a relaxing evening. Cathy is working on her computer and Ted is watching Jeopardy. We are all pretty tired from our trip, so this evening is about everyone taking care of their own needs, including getting your own food.

Love to all!!!!

7 COME 11!!!!

Today, we are celebrating Cathy and Ted's 7th anniversary. We decided to go back to Acadia National Park and to drive to the waterfall area the ranger told us about. Here they are on the "coach" trail, which is about a 1.2 mi. hike. Not too bad except for the first .4 to .5 mi. which was almost a 40-45 degree hike.

Here's the first of two bridges you come to as you reach the area where the waterfall is located. The thing about the walls is that Rockefeller used the same stone cutters and asked them to leave some of the natural rock face of the stone, so the walls blend in more naturally with the surrounding area.

Who is that gorgeous woman behind those Foster Grants????

Yep, it's me, your favorite sister, daughter, friend!!! I can claim that if I want to all you people out there doggin' me!!!

We left the falls area and drove over to the side of the park where Cadillac Mountain sits. We took the Park Loop road and ended up at Sandy Beach. It is such an amazing park, with so many scenic overlooks, beaches, mountains, walking trails, whatever you're looking for, you can find it here in Acadia.

Jenny and I were talking today about doing a trip up to this area for 2013. So we're going to talk about it in November at the family gathering in Wyoming.

Back to Saco, Maine tomorrow and then on to Cumberland, Maine to spend the weekend with my friends, Lynn and Judy. Until then...

ACADIA, MAINE

A beautiful day in the neighborhood!!! Here's Cathy and Ted standing on Cadillac Mountain with the Frenchman Bay and Bar Harbor down below. Cadillac Mountain is the tallest mountain on the eastern seaboard at a height of 1530 ft. above sea level. It is the first place in the continental United States where the sun hits upon rising. It's located in Acadia National Forest.

From where Cathy and Ted are standing, looks down upon Bar Harbor, Maine. In the center of this picture is a cruise ship, we heard it was a Holland America cruise ship, but compared to the other ships in the harbor it looked huge. We left Cadillac Mountain and headed further into Acadia National Forest. The park, by the way, is actually on an island, and Bar Harbor sits on the eastern shore of the island. There are two other smaller portions of the national park on two other islands.

In 1913 Pres. Woodrow Wilson set aside 6000 acres of land for what is now Acadia Park. Between 1915 and 1933, John D. Rockefeller, Jr. was instrumental is getting the 57 miles of "carriage road" set up. These roads are for bicycles, carriages, horses, but no automobiles.

To the left are the North and South Bubble Mountains. This view is seen from the Jordan House located in the park and well-known for their popovers, the house specialty. As you can the clouds are starting to come in and the air is turning considerably cooler. This is about 3pm.

When we left the Jordan House, we headed down to Bar Harbor. Here's a picture of the same ship you saw above, only now you have an idea of how big the ship really is.

We had a marvelous time being in the park, and plan to go back tomorrow to do some more exploring. I'm having a wonderful adventure, now!!!

A DAY OF LOVE!!!

We finished the ADL conference about 11:30. It was a day for remembering the co-founder of ADL, Barbara Hanshaw who layed down her physical form in December. Her presence was noticeably present throughout the entire celebration of life service. Also, since it was the 10 year anniversary of 9/11 there was a moment of remembering and offering up prayers and blessings while several of the ministers blew bubbles. The idea being to imagine that each bubble was a person who had died in the World Trade Center event, or anyone else you wanted to send prayers or messages to who had transitioned. I immediately thought of my Dad and baby-sister, Lisa, and so on this 9/11 day I celebrated the love I feel for both of them

This statue is at the Grotto where the Blessed Mother stands to receive the hearts of all who come before her. Since the child was Bernadette who had the visions of the Mother at Lourdes, that probably who this statue represents.

The plaque reads "A piece of the stone on which the Blessed Mother appeared in Lourdes, France". This was placed on the right hand wall of the grotto as you begin to ascend the stairs to come upto the altar.

This is my dear friend, Cathy, who I met in the mid-'90's and who, when the vision for Tepeyolloti Retreats came to me in 2000, she contacted me to let me know she had just purchased 60 acres of land at the back of Lookout Mountain, in Mentone, Alabama. She offered me the most beautiful location to lead firewalks, and also helped me lead a silent retreat one year. Today, she went to pray for a dear friend of hers who is dying of cancer. It's been a rough couple of weeks, and being in this place offered some peace of mind.

Here we both are together. From this place we left the Guest House and headed back to my camper. At this moment, Cathy and Ted have taken the opportunity to lie down for a little while. None of us slept very well last night. There must be some sort of residual energy left in the residences, because both nights I experienced nightmares, so much so, that last night I tossed and turned and literally woke myself up crying. I'm sure tonight I'll be able to sleep very well and perhaps have a beautiful dream as well.

Sweet dreams, dear ones, and know that I think of you often and send love always!!!!!

BUOYS AND GULLS!!!!

Arrived at the Franciscan Guest House on Friday, about 2:30 pm. to attend the Alliance of Divine Love conference. The Lithuanian Franciscans purchased the estate, about 60 acres, in 1947. There are walking paths, shrines and Chapel designed by famous Lithuanian Artisans; and, close by is the Rachel Carson sanctuary. My friends, Cathy and Ted, are both ministers ordained by ADL and had asked me to join them at the conference in Kennebunk, Maine.

This is the grotto dedicated to the Blessed Mother from Lourdes. It's such a beautiful stone grotto, and the dark line you see running below the statue of the Blessed Mother is actually water running from the statue down to the left of the altar and funneled back into the ground. On the altar are numerous offerings and petitions left by people from around the world. In front of the grotto are benches set up for people to sit and meditate, or for various functions offered here.

Today, Ted and I boarded a ship for a whale watching excursion. Cathy wasn't feeling too good, so she decided to forego the trip in order to really relax and catch up on her sleep. She has a dear friend who was staying with them the week before Labor Day and was recently diagnosed with liver cancer. Cathy and Ted had been helping to take care of her at the hospital until her husband could arrive from California. Here's Ted as we began to make our way out into the Atlantic. Ted says he looks like a bandit in this picture, but I think it turned out great. He's quite a character, flew rescue helicopters in Viet Nam.

This picture is taken on the Kennebunk side (the starboard side) of the boat. On the port side, the left, is the Kennebunkport side, where the Bush family have their compound. We left at 9am and didn't return until 2:30 pm. We were supposed to be back at 1pm but it took a while to locate some whales. We did see a "minke" whale, the smallest of the baleen whales, along with a harbor porpoise and a gray seal. The captain saw a "right" whale, named because they were the right whales to catch. The baleen from the whales was used in things like ladies corsets as stays. Also, as we headed out, the Kennebunk side is partially undeveloped and that land is owned by the Franciscan order.

Maine is so beautiful, it's motto is "Life as it should be". I absolutely love coming up here, so much to see and enjoy. Ain't life grand!!!!!

A DAY IN MAINE!!!

Today started off with rain and colder temperatures. When I got up, the temperature outside was 51 degrees. With the rain it felt even chillier. As you can tell, the picture on the left was taken about 2pm at Old Orchard Beach.

While I was in Lowell, Mass., one of the people I met was a guy who retired as a Col. from the Air Force who grew up in Saco, Maine. He suggested I make it to Old Orchard Beach, so I went to see what he was talking about.

As you enter the beach area, there's what appears to be a carnival off in the distance ( you can see the ferris wheel in the background) and a beautiful garden area with a "welcome to Old Orchard Beach" in the foreground. I headed to the beach, hoping to find a bench to sit on and enjoy the surf coming in, but there were no seats to be found. Several people had taken beach chairs to sit on, and the next time I go, I'll be sure to take my own chair.

One of the many structures you begin to see as you arrive in the New England area are lighthouses, all of varying sizes. This one sits in the campground I'm camping in. It's quite large, compared to some of the ones I've seen in yards. I saw a bird sitting on the upper level, and I'm wondering if these are actually bird houses, even though I've never seen any nests in them.

I spent the rest of my day nesting once again. I got everything back out that had been stored because of traveling. I also made a beef stew to eat when Cathy, Ted and I return from the ADL conference. I leave tomorrow for Kennebunkport and the Franciscan House to attend the Alliance of Divine Love Retreat. The "welcome" is at 4pm and dinner follows shortly thereafter.

I understand on Saturday, we'll have a lobster fest on the beach and a whale watching trip sometime during the day also. I'm so excited about finally doing something more along the lines of an "adventure". Keep your fingers crossed that I can have a whole weekend of not caring for anyone, due to health issues.

I took this picture out of my camper. It gives you a little idea of what this campground looks like. The sun is setting in the background and the two "houses" you see are people who come to stay during the season from May through October 15th, then the entire park closes down for the winter.

Tallyho!!! I'm off to enjoy a piping hot bowl of stew. As my friend, Vicky's, grandmother used to say: see you in the funny papers!!!!

BACK ON THE ROAD!!!

On Thursday, September 1st, I traveled to visit with my friends, Linda and Bob Bolduc. Here's Linda as she prepares to leave for the hospital.

Once again, I was in the right place, right time. By Sunday, after having spent a delightful weekend doing the garage sale thing and eating a whole lobster dinner on Saturday evening, Bob woke up on Sunday not feeling too well. By later Sunday afternoon, Linda had made the decision to take him to the hospital. They immediately admitted him for testing since he'd had a stroke last year and he was complaining of a tightness in his upper abdomen.

My reservation for Maine was for Monday, so I drove over, about 100 miles from their house, set up the camper as much as possible and drove back to Linda's house to spend the night. Linda had recently been diagnosed with macular degeneration and it is very difficult for her to see most things, so she said she'd be more comfortable with someone staying with her.

As I was headed to Maine, I crossed this bridge which goes over the Piscataqua River and as you cross it you are then crossing over from New Hampshire into Maine.

I ended up staying with Linda both Monday and Tuesday nights and Bob came home today. It seems he had blockage in his small intestine, but with medication and other treatments, the blockage cleared and today he felt much better. As soon as I got them both home, I returned to Saco, Maine to be in my camper and to relax for a little while before I leave for the retreat this weekend.

This is a beautiful stained glass window in Linda and Bob's main bathroom.

I took this picture in front of the fireplace mantel where Linda had a beautiful bouquet of flowers with cobalt blue vases on either side. As you can see I used the symmetricam feature of my camera.

This was taken in Linda's living room. As you look out to the street, she has a beautiful display of flowers with a garland hanging above decorated with Christmas ornaments. Very pretty and again, taken with symmetricam.

It's about 7pm here in Maine, and the weather has been in the low 60's, high 50's all day with rain off and on. I'm snuggled inside my camper with the heat on, preparing to get into my pajamas and crawl into bed early. I even have a flannel sheet on my bed to keep me warm.

For all of you experiencing extreme heat, wish you were here with me. For those of you not experiencing extreme heat, I also wish you were here with me!!! Where's all my traveling buddies? Hugs to all!!!!