September 24

Hi all;

Having trouble getting internet service so this is catch up time.

September 24, 2001
Go to Boston day. Everyone says, "Don’t drive in Boston". Well we are going to. We have our trusty Garmin to help us. She took us right to the Kennedy Museum and Library. It is a beautiful, impressive building overlooking the water
which is filled with boats, lots of them sailing on this beautiful sunny day.
It’s hot today, as high as 88 degrees, but it is comfortable in the museum.
We spent all day here and could have spent longer. There were two movies and four or five sections of exhibits with videos here and there. The only thing I thought was missing was more of Jackie’s clothes. They only had a couple outfits exhibited.
They covered his family and life before politics, his bid for the senate and campaigning for president, his years as president, and his legacy. It was wonderfully done and so interesting. He was a right wing Democrat. How we could use him now.
We left the museum and drove into downtown Boston to eat at a restaurant listed in the book "Diners, Drive Ins, and Dives" called Mike’s Place. Getting there was a nightmare, but the Garmin did it again only to find it closed at 3:00.
We arrived at 4:20. To say we were disappointed was an understatement.
Getting back home was unreal. It was right in the middle of commuter
going home traffic. I know everyone thinks our traffic is bad, but we only see something like this when there has been a major accident. Going into Boston was a literal parking lot, we moved out of Boston at a snails pace, sometimes only
5 mph.
Back in our town of Sturbridge we stopped at a Chinese buffet. It was quite good and saved trying to figure out something to make at home.
We really are enjoying our time here in Brimfield. We are kept busy with things to do every day. Tomorrow we go back to Old Sturbridge Village and Sunday it’s church, of course. I’ll let you know how all that goes next time.
9/25
It is pretty hot again today. Made going through the rest of Old Sturbridge Village a bit uncomfortable. But it is so interesting. We watched one fellow making leather shoes, another doing pottery, a machine carding wool, and a man making a form in the print shop.
Also went through some farms, the grainery where I scared a couple of rats when I went in. Fortunately they were small and looked more like mice so I wasn’t freaked out.
One house was built in the late 1700's and was still original with even original furniture including the bed the daughters had slept in when they finally got their own room.
It was a good day.
9/26
Unusual service this morning at Sturbridge Worship Center. They regularly have 45 minutes of praise and worship. They must write their own music too as we didn’t recognize any of the songs. But it was good. Some dancing, lots of moving and one lady was worshiping with the dance and streamers. Very pretty.
The former pastor and his wife had come back and were ordaining three
pastors to continue the ministry. I think they are also looking for a Senior pastor.
We thought it would be boring, but the pastor preached in the ordination. Great words from the scripture especially regarding leadership and ministry. It was good.
After lunch we took an old fashioned Sunday drive. The colors are gorgeous now. So glad we went. Also stopped at a couple of yard sales. One was at a three story mansion that we see so often here. I talked to the young woman who owned the house. They have three daughters and some of the house is closed off. She said many owners of these large homes are just trying to hang on. There is so much upkeep.
Weather is still really nice. Seventy four degrees today and mostly overcast.
We spent a little time with Jim, our Jackpot Antique shop owner today. He is so much fun with his Massachuset accent and warm friendliness. He had loaned us a Video on Frank Sinatra we needed to return.
Mon 9/27
We drove back towards Boston, but turning off to go to Quincy. There we say the homes and library of the Adams family. John Adams, the second president and John Quincy Adams, his son and the only one to follow his father and become president until the Bush’s. The Adams ancestors continued to occupy one of the three houses until the 1950's when it was turned over to the Federal Government.
It is now a National Park so we got in free with our park pass.
The first and oldest house built in the 1600's is small, but where the second president was born. He inherited this house and purchased the second one from
his brother who had inherited that house from the father. The third house is the
large mansion that Abigail insisted they buy because of his station in politics.
It is incredible to see how these homes have been cared for and kept all
these years. Over 300 years. Abigail had two roses brought from England to plant in her garden. The white one is still living 200 years later. Unfortunately it wasn’t blooming at this time.

September 28
We left today instead of going through Rhode Island and to Sagamore in New York we turned West towards home.
The colors are still getting prettier everyday. We are doing backroads America and it is beautiful. A bit hard driving for Tom as we go up a hill and then back down the hill over and over. These are not just the gentle rolling hills we love to drive on, but steep, steep, steep.
The weather is gorgeous, in the 70's. Sun or clouds it's still 70 or more.
I at least got my lobster roll before we left the east coast. This one was hot and all lobster, nothing else, but the roll. There were no condiments. Different from the cold one I had, but just as good. Hope I can find them somewhere at home or learn to make my own. Maybe I will try crab rolls.

9/29 More traveling and some time spent in Cooperstown at the Baseball Hall Of Fame. We had to go see our friend Les Averill's dad Earl's plaque there. This is an interesting museum if you like baseball or are older like us and have heard so much about some of the greats like Babe Ruth.
We ended up in a Walmart for the night. There was a couple in a camper there. He told Tom they live here at this Walmart in his camper. Interesting life style.

9/30 Another day of traveling. This one in rain till towards the end of the
day when we arrived in Ohio and had sunshine. For those of you that don't know your geography that means we drove through the rest of New York and across Pennsylvania crossing the border into Ohio. Continue heading home, but taking our time. Check in again for more travel trivia.