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Virginia, Kelly and his friend Mike went to NJ this week to see Virgninia’s friend Tara and her daughter Gianna (she’s the one in the middle), and to get a final summer visit to the beach.
Virginia says:
It was so great to reminisce with Tara who I’ve known since I was 19. Her Ocean City beach house was great and we talked and walked and I tried to distract her from worrying about her North Jersey house which has had no power for 5 days…. Irene left no visible signs at the Shore. Tara, of course, was an awesome host! Kelly and his pal Mike were my companions, though they were not interested in the recollections, but did enjoy the girls they met. The weather was perfect and I took that amazing 5-6 pm nap on my beach chair—my favorite way to almost end summer (i never like to say summer is over).
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This was our view at 7:20 am Sunday, August 14, along with arrows showing the direction we went and our eventual destination. Took about 8 hours, but we did it.
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Beautiful day to travel along I-81 toward Syracuse for 1st class of fall semester.
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Not our video, but this is about 5 miles away.
For us, we woke up to see the alarm clock still keeping time (electricity—yes!) and a lot of water moving around the house, but not getting IN the house. The rain was pretty much over in the morniong and we’re getting some light showers now. Remains blustery.
Kelly’s off exploring on his bike. The creeks and rivers—like the above, showing the Perkiomen Creek in Collegeville, at a heavily trafficked intersection—are a mess. And power’s out here and there, including in Collegeville.
All that said, we’re safe and sound and grateful.
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We had tickets to this afternoon’s Phillies game, with Hurricane Irene chugging through the Carolinas. Unfortunately, the rain started by 12, which caught the forecasters by surprise. We milled around the park for about 40 minutes before the game was called. Photo is of Kelly and his friend Mike.
It’s 7:05 pm and rain is picking up, the wind too. We’re supposed to get 5-10 inches of rain and wind gusts above 60 mph. We’ll see. We’ve put away all we can and hope to the lights (and the sump pumps) stay on all night and Sunday morning.
Sue and Justin are stranded in Florida after vacation, will try to come home Sunday. Chris, Judy and Nick are home in Atlantic Highlands, one of few NJ shore towns not under an evacuation order. Kevin’s mom is home, too, and ready to ride out the storm.
Stay safe everybody!
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Funny the things that stick with us. From our trip to Maine (back a week now), Virginia says she keeps thinking of the arctic bog we walked around at the West Quoddy Lighthouse (the East Quoddy lighthouse is in Canada, at the top of Campobello Island). Here are photos from that morning, including our walk along the coast near Quoddy lighthouse.
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We started the day on the water, sea kayaking to some small islands along the Maine coast. Foggy. A little wild. Then the sun broke through, the water calmed, and the tensions eased.
In the afternoon, Kevin went for a ride “around the mountain,” but his path was closed and he improvised. Virginia hiked the Bubbles, between Eagle Lake and Jordan Pond. The boys spent some down time at the hotel pool.
We met upo at the Jordan Pond House for a late lunch/early dinner, then drove the park loop road, where the boys tried out their bouldering skilz, and Virginia and Kevin practiced holding their breath.
Day ended with ice cream in town. All that was left for Friday was some early-morning exercise—and the beginning of the long ride home.
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After a drizzly arrival Tuesday, Wednesday opened absolutely gorgeous, and we had one of those perfect Maine summer days—70 degrees, sunny, no humidity. Virginia and Kevin got in an early-morning bike ride through Acadia, and in the afternoon they were joined by The Boys, who rode up Day Mountain with Kevin (plus another 12 miles or so). We caught dinner on the water, and finished up the day atop Cadillac Mountain. Thursday, it’s sea kayaking and more time in Acadia. Boys have been great and there’s still a day-plus to go before we head home. Feeling blessed to be in one of my favorite places in the world, with people I love.
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A longstanding Virginia desire brought us to the Roosevelt family’s summer home.
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We stayed here after visiting Campobello Island (the Roosevelts’ vacation home on the US-Canadian border—Virginia is an Eleanor Roosvelt fan). It was a rainy day and Lubec didn’t impress. At about 7:45 pm, we went into town because we had seen an ice cream place, but it was closed. Settled on an inn instead. We had to wait 15 minutes, no big deal. When we sat down you hadf two dessert choices—blueberry ice cream or apple crisp with vanilla ice cream. Kelly and I ordered the apple crisp. The waitress asked if we wanted it warmed up. We both said yes. So it was a surprise when both dishes showed up cold. The bigger surprise was that I got a big bowl and Kelly got a small cup. We switched servings and when the check showed up—you guessed it—we were charged the same for both. Thankfully we weren’t charged extra for (un)heated. The place was Cohill’s Inn. If you ever find yourself, god help you, in Lubec, try Frank’s instead. Or get your ice cream BEFORE 6 pm.
That said, the East Quoddy Light House was a gem, as well as the easternmost spot in the US.
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We stopped at Portland on Day 1 of our vacation, and saw our friends Deb and Dale, who joined us for a Sea Dogs game. Next day, we were off to Millinockett. On Sunday, we hiked Mount Katadhin. It was, in a word, hard—4k vertical feet during a 10-mile hike. Pete and Kelly did great, Virginia and Kevin were feeling it on the descent (and the next day). But we all did it. Mark it off the bucket list.
kevdonahue 