September 27-29 - Cape Cod, MA - the four of us (Bonnie and Richard and Marie and I) stayed 3 nights camped in the rain in the Roland C. Nickerson Mass. State Park campground. We really had fun on our trip to all parts of Cape Cod - which is much bigger than we thought. Here are the four of us at Provincetown.
We toured the north tip of Cape Cod (Provincetown) and had a great time seeing what none of us had seen - Cape Cod.
Sally and David Walther couldn't join us but they guided us to their Cape house overlooking the bay at Chatham MA. What a vacation place they have! (they live in Concord Mass) . The first photo is one they have in their entry way (from afar) (the only photo of cape cod in the sun in our collection). The setting is gorgeous and we want to come back when they are there. The second photo is taken today off their back deck in the rain.
September 26 - (in
Freeport Maine until tomorrow) - This is how we enjoy spending our evening hours. We have had great weather with only a few days of rain and no real cold or hot weather so far.
September 25 - We drove with R and B about 165 miles today from Newport NH to the coast and up north to Freeport Maine (home of LL Bean). 
Richard's 42' rig is incredible as he lumbers down the road (attracting attention) and he tows a trailer with a Lexus on it. That makes a total of 65' for his rig (only 57' for mine) (but size doesn't really matter). 
September 23 - 24. We pulled into a campground in Newport NH about 25 minutes after Richard and Bonnie Smith did the same having come from Virginia.
The 24th was spent touring the grounds and
graveyard of the Washington NH SDA church (the first one) and we found all the exciting old Mead graves we had heard about all our life. My folks had gone there years ago and Grandpa Mead had told me many stories as I acquired an interest in family geniology in college and beyond. I kept thinking how happy Grandpa would be that I came and found his father's, mother's, grandfather's and grandmother's graves here where he was so proud for them to rest).
Then we toured Lake Sunapee and tried to figure out which cabin we had been in for our honeymoon in 1964 (Schneiders owned it). No more "Tranquility" sign to go by. Oh well. Noone had heard of Syd and Mim Tymeson either. How 45 years changes things. We ate lunch in the Newbury NH building that used to be the gas station and post office. That was fun and the lake is pristine and serene as we looked out the window. How grand to be back at our roots when we were forming our new life. (we had no idea what would happen in the next 44+ years but how could it have been more fun). It has been a kick being here.
September 21 - 22 We drove through beautiful upstate NY and got into the west entrance of the Adirondacks State Park where our Capital Boys Club of Takoma Park MD group came with my dad and many childhood friends on a week long Adirondack Canoe trip. We saw the exact island where we camped and I took many photographs. We stayed at a campground in Old Forge NY. The next day (22nd) we drove over the whole park and stayed in a Walmart at Ticonderoga. Then we toured the Fort Ticonderoga and loved it all. Naturally I bought a book on the area and Marie bought a FT sweater.
September 17 - 20 -
We spent four very enjoyable days (and nights) camped at 4 mile Creek NY State Campground just above Niagara Falls. We did all the tourist things in the area - like a
terrific tour of Fort Niagara at the mouth of the Niagara River and Lake Ontario. What a tremendous history and it was pivotal to all of the revolutionary war as well as the War with England in 1812. The sad part is the way we decieved the Indians (Iroqois) in getting their land for the fort etc.
The
n ourMaid of the Mi
st boat ride was terrific as it goes right up and under the falls (almost) and it was spectacular. Warm and sunny and wet. Fun! Then we also did the tour of the Cave of the Wind where you see us out on the rocks at the bottom of the American falls. I'll admit that some the excitement was a fulfillment of a childhood dream. When Yvonne and I came with the family in 1952 with Grandma Eastman (she was dying of breast cancer and so they brought her here) - we visited the falls but couldn't afford (they said) the Maid of the Mist boat ride. So maybe that I why I wanted to do that badly. So we also did all the other stuff (the tourist ripoffs) and maybe that was a healing about a childhood desire. (my other on was to take the Banff chair lift which we have also done - when I was denied that excitement as a kid).
The Canadian side was the most spectacular, I suppose, because you could get the feel of both sides of the falls and the Canadian side is more extensive ( the Horseshoe Falls).
September 14 - We drove 225 miles to the Evangola State Park in New York (just south of Buffalo) and found a wonderful state park by Lake Erie. We liked it so much that we stayed here two nights before going on to Niagara Falls (34 miles north).
Clarksfield Ohio is where Bill spent two wonderful summers working on the farm as a 12 and 13 year old kid. Carl Gibson (and his son) are still working that farm and we visited Carl and Carol this weekend (
September 12-13). Happily the needed inverter had arrived. Update on September 12. We parked the rig in Carl's barnyard in Clarksfield OH and spent the afternoon sucessfully installing the new inverter. I really missed having Acacia RV available to do it for me - but oh well. It finally works and charges our batteries. Carl lent me good support and a
soldering gun. We went to church here at the old SDA church (16 people were there that day, 18 with us). We had lots of fun exchanging old stories and photos of family - his and ours. It was also fun getting to know his wife, Carol and seeing his sister, Carol, who now lives in the old family home down the road from Carl. Benny, Carl's son, is still doing the dairy and has his own fields for corn, beans and alfalfa.
Fifty years ago we used to always watch for Indian arrowheads in the overturned soil. Carl now has a fantastic collection of hundreds of them that he has recovered from his own 400 acres of farm land.
Carol (Hooker) Bowie - Carol lives near Detroit MI but she is willing to drive down towards us and we plan to meet near Toledo Ohio or Monroe MI whichever makes sense when we are ready to meet. I haven't seen my cousin, Carol, since we were little kids and Marie claims she has never met Carol. That changed
September 10. We had a great time giggling and reminiscing about family times years ago. Her brother, Wayne, unexpectedly died recently so that has been hard for her - having lost both parents several years ago. She has promised to try to come to California for Thanksgiving and also bring her sons, Wade and James. We camped for three nights where we intended only one. Sterling State Park right on the beach was delightful and envigorating. Cool brisk breezes off Lake Erie and there are so few people here this time of year that we decided to just stay a while and continue the relaxation and scenery.
On Wednesday (October 1) we are headed out to central Massachusetts for some geniology excursions. An internet friend, Jim Bridgman from Leeds has been generous in offering to show us to a number of Westhampton MA places where Bill's family history is rooted. Well it has happened - October 1 - Jim spent 3 hours with us and we had a fabulous time seeing unbelievable family history in the quaint little community of 1800 residents. 
I even found the grave of William T Hooker MD, the physician who was the first to establish the town in about 1820. I won't bore you with all the excitement but the Congregational church in the town (see photo) was built and pastored for 58 years by another relative (Nathan Hale's brother, Enoch Hale) and his house is still there right next to the town buildings. It was powerful to get a tour of the old church (by the current pastor) and see the seats where all my old ancestors (on the Hooker and Hale side) had worshipped every Sunday.
The cemetery has dozens of familiar family names and many photos were taken. Fun! The book in the library that Jim is holding is one he wrote about early Westhampton stories. He will try to find me one as they are out of print.
Jim also took us to the farm house where my great grandmother, Mary Hale Edwards Hooker (Marie has her wedding ring) was raised from a young child when both of her parents died in an epidemic that took the whole family except for three of the kids. They were then raised by their aunt and uncle in this house - starting in about 1850. Here is a photo taken in 1900 of that house. 
She was the brave one who left all this to go west and Jim has letters she wrote to her sister (sitting behind one of those upstairs windows reading them) from Nebraska. It was the real desolate prairie country and she eventually came back to Mass. (this old picture was given to me by a guy I met this morning at the only store in Westhampton (he calls himself Old Man Spencer) (yes I got his picture with Marie and I and his wife). The lady - in the photograph below - is his wife, Lorraine Blakesley Spencer, whose family has owned the farm and house for the last 100 years. What a fun coincidence to meet them and they continue to keep in touch and send us more info and photos. Thanks, Old Man Spence (he is a great artist too). 
September 30 - We found an RV park south of Boston and for the evening we drove up and met Viviana and Andy Gnau on the Harvard campus at Cambridge. We had a great evening and Andy took us on a tour of his graduate program at the FJK School of Government. Fascinating! We took them to dinner and had a great time. 
We got to know them on a dental school campout and after she graduated from dental school in 2007 and taught there for a year Andy decided to go back to graduate school at Harvard in a Government Policy program. 
We had a great time with Andy showing us all around his school and we took them out to dinner. He has an incredible program and is taking a class this quarter from David Gergen (taught only in the fall quarter of election years). Maybe he will be able to explain government to us after this training.
We loved Cape Cod - so here are some more shots
