The collection and storage of our household furnishings and closure of our condo sale complete, we found ourselves homeless for twelve days until our international departure. We decided that a road trip to visit good friends in Bethlehem, New Hampshire, and Worcester, Massachusetts, would be a great way to start our journey.
We departed Chicago on Thursday, September 30, 1999. Elke selected a great trip plan taking us through the Adirondack Mountains in New York State, the Green Mountains of Vermont, and finally into the White Mountains of New Hampshire. The fall colors were simply breathtaking. We experienced a variety of weather conditions, including sunshine, rain, sleet and hail. New Hampshire and Vermont are big moose and B&B states. This a beautiful B&B next to our friends' home. Although I performed moose calls at every opportunity, Mr. Moose managed to elude us—a disappointing situation.
We
hadn't seen the Kerr family for a couple of years. What a great idea to
come here! We would have missed five days of fun with the children; wonderful
chats, dinners and activities with Dave and Cheryl, and the smells and
hues of fall in the mountains. The Kerr's home (pictured left) sits at
the end of a quiet street, and was the ideal place to relax and prepare
before starting the international tour on October 11, 1999.
The Kerr children are so sweet and beautiful. Every time we come here, we feel the need to breed. But we'll elaborate on that story some other day. Erin, on the left, is the oldest at age seven, Lindsay, in the center, is two, and Eli is four. All three are very intelligent and charming, and we have been missing them ever since we left.
From there we headed to Worcester, MA, to visit Jane and Alex. They moved from Chicago to Worcester in August, so Alex could begin his psychology internship. He is working on his Ph.D.. It was a brief visit, only one night, but we made the best of it dining on delicious pasta, drinking good wine, and engaging in pleasant conversation.
The next day, Thursday, October 7, we began the journey back to Cleveland and to my parents home. We made it as far as Bemus Point, NY, on Chautauqua Lake, and decided to stay overnight at the Maple Springs B&B. We arrived just before sunset, had a great meal and watched the sun dip into the trees on the shore of the lake. The next day we arrived at my parents and began final preparations.
To those on the East Coast, thanks for your hospitality, we had a marvelous time!