Day Two

Lots of driving today. We ended up at a hotel near La Porte, Indiana. That meant we drove through the rest of New York, the top of Pennsylvania, and through an endless expanse of Ohio. We took a short jaunt north to Niles, Michigan. No reason except that Liz wanted to cross Michigan off her list of "States I've Been To." Here is the photographic proof. Of course there really isn't any evidence that it IS Michigan, so you are going to have to take my word for it!

On the Road

First stop, Sanbourne, New York to visit great-aunt Betty. Betty lives only six miles from Niagara Falls, so we were able to visit her--and see the Falls. The weather was in the 80's, but there was a refreshing breeze (sometimes with mist...ahhhhh!) from the Falls,so that helped. We walked around, admiring the Falls from above, below and every other angle on the U.S. side. Betty took us to her favorite spot, up river, where her Dad used to take them as kids, to give her mother a break! Bety is looking well and it was good to see that her family: nieces, nephews as well as their offspring, are taking good care of her. The children call her "Aunt Bees." She travels, usually with her sisters, and had only just returned from their annual trip to Florida. We were lucky to catch her at home! It was good to see her again, and particularly to see she is doing so well.






We had dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe near the Falls. The food was good, but it isn't a place to go if you want dinner conversation. We couldn't hear ourselves talk over the LOUD music!

Living Conditions for Park Rangers in Boston

Before going on with the rest of our adventure, I wanted to show you Liz's rooms at the old Marine barracks at the Navy Yard and rant a bit. There are several other park rangers living in this old building. The house has a lot of potential and I imagine at one time, it was gorgeous. There is a basement, then three floors. The first floor has a livingroom, diningroom and kitchen. The other two floors have two bedrooms each, as well as a shared bathroom per floor. There are wooden floors and banisters, throughout. My favorite part is the servant's staircase, built so the servants (back in the Day!) could get to the kitchen and basement without going on the main staircase! However, the house has fallen into disrepair as you can see from the photos. Portions of the walls are moldy and flaking off. Then there is the problem with the carpenter ants! They are everywhere, especially now that the weather is warming up. I even found one on the back of the toliet! EEEK! There is one room on the first floor where no one goes and the door is kept shut, because of the toxic mold and other things growing in there. They even had a giant mushroom in that room at one point. The maintenance workers (who don't deserve that title as WHAT are they doing to "maintain?") have come several times to scrape the mushroom away. The last time, they finally removed the soggy damaged floor. Underneath was a huge carpenter ant nest. Instead of getting rid of it, they went away for a few days to give the ants time to move their nest. So...the ants are still there. In the walls, crawling across the floor...everywhere. This building, housing our Park Rangers, is falling apart and no one is doing anything to save it. The Rangers who live there, do their best, but they are outnumbered...by the ants...and the rats. I didn't mention the rats. But UGH! RATS!





BTW, The last photo here is the Alaska quilt I made for Liz when she graduated from the University of Alaska in 2001. :-) It was really fun to make. I thought I should put something halfway pleasant in THIS post!

Boston Photos

Here are some photos from the Navy Yard:



While Liz, who works nights, was sleeping--I had the days to myself and went out to explore Boston. The weather, other than that bit of rain on my first day there, was gorgeous! I had nothing but sunshine as I walked everyday, exploring Boston. It isn't easy for a tourist to get lost in Boston, if you stay on the red brick of the Freedom Trail, but yes...I managed to go astray at one point. Luckily for me, the people are friendly and got me back on track.

I liked riding the water shuttle across the harbor. It didn't take long, but the view was wonderful. It let me off only a few blocks from Quincy Market, and Faneuil Hall. Faneuil Hall is named after a Peter Faneuil, a merchant, who built the Hall in 1741. It's the "home of free speech." This is where the Sons of Libery proclaimed their rebellion against Royal oppression. The "no taxation without representation" doctrine was set here.
Here I am, at Quincy Market, posing in a lobster hat. I'd met a young couple who were trying on lobster hats and offered to take their photo for them. They liked that idea, but wanted to return the favor.

One of my favorite places in Boston is the Commons, which is America's earliest park. It has been used from everything from a pasture for livestock, to a training field for the militia....a camp ground for the British when they occupied Boston...to a hanging place for pirates and witches! Now, though, it is a lovely park. When I was in Boston a few years ago, along with Cait, we went to Shakespeare in the Park, a production of the Taming of the Shrew. That was a fun experience.



Boston has a lot of old cemeteries. The old Granary Burying Ground is near the Commons and holds the mortal remains of John Hancock, Paul Revere, all five of the Boston Massacre victims, Ben Franklin's parents, and others. There were at least two tour groups of teenagers mulling around while I was there, but I got to the other (and smaller) King's Chapel Buring Ground before they did. John Winthrop, the first governor of MA is buried there, as well as Mary Chilton, whose claim to fame was to be the first woman to step off the Mayflower.




I visited the Old North Church, which is in an Italian neighborhood, filled with bakeries. Mmmmm!!! I bought fresh sourdough bread, rolls with raisins and nuts, and a bag of Taralluccis. I had no idea what those were, but they smelled good and were deliciousl They are crunchy bread, twisted in a small circle with a toasted almond in the center. But back to the Old North Church... This is the church where, on April 18, 1775, the sexton, Robert Newman, climbed to the window in the steeple and held 2 lanterns high as a signal to Paul Revere (and several others) that the British were marching from Lexington to Concord, to arrest Samuel Adams and John Hancock, and to seize the Colonial store of ammunition. I learned when I visited Paul Revere's home, that he wasn't able to come home after his "midnight ride." In fact, he had to stay away for about a year--since the British had taken over Boston.





Paul Revere's house was interesting, but no photos were allowed inside. It was built around 1680--the oldest structure in downtown Boston. It has all been preserved as it was when the Reveres lived there. Cooking oer the fire, with a baking oven built into the fireplace on the left. Two bedrooms upstairs. One had a rope bed with a device to tighten the ropes when they got loose. It didn't look very comfortable.

Boston, continued...

Having gone to bed so early the day I arrived, we were awake early! 4 a.m., in fact! No matter, church wasn't until 3 pm., so we had plenty of time to pack and organize. I know, I know...Sunday is a day of rest, but with the movers coming soon, there was limited time to do everything and we were feeling the pressure. I helped out by doing a laundry, then we sorted through Liz's bins in the basement. I had no idea that the tendency to be a packrat was hereditary! Liz has lots of stuff, that's for sure. I'd like to say Liz gets this from her father, but any of you who have seen my quilting room would disagree...

This is a photo of the old Marine barracks where Liz lived.

On Monday the movers came for a pre-inspection. We had one week after that to get everything sorted. The major bulk of Liz's belongings went into storage, while she filled her truck with whatever she thinks she'll need for the next few months in Alaska.

Liz was working nights, so everyday while she slept, I went out to explore Boston! I'd seen it all before, the last time I visited, but knowing this would probably be the last time I got to see the city, I wanted to see it all again! Liz's abode was in the Charlestown Navy Yard, right across from the battleship, Cassin Young, and the U.S.S. Constitution (Old Ironsides) My first "real" day there, Monday, Old Ironsides was closed, so I toured the battleship. They were playing 40's music over the loudspeaker; very period appropriate.

Boston and Bunker Hill

I arrived in Boston at 6:40 a.m., so you can imagine how I was feeling! Boston time is three hours earlier than my time zone, so that didn't help any...) Liz came to get me at the airport and we went back to her place. It was pouring down rain when I arrived, but later--after a short nap--the sun was out and it was beautiful. We walked over to the Bunker Hill monument. It had been closed for renovation the last time I was in town, so I was interested to see it. There are 294 steps to the top, which was pretty exhausting considering how little sleep I'd had. On second thought, I think that would be exhausting even if I'd had a full night's sleep! It's a spiral staircase, round and round with cold, sometimes drippy gray stone.



There were two pigeons who'd made a nest in one of the tiny slit windows, at about step 75, I think. The view from the top was worth it, though. Lovely! There was Boston, spread out beneath us. There is a grate in the floor where one can see all the way down. A light was at the bottom of the shaft. This was where the elevator was, back when it was built in 1843, used to carry building materials up to the top. They removed it later. Drat!


The walk down was easier until I got to step 100, when my legs started to feel shaky. It was about 2 pm. and it had been a l-o-n-g time since breakfast! The rubbery leg feeling went away after we stopped for nourishment at a Friendly's restaurant.

Did you know that the Bunker Hill monument isn't even built on Bunker Hill? No, it is on Breed's Hill, where the battle was fought, but apparently so many of the people fighting, thought it was Bunker Hill (which is north of there), that they kept the name. The Battle was fought on 17 June 1775. The colonists repulsed two assaults before retreating. The British won, but lost more than 1,000 of their 2200 men. This battle is considered to have been pivotal--and meant there was little chance of a reconciliationbetween the British and us. Too many colonists were ticked off!

At 3 pm., Liz had an appointment with H & R Block to get her taxes straightened out. By the time we were done there, the weather had turned bad again. We walked fast to get home before the rain started. Later there was thunder and lightening. We were in bed by 7 pm. It was a fun, but exhausting, day.

I'm BACCCKKK!!!

We got in last night from our mega-roadtrip...started by flying to Boston to help Liz pack up for her move. Then she and I drove (and drove and drove!) to get back here..where we picked up Tom, and headed north to Alaska. It was a fantastic trip and I'll be sharing the adventure (complete with photos) after I recover a bit. I don't even have our suitcases unpacked! But, I did teach my Primary Class today at church, so I think I am deserving a bit of computer time. Phew! I just wanted to check in and let you all know (hello? anyone out there?) that I'm home. Stay tuned!!

oooh and I got a lot of lovely Alaska themed fabric on the trip! (for all you quilters, I'll post a photo of that as well)