A Morning Visit

I had company for a short time this morning. Kayla stopped by with her husband, Keith, and their daughter Nevaeh. I met Keith and Nevaeh for the first time today. I met Kayla in 2001 when she was dating my nephew, Mike. Kayla and I stayed in touch after she and Mike broke up. I don't think Kayla and I have seen each other, though, since 2001. Even though Kayla lived nearby for the most part since 2001, we stayed in touch only via the Internet. We had talked about getting together several times over the years, but it didn't happen until today. We had a good visit; I hope that we get together again soon.

Nevaeh is 15 months old.

Nevaeh, Kayla and Keith

These next three pictures tell a story.

Let me show you what I want for Christmas.

See these shoes?
Do you think Santa will bring me a pair for Christmas?

Just imagine how much fun it will be to play dress up in these shoes!

Returning Home from New Hampshire

We returned home from New Hampshire late Saturday afternoon. We departed our hotel at 6:30AM. Other than strong winds, our ride home was uneventful. We did see up to 6 inches of snow while at the higher elevations of Route 9 in Vermont. None of the snow was in the roadway. Here are a few photographs of scenery on our way back home.

We had been driving for just a little over an hour when we caught our first glimpse of snow.

Dublin, NH
Dublin Lake and Mt. Monadnock

There is a scenic overlook located on Rt. 9 in Vermont between West Brattleboro and Wilmington that offers a 100-mile view of the surrounding countryside.

Hogback Mountain Scenic Overlook
(click on photograph to enlarge it)

We were at snow level while at the Hogback Mountain Scenic Overlook.

Hogback Mountain Scenic Overlook
looking westward

Wilmington, VT
snow-capped mountain in background

We were about an hour's drive from home when we were blessed with this beautiful sunset.

The Day After Thanksgiving

Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, was a full, pleasant day. As planned we went to Cynthia and Larry's house for breakfast. We arrived at their home around 8:30AM. Breakfast, which included broccoli and cheese omelets, sausage links, orange juice, and toast, was delicious. The rest of the morning we hung around the house and visited with Cynthia, Larry and Marian. We played with Weezie too.

Around 12:30PM we went out to lunch. Cynthia and Larry treated us to lunch at the Mikato Japanese Steakhouse and Sushi Bar. It was Bob and my first experience eating in a Japanese restaurant. Besides the five of us there was only one other couple in the restaurant. All other potential diners must have been taking advantage of Black Friday specials. Larry asked that we be seated at the hibachi table. A waiter took our drink orders. When the waiter returned to our table with our drinks, he took our orders for lunch. Cynthia ordered prime rib; Larry ordered shrimp; and Bob, Marian and I ordered chicken. Our hibachi chef was really fun and personable. He put on an entertaining show as he prepared our meals of meat, rice and vegetables. It was a great lunch all around.

After lunch we took the scenic route back to Cynthia and Larry's house. We ate dessert (a choice of peanut butter or chocolate fudge, pumpkin roll, pecan pie and cherry pie) and visited some more.

Family Portrait
Marian, Larry, Cynthia, Weezie, Bob and I

Weezie, jumping through the hoop!

We left for the hotel at 4:30PM. We had a great visit, albeit a short one, with Cynthia, Larry and Marian. We are happy that we were able to spend the Thanksgiving holiday with them.

Thanksgiving Day

On November 25th I wrote that we were on our way to New Hampshire to spend the Thanksgiving holiday with Bob's sister and our brother-in-law.

We left our home in Warren, Pennsylvania, shortly after noon on November 25th. We drove as far as Cobleskill, NY, which was approximately 330 miles and a 5 1/2-hour drive from our house. We spent the night at the Best Western Cobleskill hotel.

We continued our drive to New Hampshire on Thanksgiving Day. We checked out of our hotel, filled up with gas and were on the road by 6:30AM. Except for the first couple hours when we drove through fog, we had good driving conditions. We made a couple photo stops along the way. Our first stop was in Bennington, Vermont, where we saw the Bennington Battle Monument. This 306-foot stone monument is dedicated to the Battle of Bennington that took place during the Revolutionary War in 1777. Visitors may ride an elevator to the top of the Bennington Monument for panoramic views of the valleys and rolling hills of Vermont, Massachusetts and New York. Unfortunately, we were not able to do this as the monument was closed for the season.

Our first view of Bennington Battle Monument


Bennington Battle Monument with
Colonel Seth Warner statue

We stopped briefly in Wilmington, Vermont, where I took a picture of one of the village's most prominent landmarks -- the Molly Stark statue. Molly Stark was the wife of American Revolutionary general John Stark, who was involved in the Battle of Bennington.

Molly Stark statue

We arrived at Comfort Inn in Merrimack, New Hampshire around 11:30AM. After checking into our hotel, we relaxed for a little over an hour before driving over to Cynthia and Larry's house. Soon after arriving at Cynthia and Larry's house we sat down to Thanksgiving Day dinner. In addition to the four of us, we shared dinner with Larry's mother (Marian). Dinner was delicious. Cynthia and Larry prepared a bountiful feast of turkey, peas and onions, mashed squash, green beans, stuffing, gravy, corn pudding and cranberry salad. For dessert we had a choice of two kinds of pie -- pecan or cherry -- and pumpkin roll. We visited for a while after dinner and played with Weezie, Cynthia and Larry's two-year-old dog. We happened to be at Cynthia and Larry's house for Thanksgiving two years ago when Weezie first joined the family. Weezie has grown a LOT since 2007!

Weezie, in November 2007

Weezie in November 2009
Looking out the front door

Weezie in November 2009
with favorite toy, Bear

Weezie in November 2009
Isn't she super cute!

Bob and I left Cynthia and Larry's house around 6:00PM with plans to return at 8:30 the next morning.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Make a Smilebox greeting

Indians and a Rainbow

We're on our way to New Hampshire, where we will be spending the Thanksgiving holiday with Bob's sister, Cynthia, and her family. We made one fuel stop during today's travels. The fuel stop was at a gas station on an Indian Reservation near Limestone, New York. I took pictures of a couple Indians that we saw at the fuel stop.

Rainy conditions were with us throughout much of today's journey. However, much to our amazement, a rainbow followed us for about an hour along Routes 86 and 88 in New York.

We will arrive in New Hampshire tomorrow. We're looking forward to seeing Cynthia and Larry and spending the holiday weekend with them.

The Approaching Holiday Season

As the holiday season gets closer I can feel a veil of sadness descending on me. Sometimes I wish that I could close my eyes and when I open them again it is the first of January.

My mom passed away the Monday after Thanksgiving two years ago. When a life-changing event, such as the death of a loved one or a break up of a marriage or romance, happens around a holiday, future celebrations of that holiday can be depressing. I have a hard time with both Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. I celebrate both holidays with family and friends. I am thankful for the time that we spend together. I always have a good time; however, the joy that I used to feel during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays is diminished. I don't know if I'll ever feel the same about either holiday.