July 26, 2011

Plymouth Rock here we come!

Driving up to Plymouth Rock.

Viewing area of the Rock

Closeup view of Plymouth Rock

Me at the visitors center at The House of Seven Gables in Salem Massachusetts.

The House of Seven Gables isreally a neat house. We visited the house in the fall of 1969 and I always wanted to go back. I always remembered the secret staircase but I think it got a lot smaller than when I was there before!!!

The town moved Nathaniel Hawthorne's birthplace home on the property when the House of Seven Gables is located.

Hawthorne's birthplace home

Memorial for Pilgrims

Witchcraft Hysteria in 1692

One of the witch museums

Some of the people that were sentenced to death for witchcraft are buried here

July 24th & 25th, 2011

First Happy 12th Anniversary to Steve and Mandy

I have always wanted to go to Cape Cod. It sounds so Ritzy. We are going to the Cape for the weekend!!

People enjoying the Cape Cod beaches

That is me in the water. That is as far as I wanted to go. Water Temp 54 degrees. BURRR

Beautiful beaches

This is called Rosehip

The Pilgrim's monument has been Provincetowns most prominent landmark since 1910. At 253 feet it is the tallest all granite structure in the United States.





On November 20, 1620 the Pilgrims dropped the Mayflower anchor for the first time in the new world-not Plymouth where they later settled but in the harbor at Provincetown. Incorporated in 1727, Ptown developed into an imporant fishing and whaling center in the 1800's. Now it is primarily a resort and center for the arts.

Provincetown is the last town on the Cape. It is a nightmare. Traffic people and Gip Joints. Not a place we enjoy.

As you can see the economy looks good in Cape Cod..

July 22nd & 23rd, 2011

Today we left New Jersey and headed to Mystic Connecticut to visit David's Penn State roommate, Thom. First reunion since 1969.

July 23rd is a very special day in our family. It is Mandy's 3rd Birthday. Three years she had her transplant.

Thom asked what we would like to do and where would we like to eat. I immediately said Mystic Pizza!! He said everyone wants to see Mystic Pizza. There was a movie made about it starring Julia Roberts. I think it was in the 80's.

David and Thom had not seen each other since the summer of 1969 but that did not matter because they talked and visited like it was yesterday. They have kept in touch all of these years with the annual Christmas letter and then email.

David and Thom inside the Submarine museum. Thom is also an Engineer and works for General Dynamics Electric Boat division and does structural engineering on submarines.

Thom and David still college boys at heart..

Tom treated us to a wonderful lunch of Lobster.

The aftermath of a GREAT Meal!!

We spent the rest of the day touring around. Thom took us to a beautiful beach in Rhode Island. We visited his home and met one of his daughters. Later he took us to Mohegan Sun and Foxwood casinos. They were amazing. We had a great visit which was way too short. Thanks Thom..

Click older post for our NYC visit.

July 19, 20, 21th, 2011


We arrived in Jersey City, New Jersey on July 19th. David, Mandy and Nolan went to the Newark airport and picked up Steve. On Wednesday we went into NYC via the Subway to meet Jonathan. We had a wonderful visit. There is a picture of him at the end of this post. Before we meet Jonathan we visited Time Square and Herald Square. We met him at Grand Central Station. Later that day Jonathan took us to Central Park. When we departed company we visited Foxs News and Rockefeller Center. On Thursday we again took the subway to Lower Manhatten and saw the Freedom Tower, Wall Street and The African Burial National Monument. We had lunch in Chinatown and then went to Battery Park. Needless to say we were HOT, TIRED and SWEATY but we had a super time and meeting Jonathan was why we were there.

View of the Statue of Liberty from Battery Park.

Empire Street Building

Mandy and David

No trip to NYC would be complete without a stop at Foxs News.

A view of Wall Street

New York Stock Exchange. Because of 9-11 the public cannot go inside. When we were in NYC in the 90's we were lucky enough to go inside and watch the traders.

Rockefeller Center

David in front of the Flag of Honor. This flag lists all the people who lost their life on September 11, 2001.

Nolan in the museum for the Twin Towers. This is temporary site. When the Freedom Tower is complete it will be located within the complex.

This is one of the pews in St. Paul's church. It is in honor of the firemen who used the church to rest during the aftermath of the Twin Towers attack. It is amazing to me that the church did not suffer any damage even tho, it is only a block away.

Steve and Nolan in front of the Freedom Tower. This is on the site of the Twin Towers. The structure is only half completed. The area will also house a museum.

Our main reason to come to NYC was to meet Jonathan. Jonathan said that Mandy was his cell mate!! What a super great guy he is. Mandy and Steve invited him to come visit and maybe he will in December. I, of course, cried when I met him but who wouldn't after what he did for our family. He took us to a kosher restaurant so Mandy could have Sushi. Since she is allergic to shell fish most sushi has that in it but not kosher. No words of Thanks could ever let him know what a great gift he gave all of us. Jonathan is part of our family. We LOVE him.

Had lunch with my Best Friends from High School. When we are together it is like we have been together all along. Linda Kathy and Peggy made life in HS the best. Thanks Girls..

We said Good bye to my family today and will head to New York City tomorrow to meet Mandy's Donor, Jonathan. We are really looking forward to that. It is very hard to say good bye to my family not knowing when I will see them all again. We had a great visit. Tomorrow we are actually going to stay in Jersey City, New Jersey which is just across the river from NYC. We were told we can see the Statue of Liberty from our RV park. One can never see that too many times. Steve is flying into Newark tomorrow afternoon and then on Friday Mandy, Steve and Nolan will fly home to Arizona. We have had a great time these past 4 weeks and we will miss having them with us.

This is a picture of where is all began. David graduated from PSU and worked for a company called Green Construction Co. The company was working on interstate 80 that cut through the valley that I lived in. He would be driving to work and I would be driving to work and we would pass each other. He started waving to me in the morning and 10 months later we were married.

Another view of the big cut.

Mandy wanted to take Nolan to see Penn's Cave. It is only about 20 miles from where I grew up. It is a boat ride.

Entrance to Penn's Cave. Look closely and you can see Mandy and Nolan.

Rhododedron grows wild along the mountain roads. It is very pretty. There are several species.

Amish straw field. They are hand stacked instead of using a farm machine.

This is a view from the area I am from and the farm is owned by the Amish. They moved into the area in the early 1970's and were accepted by the community. They are hard workers and produce great products.

Another view of the valley where I was born.

The Amish are allowed to travel on all limited access roads. The buggies sure do a number on the road. Worn marks from the horses. The Amish in the area have great produce and make a good living from selling them.