Quick trip to Maine

It was only day four of our eastern road trip and yet I feel as if we've seen so much and, more importantly, reconnected with so many faces from our past. With more yet to come! Amazing.

The four of us - Dick, Dorothy, Susie and myself - left Douglas, Mass. about 9am and headed north for our rendezvous with Joyce and Avery in Maine. With Dick at the helm and Dorothy along with Siri were navigating, Susie and enjoyed being passengers for a change, free from the stress of traffic and worry about such things and where and when to turn. 

We stopped briefly for a leg stretch and bathroom break at the New Hampshire Welcome Center in Seabrook. It was a short run through NH before finding ourselves in Maine. After 40 minutes or so from the border we were in Portland and pulled into the Panera parking lot near the Maine Mall. Joyce and Avery were waiting for us, standing outside.

After long overdue hugs and handshakes the six of us found a table outside where we spent the next hour or so enjoying a tasty lunch and catching up on all the news from the various strands of the VB family groups.

We said our goodbyes and left Portland about 1pm for our trip back south to our meetup with Uncle Frank in Quincy.

A little after 3pm we found the Atria part of the Marina Bay complex and Uncle Frank was waiting at the front door. He suggested we drive to a nearby boardwalk overlooking the bay where we could stroll. and so we did. We found a place in the shade to sit and chat, enjoying the lovely weather. 

Susie and I hadn't seen him for probably three years so it was a real treat for us to be able to shake his hand once again. 

After driving Frank back to Atria he asked if we'd like to see his room and of course we said yes! We had to check in with the front desk but it was mostly a formality and after peeking briefly into the dining room we took the elevator to the 4th floor and popped in to his studio apartment. 

After the second round of goodbyes that day the four of us headed back out into the traffic snarls of the great Boston area and (often slowly) made our way back to Douglas for a quiet dinner and a good rest before moving on to Vermont on Sunday.

l-r: Susie, Joyce, Avery, Dick and dorothy

l-r: Dick, Dorothy, Uncle Frank and Susie

view of south Boston from the Marina Bay complex

view of Boston

Uncle Frank

the Atria dining room

Frank's room

The move goes on -- update from Providence

(my apologies to Sonny and Cher)

Well, this past Friday marked a turning point for me, a watershed of sorts. I moved from full-time salaried to part-time hourly. This allows me to work from Michigan and I’ll be managing the image library as well as fielding image requests for the university from there (or anywhere for that matter), at least for the next six months as they move to a full-blown digital asset management system. That’s the plan anyway.

Meanwhile, Susie is putting her baking skills on hold (mostly) and ramping up her packing expertise getting us ready for our return to Michigan midweek..

Since this move is being done piecemeal we have to sort out the things we’ll need to take Wednesday from those things we’ll pick up in June and finally from those things that the movers will eventually pack up. Of course, Susan is also doing all the packing as well so there’s that set of logistics: acquiring boxes, where to put things, etc. All accomplished while we continue our efforts to sell our condo while looking for a new place in Michigan.

In the midst of our (Susan’s) increasing efforts to pack up and move to Michigan, we took the opportunity to spend some quality time with family and friends, time well-spent over good food and wine. I had a going away party Thursday after work; a few colleagues and a few beers at a watering hole downtown along with some delicious nachos -- Susie even joined us.

Friday I had lunch with another colleague, a friend, someone who always had a kind word outmatched only by a lively smile. And funny in the bargain.

Saturday evening we were at Barnes Street on the east side to have dinner with Barbara, Andrea and Matt. Following a delicious pizza and salad, Susie provided orange hazelnut shortbreads and a scrumptious chocolate hazelnut financier.

At Barnes Street

chocolate hazelnut financier

Sunday morning Susie and I were second in line at Nick’s on Broadway for breakfast — Andrea soon showed up and joined us just before the doors opened.

Nick's for breakfast

frittata

hibiscus sorbet

Early in the afternoon we took a quick trip to Mount Auburn in Cambridge, Mass. Besides being one of Boston’s most lovely green spaces it also happens to be one of the finest cemeteries in the United States. There were lots of folks out strolling, looking, and connecting up with their past.

wild turkey mother and her brood

the Sphinx, dedicated to the Civil War dead

After an hour or so of strolling, we headed out to Douglas, MA for dinner at Dick and Dorothy’s. Carl B. was down from Bangor, and Frank and Cathy had driven in from Quincy, MA. We all sat outside enjoying sparkling wine and some special treats compliments of Cathy.

After moving inside we gathered around the table for warm conversation, tasty wine and lots of great food: potato salad, cole slaw, grilled chicken and green beans, ending with another of Susie’s creations: hazelnut cake on a blackberry sauce with homemade lime ice cream and toasted almonds, finished off with a crumble.

Dorothy

Frank

Carl

Dick

Our lives are always changing -- nothing profound in that of course. But when you decide to leave one home and move to another 1000 miles away, and actually begin that process of moving, that's when you realize just how much change is going on around you.

 This coming Wednesday we head to the Catskills to see the Archers. Thursday we push on to Ohio, spending a night somewhere east of Cleveland with a planned Friday afternoon arrival in GR.

While we continue our search for the next home, I hope to meet up with an old friend, Chuck P. on Saturday. We'll transfer our fitness club memberships, arrange for mail forwarding through the USPS, cancel Netflix and Verizon landline/internet service.

The next phase of our move will focus on a return to Providence sometime around June 10, when we’ll spend a couple of nights at the condo. Aside from my stopping in to work for a few hours we’ll load up more stuff and head back to Michigan.

We probably won’t return to Rhode Island until sometime in July, although right now I'm not sure why.

So much of our future now depends on what will happen to the condo: will it sell? Will we have to rent? Will Hillary stay with Bill? Will Ashley find true love with Vivian Leigh or will Bob, Carol, Ted and Alice move in together? So many questions, so little time.

Life is short.