Philadelphia & New Jersey

I overheard a comment that we could echo: "We made it out of Philadelphia alive!"

Our first trip into the city was in pouring rain. Thank goodness for the GPS system Kristen and Jason gave us. Even when we couldn't see all the freeway directions and many interchanges and bridges, the GPS told us where to go. Driving in this area is not fun. We met up with my niece, Jordan Pickrell, who is getting her PhD in Archeology at the Univ of Penn. (see photo) She guided us into downtown and walking around the historic areas. We were thrilled to see the Liberty Bell and had a fine tour of Convention Hall. We also went through the Betsy Ross House, walked through the Ben Franklin area where some of his original house foundations were, past burial grounds, and an original Quaker Meeting House. Saw one of the original Episcopalian churches, but missed seeing the oldest UMC Church still in existence. We're learning how important it was that George Washington became the first president, particularly his ability to lead and bring people together.

We spent another day in Philly, going to the Museum of Art to see the Renoir collection, and then to the Rodin sculpture museum. We had planned to do some other things, but things got confusing on the freeways, or places weren't open, or we couldn't find a place to park, so we left -- without our Philly Steak Sandwich, darn! We were greeted back at our RV park by the sound of honking--hundreds of geese land in the pond here--and wild turkeys in the grassy areas.

On Sunday we went to Germantown UMC in Philadelphia. I expected more of a German influence, but the area was very depressed, with mostly black residents and many boarded up storefronts. I subscribed for years to sermons from that church by Ted Loder (great preacher and poet/author) and bulletin covers, reproducing many of the covers for my bulletins, giving them credit, of course! Although Ted Loder has now retired (after 38 years in that church!), we are still impressed with their ministry. When their associate, Beth Stroud, had her orders removed by our denomination several years ago because she had come out as a lesbian, the church stood behind her. She is still on staff as a Pastoral Assistant. Before and after worship, they had a great collection of library books available, lots of peace and justice type literature, and a fair trade store. The church was in their Stewardship Drive, and the Associate Minister did a fine job with the sermon, weaving "the young shall see visions, and the elders dream dreams." The music director/organist/pianist was terrific. But much of the service was pretty traditional, with hymns from The Faith We Sing or UMC Hymnal -- some which were kind of hard to sing. After worship they had a Linger Lunch, which is free for first-time visitors. It was great for us!

After worship we drove to the seaside of New Jersey and stayed with Nora Howes, a former member of Christ Church. We loved seeing her new house and all the furniture she's gotten since moving a year ago. We talked non-stop for hours. Her niece and husband joined us and they took us out to a seafood restaurant right on the water. We vowed that we want to be as peppy and healthy as she is when we're 92 years old! She walks a mile along the river every day, unless it's poor weather.

We weren't too far from Atlantic City, so we had to see what it was about, with the huge Trump Casinos. Overbearing, really!

We leave for Lancaster area tomorrow.

Mystic, Connecticut

In the back of our 2007 Atlas, there are 22 places that are listed as "must see" areas in USA and Canada. Mystic, Connecticut was one of them -- as are many places we've already seen or will visit at some time. It was raining the day we went to Mystic, so the colors of the trees or water along the Mystic River were not as scenic as it would have been. But we enjoyed going to the Historic Seaport area. We walked around the re-created village from the 1800's, and were able to go on several old ships, including a whaling ship. Lots of interesting areas -- learned more about ship building, rope making, rigging boats, making sails, fishing processes, shipsmiths, etc. when real life people were making things from that period.

In the print shop, we found out how the terminology "Upper Case" and "Lower Case" came about. Before automated printing, each letter was individually placed to make words for the newspapers, and the capital letters all fit in the upper cases (drawers), and the small letters were in the lower cases! It would take someone 10 hours to individually place all the letters for one side of a newspaper, so weekly papers were the norm. No wonder! We also went into one of the older homes where a woman was making stew and cornbread in the fireplace. She said that each home would need about 30 cords of wood to get through the winters, and that each family needed 5 acres of land to keep that many trees. Learned about some of the treacherous activities of the whaling ships. I think I'd prefer a cruise than a whaling ship ride!

Massachusetts: Martha's Vineyard

We didn't actually make it to Nantucket. Luckily we figured out before getting to Hyannis to catch the ferry that the ferry schedule had changed the day before, and the timing wouldn't work for us. Our other choice was to go to Martha's Vineyard, which turned out to be perfect! The weather was sunny and pleasant--t-shirt weather part of the day. The ferry ride was fun. The island has charm--and expensive homes! It started out as a whaling center, but was also an early Methodist camp meeting place, so there were various streets and buildings with Methodist terminology: Circuit Street (now full of shops), Meeting House, Wesley Road... An old twisted tree had been the site of many worship gatherings. We also found a Christ United Methodist Church! Saw another church (Episcopalian) with windows made by Tiffany. We took the island bus to 3 different cities, and had lunch (yes, wonderful New England chowder!) at a Seafood Chanty by the tiny ferry to Chappaquiddick Island.

Massachusetts: Plymouth & Cape Cod

We ended up at a wonderful RV park in Plymouth, Mass -- with pine trees, shimmering lake, fall colors, large area and not many campers -- so we've just stayed put for a bit. (see photo from the lodge at the campground where I'm on the internet.) On some of the rainy days, we stayed "close to home." But we did manage to see the Mayflower (reproduction,) Plymouth Rock, and visit the Plimouth Plantation, where current day Wamponaog Native Americans as well as actors portraying the early English colonists made things come to life. They did a good job of dispelling some of the myths about the Pilgrim Thanksgiving, and how the early settlers actually kidnapped some of the Natives early on, so there was a fair amount of mistrust. The current day Wampanoag are trying to get recognized as a soveriegn nation. (I just read the following news: - Better late than never.The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe on Thursday became a federally recognized sovereign nation, a decision that marks the end of a 32-year effort to gain the status. With this ruling, the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe becomes the 564th tribe recognized by the federal government and the first to be recognized during the Bush Administration.)

On a rather cloudy day we drove out to the tip of Cape Cod and witnessed an interesting cloud bank moving westward. The sun was setting over a marsy-lake area as we were driving--spectacular orange, but couldn't get a picture. We also stopped at the JFK Memorial in Hyannis, and walked on some of the great beaches on the Cape. We even found a visitor center named "John C. Davenport" -- I introduced them to our John W. Davenport, and they asked if we were related to the Davenport real estate family that owned much of Cape Cod. I wish....!

Today we went to the Plymouth UMC contemporary worship service -- lots of praise music, and not very inclusive in language or theology, but the sermon on one of my favorite Acts passages was quite good.

I'm enjoying a beautiful outdoor spot on the deck by the lake while John catches the 49er game. (see photo) I've been trying to schedule RV parks that have cable for those 49er games!

Tomorrow we will take the ferry to Nantucket, and then we move on to Conneticut and Pennsylvania.

Massachusetts: Boston, Salem, Marblehead, Rockport

We've been surrounded by beauty in our travels. In the Gloucester (where we're staying for a few days), we've had a wonderful view of the tidal area from our campsite, with wonderful sunrises and sunsets. Rockport and Marblehead had picturesque art colonies and seaports.

But in this area we are also surrounded by history -- things dating back to the 1600's and 1700's are common. The streets are harder to drive on, too, because they are narrow and confusing! Some of the sidewalks are brick or stone, so it gives us a feel of an earlier time.

We found out that going to Salem in October is a favorite activity for many people -- ghost stories/dramas and Halloween decorations everywhere. We went to a drama about a trial of one of the women who had been accused of being a witch in 1692 -- adapted from historical records. The audience was asked to vote if we thought she was guilty -- we were not convinced, but in history, she was one of 19 who were hanged in a nearby tree. The hysteria that was created during that time is quite horrifying. We enjoyed going through the House of Seven Gables, and the nearby house where author of that book, Nataniel Hawthorne, was born. (see Gayle in photo)

In Boston we walked the Freedom Trail to see many of the historical sites, including the home of Paul Revere, the meeting hall and churches where the Declaration of Independence was first read, and where the decision to institigate the Boston Tea Party occurred. We added a more contemporary "historical" spot to our walk -- the bar that the TV show "Cheers" was modeled after. It was boisterous and crowded, but we got in and had lunch! (See John in photo)

Harvest Time

I think my favorite time of year is the Fall, with the earth tones and harvest decorations and the general sense of gratitude. Homes and stores here are deocrated with lots of pumpkins, mums, corn stalks, wreaths, leaves, sunflowers -- I love it. The Canadian Thanksgiving was October 6, and since they have a shorter Fall than we do, they are ahead of us on the West coast. (In fact, John and I have to pick our RV parks carefully now because many are closed for the season. Some have shown us pictures of what it looks like in the winter -- covered with snow!)

I'm including some photos where I tried to capture the fall decor. I missed the "field of scarecrows" in one pasture. I also missed the house with pumpkins above and below every window and roof line all around the house, sort of like we do Christmas lights on houses, only these were hundreds of pumpkins! (I'll probably add more to this posting as we travel around Massachusetts and other New England states.)

Fall Colors in Vermont/New Hampshire

A “feast for the eyes” – this is the phrase that describes this beautiful place. The rolling hills are a patchwork of orange-yellow-red-green. The trees are glorious! We’ve had more overcast skies than sunny skies, but the two sunny days created unforgettable memories of brilliant color.

Our first full day in this area was a Sunday, and I found an “Open and Affirming” UCC church in the phone book in a small rural town not far from where we were staying. It was wonderful! We felt right at home, and would return often if we stayed in the area. It was World Communion Sunday, and they had many global prayers and liturgies and communion bread. The children were included in much of the service. The sermon was very inclusive and encouraging of the congregation to uphold the progressive ideals of the denomination. The prayers had peace and justice themes. The minister had written words to one of the hymns—very meaningful and inclusive.

We then drove through the beautiful New Hampshire area, and found an Apple Festival in Stratford with apple cider pressing, fiddling, scarecrow contest, great homemade food, free popcorn, apple tasting and cheese, storytelling, etc. It was held at the Justin Smith Morrel Historic site – He was a congressman who wrote the land grant act, among other things. We also learned that William Sloan Coffin, one of the greatest prophetic voices of our time, lived in that community. We were shown the house his wife still lives in. We passed by in a moment of tribute and thanksgiving. We ended up at Hanover, Dartmouth College. Great to be in that college environment on a gorgeous day!

We drove through the Green Mountains in Vermont, and the White Mountains in New Hampshire on a couple different days, taking some short trail hikes. The fall colors weren't quite at their peak, the locals said, because it had been so warm! But to us they were beautiful!

We’ve gone to a maple syrup and cheese farm – lots of tasting possibilities! Did you know it takes 40 gallons of maple sap to make one gallon of pure maple syrup? It looks like water when the trees are tapped, then goes through an evaporation process to get that great taste.

One of the places I was most looking forward to visiting in Vermont was the Weston Priory. (See photo of cross on their property.) I have listened to the music of the Monks of Weston Priory for years. It was thrilling to sit in their small, simple chapel and have the 13 monks walk in for mid-day prayers, and lead prayer through song. They have 3-4 prayer times during the day – what a wonderful way to have songs of prayer in your head and spirit all day long. Some of their hymns and photos show them dancing, and as we left, they were rehearsing a dance. Our hearts danced as well!

Acadia National Park, Maine

This part of the Maine coast – Acadia National Park – must be one of the most beautiful places on earth. We are enthralled – the sea, rocks, trees, birds, clean air, blue skies and shimmering water. This is one of the smallest of the National Parks, but the 2nd most visited park – probably, in part, because there are at least one or two cruise ships that dock in Bar Harbor every day.
Driving into the park, we took a wrong turn trying to find our campground, and ended up in the downtown Bar Harbor tourist area at noon time, with narrow streets, parked cars, and tons of people. We stopped for directions, and ended up going in circles and found ourselves right back downtown--with the trailer behind us. John kept his cool (mostly), but it was a stressful beginning! We decided to forget the campground we were headed for, and went back to one we had seen coming in – even had an ocean view.
We’ve spent four days here, and have loved it. Our favorite experience was getting up before dawn and driving up the highest mountain on the Atlantic Coast (1500 ft) to watch the sunrise. That meant we saw the sun rise before anyone else in the country! It really was our “Easter Sunrise” in October! The Easter Sunrise songs, “Morning Has Broken” or “Sing to the mountains, sing to the sea… this is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad!” were very much in our mind. From start to finish, it was a glorious day, with about 70 degree weather, no wind, no clouds, just sun and blue sky. (It had been foggy or a bit overcast earlier in the week, so we picked the perfect day for a sunrise.) It was the best day to sit on rocks and gaze out at the sea, watch the lobster fishermen just off shore, walk on the sand beach, hike through the woods (even into a muddy bog!), or drive from one beautiful spot to another. Since this was our last night in Maine, and after such a glorious day, we had to have a lobster dinner overlooking the water -- (early bird dinner special was $16.95 for 1 ¼ lb. lobster.) It was the best!
Our other favorite experience was going to the two different Oceanariums. The first was a lobster hatchery –the fishermen give the female lobsters with eggs to the hatchery. After the eggs have developed into a tiny lobster (about ¾”), they are released back into the ocean. The babies have a much better chance for survival this way. A retired lobster fisherman told us some about the actual work of a fisherman– a great learning experience. The other Oceanarium had many hands-on things. The woman marine biologist (probably in her 70’s) was so interesting and full of information. She had us hold the various sea animals as she explained about them. God’s creation is a marvel to behold! Just the animal world alone is so fascinating! Then add all the wonders of sea and land, water and mineral…. Thank you, God, for this most amazing created world!