September 12 finds us on I-40 traveling from Knoxville to Nashville. Our summer-fall travels are ending and we will be at home before evening.
From Schenectady, NY and a wonderful 4days with our Florida winter park friend, Elsa and her doggies Katie and Barney, we began to fall south for real. Our second two day stop was in Winchester, VA at Candy Hill Campground. We first stopped here in 1981 on our way home from CT and a month for Roxie to learn Slingerland Multisensory training to teach dyslexic children.
The remainder of our trip was spent visiting family. We spend Labor Day at Americamps Campground, Richmond,VA….almost in the middle of frantic I-95. We visited with Jim and Carolyn Marston one morning.
We had a lot of time with our sis/law Sharon in her one year old townhome. It gave us a good feeling to see her in such a comfortable home. Her son Chris and family visited us on Sunday. Our great nieces have just graduated from home school. Susie and Chris have very mature daughters. See slideshow of Richmond Marstons.
From Richmond we dropped into East TN to visit with Charles’s cousins Katherine McNeil, husband Paul, and Ruth Morgan. Paul Mc Neil and Ruth’s son Bill completed the family get together. One afternoon and evening will provide us with many memories. Old Brick is the1804 home where Ruth now lives. Gun powder for the War of 1812 was made there and floated to New Orleans.
Katherine and Paul McNeil built “new brick” on the property ten years ago.Both homes have total back sides of windows that let us feast our eyes on the beautiful Douglas Lake that swallowed up the French Broad River when TVA built the dam years ago.The ancestral home was our home for one month in 1964 while we waited possession of our home in Dandridge¸TN. Charles had taken his first teaching job. Our son was born in October. See slideshow: Old Brick, Noe's, Dandridge, TN
While in Dandridge we also visited with Jane and Danny Noe. Jane’s folks were instrumental in getting a band director to Dandridge. Jane was in that first band. Her parent’s are now gone and we want the connection to remain. Janie and Danny live in the family home with a much loved view of Douglas Lake. See slideshow: Old Brick, Noe's, Dandridge.
A friend in Nashvile peeked our interest in Charles’s ancestry in Dandridge. Here he found Blackburns, Rankins and her relatives, Inmans.
As we roll we have one last fuel fill up before landing at home. We will reclaim the yard; retrieve the house plants from a special neighbor, and dust the cobwebs away after a two month vacation from them. In just a month we will be off to Chattanooga, TN and a week of Maestros at a fun week of Music Camp.
When we return in late October we will encourage fall in our trees. Eventually those leaves will give in and float down.. Charles will mulch them in time for us to arrive in Florida for the winter.
It is always fun to have you along. We love to hear from you.
Our travels continue after getting our kayak wet in Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. Our next long term stay was in Colchester, VT about 10 miles out of Burlington, VT. To get here we stopped one night at Chateaguay, NY which is about 2 miles out of Canada. We got to experience prehistoric living where there was no cell connection for our phones or the aircard that permits Internet access! The satellite would not work and about half of the few TV stations were speaking French. Exactly none of us was comprehending.
We spent a week in Colchester, VT at Lone Pines Campsites. Here we put down roots, shopped for food and got hair care. Charles got a cut and Roxie got a long overdue perm. We floated on Lake Champlain and biked the wonderful bike paths. From your seat or your feet you see so much. (See slideshow, side bar Burlington, VT.)
We traveled a grand 7 miles on Aug. 14- to Aug.23 to Essex Junction, VT for a FMCA northeast rally. FMCA The draw was another Frustrated Maestro event to practice, and perform for those 500+coaches attending.
The she of the family got to attend two seminars presented by www.geeksontour . It was grand to have more information on Picasa 3 and Google Earth Maps from these knowledgeable teachers. We loved afternoon walks and visiting with 3 greyhounds. Greyhound owners have a tight bond. (See side show, side bar, Maestros perform..Essex Junction, VT)
The trombone went back to rest in the closet and we made our way towards Concord, NH and brother Robin and family. The motor home gulped H2O along with a diesel fill up and we bucked our way to Littleton, NH. A call to the Cummins trouble help line and a live being helped identify the source. Crazy Horse campground managers recommended A Notch Above garage just 3 miles away. Here filters were changed and an additive added. Living on the road is just easy.
While in Concord, NH we had time to visit family and enjoy Mile Away Campground returning for our 6th visit since 1995.
Our next destination was a return visit to visit Alan and Evy Dean in Durham,CT. We met Deans in 1981 when we camped a month at Little City Campground in Higganum, CT. Roxie was there to travel to Cheshire, CT for her first Slingerland Training to teach dyslexic students. The family was there to play. Roxie thought her “play” was the best.
The friendship with Deans has connections through RVing and we have visited each other many times. Deans have many interests. Evy is known for her baking and we left with a tasty treat. She also knits. Alan sews, quilts, and is almost finished restoring a’64 Mustang. It should be mentioned that he built their house in1981! Oh yes, we left with their garden tomatoes. (See slideshow, Deans in Durham, CT)
Following the CT visit we arrived in Schenectady, NY and had a grand visit with FL friend Elsa Sakacs and doggies Katie and Barney. Our stay was on the Mohawk River at Aarowhead Marina and RV Campground. Our drives to visit were through downtown Schenectady. We had time to cook, work on computer issues, visit Lock 7 on the Erie Canal on theMohawk and walk to the golf course. At the course we saw the beautiful garden area in memory of Elsa’s husband who left us there years ago. Oh yes….Elsa took Roxie to the only two story Walmart located in Albany. Level one was in the basement and escalators and elevators took us to a huge grocery store. Elsa and Charles enjoyed an afternoon of organ trombone duets while Roxie called Fauberts in Ontario.
We are falling south today, September 2, 2009. We will spend Labor Day weekend with Marston family in the Richmond, VA area. On Tuesday, we will continue our decent to TN for a stop in Dandridge near Knoxville. This will give us time with Marston connection cousins and friends in the town we began our life in as a family with a baby boy!
We will be back to let you know of this leg of the trip which will land us at home in mid September.
