Ron and Sally Jo Blog

August 2013 began with packing up Michelle’s apartment, storing her things, and saying good-by as she set off across country in her 1990 Honda Civic.   A few days later we set off in the opposite direction.  We stopped in East Hartford spending an afternoon at the playground with Lucy and setting up our tent.

The next day we went to Boston airport to pick up our good friends from Zwolle, Netherlands.  We first met Pieter and Gerdien exactly 40 years ago in Blantyre, Malawi, Africa.  We lived on the same compound for three years and spent much time together.  Twenty years ago they came to Goshen to see us.  Over the years we have been to their home (and boat) many times.

 We all returned to East Hartford.  We played with Lucy, went to a nearby park, and talked.  Lucy took very little time in warming up to Gerdien and Pieter.  All seven of us then travelled to J & C’s land in Vermont.  We all loved the woods, the water, and generally just “hanging out.”

 The Kamstras and us left Vermont, crossed, Lake Champlain by ferry, wandered through the Adirondacks, and spent the night with a Mennonite-Your-Way family on a farm.  Then on to Scottdale where we reconnected with Jack and Ruth who had also been in Malawi during the same time.  (We forgot to take photos!)  And then to Goshen.

 During the week in Goshen, Erv and Marian came to spend several nights.  We first learned to know them in Kenya; they were in Zambia at the time we all were in Malawi.  Maynard and Hilda even came one evening.  (Another couple from Malawi-Zambia days)  Fun times!  During the week we took a number of bike rides, including riding to Oxbow for a picnic and one time to Shipshewana.  Unfortunately, we didn’t take any photos.  We did a lot of walking, including to the dam and along the Millrace (several times), part of the Pumpkinvine Trail, and in Chain of Lakes.  And of course, there was a lot of talking and laughing.

 All in all, August was filled with much fun and many memories.

We spent a week with Lucy and Jessica in Burlington,VT as Jessica had been asked to do the costumes for a show (“Fiddler on the Roof”) at St Michaels Stage.  We took Lucy to Sheldon Farms, ECHO Lake Aquarium and Science Center, Burlington’s Farmer’s Market, and the Burlington lake shore.  We played games, did art projects, and quietly read—sometimes.

Sheldon Farms:  “In 1886, Dr. William Seward and Lila Vanderbilt Webb began acquiring farmland on the shores of Lake Champlain to create a model agricultural estate. Landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, Sr. created conceptual designs for the landscape. Prominent architect Robert H. Robertson designed four major buildings.  …  By the early 1900s, the Webb’s 3,800-acre farm was renowned for its innovative practices, hackney horse breeding enterprise, and grand family residence. … The heyday was short-lived. Beginning around 1910, farming operations and other activities began to shrink. …  Shelburne Farms began a rebirth in 1972 when family descendants founded a nonprofit organization of the same name, dedicated to conservation education.  For 40 years the organization has offered education opportunities for children of all ages to learn abut sustainability and their connections to the natural and agricultural world … In 2001 the property became a National Historical Landmark.”

“ECHO Lake Aquarium and Science Center is a [large] …facility.  Founded in 2003 ECHO welcomes more than 150,000 visitors annually [and has] interactive exhibits and science education programs that include over 70 species of fish, amphibians, invertebrates, and reptiles.”  Lucy enjoyed the fish and the dinosaurs but REALLY enjoyed the interactive play area.”

We recently spent time with Lucy while Jessica was costume designer for “The Importance of Being Earnest” at Northern Stage in White River Junction, Vermont.  Sally Jo traveled by train and spent one week with Lucy and Jessica before Ron drove out to spend the second week.  What a fun two weeks!

When Sally Jo first arrived at the condo where Jessica and Lucy were staying there was a fair amount of snow on the ground.  Since Sally Jo did not have a car, she and Lucy read, did “art”, “played,” and explored the small area around the condo.

The weekend that Ron arrived, Jessica had a day off and we all explored Quechee Gorge.  The scenery was beautiful but the trail was very icy.  It made for very slow and careful hiking.

Other days Lucy, Ron, and Sally Jo visited Billings Farm near Woodstock, King Arthur Flour near Norwich, the railway station in White River Junction, Montshire Museum of Science near Norwich, and VINS; Vermont Institute of Natural Science near Quechee.  We saw many large raptors at VINS but realize that we have no photos because it was COLD and we didn’t spend much time outside!

The big snowstorm came through the night (Friday) before we were to leave.  We received only about 12-15 inches of snow where we were in Vermont.  The road crews were very efficient and we were able to leave by mid-morning Saturday.  We had beautiful scenery as we drove through Vermont and upstate New York.  We were disappointed to return to Goshen and find no snow!

Mackinaw

We began our trip by heading north spending our first night in Mackinaw City.