Bret's Journey - Bryn & Randy travel on, Day 9

New England.  When we were dating, Randy mentioned that some day he would like to get a camper van and travel to all 48 lower states.  We got the van in December 2008 and started visiting states in the summer of 2009.  So far on this trip, Bret's College Journey, the new states added were Iowa and Missouri.  Today we ticked off a couple more new states for the van - New Hampshire and Maine.  In all, today was a 5 state day - NY, VT, NY, ME, MA.  The weather was beautiful as we headed out for our last eastward-driving day. Despite wearing 50 block sunscreen every day, and comments from others that one can't get sunburned through a car window, Bryn has had a perpetual sunburn on this trip.  We tried to stay off of the interstate today and see some of the quaint towns and sites.

Vermont's Green Mountains

Randy was hoping to find a farm stand and get some maple syrup.  We spotted a sign and followed a winding dirt road for awhile, wondering if we shoulda bought a squirrel.  We were delighted to find an honor-system farm stand with lots of varieties of fresh produce, pick-your-own berries, and various grades of maple syrup in different sized jugs.  Then we met Farmer Dan, learned a little about syrup production, and saw the boiling shed. We didn't buy a squirrel but happily have some bit of maple goodness to bring home.

Photos: maple syrup boiling shed; roadside vegetation in New Hampshire. Some trees are already starting to turn colors, but I wasn't able to get any good photos of the red and orange leaves.

In Maine, we went to the coast and Warren's for a lobster dinner, oh so yummy. We were on the bay, this was the easternmost point on this vacation.

Finally, we drove by the USS Albacore Submarine before driving to Massachusetts and our hotel. It was different not having Bret with us to share the driving and enjoy the trip; we hope he's having a good time and enjoying today's great weather.

Bret's Journey to College - Day 8

Union Move-In Day!  The move went surprisingly easily, with student athletes quickly and easily carrying Bret's things in from the van.  Bret was surprised to see all of the license plates - another California, a Florida, a North Dakota, and a Texas plate stood out among the many New England states. He was moved in in no time at all, then he packed up the backpack borrowed from a cousin, then went off to get his student ID and get ready for his pre-orientation trip:  The Ironman canoeing, hiking, and camping trip to some of the islands on Lake George in the nearby Adirondack Mountains.  Bryn & Randy left Bret chatting with a new friend, another guy with a backpack.

.Nott Tower, Union College's central landmark, designed by Edward Potter.

Settled in; the room is surprisingly big due to the curved outer wall; there is more space and 2 closets to right of the dresser.

Webster Dorm; Bret's window is behind this car.

Bryn and Randy returned to Maureen's for a swim and a relaxing afternoon.  Later we joined more cousins for dinner at Water's Edge Lighthouse on the Mohawk River: Catherine, Tom, Steve, Joy, Maureen.  Why didn't we think of taking a photo??  We had rain that night and are curious to see if Bret had rain; he was set with a rain suit and dry bag, and with his scout training, we're sure he was adequately prepared for his Adirondack adventure.

Bret's Journey to College - Day 7

New York and a new New Yorker.  We were up and out of Rochester way too early, photo of Bryn and Lynn and her house. 
We headed west to Rome, NY, where we visited family sites: the house my grandfather built and father lived in, the cemetery, and Nora's Candy - unfortunately this landmark was closed for the day, but we could buy the famous Turkey Joints chocolate at the local Price Chopper on Black River Blvd.

We arrived at cousin Maureen's house in Schenectady in the late afternoon, then joined Aunt Elizabeth and more cousins - Mark, Cindy, and Will at the homestead for dinner, my aunt and uncle's house which was turned into Scarborough's Restaurant. Bret highly recommends the Mac & Cheese Cordon Bleu.

Bret-s Journey to College - Day 6

New York Day. Today we went through 3 states, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York. We stopped in Cleveland Ohio to have lunch with Randy's former coworker and friend Matt. Then through Pennsylvania, with a glimpse of Lake Erie, and then entered New York State, Bret's new home.  We arrived in Rochester and met cousins Lynn and Tim. We went to a German restaurant for dinner, then relaxing and chatting into the night at their house. Tim very thoughtfully gave Bret a filled tool box, a college gift for him to use in his dorm.

With Lynn in Rochester

NEW YORK!!

Thanks for the tools, Tim and Lynn!

Randy with Matt, the star of Ohio

Bret's Journey to College - Day 5

"Midwest" Day - after driving east for 5 days, we arrived in the Midwest.  We started in Missouri, crossed the Mississippi River, and arrived in Illinois, which looked like a lot of cornfields, and then on to Indiana, which looked like a lot more cornfields.  Our fourth state was Ohio, which is also filled with cornfields, but I didn't take any photos of them yet.

Illinois above, Indiana below

We arrived in Indianapolis, where a nice lady offered us zucchini from her garden. We declined the fresh produce, and instead let her buy us lunch downtown.  The visit was way too short with our friend Cathy.  Finally, we drove to Columbus OH, and settled into our hotel just before a big thunderstorm.

Bret's Journey to College - Day 4

Tourist Day. We had a leisurely breakfast followed by a visit to the Nebraska State Museum, on the University of Nebraska campus, which opened at 9:30 a.m.  Bryn liked seeing the petroglyph of turkey tracks outside, and Bret was dwarfed by the bronze mammoth sculpture. Inside, the Hall of Elephants houses a huge collection of proboscidians, including Archie, the biggest mammoth skeleton in the world.  Randy liked the eryops, while Bret liked the gomphotheres. 

Then we crossed the Missouri River and entered Iowa, a new state for all of us.  After cutting across Iowa's southwest corner, we arrived in Missouri, a new state for Bryn and Bret.  Missouri was green, hot, and lovely with rolling hills and a lot of cornfields.  We arrived at our hotel in Hannibal with time to relax and change before heading to the Mississippi River.  We boarded the Mark Twain paddleboat and had a dinner cruise.  A lovely evening.

Bret's Journey to College - Day 3

Great Plains Day.  Bye-bye to Elaine and Don as they headed off to a Wyoming fire tower and we headed eastward. We passed the Pawnee National Grassland (photo below), then passed into Nebraska where we saw a lot of cornfields.  We stopped in Kearney, photos of Bret by the Purple Heart Trail and Bryn by the Platte River. We stopped in capital city Lincoln for dinner, a swim, and some blogging.

Bret's Journey to College - Day 2

Rocky Mountain Day. A big thunderstorm woke us up at 4 a.m. in Grand Junction. We were able to go back to sleep, then up and in the van at 8 heading to see cousins.  We crossed the Rocky Mountains, listening to John Denver's Rocky Mountain Collection. It was a beautiful day, millions of black-eyed susan flowers ran along the miles of I-70, there were wildflowers, beaver dams, and deer.  Then just before Vail, the road was closed due to a crash, so we were parked on I-70 for awhile. During this time, we were entertained by a cluster of what we think were eagles, 15 of them, they were definitely large raptors.   Then the road was opened and we were only an hour late meeting Vanya and Shawn at the Golden Historical Museum.  We had the short curator's walk-through then went to lunch at Cafe 13, then had a peek at Clear Creek, the source of water used for Coors beer.

After bidding a fond farewell, we headed to Fort Collins to stay with Elaine and Don.  Italian dinner in Loveland then chatting late into the night.  A great day.

Bret's Journey to College - Day 1

The journey has begun:  Bret is off to college, which makes a great excuse for another road trip.  Union College, Schenectady, NY. He's due to move in one week from now, so it's a pretty straight shot out, with quick visits with family and friends where possible.

Day 1:  Desert Day.  6 am departure, good-bye to Reed who will be staying home and starting school next week. Today was a five state day: CA, NV, AZ, UT, CO.  A long driving day, arriving in Grand Junction CO at 8 pm.  Lunch stop at the great Moapa Paiute Travel Plaza, between Las Vegas and the Valley of Fire. Bret took a turn driving, the photo was taken in the St. George area; we reminisced about the fine dinosaur footprints museum we visited years ago, but there wasn't time to see it again today. Bryn is at a view stop at San Rafael Reef in UT.