Bryn travels on, Days 14 & 15

Tuesday, September 4, 2018.  Maureen and Bryn visited Loretta on her farm. She was a school friend of Bryn's mother. Then we stopped at Union College to drop off some of Bret's shirts that were left in the laundry, but he was too busy with new friends and wasn't able to pick them up.  We returned to Maureen's where Bryn packed up the van and packed up her suitcase. Catherine came over and we had a nice quiet evening. This was truly a delightful trip, with such generosity shown by friends and relatives across the country. Garden tomatoes and cucumbers were also a treat.

Wednesday, September 5.

In Schenectady NY, Bret started his classes at Union College. Back home, Randy went to work.  Reed didn't come on the trip as he had been away during the summer, working at a Boy Scout camp in the Sierras.

Bryn did the last-minute preparations for leaving the van, then Maureen drove her to the airport.  On the flight home (Albany - Chicago - LAX), the plane went by Lake Ontario, and flew over Lakes Erie and Michigan - three of the five Great Lakes.

Lake Ontario

Lake Erie

Lake Michigan

Stay tuned, because we'll be going back in October to see Bret for Parents' Weekend, then Randy and Bryn will get in the van and continue this adventure as we head back home.

Bryn & Randy travel on, Day 13

Monday, September 3, Labor Day.  We got up early and left the house at 4 a.m., Bryn drove Randy to the Albany airport so he could fly home.  On the way back, Bryn saw a fox run across the road, the first wild fox she'd ever seen. She regretted not being able to get a photo for iNaturalist.  After getting a nap, Bryn and Maureen got out about town, walking through Central Park (Schenectady's Crown Jewel), with its rose garden, pond, and more.  Then we went to Niskayuna Lion Gate Park, where we walked the bike trail which was the original tow path along the Mohawk River for the Erie Canal. Bryn was snapping away, getting photos of hawks, flowers, dragonflies, wild grapes, and more species for iNaturalist.  Finally, we went to Lock 7 on the Erie Canal. Because it was a holiday, there were quite a few people out in their pleasure boats, and we were able to watch the lock work. Once it drained and the boats went downriver, the next time it filled and the boats went upriver. It is a fascinating piece of history and engineering.

Central Park Rose Garden

Lock gates close and water drains.

Lower water level lets the boats continue downriver.

This boat was raised and continued upriver.

Lock 7 on the Erie Canal, Mohawk River.









Later in the afternoon, we headed to Catherine and Tom's for some swimming and a bbq. And - you guessed it - more cousins!  Kate, Patrick, Jake and Sophia left before Bryn took the family photo - Steve, Matt, Vinny, Cindy, Maureen, Chris, Roz, Philip, Catherine, Tom, Mary Rose, James. And there were more cousins in the area that couldn't make it over that day!  Truly, Bret will be surrounded by relatives during his Union College years.

And after this, we went to see Aunt Elizabeth & Uncle Leo. Beginning at 4 a.m., it was a really long day, but seeing the sights and all of these special people made it a wonderful day.

Bret's Journey, Day 12

Sunday, September 2, 2018.  Bret's roommate moved in, and we were able to meet him and his family. There were talks for parents, lunch for everyone, and an assembly where we were greeted by Union College's president, dean of first-year students, and recruiter. Union College was founded in 1795, and it has some interesting architecture, for more info see
https://www.union.edu/about/history/campus

Left - Memorial Chapel; middle - steeple, St John the Evangelist Church, located across Union Street; right - Nott Tower.

Olin Hall has an observatory. This will be Bret's hangout, as it houses the environmental science, geology, and paleontology departments, collections, and labs.

 While we were driving around New England, Bret canoed around Lake George, went hiking and swimming, and spent each night camping on a different island as part of his pre-orientation Ironman trip. We said bye to Bret, as he joins the Union College Class of 2022. He continues with his orientation tonight and for the next two days, and then starts classes on Wednesday, September 5. Tonight we had a quiet dinner at Maureen's house. We prepped the van, and Randy packed to fly out.

Bryn & Randy travel on, Day 11

Saturday, September 1.  Randy went off to deal with maintenance on the van's tires.  Bryn joined cousins Catherine and Maureen and went to the festival at the Iroquois Indian Museum at Howest Caves.  https://www.iroquoismuseum.org/festivals  We enjoyed talking to the artists, seeing the exhibits, watching the Sky family dancers and the storyteller.

 
 That night, we had pizza at Maureen's and were joined by even more cousins.
Having many cousins in the area is one of the things Bryn likes about Union College.

Bryn & Randy travel on, Day 10

Friday August 31. We started off from Lawrence, Massachusetts, early morning as usual, but westward, so far unusual for this trip. And a little bit south, until we crossed the border into Woonsocket, Rhode Island. While Randy figured out the path, Bryn took a few photos for iNaturalist. This is the crowdsourcing, world-wide natural history site used by Bret on his Eagle Scout project. Bryn has decided to continue photographing specimens with the goal of making 1,000 observations. We had a leisurely drive through the edge of Rhone Island, then went through to Union, CT, where we stopped at Bigelow Hollow State Park for a lakeside picnic lunch. The area was filled with mushrooms, so Bryn had a field day adding to her iNaturalist species count.

Later we arrived back near Schenectady, NY, where we had another fun dinner with more cousins.

 

We forgot to mention yesterday's lunch, we ate at the Old Hoosick Tavern in Hoosick, NY. The food was great and the atmosphere was fun. The big red bus makes sure you can't miss it on Route 7. Just like home - Denny's, Sunkist, and L.A. signs.