Happy Thanksgiving to All! We are happily ensconsed at Paul's parents' home in Albany, NY where it is warm inside, but very cold outside. One way to keep warm is to RAKE LEAVES! What fun we had raking with Charles; luckily for us he had extra rakes...probably a leftover from Paul's days at home. All leaves are collected and put into paper bags and left curbside. The city picks them up on garbage days. Joan & Charles took us on the Albany Grand Tour which included a trip to the fabulous state museum with its 9-11 exhibit (which Lexie & I [View Full Entry]

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Dear Friends, Romans, & Family Members, With fond memories of a Sweet (Suite) visit with the Svihuses, we left Maine for Brookline, New Hampshire where we had stayed previously and we knew it was still open. Got back into our Road Routine. We then left for New York, crossing Massachusetts on Highway 2 going to New York. It was a beautiful drive...another scenic highway through The Berkshires at their in-between seasons. We arrived in Binghamton, NY as we knew that this campground was still open. Again no water hookups, but electricity is so welcome as then we have heat without running [View Full Entry]

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Dear Friends & Family, What a joy it was to see 3 of the Svihuses step out of the elevator! The only joy that was missing was seeing Dylan, but football playoffs must come first when the team is counting on you, Mr. Snap. CHS will play Scotts Valley on Saturday next...good luck! We spent so much time getting caught up on things. It sounds like all is well at home. Jenn has planned Thanksgiving and I gave her "The Recipe" for creamed onions. We will missed being with the whole family, but are delighted to be here with Abby where [View Full Entry]

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Dear Readers, This will be our last night camping in Maine. Tomorrow we'll leave for Portland where we shall meet up with the 3 J's of the Svihus Family. Naturally we are excited to see them live and in person. I think I can safely say we are also excited about staying in a hotel for 3 nights: more warmth, more room in the bed, more hot showers, more restaurant food, more conversation, more sites to see, more boats to look at... This Colonial Mast campground has been very nice and the family who runs it are very helpful. We are [View Full Entry]

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Dear Family & Friends in Warmer Places, There is frost on the pumpkin and ice on the rain puddles. We were camped in Brookline, NH for 3 nights which was very nice & on a pond and beyond, a lake. We explored many old towns like Merrimac, Amherst, Nashua, etc. which all were founded 1680, 1730, 1803 etc. Being a native CA gal; that's old. We have really loved NH and were delighted to be back Do you know what the road sign says when you are coming into a populated area? "THICKLY SETTLED" It reminds me of some of those [View Full Entry]

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Dear People, Well Daylight Savings Time is now over and although blue skies woke us up this morning, it is definitely on the chilly side. No more rain as the residue from Noel passed in a day. The campground has turned off the water, but we still have power. Showers & hot water are available in the bathroom and fresh water can be had from a long hose in the men's bathroom so we can fill up. Yesterday was a good day to relax and watch the rain come down. We have been reading a lot; I'll submit a reading list [View Full Entry]

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Dear Watchers of the Blog, If you thought I was raving about Mystic Seaport, wait 'til you hear me on the subject of Essex! This is such a perfect New England town. It only has 1 traffic light, a roundabout, and lovely old, very old homes. Plus, it is situated on the Connecticut River and was a major boat building port. It was here that the British landed and burned all 25 boats that were docked or being built for privateers. These privateers were enlisted to aid the defense of our young country in the War of 1812. We took a [View Full Entry]

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Dear Faithful Followers of the Foliage Blog, Today I will not be talking about fall foliage. We have shifted gears (sails?) and have fallen in love with Mystic Seaport. The aquarium is nice; it was fun watching 3 Beluga whales at feeding time and California sea lions showing off how intelligent they are, but when you compare it to our own Monterey Aquarium...it's not a "fluke" that we're #1. But, the historical Mystic Seaport is a true treasure of an era so important in our country's development. It's much larger than I thought it would be and the grounds are lovely [View Full Entry]

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Dear Family, Friends, and Fans, We have been motoring around Massachusetts (so I will finally learn how to spell it) and loving it. The leaves are still colorful but are being blown right off the trees. After enjoying our days on Cape Cod, we headed to Foxboro...hoping that someone would give us free tickets to the Pats vs. Skins game. No one took pity on the California Condor, but it is a very modern arena with no end zone seating. We couldn't get in at the campground there due to a big Halloween Todo, so we went to nearby Bellingham which [View Full Entry]

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A Blog from the Bog as we spend our 3rd night on Cape Cod. We walked along an old cranberry bog in a light sprinkle today. We shopped a bit in Brewster and Dennis. Saw the Sesuit Harbor where all boats must be out of the water by Nov. 1. They stack them up 3 boats high on metal racks (like car carriers) and put shrink wrap around them to winterize. We walked on the sand so Timmy could put his paws into the Atlantic Ocean, but you all know Timmy, he hates to get his paws wet. Shopkeepers are very [View Full Entry]

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