Karen and I drove down from Beverly to Washington DC for ALS Advocacy days, May 10-12. We went down on Thursday the 8th and stayed with our old friends Andrea and Jim in Chantilly VA. On Friday while they were at work we visited the new Smithsonian Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly at Dulles Airport. What a remarkable display of aviation history. The building opened in 2003, and provides enough space for the Smithsonian to display the thousands of aviation and space artifacts that cannot be exhibited on the National Mall. The building is an impressive size in the shape of a T and was named in honor of its major donor, and features the large Boeing Aviation Hangar in which aircraft are displayed on three levels. Visitors can walk among aircraft and small ... read more

On Friday April 26 we visited the Blithwold Mansion and gardens in Bristol Rhode Island. The 70 acre former seaside summerhouse of coal magnate, Augustus Van Wickle and his wife Bessie, the house is now open to the pubic was celebrating “Daffodil Days”. The grounds and gardens were in very good condition. The green house had a nice variety of plants. We were experiencing the first warm day we’d had this spring and the temperature was in the 70’s. What a great day to spend visiting such a great garden and finally spring is here in New England. The “self guided” tour of the house is helpful and lets you do your viewing at your own pace. They offer an afternoon tea at two sittings each afternoon for $10. This was a nice relaxing way to ... read more

On a clear very cold February day Tommy, Jim, Scott and myself went up Mt. Washington auto road in one of the Great Glen Snow Cats. The “Cats” are these great specially equipped four track vans for driving in snow. We rode on the snow pack up above the tree line on the auto road that in summer goes to the summit of Mt. Washington. At times we were driving up the road on over 8 feet of packed snow. Unfortunately we were unable to get any clear views of the top of the mountain on our ride up because of a series snow squalls. We weren't able to drive to the summit of the mountain but did get above the tree line just above 4000 feet in elevation. Rich our driver was a real bonus, ... read more

We made our annual pilgrimage to the 191st Topsfield Fair. This is America’s oldest agricultural fair presented by the Essex County Agricultural Society. Depending on your involvement the fair is fresh and new every year or it’s exactly the same as last year. I participate in the fair every year in the competition as an exhibitor. For those of us who exhibit our art, animals, plants, vegetables or tractors this is a new and exciting fair every year. If your one of the folks who just wants to get to the midway its the same old fair every year. Here are some of the images from the fair.... read more

Labor Day we checked out of the Abigail Hotel in Victoria and headed for the Ferry that took us from Nanaimmo to Horseshoe Bay in West Vancouver. The ride to Whistler was an 80-mile winding mountain road that is under construction in anticipation of the 2010 Winter Olympics. We checked into our room at the Delta Whistler Village Suites and decided to upgrade to a suite. We had very comfortable accommodations with a small kitchen-living area and separate bedroom. Whistler Village is right at the base of the mountain with fabulous shopping opportunities, many restaurants, hotels, condos and time-shares. It’s look is very European, a village with all the services; police, fire, schools and a library right there. We took in the sights and the incredible views of the mountains. Mountain biking is very big here ... read more