Blogs from New Hampshire, United States, North America

Gracie and I awoke to a gorgeous warm day and rented a car. We drove to Durham, NH to see roller derby: Rochester NY's Roc Stars vs New Hampshire’s Skate Free or Die. Brianne skates for the Roc Stars, and this would be the first bout I’d see her in. Her skating name is Harriet Beecher Ass, but she’s known to teammates as Beecher. (Her son Kiernan’s “skater” name is Son of a Beecher.) Gracie navigated well, and even sang some of my favorite songs, so the trip went quickly, and we made it to the UNH campus arena in plenty of time. The bout was exciting and frustrating to watch. I was impressed at Brianne’s nerve and physicality; I see how growing up with older brothers prepared her for this sport. I flinched ... read more

Leaving a home. Leaving everything that I’ve come to believe was safe over the last four years... with the first snow, as if the weather spoke for me. Car packed, I stopped at a local apple orchard that I visited just a month ago, delighting in fresh tart apples and tasting samples of hard cider under a tent which now threatens to cave in on any daring customer. The sun, still low in the morning sky, was just enough to highlight the snowcapped apple trees and weaken the snow’s grip on the surrounding roofs. My journey begins. To where you ask? Who knows. Leaving this fresh snow and facing the southern landscape, I wonder what awaits and how I should feel about this sudden change. Freedom, fear, excitement, remorse? How about I find some morning grub... ... read more

Back in Portsmouth, NH this week. Arrived very late last evening, early morning. I had an excellent flight on Continental/United from Houston via Newark to Boston. Amazingly, our planes left on time and arrived on time in both locations. This is awesome news. This week I am staying at a Homewood Suites by Hilton. Arriving at 12:30am in the morning, I did not know what to expect at this hotel, or any hotel that time of night. Pleasantly surprised the front desk person was friendly as you can be at that time of the morning. This hotel is fairly close the one I stayed at that last week, however this week is much nicer. It is located in a small residential area and plenty of walking/running areas. Early in the morning I was up and running. ... read more

This morning started my week long business trip to Portsmouth, NH. This week will be the longest business trip I have taken since the end of July. Felt a little odd packing, driving to the airport, going through security, and dealing with delays. We were about 40 minutes delayed leaving Houston today due to fog. Once we finally left American Airlines moved quickly to arrive in DFW. I have 20 minutes from when I landed to when my connecting flight to Boston was scheduled to depart. I arrived at the American gate with 10 minutes to spare. Amazingly they mentioned my name at the gate and when I got to the plane, the flight crew welcomed me again by name and told me that they had space for my bags set aside (I was sitting in ... read more

So... I don't leave until October 30th, BUT there is so much to do between now and then. Pack, plan, pack, appointments, church events, winterize, plan.... and the list goes on. Tonight, I'm spending quality time with an old fashion pencil and paper with my trusty old reliable road atlas... of couse it's the trucker version as I need to get my fill of diesel fumes while on this jouney. I'm doing this the economical way.... staying at truck stops, showers will cost about $5... still cheaper than a hotel! Call me crazy, but I can just pull over and sleep away... don't worry I will have my trusted woofer security system with me (aka the dog).... Got my list of truck stops along the way as I don't trust my GPS apps after the VT ... read more

Sunday, July 24, 2011 After having breakfast with my dad, he went to church while I stayed back to work on some unfinished business from the prior week. Once he returned from church, we heading to McDonalds for lunch. The Southwest Salad is awesome. After leaving we drove to Gardner, MA to visit my grandmother, my Dad’s mom. Her health is not well so I thought since I am in the area it behooved me to visit her. She is staying at a beautiful facility called Wachusett Manor. It was so great seeing her, although I think it was a struggle for her to remember me. My grandmother is so blessed to have a daughter (my Dad’s sister) that is caring for her during these difficult times. After visiting my grandmother, I traveled back to Boston ... read more