...was another casual day. We got to drive the Miata again. This time we took it to another cousin's house. The last two times we came to Massachusetts Mike has tried to get in touch with his cousin, Patrick. Both times were unsuccessful. Third time's a charm? We drove to his house (or what we hoped was still his house), Mike went to the door and knocked, one dog barked, the other just looked out the window, nobody answered. Three strikes, you're out? This time we came prepared; we brought paper and a pencil. Mike left a brief note to Patrick asking him to call. We drove around a bit more before heading back to base camp. Later in the afternoon Kathy (cousin), Mike and I drove to Aunt Mary Jane and Uncle Lenny's house for ... read more

...came in like a lamb and left like a lion. Mike's sister Kathy came over to pick us up for more visiting. We drove to visit some Houlihan cousins (Mike and Kathy's mom's side of the family). Lois is one of Jeanette's nieces. She and her husband Henry live in a large, very well-kept 55 and older mobile home park. Their daughter Cathy was there to visit as well. Lois had recently had a repeat knee replacement surgery so she was stuck in her chair with her leg propped up. She was scheduled for physical therapy too soon after the first surgery so it messed everything up. After the second surgery her doctor told her not to do anything until he specifically told her himself. With daytime television not being what it used to be, she ... read more

...was flashy and yummy. Kathleen recently acquired a Mazda Miata and has been forcing Mike and I to drive it around town. Yes, Mike drives and I'm along for the ride. It's a fun little ride! It's been a while since I've been in a car that made me feel like my butt was scraping the ground like a dog with worms. Quite a difference from the truck we've been in for the past three weeks. Tomorrow there's a family get-together at Bob's house so Mike and I went over today (in the Miata) to help him set up a not-so-easy-up. It's actually his fire fly--a tent he puts up over his campfire when he goes out on a Civil War Reenactment weekend. We set up some tables for all the food, washed the dead spiders ... read more

...was a very relaxing, normal kind of day. We took a bike ride to the Nemasket Hill Cemetery where Uncle Bob and Aunt Marion are resting and Kathy, Carol and Bob volunteer their time maintaining the grounds and seeing to the day-to-day operations. The cemetery is not owned or operated by the city, county or state. The families of the loved ones buried there are ultimately responsibly for the upkeep of their individual plots, but those three Soderbom children along with the other members of the Board of Trustees make sure the overall maintenance happens whether other families are involved or not. They not only mow and rake the grounds, but they work to find markers that have long-since been swallowed by the earth. After our ride through the cemetery, we continued down the road to ... read more

...started in Maryland and ended in Connecticut. We were in five states today: Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York and Connecticut. Today's driving was another adventure. The website I use to plot our course lets me know if there are any toll roads on the route I've chosen. I knew once we got to this area that would become an issue. Yesterday as I was reviewing our driving directions I discovered that yes, we would have one stretch of interstate requiring a toll. I did a little digging to see just how much that toll would be. Almost $25! Yeah...no. I re-routed to see if I could find another way across the Hudson River. I looked north and found a smaller highway that, according to the information I found regarding the bridge, had toll that was ... read more