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Published: October 1st 2010
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The End of the Cousin Tour...
Or: Max and John's Grand Twenty-Eight Day Tour of 2 Countries, 2 Provinces, 14 States, and 1 District
Home again to loads of laundry, cats who are glad to see us but pretty mad, un-packing and rearranging, phone messages, and a box of mail. John found Blueberry Ale at Bev Mo and, while not as good as the Massachusetts brand, it brought back so many memories. There are so many people and places to miss, so many things to think about in retrospect, and so many cousins, a nephew and grand-nephew to add to our Christmas card list. As always with vacation, returning to the comforts and familiarity of home is welcome but bitter sweet.
For both of us, it was important to see the country, which we now have, from coast to coast. It was also important to walk the history of our country, and walk it we did! Along the way we met great people who were like us out to see the US. It is encouraging that our citizens are now thinking that a vacation is not just an island get-away but a chance to learn and experience what we
thought we learned in school. As John and I were walking down the first city street still in existence in the US, Plymouth's Leiden Street, we were wondering what it would have been like to grow up there: How would it shape you knowing that you were riding your bicycle over streets where our earliest succesful colony was built, or that the hill you were playing on was the site of the secret night burials of the first 54 colonists? Would you dare each other to climb up to Burial Hill on Halloween? We are pretty sure that all mothers told their children, "I don't care what they're like, be nice to those Winslow kids." Probably like most kids, it was not a big deal, but perhaps for some.....
And in my seemingly unstoppable quest for knowledge, Caitlin and I are off to England in a few weeks. John will stay home and work, collecting those free night hotel points that made this trip possible. (Just a little bit longer and John gets to retire, which means the end of those luxury up-grades. Travel will be changing for us in the future.) England is also a bribe: when we
eventually travel to Europe and the UK, I will have had a chance to at least begin my English research so that we can concentrate on John's research in Ireland--with perhaps some Neolithic/Bronze Age stops on the Orkney Islands and at Stonehenge. I still think that John's research will be standing in a pub in Cork and calling out, "Does anybody know of a John Kennedy? Immigrated to New York in the 1850's?" I'll bet for a pint or two he will be inheriting lots of cousins in Ireland.
What will England bring for Max and Caitlin later in October? We'll try to keep you posted....
Thanks for travelling along with us; we have enjoyed your company.
Love,
Max and John
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Jennifer
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Welcome back!
I have enjoyed reading about your latest travel adventures. The next cycle should be very interesting as well.