Tomorrow is the big day

---

Geo: 38.8921, -77.0241

The bags are packed and we are ready to go. After a week in West Dover, VT, we are headed for JFK tomorrow. We'll catch the sunrise somewhere over the Pacific and be in Munich for breakfast. It will be either a late lunch or early dinner in Ankara. I found what looked like a pretty cool boutique hotel in Ankara, but decided against staying there because we would have had to split into two rooms. It's just a hunch, but I think the disorientation from the plane trip and the strangeness of a new country are enough to tackle without having to sleep in a room away from Mom. So I decided to go with an American hotel chain that let me book four of us into a room with two (iki--Turkish for two) twin beds. I'm going to bring along an air mattress to make sure we all have somewhere to sleep. Of course, after a night on two planes, I think we'll all probably sleep very well. Radisson SAS, here we come. The most challenging part of the trip should come at the end. When we arrive in Ankara, we will be about 33 km north of the city and have to get a shuttle bus into the city center and then, I think, a taxi to the hotel.

We have probably 5 or so hours at JFK tomorrow before we take-off, so if I can get an internet connection that is not outrageously overpriced, I'll post again with the kids from there.

---

Photos

Alex enjoying a mountain pool
I don't think I ever learned the name of the trail or park that we went to on Tuesday. There was a 2 mile, fairly flat hike over an old railroad bed, followed by a moderate 1-mile uphill hiking trail that led to a nice waterfall with a pool suitable for swimming. If I dig up the name, I'll edit the post. Needless to say, the hike exhausted Alex, but not enough to keep him from the pool.

Day at the Harriman Reservoir
Friday was a little nippy, but the weather was nice and we spent a good chunk of the day playing in and around the water at this reservoir in southern Vermont. The kids had a great time after we made them go against their collective will.

Visit to Smith College
On our drive up Sunday we stopped in Northampton for nostalgia and some ice cream from Herrell's. The kids have been to Notre Dame quite a bit, but this was their first time at Smith. They were pretty tolerant of my need to show them around and point at things. Here we are in front of college hall. The college is gutting the dining room in my old house (Chapin), but I have faith that there will be improvements. I think I may still have a spoon or two from the old dining room...