Home leave in the Adirondacks

North America » United States
August 2nd 1986

Published: September 27th 2011

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Home and Away

Linda and Tamara on the plane to the States

This would be our second home leave after moving to Brussels. This would be first time that Tamara, who was born on 26 January, would see the rest of her family in the States.

She had met her grandmothers; both Linda and my Mom's right after she was born, as they had come in sequential visits to help Linda recover from walking pneumonia shortly after Tamara was born. Tamara had seen Uncle Tom in April on our visit to England with him. Tamara had seen her Aunt Carol who had moved to Brussels and was living with us. Now she would see the rest of her uncles and aunts and cousins.

2 August 1986 Saturday. We flew into Washington Dulles and stayed with friends Jim and Linda who had been co-sponsors of the senior high young peoples group at our church. We were pretty tired so just spent the rest of the evening having dinner and conversation before turning in early.

3 August 1986 Sunday. We attended our previous church with Jim and Linda. On the way back to their home we saw some newly constructed Victorian homes the next street over from them. We went to see

Bob hugging Tamara infront of the covered bridge at McConnell's Mills State Park

them, and wished that some day we could live in one of those houses. Little did we know that nine years later, our wish would come true when we moved back to Virginia. That evening Jim and Linda invited my cousin, Larry and his wife Nancy over for dinner. It was great to see them again.

3 - 14 August 1986 Monday through Thursday of the following week. We drove to New Castle PA to Linda's Mom's home, where we would spend the next week visiting with all the relatives in that area, and with Buz and Kathy.

15 August 1985 Friday. We drove to Allegany State Park in New York state where Linda had spent many summers camping with her family. We revisited many of the spots where she had fond memories. Then we drove to the Finger Lakes area where we spent the night in Bath.

16 August Saturday. We drove over to Watkins Glen to see the falls, and then north along Seneca Lake to Geneva and beyond whre we caught the New York Thruway to I-81 and then north to the Adirondacks. We got off at Watertown and headed east through Tupper Lake

Linda's mom with Tamara at McConnell's Mills State Park

and Sarnac Lake before arriving at our camp on a lake. There we met up with my Mom and Dad, my sister Sue, and her husband Rob and kids Brendan and Alyssa, and with my sister Judy, and her husband David and their kids Ryan, Kristen and Graham. The only one missing from my side of the family for this reunion was Carol who had stayed behind in Brussels.

17 - 22 August 1986 Sunday through Friday. That week we enjoyed nature; swimming, hiking and canoeing.

During one of the more strenuous hikes, Dad had some chest pains, but didn't mention it to us. He just asked to take more breaks on the way up and down the mountain. This was typical of him; he never complained of anything. We later found out that he had a slight heart attack, a further deterioration of his health that had begun with his diagnosis of high blood pressure in mid-1984.

One day we drove over to Lake Champlain, via Lake Placid, and visited Fort Ticonderoga, which was the site of several battles during the American Revolutionary War.

The last day was Mom's birthday, which provided the high point

Marlan, Ashley, and Jonathan at McConnell's Mills State Park

of the week. She had a birthday cake with almost all her family there to help celebrate.

23 August 1986 Saturday. We drove south and then east crossing over into western Massachusetts, where we caught Route 7 south. Our first stop was the Shaker Village, a religious colony who believed in simplicity. They also didn't believe in marriage, so it didn't take time for the sect to die out.

We continued south on 7 into Connecticut, and to Uncle Tom and Aunt Zee's home in Newtown where we spent the night. We hadn't brought a crib along, so Aunt Zee had made up one of the bottom drwers in the dresser in our room for her bed. We had a pleasant visit with them.

24 August 1986 Sunday. We drove from Newtown over to Nyack, where I had spent three furlough years when I was 3, 8, and 14. We visited with Mom's and our firend Mary, who had vacationed with us in France and Switzerland in 1978 and then in Rome in the early '80's. She was doing well adn it was good to visit with her.

25 August 1986 Monday. We drove to JFK