The posts for the next few weeks will essentially be travelogues. We’re discovering, for the first time, parts of the country we have never experienced. Come along on this journey with us.
After spending 5 restful days in North Carolina, we begin the journey north on Sunday. Our destination, as you know, is New Hampshire, where we’ll meet Randy’s two sisters and their husbands for a week exploring a part of the country none of us have ever visited before.
The truth is, Randy and I together have (that I can remember) never been north of I-40 in the I-95 corridor (which runs from Miami to New Brunswick, Canada). One of our bucket list items is to explore the Washington DC area and its history, and visit the Smithsonian, but it hasn’t yet been a priority. I did once accompany our niece and Goddaughter, Katrina, on a school choir bus trip when she was in 6th grade to Washington. She’s now 36 years old, is married, has 2 children, and lives near Boston. We’ll get to visit her and her family on this trip as well.
There’s always a lot of anticipation when we embark on an adventure we haven’t done before. This whole New England trip feels incredibly adventurous to me. Though we have no interest at all in New York City, I am exceptionally excited to view the renowned fall colors of New England. When I planned this trip, I guessed at what week would be PEAK foliage. Turns out I got it exactly right. The guest contact for the house we rented in Wilmot, NH, confirmed yesterday that this upcoming week is PEAK.
In the I-95 corridor, only 5 of the 96 counties the interstate passes through are completely rural. That could make for a fairly tense drive until we exit the interstate somewhere north of Washington DC. You know me…not a city girl. But we’re caravanning with Kristine and Gary, and this drive is not new to them, so they’ll help us navigate any trouble areas.
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Sunday, October 6, 2024
Well, today’s drive, the first of 2 days to get to New Hampshire from North Carolina, was, indeed, fairly tense. Google Maps estimated a 6-hour drive, but we were in the car for 9 hours. Some of the 3 hours were owing to the time us seniors need to stop often, and 1 45-minute stop for vehicle and people fueling. But at least half of the additional time was traffic slowdowns and stoppages along this highly congested and busy route.
Still though, some of the route surprised me. In Virginia there were far more trees along the road than I expected. Maryland was also interesting, but then again, I wasn’t even sure what to expect from Maryland. I was glad we were able to completely avoid Baltimore.
Then we crossed into Pennsylvania. I did have an expectation about Pennsylvania. I was completely wrong.
I expected farmland, imagining it very much like Wisconsin. It’s not. There are hills, almost mountains there. Yes, some farms, but I had no idea the terrain reminded me of that down near Branson, Missouri. We passed near Gettysburg and made a mental note to come back that way and do a bit of touring and exploring the areas made so famous by the Civil War.
We stopped for the night in a tiny little town called Pine Grove. Driving to Buddy’s Log Cabin Family Restaurant for dinner, we were struck by how incredibly scenic the 4-mile drive from the interstate to the restaurant was. Turns out Google was just being cute. There was another route, through town, which got us there in just about the same time. That route revealed a town much older than we’re used to seeing in America. Our inexperience owes to the fact that we simply haven’t been to the east coast which was settled much, much earlier than the Midwest where we grew up.
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Monday, October 7, 2024
The scenery on our Monday drive from Pine Grove, PA to Wilmot, NH was mostly just beautiful. We selected our route to stay in relatively rural areas, but eventually we had to drive through Hartford, CT and Springfield, MA, both very densely populated. I’m not sure why, but these cities felt much more closed in than the large cities we’re used to in the Midwest and west. I’m not sure if it’s because the buildings and infrastructure is so much older than cities farther west, or because we’re just completely unfamiliar with them, but I was glad to drive out of them and back into the more rural highways of Vermont and New Hampshire.
We arrived at our vacation rental house just before dark and couldn’t be happier with the property. You never know when you pick it off the internet 8 months before you arrive. It’s going to be a comfortable home base for our second annual Grathen siblings adventure. On Tuesday we’re going to drive the Kancamagus Highway, touted as one of the best fall foliage viewing areas in all the land. Then, on Wednesday we’re going to head over to the coast. Around Portsmouth, NH, we can visit Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts all within 20 miles on the Atlantic coastline. We plan to do just that. Then on Thursday we’ve made reservations to see some of the local scenery using railcars converted to use the rider’s pedal power. That sounds like a once in a lifetime afternoon of pure fun.
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Journeys aren’t always pleasant. Sometimes they’re fraught with danger, risk, challenge, tension, and misfortune.
This bucket list vacation, which has been in the planning for almost a year, is, of course, marred by the fact that we’re watching another major hurricane bear down on the southwest Florida Gulf Coast where we live so happily. Our move to Florida to live in Paradise has been a journey with several challenges.
It’s only been about a year since we finally got everything repaired from the damage of Hurricane Ian when we took a direct hit two years ago. It makes me sick to my stomach to think we may have to go through that again but so many people are so much worse off than we are. Less than 2 weeks ago our area took millions and millions of dollars in damage from storm surge from Hurricane Helene. But I’m glad we aren’t going to sit in the house being pounded for 12 hours as we were during Ian.
On Friday, I hope to report that all is well. That Milton, which is a Cat 5 hurricane as I write this, has lost a lot of his punch by the time he makes landfall, and that though bad, the worst that could happen didn’t. For us at lease. Heartbreakingly, there are going to be a millions of people who get hammered.
Join me in praying for them. And in praying for America. Pray that our elected representatives stop sending our citizens’ money overseas as “aid” to support war in other countries and use it instead for the millions of our own citizens who need it right here in the United States.
Pray that American interests take precedence. And pray that God has mercy on us.
P.S. When you’re done praying, pray some more. We need prayer more than anyone can imagine. To overcome more evil in this world than anyone can imagine.
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