Visit to Norman and Jane in Newport Center, August

We went overnight to see Norman and Jane in Newport Center. (Jane retired this year, so...reason to celebrate!)

We drove to Brownington, Vermont to the Old Stone House, a very early grammar school where students boarded in an amazing stone building built by hand by their teacher, Alexander Twilight, the first person of African-American descent to graduate from college (Middlebury) and a very early African-American teacher. It was very interesting and including a hill and observation point overlooking the area.

Lake Memphremagog in the distance

Brownington

Later we had a lovely meal and a campfire in their backyard.

The next day, we drove over the border crossing at Derby Line to Stanstead to have croissants, pastries and baguettes! We tested to see if Mark's passport has finally been fixed and...yay! it has. So, hopefully, we won't have to stop and be questioned every time we come back to the States. (Mark's passport was lost years ago)

Norman and Jane

And, the next day, we picked Hank up from Camp Billings at Lake Fairlee and drove to Bethel, Maine, where we met Jecca and Willy.

Hank and Charlie, a friend from Cabin 9

Binghamton Central High School 50th Reunion! Aug 11-13

Barbara attended her 50th high school reunion. Who ever thought that those words would ever come out of the mouth.....unbelievable to think that 50 years has passed. We went to the 20th reunion and didn't have much fun, so it was tempting to skip this. But, Bob Feldman made personal calls which convinced a lot of reluctant people to make the effort.

Cindy stayed with Barbara at the Doubletree hotel where the reunion was held.

The day that I arrived, I took a nostalgic walk around the old neighborhood and over to Recreation Park, a place that was important to my childhood. It was happy/sad. It was sad that Mom and Dad's house is still boarded up from a fire, but a neighbor told me that she was hopeful that it was being resolved as it has started to be shown by realtors.

The Merry Go Round - forever free of charge

Bandstand

The fountain that used to be for children. We were forbidden to go in during the polio scare

Recreation Park swimming pool on the site where we used to ice skate

The Woods - site of many happy memories

Statue to George Johnson who made the park possible and forever free of charge

The first night was a "mixer" - sort of a cocktail party. It was very enjoyable. First of all, we had a big class (450+). And, we had a January and a June graduation and the classes did not mix much. So, there were lots of people that I either did not know, or had forgotten. The nice thing about being 67 or 68 is that age is a great equalizer - no bragging, no cliques, no posturing. So, it was a lovely evening and memories were jogged and lots and lots of wonderful stories were told.

The next day, I met cousin Len and Carol for breakfast at Jody's on Upper Court Street where we often ate with Mom and Bob.

In the middle of the day, I went over to Kathy's and together with Judy Coleman, we went to Johnson City for Tom's 70th birthday party. Wow - what a production - a band, even. We only stayed a little while as we were going to the dinner for the reunion and the party would probably just be getting revved up by then. But, it was nice to see his house and to meet his partner, Jennifer, who is a nurse and a potter. (I got a few pieces from her.)

Laurie and Tom on his 70th

Tom, Laurie, Jennifer

Kathy, Laurie, Tom, Jennifer in Tom's backyard

Judy and Tom

Band tent

Kathy, Linda Reckow, Cindy, me

Girl Scout Troop 10

Kathy, Cindy, me

Then Cindy and I went down, met Kathy, and attended the dinner party for the reunion. The almost-40 people who have died, had photos on a screen which was sobering and sad. There were some nice speeches, including one by our favorite teacher, Mr. Lorden who is well into his 90s, but still very sharp. (He reminded me of Cal, Mark's dad.) He was the last principal of BCHS as it is now merged with North High School. Cindy, Kathy and I told Mr. Lorden how much he meant to us, especially Kathy and Cindy who said that their chemistry courses in college were easy because they had been so well prepared.

Cindy, Kathy and Judy Coleman at dinner

Mr. Lorden, former chemistry teacher extraordinarire and later the last principal of BCHS

Again, it was a lovely gathering - stories, stories, stories.

Then, on Sunday, I drove back to White River Junction and, amazingly, Mark and I converged at the Toyota rental within 4 minutes of each other.

The amazing gas mileage I got - $22 worth of gas for the whole trip!

Reunion of Childhood Friends, August 7-11, 2017

Barbara's closest childhood friends had their first ever reunion. Some of us had not seen each other since the early 1970s, so it was quite an occasion. We met at Cindy's family's Laurel Lake house south of Binghamton. Barbara and Kathy drove together from Binghamton and Diane arrived from Rotterdam, near Albany.

It was idyllic. We had no responsibilities - we talked, ate, talked, swam, talked, kayaked, walked, talked. The time we had been apart vanished and we discovered how much we still all have in common and love each other.

The cottage for 4 wonderful days!

Laurel Lake

We grew up in each other's homes and with each other's parents. Three of us went to St. Thomas Aquinas in elementary school. Two of us went to West Junior and three of us went to Binghamton Central High School. But, we always met in the neighborhood!

We went on a rather wet hike in the Salt Springs State Park only a few miles away.

Looking down at the brook

We were often hiking right in the river

This was more challenging a climb than it appears!

One of the falls in the park

Cindy led the way

Diane

Diane, Cindy, Kathy - best friends from the neighborhood

We walked around the lake more than once. By happenstance, one of Diane's nephews had bought a house just across the lake a few days before and we all kayaked over.

Diane on Laurel Lake, her first kayak trip

View from the cottage

Cindy

Diane

There was way too much food as we overcooked, but the menu was amazing - homemade cauliflower soup, chicken florentine, blueberry pancakes, pork tenderloin, spiedis, crustless quiche, homemade cookies, pie........ Luckily, one of Cindy's brothers, Marty, came over to mow the lawn and we gave him some.

Speidies about to go on the grill

Having fun!

Dinner on the porch

Everyone pitched in

Our selfie

We all hope that we can make it an annual gathering.

Trip to Pittsfield to see Nan and Jim, Aug 4- 6 2017

After a week in New Hampshire, Mark and I drove to White River Junction, Vermont where Barbara picked up a rental car (2016 Prius). Then, we drove in the truck and the rental car to Pittsfield to visit Nan and Jim. Mark stayed one night as he went to Alice's 95th birthday party in Bridgewater. Barbara stayed two nights.

We had a lovely dinner the night we arrived and then we went to Edith Wharton's Berkshire home, The Mount, for an evening of jazz. It was a lovely evening and we sat in lawn chairs. The music was great, although we cannot remember the singer's name. Afterwards we went to a chocolate store where Mark got some chocolates for Alice.

Mark, Nan and Jim at the Mount, Edith Wharton's home in the Berkshires

The  next day, Mark left and Barbara and Nan (and Boo) took a morning hike along the base of Mount Greylock, Massachusett's highest peak. Then, they drove to the top where they had lunch. There is a beacon at the top of the mountain which is the brightest beacon in the state. It has a war memorial inside.

View from top of Mt Greylock

Nan at Lodge atop Mt Greylock

Memorial to WWI dead at Mt Greylock. It is the brightest beacon in Massachusetts

Then Nan and Barbara went to an afternoon on the lawn at Tanglewood to hear the Boston Symphony Orchestra. The guest soloist was Yo-Yo Ma which was thrilling. (A Schumann piece) We had a hard time finding the car after the concert, but....after quite a bit of walking, we did find it.

The lawn at Tanglewood

The lawn at Tanglewood later in the day