New England-Bennington

While we were mainly on a motorcycle ride to enjoy the fall of New England, Wally and I both decided we would love to return to Vermont someday.  There is a lot to to see and enjoy.  We were planning to have lunch with Ben’s folk in Pittsfield, MA.  When Wally called Jim to confirm our plans, he suggested if we were going through Bennington to take a look at the Battle Monument and the graveyard where Robert Frost was buried.  So we did. 

This obelisk was built in 1880 as a monument for the famous Battle of Bennington during the Revolutionary War, in 1777.  It is 306’ high.  The battle actually took place ten miles away in Waloomsac, NY…sound familiar?  It was a turning point in the war as it was a great blow against General Burgoyne and reduced his army by 1.000 men.  August 16 is a legal state hoiday in Vermont, Bennington Battle Day.

This is a statue to Seth Warner, Captain of the Green Mountain Boys who joined with the Continental Army against Burgoyne.

And this is Wally, we just pulled up to the curb and enjoyed the monument.  It was built on a green circle at the top of a hill.  Just down from here was the First Church.

I finally found some red red leaves on a low hanging branch by the church.

I thought the graveyard was beautiful…so many old and ornate stones.  There was a sign stating tombstone rubbings were not allowed due to the age and historical significance.  I never knew there was such a thing as “tombstone rubbings!”

There is something sobering about wandering about a graveyard.  The markers that represents someone…their life, their, dreams, their family.  Yet sin’s curse is so well represented, death!  Some lives were so short.  I wondered about the illnesses that claimed lives hundreds of years ago which we now have cures for.

Here is the grave of poet Robert Frost, his wife Elinor, and two of their children, a daughter Marjorie and son Carol.  They had six children.

We ended our afternoon at Jim and Sissy Hamilton’s house.  We had great fajitas and great fellowship.  It was nice to see their home.  I didn’t realize they were nestled in the mountains and Pittsfield reminded me a little of hometown, USA. 

Sissy, Jim and Fezzi

This is Fezzik, named for the giant in Princess Bride.  When the kids leave the nest, we are left with our dogs. I think Sissy chose Fezzik and really likes him.  We have Gypsy, whom I inherited and she has never been a favorite. Elaine differentiates between her Grandmas by these dogs…Grandma Fezzik  and Grandma Gypsy.  Kind of cute, but I am not really fond of it!

Birthday Wishes!!

Today is our daughter’s 30th Birthday!  Happy Birthday Andrea Michelle!  A year ago I shared the story of your birth here.  It’s always fun looking back at old photos and remembering special times.  And then to think how that little precious baby so quickly became a lovely young woman.  I did notice that in many of the pictures our daughter had a tongue issue…

We probably should have had that looked at before she became a bride!

Okay, that was for fun.  Some Birthday humor!  When I was looking back through the photos, I seem to have a big gap from baby to young lady.  I guess those photos have not reached the digital age yet. You were a pretty cute little girl and someday I will be able show those off. I did have lots of photos of you as that young lady...you always look very nice and clean and feminine!  But you did grow up in Colorado.  I thought you might like reliving some of your mountain adventures.

Remember this fishing trip?  We had just picked you up from camp at the Wilds and a week of Camper in Training.  Then we hiked up to Cataracht Lake to fish.  Wesley took a big cast with his pole and landed it right in your leg!

This was your first elk hunt.  The scrapbook said, “this was all the action your gun saw.”  No elk, but Dad remembers lots of mud.

This was skeet shooting at Uncle Lewis’ in OK.  No memories from Dad and I on this one…did you get any?

And here you are, the great white hunter!  The scrap book says about this, “perfect lung shot at 150 yds.!”    This was a family hunting trip just after Christmas.  I thought after one day of hanging out in cold, you and I would stay in the hotel and scrapbook while the boys hunted.   But you were very determined to have an elk and sure enough, the last morning out, you and Kenny both were successful!  Dad made you gut it and all! Not bad for the girl who can’t stand to patty out burgers!

These next photos are of you at Georgia Pass on the Continental Divide.  I think you had several outings with Dad there.

You took special friends there when they came to visit in Colorado…Danielle and…Ben!

Leaving the mountains behind, we sent you off to college and by graduation God brought a wonderful young man into your life, Ben. 

 

Ben tagged along on part of our vacation after graduation.  We piled into the our Camry wagon which had a seat in the back end. Kind of cozy for you two, until your brothers joined you!

Remember that little poem,” A daughter is a little girl who grows up to be your best friend?”  I have always felt that long before I read it!

And Dads are no different.  You are his little girl.  He would do anything for you!

Which is why it is so hard to give you away.

It does help a bit though when the grandkids come along!  How fun to watch you as a Mom! 

You have your own family now and it is growing!  So are the experiences we get to share with you.  Thirty years certainly have come quickly! We thank the Lord for each one of them as your Mom and Dad. 

Happy Birthday Andrea Michelle!!

“being confident of this vey thing, that He Who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;”  Phil. 1:6

New England- covered Bridges of Bennington, VT

We were on the road again, taking rte.9 from Battelboro to Bennington.  We came upon this gorgeous view, Hundred Mile View.  I guess it means you can see for a hundred miles…if not, it must be pretty close!

Then onto Bennington where we searched out three covered bridges.  These bridges are still in use today.  They are all replicas of the original bridges built in the 1800’s.  All three of these bridges were just down the road from one another.

 

This is the Henry Bridge.  It crosses the Wallomsac river.  How’s that for a name?  It was originally built in 1840 by landowner Elnathan Henry.  His home is just peeking though the back of the bridge and it dates back to 1769.  It is now a B&B.

This is the Paper Mill Bridge.  It also covers the Wallomsac River.  It was originally built in 1790 and named for a paper mill that was one of the state’s first.

This is the Silk Road Bridge and it covers, yep, you got it, the Wallomsac River.

Thankful Thursday

Can you believe that Thanksgiving is only about two weeks away?  That kind of makes me nervous!  I started doing Thankful Thursday posts a couple of years ago as part of anticipating Thanksgiving.  I saw the idea somewhere on other blogs and wanted to write down what I was thankful for.  Then I thought it would be a good thing to do every week to build my “gratitude attitude.”  I did that for another year or so.  And this year I decided I did not need to do it every week, just whenever.  But that kind of made me lazy.  I am sorry about that now,because I think it changed my focus some.  I know it is good to see in my circumstances, the good and the bad, a way to “give thanks in all things.”  I decided I needed to discipline myself and do this again.

Discipline.  Ugh!  That word does not give me a lot of encouragement.  It sounds like work and unpleasantness to me.  But all week long it has been in my mind to say that I am thankful for discipline.  It is necessary.  Just as I got lazy in my Thankful Thursday posts, I have become lazy in a lot of things.  I have been thinking on the verse that says, “Gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully in the grace that is to be brought to to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”  I Peter 1:13.  I love the picture of maybe fisherman Peter setting out to get some work done.  Perhaps on his boat or flinging out his nets.  But has a lot of robes hanging around his legs to make it difficult.  He has to hoist them up and tie them in some way so that the work could get done.  I have a lot of “loose robes” hanging, bad habits, wrong attitudes, pure laziness, that keeps me from changing.  I am not even confessing here deep spiritual issues…just day to day stuff that needs to happen in order to live “in order”.  For instance, yes, I’m going to say it, my weight.  Then there is the housework that I thought should go away with the kids and in downsizing to an apartment.  How about exercise?  I could wait until January and squeeze it into a New Year’s resolution that will never be kept.  But my body needs it now. 

I have lazy disciplines in my spiritual life as well.  Snoozing in the morning until it is too late to have time with my Lord.  Prayer on the run.  Staying up late on Saturday nights and being really tired on the Lord’s Day. 

So, I return to the cure,discipline. It is in the choosing to do differently, to choose to do better, that I am girding up my loins!  And hey, maybe I’ll loose a little of those loins in the process!  Today I am thankful for discipline!

New England-Connecticut and Vermont

On Tuesday we left Andrea and the adorable grandkids for a ride into New England.  We drove to the end of Long Island and took a ferry from Orient Point over to Connecticut.  It was really pretty out on the end of Long Island…lots of orchards.  Its called the winery.  It was also pretty chilly…wind blowing across the water on both sides of us. 

Here’s something I never thought I would see…welcome to Connecticut!  We paid even more since Wally was using premium gas in the bike.

We rode a scenic highway and it was very scenic.  We were there for the leaves, but most of them had dropped in this area.  I guess they had a big drop in temps and a huge wind, and the leaves dropped overnight.  But I enjoyed the small towns and the tree lined roads.  I can only imagine the history that has taken place here.  There were several private schools…and their grounds were pristine!

I loved this old stone rectory and church.

There were lots of these rock walls and graveyards.  Many of the tombstones were quite old and looked like they were barely standing.

We passed this farm and stopped to buy some maple syrup.  I knocked on the back door and stepped into a kitchen with a huge wood burning stove.  It was so nice and toasty!  I had a hard time leaving and getting back on the motorcycle.

Here’s  flock of wild turkeys next to the road…you don’t see that too often in Colorado.

We finally arrived at our Bed and Breakfast in Brattleboro, VT

I loved getting this little tray sent up to our room in the morning. 

I don’t think I had my glasses on when I took a picture of our breakfast table, it’s a bit fuzzy.  We enjoyed this B&B. The innkeeper was a Christian and she decorated with lots of scripture hanging on the walls.  She said she and her husband bought the house in 1960 as a fixer upper and raised their six kids in it. Then they fixed it up for a B&B.  The other two couples we had breakfast with were there to walk the trails in the woods.  Wally and I both decided Vermont would be a place to return to and explore.

These were the last of the leaves on the tree at the B&B.

We found a covered bridge right in the middle of town.  It is not used anymore for traffic.  This is the Creamery Bridge built in 1879.  There was large cheese factory in town also.

This was just outside of town, a little more color here.  And it improved as we headed down the road to Bennington, MA.

Stay tuned for more leaf peeping!