 |
| Betsy samples a fire-roasted donut on her first camping trip Wompatuck State Park, MA |
So I arrived safely at home last night after about 11 days in New England. Immediately had to scoop and fix the litter box (it had stopped cleaning itself sometime in the previous two days and had not been restarted…dammit), then said hello to Scott’s mom, who came down last week to help Scott in his recovery from his stroke (I hope I mentioned that he had one), then went to bed.
Today, I’ve retrieved my chipper from the small engine repair shop, mowed and swept the front lawn, and am currently sitting – nekked – on my bed and trying not to sweat to death. Today being pay day, I also paid a bunch of bills and am solvent for 15 more days at least.
Now seems like a good time to bring everyone up to date on my vacation and maybe throw a few pictures into this thing.
After arriving in Cornwall, VT, on June 23rd, I spent the next week soaking up the feeling of being at home. Betsy flew in on the 26th, so I also got to show her around for a few days. We spent one day walking around Middlebury and buying souvenirs, another visiting Fort Ticonderoga (in New York), and got to schmooze with some of the Sheldon Museum’s big donors at a meet-and-greet on Wednesday night (the 29th, I think). On Thursday morning, we got up early and did a brief interview about the concert and the Georgia Brass Band on a Middlebury radio station and then went back to Cy’s house to chill for a while.
 |
| Otter Creek at Falls Park Vergennes, VT |
Thursday afternoon, I drove to the high school to pick up a bunch of percussion equipment for the evening’s concert, only to discover that we didn’t have a truck. After Cy made a few phone calls, we found that the truck had been left near the concert venue, so I drove there, swapped my car for the truck, drove back to the high school, and Cy and I managed to get all of the stuff we needed into either the truck or her car. Then it was back to the venue, where we put everything on the stage, finishing at around 3:15 – just over an hour before the band was due to show up for a sound check. I raced back to Cornwall, showered and changed, and brought Betsy and two tubas back to the venue, where we arrived just in time for the aforementioned sound check.
The concert itself went pretty well and the audience seemed to appreciate our efforts. Here’s hoping we get an invitation to return.
Friday morning (July 1), Betsy and I packed everything into my car and hit the road for Needham, MA, just outside of Boston, for a concert celebrating the town’s tricentennial. For some reason, I had the time 6:00 PM stuck in my head as when we were supposed to arrive, so I didn’t make any great effort to speed my way to Needham. We stopped for a walk at Quechee Gorge in Vermont, then poked around the gift shop for a while, then stopped in New Hampshire for lunch, then checked the actual band schedule.
We were supposed to be on the stage at 4:00 for a sound check, and there was no way I could get there before 5:00.
After calling the band director and getting yelled at, we ran into some horrible traffic, got rerouted through the middle of some suburb of Boston (where traffic was even worse), and arrived at the concert site at a little after 5:00. We had plans to camp at Wompatuck State Park in Hingham, MA – about 45 minutes away – and there was no way I could get there and get checked in before our 7:00 PM concert, so I called the park and arranged for a late check-in. Then we had dinner with the band director. The service at the restaurant was incredibly slow, so by the time we paid our bill, we had about 10 minutes to get back to the site, get changed into concert clothes, blow a few notes in our horns, and then start the show.
It also went fairly well, and we were graced by a double rainbow during the concert.
 |
| A headstone from the 1600s near Hignham, MA |
After packing up everything up after the concert (including a lot of stuff that I hadn’t brought with me, but which I agreed to transport back to Atlanta for the band), we spent about 30 minutes at a reception that was given to the band, and then set out for Wompatuck, arriving there at about 10:30. Got the tent set up in the dark and crashed, exhausted.
During the night, we discovered that the air mattress had a hole in it, and we woke up on the ground. Air mattress was replaced later that afternoon after I found a Walmart.
We spent most of Saturday walking around the park, throwing my hatchet at a tree, playing cards, reading, and eating. Saturday night, we cooked dogs over the fire and also made s’mores, which I hadn’t eaten in probably 30 years – and after having half of one, I remembered exactly WHY I hadn’t had them in 30 years. One can only stand so much sugar….
We left the park at about 11:00 Sunday morning and drove to Collegeville, PA, where I dropped Betsy off at a friend’s house and then continued on my own to Carlisle, PA. On Monday, I drove the short distance to Gettysburg National Military Park and spent about three hours walking around the battlefield and taking pictures. Then I hit the road for home.
There was a possibility that I’d drive straight through and arrive in Atlanta at about 11:00 Monday night, but I hit incredibly bad storms near Roanoke, VA, and decided to find a hotel. Hit the road again Tuesday morning and poked along, stopping often and arriving at home somewhere around 8:00 last night.
All in all, it was a nice trip. I’ve got the rest of the week off and will be trying to get some yard work done before returning to work on the 11th. My streak of Canadian vacations has officially been stopped at, I believe, 20 years. Maybe I can make it up there this fall.
TWD