More about my recent vacation
Sunday – First Travel Day! The trip from Penn’s Woods to the Pine Tree State was uneventful. I decided to take a route that deviated from my usual course and found myself stuck in traffic in the Pocono Mountains. 
This meant that to save some time I would need to route through the Nutmeg State. Big mistake. I had forgotten about the construction between Waterbury and Hartford. That cost me probably another 45 minutes on top of the hour that I had lost earlier. Rather than fight on I bailed and went headed for the nation’s northern-most Commonwealth to take advantage of the speed on their excellent turnpike. This allowed me to finish the trip in nine hours rather than my usual eight.
I was rather disappointed that the podcasts I had saved just for the trip were too quiet to hear properly, even with the volume cranked to eleven. And I just wasn’t into music for some reason so the trip could have been more enjoyable, but at least it was safe.
Monday – The Big Day! Mom and I were both baptized today in the chilly waters of the Piscataqua River in Eliot, ME; her with the assistance of her eldest brother, James, and me with the assistance of my best friend, Paul. Too bad the Hawaiian-style shorts I bought didn’t fit, but image didn’t really matter, of course.
Mom went first. At 72 years she’s the youngest in her family and the last to make a commitment to the Lord. Only one of her remaining bother and sisters wasn’t present, but as I mentioned, her brother helped with the honors and that just made the moment for her. Everything was about as impromptu as it could get.
Then it was my turn. Personally, I wanted to go out farther and the whole experience seemed too brief, but then I really had no idea what was going to happen anyway.
When we got dried off everyone packed up and went their separate ways. Later Mom and I took Paul, his family, Uncle James, and his girlfriend (yes, they are in their 80s) out to a big seafood restaurant for a couple hundred dollars worth of food. Uncle James and I sat at one end with the littler kids and had a chance to talk. It was probably the most we had spoke to each other in some 35 years.
Tuesday – Whale Watching Day! Some of this was described in a post on the 18th of this month. Not much more to report, really, but I would like to add that I used the opportunity to teach a bit of seamanship to Lyndy, the eldest daughter. I can’t help but teach something now and then.
Wednesday – Lay About Day! I had picked up a bit of a cold and was exhausted from all of the relaxing done the day before so other than beating mom in a few hands of cribbage not much of anything was accomplished today.
For the most part, that describes the rest of my vacation, except for some basement painting and a few other chores. Time really flew while we tried to decide where to take an overnight trip. Eventually we didn’t go anywhere and I know this really disappointed my mother. It might have been nice to do something out of the ordinary, but I see vacations as a time to relax, not run around like crazy.
Thursday, the following week – Another Travel Day! My drive home was rather good, actually. I took my favorite route back home: West over to Bennington, VT then south from Albany, NY. I added a twist by avoiding Scranton, PA and found the drive seemed to go faster and was certainly far more pleasant. I love having an iPod in the car, I really do.
