Around Youngstown and Pat's 40th Class Reunion

This is our view from the porch of the Jug where we blog each day. The weather has been so fabulous here.

The first picture is Pat's neighbors when he was growing up Gary and his Mother. It was fun hearing the stories of their childhood. The other picture was classmates of his as well. It was a great time and he really enjoyed seeing a bunch of old friends.

As it turns out the same woman that created the sculpture of the "Freedom Crossing" was a classmate of Pat's as well. We were privileged to tour her gallery and I just had to take a picture of one of her other works. This original is in the Public Library in Oklahoma City.  We will be leaving New York tomorrow morning at daybreak heading East to Lorton Va. to catch the auto train. We have been so blessed to have spent great quality time with Pat's family. We will truly miss them all so much.

Life at Linda and Jim's Lake Cottage

The top view is out the front window of the cottage we are staying at (thanks Linda & Jim). The other is the view out the back watching the sunset on Lake Ontario! It's been a tough week!!!!(not) We would like everyone to know that we have little or no ability to communicate by cell or Internet at the cottage. Thus the reason for long periods between blogging!

This is the place in a little town of Youngstown that we come to when we blog. We sometimes sit on the front porch of the Jug as it is shaded and cool. We also sit across the street at a little coffee  shop outside. The weather has been excellent and allows us to sit outside most of the time. The Ontario House also known as the Jug is a meeting place for all the former classmates from Pat's HS class. It has been a central "watering hole" for decades.

About 10 miles down the road is the little village of Lewiston. This is where Pat grew up. The town is known for its rich amazing history of the underground railroad. I thought the statue was awesome its right on the banks of the Niagara River in Lewiston facing Canada.



The top picture is the Church that Pat was actually an Alter Boy at when he was growing up. The picture of the house was where he had his first job. It was called the Tiffany Shop. Which is easy for Pat to remember because he was bringing a box fan down the stairs and it slipped out of his hands and demolished a beautiful Tiffany lamp at the bottom of the stairs. The last is the Gazebo that sits in the middle of a little park in Lewiston that actually has live entertainment during the summer! Awesome little village.

This last picture is two little girls I ran into and they were looking for a home!! So I said sure I know of a perfect home for you! They are on their way to live with you Mollee and Addalynn. You will have to give them a name! Love you soooo much and miss you too! (fyi Olin something coming for you as well).

Well made it to Conn. by way of the Interstate and decided real quick that is all the Interstate we want to do!! But had to get there by a certain date! However it was worth it once we arrived. Had a fabulous time with Jon and went to some amazing bistro's! We were at a Pizza place that was wonderful with Jon. Upon leaving we soon were delightfully amazed at the beautiful scenery. The Catskill Mountains were amazing! As you can see from the picture from the back of the bike how awesome the roads were!  I think I can honestly say that now Conn. is my favorite state (well until the next ride).



We arrived at Seneca Lake NY after a long day of 320 miles. We were tired and ready to be done for the day. The Hotel Clarence turned out to be a pleasant surprise as it was right in the middle of this small Lake town. Eating and a little shop browsing was great within walking distance. The next leg of the trip back to the cottage was great only 150 miles and awesome weather to boot! The beautiful cart of flowers was at a gas stop coming into NY and the old tractor at a place called "Brown's Berry Farm". That is for you Ben and Olin! Arriving at our destination we took pictures of the bike loaded down and then of the view out back of Lake Ontario. What an awesome evening we had ending it with a spectacular sunset.

We will be here for approx. two weeks as Pat will be attending his 40th High School reunion (man he's getting old)! The plans will be to leave and head back east to Lorton Va. where we will put the bike on the Auto train South to Orlando. We have been so incredibly Blessed with weather this entire trip and pray it continues heading East. We know that as hot as the South has been it would take us much longer to get home. We figured a train ride home would be the perfect way to end this awesome adventure of a lifetime we have been on!

Love and prayers to all!



Eastport Main to Old Orchard Beach and onto Gloucester Mass

Leaving Eastport Maine once the fog cleared. The fog was so beautiful but sure was not looking forward to driving in it. As it turned out it was a beautiful day for traveling. Had to take a picture of the little fishing boats leaving Eastport it was so cool there. Then coming across a very interesting bridge on our way to Old Orchard Beach.

Upon arriving in Old Orchard Beach we checked in to the Edgewater Inn. Pat was very excited about this particular Inn as it was one that he and his other riding buds (Jerry, Dave but especially Terry) who so wanted to stay here two years ago on the Wild Hog trip they all took. BTW the picture of cigar and bottle of wine is for you Terry. As you can see the room was magnificent and the view wasn't bad either (the Atlantic Ocean). We then walked down the street having a difficult time choosing where to eat as there were so many places to choose from. As you can see we made an excellent choice. The lobster roll was fabulous although not a big fan of clams with bellies (sorry Dave) but Pat did eat them!

Pat and I actually got up at 4:30am to catch the sunrise. It was so beautiful and a great start to another fabulous day of riding. God's creation is so amazing and we have been so blessed to see so many different places.

The trip from Old Orchard Beach to Gloucester Mass took us thru some great little towns. I have a hard time not taking pix of every house and building that catches the eye. The Crows Nest in Gloucester was made famous by George Clooney during the filming of the movie "The Perfect Storm". Clooney and other celebrities pix hang on the wall. Pat and his "Hog" buddies actually stayed in the rooms above the bar 2 years ago. Thankfully (for me) we passed up the opportunity. although the bar was pretty cool. We ate across the street at a great cafe on the pier. I had some fabulous pan seared artichoke hearts with aoli` and mint sauce.

Leaving Gloucester I had to get a picture of the awesome winding roads with all the pretty houses. Also the picture of the statue of the woman and her children looking out at the ocean awaiting her husbands return from the sea! The grounds were so beautiful with all the flowers in bloom and the picture of the actual beach with all the rocks. We are now heading to North of Hartford Conn. to Spend a day or two with Pat's brother Jon. So excited about being able to do laundry (never thought I would ever say that). Pat is very excited about hanging with his brother Jon and we even got to meet his little sister Kathy and family for breakfast as they were traveling through on their way back from a wedding in Rhode Island. A very nice surprise indeed! From here we have couple of days travel heading West back to Lewiston NY for Pat's 40th High School Reunion. Very excited about having some time to spend with Pat's older brother Michael who will be released (hopefully soon) from the hospital. Till then God Bless and we are sure missing everyone. Love to all!