The end of our blog.  

I

 finally got my van back.  $2,600 for repairs.  Its worth it to know it is

in great shape for the rest of my trip. 

I am visiting my daughter Wendy in Beverly, Mass and then continuing on to Maine before

I leave for home.  

Unfortunately Sandy and I have parted ways. 21 years of friendship has come to a end.

So I am closing this blog as of today. 

Lunch with Family

 My daughter Wendy and 3 of my grandaughters, Paige, Taylor and Brook came to Tynsboro, Mass to take me out to lunch. We went to a English Pub.   Had a great day.

Left to right.  Jordan, Taylor and Brooke.

Burlington Mall, Burlington Mass.

All day shopping. Had a fun day. Dinner in the evening with my daughter Wendy and grandchildren, Paige and Brooke.

Treated me to a dairy queen ice cream in Beverly, Mass.

Rental for the week.  this cute car was fun.

Late lunch with Grand daughter Shyla and her mom Susan.

 Susan my grand daughter mother.

My grand daughter Shyla.  She lives in Salem, Mass.  We had a wonderful lunch in Lynnfield, Mass.

Shyla and I received a chocolate mudslide desert with ice cream to celebrate our birthdays.

Sandy enjoying her drink.

Lynnfield Restaurant.

Visiting my great grandaughter Lily and her mom Alyssa

Lily is 5.  I was so happy to see her. We had such a wonderful day. Spending the day with her mom Alyssa my first born grandaughter. Filled my heart.

Van in shop.

We are grounded for the moment.  The van is in the shop for the past two days.
waiting for the damages.  The transmission and the radiator have to be removed to
repair two plugs that rotted out.  This is why it was leaking.  If I had continued to drive it
would have  burned our engine.  This could change our plans on our travel. 


As you can tell I am not good with this blog thing.  I will do my best. Many days were uneventful and we forgot to take some pictures.  I will add more as time goes on but not everyday. Its too time consuming.

6 lb Meatloaf

Mark and Patty had Patty's family over for dinner.  Mark had made a 6 lb meatloaf in the smoker.

It came out great.   

Mark and Patty's dog Rock O.

Mark and John passing out after 2 days of cooking for us on the smoker.

Smoked Brisket

 This is Mark, Sandy's son and Mark's friend John.  They bough a 16 lbs briscet and cooked it in his smoker.  They started in the evening, cutting of the fat and seasoning. They were up all  night watching the temperature. 
we ate the brisket at 7 pm the next day.  It was delicious.

John and Mark with their chef's hats on getting ready to prepare the brisket. Sandy and I stayed overnight at Patty and Mark's house in Nashua N.H. until Monday morning.  We will spend weekdays at Diana's and weekends at Mark.  their sharing us. lol

Shooting practice in Massachusetts

 Sandy and I at the Rod and Gun Club in New Hampshire.
Ted took us for private shooting.  Later in the evening Ted took us out to the
Outback for steak dinners.

Ted showing Sandy how to shoot.  She did a great job.  Lots of rapid shooting.  She can

take care of herself for sure. 

 I didn't do so well.  I have a kickback that causes me pain on m hand.  I did hit the target once but needs lots of practice.  I think I may change to a 22 instead of a 38.

Rod and Gun Club

Ted took us to the Rod and Gun Club.  We went to the pond and enjoyed a beautiful day.

He bought us all subs and we enjoyed lunch.

This is a memorial Ted had made for his friend who passed two years ago. 

Its hard for you to read but it was beautiful by the pond.

 Diana, Sandy's daughter and Ted's love.

Here is Ted and his other half Diana.  Relaxing by the pond.

This is Sandys baby.  Her name is Emily.  She is one of the Traveling Girls in this blog.

This was her first trip and she did wonderful. We bought her a special car seat which she used

daily until one day she learned how to get out of it.  We let her roam now in front to Sandy

and when she is tired she goes back and sleeps into her carseat by herself.

 This is Billy, Ted's dog.  He is a retired service dog.  Ted will be getting a young service dog soon.  Billy is 12 and is tired. He is a sweet loving dog.  Ted will keep him as well as he is part of the family. Emily and him get along well.

Happy Birthday to me. I just turned 29. Ha Ha

 My beautiful birthday cake was a surprise to me.  It was chocolate and we had ice cream with it. There goes my diet.  It was so good.

 from left to right.  Patty Sandy's daughter in law.  Diana, Sandy's daughter. Ted Sandy's soon to be son in law and Mark, Sandys Son.  We had the party at Diana and Ted's home.

They even bought me flowers.  Look at the colors.

 Here's my best buddy Sandy.  My traveling partner. 

And here is the birthday girl next to the snake.

Snake traveling from Florida to Massachusetts

When John Legrow, Sandy's husband passed away three months ago away he had a snake he loved.

We promised to take him to Tyngsboro, Massachusetts to his new owner Ted.

The Snake named Molly did well.  Better than we did. We had to feed 

her once a week.  We had bought a special carry case and had put it in her 

glass tank.   

More than half way on our trip I took a turn a little too sharp and something

crashed down on the glass tank breaking it.  

We pulled over in a McDonalds and Sandy got the snake

into her special carry case. The snake was not hurt.  She then had to clean out the glass

and throw the tank in the McDonald Trash.  

Well the snake made the trip.  Ted and Diana had just got home with the

snakes new home when we arrived.  Below is the wonderful job that did. 

You notice the snake on the left hanging.

North Carolina, Virginia and Pennsylvania.

Driving through North Carolina.  We slept at a Loves Truck Stop.  Had a take out dinner at the restaurant.  We were very comfortable. 

We noticed water under the van so Sandy checked.  The radiator needed some water and we were on our way.


In Virginia on the highway the van heated up and the temper on the needle began to rise.  I was hoping to make it to a exit but did not.  I pulled way over off the road.  You could see the water flowing all over the road.  We just sat until the needle came to normal. When it was cooled to safe
temperature Sandy added water.  We pulled off the highway.  We drove to the nearest Cracker Barrel Restaurant and parked in the RV section and spent the night.  The night was comfortable and we slept well.  Checked the water again added a small amount and headed out towards New York.
We didn't take pictures.  We should have but we are new to this blogging thing.  I never drove over 50-55 checking the needle at all time.  The Van went through New York with no problem.  We stayed in another Cracker Barrel.  Heading to Massachusetts was exciting.  We were going to Sandy's daughter Diana and her partner Ted.    We arrived around one in the afternoon.