Visiting nieces

Ted. One of the goals of our road trip to the Northeastern US was to visit three of our nieces. Becky lives in Maryland and we’ll report on her after our meetup in July. However, our first stop after leaving Philadelphia, was Manchester, New Hampshire, home to Ashley. 

After a quick house tour, we piled back into our truck and followed Ashley and her two children a bit further north to their lake house. 

We made the most of a brief overnight stay, grilling out on the deck for dinner and touring the beautiful lake in their boat the next day. 

Ashley and her husband, Peter were gracious hosts and we were charmed by their daughter, Despina, and son, Demetrios, whom we had not seen in two years. In case you haven’t guessed, Peter is of Greek descent. 

From the lake, we drove back south a bit to Wilmington, Massachusetts to spend the weekend with Kelly and her husband, Stephen. This is definitely a boy home and we were embraced by their sons, Henry and Theo and big pup, Logan. 

I was able to attend the boys martial arts and ninja training and we all stopped by the Sunday farmers market. We also played board games and got caught up on everyone’s jobs and activities. 

The boys loved Raymond the Truck!

All too quickly, it was time for farewell hugs and we headed back north for new adventures in Maine.

Caedmon in Philly

Judy. About once a year we take one of our grandsons on a trip of some kind. It might be to a museum or movie or for a weekend away from home. As they get older, though, we like to travel to another city, and this year, it’s Caed’s turn. 

After the three of us talked it over, we decided on Philadelphia. He’s been to Washington, DC, but it seemed a good idea to also take him to see the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, and other historic places, especially with America’s 250th birthday coming up. Then our friend Vishal, who lives just outside Philly and has two boys near Caed’s age, asked us to stay with him. This was quite a gift! 

Over the next several months, Vishal and Caed spoke several times, outlining what he might do while there—a combination of time with kids and time checking out history. 

It took three and a half days to drive to Philadelphia, with Caed taking pictures of every state’s “Welcome to...” and celebrating by taking a swim in each hotel. And then we arrived at Vishal’s. Eureka! 

Although Vishal’s boys, Devi and Avery, were going to their mom’s for the weekend, they were there to welcome us. Shortly after they left, Vishal’s girlfriend Lauren and two of her kids, Simon and Colette, came over to eat burgers. Immediately the three were on the trampoline, and Simon and Caed were discussing their best recipes for hamburger sauce. A three-way bond was established, with requests to spend more time the next day. 

Caed. Devi, and Avery hit the trampoline

Ticking the boxes

In the next few days, we visited Valley Forge, Caed and Vishal cooked Indian food, we went with his folks and Lauren’s kids to Cirque de Soleil, ate Asian dumplings, swam, took in the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, Betsy Ross’s house, and the overwhelming Reading Terminal Market. 

Sous chef for our Indian meal

The chefs browse Reading Market

Soup dumplings--a new treat

Simon, Colette, Caed, and more friends

Yes, he's a ham, like his grandmother

Then we topped it off with ice cream with the whole gang of kids. Friendships were sealed and video games linked. Leaving on Monday was tough. 

Ice cream for everyone

But wait, there’s more! We drove with Caedmon to Cape May, New Jersey. It might have been a cool and windy 66 degrees, but Caed was in the pool and in the ocean. We ate lobster rolls and pizza, and we slept hard. 

Pretty darned delicious--watch out for seagulls!

Pure joy!

ahhhhh

Back in Philadelphia, we put our 13-year-old on his first solo plane ride home. It was a grand week. Thanks to Vishal, Avery, Devi, Lauren, Simon, Colette, and Wes.

I only shed a few tears...

Heading north

Ted. Judy and I have just wrapped up a wonderful two months in Athens, Georgia.

As usual, we have spent quality time with family and friends. Also, typical of us, we didn't get to visit with everyone on our list.

On April 2, we signed an 18 month lease on an apartment in Athens. We have relied on part time furnished dwellings like Airbnb for nearly 10 years so this was a big step for us. We are both well into our 70's now and God has granted us great health but having a "permanent" home has given us peace of mind.

Signing up for utilities, filling out change of address forms and furnishing our apartment was a LOT of work but it's all done now. That means it's time to hit the road - quite literally. For this adventure we have enlisted our trusty 2004 Toyota Tundra pickup truck named Raymond.

Our plan is to take about a month to drive north to Montreal, Quebec and then turn around and take another month to drive back to Athens. Along the way, we plan to visit lots of friends and family and explore many cool places that we have never seen before.

For the first leg of our journey, accompanied by our 13 year old grandson, Caedmon we will visit a close friend, Vishal who lives just outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. After getting to know a little bit about that interesting part of the country, Caedmon will fly solo back to Atlanta where his Mom will pick him up. From there Judy and I will continue on up to New England.

Caedmon & Judy

 

Making a quilt

Ted. Judy knows a thing or two about quilts. She has made them, collected them and, back in 1984, performed in the world premier of Quilters, a musical play about, well, women who make quilts. 

As I watch her collect items for the home we are now making, I am reminded that a quilt is simply a collection of scraps made into something beautiful, which is what she is attempting. 

We are both at peace with the need to create a permanent, year round residence “just in case.” We are also in total agreement not to spend too much money. 

Buying used furnishings keeps items out of the landfill, saves us money and makes it easy for our children to dispose of someday. If a thrift store doesn’t want an item, they can give it away or throw it away since nothing has any monetary or sentimental value.

Even the Hmong skirt on the wall is vintage

However, it is a challenge to find just the right items. That requires patience. We now realize that we need to take our time to collect our “scraps” and our home will never be perfect. But it will be our home…well, at least for half the year.

Our daughter returned the china cabinet that Judy restored in 1978.

And what did my sister think? She approved!

What's Next?

Ted. Our nonstop flight from Tokyo to Atlanta on April 1 was tiring but everything went smoothly. 

For the first time in nearly 10 years, though, we did not have an Airbnb waiting for us. Judy and I decided last year that it was finally time to establish a permanent, year round base in Athens, Georgia. After doing some research, we decided that the best option for us was to rent an apartment. While we were in Asia, we worked with the leasing agent at a place we had inspected in December and signed a lease (thank you internet). 

However, we didn’t own ANYTHING. We had no bed, chairs, cutlery - nothing but a signed lease. We did have friends, though and Susan and Kay invited us to spend as much time as we needed in their guest house near Athens while we furnished our new home. 

We have now moved in but it is still pretty bare bones. With our proclivity towards minimalism and recycling, we decided to buy little or nothing new. So far, about all we have bought new is a mattress and a toaster. 

Buying used is hard work though. We spend part of every day scouring estate sales, yard sales, and thrift stores plus something I had never heard of - Facebook Marketplace. Yeah - it’s time consuming, but can also be fun when we “strike gold!” 

Again, friends are lending a hand. Gary, a Texas born artist and his wife, Sally has given us several beautiful paintings, a rug and a TV. Other friends have contributed everything from wine glasses to an inflatable air mattress. Knowing we would be establishing a home, we purchased a few decorative items in Asia. 

Judy bought this at a used kimono shop in Kyoto

We have about seven weeks til we hit the road again so we have time to whip things into shape. I have an earlier deadline, though. My sister Kathy arrives in three weeks for a visit and I want everything looking pretty good by then. 

On June 4, we head out on a two month road trip in our beloved 2004 Toyota Tundra, Raymond.

This Prius wishes he was Raymond

 We will wend our way up the East Coast to New England, continue on to Quebec and then slowly drive back down to Georgia. 

Judy and I plan to visit with lots of friends and family along the way and also just wander around. Sometimes the places we like the best are places we didn’t even know existed til we got there! 

 Meanwhile … I have to get back to figuring out how to operate our new robot vacuum cleaner ($15 at a thrift store).