ANOTHER WEEK FROM THE ROAD

Another good week on the road.. We spent July 17-21 as the guests of good friends, Marvis and Bob Gersten at their beautiful lake front home in Goshen CT.  Marvis and Bob invited friends in for us to meet as well as two couples from the area that we know.  It was a jolly good time for our traveling group of gypsies in spite of brief time out for a Dr's visit to look at my toe that I rubbed a blister on that does not want to heal on Monday. Tuesday, we took to the road for a visit to Mystic Seaport and after an overnight in Bedford MA visited Plymouth Plantation and the Mayflower II on Wednesday.  En route back to Goshen, we stopped off for Ken to visit a dental office for a tooth that was acting up. Thanks to a very nice dentist in Waterbury CT, Ken seems to have "dodged" a major problem. Thank you Dr. Paul.

Thursday morning we got a late getaway from Goshen en route to Gloucester MA where we enjoyed dinner on the wharf in Rockport and on Friday, had a "whale" of a whale watching trip out of Gloucester.  This was our second whale watching trip out of Gloucester and both times we were amazed by the number of whales that we were privileged to see.  They do a great job and spare no effort to assure satisfaction of the  over all experience.

 

Saturday we moved into Portland Maine where we will say goodbye to Barbara who leaves for Denver on Monday.  We are keeping busy and having a good time with family and good friends as we share our experience with people that we enjoy.

 

 

Ken and Pat Burns from the road and/or the sea
just as happy as can be

STILL ON THE ROAD

Sunday, July 11.  We enjoyed the day at Port Clinton with bro, Don and wife, Linda and their friends, Lynn and Ann Poet who drove over from their home in Michigan.  We took the "ferry" over to Put In Bay, did a tour of the island, had lunch and enjoyed that small island's charm. 

 

Monday Junely 12, provided us another beautiful day of travel into Erie, PA, where we enjoyed our evening as guests of the local Elks Lodge.  Our brother Elks in Erie were most gracious and welcoming in their hospitality. 

 

Tuesday, July 13, we made the short trek into Buffalo, where we reunited with Barbara after her independent travels into Michigan and Toronto and met up  with Cousin Richard and his friend, Lea.  We enjoyed an afternoon and evening of "catching up" and coordinated the next day's visit to Warsaw, NY where the fathers of the Cousins were born before the family moved to California.  Cousin Bill nixed the trip to Warsaw but agreed to join us for dinner after our return from the "outback".

 

Wednesday morning dawned bright and clear for the trip to Warsaw where the Cousins met up with relatives from their past who not only remembered their fathers but Ken was surprised to learn that a Cousin, Robert Burns, also remembered him and his visit to Warsaw with his folks when he was only 8.  It was an exciting day for all and one that they all enjoyed immensely.   After the Warsaw visit, everyone returned to Buffalo for dinner with Bill and a quick 'catch up" on his activities.  Bill has played  bass in the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra since his graduation from college 47 years ago.  The Buffalo Philharmonic is his family and his love. 

 

Thursday the Cousins enjoyed a day at Niagara Falls.  In the evening, Ken and I joined them for a presentation by the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra on Goat Island in celebration of the 125^th year anniversary of the founding of the oldest State Park in the U.S.  What a wonderful, proud conclusion to our visit with Richard and Bill, the only two living first cousins on the Burns side on this special occasion and heartwarming  presentation of our talented Cousin in whom we are both proud and awed. Thank you Bill for arranging for us to heari you share your talents with the "world at large".What a memorable experience it was for all of us.

 

Friday, July 15 – marked the conclusion of our very pleasant and special visit to Buffalo and once again, we are on the road heading for Goshen, CT and our visit with the Gerstens at their cottage on the lake. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ken and Pat Burns from the road and/or the sea
just as happy as can be

GOOD MORNING FROM PORT CLINTON OHIO

The sun shines bright on Lake Erie and all is well with the world.  We had a wonderful visit with my Monticello (and Chicago) relatives.  Our trip to Port Clinton was smooth – Ken “practiced” singing, I watched the cornfields fly by.  This seemed a winning combination. 

We enjoyed our five days of rest, relaxation and visiting on the lake and are now ready to move on into the East where the Burns first cousins will meet and rediscover their roots together.  We are looking forward to a presentation of the Buffalo Symphony where Ken’s first cousin, Bill Burns, has spent his musical career.  It will be great to see Bill, Richard and meet Richard’s friend.

 

 

 

 

 

 

P7030050 Crazy Horse Ranch House

P7040087

P7040091 MY OLD INDIANA HOME (WHERE I WAS BORN)

P7040118 YEP I RODE IT

P7050131 MY ROOTS

PICT0132 MABEL DAUGHERTY 99 AND STILL PLAYING THE PIANO

The ranch.

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MY INDIANA ROOTS

After our week at the Tiffin Factory in Red Bay, Alabama, we spent two nights on a lake in Mississippi which was delightful in spite of the heat.  Our friend Mackie from La Grange, Tennessee joined us for our trip into the Midwest and she made our trek “Easterly” special.  She has now abandoned us and returned to her home in La Grange but she will be with us in the many special memories that we were able to share with her on our travels together.

 

On Thursday, we departed the Southern perimeters and made our way East, exploring the Natchez Trace into Nashville and into the vicinity of Mammoth Caves in Kentucky for our last stop on the road prior to our Indiana sojourn.  We made our reservations for a RV park supposedly 2 ½ miles off Highway 65 which seemed a reasonable distance from a main through fare.  When I called the proprietor of the RV Park to confirm our reservations, he told us not to follow the GPS and changed the exit number.  We followed his instructions for the exist number but resumed the GPS delivery for the details of the remainder of our route.  WRONG.!!  It was a traumatic drive through “cowpaths” that made our previous “cowpath” adventures seem like major highways.  After approximately 16 miles of rolling hills on a one lane sometimes paved road, we returned to the interstate, found our RV Park and once connected to the amenities of a park, tried to relax, grateful to have avoided any major calamity that would have “ruined our day”.

 

Of course, the next day we arrived for our stay at the Crazy Horse Ranch in Southern Indiana and that, too, was a traumatic event for old age.  My nephew had “warned” us to be alert to “an interesting” adventure and that it was.  There were 2 miles of country road, approximately 1 mile was gravel and little more than a tractor path.  In spite of my shouts and otherwise “active” vocabulary, Ken made it successfully and once we arrived, the “adventure” was worth it.  It was a beautiful location. We had a very comfortable ten days in spite of the high mid western temperatures into or near the 100s most of our stay.  . Beyond the trauma, drama and silence of the night, it was a wonderful return to my roots with nephews, nieces and friends exhibiting and practicing “unconditional” love and friendship that has long made me feel special when I visit my roots.   It was a wonderful week of visiting, eating and wonderful fellowship capped off by a very special 4^th of July sermon delivered by the husband of a friend from my early childhood in the church where Ken and I were married almost 59 years ago.  Our Fourth of July with family and friends was indeed a very special celebration on this special birthday for our country.

 

My nephew provided a tour of the Pinnick Cemetery on old Log Creek Road outside of French Lick, where  my Great Great Great ?? Grandfather James “Grandsire” Pinnick resides.  My Grandfather fought in the American Revolution, a fact that I hope might help me in the event that I should ever seek residence in Arizona.  Cemetery “hopping” is a favorite past time for we mid-western born citizens and I always look forward to including it in my brief period of “looking back” during my infrequent treks to my “old Indiana home”.  

 

While I know that there is wisdom in the statement “you can’t go home again”, I also know that there are special memories, wonderful stories and many happy reminisces in returning to ones roots on the occasion of your 60^th High School Reunion.  Never mind that you might not recognize most of your fellow graduates, it is the adventure of looking to someone you have already identified and saying “who is that?”.  The degree of stupidity that you can feel is, indeed, enough to keep you humble for the remainder of your life.