Advent 2021

Dear Friends & Family,

We’ve had a year of ups and downs: Touched by grief, yet able to celebrate life. Isolated by Covid, yet able to travel a bit and to enjoy some time with friends.

Mark’s father died in Des Moines on July 11 of complications following surgery for a broken hip. He was just weeks short of his 99th birthday, but able to make his own decisions until just a few hours before the end. The celebration of his long life was an overwhelming tribute, the church filled with family and friends. Mark’s mother continues to do well in her independent living unit at Calvin Community.

International travel was impossible this year, but we did well. In addition to multiple trips to Des Moines, we drove to Florida for a couple of weeks in January, made it to Hawaii for a week in early May, got a few days on the North Shore of Lake Superior in August, and did a trip to view leaves in New England in October. Thanks to vaccines, masks, and tests, we managed to feel fairly safe in these ventures, though some plans had to be altered due to the pandemic.

Travel included time with Sarah and her family, including Harper, age 9, Corbin, 7, and Malcolm, almost 4. We are able to enjoy time with Katherine and her family, who live less than a half hour away from us. Granddaughter Clara, age 3, entertains us frequently.

We rejoice that we have managed to connect with several friends -- including some from college and high school years. The pandemic has made us appreciate these lasting friendships, whether with just another couple over a meal, or in larger reunions.

We pray that this season finds you well, and that our days of isolation are nearing an end. And may the year ahead offer us all more ups and fewer downs!

Mark & Mary Johns

 

Wrapping It Up

Today was our last in Boston. We slept in a bit, such as we are able (sleeping late is the part of retirement that we are failing), ate a leisurely breakfast in our room, read the internet a bit, and then checked out of the hotel (leaving our suitcases behind in safe keeping).

Pond in the Public Gardens of Boston Common

Starting again from Boston Common, we walked the Black Heritage Trail in Beacon Hill. First stop was the monument to the 54th Massachusetts Regiment -- the all-Black (except for commanding officers) regiment that was the subject of the 1989 feature film, Glory, starring Matthew Broderick, Denzel Washington, and Morgan Freeman. The bravery of these soldiers was not just a Hollywood gimmick.

The Black Heritage Trail is not nearly as carefully marked as the Freedom Trail we walked yesterday. Many of the sites don't even have a plaque to mark the location or explain the significance. Most were the homes of notable African freemen who were leaders in the abolitionist movement and/or organizers of the Underground Railroad.

An abandoned school building was on the tour, but no background was provided. The Trail ended at the African Meeting House, which is now a very highly-rated museum. The museum looked very interesting, but in an overly cautious anti-Covid effort, tickets must be booked online 24 hours in advance. There isn't much that we plan 24 hours in advance when traveling, so that was out.

Similarly, our attempts to tour the Massachusetts State House and the John F. Kennedy Library were thwarted by Covid precautions, either because the sites are completely closed or only open by advanced reservations.

After a respite in a local coffee shop, we set out on a mile walk across Boston to visit the Boston Public Library headquarters in the historic McKim Building at Copley Square. Although portions of this architectural masterpiece are also closed, most of the artwork is in the publicly accessible areas.

Some of the art works are pretty spectacular. Some took almost 30 years to complete, and others never were, because they were too controversial. (The Puritans were long gone by 1888 when construction of this building was begun, but the Puritan ethic ran deep!)

Our walk back from the Library took us past the famous Trinity Church of Boston. The congregation was founded in 1733, but the present building was begun after the Great Boston Fire of 1872. Architect Henry Hobson Richardson's revolutionary Romanesque design set the tone for several other church buildings that were similarly rebuilt following the fire, and for buildings of various sorts all over the country. Unfortunately, renovation work, and a big festival being set up for next weekend in Copley Square, sort of ruined the photos.

Trinity Church and Parish House from the back

We also stopped off for a very good lunch at a Mediterranean restaurant, right across the street from the Central Burying Ground -- there are old cemeteries all over the place here! Riding the T and shuttle bus, reversing our route from yesterday, was uneventful. Airport security was crowded, but we arrived in plenty of time.

Freedom Trail

The motel provided a decent breakfast and we got our usual early start. Google Maps took us on what they said was the fastest route. I'm not so sure, as most of the road were winding, with 45 mph speed limits. It was cloudy, with occasional mist, but not the rain and fog of the previous day.

Our first destination was Johnston, Rhode Island. We took the long way, silly as it may sound, just because we wanted to be able to say that we had been to Rhode Island! Mary has now visited 49 states -- only Alaska remains. I'm missing a few others. For the record, it seems a pleasant place. Certainly, the condition of the highways was much better than in Connecticut. Also, the villages and farmsteads appeared to be a bit more prosperous and better kept.

Having crossed Rhode Island off our lists, we turned north toward Boston. Anything and everything you may have heard or read about Boston traffic is entirely true. We spent about 20 minutes in a linear parking lot called I-93 in Quincy. But we finally reached the airport where we turned in our rental car. After more than 1300 miles in a week, we bid farewell to our Chevy Equinox -- and not very sadly. It met our needs, but I would never buy one.

The edge of Boston Common

The trip back into downtown Boston went without a hitch. We happened to catch the right shuttle bus immediately when we stepped out in front of the car rental facility. That shuttle dropped us at the station for "The T," the Boston subway. We only had to wait 10 minutes or so for our train, and again a few minutes for our one transfer. The walk from the station to our hotel was short, and we found it without incident. They even let us check in early.

Ben Franklin monument in Granary Burying Ground

After settling in, we walked around the corner and a few blocks up the street to Boston Common, where we picked up an interpretive map and set out on Boston's "Freedom Trail." Even though the Trail zig-zags through Boston's winding streets, it is exceptionally well marked, so it's almost impossible to get lost.

Paul Revere's house

Some of the sights along the way are the state house (1798), the cemetery where Benjamin Franklin, John Hancock, Samuel Adams, and other notables are buried, the site of the Boston Massacre, Faneuil Hall, Paul Revere's House, Old North Church, and more.

Old North Church & Revere statue

Across the Charles River Bridge, the Trail continues to the Boston Naval Yard where the U.S.S. Constitution is moored, and Bunker Hill and its monument.

U.S.S. Constitution

We walked well over 6 miles by the time we had done the Trail and return. On the way back we stopped for a good Italian meal, then stopped again for a pretty average Sam Adams beer. We returned to the hotel well after the sun had set. 

Bunker Hill monument

Rained Out

We left Vermont in drizzle and fog. The colors were not vivid in the gray light, but at least the trees near the road showed their true colors. A bit of a navigational error put us on a route other than what we had planned, but after a couple hours of driving we arrived at our first stop in Shelburne, Mass.

This little town's claim to fame is "The Bridge of Flowers." An old bridge was turned into a veterans' memorial by planting flower beds along the entire length. It is meticulously maintained, and we were surprised to find so many flowers in full bloom, even this late in the season.

Deerfield, Massachusetts has a long history. A stockade was erected in 1673 to enclose the first settlement on what was then the far western frontier of Massachusetts. A battle with the Pocumtuk tribe in 1675 caused the death of some 60 settlers, and attacks and reprisals continued off and on, culminating in a disastrous attack by the French and Indians in 1704.

Some of the buildings now standing in the historic area date to the 1760s. Many are preserved as museums, but others remain as private homes. In the few blocks along the old Main Street are also a boarding school for children, and Deerfield Academy, a residential high school.

Of course, as our luck would have it, all of the exhibits are closed on Mondays. But the rain abated to mere drizzle once again at our arrival, so we were able to walk the street and a footpath back into the farm fields. It was almost like stepping into a time machine.

With our walk complete, we set out for the Hartford, Connecticut area. Even though we were on Interstate highway, the drive was taxing due to traffic and poor visibility in the rain. We arrived at almost exactly noon in the suburb of Newington and the headquarters of The American Radio Relay League (ARRL), the national organization for amateur radio.

Though Mary could not have cared less, Mark is a Life Member of this organization. Due to Covid, there are no tours of the League headquarters at present. But Mark was able to visit the Maxim Memorial Radio Station, W1AW, and to actually operate the station briefly. The highlight was making contact via radio with college roommate and longtime friend, Steve, in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Next, we drove a short distance to the Mark Twain home. We were disappointed to discover that all tours of the home for the day were already sold out, but we did buy tickets to the museum, only. The exhibits on Twain were quite good, and we also were able to walk around the exterior of the home.

The Harriet Beecher Stowe home, which is quite literally next door to Twain's home, is closed down due to Covid. But we walked the grounds there, as well.

Since the rain put a damper on almost any other activity, we drove to the Hartford suburb of Farmington, CT, where we had a motel reservation. Although a large and fairly modern motel, the decor is meant to be reminiscent of a New England inn. We found it quite enchanting.

We also enjoyed the excellent Italian restaurant right next door, where we had a nice meal in the evening.

Making It Last

It's a three hour trip from Stowe to Bennington across Vermont. We made it last all day. Traveling almost exclusively on roads marked as "scenic byways," we drove mostly below the speed limit and took our time. The autumn colors were spectacular. Though morning fog obscured some, by afternoon we had our sunglasses on, and the mountains were dazzling. We also happened upon several covered bridges, and our route even took us through (over?) one.

Our longest stop was in Woodstock, Vermont. (No, it's not THAT Woodstock. The big rock festival in 1969 was outside of Woodstock, New York, about 150 southwest.) This Woodstock is the quintessential New England town, with beautiful colonial-style homes and a quaint business district with white, wood frame churches sporting tall steeples. Just outside of Woodstock is the Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historic Park. No, we had never heard of it, either.

This 1,000 acres of farms and woodlands was originally platted by in the 1820s by George P. Marsh, who grew up in the area and served several terms in Congress. He was later appointed an ambassador, representing the U.S. in several European countries. While overseas, he studied how European agricultural practices of the day had ruined the land. Upon return home in the mid-1800s, he lamented that the greed for cheap lumber had clear-cut most of Vermont's lush forests. In 1864, he published Man and Nature, a book that became in that era what Silent Spring was to the 1960s environmental movement.

In 1869, Marsh sold his huge farm to Frederick Billings, a native of the area who had become wealthy in Western land deals and as a railroad baron. Billings, Montana is named for him. Billings shared Marsh's concern for the land, introducing innovative farming methods and planting thousands of trees. He also built an opulent mansion on the site. (I forgot to get a photo of it, but I stole one from the internet.)

Billings's dream of a model sustainable farm and forest was carried on by his three daughters, and later by a granddaughter. Mary French, the granddaughter, married Lawrence Rockefeller, brother of New York governor and later U.S. Vice President Nelson Rockefeller. Lawrence, and his wife, were active in many environmental causes, and made the Woodstock farm and mansion their home for many decades. After Mary's death in the 1990s, the farm was given as a gift to the National Park Service.

We walked a little over three miles through the woods, had a brief tour of the house, watched an interpretive video, and then walked a bit in the town. We would liked to have eaten lunch in one of the cafes, but the town was packed with tourists. It was difficult to park, and most restaurants had waiting times of an hour or more. We finally went to a supermarket and bought deli sandwiches to eat in the car.

Driving a bit off the beaten track, we visited Quechee Gorge. Referred to by some (at least by some Vermont tourism promoters) as "The Little Grand Canyon of Vermont," the gorge is more than 160 feet deep, and is viewed from a highway bridge in the Quechee State Park. The gorge gets its name from the Ottaquechee River, which flows through it.

More driving along "scenic byways" took us through many more miles of beautiful fall colors, but we made few stops. One was at the Robert Frost farm, where the poet lived and worked through much of the 1920s.

Once in Bennington, we visited the monument to the Battle of Bennington. This Revolutionary War victory was actually fought across the state line in New York (not far -- from a high point you can see New York from here). But the battle saved the town of Bennington from being sacked by the British, and also kept the British from seizing vital supplies that were being stored here at that time.

We also paid a visit to "First Church," or First Congregational Church of Bennington. The cemetery next to the church is the oldest burial ground in Vermont. Robert Frost and most of his family members are buried here, as are a number of Revolutionary War heroes, five former U.S. Senators from Vermont, and a variety of other notables from the colonial and revolutionary eras.

Mary had identified a couple of fine places to eat in Bennington, but oddly, we found that the entire downtown area pretty much rolled up their sidewalks on Sunday evenings. All we could find was a rather unusual pizza place. It was not unusual for its pizza, which was average, but for the layout and the way business was done. We ordered our pizza from a high school girl at one counter, but had to step over to the bar -- which was crowded with raucous local football fans who had been drinking all afternoon -- to order our drinks. Then we had to go back to the pizza girl to pay the bill for everything. It was odd, and not what we were looking forward to. But we did not go to bed hungry.

Rain, Rain, Go Away

 The Wayside Inn at Bethlehem, NH served us a very nice breakfast. Then we were on the road. It was cloudy and rainy, but the brilliant leaf colors were still quite stunning across the mountains and hills all the way to Stowe, Vermont.

Stowe is a tourist town. It makes a good living from downhill skiers in the winter, and from leaf-peepers in the fall, with summer bikers and hikers filling in the rest of the year. There are lots of resorts, cute shops, restaurants, and tourist attractions of various sorts. Traffic is terrible!

After a quick stop at the Visitor Information Center, we drove north of town to Smugglers Notch, a narrow pass through the mountains with huge granite boulders on both sides of the road. At some points, it's only a one lane road. We made it through just fine, but then turned around for the return trip and met a Mini Cooper car club coming the opposite direction. We had to stop and let a parade of at least 20 MINIs pass!

There is also a state park at the Notch, and had it not been raining, we might have taken a walk. But it was a good day to stay dry in the car, and a bad day to take photos. We have only one.

We continued south and west to Waterbury, another tourist town. Waterbury is famous as the headquarters of Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream. Our lunch today was not a healthy, balanced meal. It was Ben & Jerry's!

From Waterbury we drove on to Burlington. The plan was to walk along the shore of Lake Champlain, but between the rain and "Alumnae Weekend" (homecoming) at the University of Vermont, parking was difficult and the crowds and traffic chaotic. We drove along the lake a bit, then through downtown and the campus area, before fleeing back toward Stowe.

The rain did not abate, so on the way back into Waterbury we stopped at a sort of shopping mall. Everything here was aimed at tourists -- a distillery, a cheese shop, a Patagonia sportswear store, an art gallery, etc. Prices were high and the shops were crowded. We did get to taste some free samples of genuine Vermont maple syrup, however.

Just up the road was Cold Hollow Cider, where the parking lot was also full. There was a shop here, too, selling every manner of tourist junk. In the actual cider shop we purchased a flight of four sample ciders and sipped them until they were gone. We opted not to bring home a growler of cider. It would be hard to keep refrigerated, and even harder to get onto the plane home.

Checking into our hotel was a saga. Rooms were not ready. People were lined up. The desk clerk was horribly inefficient and a bit rude. I waited in line for almost an hour, then was given the key to a room that was already occupied! It took even more time to get things straightened out, and in the end, it isn't even a very nice room. The place is old, run-down, and poorly maintained. But it is fairly clean, so we can live with it for one night.

Highlight of the day was dinner with college buddy and fraternity brother, George, and his "significant other," Thea. George has lived and worked in Burlington for more than 40 years. We have kept in touch over the years, primarily through Christmas letters, along with occasional email and phone calls. But we really haven't seen each other since college. It was a delicious meal and a wonderful evening of conversation.

The Kancamagus Highway

Up early once again, we enjoyed the motel breakfast and quickly hit the road before 8 a.m. Our initial destination was Conway, New Hampshire -- on the Maine/New Hampshire state line -- just less than 2 hours west of Augusta. The journey began on Interstate highway, but finished on winding 2-lane roads.

At Conway we refueled and hit the Visitor's Center for the White Mountain National Forest. Armed with maps and lists of highlights, we set out westward on New Hampshire State Highway 112 -- known as "The Kancamagus Highway," and designated as a National Scenic Byway. This highway is the main tourist route through the National Forest. And the big draw at this time of year, of course, is the fall colors.

First stop for us was the Albany Covered Bridge. Reminiscent of Madison County, Iowa, this covered bridge was first constructed in 1882, though it has be refurbished a time or two to keep it in shape. We enjoyed the bridge, and the scenic Swift River that it crosses. But as we walked a gravel trail parallel to the river, we noted that we found the leaves rather disappointing. While better than eastern Maine, they were far short of peak.

Only a few miles farther west, we began to notice the colors were more abundant. At Rocky Gorge, just three miles down the highway, we could already notice a difference.

We stopped at the Russell-Colbath House, built in 1832, where a National Park Historian gave us a private tour and run-down on the house and the rather eccentric family who built it and lived there for three generations. We walked a short, half-mile loop trail that ran between the house and the river, and then had lunch at a picnic table beside the barn (a very recent reconstruction).

At Sabbaday Falls (named for an historic event that took place near there on a Sunday) we took another short walk and climbed up hill a bit to see a cascade of water that reminded us a great deal of Dunning Springs in Decorah.

By the time we reached the C.L. Graham Overlook -- near the highest point on the highway and only about 20 miles from Conway -- the leaf color had advanced to the "spectacular" category! This was confirmed a few miles later at an unnamed overlook, and again at Hancock Overlook. These two overlooks are only about a half mile apart, but the first looks from the highway toward the south, and the other looks north. The forest was aflame with reds and yellows in both directions (the photos don't really show how beautiful it was).

We visited the Swift River a couple more times, briefly, at Otter Rocks and at Lincoln Woods. Otter Rocks is what the name suggests -- just a very rocky place in the riverbed that kids would enjoy wading in. Lincoln Woods features an old suspension bridge, suitable for pedestrians only. There were longer trails here, but we elected to save our energy for what was to come.

We left the Kancamagus Highway and the White Mountain National Forest upon reaching the town of Lincoln, and turned north on I-93/U.S. 3, almost immediately entering Franconia Notch State Park. The Park's main feature is Flume Gorge, a natural wonder that New Hampshire has turned into a paid attraction. 

While the rest of the park is free to all visitors, we paid $18.50 each to walk the 2-mile loop up to the Gorge and its waterfall. It was pretty spectacular, as were some of the views and lesser falls along the way. So, I think we got our money's worth.

We stopped along I-93 a couple more times for overlooks and short walks, including a rather interesting pool in the rocks, called "The Basin."

The GPS took us off the main highway onto a series of winding, 2-lane roads to get to our overnight stay at Bethlehem, NH. This little town boasts two big golf courses and lots of resorts. We thought we'd be staying in town, but discovered that our lodging was 3 miles out in the country. It was a charming old inn, right along the swiftly-flowing, rocky Ammonoosuc River. This was a delightful surprise. And even better, the inn featured a first-rate restaurant where we enjoyed a most excellent dinner while looking out at the river.

We passed some of the evening sitting in the inn's common room, in front of one of the original fireplaces from when the oldest part of the house was first constructed in the 1820s. It was a delightful treat to enjoy an old New England inn.

Acadia

We were up early this morning, showered, breakfasted, and gone before most of our motel neighbors had stirred. That got us into Acadia National Park before the crowds. First stop was a place called, "Sieur de Monts." It was a location we had missed the day before, and has a nature center, a museum, and a botanical garden. None of those were open before 9 a.m., but there were also a good many trails, open dawn to dusk, and we got in a good walk without having to deal with other tourists. The garden opened about the time we finished our hike, so took that in, as well.

Next, we continued along the loop drive to Thunder Hole -- a slit in the basalt rock shoreline that, when wind and tides are right, makes a thunderous sound as the waves come in. Neither wind nor tide seemed right yesterday, nor were they this morning. But this morning there weren't crowds of other tourists in the way. 

The walk along the seashore to Otter Point was beautiful, and took us well beyond the place along this trail that we had gone the day before. The sun broke through the clouds for us, and the few other people we met were happy to wish us a good morning.

We completed the loop drive much more quickly this morning, partly due to the lack of traffic, and partly because we didn't stop as many times as the day before. But at the end of the loop, instead of going back into Bar Harbor, we cut west along Route 233 to Eagle Lake. After some confusion due to Eagle Lake Trail construction, we got onto the gravel "carriage road" that runs along the west shore of the lake. 

Pedestrians share this road with many, many bicycles. We wish we had ours! But the walk was nice. The full loop would have taken much of a day of walking, so we walked until we decided to turn around and retrace our steps back to the car.

It was only a bit past noon and we had completed our planned hikes for the day. So, we aimed the car west toward Augusta, the state capital. We drove in intermittent showers, sometimes a sudden deluge, and just as quickly sunshine. Still, we made good time. But try as we might, it was impossible to find a picnic table to stop for lunch. We ate in a post office parking lot! Of course, we found a nice park with picnic tables about a mile beyond our stopping place. 

We were able to check into our motel early, and we hung out there for awhile, waiting for rain to stop. When it did, we drove to the local arboretum. It was a nice place, and we would have walked farther, but the trails were mostly mowed grass that was very wet.

Mary had scoped out a brew pub with good pizza. It was right along the river, so we had a great view from our table. Both the beer and the pizza were good, and a bit unique. We also discovered that the couple at the next table were also from the Twin Cities, only a few miles from us. We compared notes on our trips, then parted. We returned to the motel for the night.