Travels Over the Holiday

A quick post to update everyone. Nicki and I left Thanksgiving morning in a thick fog which burned off after the first 20 miles. Then across Pennsylvania on Route 80 beginning with beautiful sunshine gradually changing to pelting windy rain as we neared Laura's in Connecticut. Arrived there mid-evening after averaging 63 MPH for the 590 miles. Laura had plenty of traditional turkey dinner food waiting for us (thanks to Mike's family gathering). Friday had a great pancake breakfast hosted by Laura, a long hike in a nature preserve (beautiful weather), early dinner at a former stagecoach stop, a meeting with Mike's dad, and a nice gathering with dessert with Mike's sister and her husband. Saturday it was breakfast at Moe's in Hartford and then to connect with Martin in the Bronx, a nice lunch with him, a walking tour near his current apartment and along the East River circling the school where he is working, a drive through the neighborhood to highlight the places he has lived - a very nice visit that was too short of course. And then we headed west rejoining Route 80 into the night, taking the historic Route 219 through Bradford and arriving in Little Valley by 11:00. Again quick traveling making good time. That evening and Sunday morning I did my chores - bled the radiators (didn't need it), set up the new cordless phone and answering machine, coded the new garage door openers, fixed the porch floorboards at the front steps (Ed and I consulted, he did the sawing, I did the hammering), placed the wreath in the cemetery. We also did the obligatory trip to Ellicottville - lunch at the brewery with Martha. Could not believe the warm weather - we should have brought the kayaks. Left Little Valley at 3:30 and were back in Oberlin by 6:30. A total of 1,400 miles and we got 26 MPG. Fast miles, good food, nice people everywhere. No photos yet - we did lots of shots on the nature preserve hike but haven't downloaded them. Almost finished Carl Hiaasen's new book Nature Girl - probably will get it done tonight (Nicki reads while I drive - really makes the driving more tolerable).