Monday, July 29th - William and Mary Tour then Drive HOME!

Monday 29th: Tour at William and Mary - separate post.
Again another night where I did not sleep well, woke up at 2 am when Ford shouted something, then when he got up to use the bathroom and hit the wall. I think I finally dozed for an hour, getting up at 6:30. I did my usual routine, drank coffee and ate the free breakfast, a bagel and yogurt this time. Ford only had juice with his pills. We packed up the room, an hour early before we needed to drive to W&M. 
We finished the tour about noon. I drove us to a restaurant, Food for Thought, that was on the top list for the area. I had the beet salad with blue cheese, candied pecans. AA enjoyed her vegan "Beyond" burger with mushrooms, avocado. Ford ate fish and chips. 

Then on the ride to our evening stop at Florence SC. I messed up navigating by missing our turn onto I295 South. 
Tuesday 30th: Breakfast at the hotel was comprehensive with scrambled eggs, Jimmy Dean breakfast sandwiches and the usual oatmeal, cereals, yogurt, etc. - which I like, I am usually the only one who wakes up hungry! Alyzabeth usually joins me while Ford will drink juice, eat a biscuit or bagel that I bring back to the room. 

Drove to Carolyn's, picked up Ginger. Started laundry and catching up on mail, household chores (Donna had been to our house so all clean!). All our plants survived! 

Ford and I went to the River House (our usual friends all are recovering from COVID), spoke to Christina Falsone Darling who is leaving for her hometown of Detroit - we told her about Bargain Block. Then Chipotle for dinner. Still watching lots of Olympics. Melissa called, talked about the LSL home tax valuation.

Brought Grammie's "what not" corner shelf to Florida.

AA is happy to be back with her Ginger dog!

Wednesday 31st: Didn't sleep well, sneezing, finally went to the couch and slept until about 7:00 a.m. We relaxed, continued to do laundry, make "to-do" lists. AA drove her car to air it out. Bought a few groceries, making spaghetti for dinner.

Terri sent a photo of her new windows:

William and Mary College Tour (07/29/24)

We enjoyed the tour of the William and Mary campus. It was another hot summer day, so they did shorten the tour a little.

We arrived at 9:40 am, parked and walked to the Undergraduate Admission Office. We listened to the Senior Dean and a rising Senior, Sarah. Then the walking tour. 

It was a warm day, sunny, we heard about research, exchange opportunities, 400+ clubs/organizations. Our tour guide was Elizabeth, a rising Senior, told us about her favorite study areas, her favorite building, utilizing the career center, etc.

This photo is actually the end of the tour.

July 27th - 28th Driving to Williamsburg - Jamestowne

Saturday: Drove from New Brunswick, NJ to Williamsburg. Terrible traffic, lots of slowdowns and bumper traffic. We made a few stops, had a very slow Burger King lunch (never again!). Our Residence Inn is fine, outdoor pool (very crowded, at least 35+ people in it!), nice as they offer free bottles of water and ice cream!
We had leftover pizza and my pesto pasta for dinner and Italian wine. Watching the Paris Olympics.
Sunday: We had our free breakfast and drove to Historic Jamestown.

There are three Jamestown parks: Settlement Jamestowne - a recreation of the settlement, is a State Park; The National Park at Jamestown is adjacent to the private historical one (we attended) and has more ruins, waterfrontage, walking paths, not much to see.
We joined the walking tour with a local historian (the director of the park). He spoke for 1.5 hours before deciding we needed to walk a little! Very interesting. We went through the museum, ate lunch at the cafe (and I copied the panini I had there - brie cheese with turkey, green apple on cinnamon swirl bread with mayo - yummy!)

Alyzabeth took this photo blue sky with single cloud (she rarely takes pictures):

And dinner at the local Olive Garden and drove around the WIlliam and Mary campus to get our bearings. Glad we explored more of America's history - AA suggested it - so a great idea! Fun day!

Home Visit Over - Gray Maine! July 26th then on the ROAD!

Friday - Back on the road - driving SOUTH! 

We were going to visit with Dave Curewitz (Sandy and Wren) but they got COVID from their recent trip to Egypt. We drove to East Brunswick, NJ with several stops - didn't coordinate our gas stops, restroom breaks, lunch, plus I got off the interstate twice and jumped back on - wasted time. We drove through Massachusetts (picked up lunch at Micknuck's Marketplace - scones, apples, chips and a deli sandwich), Hartford CT, New York City after the map took be on a parkway, then several turns to finally get on the George Washington bridge. 

Saw a truck - company name "Leaa"!

It was slow going with several slowdowns and "bumper to bumper" traffic. We arrived at the Fairfield, went to Mancini's Pizza place. Good food - very busy with take out, then the dining room filled up. No alcohol, so enjoyed a small glass of wine back in our room. Pizza, chicken pesto special, Greek salad and garlic bread.

Watched part of the Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony. Very different with athletes arriving in boats and entertainment in different locations.

Maine Trip - Last Day Thursday 07/25/24

Thursday: Rainy morning, changed our plans, since we had lobster rolls last night, and with the weather, not going to Two Lights. Back to L.L. Bean and then Bradbury Mountain. Retail therapy - two pair of Teva sandals; AA bought sweater and two pairs of pants.

We decided to do our "traditional" hike up Bradbury Mountain, even though we are chancing AA's knee. We made it (I am definitely out of shape!).

Our last night, had fun visiting with Hilary and her new puppy Monty.

Hilary sent me a photo of our hiking trip: