All is calm

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Thank You Woodstock

Mt. Katahdin, on the way to NB.

Thank you to my Mom, my aunts and my cousins for a wonderful visit, and overnight in Woodstock, New Brunswick. It was a short visit, but enjoyable. Thank you. 

Last Trip to Canada

I was going through some documents I had on my Google Drive and I came across one that I had put together last June. I did this in planning a trip to New Brunswick, Canada to take my Mom, and Dad, up to her hometown, where she grew up. But the visual planning was done more for my Dad so he would know what to expect, and feel comfortable knowing that we were making several stops so he could stretch, get coffee, or whatever.

In recent weeks, Dad had talked with my Mom about how he could not wait to take (I would drive them) Mom back to Canada again this year. Then, on April 14, 2016, God intervened, and took Dad to his eternal home. As it turned out, this trip I planned, which we did take, would be Dad’s last trip to Canada. Dad did not do well on that trip, he was not completely healthy at the time, and he struggled throughout. That being said, I choose to remember the dozens and dozens of trips Dad did make to Canada over the years, and how those trips remain as some of the most fond memories of my lifetime. Dad took Mom up to her home for more than 40 years, and he taught me well. I have taken Mom and Dad up to the old farm country in New Brunswick on nearly all of their trips over the last 4-5 years. Lord willing, I will be able to continue bringing Mom over the border to see her family for many years to come. I am thankful. I am blessed. I love my parents and would go to the ends of the earth for them. I miss my Dad.

Here’s how that simple agenda looked.

Planning for travel and stops to New Brunswick. June 26-29, 2015.

Mom, Dad, and Steve.

Leave Mom and Dad’s on Friday morning, June 26, 2015 by 7:15am.

Grab coffee at DD in the Irving Station at Exit 5 by 7:30am.

Drive out 101 East and get on 95N.

Cross into Maine by 8:30am.

 

Stop at Gray, Maine Service Plaza at exit 59 by 9:30am.

Back on the highway by 9:45am.

 

Stop at Exit 130 Tim Horton’s in Waterville, Maine by 11:00am.

Back on the highway by 11:15am.

 

Stop at Exit 193 in Orono, Maine by 12:30pm.

Back on the highway by 12:45pm.

 

Stop at Exit 302 in Houlton, Maine by 2:15pm.

Gas up, any snacks or drinks pick up, empty garbage, etc.

 

Get to the border by 2:40 pm.

 

Stop at Aunt Barbara’s house in Hartland, NB by 4:15pm (Atlantic).

 

Return home to Londonderry on Monday, June 29, 2015.

We will retrace these same stops on the way home.

Likely leaving the Woodstock, NB area by 11:30am (Atlantic Time).

 

This should get us to Londonderry by 6:00pm (Eastern).

Photos are (c) Google Maps and 1inawesomewonder.

Miramichi Beauty

A favorite picture of mine. I took this picture in October 2013, one on of my favorite ‘road-trip’ days ever.

The Miramichi River from Ted Williams’ Fishing Camp

OBX The Trip

The week was a whirlwind of travel, adapting we all deploy
Mostly a magical Holiday feeling, for all ages, girl or boy

Thank you my brother for your abundance of generosity
Here I look deeper at seconds created by opportunity

We will never forget the road trips, trying if not epic
Where every turn and twist not a soul could predict

I ask each of you, and perhaps challenge you a bit too,
To peer beneath the surface, as an introspect might do

You possess the frame and even the visual that fits
Scan your minds eye, a personal collection of video clips

Zoom from above to the level that’s so, so close
Smile at the memory, repeat, take in a heavy dose

On the beach you pan in any direction among family
Each unto their own, they play, enjoy, just being happily

There’s the dinner table each night that sprawls endlessly
Fellowship amidst the feast with all the loved ones you see

Day trips and moments we all made our for ourselves
But the pure joy is there for each of us that delves

The evening around the screen we all did gather to spy
That breaking story like scenes from days long gone by

The elaborate collection of material captured by electronics
Too many exhibits for our minds focus to one firmly fix

So, make common, not this week, rather hold tight your grip
On the moments abundant carrying pure joy, OBX the trip