Dartmouth, Family, and Points West

Roger here... 

Dartmouth...

 I don't know why, but of all the Ivy League Colleges I have always been most fascinated by Dartmouth.  Actually, my interest in the college probably stems from its ties to the movie, "Animal House."  Back in the day I thought that movie was hilarious.  Animal House was actually filmed at the University of Oregon, but the movie was based on the screenwriter's actual fraternity experiences at Dartmouth.  Enough of that.

During our last full day in Vermont, we decided to take a short drive back into New Hampshire to the town of Hanover, which is pretty much a part of  the Dartmouth campus.

This decorative bridge greeted us at the state line --- a mile later we were looking for a parking place in Hanover, near the campus.

The campus matched my expectations.  Buildings of classic architecture surrounded a large green quadrangle.  The building in the opening picture with the clock tower (which chimes every hour) anchored one end of the large rectangle of grass.  

Notice the 1784 date on this building.

The stonework in this church is interesting.

Most of the buildings that surround the quadrangle have artwork.  We liked this one, as it resembled a cairn.  During freshman orientation, the students are asked to look through the window at the top of the sculpture.  It frames the grassy quadrangle where they will graduate in four years.  Kinda cool.

Family....

In the last post I briefly talked about my grandfather's apple orchard and my cousins that we met there every Sunday for dinner with the Norris family.  While we were in Vermont, one of those cousins (Dennis --- the older brother I never had,  and in many ways a mentor) contacted us.  (In our youth he led us into quite a bit of mischief on grandpa's farm.)  Dennis was an usher in our wedding.  His sister, Beth, was the sister I never had.  Dennis and Joan live in Connecticut.  We figured out a way to meet for lunch in Hanover at a campus village restaurant, Molly's.  We have been close to Dennis and his wife, Joan, for decades, but had not seen them for many years.  This was an unexpected highlight of our trip.

L to R... Dennis, Roger Dianne, Joan

The waitress was extremely patient with us as we lingered before ordering, after ordering, and after eating.  We spent a great deal of time reliving old memories and catching up with the lives of our kids.  It was a special time that will not be forgotten.

We promised not to let so much time pass before getting together again.

Points West...

Reluctantly, it was time to pull ourselves away from New England.  We were headed toward the midwest.  

Our first day of travel was probably very scenic, but all we saw was rain, fog, and roadways --- not a fun drive.  Our expensive RV site (Herkimer, NY) for the night was nothing more than a 3 inch mud puddle.  We requested another site which was granted, but it was not our best camping night.  

It takes a long time to cross some states.  New York is one of those.  Our second night was also in that state, but oh, what a difference.  The Lake Erie KOA in Westfield was a haven after two long days of driving.  This family-owned RV park, across the street from Lake Erie, had all the things we craved after a long day --- full hookups, easy access, friendly staff, good connections, woodland views, and quiet time in the forest.

It also had a hiking trail that we (two people, two dogs) relished in the late afternoon.

We crossed a newly constructed bridge over a small stream that led to a large isolated fishing pond and....

Bandido says, "There goes mom.  Always in the lead."

... an extension of the path that edged a vineyard.

At the end of the trail we had the option of crossing the road and entering a quiet city park that was directly on Lake Erie.

The early evening views were amazing!

When we returned to the Airstream, I walked to the office to order dinner from the food trailer.  Dinner was delivered to our site.  We do not often eat pizza, so this was a treat.

No these are not grapes!  They are delicious small pepperonis.

Dianne's Teensy-Weensy Trailer Tip:

With no pantry and just one small cabinet for food storage --

-- I needed to rethink the pantry staples like oils, vinegars, and spices that I use.  I found a solution on Amazon by buying two sets of plastic jars; one set of 8 ounce, and one set of 12 ounce.  I typed labels and taped them onto the jars.

I also had small plastic containers that I think were intended for beads or something (no idea where they came from), but they were useful for bringing along very small amounts of spices that I might need, but would not need routinely.  Old mint containers were the right size to bring salt.

I have actually reused one of the bottles already.  We purchased some Vermont salsa at the apple cider mill.   It came in a heavy glass jar.  I waited until we used some for a meal, then put the remainder (12 ounces were left) into the tall bottle we had already emptied from the salsa from home.  These bottles weigh nothing by themselves, and their square sides are a good use of space.   The uniformly-shaped jars pack much better than a mis-match of heavy store packaging would be.

  In fact, in my very tiny dorm-size refrigerator, they sit two deep in the door shelves, for those items requiring refrigeration:  




Pet Picture of the Day...

I hate and love this picture.  I hate it because it accentuates the natural frown that aging has plastered onto my face when I am resting.  It makes me look like I am in a bad mood.  I am not!

I love it because it proves that Dianne's dog loves me, too --- when she is not around.