Vermont and Ohio

This picture is sunset in Lee, Massachusetts from the deck of our hotel. We stopped here on our way to Vermont.

The best things in life are the people we love… The places we’ve been & the memories we’ve made along the way. – unknown

Roaming Rangeley Summer 2022

Vermont and Ohio May 2022

On our way to Vermont to visit family we left Virginia, drove through West Virginia, stopped for a night, then drove through five states the next day: Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts! We stopped for one last hike on the Appalachian Trail in Salisbury, CT as our mid-day stretch, making CT Rangeley’s eighth state (out of 14) he has hiked in…on the AT…so far : ) We stayed one night in Lee, MA on Laurel Lake and found a great wooded hike to enjoy before bed. Sticks, water, wooded hikes and running, all Rangeley’s favorite things!

Our next stop, Vermont, is always filled with family love. We stay with Gary’s sister in Westford, VT. She and her husband live on 5 acres, along the Browns River with a historical covered bridge (no cars any more) in their front yard : ) Nothing like smore’s by a bonfire; enjoying their first grandbaby, 3 mo. old Isabella and her parents; and long morning chats over espresso make for a very welcoming and relaxing visit.

We took Gary’s 91-year-old mom and his step dad, who live in Montpelier (the capitol of VT), to her favorite local park for a Mother’s Day picnic with Gary’s sister.  A couple days later, Gary, both his sisters, Rangeley and I took their mom out for another lovely Mother’s Day lunch at her favorite Italian Restaurant in Montpelier, Sarducci’s. We sat outside by the Winooski River. She likes Rangeley and we enjoyed his mom enjoying her “kids” on a beautiful day together.

A visit to Montpelier is not complete without a traditional stop at Morse Farm for a Maple Creemee!  (Vermont speak for a soft serve ice cream cone.) They have the best soft serve ice cream made with their own maple syrup. We lived in VT for 35 years and we always buy a gallon of the local “liquid gold” to take home. Gary’s niece and her two girls (roughly 7 and 10) met us there. Petting the goats and throwing the tennis ball for Rangeley in the lush green fields with the girls, while watching the cows graze in the distance, made for a perfect visit. Living in AZ, we do not see the family as much as we’d like to.

I made a long overdue social call to friends in Essex Junction, VT that I have not seen since we moved to Arizona 25 years ago! We used to be Amway distributors together, for several years, and chatted for hours about how fast time flies! We will remain connected from now on!

We traveled to Millersburg, Ohio next. (We were entertained as we drove through some interesting cities: Ohio, Poland, Norway and Russia, all towns in NY!)  Holmes County in Ohio is on our agenda whenever possible. Rangeley came from a young Amish family’s farm and we have been friends for the past two years since we picked him up at 8 weeks old. Each time we visit we are introduced to more of the extended family making us feel so welcome and included. We visited with the parents on their farms (they are our age, early 60’s); spent a lot of time on our friend’s farm with their 3 ½ yr. old daughter and their son, who was born 9 weeks ago. We do not have grand children yet so I held the baby and enjoyed reading books while their daughter sat on my lap as often as the children and parents would let me!

Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated. – unknown

We all went to a horse auction in Berlin, Ohio which was really fun! We were certainly the minority visitors as we sat in the bleachers with over 200 Amish and Mennonite viewers and bidders. The men were all in their beige straw hats with black trim and handmade trousers. The women donned their white Kapps (bonnets) and long, mostly solid colored, handmade dresses which often matched their daughter’s. The community is so welcoming and the excitement of the fast-talking auctioneer; the children enjoying the horses and each other; the homemade concessions food sold by volunteers and silent but effective bidders barely raising a hand to buy a $15,000 buggy race horse made for an educational and pleasant morning! We so enjoyed our friend’s new colt, puppies, and their daughter loving to throw the ball for Rangeley, who she has played with since his birth in their barn two years ago!

A memorable moment at our friend’s farm was when Gary was outside washing their buggy and the wife was inside, on Gary’s computer, surfing the web for cribs! : ) Hummmm…. : )

We are now on our way to Michigan to visit Isle Royale National Park. Stay tuned for that post in a week or so!

Live simply, love well, breathe, appreciate life.