We loaded up our clothing, lickety-split (?) and headed out for the 1,000 Islands to camp with Bobby's family. Bobby was sent off with exceptional reviews from Rochester, and promises of plenty of connections for when he needs to job search. Dreams of waterskiing, tubing, wakeboarding, and floating up to restaurants in cute little towns were dashed when Phil's boat broke down and the guys' troubleshooting efforts were of no avail. We supplemented with playing Big-ball volleyball at least twice a day and toasting exotic s'mores using coconut, strawberry, and chocolate-swirl marshmallows over a campfire at night.
Bobby and I were tested when I happened across a 2-carat diamond ring with platinum band on the ground. Probably a once-in-a-lifetime find. I did turn it in to the authorities, and that same day Bobby found out that his application for NY state residency was accepted, which will save us about the equivalent to what that ring was worth!
Saturday morning we were scheduled to leave the Islands, but my car just wouldn't start, even after some heavy jumping. So, Maureen and I drove into to town to get a battery, came back, only to find that Bobby got it to work by flooring the gas (engine must have flooded somehow). So, we were on our way- a little late. The 11-hour drive through the Adirondack Mtns. was worth every extra hour that we added onto it by getting lost and having to use an old-fashioned paper map to renavigate (Bobby broke our GPS by slamming the end in the glove compartment door, and I refused to borrow his Mom's b/c I think we need to be more self-reliant). We drove around countless little lake towns, and past country homes that looked home-made. We went through the posh little town of Lake Placid that had huge ski jumps that looked like they'd shoot you to the moon and great big Olympic training facilities. The atmosphere changed into a wintery, pristine, nostalgia as we headed into Vermont, which was packed full of little artisan shops and signs boasting "Vermont Maple Syrup". The town of Woodstock charmed me the most, as each house was beautiful looked like it would be occupied by a stately old gentlemen who loves to read a good book and invite you to have some tea or coffee. The only remnant of the hippie-vibe from the well-known festival was one VW van that Bobby spied on the outskirts of town.
Which brings me up to the present....
Maine.
Bobby already lost me once in our 2 bedroom little apartment that sits above a garage in the little city/town of Saco. It's not big, but it is for us. He said that it seems like it will be more difficult to impress people at the Medical Center here because they don't ask as much work from him or have as exotic of cases as in Rochester. Still, the variety of experience that he had in NY already helped establish him a little. So far, we haven't seen too much of Maine yet...just the little roads from here to Portland and to Walmart (where we tried, unsuccessfully, to return the extra car battery). I did, already, buy clams and steam them up myself. Who can resist clams at $3.50/lb and lobster, $5.00/each, at the local farmers market??? Lobster will be my next murder victim. I have to admit that I'm not much of a killer. The mud clams up here have these long blackish/brown necks that stick out of the shells. I prodded each one to make sure they were still alive by watching them withdraw like a turtle in it's shell. But it was tough to see those necks crane out so far when I submerged them into boiling water as they tried to get some air and hold on to life. Bobby's aunt said that she'll never cook lobster again because the last one she boiled let out a high-pitched sort of scream when she put it in the water! agh.
On a similar note, I do really like dissecting things that are already dead. We have cable here, and I've been watching back-to-back episodes of "Dr. G", a lady who examines dead bodies to discover their cause of death. It really is a reminder that God's order of right/wrong is able to be seen everywhere...even in death. When the bodies are opened, many of people's flaws are discovered, even if the outside looks good. So many of the untimely deaths were a result of people's choices. What would your insides say about you if we could see? Some people died just because they just wanted to ignore and dismiss the problems in their body, others were more blatant: alcoholism causing black esophagus or other problems, cocaine leaving holes in noses, plaque build up...etc.
OH...one last thing....Baby Evan was born to Stephen and Angela Stello! Aunt Kara and Uncle Bobby!! I'm so excited to meet the little guy and want to call Angela and Steve allllll the time. Babies, babies, babies!
:)
Have a great week!
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