"Pilgrimage" to Plymouth

Sunday,

October eleventh,

in the year of our Lord,

Two thousand aught nine..

our weeks adventures

started to roll out before us... a hearty meal was needed to

get the ball rolling..

so we stopped in at the

Schoolhouse Cafe.

Everyone was filled to the brim...

then on the road to

Plymouth...

Coming around the bend in the road
toward the harbor...
ahead at the docks
you can't miss the sight of the
Mayflower II
(a full scale reproduction of the original..
it was built in Brixham,England and sailed the
Atlantic ocean to her new home in Plymouth in 1957..
just as the original Mayflower did in 1620.
No motors, no chase boats just wind, sails and sailors!

I must apologize ,
for here I will take a short cut and give you a link to Wikepedia
in order to read more about the Mayflower..
www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayflower
Today ,
after a week of adventures, is a day of catch up..
housework, laundry, blogging and rest...

Walking from our parking spot the first
inhabitant of the "Plimouth Park"
we encounter is
William Bradford
first Governor
www.pilgramhall.org/bradfordwilliam.htm


ahhh...
could that be...
Pilgrims?
looking over to the dock...

Some of Mary's pictures,
as the one above and below,
will be helping to tell the story of
how we spent our days...

On board and below decks

Aye, aye, Cap'an!

a few Pilgrim's are aboard ship

to help us understand

what life was like for them

on their voyage

some little girls were fascinated!!

as was I...

I would love to dress up

and pretend to live in another time..
and they get paid for it , too!

Mary, inspects the ship..

crow's nest

As we leave the ship ,

heading back around the bank,

we stop

to take a quick gander at the

"Plymouth Rock"

Above you see what is left of

Plymouth rock...

the tip of a Large granite bolder,

sitting in the harbor..

supposedly used to disembark

the Mayflower..

the story goes that in the year

1776..ish

an attempt was made to move the rock ashore

for easier viewing..

they broke the rock...

then

after many a year of mistreatment by

John Q. Public..

tourist and looky-lou's

chipped pieces off of the rock for

souvenirs..

it was decided to move the rock yet again

this time by a team of twenty oxen

to its resting place in a special building..

where as the rock yet again

felt the harsh treatment

of the movers and once again was broken..

Plymouth rock has been broken,

and broken again,

cemented back together, moved, dropped and broken again...

and stamped with the year 1620 .

At last ,

the rock was moved to its

resting spot where we find it today..

sitting at sea level

in a Roman Doric Portico

so that we might gaze upon it ,yet not touch..

Leaving Plymouth we head north

to New Hampshire...

Supper will be eaten at "Petey's",

an early set alarm will get us up and going in the morning,

heading for the hills we will ride the foliage train

and hunt for covered bridges!

***

I will try to post on the blog every couple of days,

in order to catch up

before more adventures take place*

So check back in soon for the next instillation.....

Many, Many, Many pictures were taken...

and a whole lot of laughing was done..

nothing could be more

exciting than having fun filled adventures

with family !

***

* more adventures are waiting just around the bend..

Watch out South Carolina

here we come!

Peek into the Whirlwind

This week has been a whirlwind!!!

"And we ain't done yet!"

So I thought for those of you,

that might be chomping at your bits

to have a look at what has been going on

I would take a moments time,

download a "few" pictures ,

just to give you an idea of what it has been like

and then next week after all is said and done,

when everything and everyone is

in their own prospective comfy spot and ready to really

look back on the time that was...

then I will download more of the pictures chronicling

this weeks adventures..

but, until then...

let's take an edited version of a sneak peek at what's gone on so far...

Sunday, Michael and I

loaded up and headed to

Logan Int. airport in Boston.

There we retrieved

Mary and Cathy

flying in from Alabama.

Then headed south instead of north..

we stopped for lunch at

"The Old Schoolhouse Cafe"

followed by a trip

into Plymouth , Mass.

to board the

Mayflower II

and take a quick gander
at the

Plymouth Rock.

Monday morning

came bright and early

our morning hot teas

followed by a drive into the mountains

for an autumnal foliage train ride...

we had a most excellent time!

After which we typed some partial addresses

into the "talking lady"

(GPS)

and headed out in search of covered bridges..

over hill ,over dale

around "Chip & Dale", through the woods and over

dirt roads..

our quest took us till we would come down to the river

where we would find the sought treasures.

Tuesday, was spent in Portsmouth and Kittery..
eating brunch at the
"Friendly Toast" followed a trip to Maine for
outlet shopping...
We barely made it home in time for supper !
(which ended up around 8pm..again) Wednesday, we headed back up the seacoast as far an Portsmouth..
stopping in at "Strawberry Banke"
a historical village museum..
the oldest house dating back to 1695..
above Cathy and Mary stand in front of this house.

the gardens in the back also contained
Russet Apple trees...

As our tour continued,

several hours later we came to

the Goodwin house where we were greeted by Mrs. Goodwin

(an interpreter, of course)

the wife to a prominent merchant, member of the state legislature ,

and Governor for two terms..

there she caught us up to speed on their life and how they lived

in her time..

...which we were visiting...

In the back,

she joined us in the green house

with many an interesting fact..

and many questions were answered

across the road in

"Prescott Gardens"

many more flowers were gazed upon.

Thursday morning

we headed north through New Hampshire

to visit

the Shaker Village

in Canterbury...

With these few pictures to wet your

appetites we will say good bye

for a few days..

this morning no alarms were set and no schedule made..

where to???

who knows,

the apple farm? the 1700's book store?

Kennebunkport?

Who's to say ..

one more cup of tea and then we will see....

October Apples, Football and Puppies

In October

we celebrate one birthday!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY
TIMMY

***

This coming week end
Mary and Cathy Jean will be arriving
at Logan International airport
in Boston,
there we will pick them up
and head further north
to New Hampshire...
over the next week we will be traveling around
New Hampshire and Maine,
seeing the sights , sampling the fare and
encountering many of the locals...
which has got me to thinking about the
local dialect ...
In the southern most parts of our
United States
we speak with an accent or dialect,
if you will,
that would rival any song bird..
Now in the tri-state area of
Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire
they might not sing quite the same
song,
yet, in it's own way it too is somewhat lyrical ..
just to a slightly different tune..
At first to a southern ear it is hard to decipher
some of the words or the meanings of some phrases
when put together and spoken by these folk ..
but, with some studying and close attention
I have learned to ,
if not always totally understanding,
enjoy the lyrics of this slightly off beat
Northern New England folk song...

Taking a quick look at the northern New England accent
you will find they tend to drop they "r"s
replacing it with an "a-h"
(this happens only at the end of a syllable, not at the beginning.)
So when talking about the "park" they will say
"Pahk"
Now, if the word ends in an r as in
"er", "ir", or "or"they seem to put in a "y" sound..
in case of an e ,i ,o they put in a "w"before the final "ah"
Such as "theyah" not there "deeyah not deer"doh-wah" instead of door.
Now, don't go fretting over those dropped R's
oh, no they were not lost!
For, these Nor'easterner's are a frugal lot..
Ayuh, ifn' they drop that r
they'll scoop it right up and put it in their pocket for safe keepin'!
Only to bring it out and insert it in words where you
least expect it!
If you listen quite closely you will notice
some of those r's ending up on the end
of words that should for all good intentions be ending
with an "a"...
The capital city of
New Hampshire is Concord..
but if you ask it will be
"KON-k'd N'Hampshah"
in the country of
Americar

just north
Cubar..
these "ar"s are pronounced "er".
The "ing" at the end of a word is shorted to in'..
As for some of the local isms
I could not tell you about this areas
forms of speech without mentioning a few words
such as:
Wicked: bad/evil (same as any where else)
In northern New England ..well depending on the words put with it and the
undertones used..why it can be extremely bad or over the top GOOD..
It is essentially an intensifier and may be used like "ayuh"in a positive or negative way..
or even matter-of-fact..
to make it harder..
sometimes
they won't even say the word that wicked is to intensify

Ayuh : can also be used as both positive or negative

Bubblah : (bubbler) a water or drinking fountain

Legitamate: Two or a couple of...

Like buttah: (like butter) smooth, fine, good..

All set?: Are you ready? Are you done? Are you finished?

Right straight out: Real busy

Now, I have only been here off and on for around a year,
and do not get out and amongst the locals each and everyday..
But, when I do I have found that as a whole
most of the people here and about
are very nice and a true joy to talk to.
On many a Sunday morning
Michael and I will venture over to Maine for brunch
at the "Sun Rise Grill"
here I enjoy sitting quietly in the midst of all the
hustle and bustle
listening to all the locals carry on
their Sunday morning conversations...
not to ease drop into their private thoughts and business...
just to hear them talk!

***

This past week was a quiet week for us
on Wednesday I visited the Rye's Farmers Market..
coming home with some locally made goat milk soap..
and a small pie..
(don't forget the PIE)

Every few days or so we have had some rain..
so when the sun would come out
the puppies have enjoyed the dry deck
and the cooler temperatures.

Saturday morning we got up to rain...
We had planned a trip to the apple orchard..
no, no not to pick apples..
you could if you wanted to..
but, they do sell them already picked and sacked..
but, the rain did not hold us back..
the reason we were headed to Applecrest Farms

on this cold and rainy day

was

not the pumpkins...

I am afraid not the apples...

but for the..

Apple Cider Donuts!

mmmm....good!
"Wicked good!"

Michael got busy in the kitchen
putting together a
"wicked big" pot of home made chili...
(hey,...I opened the Frito's)
to accompany his afternoon football extravaganza!!!
First, Alabama played...somebody
..oh, yeah Kentucky..they had pretty blue
uniforms...
then Georgia and LSU
and then later that evening
Auburn beat Tennessee
He had a full day of football planned!!

then Sunday morning coffee and donuts
accompanied his football reading...

Miss Bo-Bo likes to be my secretary..
holding down the printer and on
many occasions pushes assorted buttons
to take care of various jobs..
however this morning..
being that she is working with Michael
she must think she has been promoted to
Executive Assistant..
Oh,who am I trying to kid..
we are ALL
Her assistants!!!

The Puppies check in on the Daddy...

take a gander out the door...

check on the Momma...

must have needed a closer look!

(He just can't help being so cute!)

Following are three short movies...
first the puppies are playing
second , it continues till they hear Daddy driving up
and third Daddy comes in the door..
Someday I will find a program that will let me edit these little clips!
and that will be way to much fun!!!
As for now, I hope you enjoy these little moments of our lives!

***

This up coming week holds :

• Mayflower II and Plymouth rock
• Foliage Train ride into the mountains
• Shaker Village
• Lighthouse visiting
• Downtown Portsmouth , the Strawberry Banke, & Kittery
• Maine antiquing and just plain out shopping
• Seeing the North eastern coastline
• eating out
• eating in,
• and a whole lot of visiting!!!

If I left anything out...

I hope Mary and Cathy bring the list...

***

High school football, Mama turns another year younger and a few things southern ..that about covers it.

Last Friday, Michael and I ventured out

to join in the festivities

at a local high school football game.

Really not knowing what to expect,

many stories have floated around

accounting for the differences

in football enthusiasm

from the deep south

and the extreme north east.

All the same,

I had asked Michael if at some time we could go

and cheer for Benny and Juran's boy,

Ethan...

Maybe, before the Canadian winds started to howl

or before the first snow fall..

So on this brisk fall afternoon

toward the end

of September we donned

our sweaters and socks,

put the pups outside..

bade them to guard the yard...

or in other words

watch out for any of those crazy turkeys

or wandering moose!

and headed to Portsmouth..

We took the scenic route,

down by the beach into town

stopping for a nice refreshing meal

at the Blue Mermaid...

Then on over to

Portsmouth High School,

home of the

"Clippers"

Upon arrival the first thing that

presented itself as different

from the south...

there was no charge to get in the front gate!

"The" table was set up and "the" lady was standing behind it..

but as for your money

why she didn't want it...

that is unless you would like to buy

a program or a can of bug spray!

Even though I felt deeply compelled to lay at least a couple of dollars in her hand,

I did not want a program or a can of bug spray..

Although the bug spray did way heavily on my mind

with the EEE virus still around till the first heavy frost!

But, Michael and I continued on to the stands,

at six fifty

they were sparsely populated and

no familiar faces were detected.

Fear of heights has kept me pretty grounded all

these years..

on a few occasions I have ventured up into the ozone..

(or as you will the "nose bleed sections!")

the "Who" concert comes to mind...

yet , that was a concrete, well built, coliseum...

on this occasion I blindly followed Michael

up and on up a set of bleachers,

that seemed to creek and wiggle way more than my liking!

Yet, here I was and on up we went!

After a short while more and more spectators began to come in the front gate..

and join in on the autumnal high school football clamor...

We saw Rosie, Aviel, and Exar

who joined us..

and later Benny, Frankie, and Cory

sat close by for awhile..

It was home coming for the Clippers

and started out promising to be a good game!

Even though the first touchdown did put me

in mind of almost ALL of "my" high school football experiences...

It was made by the other team!!!

Ooohh...

this might not be good...it could even turn out

BAD..

all through school to the best of my recollection

our team lost!!

One year for homecoming

we were actually ahead 20 to nothing

at half time!!!

Oh, the fevered celebrations we envisioned!

The victory would be glorious!

The dance would be spectacular!

The next week would be filled with pep and joy!!!

and then..

the great and wonderful

Albertville High School Marching Band

left the field..

and the boys came rushing back out

greeted with

cheers and whistles,

stomping and applause ...

We bought our hot Dr.Peppers and giant dill pickles.

We gobbled our popcorn

followed along with the cheer leaders

and we sang our fight song at the top of our lungs!!

Two quarters later...

we left the stadium...

shuffling our feet and whimpering..

something about

"maybe..just maybe ,next week.."

The little school from some small, tiny

unheard of hamlet..

had come to our town

and as the old saying goes..

"not only did they steal our lunch..but, they ate it too"

Aaawwww..

but, the year after graduation

news came around that my dear old Alma mater

was headed for State!!!

So, what did I do but,

get all bundled up and head on down to the stadium!!

After that long and dreary night,

I have not returned to jinx the decedents

of those that chose to stay in our town...

and on occasion I hear a whispering

of

"how good the school boys are doing in football.."

Yes..all this slipped through my mind

as I sat watching the "other" team

answer each of Portsmouths touchdowns with one of their own..

The sun quickly set and the air became very cool..

maybe gloves and boots should have been worn...

no frost predictions had been made for that night..

but, darn if I had been a mosquito , there would be no

buzzing around in that frigid night air!

At half time ,

they apparently have little bitty boys

play...

it was wee-wee or pee-wee but not fireplug..

and then Portsmouth Band would entertain..

At this time Michael and I took our leave,

exiting the crowded creaking stands..

and headed back to Rye for the evening..

The pups had successfully held down the fort..

there was no evidence of moose or crazy

turkeys..

the next day Mike got an email..

from Benny...

the boys had played a very good game and forging

ahead beat that "other" team..

It had been a good game and a better second half...

...

Do you think I should ever tell them...

who to thank for leaving at half time???

***

On that Sunday evening

in Alabama

my Mama and several of her

decedents gathered at

Ryan's Steak House

for her annual birthday celebration..

New Hampshire being as far as it is

kept me away this year as it did last year..

but, my sister Elizabeth was sweet enough to share

some of her pictures with me..

so I will pass them along in the form of this slide..

Happy Birthday Mama!!

***

In the coming weeks,

(not this one but the next)

my sister Mary and her daughter Cathy Jean

are coming to spend a week with us...

we have plans for each and everyday..

sight seeing and gallivanting!!

I look forward to this time and hope to share many pictures

and stories with you!

***

And lastly..

how about a thing or two "truly" southern..

• knowing that "gimme sugar" don't mean ..pass the sugar.
• When you are "fixin' to" do something , it won't be long
• knowing the difference between a "hissie fit" and a "conniption"
• How many collards make up a mess
• The difference between "pert near" and "right far"
• Daddy's belt is good for more than just holding up his britches
• knowing what "pot licker" is
• knowing what she means when an older woman says
• "Don't you SASS Me , now!"
• knowing when "by and by" is
• Not going snipe hunting twice
• You know the difference between "pert near" and "right far piece"
• "Just down the road" could be a mile or twenty miles
• Never assume the other car with it's blinker on is actually going to turn
• Southerners know the difference between a "good ol' boy", a "redneck" and "trailer trash"
• a southerner can point in the general direction of "yonder"
• When friends and neighbors have "troubles" the thing to do is take over a plate of fried chicken and a bowl of cold potato salad..if it's a crisis..you add banana pudding.
• If you hear someone say.."I caught myself looking.." you know they are southern
• If you are Southern and if some old lady is driving down the road at 25 miles an hour..you don't shout obscenities or flip fingers at her..you just pass her and say "Why , bless her heart."
• real gravy doesn't come from the store
• a good dog is worth it's weight in gold
• and a southerner knows just how Good a cold grape Nehi and cheese crackers are in a country store!