Niagara Falls and the Beginning

It has been almost a month since I turned over the keys to our apartment on Catherine Street, and about two months since I started making my life small enough to fit in a camper/sailboat. Going to Niagara Falls yesterday put some perspective on that - winning the camper on Ebay by accident was when the light went off in my head that we were going to hit the road. Early in July, when Donny first came for his summer vacation to Connecticut, we went and picked the camper up together. That we were able to share that experience is a nice memory. Beforehand, it never occurred to me that I needed to get tags and register the camper - it wasn't until the previous owner handed me an envelope with CT paperwork that I thought, "Uh oh!" 


We hooked the camper up to the truck hoping to make it to safety without incident, and were driving down the street about thirty seconds before there was a cop directly behind me with no tags on the camper. Before I made it to DMV the following week it happened twice more - all times without being pulled over!! I didn't actually get it registered until the Friday after camping with Donny, Ty and Mark in East Killingly. That, combined with the fact the registration process took about ten minutes, seems to have been a positive omen. I was able to work the camper's operational bugs out with Donny, and have been sailing smoothly since then. There is only one thing. I haven't needed or wanted to deploy the door from its storage position, but that is the last remaining question about our little camper. I have seen it done once, and don't believe it will be too difficult. With any luck, I won't have to use the door for some time to come as our quest for the Endless Summer continues!


Me making my best pirate face!

                                            


The Rainbow Bridge


Our encore visit to Niagara Falls with Monkey and Vicki was exactly what I had in mind. We had lunch al fresco in perfect weather, then walked through the park to Prospect Point for the majestic Falls view. The last time I was there was thirty years ago to celebrate my divorce in a kind of twist, as many people go there for their honeymoons. Some people in my life have recently lost their pets to old age and illness, and yesterday I said a prayer for their peace and comfort on the Rainbow Bridge above the Falls. The story tells of a green meadow located "this side of Heaven." Rainbow Bridge is both the name of the meadow and an adjoining bridge connecting it to Heaven.

According to the story, when a pet dies it goes to the meadow, having its body cured of any illnesses, frailties and/or injuries. The pet runs around and plays with other pets, missing only one thing – the love and companionship of its owner, who is still alive on Earth. Upon the pet owner's death, on their journey toward Heaven they cross the meadow. While doing so, the pet (along with any other pets the owner had while on Earth) spots their owner and runs to greet them. Reunited, the pets and owner cross the Rainbow Bridge together into Heaven, never again to be parted. In my family we love our fur babies, and they are part of the family. Dad is watching all our babies for now. Thanks, Pop! 

Starting with our family travels and adventures in July and August makes our trip to upstate New York seem more like a continuation than a beginning. I can hardly believe that we will have been camping at Vicki's for two weeks as of tomorrow! We are commemorating the good times we've had with a lamb dinner on the grill tonite. Marsha gave us whatever the filet mignon cut of lamb is called and a jar of mint jelly, which should be just delicious! On our way home yesterday we were going to stop by the liquor store, but it was closed. Vicki said she had "some stuff," and I replied that "Girls don't have scotch or bourbon!" She quickly proved me wrong, and produced a bottle of Jim Beam within minutes of arriving home! We didn't drink it, but I love being wrong! She's a great prepper!!

It will be a couple of days before I'm able to write again as Duppy and I make our way from here heading south. Very special thanks to Vicki, Scott, and their friends, especially Marsha and Norm, who will have to go to Vicki's to read my blog as they don't "do" computers. 


Vicki and I went to their log cabin home with a large lake, too many acres to guesstimate and a thousand foot driveway for a "so long" visit. Norm designed the house and had to logs cut to build it twenty-seven years ago. Wow! 


Going to the Mennonite store, seeing the vastness of the area, the huge farms, almost endless orchards, the beautiful bays and inlets and many little shoreline communities has helped me to understand why people are willing to brave the cold to live here. Their gracious hospitality and resourcefulness have really impressed me!  So long for now!