My Trip: Day 2

Day 2 was a busy one, as were pretty much all the rest of the days of my trip.

I got up early and Megan and I were out the door by 8 am.  Megan made me a smoothie and a snack bag to go.  What a good friend!

Then she dropped me off at Enterprise so I could rent a car.  This is what I was given:

I got the tiny roller skate of a car because the awesome car (I think they really only had 2 available) was given to a couple in their 60's.  That's reverse ageism.

 

After I got my teeny tiny car I drove 15 feet to a restaurant right next door.  I ordered and ate the worst waffle to have ever been waffled in the history of breakfast cakes while I figured out something to do on my way to New Hampshire. 

 

I finally decided to visit Concord.  I've always wanted to go there and I only had to drive about 9 miles out of my way (each direction) in order to get there.  Per Wikipedia, Concord is notable for playing a significant role in American History and literature.

 

History Lesson (blatantly cut and pasted from Wikipedia):

 

The Battle of Lexington and Concord was the initial conflict in the American Revolutionary War. On April 19, 1775, a force of British Army regulars marched from Boston to Concord to capture a cache of arms that was reportedly stored in the town. Forewarned by Paul Revere and other messengers, the colonists mustered in opposition. Following an early-morning skirmish at Lexington, where the first shots of the battle were fired, the British expedition under the command of Lt. Col. Francis Smith advanced to Concord. There, colonists from Concord and surrounding towns (notably a highly drilled company from Acton led by Isaac Davis) repulsed a British detachment at the Old North Bridge and forced the British troops to retreat.^[8] Subsequently, militia arriving from across the region harried the British troops on their return to Boston, culminating in the Siege of Boston and outbreak of the war.

 

Literary History Lesson (again, Wikipedia):

 

Concord also has a remarkably rich literary history centered in the mid-nineteenth century around Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882), who moved to the town in 1835 and quickly became its most prominent citizen.^[12] Emerson, a successful lecturer and philosopher, had deep roots in the town: his father Rev. William Emerson (1769–1811) grew up in Concord before becoming an eminent Boston minister, and his grandfather, William Emerson Sr., witnessed the battle at the North Bridge from his house, and later became a chaplain in the Continental Army.^[13] Emerson was at the center of a group of like-minded Transcendentalists living in Concord.^[14] Among them were the author Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804–1864) and the philosopher Bronson Alcott (1799–1888), the father of Louisa May Alcott (1832–1888). A native Concordian, Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862), was another notable member of Emerson's circle. This substantial collection of literary talent in one small town led Henry James to dub Concord "the biggest little place in America."

 

The first place I stopped was the Concord Museum.

 

For $10 I got to see a wonderful little slice of American history.

 

This is a reproduction of Ralph Waldo Emerson's study. 

 

I loved these little mugs,

And I loved them more when I read that in 1800 people started viewing childhood as a separate developmental stage.

After the museum I headed over to the Sleepy Hollow Cemetary, where amongst thousands of other people, the famous Concord authors are buried.

 

 

I thought the gravestones of the wife and daughter of Emerson were really nice.

 

It's hard to see but this is the grave site of the Hawthorne family.

Once I left the cemetary I felt like I needed a little caffeine pick me up so I looked up Dunkin Donuts on my phone.  This is what I love about Massachusetts: there were 7 locations within 4 miles. 

 

With my iced coffee in the tiny cup holder of my tiny car I headed to New Hampshire.  I got to my cousin's house, unpacked my stuff and then we went to lunch in downtown Manchester.  After lunch we went to a bakery across the street and had a yummy dessert.

 

Then I had to race back to Nashua for the wedding rehearsal and rehearsal dinner.

Cathy and Mike gave every person that participated in the wedding a personal, individualized gift.  I got a pig spatula, a pig magnet and a gift card to Kohls.  Cathy certainly does know me. 

After the dinner I went back to Cathy's house.  She's been waiting 4 years to show it to me and I've been waiting 4 years to see it.

 

I also got a sneak peek of the dress!

 

And saw some familiar faces on the freezer.

Then, the best of part of the night, Cathy opened her wedding present.  I had already prepared her that this was going to happen and had her notify Mike that he need not be present for the present.

I got them the wedding anniversary memory book that I have blogged about in the past, but am too lazy to look for a link to right now.

 

They also got a beautiful "Our First Christmas" ornament,

and a set of 12 "bride's" Christmas ornaments.  I bought about 20 of these sets in 2002 and have been giving them as wedding gifts ever since.  Cathy and Mike got the very last set.

Even though we were having a fantastic time I forced myself to leave so that Cathy could get a good night's sleep before her wedding day.  Then I headed back to Manchester and paid the 3rd toll of the day at the same toll booth. 

 

Up next:  the wedding of course!

My Trip: Day 1

Here is the background you need to know before reading this post:

 

When I was a junior at the University of Arizona I participated in a semester of the National Student Exchange.  I went to the University of New Hampshire for 1 semester (the fall semester) in 1999.  While I was there my roommate was Megan.  We lived in Engelhardt Hall.  Cathy lived down the hallway and Jess also lived down the hallway, although they didn't live together.  In 2001 I went to visit them.  In 2005 I went again to visit them.  In 2007 Jess came to AZ to see me.  In 2010 Cathy came to see me in AZ and also that year I went back there to see them.  In 2013 Cathy came back to AZ to see me.  It is amazing that 15 years later I am still very good friends with all of them.

 

Jess got married to Vinny (who had also lived in Engelhardt Hall) in 2006 and I couldn't go because I was working full time and had no vacation time.  They live in New Hampshire.  Megan got married to Marc in 2012 and I couldn't go because Elliott was 3 months old and sick, sick, sick.  They live in Massachusetts.  Cathy got engaged 2.5 years ago, right after Elliott was born.  They were planning on a long engagement so it gave me plenty of time to plan on attending the wedding.  Cathy and her now husband live in New Hampshire. 

 

I had a red eye flight to Boston last Tuesday night.  It was the first time I had left my family since before Spencer was born.  Monica and Rick took me to the airport and took this picture before we left.

I landed at 6 am, which was 3 am for me.  I had dozed off for about 10 minutes on the flight.  Megan picked me up and we made the 45 minute drive to her house.

 

I changed into my pajamas, took this picture of the view through my window, crawled into bed and passed out.

I slept until noon and then forced myself to get up.  Megan and I ate "breakfast", talked, ate lunch, talked some more and then I took a shower and got ready while she went to run an errand.  While she was gone I dared to crawl back into bed.  Her dog, Duncan, joined me for a tiny little snooze.

After a delightful dinner at home with Megan and Marc, they took me to the drive-in theatre.  It was bright when we got there, so I took some pictures before the sun set and the movie (Lucy) started.

It was very chilly that night.  Even Megan and Marc were cold.  We all had sweatshirts and blankets to keep us warm.

We got some snacks from the snack bar.  Popcorn and ice cream make every movie going experience much more delightful.

And that was it for Day 1.  It was a perfect and perfectly leisurely day.  It was exactly what I needed after my flight and before 5 days of non-stop action.