Welcome to the Lambertville House – I have dreamed of living here almost as long as I can remember. When we bought this house we planned on moving in after the boys were in college – we would be closer to family and still commutable to work for Steve…..that seems like a lifetime ago. As you may remember, Steve took a dream job in South Dakota and we have spent the last year and a half travelling back and forth – well until Covid hit Our original plan was to continue to travel back and forth from South Dakota and Lambertville for football games, holidays etc. Now, as with everyone else, we have had to re-think our plan. We will still travel back and forth but with larger chunks of time in each place. So, here I am, unpacking in my beautifully re-modeled dream home in Lambertville, before heading west to unpack in an equally beautiful home in Rapid City. Believe me I am not complaining! It took a long time getting here and I am planning on enjoying it – as much as I can during these strange times!
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Yes, It really is magical. For years I’ve heard about the Squam Art Workshops – if you’re unfamiliar it is a retreat experience that takes place twice a year at Squam Lake in New Hampshire – 5 days of art workshops, yoga, kayaking/lake activities all with like-minded, open hearted, people (ok, mostly women). It is described as transformative…..magical….unbelievable….aaaaahhhhhh I had it on my “bucket list” of things to do – so last December when the registration was about to open, my cousin and I started texting each other: “Squam retreats announced” “That would be so much fun” “Should we do the preregistration today or tomorrow?” “We re leaving for Paris tonight – so it would have to be today” “OK – should we do it??” “let’s do it” “OK I’ll do it!!” Good thing we didn’t wait – it was sold out within the hour!! After that the countdown was on – we had to choose from the list of beautiful classes offered – how to decide??? They all looked so fun and inspiring! Then we had to wait….and wait….and wait. I admit, I stalked everything I could about the Squam retreat online – past retreats, all the instructors who would be there, the organizers – every thing I read about it described the experience as “magical” – the gremlins in my head started to gnaw at me – “can it really be all that” “that’s for all those “other” people” Well, June finally arrived – I packed the car ----- with everything I could possibly need – extra blankets in case it’s cold, a fan in case it’s hot, beach chairs, beach bag, snacks (I baked cookies, pumpkin bread, 2 kinds of popcorn….), honey bourbon and maple bourbon ---- side note – when you want to make friends, I have found that baked goods and bourbon are a sure fire way ----- knitting projects – and of course clothes. I planned my route and since this was going to be a mini road trip, I had to find at least one fun place to eat along the way – I read about the Miss Florence Diner in Florence MA – a historic diner housed in an old train car. I ordered my breakfast and watched all the regulars come and go. Back on the road, my anticipation building….I had specifically chosen to drive the back roads so that I could stop at interesting places along the way, but frankly, I was too excited to stop – I just wanted to get there…… Finally I saw the sign “Squam Art Workshops turn here” I wound my way down the road to the check in, received my “Squam bag” got some freebies and made my name tag – it was starting to rain and I wanted to unload my car before it got too wet – one of the camp employees helped me find my cabin “Hemlock” and unload all my stuff. Tina arrived shortly after and once we had everything inside we wandered back to the main cabin with our knitting bags and sat on the porch and knit and met some fellow “Squammies” For dinner the first night we were assigned to sit with our classmates for the next day's class – I was taking the Strand & Skein class with the Spincycle spinsters – I introduced myself to my fellow classmates with no idea how much joy we were all going to experience together the next day….. After dinner, Tina and I made our way to the Playhouse for the opening ceremonies – it was decorated with beautiful fairy lights and fabric rainbows and quilted inspirational sayings and I was surrounded by a room full of women sitting and knitting and chatting. Meg got the night started with some mindful meditation which truly filled the room with a loving energy that is hard to describe - it sounds goofy, but you could feel the magic starting to surround you like a beautifully knit shawl…. Elizabeth spoke as well about why she started the retreats and all of the teachers introduced themselves. In the next few days, this room full of women would experience things together in ways we couldn’t begin to imagine yet…. It was dark and raining when we had to walk back to our cabins, and we all helped each other find our way……(yes, foreshadowing of things to come) Thursday…… Breathe in….Breathe out….How can I even begin to describe the day…. The rain stopped and the sun came out – the lake exposed her true beauty to us as we all found our way to our classes after breakfast. We all started out quiet and a bit tentative as Kate and Rachel introduced themselves and their story about how Spincycle came to be. As we approached our stations and started to play with the colors and our inspirations our fears and hesitations started to fade – we all were so interested to see what everyone else was doing and encouraging each other to be brave with the color. Once we had our color maps chosen we broke for lunch, full of anticipation for the dying process after we returned. As we filled our pots with wool and color and let them “cook” we all flittered about peeking into each others pots until it was time to start pulling them out – we all gathered around as each was revealed – the excitement filled the air – we screamed and cheered as each new colorway was born – each more beautiful and different than the last. Words truly cannot begin to describe the joy and love that filled the air Dinner that night was abuzz with energy as everyone shared their experiences from the first day and after dinner everyone broke into smaller groups hung out on the docks and in each others cabins and the love and laughter was heard throughout the camp Second day’s class was also lovely – Gudrun showed us lots of techniques new to me to help expand my knitting toolbox – and learning with the lake view and her lovely heart was joyful – unfortunately I did not get any pictures during class Friday night was knitting Bingo – the playhouse was packed with women knitting and singing and playing bingo – we taught Arch’na how to play Bingo – she had never played before!! Jocelyn won one of the raffles and our group was so excited – we felt like we all won Saturday was a free day and we spent the day walking through the woods – visiting cabin to cabin – sitting on the dock and knitting and just soaking up the Squam vibes with each other At night we sauntered over to the Squam Art Fair – and we all stocked up on beautiful finds both knitting related and not. While I can tell you all the “activities” we did, I cannot describe the feelings that surround us. There is a mysterious bond we all shared and feel as soon as we meet. During the group photo we were instructed to turn and hug the person next to us, I happened to be next to one of the instructors for a class I didn’t take – we hugged and talked and a connection was made – I feel like I’ve been friends with Amanda forever…..that’s just how it is…….magical…… I tried to spend some time with as many of the lovely women as possible (and Ted!) I know I didn’t get to everyone but I feel so blessed to have met so many diverse women in so many ways! Everyone starts the week a little star struck – the “celebrities” we follow in Instagram are all there – we’re a bit intimidated to go up and talk to them – by the end of the week, we count them as friends – real friends not “online” friends Here are some extra pictures of the weekend and thanks to everyone who shared their pictures with me - I was trying to be present and didn't always remember to take a photo I’ll end with my favorite poem by e.e.cummings which I believe truly sums up the feelings of Squam
i carry your heart with me(i carry it in my heart)i am never without it(anywhere i go you go,my dear;and whatever is done by only me is your doing,my darling) i fear no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)i want no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true) and it’s you are whatever a moon has always meant and whatever a sun will always sing is you here is the deepest secret nobody knows (here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows higher than soul can hope or mind can hide) and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart) Our last day of this road trip began with breakfast at Bagels on Pearl before heading to Driggs, ID. We heard there was an Arts Fair that we wanted to visit, but frankly the main reason we were going was so we could check Idaho off the list. The Fair was only fair so after a brief walk around town we drove back to Jackson Hole Most of the day was a free day – Jeff & Julia went back to Jenny Lake to do some more hiking, the boys took advantage of having wifi again and Steve took a nap so I visited almost every shop in town by myself. I found a cute bookstore in town, Valley Bookstore and Joe met up with me to browse. Liz and Aly found us and we treated ourselves to ice cream and smoothies. Liz got fruity pebbles ice cream from Jackson Drug Store which she loved but I thought was way too sweet! Once Steve woke up he also wanted some ice cream but this time we headed over to Moo’s Ice Cream so he could get his Huckleberry flavored treat. The gang gathered together again for dinner at Big Hole BBQ, where we ordered way too much food but everything was so good!! Our highlight today was attending the Jackson Rodeo – we got to see bull riding, bronco busting, roping competitions and one of the fan favorite events – they invite all the kids under 11 to come down and try to catch the sheep they let loose in the ring! The next morning, we packed up – spent our last hours at the farmer’s market in town square before heading to the airport for home Miles logged – 75
Total miles for the trip - 1001 We started the day with a grab and go breakfast at the deli in the hotel and headed on our way. Not long into our drive we crossed the Continental Divide – comment below if you know what the significance is….(we do!) We made a brief stop to where the kids had a chance to play a little at the riverside. Our main stop for the day was Jenny Lake – we took a ferry ride across the lake and for our hike. Everyone says it’s an easy hike – up hill a bit in the beginning but pretty level for most of the hike ---- don’t believe them!! It’s a lot of up hill most of the way until the end when you head back down. Shortly into our hike we spotted a bear!! Of course today we did not have the bear spray but there were plenty of people around us – some of them did have bear spray! Anyway, you know what they say, you don’t have to run faster than the bear, just faster than the other people in your group……wait a minute… let’s consider my group…..I think I’m in trouble here!! There were some beautiful view points of Jenny Lake along the way. Especially from the higher elevation… Can you spot the wild life hidden in the rocks??? Oh look...it's Jeff and Will! We decided to take a small extra loop around Moose Loop because other hikers gave us the heads up that there was a moose in the lake and sure enough there was!! What a great day, a bear AND a moose!! We have now seen all the animals we had hoped to see on this trip. On our way back down, the weather started to change – the sky got darker, and we could hear thunder all around us. We got back into the cars and moved on toward Jackson, WY. We checked into our cute hotel the Antler Inn and set out to explore downtown. Well, Steve and I did, the kids all had their own ideas – some rested and some explored on their own. One of the stops I knew I wanted to make was to a LYS (local yarn store) Knit on Pearl where they were hosting knit night. Steve indulged me while I browsed the beautiful locally spun and dyed yarns. I, of course, had to purchase some – if you’re ever in the area I highly recommend you stop in!! Calling the gang together we met up at Snake River Brewing Co. for dinner where we were finally joined by….Liz!! Steve, Aly and Jeffrey ordered a flight of local beer to sample and we all enjoyed our food! After dinner, the older “kids” set out for the bars in town while Steve & I sat by the fire pit outside and Joe & Will played corn-hole and mini-golf. miles logged - 101
So I should start by letting y’all know, for the past few days, we had no cell phone service. For those of you who were wondering why we just didn’t call or text each other in Mammoth Hot Springs when we got separated, we were basically living in 1980something while in the National Parks. On one hand, it was nice to be unplugged – on the other hand, can’t communicate with each other when separated….. Today started with a grab and go breakfast that we ate on the upper porch at the Old Faithful Inn and got our last views of Old Faithful. We took the North Rim Drive and headed toward Lower Geyser Basin – we walked the boardwalk again and Steve and Bonnie got sprayed when one of the geysers erupted and the wind direction caught us. Jeff and Steve rented Bear spray which involved a short class and video on how to use it. Alas, it was unnecessary as we spotted no bears today. A hike to the Lower Falls area offered a view of the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. Driving on to Lake Yellowstone Hotel we checked in to our cabins – everyone took some much needed down time, showered and met up in the lobby of the main hotel – the kids played cards and we ordered a charcuterie tray and some beverages before a lovely dinner in the hotel dining room. miles logged - 64
Our day started with breakfast at the Mammoth Hot Springs lodge and we checked out of our cute cabins. We found it difficult to find parking for both cars so we parked one and Steve & Aly went to find parking for the other. The plan was to meet up “at the top” - so the rest of us started walking up the trail. It soon became apparent that there were more than one path and finding each other may prove tricky. We figured our best option was to keep going up the trail and hope to find each other. Along the trail, on of the park rangers let us use a tool that when aimed at the hot springs, tells you what the temperature is. that is not snow you see - Why are the dry springs so white? Limestone, a naturally white rock, underlies this area. Hot water dissolves the mineral calcium carbonate from the limestone, which is deposited at the surface to form travertine. Colors in the hot springs come from thermophiles. click here to read more about Mammoth Hot Springs Up and Up we went – no signs of Steve and Aly, finally we arrive at the top – and figure best thing to do is meet back at the car (always go back to the last place you were together – remind me to tell you about the time I was separated from Steve in Ottawa without a cell phone or a coat!!) Fortunately, on the way back down we found them – they had come up a different path. On we went – stopping at the Norris Geyser Basin – aside from the interesting landscape and the stinky Sulphur smelling geysers, what I found amazing is that you walk around this area on skinny boardwalks – with no railings or barricades! There are signs everywhere warning you not to step on the HOT ground but it is just a small step down – the boardwalk is crowded with people (mostly well-dressed Chinese tourists who come in on busses and walk in groups not biding by the two lane pathways that Americans generally follow – also, when I say well-dressed, some of them are in quite the costumes – I can’t imagine touring in the heat in heels and layers of clothing!) Our next stop was an area called the artist paint pots…while the rest of the gang took the mile or so hike around, the Souplady waited at the bottom and made friends with a Buzzy look-alike (Buzzy is our friends dog and the only dog who is allowed in our home – we love him!) By far the prettiest stop was at the Giant Prismatic Springs – we walked around the ground a little before walking up to the viewpoint – well, Bonnie, Steve and Joe went to the viewpoint. Will, Aly, Jeff and Julia hiked an unmarked path up to a much higher point. Late afternoon, we arrived at the Old Faithful Inn – as we drove in we spotted a large geyser erupting which Jeff informed us was not Old Faithful but was still mesmerizing. The hotel is a charming log cabin structure (similar to but not the largest log cabin in the world which we actually stayed in for Christmas in Montebello Canada) We had beautiful 2 room suites with large bathrooms – however, no stand up shower – we all had to adjust to a handheld shower head in a large clawfoot tub! We had a lovely dinner at the hotel and enjoyed the upper balcony area with a view of Old Faithful, which we finally saw erupt at 10:31pm! Stay tuned for pictures of Old Faithful during the daylight hours... miles logged - 53
Our day started with a lovely breakfast cooked by our host Larry and the kids played the Lawn games. No one wanted to leave but a full day was ahead of us. We piled into the cars (with our luggage!!) and headed to Bear Tooth Pass a VERY long and winding road! As we stopped at several scenic viewpoints we could see the twisting road we had just driven up – since it is a 2 lane road with very little opportunity to pass slow moving vehicles, and we noticed a slow moving camper coming up the pass – our motto for the day became #stayinfrontofthecamper and we all quickly got back in the cars to keep moving! Here are some more beautiful scenery pictures - take a look at what the altitude did to our chips bag! At one of the scenic stops, we noticed a man with skis and a dog walking up the mountain. We were not the only ones who stopped to try to watch what exactly he was going to do - #whatisheamountaingoat – #todayisthedaywearegoingtoseeamandie – however we didn’t stay long enough to see the outcome (see above #stayinfrontofthecamper) Eventually we arrived in Cooke City – this was a destination spot for us in order to replace a much loved sweatshirt for Jeffrey. Our purchase gave us access to the museum attached to the shop filled with examples of wildlife in the area – as Julia observed #thatisalotoftaxidermy” We had a date with a horseback ride and cookout, so we had to leave Cooke City faster than we would have liked but on we went. We ran into a bit of a traffic jam on the way…. We arrived at Tower- Roosevelt area to check in for our ride and cookout. We all met our horses (check out the horse names by hovering over each picture) and although technically only those under 18 were required to wear helmets, if you know Steve, we all wore them! On our ride out to the cookout spot we saw a coyote and some pronghorns and gorgeous scenery When we arrived, we were treated to a steak dinner that included delicious cornbread muffins – we got to listen to a cowboy folk singer, stories told around the campfire and we even got to witness a marriage proposal!! (Ok so we didn’t actually see the proposal but we did see the celebration after she said yes!) Back onto our horses for the ride back we were treated to the “golden hour” views and spotted some more wildlife along the way. A short drive brought us to our home for the evening Mammoth Hot Springs Cabins where we were greeted by elk on the grounds of the hotel. We settled in to our cabins and Will, Jeff, Julia and Steve played cards on the porch while Joe and Aly settled in for an early night. miles logged - 119
We woke up in Medora to a rainy day – we all walked around town a little while waiting for our table to be ready for breakfast at the Cowboy Café. Steve made friends with some locals who gave him a nice route for our day which will take us through the Crow Reservation. After a delicious breakfast (because Kevin didn’t say “switch “yet) we walked over to the North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame. We left the rain of Medora ND and steered toward Red Lodge MT – as we drove we noticed the rain was on one side of the car but not the other! Along our route we saw a giant baby sign with dinosaurs and a quick search of Google for Creepy Baby - Montana showed us this website - click here because we did not get a picture of it. Driving through the Crow Reservation we saw this animal in the road and a big debate ensued. Is it a dog? Coyote?? Wolf?? Julia is going with Hyena. What do you think it is? Our next stop was Custer’s Last Stand Battlefield – commemorating the Battle of Little Bighorn. And then…at 2:39pm the phone call came in….The nice lady at the Billings Airport told us that our luggage was there!! We all screamed and cheered – and we re-routed the cars towards Billings!! We decided another Walmart stop was in order to stock up on supplies (peanut butter, jelly, bread, etc) and snacks and that’s when it finally hit me… all the stress of the delays and lost luggage (yes I know it was found but still…) came crashing down in the form of a teary break down in Walmart! Clearly not my finest moment, but definitely needed the emotional release! Rolling in to the Alpine Lodge in Red Lodge MT, our charming host Larry, checked us in, gave us two buckets of ice and some dinner recommendations. He told us if we couldn’t find what we wanted in town, that he would be happy to cook us all up some burgers! One of his recommendations was Foster and Logan’s Pub & Grill – perfect! I decided I needed some “chicken soup of the bar” and ordered a Bourbon with the house made ginger ale – she must have felt my day because she brought me a “large” BTW the house made ginger ale was delicious!! Jeffrey was feeling hungry and took on the challenge to finish the ‘Murica Melt Burger. A 1/2 lb. old faithful burger stacked with a fried egg, bacon and cheese of your choice - all sandwiched between two texas toast grilled cheese sandwiches!! And he did!! miles logged - 410
Our journey started, or rather didn’t start, with a 5 hour delay in Newark. All the New York area airports were grounded due to severe storms and lightning. Aly was flying from Philadelphia and we were all supposed to meet up in Chicago for our connection to Bismarck ND. We were still sitting on the tarmac in New Jersey when we knew we were not going to make the connecting flight. Fortunately a quick phone call canceled our hotel in Bismarck (and without a cancellation fee!) Aly did make it out of Philadelphia but not in time for the flight to Bismarck, so she called her friend Jason and arranged to stay with him for the night (Stay tuned for her guest blog about her night in Chicago). We finally arrived in Chicago – along with thousands of other stranded passengers – after spending hours trying to figure out how to re-schedule our flight to North Dakota the next morning, and finding hotel rooms close to the airport – we tried to get a few hours of sleep before returning to O’Hare early Saturday morning. Stopping to grab a quick bite at the hotel buffet – we all headed back to the airport and met up with Aly. We discovered that the flight they had “booked” us on had not actually been booked and after running back and forth from the gate to customer service and back to the gate (have you ever been to O’Hare?? Not exactly a small airport) we had seats on the morning flight to Bismarck! Finally arriving in North Dakota, we discovered our luggage never left Chicago – well, Aly’s did – it went to Denver first but was scheduled to land in a few hours. Our new friend Zinda helped us create a missing luggage claim and she discovered they were in the Chicago baggage claim room and were never sent on our flight. Since we were now a day late, we were not staying in Bismarck - Zinda arranged for our bags to fly into Dickinson ND and be delivered to our hotel in Medora ND – or at least she tried ….. Meanwhile, on the other side of the airport…. Steve was at the car rental desks figuring out which cars we needed – 2 cars from 2 different companies – or 1 big car? Back and forth to the parking lot to check out if the car was big enough for 7 of us and all our luggage (eventually) – we decided we needed the 2 cars – then to assign drivers to both cars (not as easy as it sounds!) Now to the cars… let’s get lunch. Not so fast, we barely made it out of the airport when the car rental agent came running out to catch us because the paperwork was incorrect – back into the airport we go. At this point, Aly’s luggage was scheduled to arrive so Steve and Aly waited at the airport and the rest of us headed in to town for lunch. Checking in with Zinda again, we were still unsure what was happening with our luggage. She was trying to reach a live human in Chicago, because she was getting conflicting information about where our bags were actually going – Denver? Bismarck?? Dickinson? Hilton Head?? (long story – I’ll tell y’all sometime) Zinda said she was working on getting our bags delivered to us in Medora so on we went…. The roadtrip finally begins…. While in Bismarck, we had to get our picture at the state capital – we flagged down a passerby who outright asked us why on earth we were in Bismarck – duh, how else can we check off North Dakota on our quest for all 50 states??!! Our first quirky stop was to see Salem Sue – the world’s largest cow – 38’ high, 50’ long and weighing in at 12,000 lbs. Next stop at the Walmart in Dickinson for toiletries and a few supplies, and a phone call to see if our luggage arrived there by any chance – nope. If the luggage doesn’t arrive tonight, we’ll have to find an optometrist to arrange to get some contacts for Will – as well as shop for some clothes…. Onward – to the Teddy Roosevelt National Park – we were all tired, stressed and cranky, the credit card was left at the lunch place, we had no luggage – everyone was snapping at each other – and then we saw the Prairie Dogs!! Everyone’s spirits perked up – we started laughing and joking – we hiked a little and felt like we had the entire park to ourselves – aaahhhh the restorative power of nature! We checked into the Rough Riders hotel in Medora – hoping our luggage was delivered – nope – but the irony of the bath products in the room….. We went to dinner at the Little Missouri Saloon – Bonnie, Steve and Aly spent the entire evening on the phones trying to find out where our luggage was – ugh!! No one seems to know for sure – we explain to the “customer service” people on the phone that we are no longer in Bismarck and are leaving Medora tomorrow (do you understand what a roadtrip is???) and need to figure out where (if??) we can get our luggage – we are promised that the bags will be sent to Billings MT tomorrow but honestly, we have no faith…. Vote in the comments below – where do you think our luggage went??? miles logged - 179 total hours spent in airports - 12
Before leaving Bandon, we stopped for breakfast at the Minute Café – we met some very friendly locals with an adorable toddler who clearly wanted to still be home sleeping. When they heard we were from New Jersey, they only wanted to know if we knew the Cake Boss, Buddy Valastro. (we don’t) Our last day driving along the Pacific Coast – we stopped at a few landmark spots to see “Thor’s Well” and “Devil’s Churn” water features created from the unique rock formations. We made a stop in Seal Rock, OR to purchase a hand carved bear from Karl who told us all about growing up as the son of the owners of Sea Gulch – a now defunct amusement park with a gold miner’s theme, located on the spot where he now carves the bears. In addition to the bear, we came home with a shot glass and deck of cards advertising the old theme park. Lunch time! Jay steered us to Newport, OR a resort town that was bustling with tourists and vacationing families. Local Ocean Seafoods was the place – we dined on Fish Tacos and enjoyed the waterfront views. Onward to Portland! Driving in we took in the sight of Mt Hood in the distance Bonnie’s fascination with Tiny Houses had us trying to find the location of Tiny Heirlooms, the company that builds the houses on the show Tiny Luxury. We found the office, but unfortunately it was closed for the day – no pictures of Tyson and Michelle Spiess or their cute family of builders. My tiny house fascination was not to be ignored however, as we checked in to our own tiny house at Tiny Digs a “hotel” comprised of 6 tiny houses each with a different theme. Ours was the Gypsy Wagon and it was adorable! There were other guests playing corn hole in the center of the circle of tiny homes along with a fire pit and outdoor seating areas for each house. We met some of our neighbors for the next few days after settling in. For dinner, we went to Cabezon, a restaurant recommended by Flurry the owner at Albion River Inn. And topped off the night at TearDrop Lounge, a fun bar in the Pearl District.
Total miles - 143 |
AuthorBonnie Archives
September 2020
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