Aroostook Spring?

If you glance quickly at the pictures on this page, we don't want you to think this is a reminiscence of last winter. No, this is today. April 16, 2014. We went to bed last  night to flood warnings and road closures as the snow in the fields melted too quickly and flooded much of Main Street in Washburn. We awoke this morning to this:

Yes, new snow and a temperature of 20. It never got above freezing all day. Here is another view from the doorway of the house:

We stayed inside all morning  until Louise declared that cabin fever was setting in. We drove to Presque Isle, by way of the Parson's Road since the flood still has the road closed through Crouseville. We took several interesting pictures of flooded areas near the river in Presque Isle.

We decided to continue our ride with a trip to Ashland and Portage. The road was a bit rough, and there was more snow left there than in Washburn. We spotted deer all along the way.

Who would believe that this photo was not taken in mid-winter? Only someone who lives here right now. We did stop by the camp, but it is still snowed in. Perhaps another week or two of melting will allow us to walk in.

Today is Andrew's birthday, and we are taking him out to dinner, if there is a road open to get to Presque Isle. Let's hope that the current weather doesn't last long. At least we have the fireplace going to off-set the temperature in the teens tonight.

Home Again

We took seven nights to travel home from Florida, and arrived last night. After our trip to Savannah we moved on to Charlottesville, VA. Here we have a picture of the blue ridge mountains off in the distance.

From Charlottesville we crossed Pennsylvania, spending the night near Scranton, in a place called Dunmore. On Friday we made it to Massachusetts, making a detour to Northhampton to visit a huge yarn store with a knitting friend, Nancy DiRocco.

Here is a picture of just a small part of this giant yarn warehouse.

Nancy, Louise, and Gary went to lunch in a near-by diner. Then it was off to Sudbury to visit Bob and Gina and the kids. We stayed there two nights to have some time with the kids, and to avoid another snowstorm at home.

This is a cute picture of little Alex, who is growing like a weed.
Bridget had fun with the visit from her grandparents, which was happening at the same time that her Uncle Matt was there. Quite a family reunion.

Here is Bridget having a snack in one of her two new basement rooms.

Here is a picture of Matt when we went out to lunch at Bertuccis. He always makes the nicest faces for the camera!

Here is another picture of Alex, who is going to be walking soon!
We left Bob's and started the end of the ride - back to Maine. We stopped in Portland to visit Jon and Erin and Emily.

Here is Emily, dancing in the new sweater Grammy knit for her. This is sweater #5 for the year.

Here is Grampy and Emily having a conversation.
Finally we decided the time had come to make the final leg of the trip. As we drove north we saw more snow beside the road. After we got off I-95 the snow banks were pretty high. We came home to a ton of snow.

The only high point of this was a nice welcome. Andy was there, had turned up the heat, and cleaned up the house. Dinner was waiting in the fridge thanks to Jackie. What more could you ask for? Maybe less snow.......

Savannah

To begin our journey home, we spent two days in Savannah, GA. What an amazing city! We took a trolley tour of the city and a boat ride on the Savannah River. It was a very busy day, but a beautiful one.

Spring was in full bloom as the azaleas above show. Savannah has a variety of parks or squares that are a sight to see. They are full of flowers, statues, and monuments.

This is the river boat we took for a ride on the river. It was relaxing, spacious, and an enjoyable ride.

We took a trolley tour, but this horse and wagon looks like an interesting way to go.

Here's Gary having some refreshment at an outdoor pub table.

One of the most interesting things we have discovered in the south is the live oak trees. They are huge and grow in every direction. They are hanging in Spanish moss, and are a sight to see.

On the riverfront in Savannah we found the replicas of Columbus's ships, the Nina and the Pinta. We had planned to see them in Florida, but we missed it because of stormy weather. We did not know they would be in Savannah, but they are coming to coastal Maine in June.

This is the location of the Paula Deen restaurant, but we did not go there.

Here is another of the Savannah squares.
Today we took up the travel again and covered all of North and South Carolina, and most of Virginia
as we are staying in Charlottesville tonight. Our trip has been enjoyable thus far. We have actually met quite a few people who are making the same trip as we are, and have enjoyed talking to them. We are still in short sleeves, but that may end tomorrow. It was 88 today in Virginia. We have heard rumors of another storm for Saturday, so we will try to avoid it!