John & Anne Wiley

2009/10/25

Two Great Cities

Filed under: Big Adventure,Flying,Happiness,Has Photos,Inner World,People,Random,Relationships — John @ 04:33
I’ve added to the Photo page, and here’s a snap of some favorite buildings from our second flight down the Hudson. Already feels like a week ago.

Amtrak from Wilmington to the Capitol was fast and comfortable, putting us near enough to walk. Instead though, we first got on one of the step on/off bus tours that run continually because it was raining buckets. We decided to get off and brave the elements though, because it was impossible to take pix and difficult even to see much. We bought one of the $5 umbrellas that seemed to appear on the streets, and that lasted us until the clouds finally parted at sundown.
We noticed a gentle mood in people. Everyone seemed solitary in contemplation, almost reverent, yet happy and so warm it reminded us of some global extended family. The kind that might disagree, but is well aware of closeness and reaching out to maintain it. We felt that the most here, and were moved all over again reading Lincoln’s words in this thoughtful historic place.

Sure wish we could fly near enough to get some pix from the air! A helpful Metro employee gave us a tip on a place we can easily get a bird’s eye view, so hopefully tomorrow we’ll get some panoramic pix from there.

2009/10/17

Riding Norwalk

Filed under: Big Adventure,Has Photos,Nature,People,Relationships — John @ 01:16
This morning the snow was gone, the clouds thinner, and everything smelled fresh. Ed & Dad decided to take us on the drive from Waterbury to Norwalk, to see all the places from their earlier years and Anne’s childhood. Being the first outside I took a few minutes to study a leaf dotted with droplets of rain.

We saw the church where her grandparents were married and our friend Dave was a priest, and the cemetery that little sister thought was half named for her. As we stood out in the street snapping a picture of the front porch of the “Union house” where she was snapped as a small child, a warm woman appeared at the door and after hearing the story invited us in. We’d been by some years ago, and wondered what the back yard looks like now. It was an instant journey down memory lane to see the stair bannister and the backyard. We’ve promised to send the new owner some photos of the place as it was years ago.
In the neighborhood where they lived later, we encountered a group (gobble?) of wild turkeys perusing the manicured lawns.
After stopping on the drive home for dinner in Westfield we rode much of the way home in gathering darkness and silent reverie.

2009/10/12

Back In Time

Filed under: Aviation,Big Adventure,Flying,Has Photos,Nature,People,Relationships — John @ 02:58

Today we flew back in time. Taking off from the old airport with history back to the early years of flight we detoured back over Akron, which we’re told has been taken over by the university. Despite our best efforts to get the short distance into town last night, everyone kept nudging us into the burbs by the new airport. Just as well, because it was easily the best hotel we’ve had yet and a great deal (the same price as the motel we’re shivering in tonight but we won’t talk about that). Even if it’s all about students, we still enjoyed it from the air.


As we turned back east toward Clarion, PA I could feel a gentle shift in time begin. I found out three years ago that my paternal ancestors were in that area back into the 1700s. It wasn’t just that this area had the most colorful foliage we’ve seen yet. There was something about flying over ground my fathers had hiked, farmed and hunted when no human had ever seen the long view we enjoyed today. We decided not to land and rent a car for the short drive up 66 to Crown where my grandfather was born. Instead we circled and took a couple of dozen photos to study in detail. I hope to be the first from our line of the family to return and stand at the pond in this century.

We went northeast a ways past Bradford, then turned east at Hamilton to pass Albany. I think NY is the first state we’ve flown over without landing. It was 25F outside the plane today at 5,500′ so we were glad to have a good heater! Since we’re headed for Maine while weather is “warm” tomorrow, we decided to save NY for several of our stops later. Instead we landed at sunset in Bennington, VT. We’ll probably make a Keen stop to touch NH before heading northeast past the White Mountains to the area around Flagstaff Lk, ME. That’s where Anne’s research tonight indicates the best foliage colors. Then we turn SE to Bah Hahbah (Bar Harbor in Maineian) for a stop recommended by our dear Maryellen where she has roots. Maybe we’ll stay there, or somewhere around Portland. Tuesday night we hope to reach our first fixed destination of Waterbury, CT to meet Dad. Hope we get to sleep earlier tonight, so we can get back in time.
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