Off to a Good Start

Dave says:

I got back from my three weeks in Boston in good shape, but kind of wore out the tires (and the starter, it turns out) on the old reliable Geo Prizm. No buying new tires this time around -- the Prizm is taking a well-deserved temporary rest in the Adirondacks, off to the side of the new parking loop, and we've switched to a Ford Escape hybrid, Jim and Andrea Hogan's second vehicle, which they won't be needing now that they're following Jim's new job to the Virgin Islands (!). And we worked hard and got the rooftop tent attached to the Escape's roof rack -- shown here ready to travel.

So far everyone is very happy with the Escape -- it's pronounced Uh-SCAP-ay, the same way Dora says it in _Finding Nemo_, did you know? We figured out where the windshield squisher is, and how to open the sun roof, and even how to operate the cruise control without colliding with other motorists.

We got the last bit of the rooftop-tent ladder bolted on yesterday morning, and used some duct tape and cardboard to fix the polarity problem on the two ladder mounts; now it really belongs to us!

We're on our third visit now, in Orono, Maine; after Shelburne Museum and Cousin Margaret's place in Vermont two days ago, we got to Grandpa Averill's house in Roxbury, Maine for dinner (see photo at right for proof!), and on to Orono by bedtime.

Calvin and Isabel are now sliding down a slip-and-slide tarp in the back yard with their new friends -- Dan and Ann Barrett's kids, Cole and Andrew -- while I catch up on correspondence. On to Baxter State Park this evening, and the top of Katahdin tomorrow (with any luck) -- the end, or beginning, of the Appalachian Trail...!