August 16 - 28, 2009

We were busy during our 4 full days in Massachusetts. We visited with others at the wine and cheese social and I went to two different spa sessions, one with Beauti Control and the other with Arbonne. We spent one day in Hyde Park, New York visiting the Vanderbilt Historic Site,

FDR National Historic Park

and then the Eleanor Roosevelt Historic Park called Val-Kill.

The FDR site was where he was born, raised, lived and also died. We learned quite a bit. At the Vanderbilt site the park has hired goats from a farmer to eat the vegetation on the hill along the Hudson River.

We enjoyed many fresh vegetables from the road side stands. Eating fresh corn-on-the-cob, BLTs and peach shortcake has been fun.

We didn’t have a full week in Massachusetts but moved on Friday, August 21 to Rangeley, Maine. On our way up through the country we visited the only National Park in New Hampshire which is Saint-Gaudens.

He was a sculptor who is best known for his standing Lincoln.

He had a studio here.

We also learned that he was friends with Chester Arthur French who sculpted the sitting Lincoln in the Lincoln Memorial.

It rained all afternoon after we had lunch in West Lebanon, New Hampshire and the van started leaking again. We arrived in Rangeley, Maine about 6 p.m. Oh wow, how awesome. We were in a three bedroom log cabin.

The master bedroom and bath were upstairs and there were two bedrooms and bath downstairs as well as a nice kitchen, dining area and living room with a fireplace.

There was a covered front porch with a picnic table and a couple of chairs. We could see Rangeley Lake from the main lodge.

We walked in the mornings down to the lake edge where there was a dock.

It was comfortable and very relaxing all week. I loved to sit in the rocking chair and watch out the big picture window.

The visitor center operates a free moose tour two evenings a week for about 2 hours in the evening just before dark. Since I have been so many places and have never seen a moose we decided to go on Monday night. But it was a bust. No moose and this was the first time with this bus driver. Oh well. Bob & I drove out on our own on Wednesday night and did actually see 3 moose. It was almost dark and we couldn’t take a picture but we did see them. They were females so no large antlers. We didn’t do any other traveling during the week as Bob worked to dry out the carpet of the van. This was one of the first places that I really didn’t want to leave because it was so comfortable.