Toronto with Andrea & family, Blue Ridge Summit, Washington, DC and Home!!

All stories must come to an end, and since I am writing this post from my home office, you can reasonably ascertain that my journey that began on April 29th has come to closure.  11,170 miles after leaving Bluffton, the not so prodigal son has returned.  This will be the last post associated with Boyd's first cross-country adventure in retirement.  I suspect there will be more opportunities to add to this Blog titled Travels Now and Then, but a little hiatus is in order.  But I get ahead of myself.  We pick up the thread of the story with Andrea's arrival July 2nd. in Toronto at Pearson International Airport.  Sandy (Andrea's sister) and I scooped her up from the outside arrival Gate 3 at 8PM with a clearly elated Andrea.  She, the intrepid traveler she is managed an almost impossible sprint through the terminals to catch her flight to Toronto from Atlanta where she arrived late.

We celebrated later in the evening with a bottle of a 25 year old Bordeaux Sauterne coupled with fine aged cheeses and fresh French bread.  When they came up with the words ambrosia of the gods, they must have been drinking this fine wine. What an incredible treat and what fun to see the younguns (Victoria and Jake) enjoying this delectable liquid gold along with the adults.

The next morning, Friday, July 3rd., we unhitched the SUV from the Go, leaving it in the long driveway at Sandy and Jim's and navigated with some wrong turns to Andrea's mother's senior residence, where we arrived a few minutes late for the early lunch at 11:15AM.  Wilf.  While into his eighties he plays a pretty mean stick and kept the competition going for a good hour plus.  Later in the afternoon, Wilf's son Chris and his wife, along with Sandy, Jim, Victoria and Jake arrived and we headed over to a laid back  German restaurant called Wolfgang's.  We all enjoyed gorging on great German food from this Swiss trained chef and before dropping  Frieda and Wilf off and heading back to Richmond Hill on the northwest side of Toronto.

Frieda & Sandy Kofalvi, Andrea and Victoria Roberts at  Amica, Oshawa, Ont.

After lunch I played some pool with Frieda's (Andrea's mother) husband

Toronto never ceases to amaze in it's vibrant growth and seemingly endless rich emigres from China and Iran (though they insist hail from Persia).  Home prices have gone through the roof even with all the McMansions that have crowded out much of the agricultural land surrounding Toronto.  A small 1,100 ft. brick bungalow will sell for $750,000 in Richmond Hill. The downtown continues to be populated by towering cranes building ever more skyscrapers.

Victoria, Andrea, Boyd, Jake, Sandy and Jim on Toronto Island

Saturday we all headed downtown and boarded the Trillium, a vintage 1910 side paddle wheel ferry that has been reconstructed, for the fifteen minute ride to Toronto Island.  This island just off the coast of Toronto in Lake Ontario is an urban park of large dimensions where thousands of Torontonians and tourists alike were enjoying the sunny day, swimming in Lake Ontario, botanical gardens, and a vibrant albeit small amusement center for children with old fashioned rides like the log ride and Swan boats.

Andrea and Sister Sandy on Toronto Island, Toronto, Canada

We meandered about walking along the beach and taking pics, with Andrea scoping out the lighthouse on the island.  For dinner we drove to Queen St. and dined at Tabule's, a noted Lebanese restaurant where finger foods were the hit of the day.

Sunday, and we were off about an hour away to get in some walking along the Niagara escarpment.

Sandy, Andrea, Jim, Jake & Victoria at Niagara Escarpment 

Boyd at rest during Niagara Escarpment Walk on his 65th B-day

The rock formations that make up the escarpment were impressive as were some of the stone nooks with their sheltered ferns and lichen.  Coming home we passed by one of the venues for the Pan AM Games, the equestrian center.

Monday, Sandy had to return to work as she is an Asst Principal at one of the neighboring secondary schools, and Andrea and I returned to visit with Frieda and Wilf before meeting Sandy for a short tour of her school.  I regrettably had to drop Andrea off at the airport around 6PM for her return flights to Savannah, and I followed the directions Jim had given me to wend my way back to their house along the myriad expressways.  My GPS had no Canadian maps loaded, so it was back to handwritten notes, since my phone also would have been prohibitively expensive to operate on roaming.

Sandy Kofalvi, Asst. Principal

I overnighted with Sandy and Jim and took off early around 6AM for Blue Ridge Summit, PA via Niagara Falls.  Had an uneventful drive and was reminded again just how beautiful PA with its rolling, green countryside can be.  Arrived at my friends David Le Jardin's around 4PM and he took me for a nice stroll out and around the historic area of Blue Ridge Summit. I was vaguely familiar with my surroundings as I came here to visit my Godfather, for whom I was named, the Rev. Boyd Davis in around 1959.  Boyd had married money as they say, having married Alice Stanley of the Willard/Stanley family,  The Willard of Willard Hotel fame in Washington, DC.  The summer home had some 23 rooms with a grand semi-circular driveway set on five acres of lawns and old trees.

David Le Jardin's at the home once belonging to my Godfather, the Rev. Boyd Davis

When I was 9 or ten, I spend my time catching butterflies while listening to my dad talk about such things as the value of owning Cadillacs, and how if you have to ask how many miles to the gallon you get, you probably shouldn't be owning one!  The experience at the time was one of genteel elegance, with maids and butlers to look after our needs.  This was quite the juxtaposition, since we had just returned from one of our family camping experiences (read camping in old fashioned, no floor tents).

Blue Ridge Summit is where the elite from Washington spent their summers to avoid the heat in the early 1900's.  A railroad was constructed to get families up to the cooler clime and their homes. There were a number of summer embassies that operated here as well, plus some four, thousand bed hotels, which were all burned down once the automobile came into vogue and the tourists dried up.  It's now just a delightful, somewhat forgotten enclave of civility, populated in part by folks such as the Deputy Director of the CIA, who has nice digs overlooking the valley.  Around Blue Ridge you have some interesting real estate including Site C, the communications hub for the east coast military, Site R, the mountain that is carved out to house the government elite from Washington in the event of nuclear war or other calamities and the quintessential Camp David, where presidents retreat to when privacy and natural surroundings are called for.

David's home is surrounded by beautiful gardens, he being a Master Gardener.  His other skill set is historic tour guide which he accomplished with aplomb.  We took in both Gettysburg and Antietam in one day.  The magnitude of death and destruction between the north and south is something to behold, when in one four hour period in a corn field at Antietam, 10,000 soldiers died (basically one soldier every second).

Antietam Cornfield in distance where 10,000+ died in 4 hours of fighting

On Thursday, 9th, I had a leisurely morning stroll with David, and we toured a home in the historic district that was for sale.  Seven bedroom, five bath older home on 3 acres for $345K.  Had a crazy thought it might make a good B&B, but it had been added on in sort of a higgly piggly way.  If you just had a big family that needed nice digs, $150K investment in fixing it up would make it into quite a stunner inside.  I left Blue Ridge Summit around 10:30 and drove to my cousin Nita Fancher's small rental unit in Braddock Heights just outside Frederick, Maryland.  Nice rolling country thereabouts, and after a brief tour of her rental unit, we headed into Frederick for lunch at The Orchard,

Nita Fancher at The Orchard Restaurant, Fredrick, Maryland

then toured the Civil War Medical Museum in the downtown.  Frederick is quaint with much potential, but growing exponentially with folks wishing to commute to Washington, DC from there, where prices are more reasonable.

After getting a tour of Nita's senior living residence called Spring Ridge, I drove to Reston, VA where my niece Ellie, is manager of one of three stores that sell boutique baby items. Reston is a high-end place, no doubt about it.  Around 5PM I drove past the store, and Ellie, in her bosses Honda Pilot, led me out to her bosses home where I could house the Go for a few days.  Since the driveway was being refinished, I parked along the road in front of a very imposing home, one of many in Great Falls, VA.  We got into D.C. and once settled, had a nice bite to eat on Ellie's deck.

Ellison Heath at Baby Boutique she manages in Washington, DC

Washington, DC is full of row homes, some of which have been beautifully restored.  Ellie, lives in one of these on the 2nd. floor where she and Rich (her significant other) have lived for 10+ years. The apartment is way convenient, near Dupont Circle and three metro lines, and a short walk to one of the stores she manages.  On Saturday morning after seeing Ellie off to work, I walked to the National Archives on the Mall, arriving around 10:30AM.  Quite a set up with exceptional security and customer service.  I  arrived, and was told I would have to register as a researcher, after which I needed to complete some pull forms for both my GG Grandfather's military and his wife's pension  records.  I then had a quick consult with another group and completed a form to pull the medical cards that would include those of my GG Grandfather, Henry N. Colston, from NH.

By 11:30 I was in the large and relatively opulent 2nd. floor reading room and I signed out the military papers associated with my GG Grandfather.  Was given all original documents and proceeded to photograph them, after which I did the same for his wife Rachel Colston's (Thornton) Civil War pension records.  Incredible to have these documents in my hand and to confirm my GG Grandfather was indeed on Hilton Head Island in 1862, and was then in St. Augustine, FL before being posted on extra  duty to Beaufort.

I went into the main reading room and signed out a large box of perhaps 300 alpha sequenced medical cards from the Civil War for as many soldiers.  I proceed to find my GG Grandfather's medical card that confirmed he was returned from St. Augustine to Hilton Head Hospital for chronic diarrhea, and debilitation.

Henry N. Colston's Medical Card from U.S.A. General Hospital, Hilton Head, S.C. 1863

He was mustered out of the NH Infantry Company F on May 8th, 1863, and returned to his home in NH.  He had left his wife Rachel and children in NH while at war, and lived till 1879, when he was hit by a horse drawn carriage and died at 49 years of age, thus setting up the pension for Rachel.

Go figure!  Here I thought I was the first person in my family to ever have resided on Hilton Head Island, and come to find out I was preceded by my GG Grandfather by 153 years.  Then, to learn he worked as a male nurse as I have done was just icing on this genealogic story.

On Friday evening Ellie and I took Uber into the N.W. quadrant and had a pleasant outside dining experience at a place called Mintwood, then toured Kalorama, a neighborhood of large mansions.  Many of the mansions now house embassies.  Towards the end of our walk, I found myself in Massachusetts's Ave where my Godfather, the Rev. Boyd Davis had a home next to the Czechoslovakian Embassy in the early 60s.  Unfortunately, as a young lad I hadn't paid much attention to exactly where it was, just remembered being greeted by the butler who escorted us to our rooms in  the large and sometimes dark mansion.  Further investigation of this home will need to be made on a return trip to Washington, after I hopefully get some directions from my mother on the likely address.

Saturday morning I drove up to Baltimore to see my cousin, Chuck Fancher, along with his wife Heidi and their two boys and grandmother from Hawaii.  As usual, ate well, having a nice pancake breakfast at the Nickle Tap Booth, in the Mt. Washington neighborhood.  Mt. Washington is one of the nicer areas in Baltimore, which is kind of sketchy in places, with lots of homeless panhandlers in the downtown area.  Returning to D.C. about an hour's drive south, Ellie and I dinner at home with someone I had wanted to meet for years.

Tatiana Campbell, Boyd and Ellison Heath at Ellie's Apt. in Washington, D.C.

Her name is Tatiana Campbell, the daughter of my best childhood friend, David Campbell.  She came with her boyfriend Charlie and we had a lot of fun sharing stories of her family and generally getting to know her and Charlie.  Of all the people outside my immediate family, the Campbell's (Jean and George her grandparents) had the most impact on my world view and stimulated the wanderlust that in part still drives me to take off and experience what the world has to offer.  We wrapped up the evening on the back porch around 11PM and this guy took himself off to bed on the oversized air mattress that took up a large portion of the front living room.

On Sunday, Ellie had to do a little work at the store, then we took the metro towards the mall, getting off at El Enfant, and going to the Hirshhorn Museum where we took in a exhibition of  photographs from a renown Persian photographer.  Following this we toured the outside sculpture gardens before returning home and greeting Rich, who was just returning from a business trip to Seattle.  We again took Uber and headed back to a different part of the N.W. Quadrant called Bloomingdale.  We had another superb dinner on an outside patio while people watching, and then did a walking tour of the row homes.  This neighborhood until a couple of years ago was a drug haven, and now the renovated row homes give credence to the gentrification process ongoing in many part of the Washington.

Early (5:45AM) the next morning, Monday, July 13th, I headed the SUV back to Great Falls, VA and after picking up the Go, I plugged in "Home" as the destination on the GPS and following a very boring drive of 8 hours south on I-95 arrived in Bluffton. Along the way I was able to text Andrea, who suggested I not go immediately home as she had a surprise for me that wasn't quite ready.  Hearing this, I drove to the bike shop where I had purchased the defective Thule bike rack.  Jim, the owner and I surveyed the damage and why the rack had failed.  He took the mountain bikes into the shop for a gratis check-up and said he would follow-up further with Thule and would find a better solution for me.

The Go at nice digs in Great Fall, VA

I got through half a glass of Chardonnay at the Okatie Ale House, before Andrea called and said she was home and I could join her.  She proudly showed off our very pulled-together abode and surrounds that she had kept up in my absence.  While sipping a glass of wine with Andrea, I happened upon the surprise, a new Apple Desktop computer that the whole family had chipped in for, for my 65th birthday.  What a complete, unexpected and totally delightful end to my trip.  With all the photos I have and scanning to do for my genealogic work,  the Apple will be a blessing.

Did I learn anything from my cross country sojourn?  Oh yes, for certain! My home away from home, the Sylvan Sport Go is a great piece of engineering, that served me well whether on rough unpaved roads or motoring along at 80+ MPH across the desolate stretches in the West.  It was comfortable and turned heads everyone where I landed.  It will undoubtedly be my source of accommodation on many future road trips.  The two mountain bikes I loaded on top of the Go provided me an unparalleled way to intimately get to know the environment whether urban or pastoral.  I've also learned that not all campsites are equal when it comes to bathing opportunities, so lakes and rivers become a valuable resource, albeit with some limitations if exceptionally cold or not sufficiently private to bathe in!  While creating a Blog can be a great way to chronicle your travels and capture your thoughts, the process is very time consuming and should only be contemplated if you are willing to put a considerable amount of effort into it's creation and maintenance.

I will also venture to say that you can count on coming away knowing more about yourself when undertaking such an expansive trip. Of special note, is the enhanced value I place on family and the exceptional quality of people that make up my circle of friends.  To all those I visited, I extend a hearty thank you for your hospitality and the chance to again take part in some small ways in your lives.  Having traversed 11,000 miles across this continent of North America, I have to say, we in the U.S. have been blessed by it grandeur, beauty and yes, those still places of quietude that still nourish our souls.

Lastly, while I loved the adventure and the opportunity to gain on-the-ground experience in some of the best topography this exceptional land has to offer,  I could not escape the fact that I have a need for my daily fix of Andrea,.  She who radiates such a joy for life, and who engages so passionately in whatever we encounter together.  So Andrea, when are you retiring so we can trip the light fantastic on our magical mystery tours of the world together?   The world beckons, and we are just getting started on the grand adventure!

Spending Some Productive Time in Wisconsin and on to Toronto via Michigan June 17th - July 2

Well, dear reader, have to say I was recalcitrant not keeping up with this blog after hitting Wisconsin and Michigan.  My decision to move east on a quicker schedule panned out well, as some of the work I anticipated in Wisconsin took longer than first thought.  I wasn't able to download necessary drivers from the Epson Scanner I had purchased and sent on to my mother's, even after spending considerable number of hours with Epson support.  They finally gave up and recommended I call Microsoft support to see if they could resolve why the file wouldn't download.  I did connect with Microsoft for a one-time issue support of $99 and they resolved the issue by completely deleting all prior driver files and uploading the necessary file from the Epson site.  I called Epson Support to be compensated for the $99 since their product is guaranteed to work with Microsoft and they couldn't resolve and had to have Microsoft intervene.  At the present time they refuse to compensate me, and I will be following up with a letter indicating that my reviews of the product and support will not be favorable and this will not be conducive to their marketing efforts!

It's always a little difficult to be I.T. enabled at my mother's as she is of the generation that doesn't avail herself of computers/internet.  This state of affairs is becoming more untenable as everyone fully expects customers/patients to have internet and email.  I have by default become my mother's electronic communication conduit.

One of the main purposes for me scheduling days in Rhinelander/Minocqua beyond having quality time with my sister, John and mother, was to rebuild my sister's deck with Trex.  When I say deck it is a bit of an understatement as evidenced by the pics.  Trex delivered late on Monday and couldn't start work till Tuesday.  I shored up and leveled the supporting frame and John and I started laying the Trex on the Tuesday.  Later on in the afternoon, our expert deck builder Jim, showed up and we had to make a few alterations to the under frame, but essentially were  on track.  We finished up the upper deck that day, and later in the week, John, me and Jim laid down the balance of the Trex decking material.  The Trex decking is similar to tongue and groove wood, and is held onto to the deck with a plastic "T" piece that screws down between the boards and puts pressure on the Trex decking grooves.  Quite clever.  We did have to do some screwing of the deck on the starter boards to insure they were well adhered to the under frame. I left on the Sunday with just the side boards to be installed where Jim had built frames.  Only potential maintenance is to power wash occasionally if there is mildew over the winter.

John Brant and Boyd rebuilding Trex Deck at Susan & Johns House

Success!

This is a multi-tiered affair with lots of steps. We got the deck mostly finished before I had to leave on Saturday evening with the exception of the side skirting.

Beyond the hard labor, I was able during this time to complete scanning of a number of old family photos dating from the 19th and 20th century, which will be incorporated into the family genealogy. Mother clarified some information about some of the family members and we solved a riddle of some pictures we couldn't all identify, determining they were my great-grandfather and great-grandmother after extracting them from their museum mount frames.

Great Grandfather, John McCleary

Great Grandmother Mary Aline (Illingsworth) McCleary

I had lunch and dinner at the Rhinelander Pub with my mother and friends, Jean and George Pratt, and we had a great family dinner at Jacoby's Restaurant not far from Susan and John's.

Unfortunately, while I was with my mother at a hospital clinic, Susan got distracted and fell off the new deck, breaking a bone in her foot so had to be in a cast.  Coming up the stairs was quite a feat using a walker, plus a gardening chair and a swivel routine.

Susan is now in a walking boot so life is a little easier thank God.

Spent the last night at my mother's in Rhinelander and after being stocked up with home made cookies from my mother, took off at 6:30AM for Boyne Falls, MI to pick up Ryan, my stepson, who works at the Boyne Mtn. Resort as the Adventure Center Supervisor.  Got to Ryan around 2:30 PM after an uneventful drive across the Upper Peninsula and down over the Mackinaw Bridge.  This is always spectacular with bright blue skies reflected in the waters hundreds of feet below.  We motored West to Traverse City after catching a sub and a beer in the car and met Jeannie and Bonnie Sommers, old friends from Ann Arbor days when I worked at the University of Michigan Medical Center.  Had some good Michigan brews lakeside, transferred two cases of Rhinelander Shorty beers to Jeannie and then drove to our campground on the Leelanau Peninsula.  Very nice campsite located just feet from Lake Michigan.  Leelanau Pines Campground is one of the nicest I have stayed at, very clean and well organized.  Ryan enjoyed setting up the Go and we had spectators as is often the case when setting up the ultralight camper.

The next morning, June 29th, we drove to the Grand Traverse Lighthouse

at the tip of the peninsula then made our way down to Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes.

Ryan Ley squinting at Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes

This is truly one of natures wonders as it crests hundreds of feet high and continues in it's undulating mode to Lake Michigan with Glen Lake behind to add to the brilliance of the scene.  Ryan climbed some of the high dune and threw his frisbee disks far afield then jumped off and cartwheeled down the face of the dunes.  As usual, getting off the beaten track meant no one other than us were at this location, with 95% of the tourists climbing only the first hill then turning around to their cars.  Getting off the beaten path is always pays off when attempting to fully appreciate one's natural surroundings.  We had a great shared lunch in Glen Arbor, then into Traverse for a beer before retiring to camp in the evening.

Dropped Ryan off at the resort after a Yelp recommended breakfast at a hideaway joint in Traverse, then drove to Fort Gratiot, MI to stay with my old friend from elementary school, Bill Doyle.  Met his delightful, artistic and beautiful daughter Elizabeth and we had a nice dinner after chatting at his home.

Boyd with Elizabeth & Bill Doyle at their home - Fort Gratiot

We went into downtown Port Huron and had dinner along the Black River.  They mentioned it was only a three hour drive to Toronto from Port Huron, being right at the border crossing to Canada at Sarnia.  In the AM I made the decision to bypass Ann Arbor, though with regret as I wouldn't see my friendS Lori and Todd.  The combination of them coming in from Washington DC late in the evening and then adding three hours to my Toronto commute made my decision.

Elizabeth Doyle at restaurant - Port Huron

Around 9:30 the morning of July 1st. Bill and Elizabeth took me to a friend's restaurant in Port Huron for breakfast.  A most interesting place stocked with antiques and memorabilia.  After breakfast of stuffed blueberry french toast with honey cream cheese, I got on to the bridge to Sarnia.  After a short interrogation at the border into Canada, had a fast 3.5 hour trip to Richmond Hill (everyone doing about 20km/hr over the speed limit of 100km/hr.)  and a warm welcome at the Robertson's (Andrea's sister, brother-in-law and children Victoria and Jake).  We had a dinner of brats on their back deck and later rode out bikes to the Canada Day fireworks

about 4km away.  You know you are in Canada when there is a dude on stilts in hockey uniform.

Stilted hockey player - Canada Day Celebration Richmond Hill, Ontario

Had a fun time on the bike path in the night coming home with five of us tooling along with Jake barking out the future turns and twists along the path.

Today, July 2nd, is catch up day for email, and blog before picking up Andrea from Pierrson International Airport in Toronto around 7:45 PM.