Any day by a lake is nice. But this week at Lake Morey was very special for Jill and her sisters. They grew up summers in Wildwood, a cottage on that lake. (HINT: In Index level, click on any thumbnail for Slide level. In Slide level, click on right or left side of slide or use right-arrow or left-arrow key to go forward or back, center or Z-key to Zoom in and out, Page-up key or up-arrow icon to go back up a level. S-key toggles Slideshow mode.)
The Ward sisters offered to rent us the cottage next door, Recreation. Years ago, the Andrists had many good times with its owners, Earl and Doris Ward of Hanover, NH. It's nice to be back!
Lake Morey has many inviting trails, including this short walk to the Small Falls on the Glen Falls Trail. This trail's tall trees and natural air conditioning keep it about twenty degrees cooler on a hot day.
The fabulous Andrist Sisters - Melissa Hardtke, Mary Leech and Jill Miller - whooping it up in the Recreation kitchen.
Andrist Sisters with spice. From left front: Bob and Mary Leech, Jill and Dick Miller. From left rear: Jim and Melissa Hardtke.
Melissa and Jill (and Dick) gathered all these incredibly delicious strawberries in about ten minutes, at a farm in Bradford, VT.
Driving to Lake Morey from Massachusetts on I-91, we visited the first Vermont highway rest area. One of its exhibits featured this lovingly-crafted, square-ended canoe.
"All the flowers of the mountain." These Vermont wildflowers were in an old cemetery. (HINT: Under the image, click to download the original image for your desktop wallpaper.)
And here's some wallpaper if you use a portrait-mode display! (HINT: Under the image, click to download the original image for your desktop wallpaper.)
On a morning drive south from Fairlee, VT on Route 5, we enjoyed this view of the fog rising off the Connecticut River. Below and nearly out of sight, an old railroad line hugs the near shore.
We had a reunion with Connie Ward, Jill's best friend from Recreation cottage back when Jill and Connie were next-door neighbor kids at Lake Morey. Now Connie Ward Anderson, her home is in downtown Hanover, NH. It's on a steep hill; its front is two stories high
And around the corner from the old Ward home, Jill's first home! Jill was born in Hanover's Mary Hitchcock Hospital, while her dad was training U.S. Naval Officers early in WW II - before he shipped off for duty on the only U.S. carrier to serve in the Atlantic AND Pacific theaters of the war.
A side visit to small and scenic Lyme, NH, once home to our famous Outing-Club friends, the Bowden family.
When the Bowden family of New Jersey lost its father, Mary Bowden bought an inn in Lyme and brought up her lively family in this wonderful home. Each kid was encouraged to invite friends, and it soon became a favorite spot for generations of Outing Clubbers both from neighboring Dartmouth College and from all over New England - including Jill and Dick.
The Lyme Country Store, also on Lyme Common, now has "Pip's Ice Cream" on its right side. We suspect that it is named after the late Pip Bowden, and we like that thought.
On our drive home toward Boston, we stopped at another general store, this lovely old one in New Boston, NH to buy some bread for sandwiches. The store was so nice that we stayed there to eat our lunch.
We sat here, on the front porch of that general store, to eat our lunch. This panorama view (stitched from six hand-held photos, using PhotoSuite 7) shows some of this lovely village center. Note the town common on the left and, on the right between the town library and the river, an old, red sawmill. (HINT: Tap the Z-key twice for full Zoom. Tap Z-key twice for full Zoom. When this image fills the window vertically, use the left- and right-arrow keys or slide the scroll button to scan across the full-sized panoramic image.)