My b'day / Water damage to home / Visit to Manchester, Vermont

Another Trip with Doug and Sharon

After dealing with ice damage at our cabin and water damage to the 

back room of our house, which entailed months and months of clean-up, 

demolition and repair, we thought we finally had a respite from stress.  

Not so!

After spending a wonderful, relaxing afternoon out and about, Gary 

and I arrived back home, opened the door, greeted our dog, Jake, who 

approached us with his tail between his legs and a sad face and wondered,

"what's up." We soon knew why. After a few steps into the kitchen we 

felt water sloshing over our ankles and the sound of a tsunami from the 

bathroom. Jake had the sideways eye look..."I didn't do it. I didn't touch 

a thing." Well, you can imagine what a house with 6000 gal of water 

pouring from a broken hose creates in terms of destruction. Our entire 

remodeled basement (which included my art studio and Gary's workshop) 

had to be gutted and our entire flooring of wood floors on the first floor. 

A lot of contents got destroyed too.

What would any sane person do to stay sane, after dealing with the initial 

agenda of twenty huge air blowers and heaters drying out the house, 

having insurance company assess damage, coordinating contractors and 

watching movers take all our furniture to storage, except our bed.

LEAVE for a little vacation!!

So, we met Doug and Sharon for a long weekend in Vermont. My birthday

was on the 26th, so it was a great time to take a break and enjoy life. 

We stayed at the Manchester View. Fall colors were in full splendor. We had 

the most incredible dinners at Ye Olde Tavern and Up for Breakfast. I bought 

a few cabinets for my art studio at antique shops to replace damaged ones.  

One of the highlights was visiting the oldest quarries in the U.S. 

Gary and I at Up for Breakfast

Doug and sharon across from us

On the deck of Manchester View Hotel

View from the deck

Marble Quarry abandoned

Gary and Doug wondering if there are any fish

Engraved into the quarry rock...1929 was the oldest date we found

Info on the quarry

At the quarry...Sharon gave me this beautiful scarf for my B'day

This is what we left....damaged contents and gutted rooms!

Ogunquit, Maine

Vacation in Ogunquit, Maine Sept 7-13, 2014

First time visiting Doug and Sharon at their home in Ellington, Conn.  

What beautiful country! We then all went to Ogunquit to enjoy some 

time together.  Doug and Sharon have gone there often since it is only

a few hours away, but this was our first visit. 

Ogunquit has breathtaking views, especially dramatic along the Marginal Way. 

This walking trail is high on the cliffs and runs along the entire waterfront from 

Ogunquit Beach area to Perkins Cove. 

Of course we ate lobster and enjoyed other local cuisine.  Sharon and I went 

to see The Witches of Eastwick, staring Sally Struthers as Felicia Gabriel at the 

Ogunquit Playhouse which has an impressive summer stock history since its 

founding in1933. We all enjoyed breakfast at Cafe Amore, above and beyond 

delicious! Gary and Doug were always on the lookout for old fishing lures and 

found some great ones at local antique shops to add to their collections.  

We packed in a lot during the three days we were there, including a visit to the 

Ogunquit Museum of Art, basking in the sun on Ogunquit Beach, and enjoying 

a visit to the Ogunquit Memorial Library. We will definitely all be back!

View along the Marginal Way

Another view heading towards Perkins Cove

The charm of Perkins Cove

Sharon on the beach

View from Art Museum

Lighthouse in Maine - we stopped on way back to Conn.

Another view in Ogunquit

We'll be back!