Friends.. I just got the call. I'm heading out in 10 min, wish me luck ! I love you all . Love you sam

-ne

Dear John…

Okay I just did what you always do.  I lost the blog.  It was all complete and I went to get a tag from an email and then poof it is all gone.  Bummer.  I probably needed that experience to remind me to post and then go add something in edit.  So here I will go and save now.

Okay I’m back again.  So the next thing I did like you was I forgot the camera for the morning.  I had all these shots that I had to just let go of.  So I will create the visuals for you with words…no I am not going to make those little stick people.  That is way too hard and it is midnight.

Well the morning started off with a breakfast for snowboarders, cream cheese/chocolate chip stuffed french toast for Gabe & Dylan.  Not much talking…just grunts ever so often.  I felt that the camera would be intrusive at this point.  Plus I think Gabe is getting tired of me taking pictures.  I feel I need to…how many dog pictures can one handle?  We may now have more Chai pictures than baby pictures of Gabe.

I did bring the doggies with me to Stowe.  They were most excited.

On the way to Stowe I needed to stop at the Mobile station on rt 100.  I missed the entrance and had to enter the Shaw’s side.  Good thing too because I pulled up next to Brit F.  I rolled down my window and said “I was thinking of you yesterday and wanted to email you and never did”.  She said “I almost stopped in yesterday with a friend on our way back from Burlington”.  So those who don’t know, Brit & Sam were an item for a bit.  Her mom passed about 4-5 years ago.  She is someone who I can easily talk with about life and death, and she is just 16/17.  She is beautiful as ever and doing well.  It is funny because it was actually Oscar the Grouch that popped in my head.  That is her email address and I associate Oscar with her.  I think the last time I had contact with her was almost a year ago.  We really don’t need telephones. 

We arrived at Stowe.  Here is a picture of the gondola.  

I then took the dogs to Smugglers Notch road.  This road is closed for half the year due to the narrow mountain pass.  It actually was used to smuggle liquor during prohibition.  Today there were just plenty of dogs and people using the pass.  I saw many skiers and riders hiking out.  Apparently they take the gondola up and then go off trail down through those steep woods.  I must say they all had smiles on their faces so it must have been fun.  Soon the trail cleared out and it was just me, the dogs and the great boulders next to the road…or the boulders that redirected the road.  We walked for about 2 hours.  The girls were tired and no snowmobiles today.

I went back to the lodge and read my book, “The Devil in the White Cite” by Erik Larson.  It is quite good (thank you Leah).  The nonfiction story is about the World’s Fair in Chicago.  You would like the Tesla/Edison connection.  There was so much happening at that time.  Here this great fair is underway and banks and businesses are failing.  People really needed the fair.  This book is full of little tales.  I like the  snippet about one carpenter on the project who just loved the experience.  His son Walt Disney truly grew up at the right time in the right place.

I saw Kat C. in the lodge.  She is doing well…having fun with her friends with all the snow.  They declared 11:00 beer time.  They too were resort hopping.

Here is a shot of Sumner, Gabe, Charlie & Dylan.  They had fun riding together.   

Gabe & I left about 2:30.  Gabe was exhausted.  I actually just had to turn off his light, as I am writing this, because he fell asleep across his bed with the light still on.

Kristin came over for dinner.  We had veggie sheppards pie and salad.  Yum.  Debra called about 10:00.   It was good talking with her.  The kids are with their Dad in Argentina right now.  Brit is with her finishing school work.  She will be back here in April.  I offered our house to her and her friends.  I feel weird in this big house with just Gabe & I.  We have 2.5 baths and 5 bedrooms just for us.  If our septic worked I would be inclined to fill the house with who ever needed a place.  Of well. 

I finished my blubird of a day yesterday by receiving an email from someone who does not know us…or sam.  She does have people in her life who love sam and so she felt connected to him.  She had climbed the fire tower and took a picure of the sam stone you nailed up there.  The scenes are of climbing the ladder and looking around.  Take a look at the slideshow at this link.  I hope it works from this blog.  If not, copy/paste it into a browser.  Here is the link.  

http://web.me.com/flask/flask/photos/Pages/from_the_tower.html

much love…diane

Friends,
    Not sure when my last chance to blog will be. I think I have a day or two more. I’ll keep writing as long as I can. That said, there’s not much I can relate about the last two days other than they’ve been really fun.. and really interesting. The folks around this project seem great.. though we haven’t really gotten a chance to get to know one another yet. That will come in time.   All I have for pictures from my day are the views from my hotel window..

not bad.. but I’m itching to get outside.    I’m getting really excited about this project.. I’m also already really missing my family. It feels different already than a business trip.. I know how long I’ll be away.
   I guess I should stop writing before I say something I shouldn’t . I can’t wait to share the stories from this place.. but that will have
to wait until fall. For now, I’m sending you all my love.  Gnite friends.. Gnite Diance, Max, Gabe I love you.. Love you too Sam
-me

 

Diane ,
   It’s so wonderful to log in and see your blog from the day.. It’s great to see what’s going on at home..It will be a cool way for me to see hat happens while I’m gone. I miss you guys all so much already !..  I love you !

I’m going to try and add a few blogs of my own until they shut us down.. I think I’ll have until Wednesday.. not sure..   Anyway.. here was my day.. I got up this morning.. packed the socks and underwear I’m allowed to bring and got ready to go. Gabe’s off school this week, so he Trevor and Diane left just before I did .. on their way to Sugarbush. (you see in Diane’s post, they ended up at Cole’s instead)

I hugged Gabe and Diane about a hundred times   then kicked them out of the house and finished packing.   It was very hard to let go of them.. and I felt very strange as I watched them drive away..

I’m going to miss my furry family as well

Friend Kathy showed up around 10 to take me to the airport. .. so I petted the dogs one more time, hung up my keys.. and headed out the door..

I was on my way figuratively and literally..

It was an hour or so down to Philly.. then nearly 6 hours to LAX. SOmewhere over Kansas I started wondering what the hell I was doing !…

But then it passed.. I know in my heart that this is a good thing for me to do…   I want to thank all of my family and freinds for supporting me as I do this.. It’s goign to be an interesting ride..

Good nigth folks.. more tomorrow.. Good night, Diane, Max, Gabe.. n d Sam.. I miss you all !
-me

ps. Nearly 500 blog readers tonight !!!  Wow.. Looks like I’ll hit my 200,000 read sometime later this week.