Killing Time

Just got to the Mount Washington Resort and have an hour or so to kill before my room is ready. Another mostly overcast day - with rain AND SNOW showers in the vicinity. It's about 37 degrees. I'm pleased I did NOT choose to lug my golf clubs back here...

I left East Middlebury around 9 AM and chugged east through the Green Mountains. At the summit it was snowing like hell although not (yet) sticking on the road. OOFTA! The route to Bretton Woods was a serious zig-zag. East on narrow winding roads, south on narrow winding roads, then south 20 miles on I-89, north 60 miles on I-91, south 25 miles on I-93 and finally zig-zagging up another winding road to the resort. Sure pretty though. There's some serious color out there - red, orange, yellow and green.

I have been stalking a bunch of bicyclists on a Vermont Biking Tours expedition. They were at the North Hero Inn on Monday night and at the Waybury Inn last night. A couple of them are looking a mite worse for wear. Serious headwinds and off-and-on rain for two days and this morning there was plenty of frost on the pumpkins.

Still, it looks like it would be big time fun in decent weather. You cycle for 30 miles or so each day and stay at really nice places with great food and drink. A van hauls your baggage from one destination to another. The terrain is relatively flat on their carefully mapped-out route. I had a nice visit with several of the folks including a couple of guys from Seattle. Ages ranged from 30 something to 70 something... They all claimed to be enjoying themselves the weather notwithstanding...

I spoke with Amanda night before last and she is still doing the camp counselor gig in Southern California. Some angst over what to do next; but clearly it's been a wonderful experience thus far. It was great to hear her voice. Sadly, she informed me of the death of an old family friend, Floyd Gammill, who had been battling Alzheimer's or a related dementia for a decade or more. Floyd was an absolutely delightful and charming man and his wife, Linda, a great gal. So sad...

Leah is holding her breath waiting for word on a job with Clackamas County as a health educator - doing H1N1 flu immunization work. She sounds optimistic - go get 'em Leah!

The news from the elders is fairly grim. Dad is getting weaker by the day and mom is at the end of her rope. She now concedes that she MUST have knee replacement surgery ASAP - which is a guarantee that her pain is damn near unbearable. I can hear it in her voice. Next week we will make a plan...

I have been reading the news online every day but have otherwise been disengaged from the world's trials and tribulations. There are no TVs in most inns - which I think is a good thing. Bet my blood pressure is lower than it's been in many a moon.

I did notice, however, that my former Governor has gone "rogue." Four hundred plus pages of nonsense due out next month - in time for the holiday season. Hah!

Well, tomorrow I'm going to take a little tourist choo choo up Mount Washington. Beyond that...no plans whatsoever...gonna be pretty chilly and wet for hiking - particularly since sneakers are the only walking shoes I brought. Bet there's a good gym around here though...

Finally, no cell phone service here in the wilds of New Hampshire. Emergency service only. So send me an email if you have something to say...

Cheers!