Summer 2012

May and June of 2012 have been wonderful travel months for me.

Tuesday, May 22, Alan, Peggy and Will arrived at my home in preparation for attending Sam’s wedding later in the week in Oregon. Wednesday, we all drove to Nancy’s home in Bend, OR. It was good to see Nancy, Kirk and the girls. We had a nice visit with them. Oregon is different: one can’t pump one’s own gas and the speed limit is 55 on highways that have no homes or farms on them. Funny. .

Thursday we put on our Sunday clothes and drove to Portland to the Temple. Kia, Sam’s bride, was receiving her endowments that evening. Lauren and Ross joined us. The temple is beautiful; the outside is white marble and inside, especially the Celestial Room, is all cream, gold and crystal. Peggy’s sisters and other relatives were also present.

That evening, we drove to Salem, where Peggy’s sister Clydie’s husband had rented a large, nice house for all the family to stay in. I couldn’t get over all the beautiful flowers in that part of Oregon. Large bushes of Rhododendrons were everywhere in beautiful pink, white, hot pink and purple. A beautiful sight

Friday was a free day so Alan, Peggy and I investigated the area. We visited a beautiful historic Queen Ann home called Deepwood. It was built in 1894. It had stained glass in almost every room and was very beautiful. It also had lovely gardens. We then drove to the small town of Silverton and ate a breakfast for lunch. My pancake filled my whole plate! There was a river running through the town that reminded us of York, England. It was a picturesque town. We then visited an abbey in the town of Mount Angel. That was also very interesting. The library was designed by a Finnish architect, Alvar Aälto, that Peggy was very interested in. It was closed but we were allowed to go into the lobby. The whole area was very peaceful and beautiful. There were many buildings in the complex.

Saturday we drove to the Temple for the wedding of Sam and Kia and were joined by Tricia and Mark. They had spent the night with Nancy and she and Madison had driven them up. It was a lovely ceremony and the bride and groom very happy. Alan and Peggy had arranged for a lovely luncheon at an Italian Restaurant. It opened just for us as they normally are closed on Saturday. We then drove to Veneta, a town outside of Eugene for the reception. It was all decorated very nicely with lots of yummy treats to eat and little pots of honey were given to those attending. Kirk and Reagan had joined us for the reception and Tricia and I drove back to Eugene to a hotel with Kirk and Nancy.

Sunday we drove to the beach!!! It was cold and windy but so nice to see the water. Nan and Tricia went wading but not me. All of the girls drove to see a lighthouse. There was a long walk, uphill, with beautiful views of the ocean. The lighthouse was closed for repairs but we were able to look in a telescope and see a seal and lots of birds on the rocks. We ate lunch at a nice restaurant, noted for its fish dishes, then back to Bend. Alan and Peggy spent another night in Salem and Alan drove Mark to the airport to return home. They came back to Bend on Monday.

Monday, Nancy, Tricia, the little girls and I, explored a nice park along the river. Tricia, Peggy and I went to a movie that night and saw "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel" and enjoyed it. Nancy and Kirk talked with Alan about their trip next year to Italy.

Tuesday, very early, Nancy drove Tricia to the airport, then Alan, Peggy, Will and I took off for Utah. We spent the night at Peggy’s brother’s home then took Peggy to the airport so she could get back home. The three remaining, Alan Will, and I, ate lunch at Los Hermanos and they played music I knew!!! "Jalisco no te Rajes" "Atotonilco" "Feria de las Flores" It was so great. Then we drove back to Mt. Pleasant.

Alan, Will and Doug went hiking for a few days, then they returned to Manhattan, KS.

I had only five days before my trip to New York. On Monday the 18^th, the day before I flew out, I tripped and fell on the concrete patio at home. I had a huge goose egg on my left forehead and went to the doctor to check me out to make sure I didn’t have a concussion. It would not be good to have one if flying. I checked out O.K. Tuesday, I had a small black eye. Wednesday I had two huge black eyes with the color running down by my nose. I also had an extra eyebrow over my left eye. With makeup, I was looking alright to go out in public.

Tuesday, early in the morning, I drove to Mark’s house and Sharon drove me to the airport. I changed planes in Chicago and arrived in Albany arriving about 5:30 p.m. Tricia and Alan were there to meet me. Their apartment is small but very nice. Skidmore College used to be in downtown Saratoga Springs but has moved to the outskirts. The old college dormitories have been made into apartments and they are very nice and located very close to downtown. Tricia’s is just three short blocks away.

Wednesday, Tricia and I went exploring. Just one block away is Congress Park, a beautiful park with fountains and statues. As we walked to it we saw a spring, Hathorne Spring. There are many springs in the area, some taste good, others don’t. The water comes out carbonated. We proceeded to Broadway Street, the main shopping area, and walked along it. There are tons of shops and restaurants. Earlier in the year 71 restaurants had participated in a chowder fest; and that’s not all of them! We ate at the Stadium Restaurant where the potato chip had been invented. We visited the Post Office which had beautiful murals and was quite large. We found a great deli called Putnam Market and sampled the most delicious brownie ever. We bought one to share, also a small Key Lime Pie. So good!!!

　

Most of the homes in Saratoga Springs are very large and beautiful; most built between 1877 and the turn of the century. They are in Queen Anne, Victorian, and Greek Revival styles. I couldn’t get over how many there were and how beautiful. They are all very well kept with lots of flowers, in the ground or in baskets.

A funny thing happened this evening. I was looking awful with my two black eyes when a policeman knocked on the door. The TV had just announced it was Elderly Abuse Awareness Week and here I am looking just awful for the policeman. We explained that I had fallen and was not abused. He had come to interview Tricia because she had witnessed a car having its windows broken into in the parking lot. We got a good laugh from it. From that time on Tricia put makeup on me so I looked decent.

Thursday, Tricia and I, after taking Alan to work so we could have the car, we drove to the Saratoga Battlefield. The visitor’s center was very informative. They had a huge layout of the battlefield and little lights would light up showing where each army would march. We had a map and drove all around the battlefield stopping at the information signs telling about what happened at that place. There is a monument to Benedict Arnold, who was instrumental in the victory. It is just a boot because he was wounded in the leg. There is no name on the monument because of his later treachery.

After the battlefield we drove a short distance and visited the General Philip Schulyer’s home. It is pronounced Skyler. The British burned his home down so he hurriedly built this home just weeks after the battle, in 1777. It is set in a large green park and was very interesting to see. We then ate, (we ate at so many interesting places) and visited the Saratoga Monument. It was built to celebrate the centennial of Burgoyne’s surrender in 1877. Tricia climbed to the top but I didn’t.

Friday afternoon, we picked up Alan and drove to Milford, Massachusetts to a Hilton Hotel. Alan had enough points that it didn’t cost anything! Next morning, Saturday, we drove to Plymouth. We saw Plymouth Rock. It is only a fracture of itself. In the past, people were allowed to chisel a piece off for a souvenir, also when moving it, it was dropped and broke in half. Across from the rock is a hill where the Pilgrims buried their dead that first winter. There is a large plaque on the top of the hill with the names of those who died that first winter and are buried there.. Over half died, including my ancestors Edward Fuller and his wife. Their 12-year-old son Samuel was taken care of by his uncle Samuel Fuller. He had left his family back in England. Tricia and Alan walked down to the harbor and waded in the water. In about two weeks time she had waded in the Pacific and now the Atlantic. We then visited the Mayflower II. It always amazes me how brave the people were to cross the ocean in such a small ship. The quarters were so cramped and not much space for living. It is a beautiful replica, built in the late 1950s and still sails for special occasions.

We visited the Pilgrim Hall Museum, which was very interesting. They had a short movie which was very informative. There were items from the Pilgrim’s days such as the Bible of William Bradford and the cradle of Peregrine White who was born that first year.

We then drove a short distance to Plimoth Plantation. The village is a replica of what it would have looked like in 1627, seven years after arriving in Plymouth. We ate lunch in their cafeteria then walked to the village. The little houses are so dark and small with just the very basics for survival. A couple were a little bigger with two rooms and a storage space. There were little garden plots behind the houses. A few people were dressed in costume and one man represented Samuel Fuller, the uncle of my ancestor. Tricia mentioned to him that we were related to his nephew Samuel and he said that made us relatives. But when she said we were descended from Samuel, the older Samuel said that that would be difficult as he was not married and only a boy. The people do not get out of character. Also at Plimoth Plantation is a Wampanoag Indian village. One Indian was burning out the insides of a log making a canoe. There were several huts we could go into to see what they were like. All very interesting and informative. We then drove back to Saratoga Springs. It took a little over three hours for the trip.

Sunday we drove to the ward in Schoharie as Alan had a High Council assignment there. It was an hour away. The program consisted of Seminary graduation. One of the students gave the prayer and his last name was announced as Farias and later it was mentioned that he was from Brazil. After the meeting I spoke to him and found out that his father was Elder Farias, the AP from our mission in Sâo Paulo. He was a great person and one of my favorites. It was so fun to meet his son and send my love to his father. The son was an exchange student.

Monday, Tricia and I went out early, before 7 a.m. and walked to the training race track to see the horses exercise. This track is called the Oklahoma track and was the original track but a bigger one has been built and this one is only for exercising the horses. When running, the horses ran in a counter-clockwise direction and when walking, they walked clockwise. I counted 12 out at once but there probably were more but I couldn’t see all the way to the other side of the track. The racing season starts mid July. This is the oldest race track in the U.S.

Alan joined Tricia and me at The Olde Bryan Inn for lunch. I had heard about it on the TV program American Ride. A crude log cabin was built at that location in 1773, across from the High Rock Spring. Various persons owned and built crude inns. John Bryan built a stone house by his father’s inn. It has been restored and is a wonderful restaurant.

Tuesday Tricia and I drove to Ft. Ticonderoga on Lake Champlain. It was a thrill to see it. It was built by the French and called Ft. Carillon. The British captured it and renamed it Ticonderoga, an Indian name. The Americans captured it, (the Green Mountain Boys, Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold) then the British retook it, (Gen. Philip Schulyer was blamed for the loss) then the Americans recaptured it. Henry Knox took the captured cannons and transported them to George Washington in Boston. There is a plaque honoring some notable people who passed through the entrance to the fort. Inside the fort there are items belonging to George Washington, Robert Rogers, and other famous people.



Tricia and I then drove to the Ft. Ticonderoga ferry and crossed Lake Champlain into Vermont. The ferry ride was so smooth; it is pulled by cables and one can’t feel when it starts to cross the water. We drove clear up to Vergennes in VT and ate at a great café. We then drove into Middlebury so we could tell David we had been there. The college is on the outskirts so we just saw one of their buildings and then returned home, via the ferry again.

Wednesday was more of a rest day. We explored Broadway street again and ate at Mrs. London’s. More great food.

Thursday, we drove to Ft. William Henry. I was so anxious to see it and was not disappointed. It is an exact replica with its well and everything. We saw a film before venturing out to explore. A group of school children were seeing the film and we decided to skip the tour with the kids. We went exploring and saw the film again and had a tour with only adults. Much better. The guide, dressed in costume, showed us how to make a lead bullet, he shot off a musket and a cannon and was very informative. There is a target set up with bows and arrows for people to try. I could imagine Hawkeye and Uncas, from The Last of the Mohecans, walking on the grounds. The rooms of the fort had mannequins showing life in the fort. Halfway in our visit, we walked down into Lake George town for lunch. It was a disappointment. Tricia’s sandwich was horrible, mine not too bad. Lake George is very beautiful. Tricia tells me it was all frozen over this past winter; hard to imagine with it all blue and boats sailing on it. We returned to the fort to see more. I really enjoyed visiting there.

Friday was my birthday and Tricia and Alan treated me to a great lunch at Maestro’s, a fancy restaurant in what used to be the Van Dam hotel. We sat out on the porch and I felt that I was royally treated.

That afternoon, Tricia took me to a great used bookstore called Lyrical Ballad Bookstore. The building used to be a bank. It was a rabbit warren of rooms; they just went on and on. There were first editions on every subject; lots of old fashioned ones from my childhood, art, poetry, cooking architecture, etc. We could have spent hours there. The bank’s vault was there, used to store the more valuable books.

Saturday, we took a scenic train ride to a ski resort in North Creek. Tricia had bought the tickets earlier in the week. Most of the way the train went by the Hudson River. Closer to the destination the river became quite shallow with lots of rocks. The scenery was gorgeous. We arrived in the little town of North Creek and a bus took us to the gondolas. The bus driver was an ex-marine and quite entertaining. The gondolas went up quite a long way to the top of the mountain. We looked around a while but the black flies and "no-seeums" were out in force so back down we went. We had a great lunch then good ice cream. Tricia and Alan walked more around the town but I went back to the station. I had twisted my knee a little and didn’t want to walk any more. Riding back, Alan wanted to try out the dining room so he had a dinner plate and Tricia and I had peach cobbler. The waiter was very friendly and visited a long time with us. We were the only ones in the room. When he heard I was from Utah, he asked if I had heard of Jimmer Fredette. Of course I had. The waiter was from Glens Falls, just north of Saratogs Springs Jimmer’s home town. He said Jimmer was a very great person, very personable and nice and came from a wonderful family.

Sunday, we attended a branch in Gloversville. Alan and Tricia were asked to speak; Alan on Fast Offerings and Tricia on her father as it was father’s day. They both spoke very well; Tricia spoke lovingly of Leon and also of other fathers. A counselor in the branch presidency conducted and had a very heavy Spanish accent. I spoke to him afterwards in Spanish and found out he was from Bolivia. He was so thrilled I could speak to him in Spanish and he told me I spoke it perfectly! He had only been in the States three years and his wife didn’t speak English. I enjoyed visiting with him for several minutes and it was good to use my Spanish. In both the branch and ward that we attended Tricia found connections to Austin, TX. In Gloversville,she met a woman who had been to their home in Texas and gone to girl’s camp when Tricia was Stake Camp Leader. Small world.

Monday was my last full day before returning home. Alan and Tricia had discovered a German store called Aldi in Saratoga Springs. They had visited one when they were in Germany and were so excited to have one here. Lots of good chocolate sold there.

For this last day, Tricia took me to the gardens at Yaddo. Yaddo is a lovely, large home where artists can come and work without interruption; the public is not allowed there but the gardens are open to everyone, free of charge. They are beautiful gardens. There is a rose garden laid out Italian style with a very large pergola on a small hill. The pergola had rose bushes on either side of the walkway and was a gorgeous sight. The roses were either white, pink, or hot pink. There were other colors in the rose garden. I loved it all and felt like I was Italy. The gardens were designed as a gift of love from Spencer Trask to his wife Katrina. He was a very wealthy financier and Trask street in Southern California is named for him. Behind the rose garden and pergola was the Rock Garden. I imagined it very rocky but there were only large rocks surrounding a large fountain with lovely flowering plants. There also statues on the property. It was a very lovely place to visit.

　

Before being taken to the airport, Tricia took me to another lovely place in the huge Saratoga Spa State Park. We visited Geyser Creek that has another spring called Geyser Spring and there is a very nice walk along the creek. The park is huge and has camping, museums, performing arts venues, a golf course and a huge old hotel, the Gideon Putnam Resort, the second inn or hotel to be built in Saratoga Springs, after the inn The Old Bryan Inn. The hotel was called the Grand Union Hotel, built in 1801. It is a very grand-looking building very much in use today. We just drove by it and didn’t go in. Then Tricia drove me to the airport in Albany and I arrived back home safely that evening.

I have had such a wonderful time these past weeks seeing beautiful and interesting places and also being with loved ones.