Oct 19 - Fall foliage along the Mohawk Trail, along Rt 2, over to North Adams, MA

 Oct 19 - it was a cool but sunny day, and the fall foliage was peaking.  So we drove the beautiful Mohawk Trail, from Orange, MA all the way over to North Adams, MA.  

• On the way, we stopped at the Hail to the Sunrise Park, in Charlemont, MA.  Now this was INTERESTING.  The bronze statue depicts a Native American man in traditional wardrobe looking eastward with his arms extended. He faces the direction of the rising sun and is said to be greeting the Great Spirit. The monument honors the peoples of the five Mohawk Nations that inhabited western Massachusetts and New York State.^[3] The Mohawks that traveled this trail were said to be friendly to white settlers.  The monument was erected in 1932 by the Improved Order of Red Men.  A group of all white men.  What was so interesting was the statue of the Mohawk Indian in "traditional garb".  When we visited the  Fruitlands Museum, they were in the process of removing the "traditional" native American sculptures, because they were considered to be degrading, and a representation of natives from a white man's perspective.  None of that sentiment was displayed at this site in Sunrise Park.  
• We continued along the Mohawk Trail, said to be traveled by many native tribes, connecting New York and MA.  We stopped at the Mohawk Trail State Park, along side the Cold River, which downstream flows into the Deerfield River.  The park had a lot of hiking trails, along the river, and up into the mountains next to the river.  We ended up hiking a couple miles - a very nice hike.  We'd like to return and hike there more.  Again, the colors were amazing.
• The Mohawk Trail climbs into the mountains of MA.  So there are some really delightful views of colorful tree-covered mountains off into the horizon.  We stopped at one overview where a statue was erected by the local Elks, of an Elk.  Go figure.  
• The last stop was at the famous hairpin turn along Rt 2, just before entering North Adams.  It is a super sharp turn, going up a steep grade.  At the point of the turn is a restaurant, overlooking the North Adams valley.  Very nice.  We turned around and headed home.  Great sightseeing day. 

Hail to the Sunrise park photos:

Mohawk Trail State Park photos:

Mohawk Trail overlook photos:

Oct 15 -16, Wedding at Crane Estate, Ipswich, MA & sightseeing along MA coast

 Oct 15 - a long time accounting client of Peter & myself invited us to her wedding at the Crane Estate in Ipswich, MA.  We have known and worked with her family since I started working as an accountant in 1987.  So it was really nice to see some family members that we haven't connected with since we retired in 2018.  The weather was sunny and nice, so they held the ceremony outdoors.  Nice dinner and dancing on into the night.  We stayed overnight at a hotel in nearby Danvers, MA.  Nothing to write home about.

Oct 16 - since we were right there on the MA coast, we decided to drive home along the coast, stopping at some interesting parks along the way.  

• We had planned to drive through the town of Salem, MA (the witch hunt town) and have lunch.  However, the town was LOADED with tourists walking all around the place, some with pointed black hats on.  There was no place to park and too many people.  So we drove on.
• Our first stop was in Marblehead, MA, at Fort Sewall.  This was a headland fort dating back to 1644 and was active during the Civil War and the War of Independence.  It was located right at the tip of a peninsula, at the tip of Marblehead harbor.
• Across the harbor, at another tip of a peninsula is the Chandler Hovey Park and the Marblehead Lighthouse on Lighthouse Point.  You can look across the harbor and see Fort Sewall for here. Nice views of the ocean all around.
• We then drove south, towards Boston, along the coastal highway.  We ended up in Lynn, MA at Red Rock Park.  Beautiful long beaches.  They created Lynn Shore Drive and walkway, from the Red Rock Park over to the Nahant causeway, which ends on what looks like the Nahant Island.  At the eastern most tip of the island is Lodge Park and the East Point Loop Station.  We hiked along the beach, from Red Rock Park over to the Nahant causeway.  Then drove the rest of the way out to the point.
• Our final time was spent trying to get home.  However, since we were so close to Boston, the GPS took us right through downtown and then on to the Pike.  I hate driving through Boston traffic, and through the Big Dig tunnels.  But, we did make it home.

Nice day  overall.

Us at the wedding at the Crane Estate photo:

Fort Sewall, Chandler Hovey Park and Lighthouse Point, Marblehead, MA photos:

Red Rock Park and walkway, Lynn, MA photos:

Nahant causeway, Nahant Island and Lodge Park and East Point Loop station photos:

Oct 1 - Oct 12, 2022 - Plum Island, MA and more around home

 Oct 2 - We were invited to go and watch Quinn play at her field hockey game.  We arrived and set up our chairs to watch, but it was SO cold and windy, that even though I was in my winter jacket, hood up, and covered in a blanket, I couldn't sit through the whole hour game.  So, Owen and I went and sat in our car, which just happened to be parked so we could still watch the game.  I did remember that in the 10th grade, I was on the field hockey team for a season, and earned my "letter".  Unfortunately, they cancelled girls sports for lack of funding after that season.  Figures.

Oct 3 -4 - We had arranged to meat up with the woman who set up the charitable foundation on which I am part of the grants committee.  She lives in Newburyport, MA.  Plum Island is right nearby, so we decided to spend the day exploring Plum Island Wildlife Sanctuary, then have dinner with my friend, spend the night in a cute little hotel, and then have a charitable gifting meeting the next day.  Those were the plans.  We did spend the day on Plum Island.  However, on the way to dinner, I had a dizzy, lighted headed spell, combined with some tightness near my chest.  So, we decided to instead go over to the urgent care, just to have it checked out.  You read so much about chest pain and dizzyness, and seeking immediate attention, that we wanted to be sure.  As it turns out, the urgent care sent us to the local hospital's emergency room.  I must say, it was nicer than any of the Worcester emergency rooms, as Newburyport is a high-end town, and their hospital was connected to Beth Israel Hospital out of Boston.  Anyways, after spending the whole night and next morning in the emergency room, and many, many tests, their conclusion was:  I am quite healthy, definitely not related to heart or lungs, and ALL my blood work was normal.  So we went home.  I did see my primary care doc the next day.  I think we are considering the tightness to be muscular, rather than chest/heart.  So, good news.

However, Plum Island was a delight.  I'm glad we got to see it.  It is a long island, with the open ocean on one side, and the calm harbor on the other.  Unfortunately, it was still quite cold and very windy.  So, other than looking at the beautiful beaches on the ocean side, we couldn't handle the cold for long.  So we did a nice 2 mile loop trail on the calmer, less windy inner side.  

Oct 11 - The fall colors are here.  Beautiful golds and reds.  Nice shot of the pond on our neighborhood walk.

Oct 12 - The Tax magazine that Peter writes articles for asked him to write a book, that they would publish, about his "Reilly's Laws of Tax Planning".  They have asked him to get a professional photo for the book cover, so Peter had a T-shirt made up with the first rule on it.  He may use it (or one in which he is wearing a suit).  We'll let the publisher decide.

Quinn - at field hockey game

Plum Island, MA photos:

Peter's Laws of Tax Planning T-Shirts photos:

Fall colors photo:

Sept 25 - Sept 30, 2022, visit with Peter's brother, Robert Reilly

 Sept 27 - Peter's brother, Bob, came up from New Jersey to spend a few days with us.  The first night I had to cuddle the babies at the NICU in Worcester, so Peter and Bob went out to dinner with Peter's daughter, Kaitlyn and Karen, Peter's ex-wife.  

Sept 28 - Since Bob was a Navy guy, we decided to go visit the USS Massachusetts - a battleship museum at Battle Cove, in Fall River, MA.  These things are HUGE.  It's not really my "thing", but it was very interesting to see the insides of a battleship.  We also got to go into a submarine (talk about claustrophobic).  

Then, since Bob had never been there, we went to nearby Newport, RI and did a tour of the Breakers, one of the mansions along the coast.  It was built around 1895 as a summer home for Cornelius Vanderbuilt II.  What a summer home! We also went for a short walk along the Cliff Walk, which was beautiful.

Sept 29 - On to the USS Constitution, also known as Old Ironsides.  This is a three-masted wooden-hulled heavy frigate of the United States Navy. She is the world's oldest ship still afloat. She was launched in 1797, and is still maintained and run by the Navy.  It is now a museum, but they take it out and turn it around periodically.  We got to meet the captain of the ship --the first woman captain of the USS Constitution.  Now this was, for me, a much more interesting tour.  

A very nice visit with Bob - photos:

USS Massachusetts battleship photos:

Submarine we toured

The Breakers mansion in Newport, RI photos:

The Cliff Walk in Newport, RI photos:

The USS Constitution photos:

Peter & Bob with the woman Captain of the ship

Dry Dock

Precision throughout the ship