What we did last summer, (Re-Visited)

This past week has been filled with lots of fun stuff, details that are worthy of reporting to all of you.

          So far, this summer has been pretty much replay of last summer.

          That is a statement, not a complaint.

          Being able to visit with friends and family multiple times without traveling to the ends of the earth, has given us a bit of a breather as it were. It’s not that we are tired of traveling, We aren’t! It’s just that traveling all the time comes with its own set of issues as you may imagine. The only saving grace part of this type of traveling is that we are always at home.

          We are just big turtles, carrying our shell around with us.

          We have had a few nifty things that came to fruition in the last week or so and these are the details that I said that were worth reporting to all of you.

          I should tell you that I am writing this from the Cape Ann Campsite, the same place that we stayed last year when we visited my son Donny and his family. It is just down the road from Manchester-by-the-Sea, their hometown. This part of the trip east was definitely planned as it included the hand-off of the finally finished model of the USS Constitution to them.

          As with any carefully laid out plan, thought out well in advance, and timed to perfection to include a generous built-in bumper of extra time, something did, in fact, go kerflooey.

          The custom-made display case was not ready in time for me to do a final installation. So, in an effort to keep the Model safe and clean, I devised a temporary case that is wrapped with a plastic wrap that is normally used for food in your refrigerator. Needless to say, it leaves something to be desired! But it is safe and in its final place of display, never more to be bounced around in the Motorhome!

          When the case is finally ready to hold its cargo I’ll travel back up and finish the installation, which is fine with me as that means that I get to visit again!

          While we were there, Donny took is all out for a harbor tour. It’s a nice, long, and narrow harbor, one that gives plenty of shelter when those Nor’easter’s blow up. We were also able to glimpse some of the coastal homes that dot the shoreline. These puppies are incredible in their size and grandeur, many of them built back in that Gilded Age that we are all so fond of. And yes, they come with  the requisite price tag that you can only imagine.

          Before we headed on this New England leg of the Summer Hiatus, there were two other significant happenings that coincidently were directly next door to each other.

          The first one was the Grand Opening of the Wawa that occupies the site of the “beloved” Chatterbox. Those words are not mine. They were written by Rob Jennings of the Star Ledger and NJ.com in his final article documenting the transition of our corner in Augusta from one entity to another.

          The folks at Wawa, who I have been in contact with the entire time, were gracious enough to ask me to help out with the festivities on that day. I was given the honor of making the first ceremonial Hoagie and helped with the ribbon cutting. They also had the local First Responders present for a Hoagie Building Contest where when they were finished, each department was given a check for $1000.00. Wawa also gave $1000.00 to SCARC. This was in addition to the $2000.00 that they gave SCARC at the  Groundbreaking Ceremony. This is why we were so comfortable turning over our corner to them, they truly get themselves imbedded in their local communities.

          The second event was held on the following day. Friday saw a new Cruise Night born over at our friends, Ideal Farms, who were our neighbors for those fifteen years. The First Annual Ideal Farms / Chatterbox ‘Good Old Days’ Cruise Night and Reunion was a huge success!

          Shortly after we arrived back in New Jersey, Ben from Ideal mentioned to me that he was thinking about having a “one off” Cruise Night. I suggested that he hold it on a Friday night as that night does not interfere with any other local cruise night. And, if he wanted, it was OK to throw the Chatterbox name in there to garner some additional attention and parlay our long-standing good will in that arena into a possible great turnout for his night. All we would need was good weather as there was no rain date scheduled.

          Well, we were not disappointed!

(The Cruise Night photos, (actually there are about a hundred!) were taken by our friend Ken ‘Bandit’ Smith…… Thanks Ken!)

          Even before the scheduled 4:00 PM start time, cars started to pour in. The front lot quickly filled so the newly mowed back lawn area was pressed into service. Much to my delight, Ben had procured a new Gravely 72” Zero-Turn, Ultra-Professional, Easy-Glide, Hydraulic Cushioned Seating, and Big-Ass Motor, complete with cupholders and Racing Stripes (not really on the Stripes, but it ran like it should have some!) As you may recall from last year’s post, (see August 20, 2021 Ideal Farms Garden Center and RV Resort) I love to mow, and I was able to use my old mower from the Chatterbox which Ben had purchased from me.

          That baby is now a fond, distant memory as I have been given carte-blanche to mow to my hearts content on the new Mower Monster!

          In fact, I have had the pleasure of mowing four different lawns this year (so far!). I am the current Official Mower at Yetter’s Diner and when Tommy and his family went to Greece on vacation, I took over at his house also. I had that one looking like Yankee Stadium by the time he returned! In addition to those, our friends John and Dianne (where we sometimes park in Lafayette) also have a new mower. I convinced John that I needed/wanted a test drive, so out into the back lawn I went! Not wanting to leave it with a mowed strip or two, I gladly finished his back lawn also.

          It has been a “Mower Summer to Remember” so far!

          Our next stop will be the wilds of Maine to visit Paula’s son Brian and his family. There are several outings planned so far, one to the Farnsworth, an art museum in the harbor town of Rockland, concentrating on my favs, the Wyeth’s, and we are planning to go out on a lobster boat and learn how to snag these critters for a delicious dinner. Unfortunately, the Lucious Lobsters are the property of the boat and if we want these particular Claw-Daddies we will need to purchase them and “pot” them ourselves.

          It may be easier to just go and order a few at the local Lobster Shanty!

          Film at 11.