Tuesday, February 6, 2018

College where the sun shines


Some mornings I hear Laura leave at 6:20, some days I don’t. Today I did, and turned down enough covers to see the some light in the grey sky. Went back to sleep until the alarm rang at 8:30. So much snow. I heard Laura shovel the deck and stairs, which I appreciated when I went out to survey the snow. I have some places to go today, and moved a lot of snow to begin the process. Now I’m typing, and drying out. Snow is as wet and cold as rain.

Stopped to take a picture

Ice

I woke up in the middle of the night, and turned my thoughts to vacation. We want to go somewhere. Anywhere, to quote Laura. Four corners, she suggested. She’s read about it. And, she’s sixteen and has been nowhere, except Wisconsin (which she likes very much!). And the National Mall, including the Jefferson Memorial. I feel badly. By sixteen I’d seen much of the country once. Laura has no idea how far it is to four corners.

So, in the night my hazy thoughts travelled the Finger Lakes, which could be a little boring for children, and wandered on to---Lake Champlain, and the ferry boat! Then what? What to do in New England? Strawberry----strawberry something. I’ll ask my daughter in the morning.

This morning I realized it must be Portsmouth, as that is the only harbor in New Hampshire and the place I remembered involved a port and so many things to see. I googled Portsmouth, and there it was. Strawberry Banke, and much of the rest of Portsmouth I recalled.

Victoria’s parents agreed she could come and hike and tour with Laura, and the more I put it together, the more I like heading east to New England. I could spend a lot of time there, and I hope the girls will be excited, too. Except for monster roller coasters at Halloween, Laura isn’t much interested in theme destinations, and Victoria sure isn’t.

I hope to do some short college visits too, this year. After cleaning the car this morning, I think I’ll be stressing college where the sun shines. 

22 comments:

  1. College where the sun shines is a wonderful idea...let me know when you're going...I'm sick of this cold weather lol.

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  2. You should bring her south and beach comb the beaches of Georgia, we're not all rednecks down here. You could take her to hear Jimmy Carter's Sunday school class, he's quite an inspiration.

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  3. Our daughter went to college in the northwest, near Portland. Dark and rainy days. Not something I would have liked, weather-wise, but she thrived at the most amazing, small, liberal arts college. Kids have a way of finding the right spot for themselves.

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  4. Sounds like a great spot to go on vacation.

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  5. New England is a wonderful place to visit in the summer. There is so much to see and enjoy. I have never been to Portsmouth but heard it is a lovely place to visit. I am partial to the towns at the Cape and of course, there is the wonderful city of Boston. Then there is Newport, RI, Mystic, CN, and on and on and on.

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  6. You are always making plans Joanne. That’s great! I need to make more plans than I do!

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  7. My poor granddaughter is at Michigan State. She is cold!

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  8. Plans are the basis of good mental health . We all need a plan

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  9. Hari OM
    That could be a long way South... nice thought though! I had to sweep Li'l Ren this morning, before heading out on a road trip. We weren't expecting the white stuff, but it made its presence felt! YAM xx

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  10. Well yes vacation planning. What fun. From Minnesota during our teaching years we traveled to New England four time and the Maritimes twice. Vermont and the ferry boat on Lake Champlain brings fond memories. It's all good...:)

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  11. Hi Joanne-I lived in Portsmouth for awhile and in RI, where I live now, (just a couple hours south of Portsmouth) I'm near seven colleges. Let me know when you are coming-I'd love to meet you both. RI is also a very nice place to visit and we have DUH Duh duh....Waterfire. I'll bet you'd all like that experience.

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    1. Cool! I'll be sure you get my itinerary and we'll see what works.

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  12. AND we have great hiking trails in RI, too! And camping if you are into that.

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  13. Your holiday plans sound wonderful. I'll have to google Strawberry Banke.
    College where the sun shines? Somewhere in the South perhaps? Or even Australia (just kidding), we get a bit of sun down here.

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  14. I find myself yearning for warm sun at this time of year. If we had snow, I wouldn't yearn so much.

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  15. I don't know anything about New England but I do know the SW part of the country and Four Corners. Four Corners itself is a bit disappointing but so much in the area that is fabulous! although it's wet and chilly today, spring is here.

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    1. Four corners is like a three week trip, in my mind. I was there as a teenager. It was a great look around.

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  16. There are some nice museums up there too.

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  17. The thinking and planning are certainly part of the fun.

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