A HUGE thank you to Mom for once again blessing each of us girls and our husbands with another wonderful trip. Mom thinks this will probably be her last big trip, due to her age and energy level. But, Mom, you did great and sure didn't complain when you got tired. Thank you, Mom for this great trip!
This picture was actually taken toward the end of our trip - but we only have a couple of pictures with all of us in it, so I'm posting it at the beginning: Rob & Kaye; Jeff & I, Mom, and Bev & Don.
Kaye & Rob flew into NYC on Sunday in order to get us a rental van. There were none available in Boston. The rest of us flew into Boston on Monday. Kaye & Rob picked us up at the airport. We did a little sightseeing that evening. Then the next morning, we headed to downtown Boston to do the historical tour.
This was the tour we took.
This was our tour bus. We were able to get off and on as we pleased.
First stop was Paul Revere's house. Three good looking guys in the forefront!
Jeff in front of the Paul Revere statue:
You will see several pictures of church steeples. I love them. This is actually the "Old North Church" where Paul Revere hung his lantern.
It is now an Episcopal Church.
Inside the church:
The pews were very different. Evidently families bought their own little cubicles. They had bench seats inside the cubicles that would seat 4-6 people and a name plaque on the outside. Mom, Kaye & Rob in one of them:
Bev and I in another: 
One of our stops was at the oldest cemetery in America -- Cobb Hill Cemetery:
Another stop was to see the USS Constitution (Old Ironsides). It played a pivotal role in the Revolutionary War. 
Jeff on board:
And the two of us:
More of us:
Our last stop before leaving Boston was to eat at one of the 100 authenic Italian restuarants in downtown Boston. We enjoyed a delicious meal!
Next morning, we headed to Maine. Another pretty church steeple along the way:
This was a gorgeous setting. Evidently a lot of weddings are held here.
Making a stop at Bar Harbour:
One of Kaye's panoramic shots:
A very pretty little town:
Some of them had to have lobster, so we ate here for a delicious lunch:
Those who ate lobster, even wore a bib :-) 
Last shot before moving on.....
We drove quite a few minutes out of the way to see a lighthouse....was pretty disappointed it was such a little one....
We stayed in Bangor, Maine that night. The next morning, we headed to Stowe, Vermont, driving through New Hampshire where we saw such beautiful fall foliage! It was an all day drive but such gorgeous trees and sites along the way. 
Jeff & Rob took turns driving us (thanks, guys!). We drove a total of 1600+ miles during the 8 days.
We took the White Mountain Trail thru New Hampshire. Beautiful! Pictures just don't do God's creation justice. It was so much prettier and majestic than what these pictures display.
We are so glad that a family friend suggested we stop at Mt. Washington. What a neat old hotel resort!
It was built in 1902 and has been updated in recent years.
We ate lunch here and took lots of pictures: 
Back on the road again....
The first covered bridge that we saw. It had been turned into a gift shop..
Another covered bridge - yeah! And in CONWAY, New Hampshire! We drove through this one.
A beautiful site under the covered bridge:
Then we stopped at a really pretty area and took pictures. There was also a photography club there taking pics.
Jeff told Bev to pose....so she did. We told her she looked like her granddaghter, Madyson, who loves to pose!
The foreground isn't pretty, but the background sure is!
YEAH, we have arrived in Stowe, Vermont! We rented a (2) unit - 2 bedrooms each unit townhouse. It was very nice! 
Stowe is very pretty, quaint litte town located at the bottom of a mountain range and is very popular for snow skiers.
Green Mounain Inn managed the townhouse we stayed in.
That evening we went to this cute restuarant to eat:
The lady who greeted us:
Then we had to get some game playing time in. This was the kitchen in our townhouse.
The next morning, we woke up to RAIN! God blessed us with beautiful weather 7 of the 8 days, so we couldn't complain. One of the main reporters for the Weather Channel was in Stowe that day and was forecasting 4-6" of snow that night. I was pretty excited at the prospect! We didn't let the rain hamper our sightseeing. We drove about 3 miles out to the Von Trapp family homestead. They are the family from the "Sound of Music" movie. They settled in Vermont after fleeing from Austria. Captain and Maria have passed away (and are buried here, but it was raining too hard for us to locate the cemetery). One of their sons still manages this homestead. There is a lodge and other buildings there.
We ate a delicious breakfast in the restuarant.
From there, we toured the Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream Factory. That was fun and the sample of ice cream they gave us was delicious.
Then we visited a neat Apple Cider Mill:
Next morning, we woke to NO snow....just a little drizzle. But the TV was showing snow in Stowe. So as we left town, we drove a couple of miles to Mt. Madison to see the snow! Saw this cute bridge along the way:
And we had to stop and get this picture -- what one thinks of, when you think of Vermont in the fall. So pretty (again, the picture just does not do it justice!!)
Now we are traveling to New York - saw lots of beautiful trees along the way.
More snow! (another ski resort-Mt. Killington, I think)
I love the contrast of the green grass and fall foliage:
Our rental van and so much beauty behind it!
There were many "Moose Crossing" signs, but we didn't ever see any Moose...except for these two :-)
Stopped at a Chili's somewhere along the way for lunch:
Back on the road - and we have crossed the New York state line - whoo hoo!
So pretty!
We actually stayed in East Rutherford, New Jersey, which wasn't far from NYC. We could see the skyline from our hotel. Sunday morning, we got up very early to make the trek to downtown New York to attend the 9 a.m. worship service at Brooklyn Tabernacle. We drove our van a couple of miles to a Rail Station.
Took the Rail to the Subway:
And then walked just a couple of blocks to the church:
This choir is fantastic!!!
You could take pictures prior to the service starting, but not during the service. The choir is practicing here. It was a packed house and a powerful service. The choir sang 3 songs as well as an awesome corporate worship time. Pastor Jim Cymbala preached a great message too. Definitely the best two hours of our day!!
After lunch nearby, we took the subway to Battery Island to ride the Ferry to see Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.
On the ferry:
She is beautiful - especially since she represents our freedom!
We got off the ferry here and toured the Ellis Island facility.
Heading home -- we are tired!!
Next morning, we headed for New York City!! We had booked a 5-1/2 hour tour. Here is Times Square.
I honestly never saw what the attraction was to so many folks to go to NYC year after year. But after visiting, I now understand. It's quite a city - fascinating. Sure wouldn't want to live there, but what fun to visit!We are standing in front of ABC Studios, where they tape Good Morning America. We weren't there early enough to be a part of the crowd for the show, though.
Rockfeller Center
Empire State Building.....what movie made this famous? Yes, you are right: King Kong!
After making several stops and/or passing by these sites in the city (Central Park, Strawberry Fields, Brooklyn Bridge, largest Toys R Us, Chrysler Bldg., Trump Tower, Plaza Hotel, Greenwich Village, Soho, George Washington Monument, Tiffany's, World Financial Center, etc.), we then went to the Pier 17 for lunch and our boat cruise. I'm getting tired, so will not post pictures of all those things listed.
The Lady again, with hubby in the forefront:
Another of Kaye's panoramic shots - they are a lot bigger than this - don't know why they show up so small on my blog :-(
New York Stock Exchange and Wall Street
Our last stop on the bus tour was Ground Zero. It's hard to imagine that so much tragedy happened here. All it looks like now, is a big construction zone. They are rebuilding several towers. One will be higher than even those that were hit. They are making them much stronger this time. 911 is still such a vivid memory to me -- and it was very sober being near the scene of where it happened.
I saw on my daughter-in-law's Facebook status that our son, Josh, was in New York City working. He is doing a short stint for Rod Stewart right now since Lionel is working on an album and not traveling. Rod was singing on Good Morning America and the View the next day. So Jeff called Josh and he met us for dinner. That was a real nice treat! 
After eating, it was time to head back to our hotel. Goodbye New York City. I hope to come back some day and see more of you!
I really liked this picture that Josh took with his camera.....
Thanks again and again, Mom, for such a wonderful, memorable trip!!
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I really liked this picture that Josh took with his camera.....
Thanks again and again, Mom, for such a wonderful, memorable trip!!.jpg)
