Dear Readers,

Don’t expect this space to contain a long serious tome, for my bride and I have been on a road trip to see parts of my favorite nation, the United States of America.

We drove from Boothbay to Washington, D.C., where we put the car on a train and rode to Orlando, Fla. While the faithful Subaru was in a covered freight car, we snuggled into a tiny roomette for the overnight journey.

From Orlando we drove to Captiva Island for a visit with friends. Then it was back on the road to New Orleans, for a visit with my brother, who has a charming cottage in the Garden district. For the record, the potholes and “interesting” pavement on Boothbay’s River Road are child’s play compared to the rutted and jumbled streets in the Garden district.

After a visit that seemed like we were eating our way through this most unique American city, and a visit that included a stop at the Jazz Fest, we headed back north only to run into a series of tornadoes that tore through a central part of the old South.

By the way, here is the place for a shout out to the National Weather Service and their wonderful radar that allowed us to track the storms on our smartphone to avoid danger.

Then it was on to Indiana to see kids, grandkids and even a great-granddaughter. 

By the time you read this, we will be back sleeping in our own familiar bed, doing the chores we avoided for a few weeks, and reconnecting with old friends. 

On the way, we both learned new skills. I learned how to crawl up into the top berth in a railroad roomette car and exit it, while avoiding the very real chance I might break my neck.

In turn, my bride learned how to refrain from laughing when I climbed into the berth, out of the berth, and back into it once again.

It is good to go on vacation. It is also good to be back home.