As Dead As A Doornail, Literally

I stumbled upon a beautiful old cemetery yesterday that took my breath away, AND it's only a couple miles from our place in Limestone!

It wasn't the biggest cemetery but I must have spent over an hour in it reading, and trying to read, the old headstones.  It was so peaceful and quiet. Most of the headstones were from the last 1800's to early 1900's, and there was a section with some newer stones and dates too. 

Many were very difficult to read, covered in lichen, moss and other fungi but some were simply just faded too.

There were enormous cedar trees inside too, and I mean enormous.  Most I couldn't wrap my arms around, beautiful -

Many of the headstones and markers were in disrepair, with some broken and some simply sinking into the ground or perhaps the ground growing over them they've been there so long.  Here is one of the cedar trees that is swallowing up a smaller headstone -

Here is a sampling of just a few -

Oddly, I had to drive through a newer looking development with BIG beautiful houses.  Build houses.  Houses with foundations, garages, basements and attics.  That BIG! And at the other end of this development and at the dead end of a street sat this historical treasure!

Did Someone Say Mulch?!

We had an adventure earlier this week when we went to Lowe's to pick up 2 pallets of black mulch; each pallets holds 65 bag and each bag weighs about 40 pounds, so a LOT of weight!

The Lowe's employees had a heck of a time getting both pallets loaded onto the trailer. Due to how the sides folded down and the wheel covers being in the way, it was a challenge that took quite a bit of time -

Once both pallets were loaded we ran into another issue, flat tires, both sides of the trailer -

Fortunately, the manager of Lowe's had one of those portable tire pumps that plug into the cars lighter and he was kind enough to drive over to fill both tires! Both tires were at a 27 PSI when we connected the pump but the tires require 50 PSI, so it took a while to get them filled but it worked out perfectly -

We strapped both pallets, each with two ratchet straps, to ensure they wouldn't shift as we drove, then off we went at 30 MPH to our destination some 20 miles away, UGH.  Very slow going but worthwhile to be safe.

We eventually made it to our destination, then spent the next 4 hours or so unloaded, edging and emptying bags of mulch in the flower beds around the front of the house and front trees.

A lot of work but boy does it all look great!

Now some extra strength Advil PLEASE! 

SO Much To Do, SO Little Time

I had to run some errands yesterday, one in particularly that took me back to Walpole and then over to Westwood, my hometown, the town I grew up in.

My visit to Westwood was to pop-in to see a couple different folks and drop off some items but to be honest the main reason was to visit my folks gravesite one last time before embarking on my new adventure (yeah, adventure is what we're calling it.  Hoping it starts to feel that way soon, alas).

Each visit is tough but they also bring with it a rush of wonderful memories too and I cherish each one as it comes.  However, this visit was an emotional one 😢, more so than usual. Although, I'm guilty of perhaps not visiting more often as I should have over the years, my abilities to pop-in on a whim will soon be over, which made this visit special and more emotional -

Yesterday ended with this stunning sunset off my back deck, which are sadly coming to an end soon too.  Brought a smile to my face, as I assumed it was my folks sending me a message to hang in there and stay positive -

It's difficult closing a chapter, even if the next one looks promising.

#Blessed

Horses, NAY

I had several horse encounters yesterday while out delivering mail.

As I pulled down Forest Road in Millis, which is a dirt road about quarter mile long and all wooded, and where I spotted the twin fawns last week, I saw a different kind of animal appear out of the woods - a girl on a horse -

There are 4 mailboxes at the end of this road - you can see them in the picture above, and typically where I deliver the mail to.  However, one day last week and again yesterday, I had a large package.  So I took the opportunity to do another LLV adventure drive to see beyond the mailboxes and I was NOT disappointed.

Turns out there is a horse farm back there known as Apple Knoll Farm, which is a 250+ acre boarding, training, and show facility!  What a beautiful and peaceful place.  I delivered their packages to the main barn both times and yesterday snapped the below pic -

The Apple Knoll Farm image adorned on the barn doors.  Very cool -

This dude keeping an eye on me -

Another rider appeared on my way out of the facility -

And of course there was this horse item -

Although, the below pic was taken a couple miles down the road from the above farm, there were more horses out, so I got their attention and took the below photo -

With all the building taking place in my area, seeing fenced in grass fields and wooded land with horses and other farm animals is becoming rarer and rarer but SO wonderful to see.

Giddy up, as I have MORE mail to deliver...

What A View!

One last posting from my visit to Chicago last month.

We took in the 360 Chicago Observation Deck at the John Hancock Observatory, which is on the 94th floor, a mere 1,030 feet above Chicago, YIKES!

One of the offerings is called "TILT", where you stand against floor to ceiling windows that slowly tilt outward towards the city below.  Um yeah, I passed on this option but there were many people doing it.

The views were incredible in all directions -

I found the below signage funny, which were posted outside of a pub we went to.  Based on the news I've seen, Chicagoans don't seem to follow the "no gun" directive.

A Google search returned the following, "as of July 7, 2024, there have been almost 1,200 total reported shootings in the city, according to the Chicago Police Department."

Looking forward to my next visit to the windy city!

 

Chicago Road Tripp'n

My oldest daughter is the assistant varsity field hockey coach for Saint Ignatius College Prep, a private, coeducational Jesuit college-preparatory school located in the near west side neighborhood of Chicago.

It was founded in 1869 is an absolutely beautiful old, well maintained school and campus.

The field hockey team had game on Friday night, 9/27, which was also senior night, against Edwardsville, so Audrey and I went to watch the game and Steph coach!  As you can see in the picture below, it was a beautiful night and awesome sky - that's the old Sears Tower, now known as the Willis Tower, in the background. The Wolfpack trounced and won easily 12-1

We spent Sunday, 9/29, at home watching the Chicago Bears beat the LA Rams 24-18.

After the game we headed out to the Tripoli Tap sports bar, on W. Armitage Ave., to watch the Patriots take on the 49s!  The Tripoli Tap is a Boston sports sanctuary that have their TVs tuned to all professional Boston sport games.  Sadly, it was an ugly game for the Pats but the beers were cold, so we still won -

Although, the Tripoli Tap is known for it's wings, which looked delicious, we fought the urge to eat and instead headed to the Athenian Room restaurant for a delicious Greek meal!  Spanakopita appetizer to start with, followed by the chicken breast shish kebob, OMG SO SO good!

What a great way to spend a Sunday!

#Blessed

"A multi-sensory destination of epic proportions"!

We stopped in at the Chicago Roastery on Michigan Ave, which is the worlds largest Starbucks and what a place.   The last time I was in Chicago, and we walked past this place, there was a literal line out the door and along the sidewalk just waiting to get inside but not this time.  There was no line, so we were able to walk in and took our own walking tour up and around each floor, each with a different offering. A very cool place that was actually quite busy and bustling.

Since it was late morning we reluctantly passed on partaking in and sampling martini flights on the fourth floor but it is definitely on the list to do for my next visit!! 

This wall was created using different Starbucks empty coffee bag, showing their labels, to spell out "Chicago", very neat and a popular spot for folks to take pics in front of.

We grab a couple coffees, hung out for a bit and watched the baristas in action and the endless flow of peeps.  A worthwhile take and one I'm looking forward to visiting again!

A Chicago appropriate billboard sign outside Wrigley Field.  However, we weren't swayed and opted to drink Chicago born and brewed Goose Islands Beer Co. 312 Wheat Ale.  After all when in Rome...

Fun times!

A Hunting We Will Go...

I pulled out Emilie's metal detector yesterday afternoon to see if I could locate the metal property maker that's since been buried, and I found it!

This got Emilie thinking, so off to Beaver Pond we went, a local fresh water swimming hole here in Franklin, for our first real attempt at treasure hunting.

After about 30-minutes here are our spoils -

Powerball, who needs a Powerball jackpot?!  We're well on our way to riches beyond belief...

Bass Pro Shop Walkabout!

Akin to the "That's Not a Knife" scene from the 1986 movie Crocodile Dundee, the Frye's were on our own walkabout among the cranberry bogs at the Bass Pro Shop in Foxboro when we were captivated by this huge snapping turtle -

However, this other snapper swam onto the scene and dwarfed our "huge" turtle - 

Hence, that's not a turtle, THIS is a turtle!!

Weirs Beach Laconia 2017

This is my fourth summer riding.  We typically ride on secondary type roads, often going no faster than 40ish, and seldom in a rush.  It's not about getting to the chosen destination for that given ride but rather about the ride itself.  These roads are more scenic and the rides are more relaxing and enjoyable.  During these ride there have been times we've jumped on the highway for one reason or another, hit speeds upwards of 60ish, but they're few and far between.

Laconic motorcycle week runs from June 10-18, so it was time to hit the highways for the 300+ mile round trip ride and Tuesday 6/18 was the day.

The fastest way to Laconia from Franklin is the highway and off we went!

It was a long day of riding.  A somewhat stressful day of highway riding.  A satisfying day of riding and one which I'm happy to have experienced and completed.