We’ve had a great week of visits and adventures since
leaving Vermont on August 4. Luc
has his only ride on the motorcycle from Vermont to Guilford, Connecticut where
we arrived to celebrate my sister Alison’s birthday. Roy made an amazing dinner and Barrett and Stevie were able
to get a few hours off from work as camp counselors to join us.
We left the vehicles in the care of our friends, the Pinchbecks,
at Roses for Autism and boarded the train for 2 wonderful days in New York City. Eric is subbing in on the show, The
Queen of the Night, in the newly renovated theater at the Paramount Hotel just
off Time Square. We loved the
show, and especially the warm welcome from Eric’s friend Mason and the entire
cast. The renovated theater included a
curved wall patterned with iridescent scarabs and butterflies, nooks with
marble bathtubs, and small spaces where people from the audience are taken and asked to tell about an experience that changed their lives.
We had a lovely visit with my sister Elizabeth and her
husband in their great apartment near the park where Taro first lived when he
was 4 months (or was it 4 years) old.
Eric had told me about playing chess in public parks as he
travels with his show, and we were happy to have a demonstration. We watched a serious 3 minute game, then
watched Eric play with Gregory, a park employee and chess master and all around
wonderful guy. So many vicious attacks!
From NYC back to Guilford where we assembled the trailer and
loaded the bike with the help of Bill and Joanie Pinchbeck and Max and Andreas
who work at Roses for Autism. We
hit the road in time for rush hour traffic across the Cross Bronx
expressway. We finally made it to the
Pinecone Campground in Freehold, New Jersey and connected the van by headlamp.
From NJ we continued south with Luc driving the whole way. One place that I really want to return
to is Harper's Ferry. We stopped in Charlotte for a quick visit with Ryan
Sullivan, and his brother Scott who was visiting from Connecticut. Perfect timing!
(Scott, send me that photo and I’ll put it here.)
Sunday breakfast at a KOA in South Carolina, lunch at Peach
World in Georgia and dinner at the beautiful Anastasia State Park in St.
Augustine Florida. We could just
hear the Crosby Stills and Nash concert happening next to the campsite as we
walked back from the beach.
The next morning we arrived in Fort Myers, Florida where we
were welcomed into the home of Alex and Katie Dombi and their beautiful
children Alia and Kalix. Here we
are at dinner at a restaurant on the beach. What you can’t see is the wedding taking place on the beach
behind us.
I think my favorite story from our visit was a story that
Alex told (without any prompting questions from me) about a moment that
changed his life. Before I tell it
you need to know that from the van we walked through their newly renovated
garage which houses 9 motorcycles (#10 was in the trailer). When Alex was 15, he entered a magazine
contest in a Nintendo magazine to win a free motorcycle. I was sure no one ever really won those
things, but in fact, Alex won the motorcycle and it changed his
life. Not only did he find his
passion, but also found Katie.
Even little Alia, a precocious 2, has a mini motorcycle. The
Nintendo bike was in the garage. I
know Eric heard some interesting life-changing moment stories during his time on Queen of the Night, but I can’t imagine any of them topped this
one.
After a week o the road the van
feels like home. Yesterday we drove across southern Florida to Ft. Lauderdale to roll the
vehicles onto the boat. However,
the boat's departure is delayed due to mechanical problems, so we left the
motorcycle with trailer at the shipyard, but held on to the van until we can regroup. Sounds like we’ll get an extra week in
Cartagena!
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