We hope everyone had a safe and happy Thanksgiving. We were in Maine and had a quiet but very nice three-day mini vacation. The weather wasn't great, but it wasn't terrible, either, and we made it home ahead of the snow. We were surprised when we got to West Danville and found most of the first pond frozen over. This morning we can see that there is ice in back of the islands, and later, when we went to the village, both the smaller ponds are frozen over, so it won't be long before all is still here at the pond.

We were actually looking forward to some blustery weather at at the ocean, but there was a strong off-shore wind from the northwest when we got there and the ocean was calmer than I'd ever seen it. We decided Joe's Pond had more surf going on than the Atlantic Ocean. Little did we know!

This morning when I was at the post office in West Danville talking with Diane she said she could barely keep her balance getting from the parking lot to the store on Wednesday the wind was blowing so hard, and people were saying they hadn't seen the pond so rough in quite a while.

All these years I've heard our friends on the Maine Coast telling how bitterly cold the winter winds are on the coast, and I'd always thought they had just never experienced a good January gale in West Danville, Vrmont so had no bench mark. After we arrived Wednesday we headed out for our usual walk along the beach and even with our backs to the wind, it was really cold. We had our gloves, earmuffs, mufflers and warm boots, but we were still cold, and knowing we would need to face into the wind to get back to our hotel convinced us to forget walking on the beach and instead we settled into a cozy corner in the hotel lounge.

We knew the weather might have an impact on our trip, so we had watched weather reports closely before we left and deliberated which might be the best route to take. Any way we go, we have to go over mountains. We've been through Crawford Notch in a snow storm and know Franconia Notch can be a bear, too, especially if there's lots of traffic. We decided on Rt. 302 through Crawford Notch.

At the exit onto Rt. 302 for Bethlehem, we came up behind a "student driver" in a big rig. If you know that route, you know there aren't very many places where you can safely pass another car, let alone an eighteen wheeler, or whatever they are. It was a little foggy and we weren't sure of the road surface and it was obvious the student was paying close attention not only to the posted speed signs, but seemed hesitant about just about everything - side roads, meeting cars, road conditions, etc., and we were wondering how he/she would do going through Crawford Notch. We decided we'd rather be in back than in front of him, and settled in for a long, slow haul. However, when we reached the intersection with Rt. 3, the truck turned off towards Franconia, and then we wondered if that was planned or if the trucker had been warned away from the road ahead. But we pressed on and there was very little traffic. We had the Notch mostly to ourselves. It is always interesting going through there, and fortunately there was no snow and the road was only wet, not icy.

Once we were on the other side of the mountains, we had sunshine. I've put together slide shows - as usual, we took way more pictures than are needed, and believe it or not, I've used only part of what we took. Here are some we took on the way over on Wednesday:
Nov. 24, 2010

We usually go to Maine in the off season to avoid crowds, but have never been there this late in November. The hotel was fully booked, but everything in town was closed after Wednesday night, even the lobby, grill and lounge at the hotel. It was so quiet. Nobody in the streets in town or on the beach. None of our favorite spots were open except where we had reservations for dinner, at Warren's Lobster House, in Kittery. (See above)
The meal was wonderful and we were amazed at how many people they were feeding. It's a very large restaurant and famous for their salad bar. We've been there before, and we knew it would be good.

It's very close to the Portsmouth Navy Yard. The Navy Yard is actually on Seavey's Island in the Piscataqua River, and accessed just down the street from Warren's Lobster House. We got this picture.

It was a good thing we'd decided to bring breakfast with us, just in case, because there was absolutely nothing open Thursday morning. The hotel told us there would be coffee in the lobby until 8 a.m., so Fred went sprinting down at 7:45 to get some for me, but unfortunately I guess everyone wanted to get out of there as soon as possible because the desk clerk told him they'd just dumped it - the lobby would be closed until midnight.

All things considered, we still had a great trip. We had an excellent dinner, but finding a place for a bite in the evening was a challenge. We knew everything in the Kittery area was closed, so we headed north towards Ogunquit. That was all quiet, too, and in Wells even McDonald's was closed, but we found a Cumberland Farms open and were able to get sandwiches.

Here are some of our favorite scenes and places in York (I apologize for the house under construction shown on its side . . .: York, Maine

There was a little more surf by Friday morning when we left, but still not the stormy seas we'd hoped for. We took our time leaving, waiting for the roads to thaw a bit before starting out. The reports were of freezing rains in the mountains. As we were leaving York Village on Rt. 91, we crossed the turnpike by way of a high bridge and saw an accident with lots of fire trucks and a couple of ambulances. Our road was fine, and a couple hours later we were all set to have lunch in Meredith, NH, when Fred's brother, Tom, called us. Tom and Ellie Spent Thanksgiving with their family in Connecticut on their way to their winter home in Colorado, starting out first thing this morning (Saturday). Tom was unsure of how he'd left the thermostats at their Laconia house, so asked if we could go by and check for them. He caught us when we were within about five miles of their house, and I have no idea how he did that. We might have been 50 miles in either direction, but he called at just the right time and place.

As we left Laconia and made our way to I-93, there was ice on everything along the road. The interstate was ok, but there had apparently been a fair amount of snow by the slush the plows had left. We were careful going through the mountains and were really glad to get home. Unfortunately, the picture of Fred examining the thermostat at Tom's didn't respond to my turning instructions. Blame Flickr.com! Friday, Heading Home

I've had lots of messages today, and haven't been able to deal with all of them yet, but here are some. I received this from Liz Sargent about her mom, Lucia Pearl:

Hello All:

This is the easiest way to communicate and tell you what is going on with my mother (Lucia Johnson Pearl). As many of you know she fell October 8th, broke her hip, was recovering nicely, at home, and all was well until....

Sunday very early in the AM, she fell again, hit her head, went to the ER where she was treated and released back home. Had multiple bruises, no damage to the hip (thank God), and a laceration/bruise on the side of her head. She did fine until early Wednesday AM when she had a terrible headache. We knew because of medications we needed to get her back to the ER pronto. There they discovered a bleed between the outer brain and lining (she was on Coumadin), she was taken by ambulance to Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center. Brain surgery was done (our only hope) Wednesday evening. The surgery report was good, but "she's not out of the woods yet."

Thursday two of the family visited, she was agitated (to be expected), but doing as well as could be expected.

Friday Peggy and I went down for hours. The woman in the bed was not our mother as far as personality went. She was still extremely agitated, not making sense, and generally giving us and the medical staff a hard time. They upped her oxygen and she seemed to be quieter by the time we left after supper.

This morning (Sat.) I called and the night wasn't too bad, she is more alert and talking some. Peggy and I will be back down there today. We are hoping this uphill battle will continue and she will get over this. As you know she is one strong woman and we hope she will fight this to come back home again. She has been through so much starting with the death of my brother (her son), John, in February 2009. We still struggle daily with that tremendous loss. And then in April 2010 she lost of husband of 66 years - although he had been sick for years with Parkinson's and she was getting mighty worn out from being his caregiver at home.

We hope you and yours are well and you will send positive thoughts and prayers Lucia's way. I will continue to update as I can.

Gratefully, Liz

Elizabeth A. Sargent
529 Jamieson Rd.
Danville VT 05828
802-748-1456
lizsargent@charter.net
"God does not simply will that we should be happy, but rather that we should make ourselves happy." Immanuel Kant (1724-1804)

We are very sorry Lucia has had more misfortune. We will all be thinking of her and the family.

These photos came from Pat and George Parizo, taken this morning. We've had snow all day with quite a bit of wind at times making it look pretty blizzardy, so those geese may not have wanted to fly in such weather. I do hope they find a place to roost for the night as much of the lake is already frozen - both smaller ponds and the northern part of the big pond - and with temperatures dropping tonight, it could close in on the big pond, too.

I was talking with Joe Turner (Point Comfort) at the post office and mentioned to him his place is pretty well frozen in already and he said he thinks this is it for this year. I think he may be wrong - we usually have the pond freeze and thaw again at least a couple of times before it closes up for the winter, but we'll see.