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Dad, true to his vow to take me places he'd been as a kid, planned a side trip on the way to Watkins Glen State Park, in the Finger Lakes region of upstate New York. The park has 19 waterfalls, magnificent rock formations and cascading streams. You can see some of that in the background of the first set of photos. Unfortunately, that day also had lots of rain. The paths were slippery; maneuvering my stroller was treacherous at times. We did the best we could, then called it a night at a local hotel.
The next day we arrived in Andover. Auntie is a university professor. She's married now and has a young daughter. Her husband was away in Korea but her Mom was visiting. Atom had passed over the Rainbow Bridge by then, but another Maltese named Juno was there to greet me. Just like in Ohio, we had lots of fun staying around or near Auntie's house. We'd brought my old stroller with us for Juno to use, and we wheeled him through paths and trails built around the condo development during the day. At night, as everyone else rested, Dad watched the baseball World Series, moaning and groaning because his favorite team was playing terribly.
New Hampshire is a short drive north from Andover, and one day we took a road trip to Conway, New Hampshire, nestled in the White Mountain region. The White Mountains are home to Mount Washington, another spot Dad visited as a boy. We couldn't make it there, but Dad pointed out its peak, visible from miles away. In Conway are many outlet shopping malls, a major attraction for folks living in Massachusetts because New Hampshire has no sales tax. When we stopped to do some shopping, Juno and I stayed behind in the Odyssey and howled at passersby when the situation demanded it. Juno's expression when he howled is quite beautiful, don't you agree?
The chief attraction for us wasn't the outlets, though. We'd gone there to ride the scenic steam railroad🚂! Even kids like me and Juno could ride (for free!), and after buying the tickets, we climbed aboard. Before Honda, Dad worked for a company in South Carolina that makes railroad switching equipment. He was more excited than anyone else. The steam train made many strange noises I'd never heard before. According to Mom, in the Korean language, trains go "chik-chik, po-po, chik-chik, po-po". The faster the train goes, the faster you repeat those words. I can't express it any clearer than that what I heard as the train barreled down the tracks!
After completing the train ride, we found a pleasant restaurant with an outdoor patio and had dinner. Then we drove home to Andover, and the next day returned to Ohio. Dad's moaning about the World Series continued for several more days, the misery finally ending on Halloween night. Fall had returned and winter would follow. No problem. We'd go on more trips, and I'll tell you about another one next time.
Thanks for reading my blog.
Tango
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