Mom and Karen's visit

Warning: This post will be extremely long and may contain videos and pictures. Please allot sufficient time to savor every word written. The people involved in these stories deserve your attention. Also, if you can make it to the end, I will link the over 300 pictures taken on this trip. Now, sit back, relax, and armchair travel to New England with two of the Henry girls and their guide: Katie.

Saturday: Shirley and Karen arrive in Boston in matching sweat suits. Thankfully, Katie's dad had already warned her of this so she was prepared. Karen pulls out her camera before they even make it to the car and takes a picture of the ocean.

Get checked into the Beverly Garden Suites in Beverly and Shirley opens her suitcase only to find her shampoo has exploded over 3 of her coats. Lucky for her, Gordon Conwell is nearby and the laundry facilities weren't busy. While waiting on laundry Karen and Shirley were given a tour of Gordon Conwell.

On this tour they also met one of Katie's friends. The first of many they were to encounter on this trip. Isaac regaled them with stories of how he gets groceries for free and donates food to soup kitchens. They were suitably impressed. From this point on Karen will forever think of Isaac when she sees cornbread.


That night they were finally fed at Not Your Average Joe's. Shirley and Karen had not eaten since 4 am and Katie had not eaten since 10 am. Needless to say their eyes were bigger than their stomachs, but the South Dakotans were treated to one of Katie's East Coast favorites: coconut shrimp.

Sunday:
Sunday began with a bang - or more accurately - a burglar alarm. Shirley inadvertently set off the burglar alarm when attempting to return the room keys to the front desk. Our immediate reaction: leave. So we left and hoped for the best. Karen and Shirley were taken to Dunkin Donuts for a traditional New England breakfast of donuts and coffee. This was also the beginning Katie's pumpkin craze that was to continue throughout the week. From Dunkin Donuts, the trio headed to Immanuel Church. This is where Katie works as a secretary. There they heard the musical stylings of the choir and a vocal solo of Tom Edmunds. After a year of bragging him up, Karen and Shirley finally understood what Katie meant by a powerful voice.

From church the three musketeers headed to Maine via route 1A which ran along the beach. There they stopped at Hampton Beach, NH. Long time readers of the blog might remember that Katie was here before for a Josh Turner concert.

From there we headed to the Portland Head Light (the famous light house). There Shirley and Katie discovered Karen's illiteracy when it comes to publicly posted signs. The following picture was taken after Karen almost ran into it.

From there the group headed into Portland to visit Ruth and her two daughters - long lost relatives. Ok - if you have read this before you know that they really weren't lost - I've visited them before... Anyway - many pictures were taken, but in an effort to get Ruth to smile, someone thought it would be funny to say the word "fart." Ruth is 89. She can't hear very well. After many attempts, she finally understands that they want her to say "fart" and not "fudge".





That night the group stayed at Nelson and Jackie's in Casco Maine. Thanksgiving was shared by all. The highlight of the night was the pumpkin roll. (That's #2 pumpkin product for those of you keeping track.)

Monday:
That morning it was decided that the group would see Judy's house in Bethel, Maine (a big ski resort town.) But a note prior to that excursion: there were a bowl of grapes on the counter at Jackie's. Karen wanted to convey to Katie how "awesome" these grapes were and this is what she said: "Those grapes taste like... grapes!" Yep. Just like that. She has such a way with words - you feel like you can taste them right? In her defense, the grapes were amazing and tasted like a grape Popsicle.

On the way up to Bethel, Maine the caravan stopped at a store and tried some pumpkin fudge (#3). It was fabulous (to borrow a word from Judy.)

The drive to Bethel was beyond beautiful. Words cannot describe it - but perhaps this video will help.




While at Judy's Karen got a brilliant idea. "Why don't we do a jumping picture?" So there Katie was trying to keep it together watching these women (all above age 50) trying to jump together. Here is just a sample of the golden memories made that afternoon: (more in the linked photo album)


Tuesday:
Tuesday morning the group headed back down to Portland to say goodbye to Ruth. They ate lunch at the famous Susan's Fish and Chips. Karen had her only taste of lobster there. Katie sort of regrets that... but not really. Once back in Massachusetts Karen and Shirley decided they wanted to see Salem. Unfortunately, the traffic was horrific and Katie is very paranoid about getting into a car accident. Therefore, they saw Salem, but only briefly and only from the car. Then they spent a couple of hours in the mall where Katie acquired a new sweater and Karen some new pants and earrings. Then they headed to the Cheesecake factory for supper. They met up with 3 of Katie's friends: Natalie, Jennifer and Jua. Natalie entertained the group with her many accurate impressions - favorites include Dr. Lints and Paula Dean. Thank you Natalie for being such a good sport.

Wednesday:
Wednesday was spent in Boston. The day started with a duck tour. The tour guide was "Ace Bandage." One of the many things learned on that tour was this bird called a "Canada goose" that "quacks." Not one of the South Dakotans could tell the different between that bird and a "Canadian Goose" that "honks." Oh well. After that, the girls explored the Italian North End and had lunch at Limoncello's. From their the group hit Quincy Market, bought some souveniers, then finished the freedom trail backwards - ending at Boston Common. Another highlight was the balls surrounding this building named after some guy (this would be a better story if I could remember the name.) Anyway, we began referring to the balls as his balls. Here is Karen posing with one of them:


Katie felt kind of bad that she wasn't a part of the "jumping pictures" on Monday. So, she decided to jump while in Boston.


Thursday:
The group travelled to Cape Ann after convincing themselves that whale watching was not a good idea. They all had their reasons. First stop: Halibut Point. The interesting thing about Halibut Point was an area dedicated to creating inookshuks. The basic story is that these stacks of rocks told early pioneers that the pathway was clear and safe. They later had spiritual significance and were built in honor of those who have passed on and made the pathway safe and clear. Karen and Shirley built an inookshuk in honor of their late father: John Henry.

From there the group headed to Rockport and had lunch and a good time shopping. Many souvenirs were bought. Katie even discovered a t-shirt that reminded her of her uncle Jerry. She hopes he enjoys wearing it as much as she did finding it. While in a pewter shop the girls found a pewter statue of Mt. Rushmore. Katie tried convincing her mother to buy it as a souvenir of her trip to the East Coast, but for some reason her mother did not think it was suitable. The group drove back through Gloucester and stopped to see the fisherman's memorial which Karen insisted on calling "the old man in the sea." (not the correct name)

When back at Gordon Conwell, Shirley and Karen met a few more of Katie's friends: Jesse, Ruth and Adam. They also met Gina while at the grocery store (Katie had to buy sugar and butter for the lefse her wonderful mother had made and brought for her.)

Thursday night was spent relaxing and watching tv.

Friday:
The three women got up early and headed to the airport. Shirley and Karen left knowing that Katie would be home again in a couple of months. Katie spent the rest of the day sleeping or watching movies.

So, that is the trip. I left a quite a bit out, but I'll link the rest of the pictures and you might get a sense of what I didn't include. If you are really curious about something - just ask. If you are in SD - ask Shirley or Karen. Or maybe both - there is a better chance of getting what truly happened that way :)

Thanks so much for visiting! If you thought that looked like fun - remember you can visit too! I'm here until May and love having visitors. Just let me know!

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