23-July-2023-Sunday
It is always good to stir things up and today was definitely not a typical Sunday. We did drive to Rutland at the same time as always arriving early enough to practice. However, we did not wear our church clothes, rather we were in our finest working clothes. Felt a little strange without a white shirt and tie, but I managed. Dede looked great as normal. We had a quick thought about coming only for the Sacrament today and then a quote from President Hinckley from the end of a conference where he said we will know if conference is a success if it changes us so we do something. different. The Branch President related this to the Sacrament which we then had administered to us. No closing song, just a prayer and we then received instructions about the clean up we would be involved with after church.
The clean up was in Cavendish which is a next to Ludlow VT. This area was the first hit by the flooding and all roads into the area were cut off by flooding. We all met at the Baptist church where two ladies were directing volunteers. The church was filled with supplies for the people, some of which came from our church. I loved the fact that we were being directed by the good people of the Baptist Church. It seems that there are always a few good people who make all organization work and we met a few of these at the church. The best part, the Primary President (Windy) lives within a mile of the church and she knew the ladies by name and I think it made her feel good to say her church was here supporting. We had a good turn out from the Branch and I think we did all seven tasks on the list for today. The picture below is the stained glass in the Baptist Church. I think the stuff in front of the window came on a semi from SLC that arrived Friday.
Dede and I took two young ladies with us and went to a home whose basement (more like a cellar) had been flooded. We spent a little over an hour hauling up stuff from the cellar to an outside garage, so the couple could sort through it. They had already brought up the wettest stuff and threw it away, but they will end up throwing away half of the 40 boxes we took up. Regardless, with everything of value out, the insurance company can come in, throw away the junk, spray for mold and then put new plastic sheeting back down. The couple were grateful and very talkative. Typical of VT, the home was built in 1929 right after the huge flood of 1927, supposedly far enough away from the brook to prevent flooding. The water did not reach the house, but the ground was so saturated that it flooded the cellar anyway. Such a hard thing. It has been some time since I have been in a home this old. Basement was unfinished. I am sure a dirt floor, with cement walls. The upstairs was just old and everything in it was old. Sometimes, I think Vermonters are just hanging on in their old homes and without the money to improve. Their kids will move on and out of the state. Many of these older homes will decay and just be gone in a few years.
We had a great day at the site. Busy the entire 3 hours. We had a family of 6 that was so charming. One son struggled to pay attention, but the rest were just fun and I actually enjoyed the struggling one the most. I got to take them down after watching Dede do a masterful job of teaching them all the stories. May I say she is marvelous. There were two sisters who came to the site. President and Sister Ewer showed them the site and then asked me to take them below to the foundations. The one sister works with the missionary department to create displays. She has also worked with the historical department. Her current job is working on the visitors' centers displays for temple square when it opens. She manages the groups that do the work for the historical department so she and a friend came out to see our site. She gave me more hope that changes might come to our site before 10 years. Hard to say. As we both acknowledged, we are very out of the way and thus do not get much attention for changes. That is fine, there are so many benefits that are so much more important than having the latest and greatest displays. She also noted that technology often breaks down and by our not having technology we do not worry about that issue. More importantly, it is easy to let the technology do the work. One points the guests in the right direction and pushes a button and leaves, rather than having authentic one on one time. I have said before, I have come to love the opportunity our site gives to take time to know people and try to understand their desires from the site. Since they have traveled far, many want to know every detail they can get.
And now, we are getting ready to eat a sumptuous meal. I know that it is said that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach. Dede has made my stomach so large, that I fear it has crowded out my tiny heart and I am now all stomach.
24-July-2023-Monday
Happy Pioneer Day! We had muffins as a treat this morning during our devotionals. I expect this is the second to the last that Ewere's will do before heading home. That is sad. Dede and I had the training this morning and I thought we did a good job and we wanted this to happen. We then had two members come to the president's residence requesting a blessing. They are probably not overly active, but it is so wonderful to know that they knew where to come to receive blessings from the Lord. We had muffins as a treat after the devotional.
When I awoke, it was rather dark outside. I looked at my weather app which predicted clear skies until afternoon. However as you can see from the picture out my window, we were socked in with fog. This burned away by 10 am, but it is interesting to me that fog is just accepted and not part of the weather forecast in Vermont, rather it seems to be a given.
It rained hard for 30 minutes before we went to the site and twice more while at the site, with sunshine in between. The weather app, says zero rain in the last 24 hours. Obviously it is not set up to make corrections to what they predict. Regardless the app was wrong and this would happen almost everyday this week.
Because we do not know our schedule beyond this week, Dede and I have decided to leave tomorrow to go to Acadia National Park in Maine. It takes about 6 hours to drive there, so we need Tuesday afternoon and Thursday morning to travel leaving Wednesday to see Adcadia. Not enough time to do the area justice, but it will have to do. We have a hotel room for the two nights and a pass to Cadillac mountain. This is the highest point in the park and a place one needs a reservation.
We were very busy day at at the site. We had 22 people from Quebec come in. Only one really spoke English and so he translated. Dede was handling other people while I did these wonderful families who had so many little kids. Apparently someone in the branch where they live said he was going to the JSB and all came with them. So cool. Unlike the Brazilians the Canadian children (many younger) did not speak English. It was fun but challenging, Again I see how the church is spreading to different places in the world and different languages. What a joy. Elder Buswell thought I looked like the Pied Piper leading all of these children who did not understand a word I spoke around the site so he added a photo.
I had a nonmember man who loves history and he was so fun to spend time with. Then a member man traveling through on business. With the last guest, I became ill. I kept teaching although I had to sit down, but I am freezing and plan to go to bed early while Dede goes to the store so we have food for tomorrow and Wednesday. Did I mention what a wonderful companion she is? I just hope a night's rest leaves me able to work tomorrow's shift and then leave for Maine. This means a lot to Dede and it will be fun for me, so I do not want to screw this up. This could be our only chance to visit this treasured place.
25-July-2023-Tuesday
I am writing this on Friday morning 28-July. I have just been too exhausted to write at the end of each day even though we have experienced so much. It is obvious to me why Historians prefer something written as close to an event as possible. Yes, I am impacted by not feeling well still but it is amazing how fast memory fades in such a short period when one is trying to record a journal.
This morning is much more a blur. Even after going to bed early I awoke feeling poorly and by the time our 4 hour shift was over I was spent. We were without guests until noon and then had a few people come in and bless our lives as well as the site with their presence.
We left the site to change and pack for our trip and Dede started driving. Although our destination is East and North of our apartment, we started out by traveling south to Manchester, which is almost on the Mass. border before turning North to get to our destination. Alternate routes are shorter, but they take more time because of the nature of backroads in Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine, than doing the extra miles on the interstate. Actually about 30-60 minutes shorter. Oh well. Stopped to eat at a food cart specializing in lobster rolls. I had clam chowder and French fries, while Dede had the lobster roll and shrimp. I do not think she was overwhelmed but can say she had one in Maine! As we were eating, the heavens opened and it began pouring rain. We were under a tent and had to move to the very middle to eat and we still got wet from splashing water from the ground and water coming through the tent. It added to the fun. I wish I had taken a picture, but all we wanted to do was eat and get back in the dry car. We made it to the hotel shortly after 9 pm. It was an older hotel, but it was clean and it had a soft bed and I was grateful to go to sleep. Still hoping that I would wake up feeling better.
26-July-2023-Wednesday. PDAY
So much for feeling better. Regardless we were up at 5:30 and arrived at the base of Cadillac Mountain by 6:30. One needs a reservation for this portion of the park. We chose not to arrive at sunrise, thank goodness. However getting up and out early gave us enough time to do so much in this beautiful Park. Acadia is heavily visited. If is actually a large island that is divided into two parts, the popular side and less popular side. Parking is less than stellar and many use the park buses to get around rather than driving their cars. However, parking at the visitors center is also underwhelming. There is area for parking lots, but they did not want to use them. I think is is a conundrum for parks. They want people, but they do not want to impact the environment. The best parking was at the top of Cadillac Mountain because one needs a reservation to drive up.
Anyway, Cadillac Mountain is not that high, but one is starting at sea level. Surprisingly one is in sub alpine terrain at just 1527 feet. It is the highest mountain in the area and famous because it is the first spot sunshine hits the continental USA. The sun was well up when we arrived and so we had a great view. We spent some time hiking around. It was obvious that I would need to take it easy all day as I had so little strength. (so much for getting better with a night's rest 😃). But as mentioned above, what a choice time to be doing this with my wife and we had the most delightful weather one could ask for, so I cannot complain. Several pictures from the top. The last picture is of the pink granite which makes up the mountain and most of the island. Quite pretty
Because we had gotten up early and the mountain drive does not take long to navigate we were doing the loop quite early in the day. The loop runs along the coast which is very rocky with the exception of several hundred yards of sand which is shockingly called "sandy beach." This area is highly visited by many, so we did not add to the volume of people there. Here Dede showed her greatest kindness and concern for me. We would hike along the trail a bit and then she would bring up the car to the next parking lot. We got smarter and began walking in both directions from the car, so Dede was not walking so far, but this small kindness allowed me to go further than if I had not had the rest. By 8:30 I felt like I was running on empty. I was running a fever and did not feel like eating, so there was probably little in the gas tank. After resting a bit, I was able to move on.
I loved sitting on the rocks and watching the ocean. We stopped at Thunder Hole which is a cave in the rocks and about an hour before high time makes a roaring noise and air is trapped in the cave which then escapes. We were there a low tide, so we could see well how it worked. Later in the day we returned at high tide, an hour late for the best sound, but it was fun to watch. Pictures below at low tide when it was easy to see the cave:
There were numerous places from which to watch the waves interact with the shoreline. I especially like Otter Cliffs and that area.
The number of lobster buoys right along the shore line were amazing. Each company having a different color buoy. We watched this lobster boat making its rounds. The captain would approach his buoy, and catch it with a hook. A man would pull it in and someone else appeared to be checking for a lobster and rebating the trap. The boat would then circle and the trap was thrown back out followed by the buoy. Then to the next bouy about 100 feet away and the next and the next etc. It would be nice on a calm day like we had, I am sure it is less than fun when the wind is blowing a gale and it is cold and rough. But I will remember it as very peaceful and ideal. We continued exploring and came to Little Hunters Beach, famous for its round rocks and the sound they make in the waves. Also as one walks over them, they are almost musical. If one does not believe I was not feeling well, the fact that Dede got pictures of me, proves my sickness as my children can well attest as I normally avoid pictures. How is it that such a kind sweet lady would take advantage of my illness?
We completed the loop road and stopped at the visitors center. It was suggested that we walk Wonderland Trail to see the tide pools there. This was a 30 minute drive to the less busy half of the island giving me some sleep time. Totally different area of the park. I must say that the photos do not do justice to what we saw, but I will share them anyway.
In this part of the Park is Bass Harbor Head Light House. It has a tiny parking lot. Why??? But we waited only 5-10 minutes for a spot to open up and it was worth it. Dede loves light houses and so I have become a fan. This is an active light house. The Park service maintains it, but the Coast Guard keeps the lights burning. I love the lens. The shape makes the light shine further.
We finally stopped and ate. I struggled to eat, but it perked me up a little. Dede had a nice Haddock sandwich, I wish I had had the same. We then drove back to repeat the loop, which meant a few more minutes of sleeping. On the return trip, we were seeing the same sights, but between low and high tides everything looked very different, so it was fun to get out and see each again, although we did not walk as far at each stop.
One is not supposed to go to Acadia without stopping in Bar Harbor. Both words pronounced without the "r" sound and thus one sees shirts with Bah Haaba written on them. I apologize, but for me it is merely like going to West Yellowstone or Woodstock. But then neither Dede and I are into shopping. However there was an ice cream shop and that actually sounded good to me. Their company vehicle was parked outside. It is a Camaro pointed like a cow. The NH license plate says COWMARO. Fun. Our sundaes were way too big to eat. We should have ordered one and split it, but it was fun to splurge. We returned to the hotel which is right on the water. According to the sign, there is a seaplane landing strip nearby on the water. For this reason you cannot eat the shell fish from the area. I hoped we would see a sea plane take off. Hinckley airport is nearby and several land planes took off from there, but no sea planes. By 8:30 I had showered and was in bed.
27-July-2023-Thursday
Happy Birthday to my favorite sister Vivian. May God bless you with a year of better mobility and stamina as you have so much to give to kids and grandkids.
Again we were up early, but not until 6 am and were out of the hotel by 6:50 am and heading home. We made great time. I drove a couple hours and then Dede drove us to Hanover where we ate at Han Fusion. The salty soup was sooooo good. We had a lunch specials, ordered a soup to go and were on our way home to make our 2 pm shift. We had truly scheduled a great deal into a short period of time and it all worked out so well thanks to my selfless wife. She tends to carry me along and I am grateful.
We had a steady day at the site. One couple Dede took through were so full of questions. People just want to know more. We had a wonderful family of 5. Then we had a large family from different areas who spent a long time with us. We had two couples both from the Grace, ID area, one of which still lives in Grace. Each one was so special in its own way.
I had soup for dinner mixed with rice and was in bed early getting nearly 11 hours of sleep. I never thought Chinese soup would taste so good.
28-July-2023-Friday
(I am finally writing concurrently to the day described once again). I awoke this morning feeling better, if not well. I did not totally fade during our shift, partially because my wife bought a Power Aid which I drank throughout the day. With the water loss from fever and hiking, I fear I am dehydrated and once again my wife saves me.
We had a great day. We had a couple in first thing in the morning and the Ewers had friends visit them and gave them tours. This gave Dede a chance to call about our internet at home. Apparently our company was bought and we needed a new password etc to connect to their equipment. Luckily Danielle was at our house and worked with a technician on the phone to accomplish everything and get our home cameras working again. This was good. I also had a break to talk to Medicare about our payments and that turned out well.
Toward the end of our shift, we had two families of 5 and 6 come in. They were fun and so it was fun to talk to them. The Ewers and Buswells were in a meeting with SLC, so Dede and I worked until 3 pm and got to finish up with the two families. That was pleasant. I came home and slept for 30 minutes before working on the blog. It takes time to do a day like Wednesday with all its pictures, but I am back on track and feeling good. Tomorrow I will wake up at 90% and will continue to recover nicely. God is good.
29-July-2023-Saturday
Finally beginning to feel reasonable if not better. We got last week's blog edited and sent out. I finally felt like eating and after eating was able to function well enough to write in my review. That was a relief. Before, it was too hard to concentrate.
We had the afternoon shift and were were busy. Since the Ewers will leave Tuesday morning, we planned a dinner at the Forge in Randolph for 6:15. It had been busy enough that Dede and I for the most part worked separately to handle the guests. About 5:30, Dede took a last set of guests down to see the foundations and in the next 5 minutes we had three small groups come in for tours. Normally we are not concerned about time, but we were forced to talk fast to get them all through by 6:15 to make us only 30 minutes late (after the drive there). I must admit, I feel guilty when we do not give people our full attention, even when one has a good reason. There was another time earlier in the day, when four people came in who had been mucking out homes in Berlin VT with the Yellow Helping Hands T-chirts. They were tired and filthy and really did not want to join in the tour I was leading and so they sat aside and then left after a few minutes. I feel terrible. They had come up to do service, but we were too busy to give them personalized service to help fill their spiritual gas tank. This is so rare for us, but I hate to have it happen. It is rare that we are as busy as we were today.
Lucky for us, the restaurant service was very slow and we had given our orders to Buswells, so we arrived in plenty of time to enjoy conversation around the table. Not ideal considering the circumstances, but luckily we were among friends and enjoyed the time together. It is hard to believe the Ewer's final day will be next Monday. The Buswells will do great replacing them and life will go on, but unexpected changes such as these always drag a little on the heart and soul.
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