Saturday, July 2, 2022
Narragansett, RI, to Hingham, MA
Rain early, clearing, then rain again in the evening, mid 70s
Departure day meant that everyone got up early, packed their remaining gear and headed off in different directions. We drove to Wompatuck SP in Hingham. Wompatuck is the former Hingham Naval Ammunition Depot which was in use from 1941 until 1965. There are still some visible military bunkers. One of the things that makes the park popular is an extensive network of abandoned railroad beds and roads that are now used for hiking and biking. They include 12 miles of paved and 40 miles of unpaved forest trails There are more than 250 campsites, some with electrical hookups. We got a well shaded site with electricity.
We drove to Bill’s sister, Ellen, and husband, Wayne’s, Linden Ponds Senior Living Community where they treated us to dinner in one of their dining rooms.
Sunday, July 3, 2022
Hingham, MA
Sunny, low 80s
We drove with Ellen and Wayne to Wellesley, MA, where we met long time family friends Bindiya and Sunindiya for lunch at The Cottage. It was really good to catch up with them in person since our only contact since the pandemic was via Zoom. Afterward we drove around the lovely campus of Wellesley College. After dropping Ellen and Wayne back home, we returned to our campsite.
Dinner was pizza and salad. (BTW, we’re big fans of COSTCO’s gluten free, cauliflower-crust supreme pizza.)
Fuel prices are beginning to trend down. It only cost us $101 to fill @ $4.75/gal.
Monday, July 4, 2022
Hingham, MA
Sunny, low 80s with low humidity
Hingham does it up right for the 4th. At the seat of the revolution, pride in that event is still evident with flags lining the street sides of many people’s properties. And their Independence Day parade is the perfect expression of a small-town celebration.
Graham and Heather and their kids, Delilah (3) and Leon (1) joined the four of us for the festivities. We met at The Old Ordinary, an historic house/inn/livery that Ellen manages as one of her roles with the Hingham Historical Society. (Ellen can show that our family actually has an ancestral connection to the Ordinary! I should also mention that Wayne does research and writes a periodic newsletter for the Quincy Historical Society and has published books relating to the ship building industry in Quincy and Boston’s south shore.)
As a group, we walked the two blocks to the Historical Society property that afforded us a high perch from which to view the parade. Parade participants included floats, bands, four bagpipe groups and fire companies including some historical fire equipment. Everyone cooperated in forming fire brigades to fight fires.
Ellen also came equipped to do some face painting, a craft she used to ply as part of her role as Pockets the Clown.
That evening we had Ellen & Wayne for dinner at our campsite. It was something of a unique experience for Wayne who has never camped; just not part of his life experience. We sautéed shrimp and served broccoli and homemade potato salad. Ellen brought gluten free cupcakes for an early celebration of Sandy’s birthday.
Temperatures were very comfortable overnight; no need for air conditioning. We didn’t get to see any fireworks but we could hear them in the distance.
Tuesday, July 5, 2022
Hingham to Andover/Marblehead, MA
Overcast with light afternoon rain, mid 70s
We left Wompatuck SP about 10:45 for the short drive to Andover and Harold Parker State Forest, arriving about 12:30. The campsites here are HUGE, wooded and very pretty. It was amusing that, although our campsite was equipped with both electricity and water, they were placed about 100 feet apart so there was no way we could be hooked up to both! No problem. We filled our tank with water and then set the camper up close to the power outlet. We would refill the tank before we left.
Sandy made egg and olive for lunch and then we made the 45 minute drive to Marblehead to visit with Sandy’s cousin, Joanne.
We ordered takeout from a nearby Asian restaurant for dinner with Joanne, returning afterwards to the campground.
Wednesday, July 6, 2022
Andover/Marblehead, MA
Sunny, low 80s
After a leisurely breakfast at the campsite we returned to Marblehead. Our mission, today, was to clear out Joanne’s storage unit, taking the contents to her home and beginning the process of sorting out what to keep, donate or trash. Emptying the rear of our Expedition and flattening the seats, we managed to transport the entire stash in two loads.
Along the way we stopped at a Home Depot and bought a small ladder I could use to clean the top of our slide-out before closing it.
Sandy then proceeded to go through the various boxes and two Christmas trees, one at a time. Joanne has very limited mobility so Sandy had to carry each box upstairs for review. Happily, Joanne was able to decide to discard or donate much of the many of the items leaving less to store in her home.
We made baked salmon, mashed potatoes and broccoli for dinner before returning to the campground.
Thursday, July 7, 2022
Andover/Marblehead, MA
Cumulative miles: 1,265
Partly cloudy, mid 70s
I checked out how well the new ladder would work and cleaned off the top of the slide-out. While doing so I discovered the source of the leak that allowed water to rot part of the floor. It was sealant tape that had peeled away from the top corner of the slide-out. I’ll have to buy some of the special roof repair tape to repair the leak to prevent further damage.
We ate a rare breakfast out on our way to see Joanne, stopping at Gulu Gulu Café on the square in Salem. Breakfast outdoors was lovely crepes, gluten free for Sandy. Salem, of course, is famous for its witch trials. Sadly (?) the most photographed item on the square seemed to be a statue of Elizabeth Montgomery astride a broom as Samantha in the series Bewitched. (We got one of us, too.)
At Joanne’s house the sorting project continued. Joanne’s neighbor, Jeannie, accompanied by Sandy, took some of the trash to the local dump while I broke down boxes for recycling and did some shopping.
Joanne lists Sandy as her POA and executor. Since we live so far apart, they took this opportunity to review legal documents and determine where documents are located and which ones among them need to be updated when we return in September.
That evening Joanne’s friend, Mary, joined us for dinner and talk. We served Mexican Cod, string beans and mashed sweet potatoes. After dinner we celebrated Sandy’s 76th birthday.