Day 9 - Grantham, NH to N. Andover, MA

From sea, to shining sea…

This morning, I set out from New Hampshire after staying two days with Stu Gillespie and headed down towards the Massachusetts coast. As I approached Lawrence airport, I could see the glimmer of the Atlantic ocean in the distance.


Hard to tell, but that is the glimmer of the Atlantic

I landed and quickly parked the airplane, walking over to the gate to meet Ray Mark, my fraternity little brother from Cornell. I hadn’t seen him in over 20 years. I’d like to say we haven’t changed at all. Ok, maybe our hair is a little grayer and gravity has affected us a little bit more than we’d like to admit, but the same sense of humor still exist between us. 


It’s a long way from Delta Tau Delta: Ray and Tuck

The two of us went to brunch nearby, where we caught up on all the intervening years. We talked a little bit about our careers, and of course, since we’re part of the sandwich generation, about taking care of our parents as well as kids and nephews. I learned some things about Ray that I had never known such as the fact that he volunteered in a local court system to be the legal advocate for kids caught up in the court system. Such a noble gift. 

We returned to the airport where we met Val Schmitt and her husband, Rob Levine, as well as their son Trevor. 10 years ago, when I was on a Flyabout with my son, Alex, we stopped off in Maine, where they then lived to visit. During that visit, I put Trevor in the front seat of my airplane and told him that I would take him for a ride someday. Well, today was that day. 

After explaining to him how an airplane works and what to expect on the flight, we loaded up and took off. We flew out to the ocean and over it so I can honestly say that on this trip, I have flown from “sea to shining sea”. After we did this, I took him up a few thousand feet so he could see the top of the clouds, and then we flew between them, which gave him a sense of the beauty and grandeur of clouds. We then went looking for his school, of which he was very proud. We found it, circled it, and took some photos that he can share with his friends.

Tuck and Trevor taxiing out

Trevor in flight and loving it!

This trip has now taken me from sea to shining sea

We went back to the house. I got to spend a great afternoon relaxing with Val and Rob. She and I have known each other since I was 16 and she 14 when we went to high school together. We’ve seen each other in various places we lived, from California, to New York, to Massachusetts, to Maine, to Japan, as well as Washington.

I also got to snuggle with Kiva, their adorable four year-old puppy.

Kiva

We had a nice family-style dinner, the four of us, of spaghetti and meatballs. Afterwards, we went out for a drive through the New England countryside, which I now realize how much I miss. Our goal was to find a place to get ice cream and we found a great spot. It was really enjoyable: besides good ice cream, they had some picnic tables that we could sit out while we ate and the air was comfortably warm.


Waiting for the ice cream is the hardest part

Having two bowls ice cream to choose from is the hard part

After the ice cream, we headed back and all have been getting ready for bed. It’s been a long day.

And just like Ulysses, my Odyssey is now aiming towards Ithaca.

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