Beauty Revealed by the Light Within

"People are like stained glass windows: they sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is light within." )Elizabeth Kubler Ross)

We are back at the Lake House in NC after being on the road for exactly nine weeks. After every trip Butch and I say it was the best ever, and this one was truly excellent. It was also very different. Although the truck traveled about 8,000 miles we did not tow the trailer that far as we set up Base Camps and left it parked while we explored an area. We had even less of a schedule than usual and often stayed much longer than planned when we found an interesting place. Overall, it was a most satisfactory experience and I give it a 12 out of 10.
We had good weather in Maine this time and did some beachcombing around the little coves and harbors between Sunset Point (Harrington) and Machias. At Beal Island we picked up two large zip-locks of sea glass and crockery in 30 minutes. There were lots of local festivals and crafts fairs going on and we enjoyed those. Traveling on to New Hampshire we had our usual luck; rain and poor visibility. I think this was our fifth try at driving up Mt. Washington but it was a no go. I had also planned to paddle on the Androscoggin River but that was not to be.
We spent one rainy day visiting “antique” shops between Rumford and Gorham. These are my kind of shops, old barns and out buildings full of junk. We found six wonderful stained-leaded glass windows that had been removed from a synagogue in Berlin NH when the Jewish congregation sold the building to the Baptist. I wanted all of them but we only had room for three. (Butch’s cousins in NH went back and bought the other three). I love these windows. I can imagine all of the prayers that they have heard.
The next day we drove over in pouring rain to take photos of the building they came from.
Fortunately the weather cleared and we had a wonderful time with Butch's cousins in Gorham.

Leaving NH, we spent one night at a place called Crystal Grove Campground and Diamond Mine near St. Johnsville, NY. I chose it because it was off the interstate, but not too far. It was interesting. The "diamonds" are a many faceted quartz, and there were lots of families there mining them. We crossed back into Canada at the Peace Bridge in Buffalo and joined our dear friend Barbara at her home on Lake Erie. We attended a couple of plays at the Shaw Festival with her at Niagara on the Lake. It was a great visit as usual. We only camped one night on the way home, at Summersville Lake in West Virginia.
So……that was the end of our journey. I was glad to get home but not at all tired of the trip. All of our equipment performed well and we stayed healthy. We will take a couple of months to recoup and we plan to head out again in November. Stay tuned.