The Rest of Bill and Ruth's Excellent Adventure

After our hot air balloon ride we said goodbye to the Blackburns and hit the road. I didn't know where we were going because Bill just loves surprises and I do too. We drove across Vermont and New Hampshire and ended up in Portland Maine. It was a breathtaking drive because the Autumn colors were at their peak. We explored the Maine coast for a couple of days. It rained one day and we loved it. We never get enough rain in San Diego. And I thought the rain just made it feel more like Maine.

A pic of our rainy drive. This picture doesn't capture how intense the colors looked in the rain.

This one's better.

Look at your spare change. Perhaps you have a Maine quarter, there is a lighthouse on it, I'm standing in front of it.



Now I'm inside it.

In addition to checking out the rocky coast,



we ate lobster (only $10 a lobster) and Bill had to eat some more fried whole belly clams.

Finally, we stopped to see some more friends near Boston, the Allen Family. You can tell they are recent transplants from San Diego. Look at the kids in their bare feet and flip flops in the crisp fall air. Among her many talents, Linn is a professional organizer (here's the link to her blog) and as such it is a dream to stay in their home. It's as clean and peaceful as a hotel but there are 4 children living there--truly amazing to me. Bill and I spent a lot of time talking about how we could make our home more like that. Having a clutter free life, helps Linn be thoughtful.


You might recognize this photo from my first post about our trip. Linn downloaded, printed it and wrapped it with a bow. It waited on the pillow of our bed. This amazes me because I often get the idea to do considerate things for people and then never get around to it or leave the project unfinished. Linn jokes about being being OCD. I wish I was just a bit more compulsive about being thoughtful. Anyhow the trip is over, it's almost been a month. But everynight when I go to bed I see this picture on my nightstand and I feel so loved-- loved by the friends we visited, loved by mother-in-law and by Lara who babysat (how do you repay a friend for something as generous as that, I'm taking suggestions) and of course I feel loved by Bill.