LET FREEDOM RING!

Without a doubt, our experiences have been many. The beauty of God's creation, the oceans, the mountains, the rivers, the lakes, the waterfalls, all cry out to the majesty of our "The Creator!"
Today we were able to witness the beginnings of this great land in the preservation of our country's historical heritage in the City of Brotherly Love.
How fitting that the name of this great city is derived from God's Word in Revelation 3, "You have kept my word and not denied my name".

Philadelphia, the city where our founding fathers gathered to birth this nation and rang the bell of Liberty for all to hear!

How beautiful are the words inscribed on the bell from Leviticus, "Proclaim liberty  throughout the land to all its inhabitants"!

We did all that you would expect a tourist would do in Philadelphia. We ate a Philly Cheese Steak, went to an Irish pub, toured the Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, Betsy Ross' home, the war memorials, and we took a double decker tour bus ride around city!

We stayed at the Thomas Bond Bed and Breakfast, a refurbished home built in the mid 1700's.

But perhaps our most memorable time was the evening we spent with Rafi and Sree.  A young couple from India, both now living in the United States, considering marriage. 

We were blessed to hear their stories and to share what God has done in our lives and how HE has given true meaning and purpose to our marriage!

We look forward to seeing what God does in the lives of this beautiful couple!

The Big Apple!

The ride from Boston to New York City was very enjoyable. We missed all commute traffic on both ends!
We stayed with "Peachy", Micky's big sister Diane's best friend from high school.
Micky stayed with Peachy and her family when he graduated from high school in 1975, so it's only been 38 years since they have seen each other!  Neither have changed a bit!

We took the train into Pennsylvania Station and made our way out onto the streets of New York City in search of the Empire State Building!

Fortunately for us it was right down the street from Grand Central!

A short walk, a quick $54, and a rapid ascent to the 86th floor observation deck! 

We were hoping to see Cary Grant, Deborah Kerr, Tom Hanks or Meg Ryan, but alas, they were no where to be found.

So as we headed on down to the exit,  a couple  commented on Micky's Sturgis hat. They ask us if we have been to the motorcycle rally in Sturgis because they live in South Dakota near Sioux Falls. We tell them of our niece and nephew Brian and Kristy who live in Dell Rapids. He responds, "that's where we live, what is your niece's name?"

Not only do they know Brian and Kristy, but their daughter is one of our great-niece Danielle's good friends!

We made our way south and took the Staten Island Ferry for a view of the Statue of Liberty and the skyline of downtown.

We then walked over to visit the 9-11 Memorial Site. The New Freedom Tower of the Trade Center can be seen in the above photo and below is 2 World Trade Center.

We walked through the entire memorial and found our friend Tom McGuinness' name on the North Memorial Pool.

Tom attended Riverview Church for several years and was the second chair on flight 11.

We enjoyed our walk downtown then jumped back on the subway and then the train back to Peachy's.

We took care of some errands on Friday as Kathie just had to get her nails done!

We really enjoyed spending time with the ladies at the Nail Salon.

We were fortunate to be introduced to Randy, a retired New York Fireman. a friendly, outgoing New Yorker!

A short ride over the Throggs Neck Bridge and we were in Connecticut to visit Dave and Jennifer Gish. Dave was the youth pastor at our church when we began attending in 1986. We worked many years with Dave in youth ministry and he had a great influence on the lives of our family.

 Dave is now pastoring a church in Connecticut.

An absolutely amazing week!

Day 57-60, Boston, 8000 miles!

Today we arrived the home of Kathie's Uncle Walter and "Tante" Elise. They live in Lynn Massachusetts just north of Boston.

Walter and Elise hosted a family get together for us to see all the Boston Mahoney clan!

All of their kids and grandkids, Uncle Ray, Aunt Chris and their families too!

Cousin John graciously became our tour guide on Wednesday, driving us into the city of Boston in his Jeep Wrangler! We were able to put the top down and enjoy driving through the entire city!

And eating a "3 way roast beef sandwich" at Kelly's on "Revere Beach"!

We met a friendly young man, Rob, at "The Black Rose", an Irish pub in downtown Boston. 

Rob, a union pipe fitter, was having his "union approved lunch", a Guinness beer and two shots of Jameson Irish Whiskey!

A very nice young man but not not sure if we'd want him working on our plumbing after lunch!

We went back into the city Tuesday and toured the USS Constitution, "Old Ironsides",

and many other great historical treasures! 

But, we just had to end our day with another 3 way roast beef sandwich from Kelly's on Revere Beach!

Doin it "Lobstah Style"

The riding on the northern coast of Maine is just beautiful. Open roads, no traffic, tree-lined roadways, like what it used to be in the back country of San Diego County 30 years ago.

We pulled into Bar Harbor and quickly located a "Lobster Pound". We each had a lobster sandwich before we found a gem in the "Wonderview Inn"!

We checked into room 49, above the office in a corner room with a great 180 degree view of the harbor. 

Figuring we needed an overview of the area, we took a 50 minute airplane tour of Bar Harbor and the surrounding lighthouses!

Following our plane ride, we rode through Acadia National Park ending up on Cadillac Mountain, the highest point on the eastern coastline. 

Those who view the sunrise from Cadillac are the first in America to see it appear. We did not feel the necessity at rising at 4:30 am to join the crowd!

When we saw the above picture, we wondered what the person taking the picture thought about what was in Micky's pocket!

Then it was off to Boothbay Harbor. We stumbled across the "Harbour Towne Inn", a quaint B&B right on the water just a block or two from town. 

then it was across the footbridge to the "Boothbay Lobster Wharf" where we chose,  cooked and cosumed 3 live lobsters and a JUMBO lobster roll!

Our time at Boothbay was wonderful. Turned out to be the perfect day due in large part to the people we spent time with. Stephanie was a wonderful hostess and made us feel like family. Once again, garbed in an apron, Micky was put to work in the kitchen!

Thank you so much Stephanie, we will be praying for you and your family!

Wells was our last stop on the main coastline. We just had to have one more lobster!  Lords Lobster House was our next stop where we consumed mass quantities of seafood!

Next stop, Beantown. Go Sox!

Madawaska Maine! 7000 Miles!

We had another beautiful ride through Vermont, New Hampshire, and into Maine. The weather was a bit chilly and we had a spot of rain south of Bangor. We stayed at a nice hotel in Bangor which had a Japanese steakhouse next door. We shared the table with 3 other couples and, as you can see, we had a great time at dinner! 

We mounted the mighty Harley the next morning and took off for our second corner of this great country, Madawaska Maine! The ride up Highway 11 was like a rollercoaster, a tree lined roadway that at times took our breath away!

In Madawaska we met Bob and Shirley at the local Harley shop. Bob was so generous that he rode us over to the four corners park and took our picture at the monument!

We then made it over to the Madawaska Police Department and met Chief of Police, Carroll Theriault. Micky exchanged departmental patches with the chief and we spent 30 minutes visiting. A very pleasant gentleman.

Now that we are close friends with the Chief of Police, and are also in possession of a Madawaska Maine Police Department patch, we confidently made it south on Highway one knowing that any police officer who would happen upon us would be duly impressed with our credentials! 

(But Mickyi is really trying hard to be good at obeying all of the traffic laws across the country!)

We continued south and spent the night in Houlton Maine. We had our finest meal yet as we ate at the big stop truck stop diner!

Next on the agenda, Lobstah!

35th Anniversary, Niagara Falls!

Since our 35th wedding anniversary was approaching we decided to splurge for a room at the Embassy Suites on the 40th floor overlooking both the Horseshoe and American Falls in Niagara Falls Canada!
Here's the view from our hotel room window.

We tried to do it all! We saw a 4d movie called Niagara's fury, took a white water rapids walk, a limo bus tour, and the Maid of the Mist boat tour.

We also went to the whirlpool viewpoint, The Butterfly Conservatory, the behind the Falls tour, and the Athlon Tower!

We then traveled, in the rain, to the home of our good friends Eric and Mary Hause in Ithaca New York, home of Cornell University. Eric is an associate pastor at Bethel Grove Church. Eric worked with us in youth ministry years ago and also led worship at our church. 

Eric, Mary and their daughter Mattie live a quaint 100 year old home.

the plates that are in front of Eric and I are called The Big Pig Plate! 

We had a great time with Eric and Mary and Eric was a great tour guide taking us around beautiful sights of Ithaca.

Then it was off Montpelier, the capitol of Vermont. one of the most beautiful scenic rides that we have had so far. The trees are really trying to change color! We hope they succeed by the time we leave the Northeast.

Montpelier is a quaint town,  actually the smallest state capital in the USA, with a population of 8000.

We booked a room at the "Capitol Plaza" and enjoyed a nice stroll through the town, then met a couple from Australia with whom we ended up having dinner. A great way to continue the celebration of our anniversary!