Dear Dad,
We set forth last Saturday morning, not exactly into the universe and not exactly morning either but before lunch. We made it as far as St. Stephen and called it a day. Clams at Ozzies and smores cooked on the backyard fire pit were enough for us!
Sunday morning we officially set forth into the wild and gained an hour in Calais making our departure from Dunkin Donuts 7:30 rather than 8:30. With breakfast sandwiches and a large coconut coffee under our belts we'd be good for a while. Our first stop was Pete's Pretty Good Ice Cream and would you believe it was closed? How does expect to be better than "pretty good" if he's not even open?
We were really looking forward to doing some factory outlet shopping in Freeport and Kittery but it was too hot. We gave it the old college try at LL Bean and managed to buy a few things.
We stopped for the night in Hampton Falls, NH at the Hampton Falls Inn. It was a lovely looking inn from the outside with a lovely looking lobby and a lovely owner. We were proud for by-passing the Best Westerns and Super 8's and giving our business to the Mom and Pop shop. Apparently Travis Tritt just stayed there the night before. There must a special wing they keep clean for such guests because our room looked like it hadn't been cleaned since...well, since Travis Tritt had a hit. The room did have Wi-Fi but other technical difficulties prevented me from accessing the blog account to write an update.
Monday we became Ninja Road Warriors and drove straight to Niagara Falls. We got there in good time but spent over an hour at the border, I wanted the Kid to see the Falls at night anyway. We had a room waiting for us at the charming Howard Johnson's Express, how bad could it be after last night? It was the drive-up type of motor inn, very CSI. You know you're in a classy joint when there is a bottle opener on the bathroom wall and a bright red bathtub! Needless to say, no Wi-Fi,therefore, no updates.
We left the charm of our Ho-Jo room to walk the main drag to the Falls, it was a little scary to say the least. The street was packed with people, you couldn't move and it was still hot at 10:00 at night. The Falls were beautiful, the one thing about the place that hasn't changed.
This brings us to Tuesday and our arrival in Grand Bend. I knew this trip would be full of laughs and tears and up until now it has been mostly laughs. Mom has a new nickname, she's "Mother Trucker", for various reasons, mainly her fearless driving skills. The closer we got to Grand Bend the harder it was going to be to accomplish this mission because suddenly it was real. The long country road with endless cornfields on either side that led us into the Bend brought waves of tears. It didn't feel right coming here without you playing piano on the dashboard of the car.
We had the evening to explore and while a lot has changed, the essence of the place hasn't, its a beach town and it welcomes you and during your stay you're a beach bum without a care in the world. Walk the main drag, buy some fries, lay on the beach for an hour or four, I can see why you loved it here, and now you are home.
We didn't come here without you, you've been with us every mile of the way, I knew when "Footloose" came on the radio, and we won't be leaving here without you either.
Love Poops
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