The Berkshires

We stayed a couple days in the Berkshires of western MA on the way to Boston. This is a beautiful area with tons of hiking opportunities. There are lots of die hard hikers here, too, since the Appalachian Trail runs through this range.
I'd like to come back in the autumn for a hiking trip!

Niagara Falls

Here's the iconic Maid of the Mist, chugging along her precarious route.
We're headed to Boston via Ontario and had lunch at the Falls. Nice.

Did you know . . .

You know how Facebook recommends friends for you? I thought that was because they were a friend of a friend, or they had clicked “Like” for the same item as me, or they joined the same group as me.
I recently had a gentlemen turn up on my recommendations list. He isn’t a friend of a friend and we haven’t liked or joined any similar pages. The connection was that he had responded to my Craigslist ad for an apartment for rent. I used the same Yahoo email account for both Craigslist and Facebook. Apparently, he used the same email account for both programs, too. Facebook recognized that we had communicated and connected us.
The problem is that my Yahoo account doesn’t identify me by name; Facebook does. He may not know what the connection is. Even if I’m showing as one of his recommended friends, he didn’t have my name before. He likely has it now, though. Facebook has removed my anonymity. That’s worrisome.
I’ve been considering deleting my Facebook profile because I’m tired of attending to it. I’m still undecided, because I really have reconnected with a lot of lost acquaintances through it. This, though, really gives me pause for consideration . . .

Roll Me Away

At a party I attended over the weekend, the graduate asked her uncle for a ride on his Harley Davidson. When they got back, her great-grandmother, 86, was waiting for her turn.
People fussed and prepped and worried, but Grandma slid behind her grandson with ease. Everyone was riveted, knowing this was something you don't get to see everyday. Fully aware of the stir she was causing among the guests, Grandma threw us a quick wave.
I'm glad I got to witness it.

Boston

This will be my reward for getting another semester behind me.
Becky & I are headed to Beantown in a couple weeks. I'm so excited about seeing all the historical sites, walking the Freedom Trail and taking a tour of Boston Harbor in one of the tall ships! Oh, yeah, AND THE SEAFOOD!

Losing Interest

Remind me, please, why I think I need this degree?
I want to be out kayaking, heading up north, taking road trips. It feels silly to be writing term papers at the age of 47 . . .

Rural Landscapes

Sometimes I forget how rural my hometown is. When I was a kid, we lived "in town," so it's easy to think that you're not from the country. Yet, Michigan's southeast corner is all country.
I was in my 30's and working in Toledo when my school was closed one day in early spring because the busses couldn't get down the muddy roads. My Toledo coworkers were all hooting and hollering about my little hick town, with the dirt roads. I had no idea what they were talking about.
Hasn't everyone had to push their school bus out of the mud?