Summer in New England

 Many options for travel have been limited by COVID and also seem unsafe because of crowds.  As I was traveling back east, some state parks opened right when I was passing through.  It seemed likely to me that those parks would be mobbed the first weekend they were open and I avoided them.  So I've been sticking around New England and New York since I got back here in May.  

I went to visit my granddaughter, Elona, in Ridgewood, Queens, for a few days.  She and her boyfriend have been holed up in his apartment pretty much since March.  No one wanted to go on the subway, so the only way to get anywhere was to walk or rent a Citibike (similar to the ones we have in Northampton), which pretty well limited where they could go.  Even walking on the street was questionably safe - not everyone wears a mask and it's impossible to stay 6' away from everyone else on the sidewalk.  She had been very carefully quarantining for 2 weeks prior to my coming and we were able to hug each other --  what a treat in the middle of COVID!  And she was really happy that we could drive in my car to the beach!

We also visited with her other grandparents, Jeffrey and Carol Hoffeld, in Riverside Park.  Over the years, we have become good friends.  It was lovely to see them, even with masks and distancing.  

I had left my camper at an RV repair place near Williamstown MA to have yearly maintenance and a couple minor repairs.  So I drove up from Queens, picked up my camper and headed up to Green Mountain National Forest in SW Vermont.  Most national forests offer dispersed camping -- just a place to pull off the road with a fire ring.  I paid to stay in a developed campsite near Grout Pond for 2 nights and then had a free night at a dispersed camping site. 

On the way to Vermont.

Grout Pond

Can you see the moon reflected in the water?

I left my camper at my friend Jim's house in Haydenville and headed back to Ridgewood.  Got to celebrate my birthday at an outdoor restaurant with Elona.  

Helping Elona install shades in her bedroom.  Love to see a woman with power tools.  

It was too hot to walk during the day, so I often went outside in the evening, walking around the streets until I felt like coming home.  Then getting out the GPS to guide me back to the apartment.  

This church was open, surprisingly.  When I went inside, a sign announced an 8AM service in Polish, 10AM service in English and 12PM service in Spanish.  It's a diverse neighborhood.

I stayed at my daughter's apartment to kitty sit (my daughter has been working at an organic farm in California this summer) while Elona went with her boyfriend's family to the Jersey Shore.  They were kind enough to invite me to come down for the day.  The beach house they had rented has a bathroom just inside the back door and an outdoor shower.  So I was able to socially distance on the front porch and at the beach.  It was a lovely relaxing day.

Elona got me these sunglasses for my birthday!

Then back to Jim's for a couple of weeks at his tranquil property, listening to bird song and the quiet of the woods.  

When I was in W. Mass earlier in the summer, I had so many life chores to attend to that I didn't have time to see many of my friends.  This time I was able to reconnect with friends - 6' apart with masks and outside.  But hey, I'll take it!   

Hiking with Marty at Chapel Falls in Williamsburg.