September 13, 2001, Thursday- moving day, 100 miles west. Good-bye Turning Stone, hello Finger Lakes. Moved to the Canandaigua KOA outside of Rochester because they have vehicle storage for the coach. On Saturday we head to N.J. Still impossible to believe what has happened in the world and still can't pull ourselves from the TV coverage.

Spoke to Phil today from Alaska as he finishes his third 4th week working as the ship Dr. Last week he had a big water crossing from Glacier Bay to Seward where the deck, which is 60 feet above the water, had waves splashing over the bow. Everyone, including Phil, was, as we say, under the weather. Today they sailed into Juneau and had winds of 50 miles per hour. That wind, on the 2 acres of surface area, even with ballast transferred to the windward side, caused a 6 or 7% listing of the ship. One needed to correct each step. Phil made friends with the chief and Phil was amazed to learn that with 1200 people on board they serve 1800 dinners. So many folks have two courses…..of course we did last year on Mom's 80th cruise.

With the events of this week, we chatted with Mom and all agreed that she should not fly this weekend, even if her flight does leave. The current thinking is 4 plus hours of standing in lines before flight. Also, with so many flights having been grounded, someone else that needs the seat would be very thankful. Mom agreed.

September 14, 2001, Friday- in between the TV stories of the NY and DC devastation, a quick wash of Hobbes made him more socially acceptable for this coming week's social obligations. Then over to the marina are at the north end of the lake to let Hobbes "air dry". Saw some cigarette type boats…one with an appropriate (for this week), patriotic paint job. Another one was 42 feet long - for only $285,000. Very practical boats….if all you want to do is go fast and burn gas!

THE FRONT WINDOWS OF OUR COACH	EVEN THE BOATS LOOK PATRIOTIC

 

September 15, 2001, Saturday- at 9 we parked the coach in a storage area at the KOA and headed in the Jeep between the finger lakes of Seneca and Cayuga. At 11 we met our nephew Jordan at Cornell and caught up with him for an hour plus over lunch.

We got lucky in retrospect by leaving Canada on Monday, the 10th. The border crossings at Buffalo, Niagara Falls, and Detroit were in excess of 12 hours. That would have been difficult.

Driving through the countryside of New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey, with it's scenic farms, forests and streams, it was difficult to believe how beautiful this area is and how much horror occurred a few miles away.

 

JORDAN AND AUNT SUE	SHARON, MIKE, DAVID, SUSAN AND PAULA

David and Paula were waiting for us with open arms, and Sharon and Mike arrived shortly afterwards. BBQ chicken topped off a much needed (by us), large family dinner. D&P had copies of this week's New York Times. The photos and stories again moved us.

September 16, 2001, Sunday- after a great breakfast of bagels and lox, we headed over to the Short Hills Mall to get Becky a welcome to the family present. Tiffany's was our first choice but were we surprised. At first I thought we were in a restaurant because they were giving out beepers to call people for sales help. If you wanted the "silver" collection, expect to wait 20 minutes for sales help. Unbelievable! Most malls have some cars being displayed but in this place, I don't think that Chevy's are allowed. One car, a lovely navy blue with matching color convertible top, Bentley, was reasonably priced at $365,000. Susan needed a battery for her11 year old Cartier watch, and a little service, so over to the Cartier store where the 5 figure and above trinkets were the norm. Definitely a culture shock after being in Canada for the summer where pockets of economic activity were found, but mostly high unemployment prevailed.

We noticed yesterday, and more so today, sounds and sights that were absent in the prior four days. Commercial and private aircraft were returning to the air. Maybe some return to normalcy will occur in the next few days.

Dinner was at a wonderful Italian Restaurant, La Focaccia. Interesting liquor laws in some of the NJ townships. Many towns issue just so many licenses, with new ones only based upon population increases. Thus, for a new restaurant to have a permit, they must buy an existing license. Often at a cost of over $250,000. Trotoria was one of the many BYOB eateries. The little liquor store across the street makes a fortune on chilled bottles.

Kenny and Susan joined us for desert at David and Paula's. It's always great to see them and catch up on their girls whereabouts, and now, the progress on their Cape Cod vacation home.

Spoke to Phil and got the update on the cruise ships. Today he returned to Vancouver. Tonight his ship goes to Ketchikan where another physician relieves him. He then flies on Tuesday to Seattle and then back to Vancouver, where he boards another Holland American ship that's been sitting since last Wednesday at the pier. With the events of last week, the new people couldn't arrive, the old passengers couldn't get a flight home, and a new doctor hadn't arrived. Bottom line, they couldn't sail and the people stayed on board for free. Nobody is sure of how many of the original 1200 people will show up for this Wednesday's trip.

September 17, 2001, Monday- Sharon was using Paula's car so we drove her to work. The Copeland Middle School, while only 9+ miles by the clock, is one of those "you can't get there from here", at least by a direct route. Twenty different streets, traffic lights, stop signs and crossing two major highways latter, we arrived at the Oakdale Middle School. Somehow we managed to find our way home and again for a pickup in the afternoon. Meantime we started to get ready for Rosh Hashanah. Over to Costco, then the Acme Supermarket, then back to school.

Meanwhile, the stock market managed to reopen after being shut down for 4 trading days, and even though it had the largest one-day point fall (not percentage drop), most people felt that, considering the circumstances, it did well, especially with a one day trading volume record.

After a dinner back at the house, we headed to the Temple Shalom campus for evening services at 8:15. The congregation has an 8:30 and an 11:30 morning service, but only one "erev" service. It sanctuary was packed. The opening candle lighting prayers included a very moving poem dedicated to the memory of the events on the last week. We're hopeful to get a copy of that in the future. Very touching.

September 18, 2001, Tuesday- Happy New Year, Shana Tova…we accompanied David, Paula, Sharon and Mike to Temple Shalom. A very moving service starting with "God Bless America", and ending with the Rabbi's pointed, on target, sermon about life, terrorism, Israel, and fairness to the Muslim's in the world that don't follow Bin Laden. Susan and I agreed that the shofar blower, an elderly, short, heavy woman, was the best that we've ever heard. She played a 4 foot long shofar that produced a deep, resonate, lovely sound.

After services we had a holiday dinner at home, then drove Sharon, Mike and Mike's sister back into Manhattan. Their apartment building is first class with a 2 story tall lobby and at least four doormen/front desk personnel on duty at any one time.

 

DAVID CARVING THE HOLIDAY CHALLAH	MIKE AND SHARON AT THEIR NYC APARTMENT

It was sad to see the 26th street armory covered with the missing person's posters, candles, flowers and other remembrances of lives snuffed out. Also, from the NJ Turnpike we could see the still smoldering remains of the World Trade Center fires. Such a tragedy. Such a loss of innocent lives.

September 19, 2001, Wednesday- David and Paula were off today and it gave us a relaxing day with an afternoon ride to Bridgewater Mall and Basking Ridge for some furniture shopping for D&P.

 

PAULA AND DAVID'S HOME IN NJ

Becky, Steve and Cami toured Vail and Beaver Creek yesterday looking for wedding sites, and seem to be leaning to the Lodge at Vail, maybe in June.

September 20, 2001, Thursday- after a nice lunch with David, he dropped us at the Morristown Train Station where we caught the light rail into NYC. Arriving into midtown we found a mixed picture. Although it was raining on and off, there were more then enough cabs. One women was wearing a surgical mask. Seeing camouflage hummers and army personnel in camouflage fatigues, hadn't been a common sight, but I suppose we will be seeing more and not less of the "home guard" in future months.

We walked from 32nd street and 7th Ave to Jeff and Lenore's at 72nd and York. During our 3 hour walk we stopped at St. Patrick's Cathedral where a memorial service for the lost firemen was starting, and at another church across the street where satellite uplinks and anchormen were doing their thing. Stopping into SAKS the people with the makeup and perfumes were still plying their wares in the aisles.

Flags were everywhere, in all buildings, windows, vehicles, etc. Although we had mixed feeling about coming into the City, with hindsight, it was well worth it to see Jeff and Lenore and Rick and Roberta. Having David and Paula come into join the group was an added plus. Dinner was at Petaluma, one of Debi's favorite restaurants. Bush's speech was tuned into the TV at the bar. You could hear a pin drop in the restaurant. Everyone stood and watched what had to be his finest hour. How ironic that a man that had only been to three foreign countries before becoming president, was now setting himself up to lead the world against terrorism.

 

SEATED: PAULA, RICK, ROBERTA AND JEFF STANDING: DAVID, SUSAN, LARRY AND LENORE

It seems inevitable that war is just around the corner. Troops, ships and aircraft are being deployed. Every country is being place on one side of the line…."you're with us or with them". The cause is just, but the road is filled with black holes. How many thousands, or hundreds of thousands, or millions have died over the centuries in Afghanistan? A country that's so inhospitable will require more then manpower to be defeated.

September 21, 2001, Friday- our ride back to Canandaigua took about 5 ½ hours. The trees were starting to turn providing some early fall color, and some were totally brown without any hint of life. Let's not hope that nature is foretelling what's ahead for the country. Wall Street was in freefall this week with nobody sure of what's ahead for any segment of the economy. With the country in a recession before the Sept. 11th nightmare, it will be a long time before we see light at the end of the tunnel.

What we've been doing for the past four years has been wonderful beyond our wildest beliefs, but it may soon be ending. With war on the horizon, and our investment portfolio being crushed, when we get to Florida we shall start refocusing.

On the good news side, we spoke with Becky's Mom, Cami, for an hour today working on all the festivities to celebrate Steve and Becky's engagement. We are all working on trying to get clergy of the Jewish and Presbyterian faiths to work on a joint wedding on June 9th or 16th.

September 22, 2001- Saturday- cruised 70 miles to the west to Lei Ti Campground (short for Leisure Time), in Batavia, NY. Nice, spacious, grass and gravel. Large, spaces with a swim lake. Rural area…no highway or trains. Nice for a change.

Watched the three-hour movie "Sunshine" on Pay Per View. It was about 3 generations of Hungarian Jews from the late 1800's through the 1956 uprising. Very well done. Unfortunately the horrors of war, anti-Semitism and evils of man against man continue. In one of the scenes an uncle was berating his nephew that watched the father (uncle's brother) being killed in a concentration camp. The uncle inquired as to how many prisoners were present…..2 to 3 thousand. And how many guards…..3 up close and 10 others. The uncle was irate….how can 13 people with guns stop these thousands? A few might be killed but the majority would have survived if they had done something. How close to home this week where the fourth plane, the one that crashed into the ground in Pennsylvania, where a few men, after learning their fate, by cell phone, of the three planes that crashed into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, determined to take back the plane. They prevented untold additional lives from being taken in their heroic act. Cockpit voice recorders indicate the struggle that ensued.

September 23, 2001, Sunday- we took Hobbes on a nice walk along an adjacent country road. We heard barking and the next thing we saw was a rotweiller and a pit bull running full steam towards us. Susan and I both yelled "STOP" and they dropped to the ground. We did a quick about face. The dogs stood their ground but our exit was without further interaction. Not the best of feeling. Heartbeat was intense.

Ray and Janet, our full timer friends from Panama City Florida, arrived this afternoon and we spent a few hours catching up on the last 7 months.

September 24, 2001, Monday- wet times ahead. Today and the next three or four days are supposed to vary between rain showers and thunder showers. Oh joy….Hobbes is thrilled. The wet dog…..yuk!

Spent two hours on the phone pricing new coach insurance after getting a letter from our existing carrier that said….all premiums are going up (big time). In a phone call they said about 25%. When they gave me a quote….it turned out to be the same as last year…but as long as I was agitated, I called six other companies for quotes. Two didn't write full timers policies in Texas, three were about 50% higher then our renewal rate, and one still has to get back to us. As always, you have to keep these guys honest.

Helped Janet with a few coach items. Did some shopping at Wal-Mart and K Mart. Jean and Rich arrived today….all of us had some drinks and snacks at our coach. Great to catch up with old friends.

September 25, 2001, Tuesday- Congratulations Debi…..closed on her condo this morning…now she's a true member of the middle class with a big mortgage. Debi let us in on her promotion at work….taking her boss's spot as he moves up a notch. It came last week at a good time….took away some of the indecision as whether or not to close on her condo.

Our Happy Wanderer's prerally now has 13 coaches in attendance. Lots of friends that we haven't seen since the Decatur rally. It was amazing how many folks came and commented on the wonderful stories on the web page. Really felt good.

Rich showed us photos of coaches that he had installed paddle fans into the bedroom ceiling. They looked so good, and after seeing the installation in his coach….we went ahead and added one. Now we can get some more air circulation on those warm nights and not have to run the air conditioner with it's inherent noise.

 

BEDROOM PADDLE FAN, COACH SIZE

Chatted with some of the folks that were in Decatur on the 11th of September. As they left town and were trying to get fuel, the station raised it's price to $5 per gallon….cash only, stating that the credit card machines weren't working and that they had to make their 49,000 gallons last. I hope that some of these folks get brought to justice with the justice's department going after price gougers.

I chatted with folks at a reformed temple outside of Buffalo that invited Susan and I to attend services as their guest, and then a callback came from the temple in Batavia, where we are now located, resulted in a similar invite. So, save four hours of travel and we'll go locally. The temple was described as a liberal reformed congregation that was started in 1959 as the merger of two temples. The building has been used since 1939 for Jewish services. Looking forward to Wednesday night and Thursday's services.

Sometimes you get lucky. Steve got us the number of a florist close to Debi's office, and we sent a large bouquet of flowers. Lucky…because we she loved the arrangement, and said they were tremendous in size. Too often the florist is very willing to charge big dollars, but ship these tiny, tiny bouquets.

September 26, 2001, Wednesday- rain yesterday, rain all night and rain most of today. Temps in the morning in the mid 40's. Brrrrrr. D&C this morning…donuts and coffee with the other Happy Wanderers. 13 coaches are now in residence. Did some food shopping for the holiday (chicken soup ingredients) and got a buzz job at Super Cuts. Real short….

Debi moving into her new place today and the normal screw-ups were evident. Movers late. Phone company gave her the wrong number. Cable guys haven't shown as of 7 PM. So, what else is new?

Arrived at 6:50 for the 7PM Kol Nidre service. They were just opening the door, and Stan, the President of the congregation greeted us with open arms. With only 21 families left in Batavia, it's a small, close knit group. Susan and I each were blessed with an aliah. Mine was to hold one of the five torahs, and Susan had the honor of opening the ark for one set of prayers. With a small congregation, everyone pitches in. Instead of a rabbi, for years they've been using the lay services of the Director of Hebrew Studies at the University of Buffalo. A learned man with a warm presentation. The cantress, an elderly congregant, chanted out the songs and prayers with vim and vigor.

September 27, 2001, Thursday- we should all be sealed in the book of life today, Yom Kippur. Our service at Temple Emanuel in Batavia, again with about 20-25 people, started at 9:30 and ended at 1:30. Once more, a lovely service thoroughly enjoyed by Susan and I. All that was missing were other family members.

FALL COLORS NEARING THEIR PEAK	TEMPLE EMANU-EL IN BATAVIA

 

We broke fast at 7:30 at a local restaurant with Jan and Ray and Rick and Jean, after they finished the happy hour of snacks and drinks.

September 28, 2001, Friday- the rain continues. Another wet night. More prednisone for my feet. Pits. As the day went on the pain subsided. Caught up on house work and computer stuff. Tomorrow over to the "Hamburg" ACA rally where 130 or so coaches are due to arrive in the next few days.

September 29, 2001, Saturday- strange thing this morning. The clouds seems to be painted blue. Maybe it was the sky. Wow! First time in a week. By 9 AM we were going down the road….10 coaches on the way to Hamburg….53 miles. Keeping all of us together through the small towns, traffic lights and even the NY Thruway, was not an easy task, but arrive we did in one group so that we could all be parked together at the rally site.

We got lucky. Billed as some water and 20 amp electric hookups with long extension cords and extra hoses, we found, at our sites, 50-amp service with water and sewer at the ready. Very civilized. Saw lots of friends that we haven't seen since the Decatur Rally in June 2000. Everyone remembered Hobbes.

Walking through the campground we hear a familiar name that we've not heard in 10 years. Our former jeweler from Vail, that moved to Arkansas, now owns an American Eagle. Small World.

September 30, 2001, Sunday- each campground has a different wakeup call. Some are railroads, some airport and others highways. The place we just left in Batavia had roosters, and here at the Erie County Fairgrounds, the honks of the Canadian Geese got us up at the crack of dawn.

More and more of our friends have arrived with Hank and Linda, Judy and Dick and Ray and Jeanette showing their faces today.

American Coach servicemen arrived this morning, ahead of schedule, and did their things on a few lights and door adjustments. Tomorrow we will, hopefully, find out if we head to Florida or Decatur after the rally.

HOBBES AND LITTLE FRIEND	HAPPY 1ST BIRTHDAY JAKE!

 

Jake's 1st birthday today…..great photos on his web page. Cute as they come.

Lucky or unluky…you be the judge. We walked passed an older Eagle today as the carpet cleaners were doing the bedroom floor. They came out running….the TV is smoking. So they carried out the smoking unit. They continued into the living room, and the same thing. Out came that TV. Tested the outlet with a hairdryer, and that unit fried. Put a tester into the outlet and found that the 110 volts were now 220. Not good. Why? Power spike? Bad pole wire?