As summer begins to dwindle down we found ourselves presented with a beautiful, sunny Sunday afternoon and the prospect of adventure with Jami and Tonya.  Inspired by the weather, it seems the ladies had gone online and found the top rated waterfalls in our area and had scouted out a route to locate their top two choices.  Our first stop was the Bolton Potholes, sort of a series of waterfalls.  A very short walk from the road we found ourselves at the top of the falls and made our way slowly down to the bottom.

The ladies spent some time soaking up the sun, while Ray braved the waters (literally) for some excelent photgraphy!

(Shout out to T for the excellent shot of Ray and tripod in the water)

While we enjoyed the cool water (can't you just feel it around your toes?) it turned out we weren't the only ones who thought this was a nice spot for the day.  Some swimmers and cliff jumpers soon arrived, and made it far too splashy for Ray's camera, so we got ready to move on to our next location!

After a quick detour (and a cone) at the Ben & Jerry's Factory we made our way to Bingham Falls in Stowe.  This was a bit more of a hike, but certainly worth the effort!

Jami scouted out ahead, and Ray, Tonya and I made our way down to the biiiiiggggg falls!  Ray was even able to conquer his fear of heights to get some awesome shots of the big falls!

Can you tell it's a bit humid?

All in all it was an excellent day - and a super great adventure!  Ray got some awesome shots and we had a chance to enjoy the sunshine!  All that was left to do was to wade our way back to the car!

I had the great opportunity to learn from and know more about a great friend of the EMC, John Cohn, over the past several years.  One of the stories John shared to us a while ago told touched our hearts.  In short, pulled from his website, this is the short story:

Sam was an exuberant boy with a 1000 watt smile. He loved his friends, family, dog, and bird deeply. Sam was passionate about guitar, snowboarding, lacrosse, and having fun. Yes, having fun was important to Sam.

Springtime meant lacrosse for Sam and a time to play hard with his buddies. Ultimate frisbee at the park were memorable times for Sam and he would come home with a big smile on his face and grass stains on his body. Summers you could find Sam floating down the rivers, swinging from a rope swing, biking, or just hanging with friends. A summer would be complete with time spent at Camp Abnaki and jamming at Burlington Rock Camp. Fall would be the season Sam would try and stretch summer out a little bit more until the snow started to come. That time was then spent at Bolton Valley Resort on his snowboard. He enjoyed ariel tricks and hitting the rails. Mostly he enjoyed just hanging with his friends and little brother Gabe.

Sam loved music and was always plugged into some song. Guitar was second nature to Sam. He could play “Asturias” on his classical guitar to heavy metal on his Gibson. He enjoyed playing bass and wailing on the drums. His favorite times were when he would jamming with one of his friends, or his big brother Max.
It is hard to capture Sam’s true spirit in a few paragraphs. He taught us so much. Mostly he taught us to have fun, ease up, and to be there for each other. He is a true best friend to many and deeply missed.

Sam was born on May 28, 1992. He was hit by a car on November 20, 2006 in Florida while visiting friends. His beautiful body stayed strong long enough for organ donation. He gave his heart, liver, kidney, and kidney-pancreas so that four others would live. His spirit continues on through them and surrounds us today. Sam lived his life to its fullest on this planet.

To help with Sam's passing, John and his family create what are called SamStones.  Here's a short description, found on his website, of what they are:

SamStones are made with love by Sam’s friends and family. Our intent with these stones is to pass on some of that love.  If you have found a SamStone please feel free to keep it, move it or pass it on. We hope that you will pause and feel the love that is being passed on to you. 

If you would like to know more about Sam Stones, you can find out more here:  http://www.samestone.org/.  Corinn and I wanted to contribute, so we were given a bag of stones from Diane, John's wife, and will now bring them on our McBe Adventures.  My goal is to, as accurately as possible, track where I placed them with a photos of the location and to document that location within something like Google Maps.  So if you see future posts of SamStones, you'll know that we've traveled recently.  Below is our first map of where we placed many Sam Stones while in the UK.  Click on each marker, as the map is interactive, to learn more about the location we placed the stone and a short story of the site.  You can even change the terrain, move the map around, and zoom in and out!

Below are photos where we visited with Sam being part of the shots.  We tried placing Sam where we though he'd have a great view of the locations we visited.  Some shots were difficult to obtain while others we though were really great.  We figured this would be good to compliment the map above as a way to visually see more of where we traveled with him.  Hope you enjoy them! 

In my travels, I enjoy observing phrases, graphics or signs that can be interpreted in ways not originally intended, the context is lost when observed from a different culture, or are just plain hilarious.  The photos taken below are just a few I was able to capture.

Apparently this town hates pink...

I disagree... I think it looks like a ton of fun!

Disputably one of my favorite FYI's I've ever seen outside a home.  

 

I just thought this was cute.

Just in case you had no idea where to find Pottery... I took this for Joe Manley figuring he'd appreciate it quite a bit.

I hate it when my defences have depleted!

Just in case you were looking for some Fire Action, this might satisfy your need.

Whiskey often needs patiences and this sign reafirms that need.

The Appocolypse is near!

Wait for it... wait for it...

...Now things make sense!

I don't know why, but this sign caught my eye... Mostly because I don't think I've had a pink olive before...?

It's a long story, but I got kicked off the boat...

I don't know why I find this funny... Maybe it's because the store is call the Green Welly?

If you look carefully, the two signs litterally put me in two different areas, not far appart from each other; which one do I go to?  Does it matter?!?!

Mind the gap with such grace!

This is a belated post to celebrate my father's retirement!  Well, Dad actually retired waaay back on July 22nd (this has been a long time coming, and I think something he's spoken about as a wonderful dream for as long as I can remember).  On the 25th my Mom threw him a surprise retirement party, inviting all of his friends and family.  So Ray and I took a moment to pause in vacation preparations to head down to my folks and celebrate.

This post is late because I just received the photos today- thanks Aunt Martha! 

My Dad was shocked and thrilled to see everyone who came to celebrate.  My Dad's two best friends from middle school, Phil and Chris, both made big trips to be at the party.  Phil and his family came all the way from Virginia and Chris and his girlfriend drove over from Boston.

Even though they left middle school a long time ago, whenever they are together they end up acting like they are 13 again.  One of the highlights of the party was a practical joke pulled on my Dad by Chris.  Chris had brought a trick 8 ball with him.  As my Dad proudly showed off the Man Cave a game of pool was suggested.  Without my Dad realizing it, his normal 8 ball was switched for the trick one.  Everyone was in on the joke, except my Dad, so we all piled into the basement to watch it unfold.  It took forever for the guys to get through their game of pool, and my father was completely oblivious to the fact that EVERYONE was watching their game and Chris's girlfriend was evening filming it!  When the 8 ball was finally the last one on the table, my Dad had the first crack at it; the ball started out straight, then took a lazy turn to the left and cork screwed a little bit.  My Dad's response was "Well, I've never seen it to THAT before!"  The crowd errupted with laughter and my Dad was filled in.

Besides the Man Cave, Dad was also very proud to show off the new tractor.  As men do, they all crowded around and of course had to check out what was under the hood!

Dad was feeling generous, so he let Ray take it for a spin!



Here Dad shows off his marksmenship skills - except I think Mom is more likely to hit her target!
All in all, a great time was had by everyone!  The food was yummy, the weather was gorgeous, and the company couldn't be beat!  Congrats Dad!  Now all you have to worry about is the condition of the lawn! 

We did not plan to do much today other than prepare to leave.  We stayed in the flat for the morning eventually ate brunch and I took photos looking out upon the city streets.  Eventually, I put them together as a small movie that you all can click to see here (< 500KB).  Visually, it’s perceived like a projector playing a film, which is kind of cool. 

 

Traffic never got boring from this view...

Not too long after, we jumped the train to the airport and ate at an airport restaurant, which wasn’t great, but good enough for a quick bite.  What was pretty cool though was the Cadbury vending machine, something we definitely do not have in the states, of which contained a large variety of their products!  I bought a couple with the change we had left and finally boarded the plane.

It’s a bitter, sweet day today.  I am looking forward to heading home to see Sam, Friends and Family, but at the same time, I’m going to miss the adventure we fortunately had the opportunity to experience.  I will definitely miss the new acquaintances and friends we met while in the UK.

Maybe we’ll visit again sooner than we anticipate.  Maybe I’ll study there for my graduate degree… Or maybe we’ll move there and tend flocks of sheep?  Either way, touring the UK was an amazing experience.  It definitely could not have worked out without our friends and family; thanks to all those who made it happen.