Boston~Lancaster~New York~

Ada my lovely Mennonite lady
An Amish house with washing
Lincoln Haus Inn
from the empire state building
Joshua, my New York Host

Just a quick side trip to Baltimore,( my youngest son is a Baltimore Oriels fan, so had to get him a genuine jacket), then on through Phlladelphia to Lancaster and into Amish country. Stayed at the Li ncoln Haus Inn, which was run by a charming old order amish lady caled Mary K. Zook, and yes they only had oil or gas lamps, and wear plain clothes that have no buttons, just large dressmakers pins to keep their clothes together.

Mary arranged for another charming lady Ada, a Mennonite, to take me for a tour, they being able to own motor cars. We went to a candle barn, an absolutely fantastic quilt shop, and all sorts of places with hand made goods. We had lunch at an Amish diner, oh my, the food, so much and so wonderful, I just had to try as many of the delicious dishes as I could. We drove through farming areas, and little towns, there were three that caught my attention, Bird-in-hand, Intercourse and Paradise.

I had a ride in an Amish buggy, which was great fun. I learnt about a lot of their customs, like only being able to get married on a Tuesday or Friday in November or December, the children only going to the 8th grade. There were little one roomed schools all over. Mary and I both cried a little when I was leaving, she was so sweet and we got on so well. My 30 days were running down so it was off to the Big Apple.

I met my host Joshua at Penn. station, and then home to his 3 story walk up, in a old brownstone building in Grenwich Village. Had a super meal at Sazarak House where Josh spends a lot of his spare time writing novels. He then took me on the Staten Island ferry where we could see the Manhattan skyline. It was a beautiful night and the view was magnificent, we passed close by the Statue of Liberty, she is very beautiful too.

Off very early on the subway next morning to Grand Central Station and saw the beautiful store windows all ready for christmas, the New York Public Library, the Rockafeller centre, with the skating rink, went up the Empire State building, it is also very beautiful, but there was no sign of Tom Hanks. Went to the World Trade centre, and got a half price ticket to see Les Miserables that night.

Met Josh at his 42nd story office, had another great meal, this time at an Irish Pub, then Josh walked me to the theatre. What a thrill it was to see such a show on Broardway. Under orders from Josh, I took a cab home, I acted like a real New Yorker, jumping into a cab when I noticed someone getting ready to get out. Josh was quite proud of me when I got home. Josh had been one of the summer campers years ago when my Marcus was in the Us as a camp councellor.

Slept late then took myself to Central Park, walked back along 5th Ave looking at the stores, buying souveniers, and just generally enjoying being in New York.

Next day I strolled into Penn station, took the train to the top of Central Park, and gradually walked back, seeing the Conservartory (Where Harry Met Sally), the Zoo, the museum, the lovely lakes and some trees that still had their leaves. I think the trees are still beautiful with their branches making lacy patterns against the sky.
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Took lots of photos beacause it really was beautiful. I strolled on through the city, stopped off at the apartment for a hot chocolate, then continued on through Litle Italy, Chinatown etc., past the New York Stock Exchange and Wall Street. I was amazed at how small it was. From there I walked to the ferry terminal , where I again took the ferry to Staten Island just so I could see that magnificent skyline.

New York is a truly wonderful place, it was user friendly and I felt safe the whole time,riding on the subway and walking around Grenwich Village at night, it snowed ever so lightly on one of my walks. I asked all sorts of people black, white, young and old for directions and to take my photo with my camera, with absolutely no problems, just great and friendly responses.

Time to head back to VT, met Ron in Albany and we had another pleasant drive home. What a truly lovely man he is, nothing seems too much trouble. It was great to see Kay again, and it has been a delight to know her as well. It was snowing around Middlebury and everything looked great. One night we drove through these beautiful snow covered hills, to a restaurant called "Mary's" where I tasted Venison for the first time.

On the way home from Christmas shopping one night it began to snow, it continued all night and the next day, it was so exciting. Kyle, their youngest son, and I made a snowman, it was good fun and he looked pretty good. I also made a snow angel. Everything looked so magic with it's mantle of snow, Ron took us for a drive to Ripton and it was just glorious. We had done the same drive when I had arrived back in October, when all the leaves were red and gold, and now the branches were bare with their coating of beautiful sparkling snow.

Had the Christmas feast on Christmas eve, it was super, then to church. Afterwards we went to their friends home for hot cider and to decorate their huge christmas tree. It all felt so much more like Christmas, than our 100 degree temperatures and lots of people opting for a BBQ. Had late breakfast then opened presents, it was a lovely time and I am very glad that I was able to share it with such a delightful family.

The day after Christmas Ron & Kay drove me to Rutland where we had a last coffee and then I caught the train back to New York for my last night in the United States. It was hard to say goodbye to Ron and Kay as I had come to love them dearly. Left early with Josh, he had an appointment with his editor, took one last look around New York and headed for JFK. It was dark when the plane took off so I was able to watch the Empire State Building until it was out of sight, what an extrordinary time I had, had.