Marshfield, MA

June 4, 2006

Marshfield, MA

We have made it to phase 2 of our journey as we have arrived safely in our base for the next few weeks, Marshfield, Massachusetts. Our trip from Indiana took two solid days of driving with a nice stop-over in Beford, Pennsylvania where we toured some of the many beautiful covered bridges in the rolling hills of the beautiful area. We encountered our first major traffic issues as soon as we crossed the New Jersey state line. Driving through torrential rainfall and fog lead to traffic problems and the first accidents we came across. There were three bad ones within 50 miles of entering the state and a guy almost sideswiped us as we slowly made our way through Connecticut. We eventually made it here to Kathy’s father’s home which we plan to use as a jumping off place to explore New England. The tables are somewhat turned this week as we are on Kathy’s home turf when we were on my home territory last week.



Kathy & Al Needham

Our first stop here, and one of the reasons we arrived when we did was to attend the 70th birthday party of one of Kathy’s dearest family friends, Betty Kohlberg. It was a joyous affair dominated with wonderful performances by her adorable grandchildren. Connecting with family & friends is one of the most special aspects of this trip. To that end, Kathy along with her sister Julie & niece Bayla treated me to a trip to one of the special places she visited as a child. The Uljas Koitto Temperance Society Summer Camp. This beautiful place is on a small lake in Pembroke, MA and the centerpiece is an authentic Finnish Sauna located right on the shore of the small lake. Cool temperatures, rain & fog did not deter us as we soaked in the 230 degree heat of the sauna then leaped into the chilly lake. It was an amazing experience. It was especially nice interacting with the wonderful people there, it was a total immersion into the South Boston culture.

One of the more difficult aspects of blogging is finding wireless internet service. The lack of service in this area, and in the days ahead where we may be camping for extended trips will make updating this blog difficult. I hope to keep it as up to date as possible, but do not panic if it gets a bit behind. Also I’d like to wish my friend John Cornwell a speedy recovery. Complications from his appendix removal led to another 4 ½ hour surgery on Thursday and our thoughts are with him to get well quickly.

Julie, Alan & Bayla

Kathy & Jim w/ Jean Drinkwater




UKTS Summer Camp

Woodacre Farms Soap