12/4

Dec. 04
We left Becket Mass. on Monday after the ice melted from our trailer and the road and drove to Jackson, N.J. to stay with our friend Lorraine. The first evening we had dinner and sat and talked until bedtime. I am still sick, so the next day, Tuesday, we went to a walk in clinic at the CVS Drug Store. I have a sinus infection and was given a prescription of an antibiotic, over the counter Musinex and a saline spray. Gene and I took Lorraine out for lunch after the medical stop and went back to Lorraine’s and viewed the facilities at her gated senior’s only community. They are really nice houses, a huge beautiful community center that has indoor and out door swimming pool, tennis courts, botchi ball courts, and game rooms for both the men and women that live there. We viewed her slides from Kenya, Africa which made me want to take the trip. The next day we took a trip to Frenchtown where another friend Marian lives and works. She is an amazingly talented potter. Pictured are some of her works, the pot she graciously gave us, and a picture of the 3 amigos.
We had a delicious lunch at a little café’ the crab cake over a bed of lettuce with a tomato and garlic dressing. I repeated the garlic all day but it was worth it.Lorraine gave me a book, "eat, pray, love" by Elizabeth Gilbert. After lunch we went to a warehouse shop of Elizabeth and her husband. A picture of her husband, a beautiful marble Buda and me. On the way home we stopped at Washington’s Crossing. This is the spot where General Washington crossed the Delaware River on Christmas Eve of 1776 with 2,400 troops. The river was ice-choked and the operation was slow and difficult due to the conditions. It started sleeting and a blinding snowstorm, the men did not have the clothes for the cold weather but against all odds, Washington and his men successfully completed the crossing and marched into Trenton on the morning of the 26th, achieving a resounding victory over the Hessians. This re-ignited the cause of freedom and gave new life to the American Revolution.
We are now in Front Royal, Va., and plan to go to the DC museums and visit Revolutionary War sites around the area the next few days. It is raining tonight, but should be dry tomorrow.