New England Adventure

Katherine, Sam and Eden on East Rock



Hiding in the raspberries... I uh... didn't eat them all (O:


Quechee Gorge, VT




One of Keith's classic face shots at Quechee Gorge, VT

Keith and Sam out on top of East Rock at our picnic


The "Keiths" attempting to look studious at Yale


Keith had a few weeks of break from class, just as I was between summer and fall courses at Troy, and we decided to go give Grammie a visit in Sharon, Vermont. Keith, Katherine, Sam and Eden Blake, happened to be moving from Georgia to New Haven Connecticut to be full time missionaries with YWAM in New Haven, particularly with Axiom. We had planned originally to take Amtrak from Atlanta to NYC, then a local train to New Haven to visit the Blakes, then rent a car to get to Vermont. It worked out that they were actually moving the same day we were planning to leave, and it only made sense that we rode with them (they were in their car and a moving truck) and we helped them move in when we arrived.

Our stay in Connecticut was brief but fun! We spent a day exploring the downtown area and seeing Yale and all the other interesting things New Haven has to offer. Keith's favorite was all the cool restaurants that were full of culture and walkable from the Blake's new house. We left a few days later, and actually took their little Honda Fit to Vermont rather than renting. I tried to insist that it was unnecessary, but they don't need it too much because everything is walkable from their house.

We set out for Vermont and spent most of our days lounging around Broad Brook, cooking for Grammie, working in her beautiful garden, and taking long walks up and down Broad Brook. Keith had visited and was impressed with the area back in December, but was even more excited to see how beautiful it was in the summer! We were able to visit with a few of the Amsden siblings and a few cousins, as well as my dad's sister and her husband in Hartland. It was an extremely relaxing trip, and addicting, therefore going home wasn't easy.

We drove back to New Haven to deposit the car and say goodbye to our wonderful friends, then hopped on a train to NYC. We had about two hours to get from Grand Central to Penn Station, which is where the Amtrak left from, and brave Becky decided that it was walkable, It was only a few squares on the subway map after all! So an hour later and shoulders sagging with the weight of our bags, we made it into Penn, sat and had lunch, then got on the train to head home.

Amtrak was new to both of us, and both our first impressions were very good. Compared to all those transatlantic flights cramped in little bity seats with too much noise, the spacious economy seats that reclined almost into a bed seemed heavenly. Keith enjoyed all 18 hours of the ride, while I shifted and wiggled all night long never quite finding a comfortable spot (which... in the next blog, I may explain why). It would have been about $200 more for a sleeper car, and that defied the point of making it an economically transportation choice. All in all, it was a good experience, until we arrived in Atlanta, expecting to be very near a Marta station (right? Trains go in the same places, why would'nt there be a connection between Marta and Amtrak) and being that we arrived at 8:00 am I didn't want my mom to try to drive into the city to a place she wasn't familiar with, at 8 am!

Unfortunately there were no Marta trains nearby, and only buses with drivers who didn't understand how to get to the Marta trains. On a hunch, I called my dear brother Adam, if for no other reason than he understands Atlanta and could point us in the right direction. Ironically, he was less than a block from where I stood, on his way to work, which was a building within my line of sight. He picked us up and drove us to the closet station, where I thanked him and hugged him and hopped on a train to the finally point of the journey where Mom would be picking us up.

Good times.
~B