Enjoy the trip. We hope the leaves are at peak color, and the weather is just right for a ride through New England.

Oh, and we hope your second date goes well too.

Went out this evening and found a really great ice cream shop. Window service but the guy says he's open all year. Expressed surprise so he comments that in Massachusetts, when it warms to 32 degrees, kids want to go outside barefoot.

Cape Cod and The Lobster Pot Restaurant in Provincetown today. We also learned some New England driving terms: bang a left; bang a right; bang the second right on the rotary; blinkah. And food references: tonic, frappe, grinder, coffee regulah; brown cow; dunks. Red and green traffic signals are only suggestions.

It was a beautiful, blue-sky day. Perfect for driving around in a two-seat roadster.

Vermont Country Store today. Ten cars were led on the cruise by a member of the local club. Driving the back roads was exhilarating. Now I'll bet most of you are now thinking I was the driver. Wrong! It's my wife's car, she bought it with money she earned in a part-time job. She typically drives. She loves this kind of driving. The landscape is littered with male members of clubs who speak their incorrect assumptions that I am "allowing" her to drive when they see her behind the wheel. Some poor bastard received an earful today when he blurted, "have you burned the clutch yet?"

Of the ten cars, only the leader and ours had their tops down. The others thought it too cold (54 degrees). This is part of what made it exhilarating. You would think that New England people, if nobody else, would know how to dress for fall weather. Same apparently do not.

Another great day.

The final day in New England (Saturday) was not so much about driving the car as it was about meeting people. New England has a heart that is accepting and welcoming. We happend to see a sign for a shop "Books and Records". We turned about immediately. We encountered the most charming and interesting woman, the shop owner, who was packing all of her merchandise in preparation for a going-out-of-business sale. A bit sad and at one point she did have a tear in her eye as she told her story. So what happens when an antiques store goes out of business? Well, the other antiques store owners descend like vultures, of course. We spoke for an hour or more. She was impressed by my knowledge of per-1930s recorded music. I was impressed by her knowledge of rare books. She spontaneously made me an offer. I can have all of the 78-rpm records in her store for $100, sight unseen. She has no idea as to whether there are rare and valuable items in the set or not. She just feels better that I should have them than "The Vultures". This is a great deal and at this very moment I am listening to the records one at a time. George Olsen, The Peerless Quartet, John McCormack, so many others from the 1910s and 1920s. Wonderful! This woman is a kindred spirit. I hope her husband, also named Michael, appreciates her and supports her. Such a generous gesture. We could hardly fit all of the records into the trunk of the two-seat roadster. I'm glad thy my wife appreciates me.

What a great end to a wonderful vacation trip.

It was fun to read about your NE trip. Come up to Boston next time if you have the chance, there's a lot to see

Thanks for the invitation. The car club people did offer a Boston Walking Tour as one of their planned activities. We opted for something that involved driving. But we know we want to experience "The Hub" some day. I traveled to Cambridge on one occasion for a business trip. But that was before I met JoAnn and I have always told her I had no life before I met her.

That sounds like a lovely trip! (Well, except for the part about driving with the top down in 54 degree weather--Brrr!) Glad you enjoyed yourselves!

Thank you, Mrs Sweet.