Day 16: New Hampshire

 I love everything that's old, - old friends, old times, old manners, old books, old wine.
Oliver Goldsmith

A day of visiting and exploring.
Enjoyed breakfast and chatting with Penny and Bud in Lee, NH.  Sat out on the deck in the woods -- beautiful setting!

Then we embarked on some more searching for roots.  We drove to Alfred, Maine, where I had read many of the Smiths had lived and were buried.  After some investigating and asking around ("I hear there's an old cemetery around here somewhere."  "There's one across the road and across the fields.  If you're going in there, do a tick check when you get out."  Ewww).  We discovered a beautiful spot (okay- that's a matter of opinion.  Mimi was convinced that it was spooky, haunted, and we'd have Lyme disease if we weren't shot first for trespassing) that included the graves of some ancestors including my 5x great-grandfather, Rev. Henry Smith (1752 - 1836), and 5x great grandmother, Susannah Hodsdon (1752-1848).  The original Shaker barn is still on the property across the street, and the church/meeting-house started in 1804 is right up the road. 

After a beautiful drive through some more Maine countryside, we made our way back to a nap and a bath (and a tick-check), and then met Calvin & Kimmee for Happy Hour at Latitudes (the bar/restaurant on the Wentworth marina).  Lots of laughs (and a couple tears) catching up and looking back.

A really nice day that reminds me how rare it is and how fortunate we are to have people with whom we have a really long shared history -- one that extends through the generations, for more than 70 years!

Aunt Cal (Calvin's mom) & Aunt Joanie (Penny's mom)

Scarponis, Butlers, Robbins