Even though she has a cold, Ann seizes this opportunity to take a train to her old neighborhood in Brooklyn and visit some friends. Meanwhile I spend a few more days in Vermont, then drive to Schenectady to pick her up at the train station there. (A little lesson from people who follow a lot of Google road directions – DON’T IGNORE ROADSIGNS. Seems like every time I get off track, or on the wrong side of the tracks like I did today, there was a sign I should have paid attention to over the directions.) I’m happy to see Ann outside the station, smiling at me between nose blows. She’s at least able to talk now, having completely lost her voice while in New York. The train station allows two hours of free parking, so we sit in the camper and have lunch. An old guy on a bike rides up to our and starts offering advice – free parking here, water there, free dump is a ways up the road. “But what did you come to Schenectady for?” he asks through missing teeth, “It’s the source of ALL EVIL IN THE UNIVERSE!” And with that he rides away.

Our next destination is a chance meeting with my dad in Manheim, Pennsylvania – a place that holds quite a bit of our family history on his side. We’re hoping it gets warmer as we head south, it seems like the air has been getting chillier every day up here.