<– Day 28 – Fri. May 31st: The Breakfast Club and Vintage Wiring  | Trip Overview | Day 30 – Sun. June 2nd: State #49 Was Exciting! –>

Who knew lobsters were such ice cream fans!

Yesterday, Friday May 31st, Ann and I planned to stop by the Acadia National Park Visitors Center before setting up camp for our two night stay in the Park.

Acadia National Park covers about half of Mount Desert Island. As we drove over the bridge and onto the island, I told Ann that I was having difficulty locating the Visitor Center online. But, it wasn’t something I was too worried about, since there are always signs in National Parks to help guide visitors.

However, not this time. In fact, we quickly found ourselves lost. We didn’t know where we were, we lost all cell reception, and our Atlas didn’t help.

We nearly had to resort to asking for directions when a sliver of bandwidth sneaked onto our phone, which allowed us locate the Blackwoods Campground. So, at least we found home. But, where was the visitor center or at least an entrance station? That remained a mystery …

Upon our arrival, we found a sparsely populated campground. We were thankful for that, because the area has more than 300 camping spots! On the downside, there was no cell reception, so my hotspot wouldn’t work to manage eWillys.

Camp setup complete.

As we relaxed at our camp, we met a couple who was camping near us. Jake and his wife (whose name I cannot recall) were from Maine. When I explained what I did and why we were so far from home, Jake told me his Uncle had a couple of old Willys jeeps in Montana that they’d refurbished. Seems there are Willys everywhere I go!

By the time we finished talking, it was dusk. So, we climbed into our tent and quickly fells asleep.

Saturday June 1st:

When I awoke in the morning, I put on my gray hoodie. In the pocket I discovered a present left by my wife. It was wrapped in tissue and was the shape of two AA batteries side-by-side. I thought, “Oh, what could it be?”

It was pretty light, so I figured it was fragile. I carefully unrolled it from the tissue, but still couldn’t determine what it was. So, I attempted to separate the battery-sized objects. That’s when it dawned on me. It was a pair of tampons. So, it wasn’t a gift for me after all . . .

Minutes later, Ann discovered the cooler had been leaking and the back seat area was damp.  So, we threw most of our stuff into our tent and unzipped all the windows. Thank goodness the weather would be warm and sunny (We’ll be buying a new cooler very soon).

Soon after breakfast, we hit the road for an early morning visit to Bar Harbor.

Here we are at a downtown park.

This was taken near the harbor. We enjoyed the seaside town and it’s relaxed flavor.

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<– Day 26 – Wed. May 29th: Exploring Mystic  | Trip Overview | Day 28 – Fri. May 31st: The Breakfast Club and Vintage Wiring –>

Bob, Ann and I at the Nubble Lighthouse near York, Maine.

Thursday’s drive from Warwick, Rhode Island, to Portland, Maine.

On Thursday spent some time in Rhode Island, then headed to Maine.

Downtown Providence, RI

We started in Providence, Rhode Island, walking the Green Mile. Actually, it was more like two and a half miles. The Green Mile is a downtown loop marked by a green line called the Independence Trail that weaves visitors through the cities history as they stroll through the buildings.

Every so often a painted marker on the ground appears with a phone number and an extension. You are told to dial the phone number, enter the extension, and (theoretically) a voice describes the significance of the location. However, due to some winter storm damage (not sure how the winter weather caused problems with the phone system . . .) the system needed updating. So, it didn’t work well for us.

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<– Day 25 – Tues. May 28th: Some Family History | Trip Overview | Day 27 – Thur. May 30th: A Submarine, A Lighthouse, and Lobsters –>

Another “if built for a movie, then built for real, people will come” story … Mystic Pizza.

On Wednesday we drove from Darien, Connecticut, to Warwick, Rhode Island.

Wednesday’s drive from Darien to Warwick.

Wednesday morning we left my cousin-by-marriage George’s place. It was a beautiful day for a drive along the coast.

We traveled east along the Connecticut shoreline until we stumbled on the town of Mystic. Being young adults of the 1980s, we immediately recognized that it was the town used during the filming of Mystic Pizza, a movie which greatly helped Julia Roberts’ career.

Our first stop was at the Mystic Seaport.

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<– Day 24 – Mon. May 27th: Peter Debella Jeep Parts  | Trip Overview | Day 26 – Wed. May 29th: Exploring Mystic –>

I undiscovered some gems for my upcoming book on my family’s history.

Over Memorial Day Weekend we stayed  in Sea Cliff, New York, at the Guerci’s house. My relationship with the Guerci’s is another internet-sent miracle. The Guerci’s live in my great aunt Emma’s painting studio, one built on the former Eilers’ Estate.

A few years ago, Leslie contacted me and told me they were living there and were looking for a Emma Eilers‘ painting for their house. Mom and I gave them one for free that needed a little restoration work. Since then, we’ve built a very warm relationship and they have opened their home to Ann and I any time our weary traveling feet climb their stairs. Last weekend they welcomed Karson as well, which gave me a wonderful opportunity to explain some of the family history to him and show him the remaining family homes in the area. I never expected to have that opportunity.

After we said our goodbyes to Sea Cliff, we drove a short distance to Darien, CT, for a dose of family history from a man named George who married one of my father’s cousins.

Tuesday’s drive from Sea Cliff, New York. to Darien, CT.

I’d never met George and barely knew of him before we exchanged a few emails prior to our trip out here. I told him we were traveling east and he invited us to stay right away.

George Ratcliff and I

A former president of a reinsurance company, the eighty-five year old had plenty of interesting family stories from the ‘eastern Eilers’ clan, as well as pictures and information. One of the most fascinating tidbits of information was the reason behind my grandfather’s 1924 trip with his brother through Europe. His mother (my great grandmother) made him take his brother to Europe so that he wouldn’t marry the ‘wrong’ girl. That scheme didn’t work and the man returned from Europe to marry the ‘wrong’ girl anyway and have a happy long life with her.

George enjoyed painting for much of his life. He said that he couldn’t wait to retire so he could paint all the time. However, when he retired, he stopped painting altogether, something he never understood.

George told us about a house on Martha’s Vineyard he and his wife purchased (and later sold – then, it was torn down and replaced). He painted their island house and allowed us to take a picture of it. The painting is full of specific references to family members and life at the vineyard. You might recognize the house as the location used as ‘Brody’s house’ for the first Jaws movie.

George’s wife Jean Eilers passed away a few years ago. In a sweet gesture, he still kept her recipe holder on the counter that held a recipe she’d placed there before she died. The funny thing is, he never liked that particular recipe. He likened his marriage to baseball. Some batters walk up to the bases and strike out a few times. If they are lucky, they might hit a home run. With his wife, he walked up to the plate and hit a home run on the first pitch. With a batting average of 1000, he explained, he has no desire to step up to the plate again. Very romantic.

A little family history:

Below is the first page of an 1859 story that was originally written in French by my great great grandmother’s brother, Eugene Farny. In it he describes the Farny family’s move in 1959 (along with all their possessions, including horses and chickens) on a 30-foot raft from Tionesta, Pennsylvania, down the Allegheny River to Cincinnati. It was quite the journey!

Here’s a photo of my great grand parents, circa 1913, sitting at a desk. It may have been part of a photo shoot for their 50th wedding anniversary. I can’t think of another reason to create such a casual photo.

This photo of the family hiking in the Alps was likely taken in 1914, just prior to the start of the war. My family got stuck in Germany as WWI engulfed Europe.

My great grandfather Karl is far right. Next to him is my great grandmother Leonie. Their daughter Leonie is behind them, followed by their youngest son Farny and their oldest son, my grandfather, Fritz.

Another interesting piece of art was this painting by Emma Eilers showing Farny Eilers, my grandfather’s brother, riding a bike around his parents house (my great grandparents place). The house still stands in Sea Cliff.

Not the best photo of it, but it’s an unusual painting, as I believe it is one of only two paintings Emma did that included a male. She preferred painting landscapes and women.

We had a great time with George, as he was full of stories. On Wednesday, we drive to Rhode Island.

<– Day 24 – Mon. May 27th: Peter Debella Jeep Parts  | Trip Overview | Day 26 – Wed. May 29th: Exploring Mystic –>

<– Day 21 – Fri. May 24th: Jeeps, Meats, and Beeps  | Trip Overview | Day 24 – Mon. May 27th: Peter Debella Jeep Parts –>

Karson, Ann, and I on the Long Island Train heading into the city.

SATURDAY MAY 25TH: On Saturday, went to Manhattan for the day, then drove to a relative’s place in Quogue. New York.

Our Saturday travels to Manhattan, then to Quogue.

First, we joined the rest of Manhattan and half of Connecticut when we went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It has been almost exactly thirty years since I’d last seen the museum at age 17. I’m pretty sure in the past thirty years the museum has doubled in size. Well, that or my 47 year old legs are a little more tired than they should be. I guess that’s the downside of spending the last three months either traveling or writing. I look forward to getting back into shape when we return to Pasco.

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<– Day 22 & 23 – Sat. May 25th & Sun. May 26th: NYC & Family With Karson | Trip Overview | Day 25 – Tues. May 28th: Some Family History –>

Peter Debella and I at Peter Debella Jeep Parts in Riverhead, Long Island

On Monday we drove east on Long Island to Riverhead, New York.

Monday’s drive to visit Peter Debella in Riverhead.

On Monday we dropped off Karson at his ‘home’ (an Extended Stay Inn), exchanged good byes, and headed east to meet with Peter Debella in Riverhead, New York. Peter runs Peter Debella Jeep Parts. He invited Ann and I out to see some of the jeeps and parts he has.

This unlucky parts jeep got hit by a falling tree during a storm.

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