I am looking forward to seeing my friend, Velma, and the snow-covered grounds of Berwick, Maine (This is the first time I ever flew by myself)
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| Waiting for my flight to Portland, MA |
Day 1: Wednesday, February 19, 1994
To prepare for my trip, I packed cuddle duds, sweaters, coats, gloves, jeans, and boots.
Maine is as far northeast in North America as you can travel in the United States.
The average temperature for this time of the year is 35°F, and the average snowfall is 12.
On February 19, I flew on Delta Airlines from Huntsville, Al, to Atlanta, Georgia, and from Atlanta, Georgia, to Berwick, Maine.
Velma was waiting at the airport when I embarked on the plane, and she greeted me with a hug.
We collected my luggage, and we rode to her apartment.
I unpack, we eat lunch, and then we head out to see the sights.
We stop in Somersworth, New Hampshire, for what I do not remember, which borders Berwick, Maine, on the Southwest side.
The major routes that pass through Berwick are 6, 9, and 236. Berwick is 1/2 hour from the Ocean and one hour from the mountains.
Velma said they have just built our first Walmart store here in Berwick.
We stopped at Velma's insurance company, and she introduced me to her co-workers.
Our next stop was a large building that houses a crowded, quaint tavern. On the second floor, there was no elevator, and we had to walk up several steps.
Velma took me to visit her friends at the police department, located at 11 Sullivan Street, Berwick, ME 03901.
That night, we went to a Country and Western club where we danced to the Boot-Scootin' Boogie.
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| Riding in Berwick, Maine |
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| Town Hall of Berwick, Maine |
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| Portland Airport |
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| Portland Airport |
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| Traveling to Boston, MA |
Day 2: Thursday, February 20, 1994
Today, we are going to visit Velma's daughter. She lives in the Bay Area, about an hour's drive from Boston.
Velma's daughter greets us at the door and proudly shows us her newly remodeled home.
Her home has two bedrooms upstairs, and the living area is downstairs.
It has a view of the bay and has several large oak trees growing in its backyard.
We are served lunch, and after lunch, we ride into Boston.
Traffic in Boston is terrible, so it is easier to park and ride the T.
So we parked, headed for the ticket counter, and boarded the T.
The T is the first subway ever built in the US, with excellent wall graphics.
"FIVE CENTS FAIR LASTED TWENTY-FIVE YEARS"
"PARK STREET – THE FIRST SUBWAY BUILT IN AMERICA. "
1897 is the year on the subway wall.
Boston has the oldest subway and bus system in America, the MBTA (Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority).
A ride on the MBTA, or "The T," is an adventure visitors to Boston should try.
We get off the T and walk around, stopping at one of the indoor malls (where we all grab a cup of hot chocolate), then walk to Cheers Pub for dinner.
"Bull Finch PUB" Cheers is located next to the Hampshire Hotel at 84 Beacon St., Boston, MA. 0210-3421, and its telephone number is 617-227-9605.
We order cocktails while waiting for our food to be served.
You can get a souvenir glass with "CHEERS, BOSTON written on it for an extra four dollars.
Velma and I each paid the extra four dollars for the souvenir glass.
The walls of Cheer are covered in pictures of Kirstie Alley, Kelsey Grammer, and Rhea Perlman.
Velma and I get our picture taken, standing in front of this picture.
Tourists still flock to Cheers, the Beacon Street Bar that inspired the Cheers television series, which ran for 11 years.
In 1989, while I was at MGM Studios in Orlando, Florida, I had the opportunity to contribute to the making of a skit called Cheers.
At that time, they would choose volunteers from the audience to be in the show.
By the time we left Cheers, it was dark. We walked up Beacon Hill toward the Capitol Building, stopping to take pictures along the way.
We could see the frozen pond in the park below from the Capitol Building.
People were ice-skating on the frozen pond.
As we walked back to the T, the cold wind whipped around the tall building. We rode back to Velma's daughter's house and spent the night.
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| Riding the Subway, T |
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| Riding the Subway, T |
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| Riding the Subway, T |
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| Riding the Subway, T |
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| Riding the Subway, T |
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| Velma and I at Cheers |
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| Velma and I at Cheers |
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| Velma and I are posing next to the Cheers Gang. |
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| Velma and I have a drink before dinner at Cheers. |
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| We are having a drink before dinner at Cheers. |
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| Capitol Building, Boston, MA |
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| Capitol Building, Boston, MA |
Day 3: Friday, February 21, 1994
It has always been a dream of mine to take a sleigh ride in New England.
For some crazy reason, I have always associated the Christmas Holidays with snow and sleigh rides in the New England States.
Maybe it was the Saturday Evening Post print of a snowball fight by J. F. Kernan. Or the Deadman's Hill sleigh ride by Norman Rockwell. Or it could be a Victorian Christmas by Thomas Kinkade, where you can feel the warm yellow glow from the windows of every home as you watch Santa ride down the street in his sleigh.
It was my last night in Berwick, and we still had not taken that sleigh ride. So, we drove to Maple Brook Farm, where they have sleigh rides, but are closing up for the day.
I said, "Please take us on a sleigh ride, for tonight is my last night in Maine." So, the owner hooked up his draft horses and his wooden sleigh.
Maple Brook Farm is also known for its potbelly pigs, and while the owner was hitching his draft horses for the sleigh ride, he let us hold the squealing, squirmy pig.
It was a night I will never forget.
A full moon shone down on the forbidden snow as we rode through the woods on a snowy night.
The only signs of life in the snow were the wagon wheels and hoof prints of the large workhorses as they slowly pulled the wagon (sleigh) through the snow.
What an excellent way to end my visit with my friend and to have a childhood dream come true.
My wonderful trip to Berwick to visit my friend has now come to a bittersweet end, and I must return to work.
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| Maplebrook Farm |
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| Maplebrook Farm is holding a Potbelly Pig. |
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| Maplebrook Farm is holding a Potbelly Pig. |
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| Posing in front of Horses and Sleigh |
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| Taking a Sleigh Ride |
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| Maple Brook Farm |
Day 4: Saturday, February 22, 1994
Velma drove me to the airport in Portland, Maine, where we said goodbye.
My flight is headed to LaGuardia Airport in New York.
"The LaGuardia airport is on the waterfront in the Borough of Queens, New York City. LaGuardia handles mostly domestic flights and is only 9 miles from Midtown Manhattan. It is named after Fiorello LaGuardia, the former mayor of New York. It is the smallest of New York's three major commercial airports."
At LaGuardia Airport, I bought my daughter a T-shirt that said 'New York'.
One of her dreams is to visit New York City.
I quickly called home to tell my husband that I had landed in LaGuardia and was waiting for my flight to Atlanta.
While I was on the phone, an announcement said that, due to the weather, everyone flying to Atlanta had to board another plane.
I looked around, and everyone was gone; they had boarded the plane. I almost missed my flight.
I quickly boarded the plane, and I was seated between two men.
The man sitting to my right was originally from New York but had moved to Atlanta, Georgia.
The man on my left was from France and now lives in the United States.
The man from France and I started a conversation about the entire flight to Atlanta, Georgia.
We were served dinner during the flight, and the man from France and I kept talking.
The Atlanta, Georgia, man said, "I have never heard two people talk as much as the two of you." The man from France was heading to Atlanta and needed more information, so he struck up a conversation with the man from Atlanta.
The plane landed in Atlanta, and I said goodbye to both men.
They said goodbye to me and started walking and talking together.
I walked to the waiting area for my flight to Huntsville, Alabama.
That flight took about 1.5 hours.
My husband was waiting to pick me up at the airport.
My trip was quite an adventure. I got to visit my old friend, take a moonlight sleigh ride, eat at Cheers in Boston, and make a new friend on the flight home.
February 19-22, 1994, Berwick, Maine
Delta Airlines
Leave Huntsville International Airport (HSV)
Arrive at Atlanta International Airport (ATL).
Leave Atlanta International Airport (ATL).
Arrive, Berwick, Maine Airport
Leave Berwick, Maine Airport
Arrive at LaGuardia International Airport
Leave LaGuardia International Airport
Arrive. Atlanta International Airport (ATL)
Leave Atlanta International Airport (ATL)
Arrive Huntsville International Airport (HSV)
