Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.

Henry David Thoreau

Headed for New Hampshire and Boston

Tuesday June 25 & Wednesday June 26, 2013
Site #1 Exeter Elms Campground
Exeter, NH

 

 

THE EXIT

Time to leave Winhall in Vermont and head to New Hampshire and the doctor appointments.  I’m sorry to leave and would definitely return.  This has been the best campground in some time and I love the area.  Lots to see in Vermont so I hope I can wander through more of Vermont on my way south in a few months.

But I know you want to see the exit pictures, so here they are.

This is the approach when you leave.

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A  couple of shots of the lovely West River over which we are crossing for the final time – at least for this year.

 

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Here’s Winnona starting across  and then at the end.  David does a MASTERFUL job of keeping both her mirrors in tact. 

 

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THE DRIVE

The trip to New Hampshire is on beautiful small roads for a while before we hit the interstates.  Many of the roads have streams right beside them.  Vermont is a lovely state.

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THE ARRIVAL

After 143 miles of driving we arrive at Exeter Elms Campground.  I’ve booked 5 nights here just in case there is any problem at David’s Dana Farber appointment and he has to return there.  

This is another Passport America park so we can get the first 3 nights at the 50% discount - $25 a night but we have to pay full price for the other 2.   So I’m expecting for $50 a night a pretty sweet set up although I don’t know why since I also know that Passport America parks can be quite variable.

We have a pull through, perfect.   But, it’s at the corner of Hollywood and Vine.  Oh dear!

We are site #1.  The entry road comes in right in front of us and we have two main roads on either side.  The traffic never quits.  I am on the entry road taking this picture.

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It is a FHU site and those are definitely the only frills. 

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Lots of folks here are “seasonals” which seems to mean they have their RV permanently set up here with LOTS of STUFF and visit on week-ends and for vacations.  It’s only Tuesday.  I wonder what Friday and Saturday will be like.   The duckies don’t know what to think.  This is not the sort of view they usually have.

 

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There are actually quite a few tent sites and I suspect they would be much more full if it weren’t for the rain.  The folks who are tenting here are having a hard time.

 

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Some of the “seasonals” also seem to be having water problems.

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There are a few things I’d like to do in the vicinity if tomorrow will take care of the doctor visits.  We’ll see. The campground is not a destination site or even one for sitting out on our patio relaxing and reading given its location.

 

 

WEDNESDAY

 

David has improved SO much over the year since his stem cell transplant that he has pity on me and takes the trip into Boston to the Dana Farber Medical Center all by himself so I don’t have to be in a car in the city.  Isn’t he swell????   While he is gone it rains the ENTIRE time in Exeter New Hampshire so I do some yoga, work on my blog post and read my current book  Temple Stream: A Rural Odyssey by Bill Roorbach.  It’s the story of the stream that runs by his home in Farmington, Maine.  I like to read books set in the area of the country where I am at the moment.   That’s about it for my day.  The following is David’s post about his day in Boston.  Oh, he left at 10am and returned at 8pm.  :-)

 

 

THE APPOINTMENTS

I left myself 2 hours for a 51 mile trek into Boston and was extremely lucky to arrive early for my first appointment at the Dana Farber Cancer Center without even getting lost. I was expecting an increased likelihood of getting lost driving in without my navigator. She took the day off – well earned. She had however kindly typed the step by step instructions for me and printed them using Large Senior font. It worked.

After burrowing down 6 layers below ground to find a spot to leave Ruby for the day, I finally emerged at registration 30 minutes early. Fast forward through registration & labs and a bit of waiting and here I am with my newest myeloma specialist – Dr. Jacob Laubach.

 

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I liked him a a lot and would be happy to have him manage my myeloma, however he is now one of four oncologists and the fourth, so I just add him to my team and take comfort in learning that if I had come to him first, my treatment would have been exactly the same as what I had.

 

 

THE SLOW DOWN

Finally on to the Infusion center for the all important annual immunization shots.   Since my immune system was completely destroyed prior to the stem cell transplant I have had to have all my childhood immunizations again.  These were my one year shots.

Oh boy, I’m excited to have this over as I plan to go over to the Harpoon Brewery about 5 miles away to take their tour. During my wait time I learn the last tour today is at 5 PM. At 3:15 PM, this seemed like it should be no problem, however when they had not called me by 3:45 I began to worry and started asking questions about the delay. Communication issues due to lack of a medical record in their system (I am new to them) required contacting Dr. Laubach which in the end meant I MISSED THE LAST TOUR AT THE BREWERY! DAMN, I was pissed however I did know that their Beer Hall was open to 7 PM, so I could still catch some dinner there.  So after five hours in the hospital and $12 in parking charges – nothing free for patients – I’m finally on my way.

 

 

THE MODIFIED PAYOFF

 

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No brewery tour and as it turns out, they have a menu long on beers and short on food. Actually the only edible item is a giant fresh baked pretzel with a choice of two dips. It was their Chocolate Stout that caught my attention and inspired me to seek them out – MANY thanks to my dear daughter Carrie for this discovery. ;) Unfortunately that beer is a seasonal and not currently available, so for the main course I chose their high gravity Leviathan which is an Imperial (or double) IPA. Mighty fine though expensive at $8. I ask if I get to keep the glass for that price. That is good for a laugh, although I wasn’t the one laughing. When you are only having one, it had better be good, so I bite the bullet and order.

All their beers are served in distinctive glassware – in fact each brew has its own unique glass. Here is mine with my side entrée of giant pretzel with a gouda spinach dip on the left and a garlic, olive oil and parmesan on the right.

 

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The beer hall is on the second floor of what looks like it was formerly a warehouse on the Boston Harbor which can be seen out the windows of the long room. The bar runs the length of the room and has standing service on the back side that looks into the actual brewery through enormous glass walls. Notice the large collection of glassware below the bar.

 

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On the other side of the bar are two lines of picnic tables running the length of the room with windows looking out the harbor.

 

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Isn’t this where they had that great tea party? Now it is all about beer, Well, at least here it is.

 

 

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They have lots of customers for a Wednesday evening in groups of two and larger willing to fork out good money for some home town brews. The economy shows no sign of suffering here. If you are interested in checking out some of Harpoon’s brews, you might find this link handy Harpoon Brews sorted by Ratings.

 

If you are planning a visit, the tours are $5 and include a lot of tasting – better deal than the Beer Hall me thinks. Heads up – last tour is at either 5 or 6 PM depending on the day of the week.

The mighty fine end of a great annual myeloma checkup. Still in remission, some results pending.  But it appears I’m good for now to keep traveling on down the highway.

 

 

THE END

DGB Barglass

27 comments:

  1. Congratulations, David! You're good to go now. Sorry you missed the tour, but there are other breweries.

    Sherry, that campground is unbelievable! You are going to spend 5 days there? I'm astonished you will have to pay $50 a night for two of the nights. Maybe you will have some good things to report when you've been around and seen the sights.

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  2. Was it difficult to get a Massachusetts doctor to see a Florida patient? Any SNAFU's?

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    1. I had my Tampa doctor make a referral to a doctor he knew at Dana Farber. I did have to fill out all the forms for a new patient and make sure my records were sent a month in advance. This required that I complete and sign a release form at Moffitt last time I was there back in March. It is a bit of a PITA, but very doable.

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  3. Glad David is doing do well!! That sure looks like a tight and old bridge on departure:(

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  4. Good news David! I'm so glad that all of those hours in the hospital ended with a good report! And the reward was that beer!

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  5. Congrats David, that sure is great news:o)) So keep on enjoying this wonderful life and hope to see you both in Maine!!

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  6. With David's tests sounding so good, can you get a refund on the $50 nights and get out of Dodge?

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  7. boy I'll say ... $50 for the convenience of being urbaned... I'm with the duckies... bah

    glad David is doing so well! I mean delaying a brewery tour is really ... well, that's a lot to ask from a person. I used to be in the beer drinker's hall of fame.. I really did.. have a picture of me with a plaque... ;)

    If I got pushed in the swimming pool? my beer never got wet.

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  8. Have a look at our archives from July 2011 to see where we stayed and what we did in New Hampshire.

    www.travelwithkevinandruth.com

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  9. Wow, what a fantastic write-up in so many ways. So glad to hear a good report! And I wish I could have been there with you fir the beer and pretzel, though I'm not an IPA fan, but that chocolate stout (so sad you weren't able to get any) sounded right up my alley.

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    1. Ps this is Amy. Not good with identities lately. ;)

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  10. So glad things are going well David and that your post was more about BEER than hospitals :) Take care

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  11. Oh, and a picture says a thousand words, that campground looks horrid, bet the 'duckies' are distressed!!!

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  12. Glad that you got the day off, Sherry, and that you had a great appointment, David. I must say that I know nothing about beer having never done more that taste it, but I'm glad that you got the chance to indulge. They really should have given you the glass!

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  13. I am sorry that the campsite is so grim. A bit of sunshine might help a little, but your five days will not be terrific. I do hope that David's good results make up a little for the congestion. As mentioned earlier it is wonderful that the post is more about beer than the hospital. Perhaps you can squeeze in another visit.
    Pat in Kansas

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  14. I am always reluctant to book a campground for more than one night if I have not seen it myself. However, sometimes proximity to important location, i.e., Dana Farber, trumps the quality of the campground. I got a kick out of your comment "with both mirrors intact," as you know we biffed it on one of ours. Also David's description of your directions in LARGE FONT was really cute as I can imagine you trying to make sure he would be able to easily find the place and Boston is notorious for being confusing. Lastly, I agree that the best part of this post was that David spent way more time writing about the brewery than his medical appointment. I would have liked the Chocolate Stout too. On to Maine?

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  15. Glad to hear you are good to go- bummer about the brewery tour.

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  16. David, it makes my heart happy to hear that your check-up was so good. You have certainly worked hard to get to this point. Love to know that you can continue traveling on down the road and enjoying life. The campground looks beautiful and New England is the perfect place to be in the summertime. While Florida was fun.... this is something very different. The saddest part of the blog was you missing your brewery tour.. and well... also not getting a noteworthy dinner! All is well here in Maryland.. your brother is busying himself with racquetball... and a visit this week from Abby. Yoda the dog is still rejoicing about being home after his 6000 mile journey to Texas and other far reaches. Amy had quite a journey on her Texas Water Safari (ggogle this). She did 260 miles of the 265 miles... almost made it to the finish line.

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  17. Finding a place without getting lost is a major achievement. Good to hear of the continued improvement in your health, David. Keep on tooling down the highway.

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  18. Yea David! Glad your immune system is behaving. Chocolate stout - yum. I would be disappointed, too.

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  19. Great post and great news! Congratulations David!

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  20. David, that is wonderful news about your appointment!
    Jim would have been very disappointed, too, that the chocolate stout was not available but I'd take an IPA any day. Not for $8 though!!

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  21. Woohoo! So glad to hear things are going well for David. A good beer is certainly a celebration. I am with you, Sherry, on the campground. We can never quite understand why permanents decorate the way they do. Would they do that to a house? Well...yeah, they probably do ;)

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  22. Awesome news! Remission is a great word to hear. Vermont is really a beautiful state - doesn't seem to matter much where you are.

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  23. David sure did a great job threading Winnona through that needle of a bridge. And that's the prettiest Hollywood and Vine I've ever seen.

    Great news that David is doing so well, despite missing the tour. Don't worry, there'll be other ones.

    Saw the retired Nantucket Lightship in the background of one picture. I've been aboard her, she's been thru a complete, million dollar luxury yacht makeover inside, something to see, in fact was even on a TV show. If you're interested, she's for sale, for a cool seven million!

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  24. That bridge was narrow!! The New Hampshire campground doesn't exactly look like your kind of place. And, the duckies...do note...they are not all duckies - hey pooh bear!! :) Pops: I enjoyed your part of the blog. Nice to see the face of your doctor and know that he's a good guy. Also glad that the numbers still look good. Sorry you didn't get to take the tour, but, you did get to see the brewery and have some grub and at least one beer (one I wouldn't have chosen...lol). I should have known you'd put a link to the rating website :) Wish I'd been there too - nice of you to give Mama a 'day off'.

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  25. Wonderful news David. Well, not about missing the beer tour. But that campground doesn't look very appealing. Hope there's some fun things to see and do in the area to get you away.

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