The neighborhood party.

Our pal Pam loves parties. She organized a party for our local friends just because Pam loves parties. She's really good at it. There were quite a few people there. There were the usual people that we see at Pam's parties, and there were also a number of people there that just are NOT party people,
. they don't go to parties,
. they try to avoid them,
. they aren't unsociable,
. they just aren't party people.

Well last night some of these friends came out as a show of support. I am SO proud of them.
They brought food, they chatted, they mingled. It was a LOT of fun. I was supposed to take pictures but I completely forgot.
Janis told John that he was not allowed to sit down at this party (so he wouldn't fall asleep), he didn't sit and he was chatting until very late. Mary showed us her famous glass juggling routine. We saw pictures of large trout that were caught that day. The food was great! Mike cooked a year's worth of meat. The company was great! Everyone put their info into an address book for us. We were given two CD's of music that are filled with songs related to the different states that we are going to see (we will have to listen to find out where we are supposed to go).
We got some food gifts for the road...
and MANY people gave generous donations to Derek's Scholarship Fund.
We are truly blessed. It was such an honor.

Thank you Pam, Mike, Linda, Rob, and the others that made this happen. Thank You.
Thank you for including the non-party people too. It meant a lot to us. They will probably need a few weeks of solitude to recover, but they did it.

The Odyssey to nowhere.

Last night we picked up our new Honda Odyssey. Sey how Odd we are with a "minivan". We successfully made it through all of those minivan years that America went through without giving up our right to have a car that was fun to drive. We looked the other way when America started veering heavily into pickup trucks and we closed our eyes and covered our ears when the SUV's began lumbering around... We almost made it, but this trip requires a little more packing space than the MINI Cooper could offer us. Beth and I went car shopping. I was heading towards the Honda Element (the toaster) because we thought that the Odyssey was HUGE. We drove the Element and it was OK, but it just didn't grab me. Eventually we tried an Odyssey and found that it handled VERY well (for a large vehicle). The gas mileage is actually higher than the Element because the V6 in the Odyssey will shut down to a 3-cylinder when it can get away with it. The seat configuration is much more flexible for our uses. the third seat plunks down into the floor, while the Element folds the 2nd row seats up over the side windows which makes the large blind spots into a huge blindspot. The Odyssey has lots of bells and whistles to make our tour to knowhere easier and costs almost what we paid for the house we just sold. The paperwork was messed up a little when we picked it up last night. The title was supposed to be made out to the name of the trust that all of our worldly possessions are stored in. The typist had trouble fitting the name into the little space available in their automatic form software that they use and all of the paperwork ended up being labeled for "D Witherell Trust". Derek would have been proud. He was a big fan of traveling and he always wanted to buy a bus to drive all of his friends around in. We are having the paperwork updated, but at least we were reminded of why we are doing this.

A General update from Major Disaster

Hello folks,
I guess I have to start with the regular entries now that we are officially in "coasting" mode.
We accelerated hard and did the estate sale and almost everything is now sold or given away. We closed on our house yesterday (April 18th, 2007). We now are holed up in Beth's dad's little house with the intent of scanning all of our history (photos and papers), outfitting our adventuremobile, visiting all of the locals, handle some legal stuff... whew! I'm feeling tired again.
The house closing went fine. This week was a miserable wet time emptying the house. Everything had to be wrapped in plastic because of the "NorthEaster".

When people asked where we were planning to go, I had gotten into the habit of saying "we are gonna drive South until we hit warm weather and then turn right". I stopped saying that last week because we would have to drive to Mexico if were expecting to hit warm weather.
We have decided that we will bring our winter coats along, just in case.

Beth REALLY wanted the day after we sold the house to be bright and sunny (new beginnings and all that), but the forecast was that maybe on Friday the rain would peter out. Well Beth got her wish. Today was bright and sunny and we took naps in the sun. Our brains are starting to pull themselves out of the muck now. We were sooooo toasted yesterday. If we didn't have the help from Leslie, Kay, and the Enman clan on Tuesday we would have failed.

The new owners are very pleased and have started moving in.

Now that I finally have a little time to breathe, I will fill in the blanks on this story so those people like me that want the background story and not just the pictures, will know what is going on, or I guess "what went on". We are alive. Our brains are starting up. The rain stopped. The Marmon Newsletter was delivered yesterday (I haven't got mine yet, but I don't have a mailbox, so I guess that should be expected) and I just got a couple of calls from Marmoneers and a couple of invites for visits. Invites will be very handy.

Pictures! Lots of pictures of our travels. Our spiffy new cellphones have cameras too, so we can be like those people in those commercials...

Well I have to go get a haircut and then we are going to the King's for dessert and a little sanity.

We are over the hump.
ww Thursday, April 19th etc etc

Antique Pedestal Dining Room Table w/ 6 chairs - $800 (Antrim, NH)

We have two items left, time to pull out the secret weapon: Craigslist

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Antique Pedestal Dining Room Table w/ 6 chairs

Reply to: sale-310728489@craigslist.org
Date: 2007-04-12, 4:01PM

We are selling our very nice pedestal dining room table. It has six chairs that have a design pressed into the shoulder board. The table is 48 inches in diameter and it has three 9 inch leaves. When all three leaves are inserted the table is a 75 inch long oval. There are pictures available at (photos were removed after being sold)
Take a look. We only have two things left to sell before we hit the road.
The MINI Cooper and this great table set. It has to be picked up THIS COMING Friday, Saturday, or Sunday (13-14-15).

Original URL: http://nh.craigslist.org/fur/310728489.html

2003 MINI Cooper S, $17k, FUN FUN FUN - $17000 (Antrim, NH)

We have two items left, time to pull out the secret weapon: Craigslist

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2003 MINI Cooper S, $17k, FUN FUN FUN

Reply to: sale-310869189@craigslist.org
Date: 2007-04-12, 8:02PM

OK, I really hate to do it, but I have to sell this terrific car.
2003 MINI Cooper S. 65k miles. Great condition. NEVER abused.
"Chili Red" body, white wheels, white roof, white mirrors.
$17,000
Here is the OPTIONAL equipment that this great car has.
SUPERCHARGED
"Black Panther" Leather seats
Heated front seats, heated washer jets, heated mirrors.
Multifunction steering wheel w/cruise and audio controls
Dual-Pane Panoramic Sunroof (very open and airy feeling inside this car)
Automatic Air Conditioning (set the temp you want and it handles it from there)
On-Board computer (miles to go with gas, average speed, average MPG, outside temp, etc)
Dynamic Stability Control [DSC] (spectacular grip and safety around the tightest corners)
Rain-Sensing Windshield Wipers (will give one swipe after that truck goes by)
Auto Dimming Rear View Mirror (It just works)
Park Distance Control (tells you how many inches your rear bumper is from that car you are squeezing in front of)
Front Fog Lamps
Harman-Kardon Sound System (Lots of speakers, great sound, the soundstage adjusts itself based on how many people are in the car)
Ipod adapter that allows you to control the ipod with the steering wheel controls.
Roof racks that pop on and off easily.
That the OPTIONAL equipment. The STANDARD equipment is pretty spectacular.
The list from the window sticker available on request.

It is impossible to drive this car without grinning.
Back when I ordered my new car in 2002 there was a ten month wait for delivery.
Worth every minute. I love this car more every day. It is MUCH more fun to drive than a Porsche Boxster. 39mpg when I drive like an adult, and 29mpg when I drive like a 16 year old. If gas prices are high you can get 44mpg without much effort. Six speed Getrag transmission. Great seats. Huge sunroof. Very reliable. Great fun. Everything is SO well thought out. It is designed by BMW and is made with BMW parts. It is a BMW without the snobbishness.

We will be living in a minivan for the next year or two. When we settle down somewhere I will immediately buy another MINI.

I am selling this for $17,000. It includes the wide summertime run-flat tires with the white wheels, and a set of snow tires and rims. (By the way, with the snows on, you can NOT slip during winter driving. It's awesome.) Roof racks. Carpets AND rubber mats for winter.
Great car at a VERY fair price. Buy it now, because we are heading out on our adventure soon and I have a plan-B offer from a sports-car dealer who will detail it and sell it for 4-5k more.
You will thank yourself every day for doing this for yourself.
$17,000: drive it, smile, buy it, drive it, smile, drive it, smile....

Email me for information.

Original URL: http://nh.craigslist.org/car/310869189.html