CHECKS TO:
GAIL PURTAN FUND KARMANOS CANCER INSTITUTE 4100 JOHN R DETROIT, MI  48201
1-800-527-6266
"IN MEMORY OF MARY LOGSDON" - IN NOTE SECTION OF CHECK
 JUNE 6, 2006


The day started out with the promise of hot sun beating down on the asphalt roads that would be traversed on this day. After making sure that all the flotsam and jetsam of my presence was cleaned up, I hit the road. I will include pictures of todays events at a later date. One of the interesting aspects of today's travels was the vista of Ticonderoga's sewage treatment plant, which was designed to look like the fortress just down the road. This causes some confusion for tourists, who have been known to stop at Ft. Shit, as it is known locally, to ask for tours. Apparantly, some of the workers there have been more than happy to oblige………….

Ft. Ticonderoga, the REAL fort, not the one just mentioned, opens early and has a rather good breakfast that is made available. I had a coffee with an omelet, that was way too much for me to eat. All of this for under $5.00.  Following breakfast I turned right out of the Fort entrance to catch the ferry that gets people over to the Vermont side of Lake Champlain.  The trip takes 8 minutes, maximum, and cost $5.00 because I had a trailer on the bike. The scenery is spectacular in both upstate New York and in Vermont. The motorcycle is constantly climbing up the sides of these old mountains and them dropping into the valleys on the other side. Sometimes the breathtaking scenery is "enhanced" by the sight of lots of "stuff" in some of the front yards along the road. One house had so much stuff that I couldn't tell it was a house and not just a large pile of stuff, until I had passed it. The road was too dangerous to risk turning around on, so a photo opportunity was lost. It was not a pretty sight, anyway.

I stumbled on to the Cooperman Company just as the GPS was telling me to continue into the central business district of Bellows Falls. I was able to turn around and take a GPS reading for all future trips to the Mill in Vermont. After building a drum for Jim, I went into town to buy more ice for the cooler and to "explore" some more.

Wow, the women here are "hard". Even the younger ones are tough and have an edge. In fact, I believe that the women in Bellows Falls consider tattoo ink the primary form of cosmetic. There were sure plenty of the things adorning female body parts ---- VISIBLE parts………. And no, I did NOT go searching….

The tattoos that I saw, while numerous, were also very rudimentary and almost childish in their execution. This made me wonder if the women here actually PAID to have these things done. One ….uh ….. large lady had a design that was all misshapen and "stretched". Guess where THAT one was….

NOTE TO SELF: DON'T LOOK FOR A "DATE" IN BELLOWS FALLS, VERMONT.

I will be staying with the Coopermans until Thursday, so that I can pick up a package that has been mailed to me here. Patrick Cooperman's house is a huge labyrinth of a place. It is almost like two large homes stuck together. So, there are two kitchens, for instance. I have the sound of the little stream that runs next to the property, outside of my bedroom window. Very relaxing sound --- until, of course, you think you need to go to the bathroom. Then it is a race down some VERY steep stairs and relief.