Rhode Island Reunion
May 2026
For almost 40 years, a group of a dozen or so Peace Corps volunteers who all served in Togo in the mid-1980s has been reuniting in Rhode Island for Memorial Day weekend. Over the years they have acquired spouses and children, and the gathering has grown. Some come for a day or a night, others stay all weekend. A big focus is playing music and singing. I have never been able to attend, and this year I decided to make the trip in my camper van, Tortuga (means turtle in Spanish). It would also be a test of whether I like solo road trips. (Spoiler alert: I do!)
I drove 6500 miles in three weeks. Normally on road trips I like to take back roads and do a lot of sightseeing, but due to time constraints I stuck to interstates and a few short visits with family and friends along the way. Once you get out of cities, the highways are quite scenic. Audio books and music made the miles fly by.
Washington, Idaho, Montana
The flood-carved canyons and open spaces of Eastern Washington
Pine trees and balsamroot flowers in Idaho
Walking on a dirt track under the big sky in Montana
Montana cattle country. There were many baby cows lounging about looking fat and happy. In the far right distance is the Anaconda Smelter Stack. This 585-foot-tall brick chimney was completed in 1919 and is one of the world's tallest free-standing masonry structures.
Early morning in western Montana
A friend of mine grew up in the tiny eastern Montana town of Terry (population 576), so I stopped in to look around. A historic hotel, two museums, a made-in-Montana gift shop, friendly folks, and a lot of local history make it a worthwhile stop!
The Prairie County Museum is packed with historic memorabilia. This room displays local medical history.
Life on the prairie: a typical kitchen
Opened in June 1902, this is Montana’s oldest continuously operating hotel.
Lobby of the historic Kempton hotel
The house where my friend grew up, and which she sold only recently.
I bought some tasty taffy at the Prairie Unique gift shop, which specializes in Montana-made food and crafts. The friendly proprietor proudly presented me with this brochure he helped create. He says tourism is thriving. There is a lot to see in the area.
The Evelyn Cameron Museum in Terry, Montana, displays the work of this fascinating woman who lived and photographed here in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Her photographs capture pioneer life in the area.
There is also an Emmy-award-winning PBS documentary about Evelyn, called Evelyn Cameron: Pictures From a Worthy Life.
North Dakota to Michigan
Painted Canyon viewpoint, Theodore Roosevelt National Park, North Dakota Badlands
Typical North Dakota farm, with the house and barn tucked into trees surrounded by freshly-plowed fields.
Minnesota has the nicest rest areas. I stayed in rest areas each night (when I wasn't visiting someone).
The view from my Minnesota rest area home for the night. The weather was warm and there weren't any mosquitoes.
Minnesota rest areas had nice walking trails. I was able to walk about three miles each day just at rest areas.
I went for a lovely walk along a lake in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
I visited cousin-in-law Gretchen in the charming town of Oshkosh, Wisconsin. The lilacs were blooming.
Grant and I met Patti and her late husband Ralph at a campground in Mexico. She lives on three peaceful acres out in the country in Hart, Michigan. She has a camper van. I suggested she name it "Port-a-Patti." She does not think she will do that.
Patti's yard and gardens
Patti's "secret garden" inside an old barn foundation
Ontario
To get to New York, I cut through Ontario, Canada. The border crossings were a breeze. This is the bridge across the St. Clair River between the US and Canada.
The shore of Lake Huron in Sarnia, Ontario. Another 84-degree day with strong winds to cool me.
Bridge across the Niagara River between the US (left) and Canada.
Niagara Falls is actually three different waterfalls. It's a state park with lots of great trails as well. At 6:30 on a Wednesday morning I pretty much had the place to myself!
American Falls is 1,060 feet wide and drops between 70 and 110 feet into the Niagara Gorge. Its waters cascade over massive rock piles rather than a sheer drop. Bridal Veil Falls is directly next to the American Falls (closest to the viewer). It's separated from American Falls by Luna Island, and drops 181 feet into the gorge.
Horseshoe Falls, also known as the Canadian Falls, is the largest of the three falls and is about 2,600 feet across. Roughly 90% of the Niagara River's water flows over its crest, plunging 158 feet into the basin below.
There were hundreds of baby geese in the park. Many families boasted a dozen goslings.
New York
In Rochester I visited my cousin Pete, his wife Donna, and their daughter, Zoe, age 17 and a high school senior.
Zoe heading off to a softball game with her team, the Lady Lions.
Pete and Donna took me on a tour of Rochester, including the beautiful Eastman mansion, where the wisteria were blooming.
The Eastman Kodak mansion
Pete's daughter Emma with her boyfriend, Tucker
Tucker, Emma, Donna, Pete, and me
Cousin Pete and me
The remains of the Erie Canal lock in Port Byron, New York
My second cousin Kim (daughter of my mom's cousin John) works near Albany, New York, so I stopped in to say hi. She is a fitness instructor for Parkinson's patients at a YMCA. We hadn't seen each other in person in over 50 years!
Rhode Island
The gang reunites! Left to right: Paul Fletcher (aka Tarzan), Brian Yarwood, Dave Goodrich. We served as Peace Corps volunteers in Togo in the mid-1980s. I saw Brian and Dave four years ago, but hadn't seen Paul in almost 40 years.
Paul and his sisters hosted us at their family vacation property near Charlestown.
The road to Paul's
Paul's yard. This salt water "pond" connects to the Atlantic Ocean
View from Paul's deck
Back of the cottage (the downstairs was in the final stages of a renovation).
The two-story cottage sleeps 10 and had plenty of room for cooking and gathering.
It was a rainy weekend and the gathering space was cozy and dry.
Left to right: RPCVs (returned Peace Corps volunteers) Sam Connor, Brian Yarwood (holding John Guzowski via Zoom from Poland), Dave Goodrich
Brian's wife Wendy and Dave's wife Lisa
Some of the gang (four RPCVs plus friends and family)
Brian Yarwood, Dave Goodrich, Paul Fletcher (aka Tarzan, a name given to him by a female admirer in Togo)
We played a lot of music and it was an absolute blast! These guys are super talented.
Music happened for hours each day, in various combos.
Sometimes we played upstairs, and sometimes we played downstairs.
There are two Thomas Dambo trolls in the park right next to the cottage! This is Greta Granite.
Follow the troll prints.
Entrance to a troll's lair
This is Erik Rock.
Connecticut
Cousin Carrie drove an hour and a half to cousin Lauren's in Bethel so we could spend the day hanging out!
We went for a walk to see these falls.
Sisters Carrie and Lauren. Love the colors in Lauren's hair.
Sign on the walking path
Sign on the walking path
We walked along the Connecticut River. Lauren lives in a beautiful area.
Sisters
Lauren and Matt are celebrating 20 years of marriage this summer.
Matt has created a butterfly-friendly yard with milkweed and other plants.
New Jersey
Cousin Michael and his wife Christine just finished a remodel of their house in Metuchen, New Jersey: new windows, insulation, siding, and paint. Michael is quite handy and did a lot of the interior trim work.
Michael and Christine's 1100-square-foot, 1915 bungalow
Their remodeled yard
Their new kitchen. They both have a great design sense.
Their vintage-looking stove
Lunch in their yard on an 84-degree day
Michael and me
They took me on a long walking tour of the charming town. The Middlesex Greenway rail trail runs through Metuchen.
Greenway haiku
Philadelphia
I met Keri on the Camino de Santiago in 2024. She took me on a fabulous walking tour of Philadelphia, where she lives.
Rittenhouse Square is one of the five original open-space parks planned by William Penn and his surveyor Thomas Holme during the late 17th century.
"The Portal" is an interactive, 12-foot tall public art installation that connects Philly via a 24/7 livestream to portals in other cities, fostering a sense of global connection. Here two women in Poland are waving to my friend Keri and me. I want one of these in Seattle!
Independence Hall was completed in 1733. Here both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States were debated and adopted by the US Founding Fathers. Initially called the Pennsylvania State House, it was the first capitol of the colonial era Province of Pennsylvania.
"Elfreth's Alley is the oldest continuously inhabited residential street in the United States. Dating back to 1703, the cobblestone lane features 32 preserved 18th- and 19th-century homes originally built for colonial artisans and working-class tradespeople."
Elfreth's Alley
Ben Franklin's gravesite
Ben Franklin's grave
The Liberty Bell, with Independence Hall in the background
The Arch Street Quaker meetinghouse has been in continuous use for Quaker meetings since 1804 and is one of the oldest continuously operating places of worship in the United States.
The meetinghouse is still used by the local Quaker community
Philly's Chinatown was established in 1871. The Friendship Gate was unveiled in 1984. It is the first authentic traditional Chinese gate built in the United States.
Keri and her husband Deke took me to an Israeli restaurant for a feast including fresh, fluffy pita and the best baba ganoush I've ever had!
Chicago
My niece Casey and my one-year-old grand niece at their apartment in Chicago
Casey and her husband
Dancing with my grand niece
Three generations
Spot Hero is a great way to pre-book parking in cities. This shady spot under the "L" was half the cost of local street parking, with no worries about whether I'd find a spot, or dealing with parking apps or confusing signage. Tortuga doesn't fit in a parking garage, and Spot Hero let me search for uncovered lots.
After saying goodbye to Casey, I drove 30 minutes north to visit her sister. I pre-booked this overnight parking spot at the train station. $2 for 24 hours!
I walked through the beautiful Edgewater neighborhood to get to niece Emma's apartment.
Emma and I went for a walk on the Lakefront Trail near her apartment. The trail runs over 18 miles along the shore of Lake Michigan.
Emma and me on a warm and breezy day by the lake
With Emma and her friend Max at one of the great diners in their neighborhood
Homeward
One of 29 dams and locks on the upper Mississippi River
The stunning Dignity of Earth and Sky statue is located on a high bluff overlooking the Missouri River in Chamberlain, South Dakota. The 50-foot-tall stainless-steel statue depicts an Indigenous woman in traditional Plains-style dress wearing a star quilt. The sculpture honors the rich cultures of the Lakota and Dakota nations.
View from the bluff of I-90 crossing the Missouri River
Custer State Park, South Dakota
The Yellowstone River at Billings, Montana
Montana scenery
Montana scenery
Montana scenery
Montana scenery
Enjoying a final-day-of-my-road-trip treat in St. Regis Montana: a huckleberry milkshake (hold the whip). It was really good.
I stopped for a walk in the historic town of Wallace, Idaho, which has one of the state's largest and most intact collections of Victorian commercial architecture. The entire district is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
A series of 12 wooden stairways connects hillside homes to the downtown. Walking up all of the stairways is equivalent to climbing a 46-story building.
The mighty Columbia River in Eastern Washington.
Interstate 90 bridge over the Columbia River
Stats
6497 miles
Gas: $1656 (about 25 cents per mile); average price $4.33 per gallon
Tolls and parking: ~$170