Day 8 - June 13 - Rutland, VT to Portland, ME - Kelly

When we left Rutland we left amazing hosts and a beautiful City. We are on our way to Portland Maine. 

CP and Molly went to a host home where Jeannie's late husband was a jewelry maker and She had a Telescope so they both got to Geek Out! They also got to chill on the couch!

Once we were on the bus we attended to business, Vitamins handed out by Liz our Med Mom, and Thank you Cards to be signed for our host homes, Kat did our daily devotional and Madi opened the bank with a throw back to Zooey who would open the bank with lovely Monkeys calls and music!

In Portland Maine lots of Ringers and Chaperones wanted LOBSTER ROLLS and yummy seafood.

We explored Portland Head Point Lighthouse at Cape Elizabeth.

We played and amazing concert for Woodfords Congregational Church in Portland Maine. They are so warmly and welcoming it was a fantastic night. We even had visitors that were past Ringers and Members from CUMC! 

Day 7 - June 12 - Utica, NY to Rutland, VT - Karen

After a relaxing evening in Utica, we headed to Rutland, Vermont, home of Terry’s good friends Brian and Donna. Today was a highly anticipated day: Lake Day! We packed a picnic lunch, and a few eager volunteers headed out to pick up sandwich fixings, chips, and a watermelon.

Brian rented a pavilion for the group and brought along a kayak. We spent the day swimming, kayaking, relaxing by the water, and even finding a geocache. It was a fabulous day and a welcome chance to enjoy the beautiful Vermont summer weather.

After our fun-filled day at the lake, we headed to our concert at Grace Congregational UCC.  Before the performance, Terry and Lucy treated us to pizza from a local business, and it was delicious.

    

    

The concert went well, and we performed for an appreciative audience. We had special guests, the McGill family. Larry and Marilyn, their daughter Lisa and her husband surprised us.

All of the ringers enjoyed pleasant evenings with their host families. It was a wonderful stop filled with good friends, a welcoming community, and, of course, great pizza. Thank you Brian and Donna!

Day 6 - June 11 - Buffalo, NY to Utica, NY

The Ringers are so excited to wake up this morning knowing we were going to go to NIAGARA FALLS and take a boat ride on Maid of the Mist. The Ringers had about 2 hours of free time afterwards to walk around and explore and get lunch. 

The Ringers could choose between the upper deck and the lower deck and we drove into the falls and into Canadian waters! So technically we did go to Canada on this tour! We drove in to the base of the falls and did a circle and drove back out.

Terry gave some words of advice to the Ringers to live in the moment - don't spend all your time shopping in the store and explore the area around you. Always good advice on tour because you only get to go on so many.

The Ringers were asked to get in groups of 4 or more and explore the boundaries. Then, it was back on the bus to head to the hotel.

Unfortunately, we had to cancel our concert in Whitesboro, NY so we had another hotel night where the ringers got dinner on their own or they could stay and order family style with some of the chaperones who ordered Olive Garden. Once dinner was done, there was some wandering around, sleeping and Jackbox games in the lobby area.