07/22/2018

     

ON THE GO 2017 January thru June  

We had 37 again this year at our annual New Year's Party.  We have had a great two week vacation at Lake Beebe but will return to Florida on January 3.  Below is Don's Inukshuk and our 110 acre ice skating rink.

On Sunday January 15 we had lunch at the Turtle Club on Vanderbilt Beach in Naples.

 

February 5, 2017 was Super Bowl Sunday.  The Boston Patriots came back from a 3-25 deficit against the Atlanta Falcons and winning in the first ever Super Bowl overtime 34-28 with Tom Brady winning his fifth Super Bowl with 43 completions and 466 yards!  We played bridge with Don's cousin Doris Bell and friend Mark in Ft Myers today. Doris won. Today her brother, Art Burton is 95.  Art was an All Ohio guard in football at the University of Findlay.

On Saturday, March 18,2017 we had saurerbraten and a veal cutlet at Old  Europe. The patachinka desert is great.

We drove to the Turner River Road - no birds. Had a nice lunch at the Rod & Gun Club on the Baron River in Everglades City.

We had lunch at the Turtle Club below on Wednesday March  22, 2017 and again on Monday March 27, 2017 with Amy and Tom.

On Sunday March 26, 2018 we visited the Baker Museum with Amy and Tom.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On Saturday April 1, 2017 Gary Wells checked out Mary and our air conditioner filter.

We then had a nice lunch at the Bonefish Grill.

 

Mary's brother John Towne and his wife Connie are renting for a month in McGregor FL.  They joined us for lunch on Sunday April 7, 2017 at the Crows Nest in Venice, FL for our annual luncheon with Dave Wakely and his wife Fran who live in Bellair FL. Dave was from Woodville OH, and was a sophomore at U of Michigan in Ann Arbor when Don was in graduate school.  Don picked Dave up when Dave was hitchhiking to Woodville OH. They were roommates in Hartford the summer of 1955. and have been friends ever since.

 

And here is an April 2014 picture of Dave & Fran plus Don & Mary

On April 16, 2017 we saw an outstanding performance of Cabaret at the Phil.

http://homes.ottcommunications.com/~dsonder/2017.04.16%20Phil%20Face.JPG http://homes.ottcommunications.com/~dsonder/2017.04.16%20Phil%20Statues.JPG

On Friday April 21, Don and Alan Walters played a two session event at the Bridge Deck at the Catholic Rec Hallon Rattlesnake Hammock in Naples.  The building will be torn down and bebuilt starting next Monday.  We were first in the morning, but less than 50% in the afternoon.  Had a great sandwich at Larry's Lunch Box.

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We played Bridge with Don's cousin Doris Bell & her friend Mark Boyer at Lexington CC in Ft Myers. on April 23.

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The Second Worldwide Pickleball Championships were held again in Naples, Florida the last week of April 2017. Naples is now labeled the World Capital of Pickleball.  More than 1,300 pickleballers signed up for the event from 42 states and 15 countries. But Johns and Jardim didn’t have far to go to earn gold medals and championship prize money at the second U.S. Open.

Here is a license plate.

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Jennifer Dawson became the U.S. Open’s first triple crown winner in Pickelball, taking home a bonus for winning gold in senior pro singles, doubles and mixed doubles. The tournament offered acash prize to any men’s, women’s or senior pro who can accomplish the feat.  “It’s been such an amazing tournament,” Jennifer Dawson, 50, said. “It’s been a lot of fun.”   The Dawsons first met as tennis players at the University of Oklahoma in 1985. Jennifer later transferred to the University of San Diego to finish her collegiate career. Both are teaching pros at the Bobby Riggs Tennis Club in San Diego.  Her husband Steve Dawson won the gold for the Senior Pro Doubles.

 

Jennifer Dawson the triple crown winner. Mona Burnett looks to the ball as partner Jennifer Dawson hits it over the net in winning the Mixed Senior Pro Gold match of the U.S. Open Pickleball Championship.

See www.pickleballtournaments.com/cinfo.pl?tid=855 for final results in all categories. Kyle and Sarah Yates  a brother sister act from Ft Myers won gold in the age 19 category.   Kyle Yates won the men's single title last year, but was runner up to Ben Johns this year.  Estero resident Ben Johns knocked off Fort Myers native Kyle Yates to win the men’s pro gold medal.   Just 18 years old and a senior in high school (he’s homeschooled), Johns has only been playing pickleball for 14 months. Yates has been playing for a few years, and he’s had the crowd firmly behind him at both U.S. Opens.  Naples resident Simone Jardim won the women’s professional title.

On Thursday April 27,2017 Don watched the gals  Bonnie Williams (bronze in Singles) and  Monica Burnett (silver in Mixed) win the Women's Pro Bronze Medal at  the Pickleball Championships in Naples. They are below.

 

 On April 28, we flew to CT and stayed two nights at Amy's.  On Saturday April 29 we went to Karla's to celebrate Eric's birthday. 

Slide Show 

On May 5 we drove by Pico.

   

Why?  We then  had a super dinner at the Red Clover Inn.

 

On May 7 we played bridge in Burlington.  We then stopped at Paulines for Banana Fosters for Don and Chardonnay for Mary.

      

On May 11, 2017 we had many daffs in bloom but only a few tulips..

Eagle Rock Racquet Club got a haircut last fall.  Looks great in mid May 2017.

 

On Wednesday May 24 we drove to Garden Time in South Queensbury NY and purchased five flats of Impatiens and some herbs for our whiskey barrels.  We then had great German food at the Heidelberg Inn.

Here is a picture Tom Kullgren took at the outlet from Beebe Pond on May 13 - below.

On Tuesday May 16, 2017 we drove to Ottawa, Ontario  and spent 2 nights at the Four Points Sheraton across the Ottawa River in Gateneau (formerly called Hull), QE.  We went for the Tulip Festival.  We did some sightseeing and had dinner two nights at the Cellier in Gatineau.  We then drove to Montreal,  went to the Botanical Garden and had dinner at Chez la Mere Michel (above right), a terrific French Restaurant that Nick Bauer, an actuary from Montreal introduced us to many years ago. See https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/chez-la-m%C3%A8re-michel-montr%C3%A9al-6?userid=E2oq_BwdQmq_Vyte65icNg   We then returned to Vermont via the Heroes.  Stopped at Gardener's Supply in Winooski, and had lunch at Pauline's in South Burlington.  See photo album.

 

Taconics Mountain Ramble State Park in Hubbardton had visitors get stuck in the parking area on Memorial Day weekend..                                          Read about this new State Park.

Below:  June 1, 2017 at Killington

 On June 8 Don Mary & Karen had a nice dinner at the Red Clover Inn in Mendon, VT.

 

 
The Story of the Red Clover Inn & Restaurant on Woodward Road in Mendon, VT

The Red Clover Inn in the heart of Killington Vermont is named for the Vermont state flower. Sophisticated accommodations and locally-sourced dining have long been part of our story.

The premiere chamber music concert was presented in Boston, a patent was granted for an envelope-making machine, and Elizabeth Blackwell became the first female physician in history. The year was 1849, and the Ripley family of Rutland, Vermont constructed a summer retreat and 200-acre farm on the property that would become the Red Clover Inn.

Nearly 75 years and several owners later, General F.J. Woodward purchased the property. General Woodward and his wife were worldwide travelers, but the itinerant military life was hard on their family, losing several children to illness. As they settled down, Mrs. Woodward wished to have a permanent home with fresh air, peace, and space enough for all her children and grandchildren.

The General and his wife added bedrooms to the residence, and Woodward Farm on Woodward Road was born. They planned the extensive development of the acreage, including tennis courts, a swimming concourse, bridle paths, spacious lawns, apple trees and evergreens.

Eventually, the Woodward family moved on and the Farm fell into neglect. The area was so remote and unattended that a monk, who wrecked his private plane in the mountains near Killington, was passed over by a sizable search party even though the wreckage was only 30 feet from the old farm.

Rising again, the Farm on Woodward Road was reopened by the Montgomery Family as the SATCO Lodge in the 1960s – 1970s. Mr. Montgomery was believed to be a former CIA employee. Through their travels, the Montgomery’s adopted five children from Southeast Asia, and named the property “SATCO” as an acronym to represent their children’s countries of origin.  

Bonnie and Dennis Tallagnon purchased SATCO Lodge in 1977. Their additions to the Carriage House and Farmhouse are chronicled in the photographs currently displayed in our living room.  Equestrians, the Tallagnons kept horses in what used to be the space for pigs and sheep. The staff of the day fondly remembers the years that the Tallgnons lived in the Lodge and raised their family.  

The Red Clover Inn was named for the State Flower of Vermont, chosen as such to represent the delicate purple-red flower that graces Vermont’s fields early in the summer, distinguishing the landscape. The Tallagnons’ relentless work and devotion to their Inn is evidenced in the present time, where loving touches and dinner recipes today honor their memory. 

Preparing menus, stirring the coals in the hearth, cleaning rooms, mowing lawns and shoveling snow, planting gardens, retrieving mail: these are just some of our daily chores as we prepare to welcome guests with open arms and open hearts. A walk up the drive gives us a look back in time at the stately Farmhouse, graceful and strong, rising to meet the forest and framed by the rugged Pico Mountain.

The Red Clover Inn at the old Farm on Woodward Road is a timeless and effortless home, away. Purchased by the Tyler and Hill families in 2009 and tastefully updated, this special spot for romantic getaways and delightful cuisine has been informed by history and cultivated with care for nearly two centuries.    

http://www.redcloverinn.com/about/history

 

Sunday June 11, 2017  Rafa wins his Tenth French Open on Mary Sondergeld's Birthday

Nadal won his record 10th French Open title with a 6-2, 6-3, 6-1 victory over 2015 champion Stan Wawrinka.

Not only did Nadal win every set he played in the tournament, he dropped a total of only 35 games, the second fewest by any man on the way to any title at a major tournament with all matches being best-of-five-sets in the Open era, which dates to 1968.

No other man or woman has won 10 championships at the same major in the Open era. Along with improving to 10-0 in finals at Roland Garros, Nadal increased his haul to 15 Grand Slam trophies, breaking a tie with Pete Sampras for second place in the history of men's tennis, behind only rival Roger Federer's 18.

It marked a stirring return to the top for Nadal at the site he loves the most: He is 79-2 at the French Open, 102-2 in all best-of-five-set matches on clay.

High Pond Ski Area in Hubbardton.  It has not been in operation for years.  The 190 acre parcel was sold for $1.1 million last year, many buildings, including Douglas Burden's home have been torn down.  I remember our first day of skiing at High Pond.  Our family quickly  graduated to the Snow Bowl in Middlebury and then to Pico where many of us  had Season Passes from  1968 - 1988.  We moved to New Jersey in 1989.

There is a web site that mentions High Pond a Lost Ski Area  http://www.nelsap.org/vt/highpond.html  Douglas Burden originally owned and developed the High Pond  ski area and subsequently gave most of the surrounding property he owned in four towns to the Nature Conservancy.  Burden was a very wealthy man who financed a trip to one of the islands of Indonesia and brought back some giant lizards (Komodo Dragons).  Burden also developed the first “Sea World” … the one in Miami, FL.  He owed a home in Cornwall, VT on Lake Champlain and is buried nearby in Cornwall’s beautiful cemetery on the east side of Rte. 7.

The ski area  property that his son (Christopher) inherited was sold for $1.1 million in 2016 to an individual who tore down the large farmhouse, the buildings by the ski lift, as well as Burden’s 5000 sq ft  home above Wallace Pond.  If money is not an issue, the owner can afford to tear down the house. Here is a write up of the property.  To see ten pictures in the sales brochure and three pictures of: i) the buildings near the old ski lift that have been replaced by look a likes    ii) the site of the missing house,  and   iii)  the Barn that remains ...  click here.

 Apparently the new owner will build a nicer home on the site where Burden’s home was located.  He will supposedly put in a new lift and he and his family and friends will use it … probably when they are not skiing in places like Vail or Kitzbuhel.  I look forward to watching the construction this summer.

 On June 15, 2017 there were a few flowers at Beebe Pond.  See Slide Show.  And read about our Nephew Nate Towne making things happen in Waterville, Maine.

In late June Karen and Duncan sent their furniture and cars from San Francisco to Boston as Duncan has new job in MA.  They have  leased an apartment in Boston. They  then headed to Maine and Nova Scotia for a week as they cannot move in until July 5.  Here is Karen conducting on site research in Kennebunkport Maine's Historic District.

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Late June we had dinner with the Kullgrens in the Pig Room at the Victorian Inn in Wallingford.

 

 

     

 

 

This site was last updated 07/06/18