The Massachusetts war memorial beacon at the Mt. Greylock summit.

You can just make out the forest of windmills across the valley.

On the way from stop 1 (Albany) to stop 2 (back to Simsbury for a couple days to tie up some loose ends) of our Goodbye Tour we stopped at Mount Greylock. It's the highest point in Massachusetts tucked up in the northwest corner of the state.

We drove to the summit and hiked a lovely summit trail loop that included a section of the Appalachian Trail. Lee had never been there and I hadn't been since 1979. Hiking through the woods made us wonder how different the trees and plants will be in Taiwan. We'll see soon enough!

We are about to leave stop 1 of our 13 stop Goodbye Tour. We left Simsbury on Friday morning and spent the last couple nights near Albany, NY visiting Lee's sister and family. Hiking, kayaking, general sitting around and chatting. It's been a great start to a month of living out of our suitcases.

All of this...

and this...

and a pile of boxes will fit into this.

Then it will all get packed into 3 or so big crates and stacked, Raiders of the Lost Ark style, in a warehouse in Windsor waiting for our eventual return.

Having a chuckle at the "Taiwan-on" party

Rich was rather "punny"

Bev read Lee's Rules for the Party

Our wonderful friends threw us a goodbye party last night. It was an evening to be excited about our move, a time to reminisce and enjoy each other's company. Thank you, thank you.

We're a week away from the moving company taking the stuff we're keeping to storage, nine days until we close on the house. Then we start our month-long "goodbye tour." We'll be traveling a big chunk of the eastern seaboard - New York, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Washington, D.C., Virginia, Rhode Island and Maine. But before that can begin it's packing time.

Today was my last day at the Children's Center. I walked through the doors as a parent in 1990 and finished cleaning my classroom today, 24 years later. It was a bittersweet moment saying goodbye. As my dear friend said, it was the last time for my voice to echo down the hall. So many wonderful memories and experiences. It's made for a melancholy day but tomorrow I refocus and really start ticking off items on my to-do list.

Moving day, part 1. My sisters came down to pick up a load of furniture that will find new life in Massachusetts. Lee officially handed over the ice scraper to Jenner - we certainly won't need that in Taiwan!

The house is now three-quarters empty. We're putting our living room furniture, the dining room table and some boxes of keepsakes into long term storage. That's part 2. We'll take to Taiwan two suitcases and a carry-on apiece. Lee says he'll lease me space in his suitcase if I need more room. More likely we'll be mailing a couple of boxes. One with my loom and possibly another for overflow. Okay, really for shoes.

                                                   We're blue that Wendy is leaving

This weekend marked the beginning of our "goodbye tour." Yesterday my book group got together for a wonderful farewell picnic at the Hillstead Museum in Farmington, CT. In addition to the fabulous company of this wonderful group of women I will truly miss these beautiful New England summer days.