Vermont again. 360 degrees. 12 400 miles.04.50

04.50 on May 21 from Dave and Barbara's home on Lake Champlain.

05.12 May 21

05.15 May 21

Beautiful sunrise 05.21

David and Barbara's home in the Spring on Lake Champlain

05.00 May 22. Clouds on the horizon

05.15 

Sunrise 05.19 and so perfect.

Hull near Boston, Greg Flederman's home is like a bigger version of Muizenberg.

Kennedy clan just before WW2. At the JFK Memorial Museum

RFK and JFK during the Cuban Missile Crisis 1962

EXCOM during the Cuban Missile Crisis 1962. JFK second right next to Dean Rusk.

Peter Bauer's home in Southborough near Boston MA.

The Southey's and the Bauers at brunch.

Peter Bauer, and Hylton Southey. Great to be with my boys in Boston. Steve McKenzie was away for his Birthday weekend.

My firends from long ago, Russ and Lanie Turner, at the hospital in Hartford Ct. Russ in for observation and settling his medication for his heart and awaiting an implant for a better quality of  life. all the best Russ.

Lanie's new Toyota Avalon. another car I had the privilege of driving.

Almost all set for the final drive from Lanie's home.

Home again at 535 Carrington Road with Tim and Barb Haag. The new Vegetable garden with Deer fencing all around!

Proof of Spring in their garden.

It is so good to be back where I can unpack my suitcase and live a normal (ish) life for a while as I stay with Tim and Barb and visit other friends as well as organize my UK visa.
I have finalized my trip through UK, Europe, Dubai, Bali, Australia and NZ and have decided to come home for Christmas 2014. I need my family and friends and SACS again. This is an amazing journey and I am learning a lot about myself and others and how SACS has created such amazing students that have all done so extremely well around the USA and Canada. So over the years, we are doing a lot right at the Old College. So great to see that and very proud of my boys. So very good to see them and to stay with them, all 41 of them to date. Wonderful generous and gracious hosts, all of them. Sad to miss some guys along the way, but the timing was wrong for us both.
The journey continues as I meet up with more boys in NYC soon before moving up to Lake George to help Tim build his new Lake House.

SACSOBU gathering. Goodbye to Canada and hello USA.

On the road. Calgary to Brandon in Canada. Flat and brown countryside. No sign of Spring yet.

Sunset in Brandon, Canada at the motel after day 1 of driving for 11,5 hours. Spot of rain!

Trillions of fir trees in Canada between Winnepeg and Thunder Bay.

Before the rain started. The tarmac is actually pink! Wierd to drive on. This was before the coming of the torrential rain near Toronto. I drove on a highway in the centre lane of three in virtual white-out conditions for 3.5 hours with trucks to the right cars to the left and behind me and an idiot in front with his lights off. Driving at 100kph all the time straining to see the car in front and not wanting to slow down as the guy behind was close. Brutal drive. 14.5 hours on day three from Nipigon to Toronto. Last of the long drives. I had to replace both rear tyres as they started to delaminate. It was a scary, very scary drive into Toronto and the delayed rush hour due to the massive downpour and the flap-flap-flap from the rear tyres as I held thumbs they would hold out till Kerri Brass' home. They did.

SACS OBU beers at Millers Pub in Toronto: Lee Abrahamson, myself with SACSOBU tie (Friday), Shaun Levy, Kerri Brass, Anthony Karabus, Shane Carnegie, Richard Maisel and Lawrence Ezer. Great to see them all and to catch up. Thanks to Neil Fortis and Kerri for this 'lekker' evening together.

I arrived unannounced at Betty Pickerings on Sunday morning in Victor. A Cupcake and Ice Cream surprise for Chad Pickering on his graduation from University in Medical technology. What a magic evening with all available family at the home of the matriarch, Betty Pickering.

Betty with the two newest grandchildren.

Some of the family playing in the livingroom.

Some of the family in the kitches. Chad on the left.

Linda and Olivia on their own.

Betty's pansies planted by Barbara Haag (daughter) at Bettys.

Beautiful Dogwwod in full bloom at Jerry Pickering across the raod from Betty

On the New York Thruway en route to the Carters in South Hero, Vermont. Rest stop for a Starbucks Earl Grey tea and an Oatmeal, raisin and cranberry cookie. Yum!

Route 8 heading East in New York State. Now I am in country that I know well from Summer Camp days 1986/7/8, 1993/6.

Thought I was lost for a moment. Poland?

Americans at war at home! Scary to see that as I came around the bend.

This is when you know you are back in the Adirondacks. a timber truck.

In the distance - Vermont. Full circle almost reached. This is where I started. I had driven up from New York and Connecticut, but the actual journey started here at David and Barbara Carters home on South Hero Island in Vermont in February and deep snow. Feeling good.

Calgary The Canadian Rockies and Mark Price

The Canadian Rockies on all their glory from afar.

Getting closer!

An animal cross-over. Note the trees and shrubs on top. The Highway is lined by a 2.5m game fence and each exit is a 'cattle grid' to prevent game from entering the Highway.

A cloud puff hiding some of the Rockies. Spectacular rock formations. 

Another of the many Game crossings thoughtfully constructed along this Highway.

Castle Rock. Truly impressive rock butress formations

Beautiful Lake Louise covered in ice and snow, so no view of its spectacular Turquoise Blue water. and then it started to snow again!

The peaks above Lake Louise. Huge and menacing, but spectacular!

Mark Price, myself and John Barrett, Mark's Father-in-law who really loves his son-in-law, a magnificent SACS man

Well, that might be so, but with a foot of ice covering it plus about the same amount of snow, little caution required today!

The 'little' hotel at Lake Louise. Only about 1000 rooms!

One of three gigantic and impressive paintings of the Canadian Rockies in the hotel foyer.

The foyer with the huge chandelier and the three paintings of the Rockies.

Look at the amazing colour of the water in Johnsons Canyon. Lake Louise is apparently the same!

Walking carefuly along the ice covered suspended pathway to the falls in Johnson Canyon.

The Lower Falls in the Canyon. The sound of the snow melt tumbling down was impressive. About 10 meters tall.

Once again, look at the unusual colour of the water.

Mountain goats. We also saw two Elk on this trip and I saw a Pronghorn, a Coyote and a small herd of Elk on my way to Calgary from Destiny Bay.

The Great Chateau Hotel at Banff. Built of stone by Italian stone masons for a Scotsman. It is simply huge in all its magnificence. A cross between a Scottish Manor House and  Germanic Palace.

The peaks above the Hotel in Banff

The entrance portico of the Hotel in Banff. The staff were incredibly helpful and happy.

The falls at Banff just above a spectacular Golf Course. The sound from the water rushing over was majestic in its volume.

Model A Ford Steel back van. Beautifully restored.

Some of around 50 original early Petrol Pumps from Canada with long-forgatten brand names.

The car that put America and the world on the road - an original Model T Ford. The 25th car built by Henry Ford, hence Model T! It went into mass production on a mving assembly line - the first manufacturer to do it, hence the incredibly low price. Down to less than $300 and so reliable too.

A row of Model T and one Model A, Fords

Shopping Centre near Mark's home where I met Rayner Hart's mom and dad at Starbucks

A view of mark's yard from the back of the house.

Mark's home with the deck that they built themselves. Deck chairs still under cover due to late Spring!
It was wonderful to stay with Mark and to meet his family as well as his parents-in-law who have very recently moved to Canada. There are a number of SACS Old Boys living here. I missed seeing Kevin Paine and Gavin Burgess as well as Gary Foulds and Rayner Hart who were away this weekend. Stefan Przybojwski and family came around for Friday supper. Great to see him too and to met up with his family. They are returning to South Africa in September to live in Blaauwberg.