Connecticut River Docks

First, thanks for all your great advice and best wishes yesterday. Jake, and therefore his parents, had a much better time of it last night and all caught up on a bit of sleep. I didn't fare quite so well myself, having a bit of a delirious night and I've been streaming with cold all day. It's already gone straight to my chest. I've been feeling a bit sorry for myself, not so much because of the cold itself, but because I've been wary all day of getting too close to anyone. I've confined myself to barracks as much as possible, just hoping upon hope that I don't pass this bug on. What is the protocol in this situation? Fortunately, I'm spending the weekend away from here. I'll have an opportunity to vent myself of this is in a whole other State before returning to Massachusetts on Monday.

My day took a turn for the worse late this afternoon when I tried to sort out what I thought was a minor problem with the bike which I discovered towards the end of my short ride yesterday. In the end it turned into quite a major problem, which had the potential to put pay to any cycling for the rest of the trip.

The downside to being, perhaps quite unusually, at home with both numbers and words is that a price has to be paid somewhere. I'm a great believer in there being no such thing as a free lunch. In my case, I pay for my numeracy and literacy with a total inability to deal with mechanical problems. That part of my brain is simply missing. I am utterly inept! Although my brother and I are very similar (indeed, we found out today that we both dislike mushiness so much that we each independently went through a period when we ate our cornflakes dry, with a glass of milk beside the bowl!), he does seem to have quite a practical bent.

He stuck at the problem in hand and would not let it go until a solution was found. I was rather impressed with the application of mind to matter and the steely determination he showed. I owe you one mate! You've turned out really rather well, despite not having me around much! I should give sister-in-law a mention too. She's a total star in every department, an incredibly patient and capable mother already, and despite all the demands of Jake over the last few days, still cooking us all some fabulous food. Bro, you did good there! I'm so proud of you both.

I had very little energy today so just popped down to the Connecticut River, which is just a mile from my brother's place here. It's massive. There was some impressive cloud action going on too, as the rain cleared through to leave a bright but cool and breezy afternoon. The weather looks set to improve over the weekend so fingers crossed for that. To provide some bearings, the highest peak in the distance, in the direction of the decking, is Mt.Holyoke, the descent from which I blipped yesterday.

I've been hanging out (at a distance!) with the family tonight before leaving for a long weekend. Again I've had no opportunity to catch up. Thanks so much for the hearts and stars for the shot of the forest road. It was hard to do the palette of greens justice, but perhaps I did better than I realised. I appreciate your feedback so much. It's been the brightest part of my day, picking up comments from you guys. Thank you again guys. You are all the most fabulous virtual friends.