Part 10 of Paul "Blue" Hartridge's travels throughout the US visiting boatsailors and other folks of equally questionable character.

Leg 20 - Rochester, New York - 4/1/2004 - Host: Carl Meyers

Carl Meyer:  What can I say, Blue's luck holds firm. When I picked him up in Niagara Falls, Ontario yesterday it was 38 degrees drizzly, wet, damp and cold. We went to the Canadian falls and spent about an hour there. Blue bought a few souveniers and we decided that was enough. The rest of the day was pretty laid back. We sat and talked for about 4 hours then went out for a nice Italian dinner. His train was due to leave at 6:34 this morning so we packed it in rather early. Reville was at 05:00 this morning and on the road at 05:15. We got to the station and wouldn't you know the train was two hours late. We sat and chatted til the train came. Blue talked about going out on a pub crawl, but I wasn't up to it. lol Actually I think Blue was a little nackered after Doc and Pat finished with him. Or maybe, just maybe it was the strain that Heather put on his poor old ticker.  I've attached the one picture of Blue that I took at the falls (below). He has more on his camera which he'll probably send along once he gets to John's. Click on photos for larger view:    Shots from Niagara Fall, Canada Carl Meyers and Blue Blue on  4/3: I am now in Saco, Maine with John Bay and his daughter Heather. After leaving Doc Gardner's place, I went to Niagara Falls and was met by Carl Myers who lives in Rochester. He showed me Niagara Falls which is impressive for just some water falling over a cliff. The weather wasn't really the best, misty, light drizzle. We were going to visit the USS Croaker but enroute it started raining fairly heavily so we just cancelled that idea and went to his home and chatted. Later that evening we went to dinner at a lovely Italian restaurant and had a couple of drinks. Carl then got me to the Rochester Amtrak station early for the 0634 scheduled train but that was running 2 hours late, so I caught the 0752 train instead.( which was on time) However, I had to wait in Albany ( pronounced "Al Bany", not "All Bany" lol ) for that late train to catch up. Instead of catching a train from Boston to Saco, I had to catch a bus to Portland and that is where John and Heather met me. Blue *_*

Leg 21 - Saco, Maine- 4/2/2004 - Host: John Bay

Blue: I arrived in Boston 1 hour late and too late to get to the next station in time. I overheard someone talking about a bus that goes to Portland, so, I followed them and got the last seat! Safe and sound here with John and Heather...no Doc Gardner, not 'that' Heather but John's 12 yr old daughter!! Cheers mate ( Carl ) for picking me up and showing me Niagara Falls etc.  - Blue *_*  John Bay 4/3: Blue and Heather braved the dreary day (His legacy!) to go down to Kennebunkport to see George Bush, but Barbara would not let him come out to play... Then all hands went to Portsmouth, New Hampster to see the Albacore. Even though the web site and signs said it is open every day but Thursday and Friday, the scribbled sign on the door said "Back Monday" There were a lot of teed off people in and out of the Parking lot. Left to right- Tom O'Conner, Blue, John Bay.   Tomorrow Tommy Cox and wife will be coming down for a guitar session and lobster feed with Blue and Tom O'Conner. We will report on that one tomorrow. By the way- At the All You Can Eat Chinese Buffet, I found out that Blue does not really eat as much as others have previously reported. He only went back 7 times for refills on his plate. 4/4 Blue: G'day Don, Sunday in Maine... Today we prepared for the arrival of Tom O'Connor and Tommy Cox and his wife, Sandra. Well, everybody arrived and soon we watched Tommy help young Heather tune in her guitar. Then, the moment I never imagined I would experience arrived. Tommy played some of his classics for us, 'Torpedo in the Water', 'Paybacks are Hell', 'Blind Man's Bluff', 'Kursk' 'State of Maine' and some others culminating with 'America the Beautiful' Wow, what a performance and it brought some emotions to the surface for me to be in this situation! We then tucked in to some lobsters, I was 'force fed' 2 lobsters and one or two dozen prawns...ok, shrimps. Sat back down to listen to some 'warries' and then Tommy and Sandra had to leave for Caribou, just a mere 300 miles away.It was indeed such a pleasure and an honour to meet Tommy, and he gave me his ball cap with his name embroidered on. he he he...POD, you missed out on one hell of a concert mate! LOL ( That will teach you for putting work before pleasure!! ) All in all, a great day. Blue *_* 4/4 John Bay: A great day here. Attendees were Blue, of course, Sandra, (Tommy's wife), Tommy Cox, Tom O'Connor, Heather and John Bay. The menu was clam cakes, shrimp cocktail, and lobster with fresh baked bread... Blue had 12 servings and two full lobsters...    Left to right (second photo)- John Bay, Tom O'Connor, Heather Bay, Blue, Tommy Cox. Doc Gardner's chair was empty. Musta been in the head! (Both he and Ron Martinin called during the festibities... Tommy put on a great show for us. All present reported a good time. They left too much beer in the refrigerator, but I have few leftovers to store.. Just a pound or so of shrimp cocktail. I suspect the wild guy from down there can help me out with that problem, tho! Blue is amazing! He has not belched yet! Look out Groton! Here he comes! And a few more from Blue:    Lahbstah.  John, Tom, Blue and Tommy.  Blue in some Maine snow this time. And some John Bay let me grab from his online collection:    Blue and his big bug. Blue eating his big bug. The travel shirt's getting bigger.   Blue's arrival at John Bay's place (hey, I recognize that BBS) and a great shot of him departing Maine in his beloved snow!

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