Jean-Marie

 Students from Saint Gaudens, France visited Black River High School and one of their chaperones stayed at my home. Jean-Marie was a delightful guest! His English was much better than my French. Still, we kept the dictionary nearby since his conversations went well beyond everyday needs.

Since he was a math teacher, I introduced him to the tile game of Rummykub. For his first weekend we visited Jack and Linda Weltner in Marblehead, Massachusetts. They have a beautiful home close to the Atlantic Ocean. We visited the Salem Witch Museum and the Peabody Museum and played a few games of Rummykub before heading home.

The next day Mary joined us and we headed for Fort Ticonderoga. It was closed, of course. Pas de problème. We parked my car and hiked in. (My muscles felt that for days!)

The next weekend we had lunch at Café Provence in Brandon, Vermont and then continued north. Norton's Gallery (see an earlier post for pictures of his carvings) was closed so we went on to the Morgan Horse Farm and then to the Morgan Museum in Middlebury.

Above is the statue of Justin Morgan's horse that started this Vermont breed. And to the right is Jean-Marie in a typical pose because he took pictures of everything. One day he actually left his camera at home. Fortunately, I had brought mine along and later he downloaded the pictures he had taken with my little, uncomplicated, camera so he could transfer them to his computer. After that experience, he always had his camera with him.

This is what we saw the next day...

We were heading for Howe Caverns in New York State. This store is actually in New York! Jean-Marie said the one figure on the roof was Napoleon Bonaparte. I suggested that it might be Samuel de Champlain. We didn't stick around to ask, but we both took a picture!

At Howe Caverns we first listened to a "talking" mannequin that was supposed to be the farmer who discovered the cave when his cows would always hang out by a few bushes in the middle of his field on hot days instead of staying in the shade under some trees. Cold air from the small cave opening kept the cows cool. It's always 50 degrees Fahrenheit down there.

Now-a-days there is an elevator and walkways with railings...and boats.

  That's a stream running alongside of the walkway. It eventually gets deep and wide enough for a boat ride!

Our group filled up the two boats that are docked here. The seats are padded, but they flip over the one section when people are getting on and off so that they don't step on the padding.

There was one area where the water was wide enough so that three boats could have been side by side. The river continues on into a quarry, but the boat ride ends long before reaching the quarry. Bats live in that section, away from the lights and noise.

Another section of the cavern is narrow and so winding that the person in front and behind tends to be out of sight around a bend. I called Jean-Marie so that he would come back around the corner. That's how I was able to get this picture.

On his last day, after school I took him to a local artist's gallery and then to the Vermont Country Store which is the most famous store in Vermont. He managed to find all sorts of things to take back to France. 

He had made a goal of beating me at Rummykub before leaving Vermont...and on his last night he succeeded handsomely with some really impressive moves! I didn't help him and I didn't see it coming. Well done!

Given a few years and a little luck, maybe I'll get a rematch with Jean-Marie in France...