I knew Bob and worked with him at the library. He was a kind, funny man and did seem to live very frugally. Although I believe he was a sports fan, I didn’t know him well enough to know what he would think about this. Personally, I would think that money could have been used in a better to way to honor his memory.

Yes. There are five of us that have been friends since elementary and/or middle school. We get together every couple months when we can.

I don't have any direct experience with this, but I think your response was perfect. That poor kid 😞

Is your daughter hoping to see all the New England states, or just a few? Seeing all six states is certainly do-able in a week, but it may take you longer than you'd expect. The states may be small geographically (except for Maine) but it actually can take a while to get from place to place. Traffic is usually sketchy in eastern Massachusetts, and on certain days/times in the summer in NH/Maine. I would say in choosing an airport, it really depends on where you'd like to visit. Sometimes it's cheaper to fly into Boston and other times into Providence or Manchester. It also depends on where you're coming from and what airline you're flying on. I think Expedia lets you search for flight/car packages, though I'm not sure that they include all the airlines. I live in southern NH. Based on what you've said your interests are, you could find an hotel or airbnb in northern MA or southern NH and make that your home base. From there, you could visit NH (which has a lot to offer in terms of hiking and nature), Boston (no shortage of history and museums), and southern Maine (very pretty coast and nature, and great dead fish if you'd like some :)) without driving extensively. That's just one way of doing certainly, There are no shortage of great places to visit up here!

97% for me. Now if I could only remember names, too!

We brought both our dogs (Rosie, a Beagle puppy and a Ginger, a lab mix) to Florida this past January for a two-week stay. We drove from New Hampshire and took three days each way. Like you, I didn't really want to leave them behind. We brought fold up wire crates for each of them and they (the crates, that is) fit nicely laid flat on the floor in the trunk in our minivan. Before leaving, I was most worried about how the beagle would do. She's awesome, but crazy and destructive! We rented a dog-friendly Airbnb, and fortunately, aside from a few nibbles of their couch cushions, she did well. It took a lot of diligence on our parts, though, and she definitely needed to be crated when we weren't home. It was a successful trip, but we had a different sort of vacation than one without furry dependents. A few things to you might consider ahead of your trip (if you haven't already :)): If you're staying in hotels at all on your trip, there are many that take dogs (often for a fee, though). Most don't allow you to leave them unattended in the room, though, which can be tricky. We would take shifts each morning for going to breakfast. Think about how long you feel comfortabIle leaving him/her in a crate. For me, that threshold was about 5-6 hours...that can be limiting if you have all day plans. That was probably the hardest thing for me to get adjusted to. Flea & Tick prevention is really necessary, especially in Florida! We used to live near Coral Springs (which I loved!) but our dog at the time constantly had fleas, even with prevention. Heartworm is also prevalant down there. Bring enough food for him/her for the whole trip, just in case the brand you usually use isn't available down there. If you're staying in hotels overnight on the way and back, It's handy to have individual portions set aside for travel days so you don't have lug the entire dog food container in and out of each hotel. Bring extra plastic bags for poop pick-up. Hope that helps some :) Enjoy your trip!

Sent you a PM

If I were in your shoes, I would likely choose an all-inclusive in the Caribbean somewhere. You can totally just relax and sit on the beach, or enjoy nightlife and/or excursions if you want more activity. You can also go to “adults only” resort if quiet is your goal. There are lots to choose from in both Mexico and the Dominican Republic, and several others around the Caribbean, depending on your budget. What time in November? It’s the tail end of the hurricane season. Aruba might be a good option, too, as they don’t really get hurricanes. Aruba is awesome!! On a side note, travel insurance is an excellent idea, especially if you leave the country. It covers medical expenses as well as trip-related interruptions. I am a travel agent and I always recommend that to my customers.

I will chime in and say that I think pro-social and moral behavior comes from a combination of things. Religious teachings may play a small part, but I think one's own biology, personality and parental influences probably have more to do with whether or not one is moral than their religious upbringing. I was raised and confirmed a Catholic and now (as of the last 15 years or so) I am an Atheist. I learned to be a good person from my parents and other adults that were important to me. I really don't think church or religious education had much to do with how I turned out. My children are being raised in a 100% non-religious house. Honestly, they are two of the most good-hearted, kind and moral people I know. They have a much better sense of how to treat people than I did at there age, and that's saying a lot as I was a pretty nice kid overall. Home'scool, no offense was taken on your original post! It's sparked an interesting discussion, actually.

As a family (including both dogs), we are currently driving to Florida to stay for two weeks. The weather looks great! I am taking a solo trip to England in June. I’ll be spending most of my time in Port Isaac (Doc Martin filming) and Newbury (A concert and reception at Highclere Castle.). I am so excited! This is my first solo trip for more than two days and my first trip to Europe.

We drive from NH to Orlando every year. Both Charleston and Savannah are great places to stop, though Charleston is about 45 minutes off the route. Tybee Island (near savannah) has a nice beach. On the way home from one of our trips (which happened to be in late October) we left Orlando in the morning, spent a couple hours at the beach on Tybee Island in the afternoon and then drove to Charleston that night and spent a half day there the next day. I highly recommend the highway rest stops in NC! They are the nicest I’ve seen, with lots of room to run around and they are safe and clean. Florence, SC has quite a few hotels and is somewhat of a midway point between MD and FL. Lots of restaurant options there, too. I am not sure if you’ve done many road trips before, but one of the best things I started doing for ours was to pack everything we needed for the “road trip” portion all in one suitcase. That way, we weren’t lugging multiple suitcases in and out of hotels each night. There is so much to do in Orlando! We are big Disney fans, but enjoy Harry Potter as well. The previous poster(s) were right in that it’s pretty pricey to try and do both in a 4-5 day trip. It can be hard to choose, though. One piece of advice about Universal: If you want to go there for Harry Potter, you’ll want to get the two park pass so you can ride Hogwarts Express between the two parks. Have a great trip!

Land Girls is good. Heartland is supposed to be good as well. Is she open to getting any other subscriptions? She might like Acorn TV (cheaper than Netflix). All sorts of great British and Australian TV shows, including Doc Martin which is no longer on Netflix.

You are very nice to take care of this little guy! I would definitely take him to a vet. Skin issues can sometimes be hard to diagnose right away, but the vet will have a protocol to help narrow it down. There are anti-itch medications that work really well, at least long enough for the wounds to heal. I agree with the above poster that he will likely need antibiotics for the wounds. He may also need to wear a cone so he can’t get at the hot spots. I am going through this now with one of my dogs. Hers is a bit of a mystery (just on her head). The anti-itch medicine they gave her works really well! She’s a much happier dog. Good luck!

Without knowing them or talking to them, I’d assume they were making some sort of statement, either in support of their own sexual identity or to support others’. Maybe I’d even wonder if they are making a statement to show support and inspiration to the younger girls at camp. Either way, I’d applaud them for it!

I have lived in either NH or MA for most of my life. Aside from dealing with aggressive drivers (which I find to be much worse in MA than in NH), my experiences are pretty different than yours. Overall, I find people to be pretty friendly here and I rarely encounter anyone who is overtly rude. I’d say 95% of the time, when I go to a store or a restaurant whoever is serving me is pleasant and often quite friendly. Not everyone is super chatty, but that’s ok with me, because I’m not either ? Sorry that your experiences have been negative! New England is a pretty big place and each state/town will have its own “personality.”