We arrived at Howard's just after lunch so had plenty of time to reminisce before we went to check out the local watering hole. Many stories were exchanged about how wonderful we all were (I mean are!). We recalled students we had all taught in Warren and wondered what had happened to some of the young teachers we had met. By the end of the afternoon it was as if we had seen each other for the last time only a week ago, I guess this is usually the way with real friends.

Drinks this evening were to be at Rho, Trenton a venue by the water surrounded by trees. We were a bit early as the bar didn't open until 4pm so we walked down to check out the local baseball field. The season is over but the field was still accessible as there was an event on there that night. We wandered in for a couple of photos and Greg was given a lesson by Howard on what all the statistics meant. Players from this AAA League feed into the New York Yankees and other major league teams if they are good enough. We then wandered over to the bar for a couple of cool beers. One of Howard's friends, Meg, joined us for dinner.

Saturday morning and Greg and I were dispatched to purchase the bagels for the day. Howard first introduced us to bagels in 1976, before they had been heard of in Australia; those bagels however were mouldy when they arrived by mail from New Jersey in Warren - no airmail! We did however eat our first bagel with Howard in New York in 1982. While at the bagel shop we chatted to 4 young girls who were fundraising for their town soccer team. We left them with a bit of a history lesson about Australia and an Australian coin for each of them to keep. When we got back to Howard's we were just in time to collect the mail and have a chat with the postie - yes, on Saturday! After telling Howard about the girls at the bagel shop and showing him a photo, we discovered that they were some of Howard's students. Small world!

Around lunchtime, Marsha, Howard's friend arrived to spend the rest of the day with us. We first met Marsha in 1982 on a previous visit. Marsha was also an art teacher before she retired eight years ago. After lunch we set off to explore the area around Washington Crossing, the site where George Washington and his troops crossed the Delaware River on December 25th, 1776 on the eve of the Battle of Trenton. We crossed the Washington Crossing Bridge from New Jersey into Pennsylvania and spent quite a while exploring beside the Delaware River checking out the local history. The scenery was spectacular with historical buildings to see, examples of the boats Washington used, statues and even a copy of the painting of Washington crossing the river, the original is in the Metropolitan Museum of art in New York. The area beside the river was so pretty it was even being used as the backdrop for some wedding photos while we were there.


Next stop was Bowman Towers where we were promised a great view of the surrounding countryside. As the lift was broken, Greg, Marsha and I opted to stay at the bottom while Howard climbed the stairs for the photos, we weren't left out though as he got a great shot of both the view and us sitting at the bottom.

We decided to drive on to New Hope for lunch. This small town was a hive of activity as people wandered the streets checking out the numerous art galleries and retail outlets. As the weather was fine and it was Saturday we were rewarded with the sight and sounds that we know so well, bikers. Most bikes were Harleys, we only saw 4 sports bikes for the whole day. Classic cars like the Corvette were also about enjoying the glorious days of the beginning of Fall.

We then drove back across the Delaware on the New Hope - Lambertville Bridge in to the pretty town of Lambertville. The main retailers here were antique stores. As it was getting late, many of them were closing up for the day so we headed off for dinner. Marsha had booked us a table at De Anna's Italian Restaurant, just as well as the place was chockers - always a good sign! Dinner was delicious as were the beers. After dinner we said our farewells to Marsha - until next time.

Our last day with Howard was spent going for a 3 mile morning walk through The Veterans Park in Hamilton. The scenery was glorious and Greg got his history fix by viewing the memorials to veterans from past wars.

Our afternoon was spent at an event in a church at Ewing. Some of Howard's art was on display as activists and artists joined together to promote gun sense in America. This event was part of a day of action called Concert Across America to End Gun Violence. Stalls provided information to visitors and films were shown to raise awareness of the problems America face with gun violence. The event organisers hope to raise awareness nationwide about the issue, and how reform could help cure America's gun violence. The afternoon was very thought provoking.


The rest of the day was spent with Howard giving Greg an NFL lesson as Washington Redskins played New York Giants. Howard was not very impressed as his team, the New York Giants, lost.

Tomorrow we say goodbye to Howard and head further south.