Cemetery Days

On Friday we headed down to Cape Cod. We wanted to go to the cemetery in Bourne, to my aunt and my dad's graves, and to visit with my 92 year old uncle. We always stay at my cousin's house in Mattapoisett (remember the mascot squirrel that had 'fried' itself on the power lines above their driveway?).

We left Rockport at about 9:15 in the morning, stopping to fill up the car's gas tank and to buy flowers for the graves before leaving the island. We had a relatively easy drive down with little traffic and made it to the Bourne Bridge in less than two hours. The Bourne Bridge is one of the nightmares of the drive, for me. It bugs me to actually be the driver on high bridges when there is no breakdown lane. Sort of a claustrophobic kind of thing, I guess. Anyway, it was a dull, misty day with some fog creeping in now and then. Not a breeze and in the low 60's F. As we turned in to the main drive of the National Cemetery we were greeted with a reminder that this is Veteran's Day weekend. Veteran's Day (or Remembrance Day in Canada) is on Tuesday but the National Cemetery is having a special program on Sunday. Even though all the flags were limp with moisture and no wind, the drive in was still impressive. You really need to click on the photo below to get the full impact of all the flags.We went first up to my aunt's grave and clipped the grass all around her stone and put a bouquet of flowers in one of the metal stake-able vases that the cemetery provides. Then we drove back to my dad's grave and did the same. When we finished we parked near the entrance and took the picture of the flag lined boulevard.

Then we headed back towards the bridge and on to Rte. 6 to eat at a Friendly's. We got to my cousin's in the mid afternoon and visited for awhile (one of my other cousins stopped by, as well) and then we went to visit my uncle. After our visit with him, we drove out to Acushnet to find the cemetery where my great grandparents are buried. By the time we got there it was dark. We drove around in the cemetery but could find the markers.

Off we headed just around the corner in Acushnet to a little restaurant that has been in business since 1937. All sorts of good food and scrumptious desserts. Then back to the cousin's for the night.

This morning we got up early for breakfast and packed up our overnight stuff. By 9 a.m. we were on the road again. This time to the Rural Cemetery in New Bedford where my maternal grandparents and another uncle are buried. First though we did a drive-by of the house where my aunt and uncle used to live and a stop at the Sunrise Bakery to buy meat pies to bring home. At the Rural Cemetery we staked flowers at the graves. From there we got back on the highway and headed home. 'A' had to be at work this afternoon.