People have been having trouble reaching me and placing comments on this blog. I'm so sorry!. I should have printed my contact numbers from the beginning of the trip. The best I can do now is to print them here now—better late than never. Here they are: my cellphone: 503-385-6118; my traveling email: john1848@gmail.com. I apologize to those of you who tried and failed to reach me. If I have passed through your neck of the woods and we didn't get together, I am truly sorry, we would love to have seen you. We won't now be able to go back to see you. I'll just have to do better next time. Between now and then, you are all always welcome to visit us in Oregon anytime. 503-585-4298; bvmcintosh@comcast.net.
22 June
It was purely a travel day, but there were lovely things to see. Unfortunately, both our cameras were down; mine because I forgot to pack the battery charger; Valerie's simply gave up the ghost. I got her another, and we can call it an early birthday present (9 July). It was too late, however, for the best of the views. I-80 follows the Susquehanna River for several miles, and the valley views with the many well-maintained farms were gorgeous.
At the end of the day we set up for the night in Kool Lakes, a private, unaffiliated campground in Parkman, Ohio—not spectacular but very pleasant and quite convenient to tomorrow's events. Tomorrow we are looking forward to visiting with Bob Zimmerman and his mother, Phebe. Bob & I have been sharing old photographs and information since the first McIntosh reunion that I have been privileged to attend in the summer of 2000. When I look back at that event I still can't believe it happened. I don't remember how many came—I have that information at home—but I do remember that Bob was there with his mother and father, and his three brothers and much of their families. The reunion was made conceivable by Lenore & Neil McIntosh. It was Lenore who released a flood of information that showed me that I had a great bounty of cousins in Ohio and beyond. And Phebe provided me with names, phone numbers and addresses. We all had one thing in common: two ancestors named James McIntosh & Agnes Davidson. More and other interesting relationships have since been discovered, but the core that came that day were particularly special to me. With a little bit of tweaking from Phebe and others they came; some hadn't met since childhood; other had never met. We met in a cemetery in which most had never been. We were rained on; we split into two groups, but it was a magical day, and I shall never forget it.
Tomorrow I meet again with Phebe and Bob. I'm greatly looking forward to it.
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