Printer Friendly
The Free Library
19,585,952 articles and books
Member login
User name  
Password 
 
Join us Forgot password?

Book chronicles couple's cross-country trip.


Byline: Bonnie bon·ny also bon·nie  
adj. bon·ni·er, bon·ni·est Scots
1. Physically attractive or appealing; pretty.

2. Excellent.
 Adams

MILLBURY - Like many people, John and Christine Caron had often dreamed about taking a trip across the country, perhaps when they retired. But after three close family members passed away in a short time several years ago, the Carons felt compelled to pursue that dream sooner than later.

Mr. Caron, writing as J.H. Caron, has written "HaRVey Cross the USA," which details how the couple traveled from their hometown of Millbury to the West Coast and back, in a recreational vehicle.

In spite of the fact that they had "never even been in a RV before," Mr. Caron said that after exhaustive research, they decided to purchase a new one from Flagg RV in West Boylston. They hitched up a Jeep Wrangler The Wrangler (also known as the YJ, TJ, and JK, as explained below) is an off-road vehicle produced by American automaker Chrysler under its Jeep marque.  to their 34-foot vehicle and set off on their journey on June 10, 2004.

Mr. Caron was working in IT for the federal courts in Worcester and Boston; his wife was an administrative assistant at WPI WPI - Worcester Polytechnic Institute . They saved some vacation time the previous year; both say their employers were quite understanding.

Over the course of the ensuing month, they traveled across the country, visiting family members and friends and taking the time to see a number of historical, cultural and popular tourist sites.

But the best part by far, Mr. Caron said, was when they met up with their adult children, along with the kids' significant others, once they arrived in California.

"I think the kids were thinking, `Who are these people planning a month off from work and just riding off to the west?' Certainly not the conservative, responsible parents they knew!" Mr. Caron noted. "(But) once the initial thought set in, they thought it was awesome and couldn't wait to join us in L.A."

Their son John Henry, his now wife, Shannon Fitzgerald Caron, their daughter Crystal, her boyfriend, Robert "Chip" Chipman, and their daughter Colleen col·leen  
n.
An Irish girl.



[Irish Gaelic cailín, diminutive of caile, girl, from Old Irish.
 and her boyfriend Teddy Zawalick, all enthusiastically joined the Carons for a week as they traveled up the Pacific Coast Highway Pacific Coast Highway may refer to:
  • Pacific Coast Highway (United States), a segment of State Route 1 in California
  • Pacific Coast Highway (New Zealand), a 420 kilometre highway http://www.newzealand.
 to Seattle.

"When the kids were with us they enjoyed each other's company and treated it like a vacation from work," Mr. Caron said of the dynamics of eight adults traveling in one vehicle. "We laughed at each other, with each other and at ourselves. We would do it again in a heartbeat immediately.

See also: heartbeat
 with everyone. ...

"And just seeing new things around every turn and sharing it with the family was the icing on the cake," he added.

All told, Mr. and Mrs. Caron traveled 9,500 miles in the RV, with another 1,500 miles in the Jeep on day trips.

Before he left, a colleague had suggested that Mr. Caron write a book about his adventure. The idea was appealing, so he took plenty of notes and recorded his thoughts in a tape recorder tape recorder, device for recording information on strips of plastic tape (usually polyester) that are coated with fine particles of a magnetic substance, usually an oxide of iron, cobalt, or chromium. The coating is normally held on the tape with a special binder.  throughout the month.

And although he had never written a book, he noted that he had "an absolutely great time writing it. I would love to write again and plan to."

The Carons are eagerly looking forward to future road trips.

"Perhaps," he noted in his book's conclusion, "the next time we will have some grandkids to bring along and take a few different roads, those roads less-traveled, but as inspiring as every turn we took and every small town we visited."

About six months after the trip, husband and wife founded Homestead Realty Group, for which he is a broker and she is owner. Mr. Caron still works full time for the courts; Mrs. Caron works part time at WPI.

Mr. Caron will be doing meet and greets at the Flagg RV booth at the 2009 Central New England New England, name applied to the region comprising six states of the NE United States—Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. The region is thought to have been so named by Capt.  RV and Camping Show at the DCU Center This article or section is written like an .
Please help [ rewrite this article] from a neutral point of view.
Mark blatant advertising for , using .
 in Worcester Feb. 20-22 and will also be at Borders in Shrewsbury at 1 p.m. Feb. 28.

"HaRVey Cross the USA" will be available at both of those locations and at the Ben Franklin Book Store on Salem Street in Worcester for $15.

The book may also be purchased online for $14.98 plus shipping at www.lulu.com/content/-2720095. Copies are also available in the Millbury and Worcester libraries.

ART: PHOTOS

PHOTOG pho·tog  
n. Informal
A person who takes photographs, especially as a profession; a photographer.
: SUBMITTED PHOTOS

CUTLINE: (1) Christine and John Caron at the Continental Divide. (2) John Caron shows off his RV. (3) The Carons visit at Hurricane Ridge Hurricane Ridge is a mountainous area in Washington's Olympic National Park. It can be accessed by road from Port Angeles and is open to hiking, skiing, and snowboarding.

At an elevation of about 5,200 feet, Hurricane Ridge is a year-round destination.
 at Olympic National Park Olympic National Park

National park, northwestern Washington, U.S. Established in 1938 to preserve the Olympic Mountains and their forests and wildlife, it covers 1,442 sq mi (3,735 sq km); it includes a strip of Pacific Northwest shoreline geographically separated from the
 in Washington. (4) John and Christine Caron met with their children and their mates for a trip up the Pacific Coast Highway during their 2004 adventure. (5) John and Christine Caron visited Mt. Rushmore during their 30-day cross-country trip.
COPYRIGHT 2009 Worcester Telegram & Gazette
No portion of this article can be reproduced without the express written permission from the copyright holder.
Copyright 2009 Gale, Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

 Reader Opinion

Title:

Comment:



 

Article Details
Printer friendly Cite/link Email Feedback
Publication:Telegram & Gazette (Worcester, MA)
Date:Feb 19, 2009
Words:763
Previous Article:St. John's honor roll.
Next Article:Sutton High honor roll.
Topics:

Terms of use | Copyright © 2012 Farlex, Inc. | Feedback | For webmasters | Submit articles