I wrote several Genea-Musings posts about our vacation travels all over the United States and some foreign countries, but they are all in my "Engineer-speak" and "Just-the-facts" writing style. One was Memories - Our 1994 New England Summer Vacation.
I wondered if my AI-assistant Anthropic Claude could turn it into an engaging story about our 1994 vacation trip to New England. Here is Claude's description:
Two Weeks in New England in 1994
A Story of Family, History, and Adventure
The adventure began on a warm Thursday morning in July 1994. Linda and Randy stood at the San Diego airport, suitcases at their feet, ready to embark on a journey that would blend genealogy research, family reunions, and the timeless beauty of New England. For Randy, this trip represented a chance to walk in the footsteps of his ancestors. For Linda, it promised new experiences, historic sites, and perhaps a few treasures to bring home. Neither knew just how memorable the next two weeks would become.
Boston Calling
After the long flight from the West Coast, they touched down in Boston, that cradle of American history where cobblestone streets still whispered stories of revolution. The Boston Park Plaza awaited them—once known as the Statler-Hilton, now offering a special rate of $109 per night with free parking. It was the perfect base for their first day of exploration.
Friday morning found the couple splitting up, each pursuing their passion. Randy disappeared into the hushed halls of the New England Historic Genealogical Society, where he would spend five intensive hours poring over records, tracing the threads of his family tree through centuries of carefully preserved documents. Meanwhile, Linda hopped aboard the Boston Trolley, letting it carry her past the Old North Church, through the winding streets of the North End, and eventually to the bustling heart of Quincy Market and Faneuil Hall. The market's energy was infectious—street performers, vendors calling out their wares, the smell of fresh seafood and baked goods filling the air.
By afternoon, they reunited and pointed their rental car north toward New Hampshire, leaving the city behind for the promise of family waiting in Salem.
A Family Homecoming
Diana's home in Salem was everything they'd hoped for—a beautiful house nestled on six acres of New Hampshire countryside, complete with a sparkling pool and the warm chaos that only three wonderful kids and a dog can create. Diana, Randy's first cousin once removed, welcomed them with open arms, her husband Chuck right beside her. Years ago, Diana had visited San Diego as a young girl with her grandparents, and now the tables had turned.
Across the road stood an 18th-century saltbox house, home to Virginia, Diana's mother and Randy's first cousin. Though the house bore the scars of a February fire that had sent Virginia into the challenging process of rebuilding, it still held an undeniable charm, its weathered boards testament to the generations who had lived within its walls.
The weekend unfolded like a tapestry of family connections. Saturday brought a drive to North Attleborough, Massachusetts, where they met Beth Ann, Larry, and eight-month-old Corey, whose chubby cheeks and bright eyes captured everyone's hearts. Sunday transformed Diana's backyard into a full-fledged family reunion. Debbie arrived with her daughter Laurie, son-in-law Paul, and four-month-old Carly. JoEllen came with Roy and their children, Sarah and Benjamin. The air filled with laughter, splashing, the sizzle of the barbecue, and the sweet sound of cousins getting to know cousins.
Randy moved from group to group, notebook in hand, diligently recording births, marriages, and all the additions to the family tree. For him, these weren't just names and dates—they were the living continuation of the lines he'd been researching, proof that history wasn't something that ended in dusty archives but continued in the laughter of children playing in a New Hampshire pool.
The Serendipitous Research Trail
Monday morning arrived with purpose. Randy and Linda set out on the research trail, winding through Nashua to Brookline and finally arriving in Townsend, Massachusetts, a town that held pieces of Randy's family puzzle. They'd planned to visit the town hall to search for Hildreth and Sawtell data, but fate had other plans.
As they climbed the steps to the town hall, a voice rang out: "Linda!" A man had jumped from his car and was racing up the steps toward them. It was Allen, a friend from Westford, who just happened to be passing through Townsend at that exact moment. In a region full of small towns and winding roads, what were the odds? They laughed at the serendipity of it all.
Inside, the town clerk proved to be wonderfully helpful, pulling out correspondence files and allowing Randy to take notes. As he worked, she studied his face and remarked that he looked just like a Don Hildreth—another thread connecting past to present. The afternoon took them through three Townsend cemeteries, where weathered headstones revealed Sawtell and Hildreth ancestors, one and two generations back respectively. They even found graves for the Kidder family, information they'd later share with cousin Donna, a Prodigy connection who shared the Sawtell and Hildreth lines.
By evening, they'd checked into the Motel 6 in Leominster, exhausted but satisfied with the day's discoveries.
Archives and Angels
Tuesday saw another split in their daily adventures. Randy rose early and drove to Worcester, where the courthouse held Seaver probate and land records. He spent hours wrestling with an ancient microfilm machine, ordering probate packets, and writing careful abstracts of land records. The machine fought him every step of the way, but his determination won out, and he emerged with tremendous success—sheaves of copies and pages of notes.
Meanwhile, Linda enjoyed a leisurely day at the nearby mall and the motel pool, the summer sun warm on her shoulders. Randy's afternoon included a stop at Evergreen Cemetery in Leominster, where he paid his respects to more ancestors resting in the New England soil.
That evening brought them to the Old Mill Restaurant in Westminster, where they met Allen and his wife Cora—a longtime friend of Linda's—for dinner. Good food, good friends, and stories that carried them late into the night.
Wednesday morning found Randy back on the trail, this time in Westminster searching for more Seaver gravestones. At Woodside Cemetery, he discovered they kept cards for every marked grave in all Westminster cemeteries—a researcher's dream. He found all the Seaver graves, including three ancestral families. Later, reunited with Linda, they drove to Sudbury for lunch at Longfellow's Wayside Inn, a historic establishment that had been serving travelers since 1716. They tried their luck at a Sudbury graveyard looking for early Seavers but came up empty. No matter—Concord awaited, with its shops and the famous North Bridge, where the Revolutionary War's "shot heard 'round the world" had been fired.
The day ended in Westford, where they shared dinner with Peter and Barbie—Randy's cousin—at their new home in a development aptly named Hildreth Heights. The circle of family and genealogy was complete.
Back to Boston and New Connections
Thursday meant another return to Boston. Randy dove back into the New England Historic Genealogical Society, this time focusing on Seaver people in the Vital Record volumes, making careful notes about Massachusetts Vital Records available on microfilm. Linda, having had her fill of the genealogical society, headed to the Hancock Center and made another visit to Faneuil Hall—clearly, the market had made an impression.
That evening, after checking into the Motel 6 in Framingham, they met Ron and Linda at a local restaurant. This Linda was a Prodigy cousin of Randy's—one of those wonderful modern connections where people who share ancestors but have never met can find each other through technology. They spent hours sharing family news and genealogy, the conversation flowing as easily as if they'd known each other for years -- and they had, virtually!
Cape Cod Calling
Friday brought a change of scenery. They pointed the car east toward Cape Cod, that sandy arm reaching into the Atlantic. The Southfleet Motel in South Wellfleet became their base for the next several days, and they immediately fell in love with the area's relaxed, beachy charm.
They explored the town, Randy making a dutiful stop at the Wellfleet Historical Society to search for Dill family data (though luck wasn't with him this time). Linda was more successful, hunting for angels in the gift shops, curio stores, and antique shops that lined the streets. At Cahoon Hollow Beach, they soaked in the sun and surf, purchasing two T-shirts for San Diego cousin Paula Jo (married to a Cahoon).
The day took an unexpected turn when Linda won a radio station contest right there at the beach club. They struck up a conversation with a wild and crazy guy from Brooklyn—the kind of random encounter that makes travel memorable. Dinner at the harbor was followed by a trip to Sunset Beach to watch the sun sink into the Atlantic, painting the sky in shades of orange and pink. They capped off the evening with ice cream at a great little place they'd discovered in Wellfleet.
Saturday followed a similar pattern—Randy tried again for Dill family data at the Sturgis Library in Barnstable while Linda shopped up the street. Pool time at the motel, another dinner at Wellfleet Harbor, more ice cream. They were settling into a perfect Cape Cod rhythm.
Sunday morning arrived bright and early, pulling them from their comfortable beds for a nature walk through the Audubon sanctuary in South Wellfleet. With a guide leading the way, they hiked through marshes and trees, learning to identify the birds that made this coastal habitat their home. The path eventually opened onto the beach, where the Atlantic stretched endlessly before them.
They drove through Eastham, stopping for lunch and shopping, then returned to the motel for an afternoon by the pool. The World Cup final played on TV—a perfect lazy Sunday. Dinner in Eastham rounded out another idyllic Cape Cod day.
The Tip of the Cape
Monday took them to the very tip of Cape Cod—Provincetown, that artistic, eccentric town where the Pilgrims first landed before moving on to Plymouth. The Pilgrim Memorial tower loomed over the town, and Randy, never one to shy away from a challenge, climbed to the top. "Whew!" he declared upon returning to solid ground, legs shaky from the ascent.
The Whydah Museum told the story of a pirate ship that had wrecked on Cape Cod in the 1700s, its treasures now on display. Then came the real adventure: shopping in the maze of Provincetown's narrow streets, where art galleries stood next to fudge shops, and street performers entertained the crowds. They ended up having lunch on the dock, watching fishing boats come and go, before heading back to Wellfleet for more pool time, dinner, and of course, ice cream.
Into Connecticut
Tuesday meant leaving Cape Cod behind. They drove west through Hyannis, Taunton, and Providence, crossing into Connecticut and arriving in Putnam. Along the way, they stopped at the graveyard in East Killingly, where they found Jonathan Oatley, one more ancestor resting in New England soil.
The King's Inn in Putnam became their home for the next couple of nights. Right next door, Grove Street Cemetery held two generations of Richmonds. They drove out toward Woodstock, exploring country shops and stores, each one offering its own unique treasures.
Wednesday brought another serendipitous moment. Randy dropped Linda in downtown Putnam for shopping, then drove to Killingly to find the Bugbee Library and a cemetery list. The library was closed—a researcher's nightmare. But as Randy stood there wondering what to do, a man loading his car asked what he needed.
It turned out this man had written a book on the cemeteries of Killingly. What were the odds? He led Randy to the town hall, where a copy of the book waited. Randy spent hours searching through cemetery books and vital records for his Richmond, White, Oatley, and Wade families. He found one family they'd missed at the East Killingly cemetery—Henry White's grave—and made another trip out to find it.
After collecting Linda from her shopping expedition in Putnam, they headed to Woodstock for more browsing. At 3 PM, they arrived at the farmhouse of cousin Russell and Helen Richmond, whom they'd first met during a 1990 visit. The reunion was warm and genuine. They went out to dinner together, then returned to the farmhouse to watch deer play in the field below the house as evening settled over Connecticut.
The Journey Home
Thursday, July 21st, marked their last day in New England. From Putnam, they drove to Sturbridge, Massachusetts, where Linda found a special store—conveniently located right next to a graveyard, perfectly symbolizing the dual nature of their trip. From there, they took the Massachusetts Turnpike back to Boston and the airport.
That evening, they touched down in San Diego, their home city welcoming them back with familiar warmth. But they were different than when they'd left two weeks earlier. Linda's suitcase was full of angels collected from Cape Cod shops. Randy had visited 28 dead relatives in 11 graveyards and spent countless fruitful hours in libraries and courthouses, filling notebooks with data that would help him reconstruct his family's history.
More than that, though, they'd reconnected with cousins who'd become friends, made new connections with relatives they'd only known through genealogy records, and experienced the serendipity of chance meetings in small New England towns. They'd walked through centuries-old cemeteries where their ancestors rested, touched gravestones worn smooth by time and weather, and stood in places where their family's story had unfolded generations before.
It had been, by any measure, a fun, rewarding, and relaxing two-week trip. But more than that, it had been a journey through time—connecting past to present, honoring those who came before, and celebrating the family that continued to grow and thrive. From Boston to Cape Cod, from New Hampshire farmhouses to Connecticut cemeteries, they'd traced the map of Randy's heritage while creating memories that would last a lifetime.
And somewhere in New England, in those 11 graveyards they'd visited, those 28 ancestors rested a little easier, knowing they hadn't been forgotten, that their great-great-great-however-many-times grandson had come all the way from California to pay his respects and ensure their stories would continue to be told.
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Can Google NotebookLM turn this into an Infographic and Video Overview? Of cource!! The Infographic is at the top of this post, and the video is here:
Would this be better in a first-person narrative rather than a third-person narrative? I'll do another Vacation summary and see how first-person works out.
Claude followed my blog post very well, and also added some interpretation and summation to the narrative.
Links to my blog posts about using Artificial Intelligence are on my Randy's AI and Genealogy page. Links to AI information and articles about Artificial Intelligence in Genealogy by other genealogists are on my AI and Genealogy Compendium page.
Copyright (c) 2026, Randall J. Seaver
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