Sweet Endings!

Well we are home now happy to see our kitties! We had the best kitty sitter ever this year!! After our trip to Virginia Beach we visited our friends Bob and Don in Myrtle Beach and had a wonderful visit. 3 spaces from the beach and a nice breeze so that Les could fly his kite...from there we meandered to South Carolina and for the first time stayed at the James Island County Park. This was really nice and so close to Charleston. We drove over to Charleston and went to the open air market and just had a good time looking around. We stretched our vacation out two more days by staying at one of our favorite Florida spots (Flamingo Lake in Jacksonville) and then headed back to our humble abode here in Florida just in time to watch all the Earl news!! Good trip, good food, best company. See you in 2011...Pat, Les, Shirley

Delaware, Wiliamsburg Virginia

We headed out from Newburgh NY to Frederica Delaware where Shirley’s sister-in-law Edith and Leslie’s Aunt lives. She was visiting one of her sons in Williamsburg VA and they drove her the 5 hours home the day before we arrived so that she could visit with us. Since our next stop was in Virginia we would have gone to her, but it was really nice that they did that. We had a nice visit in a perfect campground (her front yard) that provided plenty of electricity and water! It was nice to see all of the grandchildren playing around and some of Edith’s kids. This was a nice visit and relaxing for Shirley. She was thrilled to see Edith and catch up on family news.

On Sunday we left Delaware and headed to Cousin Noel’s house in Williamsburg VA. Three years ago we had the pleasure of taking Noel and Nancy’s two children Kara and Jamie to Yellowstone National Park when we all landed for a visit in Wyoming, so we were excited to see the “girls” again. We had a really nice visit with them and was treated to an impromptu cookout! Shirley had pie and Pepsi so she was happy! Off we are headed to Virginia Beach for some wave time at the beach!

New York City Tour

Today, August 12, we head out on the bus trip to NYC. It is a cloudy overcast day which suits us just fine considering how hot the city can be when the full sun is out. Our first stop is in Battery Park, lower Manhattan, to board a ferry for the State of Liberty and Ellis Island. We took lots of photos and thankfully you have to make reservations to actually climb into the Statute some months in advance so that was out for us (yeah!)…we had an opportunity to drive by the World Trade Center which was abuzz with activity of new buildings. In Battery Park the original Sphere that resided on the property of the Towers now resides in the Park, surrounded by an eternal flame. It’s amazing that the Sphere survived with as little damage as it has. It was a moving sight. From there we headed to Fulton Street, South Street Seaport for a lunch break and to gaze upon the Brooklyn Bridge. Our next stop was the Empire State Building where we were whisked up 2 elevators on a priority basis (gotta love the wheelchair)…awesome sight but eerie if you have ever been there before and seen the Towers from there. My friend Kathy and I toured NYC exactly 1 month to the day before 9-11 and we both marveled at the sight of the Towers then. Our final stop was Times Square where were wheeled Shirley up and down the Square. It was neat to do that and because it was cloudy the lights (they are on 24/7) could be seen very nicely. She really enjoyed that. Of course the tour guide pointed out tons of other sights.

August 6 - 10 New England, New York

Returned to Middleboro for a final weekend of seafood and visiting before we head out to Newburgh New York (about 1 ½ hours outside of NYC) for a couple of days of relaxing (what else do we do?) and some sightseeing. We really enjoyed our visiting and it was sad to leave the family there. We left Monday morning ready for our next adventure. We are staying at the KOA in Newburgh/NYC really located in Plattekill, NY. We decided to stay here until Friday morning when we will head out to visit with Leslie’s Aunt Edith and her family in Delaware. From there we haven’t decided if we are going to Philadelphia for some touring or directly to Myrtle Beach SC to see Bob and Don…ah the decisions that loafers have to make! We decided to ride to Orange County Choppers main headquarters today (for those of you that watch American Choppers that’s the new building) and shop around for t-shirts and see the shop. It was fun, free and a great way to kill some time. After that visit we headed up to the largest Farmers Market in the Hudson Valley. Of course we had to buy a fresh out of the oven, piping hot still homemade apple pie! After a quick trip to the grocery store for a turkey breast, we had lunch, well Shirley and I had a real lunch, Les had a piece of pie with ice cream!

Tomorrow we may head to FDRs house in Hyde Park and maybe a couple of our touristy spots and Thursday we have booked a bus tour of NYC. It’s reasonably priced and has excellent handicapped access so Shirley can be comfortable. We’ll see the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, Ground Zero, Wall Street, City Hall, Times Square and some other interesting sights as well as lunch at South Street Seaport. We are looking forward to that trip as well as some cooler weather predicted for Thursday.

Scarborough Maine and beyond!

Landed in Scarborough Maine on August 2nd to visit with Dee Dee, have a few laughs, some seafood and generally just relax! We have been visiting with lots of people and eating lots of food so we needed a break to get ourselves back in vacation mode. Dee Dee was in South Carolina over the weekend and we were anxious to hear about her trip, even though we were worried that it would be awfully hot there at this time of the year. Monday Leslie visited his childhood friend, David Atwood and his wife Janet, for an overnight in Porter, Maine where they reside. After I dropped him at David’s work for the overnight I went to Biddeford to see Bill B. a friend who relocated to Maine from Florida. After that Shirley and I were off to our seafood dinner girls night out. Back to the RV for a ballgame and early evening. Tuesday morning I picked up Les at 7:00 (he had a great time with his friends) and off we went with the bikes for the beach at Pine Point and a little ride to explore the area. After a swim we headed back to the RV and the three of us went to Old Orchard Beach and Wells Maine where we visited a another friend who splits her time between Wells and Florida. We headed to the beach across the street from Marie’s and Les went in the water (it was too cold for me outside and in the water). Then back to the RV for a nap and to await our dinner plans with Dee Dee. We had a great time visiting and laughing just like the old days and we were really happy to spend time with her, even though it wasn’t really long enough. She treated us to Beal’s Ice Cream (yum) so that topped the evening.

We returned to Middleboro to get ready for the big High School Reunion for Shirley which was held today. While Shirley was visiting with grandson Joshua Ray and his wife Sarah (she was on Oprah Show last year) Leslie picked up one of Shirley’s friends (who is also named Shirley) at her home in Plymouth. The 4 of us went to the restaurant for the function. Although there were not a lot of people that were able to make it, we all had a good time. Les and I enjoyed talking with the folks and listening to some of their stories of the war and school times. It was really fun and I know Shirley enjoyed herself. The food was very good and we were not rushed.

I am posting some photos from Maine, some family and then from the Reunion.

Acadia National Park (Part 2)

Today we visited another section of Acadia National Park, and purported to be one of the most beautiful views on the Eastern Seaboard. It was not disappointing and was a gorgeous rocky Maine coast, open to the Atlantic Ocean to the East and to the Bay of Fundy (famous for their tides, look it up!) to the Northeast. Although we did not see any Moose or wildlife to speak of the views were spectacular and the photos do not do it justice. Pay special attention to the pink granite which is evident in Cadillac Mountain. We also came across this "lobster claw" carved from a tree and painted red, very Maine. We were glad that we made the side trip even though we had much discussion over whether to do so. Thanks to Carolyn Benton for the suggestion!

Shirley ordered and enjoyed her first Maine Lobster Roll (toasted of course) that she has had in some time. Usually she likes her lobster and shrimp hot and since she does not like mayonnaise had not ordered the roll in the past. The local pizza restaurant, raved about by Les’ new acquaintance Bob, had the lobster roll as the special of the day so Shirley made the leap! Oh no, we may have created a problem because she loved it (okay I had to take off the lettuce but other than that) so we may have them more often!

After a relaxing afternoon at the campsite we received sad news that Shirley’s brother-in-law and Leslie and Fred’s uncle, Leslie Maranville, from Wyoming passed away today. Last year on our trip Leslie’s wife, Mae passed away just before we visited, so they are both passed away just a couple of weeks more than a year apart. We send our thoughts and prayers to Les’ daughters Lila and Carol (Bibby) as well as all the family.

Heading to Scarborough Maine tomorrow.

Massachusetts Family and Acadia National Park (Part 1)

The last two weeks have been very busy with all the visiting we have done. Shirley was able to visit with every one of the grandchildren and their spouses and great-grandchildren. Joshua Ray’s wife Sarah will be visiting us with when we return to Mass. And that will complete the circle. Maggie (Donna’s mother-in-law) invited us for a lovely lunch at her home on the Cape and we enjoyed catching up and being able to get into the ocean (for Les anyway)….we will be returning there in the next week to drop off Les’ aunt for a visit with Maggie. So no one thinks we didn’t do some visiting of our own, I had a wonderful lunch with 2 friends from the old Aetna days, Laurie and Ruthmary and we had fun reminiscing about those “good old days”. July 30th we left Massachusetts to head up to Acadia National Park in Bar Harbor Maine. I can just hear each of you making fun of our accent right now saying Bah Hahba…so quit it!

Today we toured the Loop Road (Acadia NP) and were treated to some awesome New England/Atlantic Ocean scenery. You never forget how gorgeous all of this is, but visiting the area again brought back our love for this part of the country. The weather has been absolutely fabulous with chilly nights and sunny days in the 70’s. Who can come to Maine and not have a lobstah dinner? Shirley and Les both indulged for lunch complete with Clam Chowhda with Pat opting for the less messy lobstah roll, toasted of course! It was very good (and very expensive!). It must have been good because Shirley laid down in the back seat with her blanket and pillow and fell asleep on the way home - always a sign of a good meal!

We are staying at a campground that was recommended by a man that Les befriended in Boone, North Carolina and he is here too! They connected this morning and discussed various pizza and donut restaurants in the area that just couldn’t be missed! They were planning to play golf but we will not be here long enough to do so as tomorrow we will head to another part of Acadia National Park, Schoodic Peninsula. This area was listed as a can’t miss by Harris’ wife Carolyn when we visited with them, so off we will go tomorrow. We are planning a picnic (because heaven forbid we go a couple of hours without food!).

On our way us to Maine we stopped in Scarborough to make a surprise visit to Les’ childhood friend, David Atwood who lives in Porter but works in Scarborough. David was surprised and he and Les made plans for Les to go home with him after work on Monday and spend the night, returning Tuesday to the camp. We will be heading back to the Scarborough area anyway on Monday to see Dee Dee and hear about her trip to South Carolina. We felt so bad that the timing of her visit coincided with “oppressive heat”. Maybe a return visit in the Fall will let her see more of the City in comfort. Anyway I also have a friend who lives in Biddeford that I would like to see if we can connect. And some friends in Wells Beach Maine to see. Thankfully all of these places are reasonably close together.

So that’s the update, nothing too interesting for those of our friends who don’t know our relatives and probably somewhat amusing for those who do! Our last adventures in Mass. will be Shirley’s class reunion, a visit with her sister-in-law who is up from Connecticut and a final visit with Fred and Jeanne.