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September was another exciting month--full of surprises. The first half of the month was spent celebrating Denise's and Chase's birthdays in Minnesota. The second half was spent touring all seven of the New England states. Larry's sister Claudia and her husband Lou joined us in our RV as we explored the beauty and history of the region. We also got to celebrate Claudia's birthday while they were with us. And during these two big events, we had the opportunity to catch up with family and friends. An exciting month indeed! Keep us informed by clicking on the email link Larry and Glorine. | ||
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| While Denise knew that we would be coming to MN for Chase's birthday in mid-September, she and the grandkids were surprised when we flew in a week early to be with her to celebrate her BIG 40th birthday. | The following day, Denise got another surprise, thanks to Craig who arranged for 35+ people to meet us for a dinner cruise on Lake Minnetonka, west of the Twin Cites. Here she is taking turns with the kids to co-pilot the double decker cruiser. | |
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| The weather man forecasted rain--he was wrong. The weather could not have been better. After a wonderful dinner, great conversations and a beautiful sunset, all birthday guests lined up to get a group photo with birthday girl. | The weather was great during our visit to Minnesota--so much so that we all got in some water skiing. It took Larry two tries before he got up. Here Clara is showing Grandpa how easy it is to ski. | |
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| With Clara in school, Grandma and Grandpa got a lot of alone time with Chase. We went to an apple orchard, a horse ranch, and a replica village of life in the mid 1800. However, Minnesota's Largest Candy Store was his favorite. | "Wreck it Ralph" was the theme of Chase's birthday party. Denise did another great job at planning a bunch of events to keep the kids entertained all afternoon. Grandpa Larry did a great job converting cardboard boxes to a brick wall for all the kids to wreck. | |
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| While most of Denise and Craig's friends have daughters, Chase had a couple of "boy" friends to play with at his party. And wow, do boys play differently than girls. | While in Minnesota, Glorine's nephew Tim invited us over to watch the Vikings game. While the Vikings lost (again), it was great catching up with Tim, Nancy, Harison and Olivia. Thanks Nancy for the great chocolate chip cookies. | |
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| Keeping up with friends for Ajijic is always a treat. Gary and Kay Thompson hosted another great get together at their home on Tonka Bay with Carol and Allen Bensman, starting with a boat ride on Lake Minnetonka, a delicious meal and fun discussions of life in Ajijic. | We flew back to Bangor ME and toured Maine's Crown Jewel--Acadia National Park. On the top of Cadillac Mountain (the highest point along the North Atlantic seaboard) we had great vistas, including the town of Bar Harbor, with an ocean liner docked for the day. | |
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| As we arrived late at our next stop--Pine Acres RV Resort in NH, a neighboring camper came over help us park the RV. It was Michele Bernier, an Ajijic friend who had been waiting to surprise us--and what a great surprise is was. We knew we would see her, but not in an RV parked next to us. We sure enjoyed our time together. | No doubt fall was in the air and what a perfect time to explore the White Mountain National Forest of New Hampshire. After being dazzled by the vibrant colors of the fall foliage, we took a two mile hike up the Flume Gorge, with lush moss, ferns, waterfalls and a nice but slippery walkway through the canyon walls. | |
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| Larry's sister Claudia and husband Lou joined us for 12 days in our RV, strategically parked in near Sturbridge, Massachusetts, right in the middle of the New England states. From there, we venture out on one or two day road trips to explore the | Near our campground was Old Sturbridge Village, a working village which replicates the life in New England back in 1830. In included a working farm, a general store, blacksmith, sawmill and other services offered during that time period. | |
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| As an former Sheet Metal worker, Lou particularly liked visiting with this guy called a "tinner." We was busy fabricating various items that could were necesary during that period, but could also be purchased in the gift shop. | The next day we took a road trip though Rhode Island and Connecticut. As luck would have it, a local yacht club was celebrating its 30th anniversary and to celebrate they open to the public and gave free sailing rides in the Newport Harbor past massive yachts and a great view of the Newport Bridge. | |
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| We are on the Cliff Walk, National Recreation Trail in a National Historic District. It stretches 3-1/2 miles around its southeastern edge and provide unbelievable access to some of grandest mansions in America. Most have huge estates and great views of the ocean. | This is one of dozens of mansions that line the Clff Walk. Most were built back in the late 1800s and still in the families, however some like the Vanderbilt Mansion are either owned or managed by the Preservation Society of Newport County and open to the public. | |
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| While walking along the Cliff Walk, we met three girls who attended this private Catholic college called Salve Regina University. This is the administration building which is one of 20 building on campus of historic significance and has a view to die for. Poor students!! | After a day of sailing and hiking, we stopped at the Foxwoods Resort, billed as "one of the premier hotel, gaming, shopping and entertainment destinations in the Northeast." It was opened by the Mashantucket Pequotsas Tribal Nation as the first Native American casinos in the USA back in 1986. And now sports the largest resort casino in North America. | |
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| We surprise Claudia and Lou by taking them to the Cathedral of the Holy Cross, where we attended a High Mass was said in Latin and an all men's choir sang through most of the Mass. It is home of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston and it was the largest Roman Catholic church in New England. | After church we met up with Larry's grand niece Leeann and her husband Jody. Leeann's mom and dad, LuWayne and Ken in town from Fargo. We met up at the Greek Festival, enjoyed great Greek food and entertainment and got caught up with what all were up to. Leeann and Jody are archeologist, both working in the Boston area. | |
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| On Monday morning we took off for a two-day road trip along the Massachusettes, New Hampshire and Maine coastline. Our first stop was Marblehead, a small town first settled in 1629, shortly after the Pilgrims landed. Here along Front Street are homes that date back to the early 1533s. | Marblehead is the birthplace of the American Navy, Marine Corps Aviation, and probably the reason it is home to the oldest junior yacht club in America and five major yacht clubs including the Boston Yacht Club. Lou was wishing he could get $1.00 for every yacht he saw along the Atlantic coastline. | |
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| After a great driving tour along the Massachusetts coastline--filled with ooze and ahz, it was dinner time and the Roy Moore Lobster Co near the wharf in Rockport MA was a great find. We not only had lobster, but smoke Atlantic salmon, fish cakes, raw oyster on the half shell, clamw chowder, and shrimp. | After bunking up together at a Fairfield Inn in Amstel, MA we were treated to a great breakfast provided by the hotel, saw a bunch of wild turkeys on our way to Text | |
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September's web page includes September 6 through October 8.
