The Cool Northeast

Our Vice President � Dick Holmes & his wife, Claudette

What a great summer we are having in the cool Northeast.  We left Texas mid June with two of our Granddaughters traveling with us. We headed out for Washington, DC where we met up with our daughter and another Granddaughter who was receiving some special recognition in the U.S. Senate for her academic achievements.  (must take after Granddad!!)  We spent three days in D.C.  after which we headed to Connecticut for a family�

  .....reunion. 

A great time was had by all and no one left hungry!  All three of our children, two of their spouses and all but two of our grandchildren were able to be there and enjoy a rare visit with all of their aunts, uncles and cousins.

My oldest sister, who is 83 (don�t tell her I told you her age!!)  has 50 amp electric, water, sewer, cable TV and wifi in her driveway.  This allows us to park here all summer and we are able to visit her and my other sister, who lives about 30 minutes away, a lot of my nieces & nephews whenever we want to and then return to our own home!

 I have been busy doing projects for both of my sisters, but for the most part I enjoy doing them.  My nephew and his son along with a niece�s boy friend and I tackled a project of removing the old and replacing a new roof on her summer cottage at the Cape.  My nephew and I are replacing all the ceilings in 3 bedrooms and the breakfast room with sheetrock.  A big undertaking, but I can�t think of a better way to spend a vacation; can you? !?!?!?!

We took an overnight trip to Vermont with my sister and brother-in-law in search of a beautiful little town called Woodstock.  There is a small covered bridge right in the center of town along with beautiful old homes that have either been maintained or restored. 

 Unfortunately, we only got to stop long enough for a fabulous homemade ice cream cone before it started raining so we didn�t get to explore all we wanted to. 

 We had a very nice afternoon and evening visiting my boyhood buddy who I grew up with in Bridgeport, CT.   He and his wife now live in Shelton, CT.   I am trying to get together with another buddy who spent his summers in Marion.  He and I water skied about every day and had wonderful summers together.  

 One of the highlights of our time here was having Charlie and Gloria visit us on Cape Cod.  We took them on a tour of the quaint village where I spent every summer of my childhood.  I think it is the greatest place on earth, but I know I am prejudiced!

D & C + C & G in front of the Marion Post Office.  When I started taking this picture, a woman came out of the General Store and said let me take the picture and you go get in it.  I gave her my camera and she was focusing in for what seemed like ten minutes, but while she was aiming, the traffic stopped in both directions so she could take the picture.  (those damn Yankees)  Charlie got a big kick out of that. 

After that I showed them the cottage where I spent my summers and our beach, etc.  Then we went tombstone kicking at a cemetery in Rochester, Mass, (which Marion was once a part of) where we saw the headstones of 5 generations back grandfathers dating back to the early 1700�s.  My family actually dates back to the 1600�s in this area.

The next day we drove out to Provincetown at the very tip of Cape Cod.  �P Town� as it is known, is a very gay artist colony.  Charlie got a kick out of that also.  I worried about him for a while though as there were a couple of guys eyeing him pretty closely!!!

That evening we met for dinner with some friends who live in Chatham.  We ate at the Barnstable Inn which is located in the beautiful town of Barnstable.  It was a rainy day on the Cape and a long drive so we were all tired at the end of the day.  When we got back to camp, Gloria said she was going to bake a cake for me.  I insisted that she NOT do that, but she didn�t listen to me and at 6:30 the next morning, right before they pulled out, Charlie placed a very delicious cake on our doorstep. 

I thoroughly enjoyed having Charlie and Gloria see my part of the world.  It is a long way from HOT Texas or Arkansas.  This was truly a highlight of our vacation.