Howdy, folks!
We have finally returned from our vacation up north and there is a lot to tell. The journey started out with me and the boys driving to Mississippi to visit my girl, Jayne and her boy, Gary. We spent two nights with them in their gorgeous home. Jayne and I visited while the boys learned how to drive a four wheeler and a golf cart with Gary. They also paddled around their pond on an oversized raft. Very Tom Sawyer. Very cool. We continued on up to Ohio to visit with my aunt Laurie and Uncle Bruce. Everyone had a good time, but we were a little worried about my aunt as she was sick in the hospital with a respiratory infection. She has since recovered and we are all grateful for that. After that, we arrived at my sister’s house in Grand Rapids for a long weekend of fun with the cousins and my mom even came down for a couple nights. Very nice.
Crystal Lake is as wonderful as ever, although, it was pretty cool there in June. Normally we go in July when it is nicest there and pretty darn hot here. But, with all of the construction going on at my folks’ house, it was fun even when it rained.
Chris arrived after a couple weeks of us being in Beulah and we had a nice few days together before heading on over to New York state via Niagara Falls. We decided to go to the Ontario side because it’s prettier and because I wanted the boys to get their passports stamped with Canada FIRST. And they did. The visit was great and I got to take some awesome photos with my C220. We also rode the ‘Maid of the Mist’ to get a feel for what it is like at the bottom of the Falls. I’ll tell you. It’s powerful. It’s intense. It’s wet. And we all loved the ride.
From there we headed over to Chris’ Auntie EJ and Uncle Marty’s cottage on Seneca Lake (one of the Finger Lakes.) While we there we went to Corning Glass, Watkins Glen International race track, a couple falls there, and even visited the local Amish folks for a new belt. The best parts were blowing glass together, getting to drive Sweetness (my car) around a NASCAR track, and walking the gorge together. It was so nice to visit with EJ and Marty- feels like we haven’t seen them in FOREVER.
On to Chris’ parents’ home in Red Hook, NY for a short visit with them, Chris’ grandparents, and brother Matt. We took it easy there and even enjoyed a meal at the Culinary Institute of America. Yummy.
We headed down to Washington DC with Chris’ parents for the Fourth of July celebrations and I have to say, that is the place to see great fireworks and get a long walk in to see the sights. Chris really put together a fantastic trip for us. The boys were amazing and hoofed it all over that city before we were done. The next day we went to Gettysburg, PA to see a huge Civil War reenactment that was over the top in size. Lots to do and see. We returned to DC that night and the following day went to the White House for a tour of the West Wing courtesy of my friend, Cindy. She was great, as always, and really gave us an amazing tour. By the time we had seen all the sights we wanted, we were all ready to head home, yes, even me!
All in all, if not the, it was one of our best family vacations ever.
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