Fun in Arlington!!

This is a picture I took of Seattle from the plane. I thought it turned out pretty good considering. The Monday after the show Aunt Alice, Uncle Ron and Aunt Cathern came up to Arlington. We had a fun lunch, celebrated Viv's birthday and toured all the wonderful improvements at Uncle John and Aunt Helens. Then they took mom back to Enumclaw with them for a visit.
This is Aunt Helen, Aunt Cathern, Aunt Alice and my mom. It was so fun to spend the day together. I love any opportunity I have to spend time with my wonderful family!!
Isn't this just the best Baird totem pole??Aunt Helen decided we needed to take a picture from the ladder. She was going to get on top. I know she climbs it regularly to feed the chickens, but I sure was glad when Viv got on top instead. Thanks Viv, I think it made all of our hearts beat a little more calmly!!
Uncle Ron, Aunt Alice, Viv, Mom, Uncle John and Aunt Helen in front of the newly reclaimed root cellar. Isn't it just pretty with all the vines?

We celebrated Viv's birthday at lunch. Each candle represents 15.25 years.......

I am so glad she had a birthday!! That was a delicious cheesecake!! Thanks for getting another year older Viv!!

Seattle Fun Times Day 1 1/2 Seattle Temple

I Love the temple and I Love this statue. It has always sort of pulled at my heart strings. When Aisling was little I could see this as our family. I got to attend the temple with some of my favorite people!! Mom, Uncle John and Aunt HelenViv, dashing to get the car so no one had to walk very far..... (she's always dashing for someone!!) A day at the temple is only complete if it ends with a yummy meal. We had ours at Aunt Helen's favorite.... Golden Corral!! Here is Dave having his favorite..... dessert or should I say desserts??
What a wonderful day! This would be a slice of every kind of pie topped with about a quart of soft ice cream. I know Laurence will be jealous, he would have liked to have shared THIS experience with Dave!! (BTW Laurence, this followed a selection of each and every cookie!!) Now I know you're jealous!!

After the Show was Over......

The day Viv and Aisling left my cousins John and Maryanne came and picked us up at the hotel. They took us on a fun, fun road trip. Our first stop was Gloucester Harbor at Gloucester, MA. GORGEOUS!! Gloucester Harbor is a huge fishing port, and has been for hundreds of years.
These were a part of the memorial to the fishermen that had died at sea over the years.

On to Rockport Harbor, MA. How can so many places be so incredibly beautiful? I wish I had a lot more time to just enjoy the areas we saw!

Laurence at Rockport Harbor.
This is one of the most photographed buildings in America. It was made famous by Norman Rockwell. We felt an obligation to further the record by photographing it even more!! :)
Lobster traps at Rockport harbor. It was so fascinating there. If you were able to look into the water from the dock you would see millions of little minnows. It was like looking into a tank at a fish hatchery.
Our next stops were at Lexington and Concord. Why don't I have pictures??? Who knows?

This was a beautiful grist mill. What a fun stop. It turns out that when John and Maryanne got married they had their reception here.
The only down side was that it wasn't open to tour. It was way fun anyway!!
Mom, Laurence, Maryanne and John. Thanks so much for a fun, fun day!!
OUR LAST DAY....... PLYMOUTH, MASS

Laurence and I scheduled our flight out of Boston to be a late flight. That way we could go to Plymouth and do a little bit of family history. We were grateful that mom was such a good sport about it!! Thanks mom! Laurence is descended from a man by the name of Thomas Rogers. He and his son were passengers on the Mayflower.
We went to Pilgrim Hall Museum. What a fun museum. There Laurence found 2 books that gave some detailed family history in addition to background on these individuals that we didn't know. Our next stop was to the Plymouth Historical Society. They have gorgeous gardens there!! Mom and I toured the gardens while Laurence went inside. Look what we found while we were touring the gardens...... how cool is this?! Now Laurence can look up the Thomas Rogers Society!!This is a picture of the beach at Plymouth. I honestly don't think I can ever get enough of beaches and oceans!! And last, but certainly not least, no trip to Plymouth would be complete without a picture of the Mayflower. And thus ends our trip to Boston...... If you are just starting to read, you will find that there are numerous more posts and pictures to get to the beginning.

Oh Yeah, We Did Work The Trade Show!

We returned to Boston and checked into the Boston Waterfront Hotel. We got there at 10 am so assumed we wouldn't be able to check in for several hours. They were so thoughtful, they found us 2 rooms that were connected. BUT.... would we mind that they were on the 16th floor? The top floor... the one with the view???? It was gorgeous!

The pictures truly do not do it justice... we saw several cruise ships come in and out of the harbor. How fun!!My favorite meal while we were in Boston was at Anthony's Pier 4. It was a beautiful restuarant out on the Pier. (Who would've guessed?) I had the Oven Roasted Seafood Combination which included shrimp, salmon, swordfish, scallops, polenta and zucchini. served with lime-chive beurre blanc. They also served popovers before the meal came. They were delicious!! I don't remember what everyone else had but I do recall that everyone really liked their meal.The Boston Convention Center is connected right to our hotel. How nice, especially when Laurence was as handicapped as he was. The Convention Center is a new, very nice facility. This is a quick picture I took from the level above on the day of set-up. Not the best with the glare etc. But it shows how everything is bare cement, forklifts running all over the place etc. The transformation always amazes me!! I love to see it go from bare cement, boxes and crates everywhere, to the next day. Pure GLITZ!! Not a hair out of place!! This is a picture of our booth. We get a small one 10' X 10'. This is my mom, Viv, Aisling, me and Laurence.

Laurence broke down and used a wheelchair at the show, it was just too hard on him not to use one. But, the hotel was so thoughtful, they let us use theirs for the entire time so I didn't have to find one to rent.

Aisling and Grandma

Viv, Aisling and Laurence
One of the perks of attending the show is all the "treasures" you get to bring home. Aisling was able to get lots of fun things...toothbrushes, baby stuff for her friend...colloidal silver....licorice etc.

Then it was time for the show to be over and Aisling and Viv took to the skies. They had to leave for the airport at 4 am Monday morning. :( We sure missed them!

Boston FUN!!

We picked Mom and Viv up at the airport. (They got in within 15 minutes of each other. Am I good or what?!)
We drove straight (well as straight as you can when having problems with the gps), to a restaurant that we went to last year for Viv's birthday. This time we were celebrating MY birthday, just a couple of days early. What better way to celebrate than with twin lobsters? Yes, that's what I said! Viv and I each got twin lobsters. YUMMMMMY!
The following day we set up for the show and took care of some errands. Then it was off for more fun!! Laurence's sister-in-law Glenda's brother Phil that is part owner/creator of the Blue Man Group. He ever so graciously gave us 5 (count them!! FIVE!), tickets for The Blue Man Group!! Thanks Phil!! We had a fun, noisy, eventful, entertaining evening!! I tried to get a picture of Aisling with one of the Blue Men, but a lady bumped my arm as I was doing it. (So sorry Aisling!!)

Viv with one of the Blue Men.

What a delightful time!! By the way, you can't take pictures at the theatre, so this last one is one I found on the net. (Just don't want anyone to think I broke any rules there!!)

We had such a fun time, we're sure grateful to Phil for making it possible for us!

A Day in Boston!!

We arrived in Boston with a few hours to spare before picking up my mom and cousin Viv at the airport. Aisling and I went out to explore Boston's Freedom Trail. What a wonderful piece of history. It would be great to have a full day, or better yet two to walk it. Aisling and Paul Revere. On April 18, 1775, Robert Newman, sexton of the Old North Church, hung lanterns in the tower of the church, signaling to Paul Revere that British troops arrived by sea. Hence Revere knew he could best warn John Hancock and Samuel Adams of the arriving British troops by riding over land.

The Freedom Trail now leads across the Charlestown Bridge towards Charlestown's Navy Yard. This was one of the country's first shipyards, set up to create a naval force which up to that point had been no match for the British. The U.S.S. Constitution, built in 1797 and the oldest warship of the U.S. Navy, is moored here. Possibly the most famous vessel in the U.S., it won no less than 42 battles while it lost none and was never captured by the enemy.

What a fascinating tour the Navy has there! We really enjoyed it. However, I believe my historian daughter enjoyed it more than I did.

Faneuil Hall, a building known as the 'Cradle of Liberty'. While Faneuil Hall's first floor was Boston's main market place, the second floor served as a meeting place. Samuel Adams was one of the patriots who gathered here, trying to convince fellow colonists to unite and fight against British oppression. A statue of Samuel Adams stands in front of Faneuil Hall.

Leaving New York

The day returned to Boston was a fun day. After Laurence spent some time at the library, and Aisling and I played on the beach we headed out. We drove toward where we caught the ferry. On the way we went through Sag Harbor. (I thought that was just a clothing brand back in the 70's!) Aisling chose this place to eat. WOW!! What a great choice!!

It was called The Dock House on the Long Wharf! YUMMMMM! We started with a shared shrimp cocktail, then Aisling and I had the fried seafood platter with flounder, shrimp, scallops and fries, and Laurence had the fried shrimp with fries! We got to take 3 ferries in order to return to New London, CT. Two of them just took about 10 minutes and you didn't even get out of your car. Then the ferry from Orient Point, Long Island to New London was longer and we spent the time out on the deck of the ferry.

Don't I just have the best family in the whole world????