Summer 2013 - 29 States, 3 Canadian Provinces & 5 European Countries

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From the title you can see that we did a bit of traveling this summer. It was time to visit all of Bernard's family, and they are all east of Arizona. We were gone almost exactly three months and still didn't see all the folks we would have liked. For example, we didn't make it to Vermont to see friends Alice and John, nor did we see several of Bernard's cousins - timing wasn't right. I also missed a niece of mine (Micky), but when that woman has time to breath I couldn't tell you - she and her family were traveling more than we this summer.

Overview

We left *AZ June 14, drove east thru NM, TX, LA, MS, AL to FL where we headed north thru GA, SC, NC, thru TN to KY (walked to IN), thru WV to VA, from VA thru DC, MD & DE to NJ, from NJ thru NY, CT to MA, from MA thru NH to ME, from ME into Canada thru New Brunswick to Nova Scotia, from Nova Scotia by ferry to Newfoundland & Labrador. The ferry back from Newfoundland was 17 hours(!!) and we didn't get a stateroom - BIG mistake. Then back thru Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, ME, NH, MA, CT & NY to NJ. From NJ we flew to Germany.



*See the map of the USA included to decipher the 2-letter state designations. In the narrative below, I spelled out the state names. Click right on the photo to enlarge it.



Bernard taught in Berlin for a week, then we drove into France, to the Channel Islands, UK, into Belgium & the Netherlands, back to Bochum for a few days, then to Berlin and flew back to NJ on August 21. Shortly after our return we took a grand-niece and her friend (thru DE & MD) to Washington, D.C. After we returned them to NJ we headed north (into NY, PA & MA) to visit more family & friends, then (thru OH & IN) to Chicago (IL) to see the Polish family before heading back (thru IA, NE, CO, NM) to AZ.

Twenty-nine States

JUNE

First let us say how very much we enjoyed seeing everyone this summer. We had an unbelievably wonderful time with you all. Please know that even though I didn't specifically say how much we enjoyed each and every one of you, we most assuredly did. You are all precious to us and we value, indeed treasure, our time with you. Thank you all for your warm and wonderful hospitality - it was such a joy to see how well everyone is doing, how the kids are growing into such kind and caring young people. We are so very proud of you all.





Our first stop was in El Paso, Texas to visit friends Mara & Larry Cohn. We met the Cohn family when we were all living in Leiden, the Netherlands, in 2001 and have seen them every year since. From El Paso we drove to Galveston, TX. Why? Because we'd never been. It has a lovely old downtown, but we stayed on the beach and ate our fill of seafood.



We didn't stop in Louisiana this trip except for some great Cajun food for lunch, but instead we stopped for the night in Gulfport, Mississippi. We wanted to see how the town had recovered from Hurricane Katrina - and they had, beautifully. The sand on the Gulf Coast is like fine sugar, but most had been washed out to sea with the hurricane. The sand was located and barged back in!! Yep, the beaches are back baby!!



We drove through Alabama on our way to Florida, Largo (near Tampa) in particular to visit with niece Maria Tyrrell-Barney and family - husband John and son Charley. What a beautiful area they live in. It was a short visit, as were they all, but we did get to spend a day on the beach and eat wonderful seafood at a seaside cafe - we just looked for the busiest one and our wait was rewarded - best crab cakes of the trip.



Next stop, Boca Raton, Florida to visit with our Argentine daughter, Marcela Sahade-Jensen and her family - husband Tim and son Cal. They took us to some places we'd not been to on previous visits, wow, do they live in a scenic area - one town, beach, resort more lovely than the next. I can TOTALLY see the draw to Florida.



Bernard had some work to do for one of the universities he teaches at (in Germany), so we headed to Jekyll Island, Georgia to a beach resort. I told B he could grade papers all he wanted as long as I got to beach-comb and relax by a pool or ocean. At our resort, I got both - right on the water with a great pool too.



Grading done and results zapped to Germany, we left Georgia and drove thru South Carolina (our friends, Ernie and Kaye weren't there) to Taylorsville, North Carolina to visit niece Colleen Tyrrell-Williams and family - husband Dean and daughter Jonna. As they are wont to do, Dean, Colleen and many, many of Dean's extended family threw us a BBQ, for which they are famous throughout the area, SERIOUSLY good food. Nephew Chris Tyrrell who lives in Charlotte joined us, but not before driving through a terrible thunder storm that hit him halfway to Taylorsville. Unfortunately because of the storm, he didn't arrive until almost midnight!! Poor Chris, his Uncle Bernie only made it until about 1 a.m. Colleen and I did better; kept him company (i.e., drinking wine, laughing, telling stories) until maybe 2:30 a.m.



Waaaay too early the next morning we headed out to Louisville, Kentucky (through Tennessee) to visit niece Marie Dougherty-Gould and family - husband Chris, daughter Elise and son Grif. We LOVE Louisville in general and visiting with Chris & Marie in particular. We almost got to see both Elise and Grif participate in a swim meet, but it got rained out. Actually never rained, but there was thunder and lightening, which is cause for postponement. We spent a sunny, warm day "hiking" on a pedestrian bridge into Indiana - it is a fun venue; pedaled a fringed surrey around the park singing Oklahoma!! at the top of our lungs. Good times, good times. I know, we weren't in Oklahoma, but a "surrey with a fringe on top" . . . .

July

Next stop (through West Virginia) Lexington, Virginia. Unfortunately we got there too late to connect with my nephew, Tom Merryman and his family. Tom used to live in Louisville and I'd hoped to visit him there. When I called he was in Lexington, where they were moving (house for sale in Louisville), but he was heading back to Louisville when we were heading to Virginia. We did have a nice chat; he is such a wonderful person and I was sorry to miss seeing him and his family - they have had two more children since we last visited.



We had better luck in Richmond, Virginia - a niece and a nephew and their families live there: niece Adrienne Dougherty-Martin, husband Rob, sons Shep and Lee; nephew David Dougherty, wife Deb, son Cole, daughters Ella & Julia. We spent one night in Richmond at Dave & Deb's; had dinner at Adrienne & Rob's, then the next day drove to the River House, which is actually on a bay, with tremendous views and a dynamite beach. There is already a Chesapeake Beach House in the extended family, so this is the River House - is that clear? Dave & Deb had recently purchased the property and all agree it was a fantastic find - not many properties in that area go on the market. In fact, they heard about it from one of Dave's fellow surgeons, I think, before it actually went on the market. Adrienne & family came out later in the day for the 4th of July celebration. Neighbors who annually put on a fireworks display outdid themselves - about 1/2 hour of professional pyrotechnics - stupendous. The kids had a ball.



We had a short but nice visit with my cousin Holly in Delanco, New Jersey. Her husband, Kevin, daughter, Kate, and Kate's boyfriend were camping so we didn't get to see them. However, they are all coming here the end of October for a couple of days. Kate and Joe actually live in Pheonix. Holly & Kevin are visiting them, and at the end of the week they'll all drive here for a couple of days.



Our next stop, in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts was an important one and one of the reasons we decided to spend the summer on the East Coast. Bernard's older brother, Tom, has MSA (multiple systems atrophy) and has had for many years now. He has done amazingly well, but at a family reunion in North Carolina earlier in the summer, Tom contracted a urinary tract infection that turned into sepsis. He had been in the hospital and when we saw him, was in a rehabilitation facility, bed-ridden and couldn't even lift his arms. Tom's wife Janet was holding up as well as could be expected, but it was, understandably, taxing her strength and emotions. We thought when we left Shrewsbury that we might not see Tom again (spoiler alert - he improved!!), so it was a sad parting.



Next on our itinerary: to nephew Tom Dougherty, wife Holly, son Quinn and daughter Riley in the wilds of Maine. Holly's family has a "camp," which is really a cute 3-bedroom cabin (electricity, running water - yeah, a real "camp") right on a lake, complete with speed boat. The weather was rainy off and on, but that didn't stop the kids from swimming or fishing, nor us from boating, grilling steaks and having a wonderful time.

Canada

We had a long drive after leaving Maine, plus we had to stop and do major shopping for our time in Canada, where we planned to camp most of the time.



Our first camping spot at Harding Point, New Brunswick was right on the ocean. We would continue to have spectacular camping spots throughout Canada.



In New Brunswick we visited the Bay of Fundy, which has some of the highest tides in the world, and Hopewell Rocks - beautifully sculptured by said tides. The weather had become very windy and rainy, so instead of camping that night, we forged ahead to Sydney, Nova Scotia to a B & B and next evening caught our ferry to Port Aux Basque, Newfoundland. It was a four-hour ride on a very nice ferry. We got into Port Aux Basque after dark where it was foggy and rainy. We managed to find the hotel we'd booked (glad we did; several folks on the ferry told us all the hotels and B & Bs were full), but the fog and rain dampened our spirits - was this what it was going to be like the whole week we were on the island? Pleased to say the answer was NO!! That was by far the worst weather we had; mostly it was cool, but sunny.



Canada has superb visitor information centers - they'll often book ferries, hotels and excursions for you, or at the very least give you phone numbers and phone to use (although my cell worked in Canada). At one of these information centers we sussed out our time on the island and reserved a campsite for two days at Gros Morne National Park. Our camping area (Green Point) was right on the ocean, but there were lakes too and every road had amazing scenery. There are in-holdings within the park, so towns with stores, restaurants, pubs with nightly entertainment. A rather nice addition to a national park.



Our next stop was Dildo (where did they get that name?) Provincial Park near Twillingate. Again we were right on the water and there are many small villages in the area - so shops and restaurants. Had the best lobster roll in Canada from a road-side food truck.



Our last Canadian camping days were spent in Terra Nova National Park, which is much smaller than Gros Morne and very different - less developed, fewer visitor activities. While our campsite was not on the ocean this time, there was a cafe with espresso and free wi-fi within walking distance of our site.



We were ready for a nice shower and an indoor toilet by the time we got to our B & B in St. John's - the capital of Newfoundland and a great city. St. John's is a great walking city and we were in the middle of town, so we parked our van and didn't use it again until we left. We took an organized tour around the area as it had come highly recommended by some locals we'd met on the ferry. Indeed the driver/owner was full of information and humorous. It was a small tour (9 of us in a van), which made for a low-key, personal tour.



We were only two days in St. John's and then took a ferry (17 hours!!) back to the mainland. The ferry we'd come over on was so nice. There were flat-screen TVs everywhere, but you had to use earphones for the sound. Thinking we'd have a similar kind of boat on the way back, we didn't think we'd need a stateroom - the plush chairs leaned way back, it had been quiet. BIG mistake, most people got staterooms, so the common areas were really movie theaters - they ran loud movies until midnight. There was no place to escape to - the casino was every louder. So, we spent a miserable night with little sleep and learned a good lesson.



We arrived in Sydney, Nova Scotia fairly early in the morning, so managed to drive all the way to Bangor, Maine that day. Stayed in a nice hotel; went to bed about 7 p.m., asleep by 7:01.

Twenty-nine States, Continued

Next stop Keyport, New Jersey to visit with Bernie's sister, Claudia Tyrrell, niece Denise, grand-niece McKayla and nephew Keith. We didn't see another nephew who lives in the area, Michael, as he was working on a big construction job; up at 3 a.m. to pick up his foreman, drive a long way, work until after dark, 2-hour drive back, home around 8 p.m.; to bed at 8:30. Well, maybe it wasn't quite that bad, but close.

Five European Countries

Germany

From New Jersey we flew to Berlin where Bernard's colleague and good friend, Heike, picked us up at the airport and delivered us to the German Red Cross Summer School venue. Bernie was lecturing (international humanitarian law) there on two different days. We had some free time and saw a couple of sites we'd missed in our year of living in Berlin. During that year we had walked by the Botanical Garden regularly, but had never visited - it was super. We went to the DDR Museum, which showed life in East Berlin/Germany under the communists - we loved it.



We had our 30th Anniversary dinner in Berlin with Heike. We went to the Feinkost Käfer restaurant on the dome level of the Reichstag. It is the only parliament building in the world with a public restaurant. Having said that, weeks ahead of time we had to send copies of our passports before they'd confirm our reservation. We also had to bring our passports with us and go through a security check. A bonus was that we got there early and took the audio tour of the dome, which includes commentary on the Bundestag, which it houses.



The meal was perfection itself - exquisitely presented delicious food, impeccable service; a wonderful way to celebrate a significant anniversary. Spending it with Heike was simply the icing on the cake - a truly memorable night.

France

August

We borrowed one of Heike's cars and began our road trip by driving into France. Our itinerary included three gothic cathedral town: Reims, Amiens and Chartres, all with beautiful cathedrals and picturesque towns. It was August by now and you know what that means? The entire country goes on holiday!! Yep, they leave only the bare-bones staffing at hotels, restaurants and shops. The good news is that many of the tourist venues are not crowded - the French are at the seaside and so you are only competing with foreign tourists.



We did have one bit of excitement on the way to France. When Heike had her mechanic do a "holiday check" before we took the car, he must have checked the radiator liquid, but either forgot to put the cap back on, or put in on loose. Result: no radiator cap and we overheated while still in Germany. We tried to find a replacement cap, but as it turned out we had to put on a temporary cap (first with cloth and velcro straps; later with aluminum foil and a hose clamp), constantly check the liquid level, replace often and wait until we got back to Germany where Heike had gotten a new cap.



Bernie managed to get yet another traffic ticket; he has never gotten one in the states, but has in Malaysia, Poland, Germany and now France. In his defense, the GPS was directing us to make an illegal turn, which we tried to avoid three times, then finally just did it rather than drive a long way around, AGAIN. The radiator was spewing at this time, it was hot and we just said f--- it, and made the turn. Well, wouldn't you know it, the police were RIGHT there. Long story short, we got the ticket when we got back to AZ and it was $120 (we'd anticipated a MUCH steeper fine) and we could pay it over the internet - way cool.



From Chartres we were supposed to visit friends Louis and Maryse in Paimpol on the Brittany/Bretagne coast at their summer home. Unfortunately because of medical problems (all OK now), they had to stay in Massongy (near Geneva). We tried to extend our stays in the cathedral towns, but room availability proved to be a problem. On Jersey, the Channel Islands (UK) our hotel was able to extend our stay, so off we went.



First, however we visited one of our favorite town of the trip, St. Malo, which is where we got the ferry to the Channel Islands. St. Malo has a large, walled historic district and our hotel was within the walls. In fact, we looked out over the walls to the ocean - fabulous. Most of the towns we'd been to thus far had been almost deserted, so when we got to crowded, bustling St. Malo, I turned to Bernard and said "So THIS is where everyone is." It really was a hopping town, so much so in fact that parking was a major headache. All the parking lots were full, every available space taken and the streets in and around the town were chocker-block with traffic. We found our hotel, dropped off our bags and then started circling outside the walls, but eventually inside the walls. We lucked out and found a place not too far from our hotel right up against a wall. We had to return a few times to update our parking ticket, but after 9 p.m. it was free.

The Channel Islands, UK

The Island of Jersey

We had a lovely time in St. Malo and got up early to catch the ferry to Jersey, the largest of the Channel Islands (UK). We had booked a week at a nice hotel in the small village of St. Mary.



We chose St. Mary because it was central to all the biking routes on a map we had. What we didn't know was that the bike trails were not dedicated, but you shared the very narrow roads with cars, trucks, horses and farm equipment. We ended up hiking and car touring instead of biking as those seemed the least dangerous options. Not so sure that was the case. I didn't drive at all; kept my eyes closed a good portion of the time as we narrowly missed hitting rock walls or vehicles. Remember, we had a left-hand drive car driving on what was for us the "wrong" side of the road. Bernie said he actually thought it was easier that way - in Ireland (in a right-hand drive car) we had scrapped and damaged the left side of the car with our inability to judge distances - particularly as they pertained to rock walls.



Jersey has a wonderful wildlife park, Burrell's, where they specialize in breeding or nursing back to health threatened and near-extinct animals. I was tickled to find that they had raised some of the thick-billed parrots we have at the venue where I work, the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. Those lovely green parrots with red foreheads were extirpated from our area after the arrival of man. We've tried to reintroduce them, but without success. We have a few at the Desert Museum to show folks these beautiful birds that had previously thrived in great numbers in our area.



No visit to Jersey is complete without a tour of the War Tunnels and Hospital. Germany occupied the Channel Islands (the only part of Britain to be occupied) from the end of June 1940 until May 1945. The many bunkers, gun emplacements, watchtowers and walls that comprised part of Hitler's Atlantic Wall are still very much a part of the landscape. The occupation is a huge part of the locals' identity; we heard story after story about what their families had endured - why they chose to evacuate (to England) or stay. Many were children at the time and had some amusing antidotes. One woman told us she had never seen a black and white cow before - on Jersey they had only, yep you guessed it, brown Jersey cows. She thought the black and white English cows were ill or maybe abnormal/deformed.



Jersey has several medieval castles to tour, traditional farms to visit, gardens to admire, spectacular bathing beaches, wild sea cliffs to walk - a most enjoyable visit.

The Island of Guernsey

Our week in Jersey up, we took another ferry to Guernsey. Our B & B was within walking distance of the quaint town of St. Peter Port, the main city of the island. We only had two days on Guernsey; it is a much smaller island than Jersey. It had the mandatory WWII War Tunnel & Hospital museum and seaside fortifications, which we'd seen our fill of on Jersey. So one of those days we hopped yet another ferry to the small island of Herm. There is only one hotel with a restaurant and a couple of shops on Herm, but it was a beautiful sunny, warm day and the ferries were chocker-block with families heading to Herm's pristine beaches. We'd taken the first available ferry, so the island was almost deserted and very quiet. On our way back (and throughout the day) we saw the packed ferries heading over and we were glad we'd gotten there before the madness began.



Our second day in Guernsey we drove around the entire island with some sightseeing stops, one of which was The Little Chapel in Saint Andrew. It was created in 1914 by Brother Déodat. He planned to create a miniature version of the grotto and basilica at Lourdes, the Rosary Basilica. It has been said that it is the smallest functioning chapel in Europe, if not the world, and it is believed to be the world’s smallest consecrated church.



The morning of the third day before we caught our ferry, we just had enough time to visited the home of Victor Hugo. He spent 15 years in Guernsey in exile from France (from 1855) where he finished writing Les Miserables. Prior to Guernsey, however, he had lived on Jersey, but got kicked off that island because of political meddling.

France, Continued

We departed Guernsey and the Channel Islands on yet another ferry, this time back to St. Malo, France. It was early in the day, so we drove to Caen, France. It was our last night in France and I was looking forward very much to some nice food - the food in the Channel Islands, while much improved we heard, cannot compare with French cooking. So imagine my disappointment when we couldn't find an open restaurant in town!! The area we were in was not a tourist area and this being August, everyone was on holiday. We walked and walked, finally Bernard smelled food. We followed his nose to a big red London double-decker bus with a giant Spider Man perched on top. I know, wierd, right? We stood there confused for a few minutes, then Bernie started sniffing again, this time he went in front of the bus and discovered The Pizza Bus selling large pizza for 10 Euros. Below it was like any food truck, but they upper level had been turned into a seating area. So, my last meal in France was pizza, on a bus no less. I couldn't have been more disappointed.

The Netherlands

Early the next morning we hit the highway, drove through Belgium to the Netherlands, to Oegstgeest in particular to visit friends Henk & Mäcki. We met Henk & Mäcki in 2001 when we lived in Leiden (Bernard was doing the master's course in Public International Law). Mäcki was active in the University of Leiden's International Center that I (and Mara - see photo near start of blog) was a member of. When we returned to the Netherlands in 2004 for Bernard to work on his Ph.D., we lived in a small village outside of Leiden, Oegstgeest. Henk & Mäcki were a 5 minute walk/2 min. bike ride away, and we became close to this lovely, kind and fun couple. We value their friendship and when in Europe, if we can manage, we try to catch up with them.



We also got to spend a delightful night with another wonderful couple, Marcel and Vera. Marcel was a classmate of Bernard's at the University of Leiden in 2001. Marcel, Vera and their three daughters live in The Hague/Den Haag. In addition to getting together with them when we lived in Germany (2009 - 2010), Marcel visited (2 weeks) us in Arizona (also went to Colorado, Utah & New Mexico) a few years ago (Vera had just started a new job; Marcel was between jobs). So we hadn't seen Vera in some time and had such fun catching up.

Germany

From the Netherlands we drove to Bochum, Germany (we'd lived there for 2 years - 2002 to 2004). Heike, Bernard's colleague and friend whose car we borrowed, lives in Bochum. She works in Berlin during the week, then takes a train to Bochum for long weekends. Her family and friends are all there. We stayed with Heike a few days, had a very pleasant birthday lunch with her mother, sister and family friend, Philipp. In the evening we had dinner with Turkish friends, Emre, Fuyla, there two children and his mother. Fuyla is a splendid cook and we always enjoy the meals and seeing them all again.



It was now time to go back to Berlin to catch our flight back to the states. Heike drove with us, so we had plenty of time to tell travel tales and hear what she'd been up to. After a lovely dinner we tried to say our goodbyes, but Heike insisted she was taking us to the airport in the morning. It was an early flight and we didn't want to inconvenience her as she had to work that day. Fortunately since it was an early flight, the traffic wasn't horrible.



At our stop-over in Amsterdam we had enough time to stop at the Rijk's Museum's small display at the airport - what a great idea that is! They often feature a particular artist or, in this case, subject: the architecture of Amsterdam through the ages. Another nice surprise was getting upgraded to first class for the trans-Atlantic flight. We've be upgraded to business class on flights within the US, but this was our first time on a trans-Atlantic with the seats that lay completely flat - wow, what a nice feature that is!

Twenty-nine States Continue, II

We were only in Keyport, New Jersey with Bernie's sister, Claudia, a few days before we drove to Washington, D.C. with grand-niece McKayla/aka Mac and Ainhoa, from Spain who was spending a month with Mac & Denise in New Jersey. Next summer Mac will spend a month in Spain with Ainhoa. In D.C. we stayed with niece Regina Dougherty-Hall and family - husband Tim, sons Luke and Owen. The other two children, Patrick and Marien, were already back at their universities. Tim & Reg's house is so big (and beautiful) that we all had ensuite rooms - the girls thought they'd died and gone to heaven. They also had so much fun with Luke & Owen - what great hosts everyone was. We "did" D.C. right - monuments, museums, sights. It was fun for all of us, but particularly for Ainhoa as this was her first trip to D.C. In addition to seeing Regina & family, we also spent a warm and wonderful evening with Drew Flood and his family - wife Krista, daughter Claire and son Colin. They took us to their club, the Chevy Chase Country Club, for dinner. Along with his cousin/our nephew, Dave Dougherty, Drew spent a summer with us in Alaska years ago - good times, good times.

September

Back to New Jersey to drop off McKayla and Ainhoa, then off to Pennsylvania where we camped two nights at Hickory Run State Park. It was nice to be on our own, not visiting, not driving, just hiking, biking and reading. While in Pennsylvania we visited friends from Arizona, Leo & Mary, near Wilkes-Barre. They lived in this area for a long time; Leo was a pediatrician and Mary his nurse and office manager and this is where they raised their family. Their eldest daughter, Ellie, and her family still live there. Leo & Mary recently bought a small house very close to Ellie and spent the summer remodeling. We stayed with them over the Labor Day weekend, explored the area, got to meet not only Ellie and family, but daughter Maia and her husband Daniel (an artist) who live in NYC but had (they were in the process of closing it) a studio in Wilkes-Barre. The entire visit was a treat.



We needed to see Bernard's brother Tom and wife Janet again before leaving the East Coast, so to Shrewsbury, Massachusetts is where we headed next. While we were in Europe we were constantly bracing ourselves for the email telling us Tom had taken a turn and we needed to cut our European excursion short. Not only did that email never come, the updates from his kids got more and more encouraging as the month went by. This time Tom he was in a long-term care facility (he had been moved from the rehab facility in July) and had vastly improved. When we saw him in July he couldn't raise his arms, was being fed pureed food and slept a great deal. On this visit in early September, he was maneuvering his own wheelchair, taking his meals in the dining room and we had a nice visit in the garden before lunch. From the updates we get we realize this was a good day for Tom, the next day he might not get out of bed as he had marshaled all of his resources for his guests. But the fact that he had resources to marshall is just so astonishing. We left Massachusetts with much lighter hearts than when we'd arrived.



Cousin Frank and wife Dottie were our next stop in Pawling, New York. These lovely people live in a cozy turn-of-the-century home in a quaint small town. Dottie always out-does herself in the kitchen (lamb chops on the grill this time - yum!!) Her daughter and husband, and her son who is staying with them joined us for dinner - what fun we had. From New York we had a long drive to our next stop: the Polish family near Chicago, Illinois. We took it easy and broke up the trip with camping on a lake in New York and another in Ohio before reaching Chicago.



In Hickory Hills, near Chicago, Illinois we stayed with Bernard's cousin Bogusia and her husband Mietek. Their two daughters are both married with two children apiece (each have a first-born girl, then a boy - fabulous planning!) and live nearby. The older, Lusia, has Evelyn & Simon, and is a teacher. The younger, Anna, has Magda and Lukas, and is in marketing. Lusia's husband, Joe, is in banking; Anna's husband, Oscar, is a policeman.



Our first day in Illinios Bernard's cousin Ella and her husband Jacek came for the afternoon. Ella was leaving town the next day to visit her son and family in Florida - it was their granddaughter's fifth birthday. We actually changed our routing at the last minute (didn't make it to Vermont) to enable us to at least see Ella for a short time, and it was worth it. We are ashamed to admit, but it had been 15 years since we'd been to Chicago. We'd seen some of the family when we lived in Germany, particularly at the funeral of the matriarch of the family, Karolina, in December 2003, but hadn't seen many of them for 15 years.



We hadn't seen Margaret, Ella's daughter, or her husband Scott since their wedding 15 years ago. They have a son, Michael, now, who is around 10. We all got together over at Lusia's (new, newly remodeled and exquisite) home one afternoon, so several generations of cousins were together.



The following afternoon we attended a Polish *Highlander (Górale) picnic. Lusia's husband, Joe, and his family are from the mountains of Poland where they have strong traditions: dance, food, culture. Evelyn, Lusia & Joe's daughter, was dancing with a Highlander Troup so we were treated to a wonderful exhibition of Polish Górale music and dancing. We also tried food (don't ask me the names) that was completely new for us and loved it all. We also got to meet Joe's parents and Oscar's mother, drink, dance and laugh A LOT.



*The literal translation of Górale is "highlander." In Poland they live in the region of Podhale of the Tatra Mountains and parts of the Beskids (Cieszyn Silesia, Silesian Beskids, Żywiec Beskids).



From Illinois we decided to start south to Arizona instead of to the West Coast. We had flirted with that idea at the beginning of the summer, but by mid-September, we were ready to head home. Add to that: daughter in California in the middle of a move; sister in Washington actually biking in Europe; friends in Seattle at their summer place in Mexico - you get the idea.



So our next stop was at a lovely camp ground in Nebraska, but that was after a LONG day of driving, so just a quick meal and to bed as we planned an early start the next day. We made it to New Mexico the following day, but we had the worst rain of the summer there. In fact, large areas of New Mexico were flooding, so instead of camping we got a motel for the night and retired early. Well rested, we got a very early start and made it all the way to Tucson.



We'd been gone three months, driven 12,000 miles in the USA, plus goodness knows how many in Europe, been in 29 states, three Canadian provinces and five European countries. It was still hot in Arizona, which is normal, but we were glad to be home - having a bit of dry heat didn't faze us at all.



DON'T FORGET TO LOOK AT THE PHOTOS BELOW (VERY BOTTOM, BELOW AD) AND GO TO THE OTHER PAGES (CLICK ON 'NEXT' AT BOTTOM OF EACH PAGE) AS THERE ARE MORE PHOTOS (97 TOTAL) AT THE BOTTOMS OF THE PAGES. GO TO THE NEXT PAGE EVEN IF IT LOOKS LIKE THERE ARE NO MORE PHOTOS (LIKE ON PAGE 2), AS THERE PROBABLY ARE.



For those of you included in this blog, note that the photos are in *chronological order, so you may not feature until toward the end - keep looking!! *Except for the first one as I wanted a scenery shot to be the "cover" photo.

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Photos

Fogo Island, Canada
Off of Newfoundland

Map of USA
For those of you not familiar with the 2-letter designation of our states, here is key

Cohn Family of El Paso, TX
Seen here in Washington state because my Texas photos didn't turn out. Our first stop was in Texas to see good friends, Mara & Larry shown here with daughter Alicia (in Gig Harbor), son Josh missing

Galveston, Texas
Arcade pavilion on the city beach

Galveston, Texas
One of the beautiful old buildings in the historic district - the Bishop's Palace; the church wasn't half as nice!

Gulfport, Mississippi
Gulfport was devastated by Hurricane Katrina and hit by Ida after that - this sand was barged back in from out at sea where it ended up after the hurricanes

Lafayette Blue Springs State Park, Florida
Near Mayo, Florida we stayed in a "cabin:" 2 bedrooms, full kitchen, living room, dining room, gigantic screen-in porch with 4 rockers, chair swing, picnic table. Under the carport was another BBQ area w/grill, table, etc., and was right on the St. Johns River

Blue Springs SP, Florida
We were the only ones staying in the park because the springs were closed to swimming because of high water

Blue Spring SP, Florida
Blue Springs are the largest on the St. Johns river and crucial wintering grounds for manatees. Visiting in the summer, we saw none (this photo is from the park's website).

Florida, Largo
Our first family visit was with niece Maria Tyrrell-Barney in Largo (near Tampa), Florida, w/husband John and son Charley

Boca Raton, Florida
From Largo to Boca Raton to visit our Argentine daughter, Marcela, and her family - husband Tim & son Cal

Jekyll Island, Georgia
Beautiful island on the Georgia coast where we stayed at a beach resort and Bernard did some work. I told him working was fine as long as I got to hunt for seashells . . . .

Taylorsville, North Carolina
North Carolina with niece Colleen and family - husband Dean and daughter Jonna

Taylorsville, North Carolina
Williams, extended family.
It was raining off and on throughout the BBQ so we periodically ended up in the garage - had a rip-roaring game of Jango going most of the night

Taylorsville, North Carolina
Nephew Chris (back right), Colleen's brother, lives in Charlotte, NC, he drove thru a horrendous storm to join us for a BBQ

Louisville, Kentucky
Spent a lovely time with niece Marie Dougherty-Gould and her family - husband Chris, daughter Elise and son Griffin

Richmond, Virginia
Nephew David & Niece Adrienne

Richmond, Virginia
Deb, Julia, Kathy, Lee, Bernie, Rob, Cole, Ella & Adrienne

Richmond, Virginia
Adrienne & Rob's son, Shep w/Uncle Bernie

Richmond, Virginia
Adrienne's son Shep with David's daughter Julia

Virginia River House
Adrienne's son Lee

River House, Virginia
At Dave & Deb's summer house on "the river," which is actually a beach area with a river emptying into the ocean nearby. David, Deb, Ella, Julia & Cole

Delanco, New Jersey
In NJ near Philadelphia (where she works) we stayed one night with my cousin Holly - husband, daughter and daughter's boyfriend were camping

Shrewsbury, Massachusetts
This was not how Tom looked when we saw him in early July. He was much improved when we visited (and this photo was taken) in early September

Maine
Nephew Tom Dougherty, wife Holly, daughter Riley @Holly's family "camp." Lucky for us, we got to join them there for a short, but very fun visit

Maine
Tom & Holly's older child, Quinn (right) coming back from fishing with is buds

Bay of Fundy, New Brunswick, Canada
We drove from Maine thru New Brunswick, camped one night on the ocean there, then into Nova Scotia - to Sydney to catch a ferry to Newfoundland

Gros Morne National Park, Nfl
The weather was delightful, as you can see, sunny and cool

Gros Morne National Park, Nfl, Canada
Kathy on campground beach - views to die for!

Green Point, Gros Morne NP, NFL
Bernard had to point out that we were staying a the Green Point (same name of where he grew up in Brooklyn)

Terra Nova National Park, Nfl, Canada
This park was small, but the drives in and around the whole of Newfoundland were spectacular

St. John's, Newfoundland
The capital and largest city on NFL - a delightful city in a spectacular location

Nfl, Eastern-most part of North America
On a day-trip from St. John's, Newfoundland we visited the place "Canada Begins."

New Jersey
Bernie and sister Claudia with the triplets. Julie, Claudia's best friend's (Maureen) daughter had triplets, plus she and husband Gil have 3 other children, albeit older. All the help they can get is appreciated.

New Jersey
Bobbie & Maureen (Grandpa and Grandma) with the triplets

New Jersey County Fair
Bernard w/niece Denise and nephew Keith at the county fair

Feinkost Käfer Restaurant, Reichstag Bldg.
Situated directly adjacent to the glass dome and offers breathtaking panoramic views over the city. Serves modern German cuisine prepared exclusively with the freshest regional produce, and accompanied by German wines.

Botanical Garden, Berlin, Germany
Bernard was lecturing at the German Red Cross Summer School, but only 2 days out of the week, so we had time to visit some places we hadn't when we lived in Berlin, like the botanical garden

Botanical Garden, Berlin
One of the old greenhouses in the huge and wonderful Berlin Botanical Garden

Reims, France
Our hotel in Reims. When Bernard finished lecturing in Berlin, we borrowed his colleague, Heike's, car and drove into France

France, Reims City Center
Our hotel was on a wonderful pedestrian boulevard; where it met streets with traffic, this was the round-about

France, Reims Cathedral
Our first gothic cathedral was in Reims