Sunday, for me was a day to rest. Some of our friends went out for a second day of golf. Jackie and I decided to chill for the day and prepare for our return journey. My knee was hurting so we chose not to walk to the lighthouse, which was our routine in prior years. We did walk to have a breakfast sandwich at The Slip and then over to the beach to relax. Traditionally, the weekend winds down with a group dinner at Turk's Seafood Market & Sushi Bar. The seafood and atmosphere there is perfect. It is a nice way to end another Labor Day vacation. After dinner, we returned to #8 for more time around the fire-pit and the Hang 8 bar. Just as we settled in Trav brought out the leftover ice ... read more

Friday morning, time to drive from Queens over to Mattapoisett, Mass. The drive is almost all Interstate, thus a little boring. But once you near our destination, the feeling changes. This is pure New England territory. The homes are gorgeous. We met our friends on Main street at the Inn about 12:30. But, since seating was limited, we decided to have lunch at the Oxford Creamery. You would never get an argument from me. I love their lobster rolls. Jackie got fish tacos. That's not on the menu but at times they will prepare it. If you are ever near here, come and eat some fine seafood. This is a walk up creamery where you either take out or dine out in the small park out front. After eating it was time to check in and ... read more

Day 4 of our trip. The goal for today was first to do a driving tour of Gettysburg battlefield and then drive up to Queens NY. Our hotel was adjacent to the famous Cemetary Hill. We started there and visited all of the major sites. Gettysburg is an amazing historical location. There is so much to see with monuments everywhere. I used the official National Park Service map plus a new iPhone Battlefield App. We spent two hours but you could easily spend two or more days studying how this incredible battle developed. My biggest surprise was the terrain of the battlefield. After doing my research and watching movies and videos I expected to see large, even mountainous ranges. I envisioned Kennesaw Mountain landscape. Instead, there are "ridges" where the battles occurred. The largest hills were ... read more

Are we good or just lucky?? Today, we said our goodbyes to Amy and family. It was the first day back to school for Abby (10th grade) and Jake (9th). Good luck to them. We drove North towards Lexington up I-77 and I-81. As we progressed, Jackie started to search for a nearby winery to visit and maybe have some lunch. Once into Virginia, she located a promising vineyard and we left the Interstate in search of the WHITEBARRLE Winery. I give Jackie five stars for her pick. We arrived about five minutes before the winery opened for business. We were the only guests there and waited inside the winery until we were welcomed. Our hostess, Tess, was terrific. She was the expecting wife of the owner, Rik. She told us of the winery history and ... read more

Hi Friends and Family, On May 4, 2008 I wrote and circulated my first travel blog. We were about to travel to Europe for a six-week adventure, our longest vacation ever. After returning, I learned that I could use my blogs to create a personal travel book. It worked wonderfully. As we age I find it relaxing to break out the book and flip through the pages rather than to log in here to see what I wrote or to scan through thousands of photos trying to remember where we were when they were taken. My last blog was dated August 6, 2012. It was my 105th entry with a total of 1,251 photos. It was our last day in Paris with a photo of the Eiffel Tower. We have done some travel since but I ... read more