June 2011

Nate, Stacie and the grandkids came to visit us in California. We had a really good time with them. Bella and Sophie are so much fun. We just played and swam in our backyard for several days. Bella liked hunting the frogs we get in backyard after the sun goes down. We all traveled down to Huntington Beach on Father's Day. Erin fixed a great dinner for all of us. Erin and Warren cooked fish on Father's day for John, it was so very good. We played at the Beach, which both Bella and Sophie loved. We spend time enjoying the perfect So. Cal weather. Thanks Erin and Warren for being our hosts.

Smoky Mountains

In Tennesse we went to Gatlinburgh just outside the Smoky Mountains. It was a nice little town that is a much like Jackson Hole WY. Shops, Hotels and tourists are every where. We drove into the Park and climbed to the top of the third highest peak on the East Coast. The Forest was very green and beautiful, nothing like the forests out west.

Nate and Stacie visit

We left Connecticut and traveled to Kentucky to see Nate's family. A road trip was our next adventure. We decided to drive to Tennesse and see some sights along the way. First stop was Boonesbourgh. We visited the restored Daniel Boone Fort near the Kentucky River.

Connecticut

We had a great trip to see Ben and Cynda. We spent the long weekend traveling and looking at the sights. We started off going to Mystic and the surrounding area. We stopped by Fort Griswold, the site of a battle during the revolutionary war. We climbed a tower to look over the old fort's breastworks. We drove to Newport Rhode Island to see the old mansions of the super rich. These mansions were built as the summer homes of the wealthy in the 1890's. The picture is of the Vanderbilt's summer home. It was amazing to see and tour these grand homes. Back to Mystic the next day. This is a very old seaport that supported a large ship building economy 150 years. On the way back to Cynda's house we stopped by for a combined railroad and steam paddle wheel boat ride up the Connecticut River. It was a beautiful scenic trip. Thanks Ben and Cynda for the great time. Made us want to live on the east coast.