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| Ben and Sarah recreating the pose they've done a few times over the years. This time with an extra special third member! |
Well...……….that was a little longer sabbatical than I had intended. It's not like I've been sitting in a lounge chair under a palm tree since the last blog back on June 28, but there has been a little bit of that in the mix. We've actually been pretty busy over the past six weeks, plus my laptop was out of commission for a couple of weeks. So here's a quick recap of our whereabouts as well as a few of the highlights.
Summer first and foremost means time with family and extended family on Anna Maria Island. This tradition has been going on for close to 100 years. It's amazing to witness this annual gathering of Beth's immediate family as well as Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, Nieces, Nephews, etc.. As usual, the culmination of this multiweek celebration was on July 4 with well over 100 people enjoying food and fellowship.
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The Four Queens of Anna Maria Island!
NaNa and her three sisters.
L to R: Phyllis, Sally, Kay and NaNa
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Ben is currently between jobs and we were glad to have him with us for the two week reunion. He and his cousin, Kyle were the winners of this years Annual Beach House Rook Tournament (a tradition since 1988). I played for the first time in about 10 years and as usual, my tournament run was brief. Two games and my partner (Ben's friend Joni) and I were eliminated. She's a fairly novice player but is much more skilled than me. She deserved a better partner. I think my retirement from the tournament is permanent this time.
Unfortunately Sarah, Joey and Sweet Baby James were unable to join us in Florida. So after the Beach House ended here on the island we moved the party to the West Coast. On our way to California we stopped off in Texas for a couple of days to attend the wedding of a young lady that we had the pleasure of watching grow up before our eyes. Congratulations Brittany and Brandon, it was a beautiful ceremony and we wish you the very best!
James turned two on July 9 so his birthday celebration lasted for a week or so. First there was a party with friends and Joey's parents and a few days later we arrived to keep the action going a few more days. It's amazing how much that little guy has grown. He's beginning to talk and while he doesn't have a huge repertoire of words some of his favorites are MiMi (Beth), football, baseball and bat.
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| James, MiMi and Poppy hitting the beach |
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| James getting a few hitting tips from Uncle Ben! |
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| The Martin Family at the Monterey Aquarium |
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| Big Sur Drive |
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We celebrated our 36th Anniversary in California.
Time flies when you're having fun...……….love this special lady!
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They've been in California for a year now. Their lease expired on their home in San Rafael so we enjoyed seeing their beautiful, more spacious home in Novato. It wasn't all work however, we spent a few days in the Monterey area. The Monterey Aquarium is tremendous and the Seventeen Mile Drive along the Pacific Coast and Pebble Beach is amazing. After the heat and humidity of Florida the cooler temperatures of the Pacific Coast were a welcome relief. If it wasn't for those fires, earthquakes, mudslides, crazy high prices and so many flaming liberals it would be a nice place to live. As it is, it's a great place to visit, especially with Sarah, James and Joey living there.
After California we (Beth and I) flew back to Florida while Ben stopped to visit some friends in Denver. After a few days on the island it was back to the airport for me. I met Ben in Albany, NY. We were able to check something off our "to do" list that we've been wanting to do for quite some time, The Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. I'm going to save that for another blog. I don't want to over do it after a six weeks sabbatical. All I'll say for now is that it far and away exceeded our expectations!
