Bear Lake Visit

This is a continuation or the conclusion of Michelle and my trip to Idaho. We took the long way home, through Star Valley which for me isn't really the long way home. It is by far the most scenic of the drives to get to Evanston. We did, however, take a different drive from Star Valley. We went through Montipelier Canyon and into Montipelier ID and then around Bear Lake. We stopped and put our feet in Bear Lake. Tinkerbelle loved the stop.

Jon, you are lucky Michelle came home. Copper is soooooo glad I am home.

Vacaton Continuing

Chelley was kind enough to pick me up at the airport on Thursday. She brought kitten with her so he could go home. It was so nice of her to take care of him and make him feel better while I was gone. The plan was for her to pick me up and then on Friday we would head to Cheryl's to can some peaches and play with the Kimbers.

After spending the night in Evanston and taking our dogs for a walk Thurs. night and Friday morning we headed to Idaho. We went through Ogden and Brigham City to get some peaches.

We arrived at Cheryl's about 5:30. It was a hot drive and very long.

Here is a picture on Mr. Ben staying close to his mom after we arrived.

The purpose of our trip was to can some peaches and we did that on Sat. morning. We did 12 quarts, for Cheryl and Jason, and 14 pints for Michelle and Jon and Ma and Pa. They really did turn out great.

After cleaning up our sticky mess, and thankfully Carma let us borrow her big outdoor stove so we do most of the work outside, we headed to Big Spring for a picnic. big Spring is a natural spring that is east of Mack's Inn on the road to West Yellowstone. It is so beautiful and this year

everything was extra green. After eating and looking at the huge trout, went over to the boat launch and put our "piggies" in the water. Boy, was it cold.

Then it was time to head back to Rigby before the mosquitoes ate Chelley all up.

Vacation Over

I have arrived home after such a good time. It is always fun to be with Dad and we always do such fun stuff. This trip was shorter than usual, but we managed to do a lot of fun things. Wednesday was my last day there and after the boys finished with work, we headed to Baltimore for an evening of fun. First stop: Phillips All You Can Eat Seafood Buffet. It is so much fun watching Nate eat Crab Legs. Big Snow Crab Legs. He loves Crab Legs and he can eat so many of them. I love the chilled shrimp and crab imperial. Everything is wonderful--if you like seafood and we do. Neither Dad or I combined can eat as much as Nate.
Then it was time for a ball game. On Wednesday night the Orioles were celebrating the 25th anniversary of their last world series title. The members of the team were there. These were the guys Dad and I remember watching--kinda of heroes of baseball. (The Orioles beat the Phillies that Year.) They had a neat ceremony before the game. It was way cool. (Guess who left their cameras at home.) It was a throw back game so the team wore the uniforms from 1983--you remember the cartoon bird on the hat and tickets for the upper deck were $5.50. Man, you could almost afford to take your family to a baseball game back then.
About the fifth inning the grounds crew ran out onto the field and sat behind the tarp, so I suspected something was up--that and the fact there were flood warnings posted for that evening and by the start of the sixth inning it started to sprinkle. Before there were any outs, we decided that we would hurry home and watch the final innings at home. (After the rain delay.)
WE were parked 3 blocks away and before we could get to the car, it started to pour. By the time we got to the car, we were soaking wet. The ride home was exciting because it was raining so hard you couldn't see the lines on the road and the wipers couldn't keep up with it. A real east coast rain storm. (The game was called on the count of rain and finished on Thurs. morning.)
My flight left Thurs. morning at 8:55 am and my East Coast vacation was over.

Church in York

Today being Sunday and with us being on the East Coast, we headed to York for church. Dad spoke with Bishop Van Tassel last week and they were the sacrament speakers in York I. Dad forgot to ask Dick what time their meetings start and he was positive that their meeting started at 1. We headed up that way and arrived in time for York 2's meetings. That was okay, I guess, because the Dallastown Wagners are in York 2 as well as the Engel's. So I got to talk to Tina, Billie Rae Morgenegg, because she hadn't left the church yet, and the Engel's. All the Engel's were there except Troy who couldn't get leave and Mikey who is on a mission in CA. The twins had just returned home from Rexburg last week. Chris was there with his wife and baby girl, one twin was there with his wife, and the other twin was there with a girl friend. Lori was there with her husband and FOUR kids. Matt still looks like Matt.
Dad will make sure Nate gets to York 1 next Sunday.
I head home on Thurs. the 24. The boys will continue to have lots of fun when I leave.

Saturday's fun and excitement was fileting the fish we caught on Friday, then a trip to Baltimore and a walk around the Inner Harbor. Heat index was around 100. You remember the days when you sweat while sitting still.

Events for the next few days. Basketball in York Tuesday night and Wednesday Night an Orioles Game.

The fish were biting

Here we are, the great fisher"persons". Friday Dad arranged for Miguel to take us out on the bay for our fishing trip. Miguel brought his 11 year old son, Mark, along to help us. It was so much fun. We left Crofton at 6 am, and yes, Nate slept the whole way. When we got to the Bay Bridge, a glorious sun rise greeted us. You remember the ones where because of the humidity the sun glows a beautiful pink.
When we got out on the water and Miguel picked out our fishing spot, Nate was the first one with his hooks in the water. No one else even had time to bait our hooks before Nate had caught two fish. (All with one pole.) Now, I must give a lot of credit to Nate. He hates water; is scared to death of water, even. But for the second time this trip he agreed to get on a boat.
By the time we docked the boat at about 2:30, we had caught a cooler full of fish. Croakers. Now I know why they are called Croakers. They make a croaking sound, like a frog, when they are caught. Mark caught a lot more than we did. He is a great fisherman. But we all had fun and we will enjoy eating the fish. (I told Dad that when we move out here, he has to buy me a boat and of course, a pickup to haul the boat.)
After taking a quick shower in Crofton, we headed to a little Italian place for dinner. Bookmaker, Calamari, and pasta. Perfect Day

Vacation Update

No new pictures. Yesterday we traveled to York so Dad could meet with the good Dr. Knudson about his sore elbow. He is on the dl now as he has been diagnosed with "tennis elbow".
While Dad was with the Dr., Nate and I went to the Galleria Mall for some shopping. I remember the Galleria as an exciting mall, but both Nate and I were disappointed and we finished walking around the mall in 15 minutes. We did indulge in "Aunt Annies" pretzels, which in my opinion are the best pretzels around.
I stopped in the Orioles store to pick up an Orioles outfit for Ben and a license plate holder for my zuki.
After Dad picked us up, we went to the park over by the Layton's old house, grilled some steaks, had a picnic,and completed our PA day by driving some of the back roads before heading back to Crofton. We saw the farm house from a distance, through the corn fields, and the house on Mill Street. It was hard to remember all the back roads that we used to drive on a regular basis.
The area has really grown. There is a Cracker Barrel and Home Depot at exit one now. The traffic heading north out of MD was very heavy. It certainly is not the same as when we lived there. It is hard to believe we have been gone from PA now for six years. Time sure goes by quickly.
After getting back to Crofton, it was a quiet night of watching the All Star game. Nobody here was awake for the final out.

Vacation Finally

Let the fun begin. We have arrived safely and are ready for some big time fun. Friday after sleeping in and recovering from a late night arrival, we had lunch at the "Four Seasons Grill" and then headed for Towson to look at a job.

Nate and Dad rode the scaffolding to the 22 nd floor where they had a great view of the Baltimore area. We came home early to prepare for our weekend in NYC with the Forbes.

Saturday's drive was uneventful except for the traffic jam where we moved 7 miles in 45 minutes. It's a good thing we had no schedule to meet.

We went to the New Jersey side of the Statue of Liberty and took a quick look. We knew we had to hurry to meet Carolyn and Stew at Shea Stadium for the ball game, but traffic was way heavy so meeting was a little late. We finally got together during the third inning.

The Mets won the game 3-0. It really was a lot of fun--any baseball game is a lot of fun.

After the game we took the Forbes to their friends home where they were staying, but first, we stopped at a little neighborhood Italian restaurant we passed. The food was great and I'm still tasting garlic.

Sunday morning we left our hotel and headed toward the New York side of the Statue of Liberty. We took a Harbor Cruise around Ellis Island and the Statue. It was a beautiful day for a boat ride.

Vacation Day One:

How can I describe the way our vacation began. We left the Evans Family reuninion and made the final preparations for our journey across the country. After Nate said goodbye to his friends, we packed up the Hyundai and left town. We hadn't driven very far when there was a "lurch" in the car and the ac was turned off to see if that would solve the problem. It didn't.
To make a long story short, we didn't get to Green River before we decided the best thing to do would be to turn around and check air fares and times. Dad flies back to Baltimore on Monday and Nate and I fly out on Thurs. We will still be able to get to NYC in time to see the Met/Rockies game on Saturday with the Forbes. What a way to start a vacation.