Cousins Arrive July 20th - July 24th 2017

Carol and Nelson, cousins from New Jersey,  are temporarily empty nesters, and as such, were finally able to make a road trip to visit with us.  Their daughter, Annie, is currently working in San Antonio, TX, for the summer, and son Matt had the fantastic opportunity to study in Australia for five months.  We can't really say we had "company" because Carol and Nelson blended right in, just two more household members.  Nelson was a tremendous help to Bob on several of the "two man jobs" that needed doing, and Carol was a wonderful second set of hands in the kitchen.   We appreciated their help and that they made the 800+ mile drive to see us.

                             They arrived Thursday afternoon.  Friday morning we took a ride to Issaquena Falls and Stumphouse Tunnel northwest of Walhalla.  Here we are on the trail to the falls.

 

                   It hadn't occurred to us that the summer foliage would obscure the view.

There was just a small window in which to see the falls near the top of the cascade.  These were the first waterfalls Bob and I checked out when we moved to the area in 2015, but that was in the early spring, and the view was spectacular.

Just up the road from the falls is Stumphouse Tunnel...the tunnel cut into a mountain in the 1850's in the hopes of having a railroad link to Ohio.  That couldn't be completed because of the difficulty breaking down the granite walls.

No one wanted to venture too far into the dark cavern, especially since it got darker the further you went in, and the likelihood of encountering the resident bats.

           Nelson is checking out one of the flatbed cars used to remove the granite.

 

Erosion has left an intricate pattern in the nearby landscape.  Later, we drove into Seneca and enjoyed pizza at Peppino's.  Both Carol and Nelson agreed it was really good.

 

The next morning, we made an excursion to another lovely park...Chau Ram Falls.

Throughout their trip, Carol had prompted Nelson to pose for different photos.  Here he is doing a swan dive.

He should have dived in to retrieve Carol's binoculars which tumbled down the rock and into the water.  While the guys were trying to figure out a good way to get down to them without slipping on the rock, Carol scurried down and lifted the binocs out of the stream.

Ramsey Creek is the headwater of the falls which tumble into the Chau River.  Here is a perfect spot for trout fishing.

A suspension bridge spans  Chau River and leads to various trails and picnic spots.

We knew it would be too hot to picnic here today, but it is a special place that we wanted to share with Carol and Nelson.

The only way to beat the heat is in the pool, and Carol and I made sure we spent time in it each afternoon while the guys worked on reconfiguring the chain link fence in our back yard and playing with Bob's latest toy, a 1950 Ford pick up hot rod that needs a lot of work!

Lots of work!

No visit would be complete without eating at the Townville Café, so we had breakfast there Monday morning before Carol and Nelson had to return.  Perhaps they will be able to visit us again soon.







 





 

             



Rest of the trip - July 2017

Monday, we made another visit at the cemetery, and then Joe & Bev drove up to the campground to spend a few hours with us.  They were going home the next day.

They thought the campground was very nice (which it is), and Joe enjoyed a short walk on one of the trails.

Tuesday, Carol had a 4th of July bbq that doubled as a farewell party for her son, Matt, who will be on a college study program in Australia for 5 months.  He was due to depart July 9th.

Bob, Nelson and cousin Joe shooting the breeze in the shade in Nelson's backyard.

 

Melody, one of Joe's daughter in laws, and her soon to be 3 year old  daughter, Isabelle.  Joe's youngest son, Luke is at the table

Cousin Barbara with grand daughter Stella, Isabelle's not-quite-one year old sister.  Adele is in the background.  Somehow, I never did get a picture of Matt!

 



 

 

 







We were going to stay at the camp until the 5th, and then visit with family on my dad's side down near Atlantic City before heading home, but we cancelled those plans.  For one thing, there were too many restrictions on the Garden State Parkway for Bob's big truck, and we didn't feel comfortable trying to navigate another way.  So, we headed back home instead.

After driving 560 miles, we finally  stopped for the night in Fancy Gap, VA, at a park along the Blue Ridge Highway where we stayed last year.  This fellow from California was practicing his bass fiddle when we got there.  He was hoping to hook up with some other blue grass players somewhere up the road.  You never know what you'll see!  We arrived home safely a little after noon on Thursday the 6th after traveling a total of 2073 miles in all.  Jill was the 7th wedding of my 10 second generation cousins on my mother's side.  Three more to go....who will be next???

 

The Wedding July 1, 2017

The wedding and reception were  held at the Castle at Skylands Manor in Ringwood, New Jersey.  Jill was a beautiful bride and Sean a handsome groom.  The ceremony was  outside, and dark clouds started forming. When the first clap of thunder sounded, we all hoped that the rain would hold off, and thankfully, it did.  Everyone then went into the castle for drinks and appetizers and then on to the hall for the reception merriment that followed.

 

The Castle

 

 

Adele, mother of the bride, escorted by her son, David

Jill's sister and Matron of Honor, Rachel, and Rachel's son, Alexander, the ring bearer.

                                         Jill and Michael, father of the bride

"They Do"...and then

They dance...

  and then Michael takes his turn...

                                     



and next, soon to be 95 year old Uncle Mickey, grandfather of the bride.

Then it was open floor for all.  Here is cousin Annie, one of the bridesmaids.  Adele and Alexander are at the right.





And then Alexander decided to take center stage.

Michael pays homage to Uncle Mickey,  as Jill's uncles Joe and Nelson look on.

Carol, with her dad and daughter, Annie.

The next morning, Adele and Michael hosted a breakfast at the Sheraton where most of the wedding guests had spent the night.  Bev is talking to Uncle Mickey while Joe and Carol pose for the picture.

        A view from the 16th floor of the hotel taken in the glassed elevator.

 

 

 

 

 

 



Another wedding trip...June 27 - July July 6, 2017

Jill, youngest daughter of cousins Adele and Michael, had set July 1 for her and Sean's wedding, so another trip to Jersey was in store.  We took our small travel trailer and left Seneca June 27th and got to our usual campground in Mahlon Dickerson on Wednesday, June 28th.

 

Our first night's stay was at a campground advertised on the interstate in Vernon, VA, 421 miles from Seneca. Roscoe took notice of the bunny the minute we stopped.  It didn't have to register or pay the fee...rabbits  were all over the camp. Signs warned they were not to be harassed, but could be fed the pellets on sale at the camp store.

A waterfall and stream were at one end of the park.  This was a nice family campground with fishing pond, miniature golf, and swimming pool, and was fairly well booked.  We decided to make an early start the next day; packed and on the road by 6:15.  Temperature was 48 degrees...we hadn't seen it that cool in several months, and it felt good.

Four hundred miles later, we were set up at Mahlon, and Bob took some time to chill out from the long drive. 

 

We had made plans to meet with our friends, Plish and John, on Thursday.  We stopped there after a visit to the cemetery. As always, it was so good to see them, even though it was a brief visit at their home in Bloomfield.   Plish treated us to a lunch consisting of 3 types of stuffed breads (spinach; pepperoni, and sausage), which were delicious and brownies for desert.

John's t-shirt looked as though it had an encrypted message, but in fact the lettering was the remains of "Puerto Rico"...a souvenir t-shirt he bought while there.  John had been working on a renovation project for a friend, but made time to take a break and spend a few hours with us.   They would be heading to Vermont on Sunday to visit with their grand children, and with the wedding plans, this would be the only time we could see them this trip.

 



Plish and I have known each other since 9th grade at our beloved School 13.

Bob and John met only a few years ago, but hit it right off, both of them being DIY'ers.  We hope to connect again in the fall either in Calabash, NC or at our house.