PP's 19th hole 8 "13

Sometimes the best hole of our golf game is at the 19th hole.

Scratch, Made from Scratch, 8 '13

I make homemade soup  from scratch at least two time a week, so I am pretty good at Matzo ball and lentil and chicken noodle, lentil etc..  Bruce loves them and brags to everyone about how I make the best soups.  I generally do not use prepackaged spice mixes in my soups (fewer nitrates and no MSG in my soup), but this week, while shopping for lentils, the  Manischewitz Minestrone Soup mix caught my eye...yellow & green lentils, beans,macaroni and a host of vegetables all in the right quantities for a single crock pot of soup.... . so much more economical  than trying to purchase and put together 1/8 cup of this/1/4 cup of that.  I decided to give it a try.  Of course there was no separating out the spices so they went into the pot too (along with chicken broth a chicken breast and a whole bunch more fresh vegetables).  Bruce raved about it for the rest of the evening... just like Mom's... blah blah So authentic blah blah Tastes just right blah blah  blah.  So much for my  home made from scratch being the best!

Summer Road Trip Day 15 Play Day 8'13

Saturday was a Big Day.  Kenyatta was off of work and the girls had a full day of entertainment planned for all of us.  To set the stage ( pun intended) they gave us a dance recital .

They even changed costumes for the hip-hop number.

Then we had a tea party... their first ever they assured me.

Of course the guys had to crash  the party... The thought of free snacks were just too much to pass up, even if they did have to drink tea to get the snacks.

After KJ woke up from his nap, we all went to the Jersey Shore aAmusement park where Bruce and Laura  took the girls on an endless swirl of rotating rides while Keyatta and I watched KJ.

I don't know who had more fun on those rides, Bruce or the Girls.

Later that evening we had another treat.  We got to watch Little KJ eat his first solid food.

He loved it!  So did we.

Sadly tomorrow we have to leave for home!

We'll miss you guys.

Summer Road Trip: Day 14- Visiting with the Family in New Jersey 8 '13

Having grand children is the one true blessing of age.  No matter how tired you are, or how sore from the road, their laughter and their energy are contagious.  

From left to right: Macy, Delaney, KJ, and Me

On our first day there Laura had some imavoidable commitments, so we got to spend time alone with  5 year old Macy.

We took her to the park, and out for a bike ride.

 When Delaney got home I read stories with her to KJ,

and tickled  five month old KJ until neither of us could stop giggling.

We were so  lucky to be able to spend so time with these three.  I only wish we could do the same with all our other five grand children.

Summer Road Trip: Day 13- Massachusetts to New Jersey 8 '13

Oh the joys of technology!  Ms. Garmin projected the trip from Boston to the Jersey shores would take about 6 hours.  What she can't predict is traffic accidents.  So when both the Geo. Washington Bridge out of  Manhattan. and all other bridges out of NY State are both blocked by traffic accidents , what do you do?

Wait, and wait , and wait.... for hours.  The 8 hour trip too us almost 10 hours..  Bruce is now swearing that he will never leave our rural lifestyle for a big city again.

Summer Road Trip: Day 13- Introduce KJ 8 '13

Fortunately at the end of a very long drive we had someone waiting up for us that made the long trip all worthwhile. I am so pleased to present our  seventh grandchild / third grandson, Kenyatta Junior to you.  At five months old , KJ  is a perfect little Gerber Baby. He's sweet, handsome, and  oh so loveable .

Summer Road Trip: Day 13 - Visiting with Larry and Matt

Just before leaving Massachusetts for the long trip back to New Jersey,  we were able to have breakfast with Bruce's cousin Larry Stein, and his son, Matt.   As luck would have it, they had flown in together from Colorado the night before.  no matter how briefly, I am so glad we were able to connect .  How time flies.  Matt was maybe five when I saw him last.  Look at him now. 

Summer Road Trip: Day 12 - Visiting with Ellise and Jim 8 '13

The evening was a lot more pleasant than the day had been.  We had dinner  at a lovely seafood restaurant with  Bruce's childhood friend Elise and her husband Jim.  Bruce and Elise grew up across the street from one another but hadn't seen each other for years.  It turns out will all have a lot in common.  Hopefully we will be able to get together again soon.

Summer Road Trip: Day 12 - Golf at South Shore Country Club 8 '13

When Bruce was growing up the South Shore Country Club was considered the finest outdoor recreation facility south of Boston, so he was very please to when we found time on our schedule for him to play the  par 72 golf course was designed in 1922 by Wayne Stiles.

Unfortunately he was far less pleased once he arrived.  For one thing he greens were far from pristine.  Sure it was cute seeing all the Canada geese waiting under the apple trees for the fruit to fall, but having them chase you was not, and landing you ball in the mess was worse.

 An even greater problem was that the starter paired people walking the course with those in carts, and paired teenager junior players with experienced players.   This played havoc with the timing between holes. The result was an endless series of bottlenecks.  It got so backed up on the back nine, that after waiting 35 minutes for our turn at play,  we  quit the game.    Our experience, on this course definitely made us more appreciative of our South Carolina Low Country Golf Courses; that's for sure!

Summer Road Trip: Day 11 - Scouting Jacobs landmarks 8 '13

 

On Aug 10th,  we traveled through the small community of Norwell on  the way into Hull.  I noticed in passing a historical marker for Jacobs Farm, then another for Jacobs Pond, then a sign for Jacobs Creek and Jacobs trail.  Looking them up on the map, Bruce suddenly remembered hiking there as a youth, so we decided to check it out.

The pond and the surrounding area is now a conservation area with large tracts set aside for recreational purposes.

Boat launch area and north entrance to hiking trails

 

A house adjacent to the pond( just out of sight to Bruce's left) was for sale, I thought it would have made a great artist's retreat.but Bruce ix-nayed the idea... "too much snow".  

Next we looked for Jacobs Farm. 

 We never did determine if we were seeing the actual farm  ( which is listed at: Jacobs Farm, 86 Jacobs Ln, Norwell, MA).  The man in the picture disappeared before we could ask and there were no signs to tell us,  but these photos were taken in the right location on the map.

 We did find the science center that is located in the center of the farmland ( which unfortunately it was closed ) . We never did determine if we were seeing the actual farm  ( which is listed at: Jacobs Farm, 86 Jacobs Ln, Norwell, MA)  and we found the   We also found community cooperative farm adjacent to  Jacobs farm.  You can learn mor about this interesting project at:  http://www.patriotledger.com/news/x2071997388/Interest-grows-in-Norwell-community-farm

In the town of Norwell we passed 'The Jacobs Farmhouse' on Main Street which was originally built in 1726 by the Jacobs Family, who lived in the home continuously until 1934. It houses many artifacts related to Norwell and  is maintained as a glimpse of farm life in the 1800s. The house currently serves as headquarters for the Norwell Historical Society.  It is open for tours by appointment only. Sigh. So much to do, so little time.....Maybe on the next visit we will learn more.

Summer Road Trip: Day 10- Rockport, MA 8 '13

By August 12th, we'd  spent 10 days in almost non stop socializing.  We both needed a change of pace.   Not once since we left  had I dragged him into an art gallery or museum. Bruce decided it would be wise  to give me a strong dose of art exposure before I went into withdrawals, so he surprised me with a unplanned side-trip to Rockport, Mass

Rockport Harbor

 This small art community is just an hour drive north of Boston.  The setting is quintessential New England with its  rocky shoreline and colorful harbor.  Not surprisingly, the scenery has attracted artists for over a century, and the town has become a well established artists community. Following the artists are scores of tourists anxious to purchase local art  &/or enjoy the beautiful shore.  Fortunately for Bruce and I we went there mid week on a beautiful sunny day; many of the tourists were at the beach enjoying  the fine weather.

Please note.. Not one person is in the water.  The water is that cold, even in mid Aug,

 Scores of art galleries line the hilly streets in the town center, and even more gift shops and eateries are crammed onto the two piers that just into the harbor.  I think I hit every fine art painting gallery in town before we had a great lobster lunch on the pier.  Do I look happy, or what?

 

Summer Road Trip: Day 9 - Visiting with Maxine and Paul "13

On the way home from Cape Cod Bruce got a text from his childhood friend Maxine inviting us to stop by for drinks.  Fortunately traffic off of the Cape was light and we were make it there in time for us all to go out to for a delightful dinner together.

Summer Road Trip: Day 9 Visit with Harry and Nancy 8 '13

Our friends Harry and Nancy are snow birds.  The live their lives in the best of two worlds.  They spend  the winter and spring living  two doors down from us in South Carolina,  and then they migrate to Cape Cod for the summer and fall.  We've been promising them for the past six years we would visit with them at their cottage in Chatham Mass.  This year, On Aug 8th, we made good on that promise and I am so glad we did.   Their cottage is lovely, and the Cape is picture perfect at this time of year.  We had a great visit and I loved seeing them in their summer home.

Summer Road Trip: Day 8 Return to Hull 8'13

 

Aug. 10th saw us on the road again. This time we headed east across  the states of New York and Massachusetts.  Our destination was the small town of Hull Mass on the tip of the  peninsula which forms the southeastern edge of Boston Harbor

Hull Harbor with a view of the  Boston skyline  in the distance

First stop: The home he was born and raised in.

 Next we visited the beach at the end of his street

 It's open  to the Atlantic Ocean on this side of the beach and is a very popular place to vacation in the summer 

Of course we had to visit the Temple Israel of Nantasket

and Jewish Community Center where he was bar mitzvahed

and the Hull Police Department

and the Hull Fie Department

and the Town ( former) Selectman, Leonard Colton

and much much more.  We returned to Hull many more times over the course of the next week as Bruce visited with friends and revisited good time memories of his childhood

Summer Road Trip: Day 6 -7 Visiting with Richie and Carol 8'13

  

Bruce's cousin  lives a hundred miles east of the our friends Janet and David ( Near Albany, NY),   So  Cousin Richie,  his wife Carol and their son Jake were next on our  itinerary of folks to visit.

 

We arrived mid afternoon. and had perfect weather for sitting around by the pool and catching up on each others lives.

Of course it wasn't long before the cousins had to join Jake in the pool.

I can't believe how Jake has grown.  He was about 5 when I  last saw saw him and just a sweet little boy. He is now nearly as tall as I am, and turning into a handsome and charming young man.

It rained most of Friday which kind of precluded most of the out of door activities that Richie had planned for us.  As it turned out that wasn't such a bad thing, as it gave the cousins lots of time to reconnect.

By evening the storm was starting to break up so Carol and Richie decided to treat us to a dinner cruise on Lake George.

I had been to lake George once before, but had only seen it from the Historic Fort's Shoreline

I had no idea it was so big  or so beautiful

and the passing storm made it even more spectacular

Thanks for a memorable visit, Richie and Carol!