Another Life Cycle Event

So this Grandparents thing is fun and getting easier. June 15, 2017, a day that will live in our hearts for a long time. Grandson number 3, grandchild number 4, all in one little package. Henry Louis Dubreuil (yes, he shares his Mother and big sister’s last name) was born in record time. We had places that day to meet Logan and Maureen at an apartment they had rented for us so we would be closer to their house and then go out for Thursday dinner. We went to lunch with some friends that had come down from Portsmouth, NH, and got a message from Logan that Maureen had gone home early not feeling well! (the exclamation point was Logan’s.) After lunch, we heard from Logan again that he was heading home and we headed their way as well, planning to be there about 4. On the way, we took a little time and stopped near the shore where the water was very active.

When we got to the house, Maureen was pretty obviously in labor. After about 20 minutes, she and Logan were out the door and we were sitting down to dinner with Simone. Later that evening, after Simone had gone to bed, Ellyn called Maureen’s mother, whom we are good friends with, and she blurted out that the baby had been born and was a boy before she realized that we had not heard yet. Logan called us while we were on that call with the news. It turned out that Henry was born about 2 hours after they had left the house.

So, now we knew it was a boy but it would be a couple more days before we would find out his name. Simone was a little weepy sometimes when she had to come home without Mama and Papa, but she was mostly very good for us. Logan and Maureen came home with Henry two day later and we were able to go back to our own bed. Maureen’s parents also came and the whole family was able to get together for a picture.

So now we come by to help entertain Simone and get some baby holding time and will be in the area for a couple of months before heading West.

Beginning the 2017 Travel Season

On May 31st, it was time to get going again on the road. This would be the latest we have stayed in Sarasota in the Spring since we started coming here in 2010. In the past, we have been on the road by at least the first week in May, but this year we have a slightly different schedule. Our fourth Grandchild is due in Boston around the 20th of June, and we want to, for once, take a more leisurely trip North. So we headed out and drove North and East a few hours to Gamble-Rogers Memorial State Beach north of Daytona Beach. The weather was not as nice as it had been on the “Sun Coast”, and we only stayed for one night before continuing on to Charleston, SC. In Charleston, we met up with Rich Giblin, a good friend of Geoff’s from his days in the US Navy. The three of us toured the city and had some good meals. He took us on a personal tour of the church he has been attending and we also took a tour of the local Synagogue, the old continuously operating one in North America. Ellyn and I later came back and attended services there on Friday night. They were hosting a choir from Atlanta. It was also the anniversary of Geoff’s Father’s death in 2008.

After two nights in Charleston, we continued up the coast to Virginia. There, we stayed at the campground at Fort Monroe, an old Army post that is now a recreation park. There we visited with Ellyn’s Cousin Susan and her husband, Paul. The last time we were there, they lived at Fort Monroe but now have moved to a townhouse in Hampton.

Our next stop was New Jersey, via the Chesapeake Bridge Tunnel and Maryland and Delaware, totally bypassing the Washington DC and Baltimore traffic areas. We stayed the first night at Timberland Campground (recently changed to a KOA) and then went to visit with another of Ellyn’s Cousins in Monroe Township. One of her son’s has a big plot of land and a new house where we were able to park the RV for our visit. If we had known that the where we were going to park was so nice, we would have skipped the campground and come directly to their house.

From there, we continued north to New York State and our traditional lunch with Ellyn’s former coworkers from IBM. Then about a 5 hour drive to Salem, MA. This is our favorite camping site in the Boston Area, as it is right on the water where we can watch boats entering and leaving Salem Harbor. From here, we will wait for the blessed event, and also get to visit with our granddaughter, Simone.