Amy and Joe went to a Red Sox game early last summer with Mom and Peter and asked Aaron and I to watch Justin. We had a great afternoon/evening building with blocks and playing with iPhones. Justin is particularly fond of watching videos on the phones, especially Schoolhouse Rock, Unpack Your Adjectives. He thinks it’s hysterical. Needless to say, we had a fun night. Click on the photo of Justin and I above to see the album of photos.
It was Joe’s idea actually…so my thanks to him. Back in mid June, Amy and I went away for a weekend, just the two of us to Meredith, New Hampshire for a relaxing weekend. We stayed at The Church Landing at Mill Falls in a room that looked out on Lake Winnipesaukee. We had some good meals, went shopping, got pedicures and just enjoyed spending some time together. We didn’t know it when we planned the trip, but it turns out we were in New Hampshire for part of Motorcycle Week – so we saw all sorts of interesting sites. I tried to convince Amy that she should go to one of the bike leather clothing shops and ask if they carried maternity chaps, but she passed on that one. Instead she posed for me under the Frankie’s Firearms sign – which was almost as funny. Take a look at the photos.
Back in early June, we traveled to DC for Molly’s high school graduation. It’s hard for me to believe, given that when I moved to DC after college she was 5. As my dear brother Peter would say, I am old. Unfortunately it rained, which meant an indoor ceremony and limited tickets. Aaron and I volunteered to sit in the auditorium where the ceremony was televised on huge screens. I took a few photos (they’re in the album), but they’re pretty fuzzy. It was a graduation weekend for Andrew as well, who graduated from middle school the day before. Later on in the weekend, the weather cleared up and we got to see Andrew in action on the soccer field. Click on the photo above to see the small album of photos from the weekend.
Back at the end of May, Aaron and I went to the beach for a relaxing weekend. It was very quiet. We felt like we had the whole beach to ourselves, which was not so bad. We spent the weekend reading, playing games and just enjoying being there. James and Chrissy came up for dinner one night while we were there and it was great to catch up with them. Click on the photo above to see the small album of photos we took over the weekend.
Our final port was in the city of Cádiz. We didn’t really see any of it, as we hopped on a bus early in the morning and drove out to see Seville, instead. We started our tour with a walk through the streets of Seville, past beautiful buildings and fountains. It felt very much like a European city. We stopped at the Catedral de Santa María de la Sede (Cathedral of Saint Mary of the See), which is also known as The Cathedral of Seville. We only got to see the outside as there was some special bishop meeting being held, but it was impressive nonetheless. Next we explored the Alcázares Reales de Sevilla (Royal Alcazars of Seville), a royal palace that was originally built in the 14th century as a Moorish fort. We wandered through the palace complex and explored the extensive gardens with their fountains and pavilions. We left the Alcázar and walked through the narrow streets of the old Jewish quarter. Our next stop was the Casa de Pilatos, a 16th century palace that combines Gothic, Moorish and Renaissance style architecture in its courtyards, fountains, gardens and salons. Our final stop in Seville was the Plaza de España, an expansive plaza edged with government buildings that contains a moat, bridges and fountains. It was beautiful and apparently has been used as a set for several movies. After a long day we headed back to the ship to start the journey home. It was a wonderful trip.
