"Back East"
At the end of May and early June, we took a couple weeks and flew "back east" to visit and spend some quality time with our family.
We started in Cleveland
We then drove to Williamsburg
And finally Baltimore
On Thursday, May 24, we took off from San Diego, heading to Chicago O'Hare and then on to Cleveland. Amazingly, there were no delays, no lost luggage, and our rental car was waiting for us in the Hertz lot!
We checked in to our hotel and hurried over to the Hammond residence.
First order of business was to get reacquainted with great-granddaughter Olivia!
Get used to it. There are a lot of photos of Liv on these pages. Fortunately, not nearly as many of me. So that's the extent of my Thursday night photos. We must have been tired.
The boys (except for me) played golf Friday morning while Lorri and I met Elise for lunch at Crocker Park.
Crocker Park is an extensive shopping destination with restaurants, bars, concert venues, and so on.
We had an attitude adjustment at Bar Louie
Then we walked around and shopped a bit
We didn't have time to visit my namesake casino...
The Friday evening festivities were at the Lake residence, Adam and Lauren's place. No they don't have a house on a lake, Lake is their last name.
Great-grandma Lorri with little Livie
She's a happy baby!
She wasn't quite walking yet.
The boy golfers, except for Jon, who spent the day at the zoo with his class. He teaches. He came back with the same number of students he left with, so he considered the day a success!
Jake, Mike, Colin, Jon, and Adam
Some of the girls with some bubbly: Mal, Elise, Lorri, and Lauren
Uncle Jake
Elise and Mary
Kevin, the McHugh family patriarch, with daughter Elise
Jack and Lorri
Jonathon and Olivia! They are second cousins once removed, I think.
The weather was pretty good!
Enjoyed some adult beverages while the kids played
Elizabeth, Conner, and Kate in back, Anna and Jonathon in front.
And again. Missing Anna and Conner's older bro, Colin, who was a little under the weather.
The Rayburns: Mal, Olivia and Colin. (This Colin is not Anna and Conner's brother. This is a different Colin.)
Saturday gathering at the McHugh home in Chagrin Falls
Elise and Liv
The spa kept the kids busy most of the afternoon
The adults sat around and watched the kids
That's Sean, second from right. Sean and the rest of his clan arrived from Michigan in the morning.
There's Colin on the left, with Anna, Elizabeth, Jonathon, and Emma in the middle.
Nothing like a sheet pan with a little water to splash in.
Splish-splash
The McHugh siblings
Naked Baby!
There's Ashlee on the right.
Jake and the baby go swimming.
Old guys play badminton.
Time for the feast!
Grace before meals. Thankful for a great family.
Watching highlights from previous gatherings as well as some of Sean's football highlights.
Thanks to Lauren and Elise for organizing the gathering!
And thanks to Elise and Jon for hosting Thursday night, Lauren and Adam for Friday, and special thanks to Kevin and Mary for hosting the main event on Saturday!
It was great to see everyone. Let's do it again soon!
Dessert! Finally!
Lorri and I left Chagrin on Sunday and drove the 500+ miles to Williamsburg, Virginia, where my brother Bob "Uncle Hobble" lives.
And here he is!
We had a day or so of good weather in "the Burg" and when it's nice, the Historic Area makes for a pleasant stroll.
Things were bloomin'!
Marching past the Courthouse
Mossy roof
What the heck? They removed the trees from the Capitol!
We were having some serious discussions over some sippin' whiskey.
A new (to me) statue on William and Mary campus: James Monroe. Jimmie was a W&M alum.
We drove by "Matoaka", our old house in the Burg.
We tasted some beer at a new place near Merchants Square called "Amber Ox".
Here it is.
This proves we also visited Yorktown.
These are two of Uncle Hobble's besties.
Video: George and John but not Paul and Ringo
Fat Canary food porn. This actually was a nicely prepared soft-shelled crab and it looked a whole lot better in person. This photo makes it look like gnarled hands popping out of a plate.
Lorri's duck egg arugula salad.
On Friday we drove to Richmond, mainly to visit the new Stone Brewing facility, thinking that it would be similar to their properties in San Diego. It turned out that it is a giant production plant with a small tasting room. The outdoor gardens and restaurant have not been built yet.
So, on the advice of our bartender at the Fat Canary, we went to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts!
We were not disappointed.
I was surprised to see a Picasso.
And also surprised to see a large leaping hare!
I'm thinking of sculpting a replica for my backyard.
Guess who?
By George, it's another one!
This one caught my eye for the very reasons stated below.
Anyway, if you're looking for something to do in Richmond, go to this museum. Our bartender was right, it is impressive.
Farmers Market on DoG Street.
Green grass with wood fence, no sheep.
Another sunny day!
The new Williamsburg Winery tasting area on Merchants Square - very pleasant - except for the 47 fire trucks and police vehicles checking out something in the Kimball Theater
And finally, a nice bottle of wine at the Winery on our last day. It's always great to spend time with by brother, especially when he buys the wine!
On Tuesday, June 5th, we drove to Baltimore's Fells Point, checked into our apartment at Union Wharf and dropped off our rental car at the Hilton Inner Harbor.
The apartment was a pleasant surprise. it was on the top (5th) floor and included a huge deck as well as an extra room and half-bath. Here are Deb, Austin and Jake on the deck.
And here am I!
The approaching storm.
Our deck.
Mal and Lorri. Hey, don't knock the drink over!
Mal, Sarah, Lorri and Austin.
At the Red Star, the restaurant/bar across the street.
Yes, Lorri, the crab is blue.
"Restaurant Row" in Fells Point.
Lorri and I had drinks and apps at "Aldo's", a great Italian restaurant in Little Italy.
This is Aldo. He happened to be sitting at the bar and we had a nice visit and chat with him. Very nice and interesting guy.
The light of my life!
Our view!
Looking across the water at our building.
A view of our building from farther away.
The next day our and Jake's buddy Eric joined us for lunch and after lunch drinks here at the pool bar at the Pendry.
Eric was leaving for a road trip top Montana the next day but somehow found the time to come down and hang out for a while.
we are behind the bar at the hidden tavern in the basement of the Admiral Fell Inn. Steve, our highly entertaining bartender, took the photo.
...and here we are with Steve
Dinner at the Waterfront!
Love the typical old brick work in many of the Fells Point buildings.
On a morning stroll along the Harbor. What's up there, Liv?
Little mama Mal and her baby.
Hold still, Liv, we're having cocktails at the Red Star!
I think she wanted down.
My iPhone wallpaper! Thanks Mal!
The four generations.
Last dinner at the Oyster House.
Good times!
Farmers Market, Fells Point.
Mike sharing with Deb.
Fire Hydrant. That's the Admiral Fell in across the street.
Rainy day Sunday. Our place was at the top of the building behind and to the right of the light pole.
Hair stylist Debbie created a new look for Olivia.
Well, that's it for photos.
We had a great trip! It was fun to see everyone and realize once again what a great family we have! Love to all!
