Nova Scotia Visit

The middle of September Bill, Jody and I headed back east for 2 weeks of fun. We got bored real fast in Maine as you couldn't see the forest for the trees. Put the car on a big ferry and went to Nova Scotia. Now that was nice. Very clean, very friendly, and very simple life in the Southern part. Found Comeauville where Bill's family originated after the French revolution and their expulsion from France. Ate wonderful seafood, chowder, aand drank wine on the beach. We drove back through New Brunswich to get back to our airport. After Joe left we went down into Massachusetts, found a motel on the beach, and enjoyed several days of relaxation before heading back to the rat race. Here are a few pictures.

Family reunion

Our annual Graham family reunion was in Lava Hot Springs this year with many people attending--to many great pictures to share. We spent 4 days in the Riverside campground. Everyone enjoyed swimming, floating the river in innertubes, playing games (yes Debbie is the card shark), walking the town, watching a family video on the side of the camper, eating all the good food created by each family (the different themes were a lot of fun--French, Mexican, Hawaiian, Western, Downhome), whacking a pinata, and contests galore. I think we can safely say it was a hit with everyone.

Feathered Friends

We must be getting old because we spend a lot of time enjoying our birds in the backyard. We have feeders, waterers, sunflower seeds, and birdhouses to entice them into the yard. We raised babies in the houses. We even rescued a little one off the ground to keep him from drowning in the rain. We dried him off with the hair dryer and put him back outside in the morning. Several mamas started feeding him again and he was fine--his feathers were just a little fluffy--needed some mousse. Bill held this little hummingbird for a while and then he flew away. When the kids send me to a nursing home, just hang my feeders outside my window.

Summertime

In June we tried out the new boat and spent 4 days roughing it on Flaming Gorge. We went around the lake and found coves to anchor the boat and camp on the bank on our cots and sleeping bags under the stars. The scenery was beautiful--I wish I could publish all the pictures. The highlight of the trip was our visitor in the middle of the night. I was singing (actually snoring) and a moose came up to my cot to see what the heck!!! I think he loved me--the guys are just jealous because they can't call in a moose!!! The picture snapping opportunities we awesome.

Easter Fun

The kids and grandkids came for a fun Easter Day. We started out with a huge community Easter egg hunt at the ballfields--the kids didn't think much of that as they had to wait so long and in one 15 second swoop the eggs were gone. It was more fun on Sunday with Easter baskets and our own backyard hunt. They could hunt the same egg as many times as they wanted. We had a nice dinner and everyone returned home.

Skating party

On a really cold Sunday we had an inpromptu skating party with Amy, Chad and Annelise; Tony, Michelle, Braydon, and Savannah; Ron and Mary, Brian and Marianne; Dave, Jennifer, Davin and Alayna. We had a good time watching everyone try their hand at skating, sliding on the sleds, and riding in the Coke barrel. We had dinner afterwards and it turned out to be a nice day. Everyone got some fresh air and worked up an appetite. Annelise liked the barrel unless the wind hit her in the face then it was no more. She liked to skate on her feet with help and loves snowballs. Savannah rode in the barrel and was a good sport about getting cold. Braydon preferred the wild sled rides given by Brian and Dave and wanted to play dinosaurs in the snow.

Gadding about in Tennessee

Joe made the mistake of mentioning that he was one his way to a convention in Nashville so we jumped on board and went to Tennessee for a week. We toured the countryside and visited civil war National Parks, antique shops, museums, Pres. Jackson's plantation and museum, enjoyed Nashville's music, the Tennessee and Cumberland rivers, antebellum mansions, and we even found a working grist mill with an actual working water wheel!! We ate catfish and corn fritters, cracklings (yuck), and all the southern side dishes. We found a local tavern to watch the super bowl and an American Legion club that went out of their way to be sooooo friendly. The one thing we truely enjoyed was the southern hospitality and friendliness of the people. Quite a change from the Northeast!! It was definitely chilly, but we didn't let that stop our sense of curiosity and our hikes. Would love to go back in the fall when the trees and shrubs are turning color. Of course we came home with our souveniers--moonshine jelly, a handmade Amish rolling pin (there are a lot of Amish there), Jack Daniels t-shirts, and several finds from the Antique stores. (took more to ship this stuff home than we spent on it!!). We are ready for the next trip--anybody have any ideas???