Family reunion

In September we hosted a family reunion of Jim's siblings in honor of our 50th wedding anniversary.  For the most part, the weather cooperated, though there was a rainy day that we made good use of.

Saying hello to the ocean on the first morning of our long weekend.

The guys meeting our osprey.

There was a full moon and we watched it rise over the ocean.

Our rainy day was spent at Dogfish Head Brewery tour and tasting.

Climbed the tower at Ft. Miles

The newest of the big guns at Ft. Miles.

Jenni shared her newly remodeled house with her aunts and uncles.

Next year we will honor Butch and Anne's 50th and Mary and Doug's 25th wedding anniversaries in the Adirondacks, also in September.  Looking forward to it!

Brandywine valley

Jenni and Will took us to the Brandywine Valley to places we have always wanted to visit but have never taken the time to see.

At the Hagley Museum we walked the Powder Yard Trail and learned how the DuPont Company made blasting powder and gun powder.

Will is explaining the workings of this model to our guide.

Inside the machine shop, totally renovated and working as it did in the day.

One of the gates.....

Dupont's workplace motto was, "Safety First."

All workers were checked at the gates for matches, alcohol, and metal in shoes, suspenders and belts. Even so, there were 288 explosions in the Brandywine powder mills between 1802 and 1921, resulting in 228 deaths.  After work, family  members met at the gates to meet their men or to receive bad news....

Brandywine River

Visitors' Center

Gun powder was used to build canals, roads, tunnels, quarry rock, and to clear land.  After the 1870s, dynamite made gun powder obsolete for most of this work.



We toured the Brandywine Battlefield where 11,000 continental soldiers spent the nights before the battle.  Washington established a rear guard defense used to stop the pursuing British during an American retreat at the end of the battle.

Visitors' center

Benjamin Ring House used as Washington's headquarters

Benjamin Ring, a local Quaker was a sympathizer of the Patriot cause and offered his home built in 1731 and typical of a traditional Quaker residence.

Trying out a whirlygig bought at the gift shop.

Cemetery flag at the Brandywine Baptist Church

Lunch at the local eatery, beautifully covered with blooming pots.

July

  July was a month of heat, humidity and visiting beach bums helping us celebrate the holiday. It was also the welcome harvest of such favorites as tomatoes, cucumbers, corn and peaches.

a brilliant moon even when only half full

pickles from cukes

chocolate cake from zucchinis

multi-colored hydrangeas

knock-out roses that bloom all season

PEACHES!

sunsets over the bay

ice cream lovers

on the beach waiting for the fireworks

.....and waiting for the down home 4th of July parade to begin

4th of July at Bethany Beach has long been a favorite of ours.  We have enjoyed it with our kids and grands when they were very young.  Now that the grands are getting older we love it that they still enjoy coming here.  The parade and fireworks and the anticipatory excitement never changes!

Lavender Fields at Warrington Manor in June

Located on an historic, five-acre farm, Lavender Fields is off Route 9, close to Rehoboth and Lewes.  Lavender Fields hosts tours, weddings and classes through fields of beautiful, fragrant lavender. We have also bought lavender plants here.

As well as enjoying the fields, I love taking pictures of the many garden sculptures.

....and the old silo.

Other flowers bloom beside the fields of lavender.

After our annual trip to smell the lavender, we eat ice cream at the local creamery, say hello to the cows who provide the milk for this delicious, decadent treat, and one year watched the birth of several calves.

March vacay (continued)

HILTON HEAD ISLAND

One of the best things about the beaches in Hilton Head are their size.....wide, flat and bike able which we took advantage of every day.

Sunset from the beach.

And sunrises

Spent a quiet Sunday afternoon in Sea Pines preservation area where I came very close to stepping on this guy!

The bee was busy on these blossoms.

We attended the local HH St. Patrick's Day parade on a warm and sunny day.

The resort was beautiful, on the beach, and featured a pond area where many turtles lived.

Ocean water was warm, pools were heated.

Nearby Sea Pines has a marina where you can take any kind of boat ride, eat at one of many restaurants or simply watch a sunset.

Our dolphin ride was very successful!

The Sea Pines light house  (Jim's photo with the setting sun in just the right place.)

                              On to Greenville, South Carolina, a beautiful city we have never visited.  Spring had arrived and there was a pretty downtown area to walk.

Lunch in this bistro.

The park we walked, blooming trees and flowers, a water fall and the longest pedestrian bridge in the US.





Best vacation, ever!