Goat, Boats, Guns, and Good friends

September has come and gone. Time for a recap... Our friends Eric and Kim included a stop in Portland on their recent OR/CA coast vacation, so the twins got to enjoy dinner and Salt and Straw with them. Nothing says Fall like pumpkin pie goat cheese ice cream! 

Click here for photos from a recent long weekend trip Drew and Grace made to Dallas with Grace's dad and sisters to visit family. Their trip included mechanical bull rides, a trip to the gun range, and some great BBQ... when in Texas! 

Click here for a few photos from anniversary celebrations, beach trips, and long walks. And click here to see our neighborhood goats doing their thing in Chestnut Hill.  And here for some photos and video clips of Drew's off-shore delivery of a racing sailboat from Port Angeles, WA, back to Portland. 

Chesapeake Week with Jake

Jake and Elli spent the later part of August with us in Philadelphia. Click here for photos from our time together, which included sailing on the Chesapeake, hiking in the Wissahickon, and a couple of days exploring Washington D.C.  We're feeling a little crabby about their visit being over. 

Meanwhile out west, Emily, Drew and Grace spent Labor Day weekend with friends in the other Washington. Click here for photos from their long weekend in Lake Chelan. The album also includes miscellaneous photos from some of the kids' other August adventures - weddings, concerts, etc... Summer went too fast.

Chesapeake Week with Emily

We had a great long weekend sailing on the Chesapeake with Emily. Click here for photos from our time in and around Annapolis, Gibson Island, Rock Hall, and Worton Creek, Maryland. (The album also includes a few photos from a stop-over Emily made in Denver on her way back to Portland.) The weather was lovely and so was the company! Miss you already, sis. 

Meanwhile out west, Drew and Grace spent the weekend whitewater rafting in Maupin, OR, with friends; and Jake and Elli wrapped up their two-week volunteer stint at Holden Village, WA. It was a weekend of outdoor adventures for all. 

NY Reunion

This hasn't happened in a while... Pat, Sam and Jeff got together over the weekend, when we visited the Hudson Valley to attend a gathering of some of Pat's mom's extended family. Special thanks to Lidwin and Jim for hosting us and treating everyone to a Hungarian favorite, Sutni Szalona - pork fat roasted and drizzled over rye bread. Click here for photos.  

Speaking of family events, it's going to be a milestone year ahead on the cousin front. Cousins Jack, Jadyn and Ashley (pictured below), and Kaylee (pictured below with Alia) are all high school seniors this year. 

July Highlights

July has come and gone, so it's time to post some photos to show we did with it. Click here for a West Coast view of the month. The kids were busy sailing, swimming, biking and enjoying time with friends. As for the East Coast, click here for a few photos of concerts in the park, Chesapeake sunsets, and a cautious return to small group gatherings for me for work. A few highlights from July follow...

Jake completed his Americorp assignment with Wind and Oar Boat School at the end of July, then headed off to Holden Village retreat center in Washington State for two-weeks of volunteering in the woods with Elli.  Click here for photos of their time at Holden so far, including one of the bear they spotted while hiking.

Drew and Grace made their engagement official with a ring, and Fig started attending doggy daycare once a week, making fast friends.

Emily can now check butchering ducks off her bucket list, after helping some friends prep dinner for their upcoming wedding. She's heading to Philadelphia later this week to visit, where her new skills will not be required. 

Chesapeake Week - Updated

We met Drew and Grace in Washington D.C. last weekend to help get them set for their week-long sailing cruise of the Chesapeake Bay. Click here for photos of our time in D.C., their send-off from Worton Creek, on the eastern shore of the Delmarva Peninsula, and some of their adventures exploring the Bay - from Still Pond to Annapolis to St. Michaels. The album has also been updated to include 4th of July weekend, when we reconnected with Drew and Grace and enjoyed some additional time with them in Worton and Rock Hall. 

The album includes some video clips from Rock Hall's annual Waterman's Day, an event that includes a high speed docking competition.  Some teams were impressive to watch; others needed a bit more practice... or maybe just less beer for breakfast. There's also a clip of a crazy thunderstorm we rode out in Worton Creek. Who needs fireworks when you have dockside seats for Mother Nature's show. 

Among our other stops was the newly opened, waterfront Lands Point Winery, in Worton Creek, where we celebrated some exciting news: 

DREW AND GRACE ARE ENGAGED!! 

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Our time in D.C. was poignant, occurring just after the supremely unfortunate Supreme Court decision regarding Roe v. Wade. When we walked over to the court, it was heartening to see so many people protesting, but hard to take in the impact of such a callous and hypocritical turn of events. 

On a lighter note, the Smithsonian's Hirshorn Museum was among our other stops, where we got to see the Yayoi Kusama exhibit, featuring her mirrored infinity room, My Heart is Dancing into the Universe, pictured below. 

While Drew and Grace sailed this week, Fig has been keeping it chill with Aunt Emily. This time last year in Portland it was 110+ so a few days of 90+ temperatures were manageable by comparison, especially if you like to swim. Click here for some Portland photos. You won't see much of Jake. He had to keep a low profile this week due to a thankfully, relatively mild bout with Covid. 

Maine & More

Click here for photos from our recent travels along the coast of Maine, from York to Lubec, where we accomplished a longstanding goal of visiting our 4th "furthest-most"corner of the continental U.S. We had already visited Cape Flattery in WA, the US/Mexico border wall south of San Diego, CA, and Key West, FL, in 2010, 2011, and 2012, but it took us 10 additional years to get to the northeastern most point in the US. Since the kids could not be with us in person to complete the "square", we opted to bring them with us in spirit (on paint sticks). 

Maine was amazing. We had lovely home exchange in Franklin, ME, which proved to be a great base for exploring Acadia National Park, where we hiked, kayaked, and enjoyed the scenic views. Pictured below are the"Bubbles" at the far end of Jordan Pond. Our favorite hikes in Acadia included The Beehive and Champlain Mountain, both challenging, but the views were worth it. 

In Bar Harbor, we experienced first hand the incredible tidal swings that occur on the Maine Coast - 12+ feet of gain/loss in the space of 6 hours. We were on the far side of the island pictured below about 2 hours after low tide and barely made it back across. We watched some stragglers who were not watching the time and tide tables make their way back in waist deep water.

On our way to Maine, we stopped by Worcester, MA, to spend a weekend with friends Eric and Kim. Click here for photos from our time in MA. 

And while we were in Lubec, we took time to cross into Canada to visit Campobella Island, where the US and Canada jointly manage Franklin Roosevelt International Park. Pictures from Campobella are included in the Maine photo album linked above. 

Meanwhile on the West Coast, the kids were busy sailing, foraging for mushrooms, Dragon Boat racing (Go Willamette Wave Riders!), and attending a Cirque du Soleil show, Rose Festival parades and renaissance fairs. Click here for photos.

Finally, be sure to check out Emily's channel #thefaceineverything on Instagram. We submitted lots of entries from Maine, where the rocks had a lot of personality! Click here for some examples from her IG, and if you see a face in something, be sure to message her.