Heading Upstate

The morning after returning to Waltham from TX I repacked my bags and drove up to New York to visit Seth's family.  It is always great to visit with the Coluzzis while being able to slow down and take in a breath of fresh air.  This time I enjoyed not having projects and deadlines to complete during my stay.  I did, however, have to dedicate some time to studying for my big RD exam later in the summer, so I wasn't completely off the hook...

Melissa, Linda, and me at Relay for Life

Team Finger Lakes Coastal Credit Union!

Seth and I spent an afternoon at historic Seneca Falls, home of the first women's rights convention and the setting for "It's a Wonderful Life"

Seneca Falls

Keuka Arts Festival

These guys made my heart melt :o)

Cora's wax hand from the festival

 

Our last day was actually Father's Day and we were invited to Melissa's folks' place for dinner.  They were hosting some family from Alaska, and boy I haven't heard so much talk about salmon in a long time.  I think my next trip will be to Fairbanks!

 

It's getting hot!

Bo and I went to the airport in San Diego then flew to Dallas together.  From there we went our separate ways; she back to Boston and I to hot, swampy, Houston.

It was great spending nearly a full week catching up with Andrew, Jen, and the boys.  Some highlights included meeting the newest family member, hitting a couple museums, spending a half day on a family outing, and watching the kiddos two nights while Andrew and Jen were out.  Too bad Jen has a bum foot, but I tried to help out when possible.

On my first day in TX Jen and the boys were at school.  Luckily Andrew only had a brief meeting in the morning then he and I got to spend the rest of the day together.  I haven't really hung out with my brother in probably 5 years...

  Checking out Houston's shady Historic District while on a driving tour with Andrew.  We were killing time until the Houston Museum of Fine Arts opened.

While in Houston, a trip to the gigantic Vietnamese grocery store was in order!  This was followed by a banh mi lunch and a pho dinner.  I must admit I admire Houston's ethnic diversity :o)

Jen had a night out with some ladies from work (it was her last day).  Andrew and I took the boys to the Children's Museum.

Houston Children's Museum with the fellas

 

 

Bodegas for a Tex Mex fest!

Sawyer mowing the lawn.  I supervised.

Bailey is the happy new member of the family.  The poor baby has residual health problems from her previous, abusive owners, but she is all smiles now!

 

While Andrew had one morning off from work we took a half day trip into Galveston.  It wasn't an especially beautiful town but it was good to be exposed to new sights. 

Historic Galveston

One interesting thing about Galveston is that artists carved sculptures out of trees that had fallen during Hurricane Ike.  You can spot them in various places around town, like in this parking lot. 

The best thing we discovered about Galveston was this awesome BBQ joint!

 

One of the crappiest beaches I had ever seen.  The odor of piles of rotting, dead seaweed overpowered the stench of oil.

Carter couldn't wait to get back in the car!

Oil refineries. 

A suspicious swirling funnel coming out of the cloud...

The rest of the trip was spent hanging out with the gang in Pearland!

Carter was such a big helper--he couldn't wait to vacuum for his mommy!

He is an origami master

Taking the gang out for treats!  Even Llama had a taste ;o)

From Beach to Ranch

On our final day in San Diego unfortunately Sandy had to work.  Bo and I rented a car and split the day doing things we each wanted to do; the first stop was a trip to Mission Bay to go stand up paddle boarding.  Since arriving in SD, Bo couldn't stop talking about wanting to try paddle boarding.  Not being a beach person, I was reluctant to go.  However, by the end of the trip she had convinced me to give it a whirl.  It was easier than it looked, and since it is not an extremely fast sport, it was very peaceful and felt graceful standing atop the water's surface. The best part was not falling into the chilly, salty water!

 

 

 

 

This excursion was followed by a trip to Santa Ysabel/Julian, about 1 hr 20 min outside San Diego.  Here we visited my family ranch, sitting on 200 acres of beautiful, dusty, rocky, desert hillside. Bo fell in love with the Ranch like I had many years ago.  While still a quiet, meditative place, unfortunately now the only inhabitants are memories and ghosts.  Well, according to Uncle Steve, a pair of mountain lions moved in about 4 or 5 years ago, so it isn't completely unoccupied.

Bo's first time driving in CA!  She actually wanted to rent a convertible, but thank god the top didn't work so we went with the tried and true Camry!

Gourmet picnic on the porch

Uncle Steve took us on a tour of the property in the old red truck

Picnic hill

Front of the house

Me and Uncle Steve (Mom's cousin)

Grandpa, RE White, was a genius tinkerer, antique collector, and business man

The house was built in the 1920s, purchased by Grandpa in 1964, and has remained largely unchanged since.

Grandpa was great friends with many well-known artists.  He would challenge them to create works of art out of found objects.  James Hubbell was one of his closest friends.  Here is the fold-up easel of his friend, Ralph Hulett, one of the original Disney Animators.  Several paintings by him hang in the house.

    

 

 

Uncle Steve's friend, Andy, made the chairs and tables.  We are lucky to have Andy down the road to help keep an eye on the house!  He goes by the "shoot first, ask questions later" motto.

Grandpa had an awesome garage.  He had so many gadgets that he just ended up labeling all the drawers in the bench "stuff"  :P

One of my most vivid memories of the ranch is the loop swing.  We each had a turn!

 After enjoying the house for a couple hours, Uncle Steve took us into Julian to visit Grandpa and Grandma Lois.

 

One of Julian's claim to fame is its apple pies.  Sharing a couple slices was a great end to the day.

Driving back into San Diego via the scenic Cuyamaca Rancho Sate Park.

Actually, this wasn't the end to the day. When we returned to SD I made sure to visit Grandma again to tell her all about the ranch.  She moved out of the ranch after Grandpa passed away about 12 years ago.  Although she does not wish to visit the ranch herself anymore, she was happy Bo and I were able to see it and enjoy it.  I hope to make it back again soon to visit.