Girls Weekend in DC

This past weekend my mom flew out to the East Coast so we could have a mother/daughter weekend in Kata's stomping grounds. Thanks for the memorable weekend Mom and Kata!


Mom, Kata and I after buying flowers at Eastern Market

The Grand Tour—Philadelphia Edition

The family imitating Ethan's sleeping position in DC

The Grand Tour was the traditional travel of Europe undertaken by upper crust British folk who would journey from London or thereabouts to Paris to Padua to Venice to Naples and up to Munich and Geneva before catching a homeward bound ship in Amsterdam. The custom flourished from about 1660 until the advent of large-scale rail transit in the 1840s. According to the great Wikipedia, the primary value of the Grand Tour, it was believed, lay in the exposure both to the cultural legacy of classical antiquity and the Renaissance, and to the aristocratic and fashionable society of the European continent.

Kata and Toni at the July 4th Parade in DC

Two centuries later the Grand Tour is alive and kicking as Ben’s sister Sara and her guys Steve and Ethan—all Midwest spirits and East coast rookies—visited for a long weekend. And with four days instead of four months on the standard itinerary our quest began. In lieu of the southern Italy section, Washington D.C, just 2 hours south, would suffice. There we took in the faux antiquity of Greek revival architecture and magnificent grand balls. Ok, the buildings were about 2000 years newer than Europe’s and there were no masked balls, but we did see many people in masks at the July 4th parade. And I’m quite certain the fireworks blew the best that Milan offered in 1834 out of the air. Next, the grand tour veered north to New Amsterdam, aka NYC. There we met the French lady of liberty, toured the grand children’s market of FAO Schwartz, and devoured the culinary delights of a delightfully rustic region known as Greenwich Village. The Grand Tour returned to the birthplace of (American) democracy, Philadelphia, for what else, cheese steaks and the running of the Rocky steps.

Not exactly the standard itinerary of past, but magnificent nonetheless. Thanks S,S&E for the visit and PB&J and K for your hospitality in DC.

Times Square NYC


Our nephew Ethan at the Statue of Liberty


Resting in Rittenhouse Park (Philly) after 4 days of gallivanting about the East Coast

Ben and Toni: Staycationer's Extraordinaire

On our rooftop Friday Night

As tribute to the global recession, green living, and not wanting to drive 7 hours to Cape Cod over Memorial day weekend, we decided to opt for a grand new tradition: staycations.

Wikipedia puts it this way:
"A staycation (or stay-cation, or stacation) is a neologism for a period of time in which an individual or family stays at home and relaxes at home or takes day trips from their home to area attractions. Staycations have achieved high popularity in current hard economic times in which unemployment levels and gas prices are high. Common activities of a staycation include use of the backyard pool, visits to local parks and museums, and attendance at local festivals. Some staycationers also like to follow a set of rules, such as setting a start and end date, planning ahead, and avoiding routine, with the goal of creating the feel of a traditional vacation."

Our Philly Staycation 2009
Friday: Camden rooftop fireworks party
Saturday: The Du Pont Longwood Gardens
Sunday: A hike in Wissahickon Gorge
Monday: Ocean City Beach


Kate and Toni with the beautiful flowers at Longwood Gardens


Kate, Jordan, Ben and Toni in the topiary gardens at Longwood


Hiking the Wissahickon Gorge in Philadelphia


A relaxing day at the Jersey Shore

Warm Weekend in NC

Lunch on the river in Wilmington, NC

Ben and I were able to head down to NC last weekend and visit our good friends the Morgans for a sunny 2 days in Durham,or as it's properly pronounced Durum. We stopped by the Duke Gardens in the company of daffodils and tulips and a legendary bird named "ROOK."

We also headed to Wrightsville Beach complements of Ben's Surfin' Coz' Calvin.

Here are a few fun pics from our weekend. Thanks for the hospitality!

Silas, Ben and Calvin at Wrightsville Beach, NC


At Duke Gardens with the Morgans

This Explains Ben's Youth

A Morning at Bo's House

Michelle and Barack invited us to the White House this spring. Ok, they invited all citizens of the world to a public viewing of the grounds, groves, and extensive plantings of the United States' oldest maintained landscape, but we were able to skip the hourlong lines complements of Ben's brother's security clearance. While the marine band played all American selections like "Star Wars" and "the Sound of Music" (seriously no Gershwin?), Ben, my sister Kata, and Ben's brother and wife meandered around the Rose Garden, the Jacqueline Kennedy Garden, and a whole bunch of Dowgwood, Elm, Oak, Magnolia, Chestnut, Linden, and Ash trees planted by Messrs. Jackson,Cleveland, Hoover, Harding, Rossevet, Eisenhower, Ford, and Bush I & II.

We were handed a map of the grounds which included the prescient line: Like the White House itself, the garden and all the green evidcences of its rich past remind us that our sytem of government prevails, yet is able to change as life and habitation may degree.

P.S. To our eternal disappointment, Bo, the world's most popular Portuguese Water Dog, stayed inside.

Herring, Woods, Eggs, and Berners

Last weekend Ben and I were invited to spend Easter with the Berner's in Western Pennsylvania. We had a wonderful time out in the beautiful rolling hills, meals by a gourmet chef, plenty of chocolate and Easter eggs, and wooden stick Swedish lawn games.

Thanks for the hospitality Berner's!



Ben, Tate and Jefta decorating Easter eggs


Playing Kubb on the lawn