We are just back from a week in Pittsburgh to stay with Barbara’s mum Nancy and to see the other relees including Harry’s Great Grandma Annie who is 95 ! He has 2 by the way, my Gran Millie is 98 !
Although loving the pool most of the time, Harry decided on camera to assert his independence with his great uncles Bob and Ray, click on below film.
It was a nice relaxing time and we took the opportunity of having Nancy available to spend some one on one time with the kid. It meant that myself and Barbara were able to sneak off for a couple of days and visit ‘Fallingwater’ which is this famous house built over a waterfall in a forest ! I don’t need to describe it to you, just think forest, waterfall, unique architecture….. magical stuff.
After a nice long cultural experience we checked into a hotel on top of a large mountain for a night of relaxation – yes Barbara got a massage and I swam in the Olympic size outdoor pool….. All in preparation for the next day activities which involved white water rafting !
We decided to really go for it and go on a 5 hr level 3 river rafting trip. It was totally fabulous and so enjoyable. We luckily had a guide in our boat which ensured we did not capsize unlike some of the other boats. It is so nice to float along and get the odd adrenaline rush. There were even sections of the river where we jumped in to swim and at one point a swimmable rapid which was very exciting.
It’s an all age thing, we saw old and young doing it. I highly recommend it as it ticks so many boxes – exercise, nature, cool water on a hot day and general fun at watching others get tipped into the water ! Although that’s not us in the boat, sorry we weren’t about to pay $25 for a photo, you get the picture…..
Anyway all in all it was lovely to get away and spend time with relatives. Harry seemed to have fun and loved having Mana (his word for Grandma) on hand to look after him.
It’s amazing how fast time flies and our little or not so little boy is 2 already !
Being the centre of attention in our family has resulted in lots of thoughtful and kind presents for him to enjoy. It’s lovely to know all sides of the family make such an effort with him and it really reflects in his fun and loving character.
We decided a fun thing to do with him on his birthday was to take him to Sesame Place which is a Sesame Street themed amusement park located not too far from Philly. I was surprised to find out that people fly from all over the country to visit it.
Of course we picked one of the hottest days of the year to go there. Luckily it is part water park, part theme park so we were relieved to jump in some of the pools that they have for all ages to cool off.
Harry had a nice time, its what you expect from a place like that – lets face it it is owned by Anheiser-Busch, brewers of Budweiser and famous republicans, I think John MCcains wife is the heir to that fortune !
It was fun for him to ride on the horses which as you can see from the below photo he loved.
We attended the live Elmo show which was fun for Harry as like most kids his age ‘Elmo Rules’
Click on the below clip to get a taster.
Here is a pic of the Birthday cake which Barbara made in reverence to the ELMO !
On Sunday the annual international bike race happened here in Philly. It’s a really big event and very prestigious. What’s great about it is that the course runs to within 4-5 blocks of where we live.
We live on a big sloping hill and the race organizers take advantage of that and force the competitors to ride up a section of the hill that at times seems almost vertical ! Its called the Manayunk ‘WALL’. Yes indeed its a real bitch for the riders but as spectators it’s totally amazing as you get up close and personal with them as they slowly and painfully cycle past.
If you have ever seen a professional bike race, the biggest problem is that because they travel so fast you barely get chance to see them so the ‘Wall’ came to our rescue on Sunday.
Also we are having a heatwave at the moment so the poor riders had to do the course 10 times in 95 deg heat for 5 hrs ! This is also great for us as we saw them every half hour so we could move to different parts of the course. Needless to say it was a drinkfest, as lots of students and local residents who live in Manayunk (neighboring area) got into the beer on this hot day.
Click on the below clip of film taken by us, Harry loved it and was trying to touch them as they were indeed within touching distance, also the ’Wall’ does not look as steep as it actually is !
Ok so I finally got it together to write a post about the recent visit of my mum and dad to see us in Philly.
We had a total blast, 2 weeks of hectic day trips and family action !
Yet again my mother braved her fear of flying to breeze across the Atlantic and spend a couple of quality weeks with her son and brothers families.
We did the whole thing this time, especially because Harry is a lot more mobile these days compared to when they were last here.
Trips to historic battlefields in pouring torrential (British like) rain did not deter us, finally capping off week one with a trip to Washington DC for a couple of nights checking out the fab free museums and city.
We also caught up with my cousin Emily and her husband Pablo as they live in DC. We had a lovely meal with them, see below pic of Harry and Pablo – Harry loved being carried by such a smart looking guy – made a change from his dad who was nursing a bad back after carrying him around the air and space museum.
Week 2 was action packed also, we caught up with Lynn and Mike on memorial day and also my cousin Ben and his new family.
We spent good amounts of time with my Uncle Bob and Linda who took my folks away to Hagley Hall and its dynamite exhibit – yes an actual museum about dynamite !
We also did some park activities to entertain the kid although I’m not sure Gramps Brighton’s slide technique was up to scratch! Click on the below movie to get what I mean;
Ouch !!
We even went to The Morris Arboretum which is a fab garden close to our house. It is so good we became members. There is a lovely rose garden and quite nice fountains, although I must have to comment on Uncle Bobs ‘weak stream’ !!
Here we all are anyway at Bob and Linda’s, a lovely holiday/visit had by everyone. The 3000 mile gap between us certainly concentrates the time we spend together which I suppose makes up for the distance a little bit.
