Dateline August 14, 2015, Summer Travels Begin, Family and Friends

We had enjoyed a beautiful spring and early summer at home, with family, friends, and neighbors in Flagler Beach and plenty of rounds at the golf course we play, Riviera Golf Club, The Riv, in Holly Hill. Eventually the time came to pick up our travels again.

We packed the car for our six-plus-week travels, with the first destination being Long Island and a visit with our good friends Cindy and John Zammett. We always try to avoid the worst of the traffic, and to dodge as much of I-95 as we can, that East Coast parking lot that runs from Miami to Maine, or so it feels. So we planned the drive to stay clear of the crush between Richmond and New York City, heading east along the Virginia shore and across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel. That crossing never fails to impress us, some twenty miles of bridge and tunnel across the mouth of the Chesapeake, linking the tip of the Delmarva Peninsula with Virginia Beach. From there we drove about fifty miles north for the night.

Across the bay and up the shore.

In the morning we drove roughly 150 miles to the town of Lewes and took the Lewes/Cape May Ferry across to Cape May, New Jersey. The ferry was a fine way to relax for a stretch of the trip. From there the Garden State Parkway carried us up to the Outerbridge Crossing onto Staten Island, a little slow going over the Verrazano Bridge into Brooklyn, then the Belt Parkway past JFK and out onto Long Island. The whole route turned out easier and far less crowded, a welcome alternative to good old I-95.

Long Island and the Zammetts.

We visited John and Cindy Zammett, who took us out for a wonderful evening on their boat in Huntington Bay and then over to Northport for dinner.

The ride back gave us a beautiful sunset and a bit of excitement. We thought we were watching a big fire at the home of one of Cindy's friends across the bay. As it turned out, it was a false alarm. Someone had seen the smoke and called it in, when really it was the barbecue, a steak very well done. The comedy was that the Huntington Fire Department happened to be holding a meeting at the station, so every last truck rolled out to the scene. The next evening we had a great dinner at the Zammetts' with Bob and Rose Melillo, and it was a pleasure to see them.

North to New Hampshire.

We headed out Thursday morning for Derry, New Hampshire, to visit Janice's sister Connie and her husband Lee. Since we are fond of the ferries, we took another, this one from Port Jefferson on Long Island across to Bridgeport, Connecticut, then finished the drive up to Connie and Lee's. Janice's brother Brian met up with us there, and we shared a few glasses of wine.

The next morning we all headed out to Lake Sunapee. Our family trips to Lake Sunapee always include a stop at the cemetery to visit Janice's parents, Stanley and Jeanne. A martini toast to Stanley, regardless of the time of day, is a must.

After the visit we rented a pontoon boat, and the six of us cruised around the lake. New Hampshire is known for its loons (that is a bird), and we were lucky to come upon a mother with her baby.

We stopped for lunch in a small inlet. Andrea and Brian swam out to the rocks, and Connie went fishing and landed a bass, though it is hard to make out in the photo.

Golf at Amherst.

Golf is always part of our trips, so on Monday morning we played at Amherst Country Club in Amherst, New Hampshire, just outside Manchester. Maurica Smith is the teaching pro there, and she had just graduated that spring from Webber International University in Florida. As it happens, Maurica was raised at The Riv and took her lessons from Donnie Klem, our own teaching pro, who is also known for his instruction program, Klemphonix.

We said goodbye to New Hampshire and went on to Janice's Uncle Bill and Aunt Margaret for golf and dinner, with Brian and Andrea joining us, and our cousin Brian coming for dinner as well. There were plenty of laughs about old times and family, and a little politics too. The next morning Janice, John, Brian, and Uncle Bill went over to Cranberry Golf Club for eighteen holes. Uncle Bill, in his eighties, walked the round with Brian while John and Janice rode. The rain came before we could finish, but it was a terrific day, capped by a fine lunch when Andrea and Aunt Margaret joined us in the clubhouse.

Wind Gap and Williamsburg.

We set out the next morning for Pinehurst by way of James and Mary's home in Wind Gap, Pennsylvania. There we got to meet our latest grandchild, Liza, did some swimming with grandson Collin, and enjoyed a lovely dinner and wine. We will be back in Wind Gap the first of September for a longer visit.

In the morning we drove on to Williamsburg to see Janice's cousin Kathy, her husband Eddy, and Aunt Helen. We had a great evening with Helen, James, and Adele, followed by a wonderful lasagna dinner that Eddy made. It was a fine visit. The following morning it was off to Pinehurst for Janice's North and South Senior golf tournament.

That brought our first family stops to a close, with more tournaments, and some interesting history of our nation and Canada, still to come.