Peter And Evie - Travel blog: January 2023

Nov 26 - 30, 2022 - Post-Thanksgiving

Nov 26 - Since it was a beautiful day, and we wanted to take advantage of them before hard winter hits, we decided to walk the Arbutus Trail in nearby Sturbridge. We hadn't been to this trail in awhile. It is a 2 mile loop, along a nice pond, up and over a hillside, and down through a meadow. It is really delightful to be out in nature, walking, and breathing in the fresh air and sunshine. I really "expand" in this environment. Makes my day. Not sure it does the same for Peter, but he still joins me on all my adventures, and he likes to walk.

Arbutus Trail, Sturbridge, MA

Fun photo of Gabe at the Denver Beer Fest

Nov 24-25, 2022 - Thanksgiving

We had a wonderful gathering for Thanksgiving. Anica and family arrived early to help set up and hang out together. Llani, a friend from our Sirius days, who grew up with Anica, joined us with her French-Canadian husband, Marc-Andre. Claire & Ian, and then Tamara and family joined in. A very nice time together. I am so grateful to have family nearby to share our lives and holidays with.

Tamara and family all slept over, so we had fun times hanging the next day.

Mighty Tamara

Mike and family

Savannah

Claire & Ian

Thanksgiving dinner

Thanksgiving gaming

The chess girls-Cheyenne & Quinn

Siena

Quinn and rock climbing

Peter, Aaron & Ian

Anica & Quinn -playing chess

Claire & Owen -with his Pokémon cards

Nov 15 - Nov 23, 2022 - fun family photos

We are back home from out trips out west. I downloaded several cut family photos, which I will post below.

Nov 19 - Claire volunteered to be the geologist at the Worcester Mineral, Gem & Rock show that identified rocks for participants. This was a 2-day event, and she was busy most of the time. It was held near our condo, so I went over to see it. I was really impressed with the variety and quality of the various rock, gem and minerals in the various booths.

Savannah

Siena

Savannah

Cheyenne

Siena-again

Claire at the Gem, Mineral & Rock show

Owen

Gabe

Quinn

Nov 13 & 14, 2022 - Huntington Botanical Gardens, the Korean Friendship Bell Park, & Wilder Addition Park

Nov 13 - We decided to have an outing and explore the Huntington Botanical Gardens. Lots of very different, interesting eco-systems. This is a very large area, and we walked around quite a few. They had a huge cactus garden -- I didn't know there we so many different types of cacti. We also walked the Japanese gardens. It was a very nice and interesting way to spend the day.

Nov 14 - we chose to explore along the coast of San Pedro. We stopped at the Marine Mammal Care Center, which is where they rescue marine animals, and release them when they can. Lots of seals and sea lions. Kudos to them for the work they do.

Next, we drove over to the old Fort MacArthur Museum, but didn't go in. But nearby, was the Korean Friendship Bell park and overlook. This was a huge bell given to us by Korea. They placed it on the location of the old canons from the Fort. Our last stop that we discovered as we drove around the coast road was Wilders Addition Park. This had a long walkway down the cliffside to the beautiful, rocky shore beach. The last section had an unusually painted set of steep stairs. Hung out there for awhile, but then had to walk back up, up and up to the car at the top of the cliffs.

We boated over to a wonderful restaurant on the canal, and had dinner watching the sunset. Nice way to end our time with Robbie and Ann.

Cactus garden at Huntington Gardens

Japanese garden

Korean Friendship Bell

Korean Friendship Bell Park overlook

Overlook

Wilders Addition Park

Sunset dinner along the canal

Nov 8 - 12, 2022 -Long Beach, CA and Palm Springs, CA

Nov 8 - we flew to LA, where Robbie & Ann picked us up from the airport, and took us to their delightful home on Naples inner canal. Out for dinner, and then hung out together. It's so nice to spend time with them both.

Nov 9 &10 - we drove to Palm Springs, CA, where Robbie had rented a nice VRBO house, complete with pool and jacuzzi. Bob and Jane joined us, and we had a great time around the outdoor fire, and enjoying each others company. We even played Huge Jenga. Fun. Bob & Jane left Thursday afternoon, so the rest of us went over to Palm Spring's Thursday evening main event, which is where they close off the main street to cars, and for 3 or 4 blocks, there are craft and food booths, and shops open for the tourists. We walked the streets, and ended at a huge statue of Marilyn Monroe, all lit up. Palm Springs was noted in the past as being the retreat of many Hollywood actors/actresses. We ate dinner out on the patio, overlooking the street and crowds. Nice evening.

Nov 11 - We drove back to Robbie's and hung out for the rest of the day. Then drove over to a nice restaurant right on the outer canal, and watched the sunset.

Nov 12 - It was a great morning for taking their pontoon boat out on the canals, for a long boat ride. At one point, the propeller snagged a plastic bag, which wrapped itself around the propeller. Once we made it back to their dock, Ann was finally able to unwind the bag, and the boat was ready to go again.

In the afternoon, Robbie and I decided to go for a walk along the Belmont Shore beach, past Rosie's Dog beach, and over to the Belmont Pier. We watched the hang-gliding surfboarders --it looks like fun. Then we walked back through the town. A good 4 mile walk, but a beautiful day for it.