Flights of fancy: Hot air balloon festival

Dan, Julie and Andy attended the final balloon ascension at the Quick Chek New Jersey Festival of Ballooning on Sunday. (Christine was away in Syracuse.)

In past years the family has gone to a nearby park to watch the balloons rise and sometimes chase them to see where they land. But this year (thanks to some complimentary tickets) they went to the festival grounds and saw the balloonists inflating their airships and then taking flight.

Enjoy the photos. Click on the slideshow above to see larger images. And check back later and see if Dan got around to posting video.

Show cars in Syracuse

Dan writes:
The weekend we were in Syracuse to drop Christine off at her SU summer college program coincided with a huge car show at the state fairgrounds, an event called the Syracuse Nationals. Hotels all over the city were booked up with participants and fans. About half the cars in the parking lot of our hotel were exhibitors' classic cars and hot rods.

So for all the car enthusiasts in the family, I shot photos of these beauties. Click to watch the slideshow or double-click to see the album on Picasa.

Summer scholars: Christine at Syracuse, Patrick at Cornell

Christine is spending these two weeks, and Patrick three weeks, at summer college programs. Christine is studying art at Syracuse University and Patrick is in a business program at Cornell.

The director of the SU summer program has been putting photos on its facebook page. Here are a couple from Christine's drawing class; she's in the background in one, and in the foreground but with her back to the camera in the other.

Travel report: Cathy's visit to Vegas

Cathy reports on her visit to Las Vegas and vicinity at the beginning of July:

Overall it was HOT!! Temps were over 100 degrees every day which is normal. At least it’s typically not as humid as most folks from the Mid-Atlantic are accustomed to.

While only there for a couple of days I managed to pack in as many sights as time would allow. First Lisa and I visited Valley of Fire State Park located about a half hour north east of Las Vegas. The rock formations there are spectacular.

Had the weather been more agreeable we could have explored much more outdoors. I was able to take many pictures from the car and occasionally jump out to take some more while Lisa kept the air conditioning running in the car.

On Friday evening Doug and Lisa took me to Fremont Street on the Strip. This is a 2- to 3-block enclosed and covered street accessible to many casinos, shops, restaurants and clubs. It is literally a huge street party. The roof over the street is actually a giant screen upon which they periodically show videos. There are numerous street performers, stages where bands perform and places to purchase adult beverages everywhere. I was able to do a bit of souvenir shopping while were there. Quite an experience!

The following day Doug and I went to see Red Rocks Canyon. He and Lisa have toured there plenty of times so he was very knowledgeable with all aspects of the mountains. They have climbed and hiked most of the area in the time they’ve been living there. Again it was much too hot to do any hiking, however the views were impressive.

Later that day Lisa and I returned to the Strip so that I could watch the fountains at the Bellagio. We even did a little bit of gambling and I can report that I actually WON some money (not much since it was only the penny slots!).

Saturday night I went to see Kenny Chesney perform. Being a die-hard fan I just couldn’t go an entire summer without one of his concerts!

He put on a great show as always.

I flew back home the next day happy that I was able to make this trip. It was wonderful to spend some time with Doug and Lisa and to visit some sights around Las Vegas as well. I highly recommend going there once so you can say you’ve done it – just maybe not in the middle of summer.

Here are links to my facebook albums of pictures from the trip:

Vegas - around town / Valley of Fire / Red Rock Canyon

Kenny Chesney concert

All aboard!

Xander shows off Daddy's new conductor's hat. Brian and the rest of the Keolis crew will begin operating regular passenger service on the Virginia Railway Express on Monday.

First look at new home of Marie, Brian and Xander

Marie, Brian and Xander are settling into their new apartment in Fredericksburg. Dan, Julie, Christine and Andy visited them in their new abode over the 4th of July weekend.

Xander seems to be adapting well to his new surroundings, including his new room.

It being the Fourth, the group set out for a local park to see fireworks over the Rappahannock River. The park was full and closed, but following the lead of some locals, they found a spot in a vacant lot with a view of the fireworks.

Brian have been very busy learning all the routines of a conductor on the Virginia Railway Express. He and all the other crew members hired by Keolis have been conducting test runs at nights and on weekends in preparation for taking over the VRE service from Amtrak on July 12. (See previous article.)

A VRE train pulls into the Fredericksburg station
during a test run on July 5.

Summer under way: Trips, camps, etc.

This summer season means a lot of moving around for various members of the family.

Vivien is living in Los Angeles while working as a management intern for Hillstone Restaurant Group. Patrick will be taking a three-week summer college program at Cornell later this month. Christine will be at Syracuse for a two-week program later in July, while Andy has a week at Boy Scout camp in the Adirondacks. Marie, Brian and Xander are settling into their new home in Virginia. Dan and Lorraine have moved to their summer residence in Noyac. And those are just a few highlights.

How are you spending your summer? Please let us know!

This past week, Christine and her parents toured some colleges in Pennsylvania. Among them was Penn State, where Christine's Grandpa Murphy earned his doctorate. So of course she and Dan had to pose with the Nittany Lion!
Andy, meanwhile, spent the week at Seton Hall University, attending a video-game programming camp. It's the second year that he's spent a week at this camp, staying over in the dorms. Here he is with his game at the end of camp.
This coming week, Dan & Julie & Christine & Andy will all be traveling to Virginia to visit with Marie, Brian and Xander in Fredericksburg and then see some more colleges in Virginia and Maryland. They plan to be in Noyac the week of August 1-8.

Let us know what you're up to this summer. Remember to keep in touch!

Embroiders' Guild chapter honors Dolores

The Constellation Chapter of The Embroiderers’ Guild of America (EGA) recently honored long-standing members of the group. The honorees include Dolores, who was one of the chapter's charter members. Over the years, Dolores has served on the board of the chapter and chaired several committees.

In her remarks at the gathering, she reminded the group that she was the first hospitality chair. According to Dolores, she assumed this office because she lived closest to the chapter's meeting place -- and could most easily go home to get ice!