Autumn leaves and family visits

Fall view from Andy & Wren's porch

Dan celebrated his late-October birthday by taking some days off work, and he and Julie hit the road to points north and east. They visited Andy and Wren in upstate New York, then Christine and Jamie in New Hampshire. Along the way they checked out the fall foliage, which was just a bit past peak but still very colorful. 

Relaxing at home

Just a few of the chickens

In Middleburg, N.Y., Dan and Julie toasted Andy and Wren's recent engagement and enjoyed their hospitality - including fresh eggs from their flock of chickens.

The four set out for a Sunday hike at a nearby geological feature called Vroman's Nose, but changed their minds when they found the trail crowded with maskless people. They drove around a bit looking at the scenery, then took a stroll in a community park in nearby Schoharie that includes a covered pedestrian bridge over Fox Creek. 

On Monday, Dan and Julie took a drive through the Berkshires and across central Massachusetts, then dipped into northeastern Connecticut. The weather was alternately rainy, foggy and just damp, foiling plans to stop for a walk in the woods near Stockbridge, Mass., but the autumn scenery was colorful even without the sun. They spent the night in Connecticut (due to Covid restrictions) before heading to New Hampshire the next morning. 

The weather dried out for their Tuesday visit with Christine and Jamie - and their kittens, now almost six months old. It was Dan and Julie's first chance to meet Morgana and Lavenza in person. After catching up over lunch, D&J and C&J headed out to explore the Andres Institute of Art sculpture park in nearby Brookline, N.H.

It was a chance to enjoy a fall hike in the woods and observe some art along the way. This work, called "Bones of the Earth," incorporated an existing rock outcropping. It was along the park's "Quarry Trail," which turned out to involve some rugged, rocky climbing.

Along a smoother trail were other installations, such as the very cute "Animals" and a trio of metal figures called "The Debate." There were very few people in the park on that Tuesday afternoon, and the group never encountered anyone else along the trails - making it a very relaxing, socially-distanced outing.

Friendly-looking "Animals"

Christine engages in "The Debate"

Afterward, the four returned to the house Jamie and Christine are sharing with Jamie's dad, Paul. Jamie grilled a rack of ribs with her own spice rub, making for a fine dinner. Dan then invoked birthday privilege to get Julie, Christine, Jamie and Paul to join him in a game of Rail Baron - which Christine was leading when all decided to call it a night.

It was raining again as Dan and Julie started the drive home, but the weather improved as they crossed Connecticut, and they had another chance to enjoy beautiful fall foliage along the Merritt Parkway to conclude their mini-vacation.

Four weeks as a family of four

Vivien and CJ shared these photos, taking four months after Austin joined the family. Charlie, age 2, is head over heels with excitement about having a little brother!

Andy and Wren announce their engagement

Ten years after they started dating, Andy and Wren celebrated the anniversary on Oct. 17 by taking a weekend trip to the Adirondacks -- and becoming engaged.

The couple rented a cabin in Keene Valley, N.Y., for the weekend and did some exploring of the area, including visiting Lake Placid and taking a drive up Whiteface Mountain.

No date for a wedding is set, and it will be some time before they can even begin to plan it.

The two met as members of the Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School Marching Band. Here is the first known photo of them together, as they and band parents rolled a cart containing Andy's drums and Wren's glockenspiel toward the field for a competition in Sept. 2010. At that point, they were just getting to know each other.

That was the year when they and Andy's sister, Christine, were all in the band. This photo, from an Oct. 31 competition in Allentown, Pa., shows Andy at bottom left and Wren at bottom right. (Christine is in the second row of flutes, just to the right of the 50 yard line.)