Julie & Dan enjoy an anniversary-weekend trip

At Saratoga Performing Arts Center

Dan and Julie took a brief vacation to mark their 30th anniversary, with stops in Upstate New York and Montreal - and a lot of live music along the way.

Setting out on the Fourth of July, they visited with Andy and Shannon and took in fireworks in suburban Albany (see separate article). The next day, Dan and Julie headed up to Saratoga Springs, where they met Dan's cousin Mary for lunch at a favorite restaurant of hers overlooking Saratoga Lake. Along the way, they took a look at Cohoes Falls on the Mohawk River.


After lunch they checked out the Yaddo Rose and Rock Gardens.


After dinner in an Irish pub in downtown Saratoga Springs, they headed to the Saratoga Performing Arts Center to see Jackson Browne, one of their long-time favorites. They had seen him once before playing solo in New Jersey; this time he had a full band, joined on a few numbers by the opening act, female singing duo Lucius.

Closeup from video screen	With band and Lucius

The next day, it was north to Canada. Along the drive up the Adirondack Northway, they passed through some thunderstorms - but once through them, they had beautiful summer weather for their two-day visit to the Montreal area.

Their arrival coincided with the last day of the Montreal Jazz Festival. After checking into a hotel, Dan and Julie walked a few blocks to the city's Quartier des Spectacles, where music played on multiple outdoor stages and the streets were lined with food and drink vendors.

The "jazz" festival included many styles of music, with some of the biggest names playing ticketed shows in clubs in the evenings. Dan and Julie just enjoyed the free outdoor shows, on a warm but pleasant summer evening.

As they watched an act called Miche Love and the Dynamite Blues Band play at one of the stages, a dance party broke out right in front of where Dan and Julie were sitting. Apparently the locals knew that particular patio was the place to meet and dance, changing partners from song to song.

Later the couple found themselves on the edge of a huge crowd watching the festival's final outdoor act, local favorite Matt Holubowski and his band.

The same weekend marked the beginning of another music festival - the Tremblant International Blues Festival in the ski-resort town of Mont Tremblant, some 80 miles north of Montreal. So, why not a trip into the Quebec countryside and a little more outdoor live music?

Julie joins in singing a French folk song played on a hand-cranked music box

Mont Tremblant's faux-Alpine village of shops and restaurants was the setting for this festival. Dan and Julie wandered through, catching several acts and having lunch at one of the cafes while listening to music nearby.

After a few hours there, Dan and Julie took a drive through parkland to Lac Superieur, one of numerous lakes dotting that region of Quebec.

Back in Montreal, the couple found a restaurant that turned out to be the perfect place for an anniversary dinner. At Modavie, in the Old Montreal neighborhood, they had an exquisite meal while listening to - what else? - live music, by a jazz duo.

Modavie restaurant (TripAdvisor photo)

On their actual anniversary date, July 8, Dan and Julie made the long drive home. They enjoyed the scenery through the Adirondacks (in clear weather this time instead of rain). And they broke up the drive with a brief stop at Lake George, just to have a look at the scenery.

Dan & Julie Celebrate 4th with Andy & Shannon

Dan and Julie started a mini-vacation by visiting son Andy and his girlfriend, Shannon, in the Albany area on the Fourth of July. They found a spot at a park in Clifton Park to watch fireworks. (Selfie by Shannon, fireworks photo by Dan.)

The visit gave Julie and Dan their first look at the furnished version of Andy and Shannon's commodious apartment in Guiderland, N.Y.

The next day, Dan and Julie continued north - to Saratoga for a concert and then to Montreal for a two-day stay (see separate article). Meanwhile, Andy and Shannon drove down to the house in Fanwood and spent the weekend with their New Jersey friends.

A summer day in Longwood Gardens

Cathy, Christopher and Stephanie spent part of the the first weekend in July visiting Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pa.

"It was a hot, humid day," Cathy writes, "however we still enjoyed the flowers and fountains."

See more of Cathy's photos here.

Stephanie marches in July 4 parade

Stephanie performed with the Towson University Marching Band in the Independence Day parade in Towson, Md., on Thursday. Fortunately, the marchers weren't in full band uniform in the 90+ degree heat.

It won't be long before the band starts preparing for the fall season. TU band camp starts in mid-August.

Lucy celebrates her First Fourth

Above, Lucy greeted her first Independence Day in style, wearing this red-white-and-blue ensemble.

Below, the now 3-month-old Lucy with her parents, Shanna and Rick.

Marie takes on bigger role at CodePen

Marie has been promoted to Product Manager at CodePen, where she has worked since becoming the start-up's first employee four years ago.

The company provides a platform for web designers and developers to experiment, test and debug their code, and to share ideas and critiques with one another.

CodePen's three founders hired Marie in September 2015 to handle support, community-outreach and social-media duties. She has written documentation and blog posts, produced podcasts and handled all manner of support issues, all from her home office, as well as representing CodePen at conferences around the country.

Her new job puts her in charge of the growing company's various products and projects.

A Father's Day gathering in NJ

A day after attending Liz's graduation party in Brooklyn, Hugh, Dolores, Doug, Lisa, Cathy, Christopher and Stephanie all joined Julie and Dan for brunch at their New Jersey home. For Hugh, it was a chance to spend Father's Day with his children and two of his grandchildren.

Family, friends celebrate Liz's master's degree

Liz celebrated her completion of graduate school with a party at a craft brewery in Brooklyn, Circa Brewing. She was joined by a crowd of friends, and by family members including her parents, Doug and Lisa; grandparents Hugh and Dolores; aunts Julie and Cathy; and cousins Christopher and Stephanie.

With her master's degree in transportation engineering and planning from New York University, Liz plans to return to Baltimore. She continues to work for WSP | Parsons Brinckerhof and will transfer back from its New York to its Baltimore office.

Meet-up at the art show

Marie, Brian and Xander made their annual visit to the Art All Night festival in Trenton on June 15-16. That gave Dan a chance to spend some time with his elder daughter, son-in-law and grandson on Father's Day weekend. Xander and Brian again entered pieces in the show. Xander's was an anime-style drawing of a character of his own design, and Brian's was a cubist version of one of his Electric Catnip felines.

Julie reps Rotary in Memorial Day parade

Julie drove her decked-out car as part of the Fanwood-Scotch Plains Rotary Club contingent in the local Memorial Day parade on May 27. Julie has had some involvement with the parade every year for something like 20 years, since Christine and Andy started marching with Scout groups groups and later with the high school marching band.

Julie returns to Friends School for reunion

Friends School of Baltimore held its annual alumni weekend in early May, and Julie joined in a reunion of her Class of 1974. Julie attended the school from first through 12th grade, so she has known some of her classmates since early childhood. Dan joined Julie at the on-campus reception and the class party that followed at one alumnus' home.

Celebrating Easter with family get-togethers

Hugh and Dolores had an Easter get-together with their daughter Cathy and her children, Christopher and Stephanie.

Cathy has moved back to Maryland, where Stephanie is now finishing her first year at Towson University. Christopher lives not far away in Delaware and works in the technology services department of the Cecil County, Maryland schools.


Earlier, Dan and Julie traveled to Massachusetts a few days before Easter to visit with Christine and Jamie. They went over plans for the couple's wedding in September, and spent part of a day strolling in a local park. They also had an amusing time bowling - mostly badly, although Jamie had a decent score.

On Saturday, Dan and Julie were back in New Jersey, and Andy and Shannon drove down from Albany for a quick visit. The four went out for dinner at a favorite restaurant. Andy and Shannon then spent Sunday visiting Shannon's parents, now living on Long Island.

Azaleas and cherry blossoms at Birch Street HQ

We hope everyone in our extended family enjoyed a happy Easter!

Andy & Shannon feeling at home in Upstate NY

Dan & Julie paid a weekend visit to Andy & Shannon in their new home in the Albany area. As previously reported, Andy is now working at Conduent in downtown Albany. The two have a spacious apartment in Guilderland, a suburb just west of the city, and are settling in nicely - although with very little furniture, as they await delivery of items like sofas and a dining set.

Since moving in a month ago, they've already explored some of the attractions of the surrounding area, including John Boyd Thacher State Park. On Saturday, they brought Dan & Julie there to take in the view from atop the Helderberg Escarpment, a steep rock-faced ridge that rises above the Hudson Valley.

Sunday was a somewhat rainy day, but D&J and A&S were able to visit the indoor Discovery Center at the Albany Pine Bush Preserve, just a couple of miles from their apartment. The preserve is an area of sandy soil, pitch pine and scrub oak that's home to the endangered Karner blue butterfly and more than 45 other rare plant and animal species.