A vacation begins in London

Dan, Julie, Christine and Andy arrived in London on Friday at the start of a trip that will also take them to Paris. While waiting for their hotel rooms to become available, the jet-lagged foursome took a walk through Westminster, seeking sights including Westminster Abbey, the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben.

A view of the pub, with the hotel in the background.

After a nap, then a meal at a pub across from their hotel, they strolled past Buckingham Palace.

Check back soon for updates.

A meet-up in Trenton, with art and music

Marie, Brian and Xander were visiting Brian's parents, Barbara and Steve, in New Jersey last weekend, and attended Trenton's annual 24-hour art-and-music event called Art All Night.

Dan and Christine drove down to meet them on Sunday morning, arriving as Brian's dad, Steve, was on stage drumming with the Trenton Makes Band.

The event was held in a former factory building at the site of the Roebling steel works.

Inside were hundreds of artworks by professionals and amateurs alike; any artist could submit one work for display. Here, Xander points to his conception of a game screen.

Steve exhibited a painting (at right).

Barbara showed a photograph she took in Vermont (below, pointed out by Xander).
The show was quite impressive. Christine and Xander enjoyed checking out and discussing the many and varied artworks.


It was a great day for some fun outside too!

Andy graduates from SPF High School

* Updated 6/20 with more photos & video *

Andy graduated from Scotch Plains Fanwood High School in ceremonies at the school stadium on Thursday evening, June 19.

His parents, Dan and Julie; sister, Christine; grandparents, Hugh and Dolores; and girlfriend, Shannon, were all on hand to cheer for Andy and his classmates as they completed their high school careers.

Below is a slideshow of a dozen or so highlight photos.



And here's a brief video clip of Andy being awarded his diploma, and the graduates tossing their caps.

Dolores, Hugh renew vows after 60 years

Hugh and Dolores celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary by renewing their marriage vows Sunday, June 15, at St. Matthew's Episcopal Church in Oakland, Md.

The couple married on June 12, 1954, in Corning, N.Y., where Dolores grew up. They later settled in the suburban Baltimore area where Hugh grew up and raised their three children, Julie, Doug and Cathy.

Doug and his wife, Lisa, Cathy and her son, Christopher, were on hand for Sunday's ceremony. This photo was taken at the restaurant where they went out to dinner the night before.

St. Matthew's, which Hugh and Dolores attend when vacationing at Deep Creek Lake, marked the occasion in fine style, incorporating the renewal ceremony into Trinity Sunday services and having a reception with cake afterward.


Below is an album of photos shared by Cathy.

Andy, Shannon attend senior prom

Andy and Shannon attended the Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School senior prom on Friday, June 13. They and their friends enjoyed dinner and dancing at the Pines Manor banquet hall in Edison.

Andy will graduate from SPFHS on Thursday (June 19).

Dolores & Hugh's 2014 European Tour

Dolores and Hugh took a three-week trip to Europe this spring, touring three European countries, seeing historic, artistic and cultural sights in The Netherlands, Belgium and France.

The peripatetic couple first flew to Amsterdam and embarked on a cruise through Holland to Brussels.

Dolores had long wished to see the famous Dutch tulips in bloom. Here is a set of photos Hugh put together of Holland's tulips and windmills.



In Belgium, Hugh and Dolores spent time in Brussels, Ghent and Bruges. They visited with longtime friends: Miguel, who lived with them as an exchange student in the 1970s, and his mother, Phaedra.

They also made a side trip to Maastricht and to the American World War II cemetery there. (See earlier article.)

From Brussels, Hugh and Dolores traveled by train to Paris, where they met granddaughter Liz, who had just flown in from a separate trip -- a Caribbean "curling cruise."

Along with touring Paris, the trio drove to Giverney to visit Monet's gardens. They then drove on to northern France, with stops in Rouen, Bayeux and Caen.

In Bayeux, Dolores checked off another bucket-list item: seeing the Bayeux Tapestry, an embroidered cloth nearly 230 feet long and more than 900 years old. (See earlier article.)

They also visited the World War II landing beaches at Normandy, about a month before the 70th anniversary of the Allied invasion. (See earlier article.)

Here's another set of Hugh's photos from various highlights of the trip.



And here's an album of photos by Liz.

Happy anniversary to Hugh & Dolores

It was sixty years ago today, on June 12, 1954, that Dolores and Hugh were married at Christ Episcopal Church in Corning, N.Y.

The happy couple will mark the occasion by renewing their marriage vows on June 15 during the Sunday service at St. Matthew's Church in Oakland, Md., near their vacation home at Deep Creek Lake.

Hugh and Dolores recently returned to the States after their latest overseas adventure, when they visited The Netherlands, Belgium and France.

Services held for Lorraine

A funeral Mass was held Tuesday at St. Paul the Apostle Church in Yonkers for Lorraine, who died June 5. Burial followed at Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Hawthorne.

Lorraine's children, many of her grandchildren, her sister, other family and friends gathered over the past few days to celebrate her life and enjoy many happy memories. Those who were unable to attend sent their sympathies and good wishes.

In Lorraine's memory, the family encourages donations to organizations that support Alzheimer's research, treatment and support.

Please visit our page dedicated to Lorraine.

In Memory of Lorraine (Updated with arrangements)

The family is saddened by the passing of Lorraine, beloved mother of Dan, Kathy, Brien and Kevin; grandmother of Marie, Dan, Genevieve, Vivien, Patrick, Shanna, Kevin, Christine and Andy; great-grandmother of Xander; and sister of Pat.

Lorraine died peacefully on Thursday, June 5, at home at Sunrise of Crestwood, with Kathy, Brien and Kevin at her side. She is now rejoined with her husband of 59 years, Daniel, and will be greatly missed and fondly remembered by all who knew her.



UPDATE: Visitation will be Monday, June 9, 2-4 and 7-9 p.m., at Flynn Memorial Home, 1652 Central Park Avenue in Yonkers. Mass of Christian Burial will be Tuesday, June 10 at 10 a.m. at St. Paul the Apostle Church, 602 McLean Avenue in Yonkers, with burial to follow at Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Hawthorne, N.Y. Directions and other details are on the Flynn website (click here).

Please visit our page dedicated to Lorraine.

The rocking return of Twenty-Eight

Twenty-Eight is back! Gerrit and his bandmates have reunited for a series of shows this summer on Cape Cod. The first was Saturday night (May 31) at The Woodshed in Brewster.

The band put on a great show before a packed house that included friends, old fans and people who became new fans by the end of the night.

Among the crowd were Gerrit's wife, Angela (watching him closely in the photo above); his parents, Owen and Tish, and his sister, Lizzie; plus Dan and Christine, who drove up from New Jersey for the weekend to see the show and spend a little time with their cousins.

The family members gathered the next day at Owen and Tish's to visit and chat in a quieter atmosphere. Lizzie just completed her first year at Elon University in North Carolina. Tish was feeling well after her latest treatment at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. When not rocking out, Gerrit is recreation coordinator for the Town of Dennis, and Angela is an administrator at a local assisted-living and nursing facility.

Andy in Memorial Day parade, one more time

Andy marched one final time with the Scotch Plains-Fanwood Marching Band in the annual Memorial Day Parade through the two towns on Monday. (There's video of the band here.)

Andy's been in the parade each year for at least the last 10 years, with Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts and then the band.

His sister Christine likewise marched with various levels of Girl Scouts through the years and then with the high school band.

Dad says: "If I'm counting right, one or the other or both marched in each of the past 16 Memorial Day parades, since Christine was a Daisy in Kindergarten."

Flashback 2004: Andy on Cub Scout float

Flashback 2004: Christine with Junior Girl Scouts

Starting the summer season in Noyac

Kathy and her family converged at her summer house to spend Memorial Day weekend together. Here she is enjoying a sunny afternoon with son Patrick (who just finished his third year at Johns Hopkins University), daughter Genevieve and son-in-law John, daughter Vivien and her fiance, C.J.

On Memorial Day: Lest we forget

On their recent cruise through The Netherlands and Belgium, Hugh and Dolores visited the American World War II cemetery near Maastricht. Hugh shares this slideshow and description, quite appropriate for this Memorial Day weekend.

 
To view the slideshow in a larger screen, click here.

Hugh writes: Maastricht is in The Netherlands very near the Belgium border, and not far west of Germany. This is the final resting place of thousands of American service men who gave their lives in the battles against Nazi Germany in this area.

The cemetery is a solemn place. Just walking through the gate invokes silence and respect. The grass is immaculately kept and trimmed neatly around each marker. Rhododendron were in bloom at the impressive entrance. There is a small chapel built into the entrance structure.

The grave markers are in curved rows and line up in straight columns. There is a wide tree-lined aisle down the middle of the site; my photos show only the right half.

Most of the grave markers are crosses, but there are Star of David markers too. Each marker has engraved on it the name of the person resting below with his rank and his division, as well as the date of his death and the state where he came from in the U. S.

There are some markers that identify only “A comrade in arms known but to God.”

On the rear of each marker, near the ground, I found an 8 digit number. The arrangement of digits seemed familiar, because I have a number like this, too. When I asked, my notion was confirmed: This was the soldier’s serial number.

Dolores saw one marker that was clad in gold. It marked the final resting place of a recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor.

A look at Norman Rockwell's America

Dan and Christine caught the traveling exhibit "American Chronicle: The Art of Norman Rockwell," on the final weekend of its installation at the Newark Museum of Art.

The exhibit presented a broad selection of the artist's work, spanning his entire career. Highlights were a collection of all 323 of his Saturday Evening Post covers and a look at the process of research and revisions that went into the creation of Murder in Mississippi, one of Rockwell's most pointed pieces of social commentary.

Here's a link to a slideshow of some of the pictures that were in the exhibit. They belong to the collection of the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, Mass.

Travels in France with Hugh, Dolores, Liz

Monet's garden

Hugh and Dolores embarked April 21 on a three-week journey to the Netherlands, Belgium and France.

They took a cruise from Amsterdam to Brussels, visited Bruges and Gent, then took a train to Paris. There, they met granddaughter Liz, who flew in from Florida after cruising the Caribbean with her mother, Lisa, and their curling friends.

Liz, Dolores and Hugh then saw some of the sights of Paris and took car excursions to Monet's Garden in Giverney, the Normandy landing beaches and the Bayeux Tapestry museum.

Hugh is preparing an extensive travelogue, but in the meantime Liz has posted this selection of photos.

Andy in glow-in-the-dark percussion performance

Percussionist Andy performed in several numbers at the Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School Spring Instrumental Concert on May 14. He was one of eight drummers that opened the show with this piece, called Short Circuits, by composer Lalo Davila. (He's the second pair of sticks from the left.)
 

Andy performed another number with the Rhythmsense percussion ensemble (below) and as a percussionist in the Wind Ensemble (not pictured).




As he nears the end of senior year, Andy has two remaining performances with SPFHS musical groups: with a jazz-lab group at the school district's Jazz Festival May 19 and with the marching band at the local Memorial Day parade the following week.

Dolores & Hugh in Europe: A visit to Bayeux

In the midst of a European sojourn, Dolores and Hugh visited the Bayeux Tapestry Museum, which Dolores has long wanted to see.

The museum houses the Bayeux Tapestry, an embroidered cloth nearly 230 feet long and more than 900 years old.

"Celebrating the conquest of England by William, Duke of Normandy, this linen canvas was embroidered after the Battle of Hastings (which took place October 14, 1066), probably in a monastery in the south of England," according to the museum web site.

Detail of the Bayeux Tapesty, via Wikipedia

We expect to see much more soon from Hugh and Dolores' trip.

Lisa, Liz go cruising and curling (Updated 5/17 with more photos)

Lisa and Liz and many of their comrades in curling recently enjoyed a combination Caribbean cruise and curling bonspiel.

"Waterspiel 2014" set out from Fort Lauderdale April 26 aboard the Royal Caribbean liner Independence of the Seas.

The 15-deck, 1,112-foot-long ship has several swimming pools, a basketball court, a rock climbing wall -- and an ice skating rink, which served as a smaller-than-regulation curling sheet.


In between matches and social events for the curlers on board, there were ports of call in St. Maarten, St. Kitts, Puerto Rico and Haiti. Above is one of Lisa's photos from San Juan.

Here's a collection of photos posted by Lisa and Liz.



Upon their return to Florida, Lisa headed home but jet-setter Liz got on a plane to Paris to join grandparents Hugh and Dolores, who were in the midst of a trip of their own.