For Christmas, we gave Talli a trip to Hershey Park in Hershey, Pa. She redeemed her gift certificate on August 13 and 14. Off we went to the amusement/water park! Fortunately the weather was fairly cool so we skipped the water park. Talli is a roller coaster kind of girl and I am not! So Bill and Talli rode one of the "gentler" roller coasters. I rode the choo-choo train and the ferris wheel! And all of us ate too much caramel popcorn. I embarrassed Talli as much as possible by screaming as loudly as possible on the slow easy rides!

 

The second day, we went on the Hershey Chocolate Tour which was great fun! Here we are arriving at Hershey Chocolate.

 

Next a 4D movie and posing as our favorite Hershey candies.

 

We took a bus tour through the town and finished with a chocolate tasting, making our own candy bars and designing the packaging labels. Here are the pleased with ourselves candy makers who agreed we had had enough chocolate for the day!!

 

 

On the way home, we stopped at Gettysburg National Park where we took an audio car tour of the battlefields. It was sobering to view and walk on the very ground where so many were injured and died during the Civil War.

 

We're approaching the end of our "year on the road" and have a few more days here in Silver Spring before returning to Atlanta. I'm happy to have kept this blog as a record of our time with children and grandchildren.

 

More later,

Cappy

 

The week of July 15 was busy for us. On Tuesday the 16th, Bill and I drove to Anapolis, Md and had lunch with my cousin Missy Attridge. We had a lovely visit and caught up on each other's families. Missy and I don't know each other well and hardly saw each other growing up so it was great to get to know her later in our lives.

Wednesday, the 17th we drove to Philadelphia for an overnight visit with my cousin Beth Tuttle. Beth recently accepted a job as President and CEO of The Cultural Data Project. http://www.culturaldata.org/about/staff/beth-tuttle/ She also recently had her first book published, Magnetic: The Art and Science of Engagement. http://magneticmuseums.com/

We had a great visit in Phillie even though it was in the high 90's. We went to the Barnes Foundation which houses one of the world's finest holdings of impressionist, post-impressionist, and early modern paintings, African sculpture, metalwork, and more. http://www.barnesfoundation.org/

We also went to the Philadelphia Museum of Art and posed with the Rockie statue although neither Bill nor I did the Sylvester Stalone (as Rockie) run up the stairs!!!!!  http://philamuseum.org/exhibitions/409.html

 

Here we are posing by the Liberty Bell after visiting Independence Hall. I think I visited Philadelphia as a child but don't remember it. It's a great place to visit and learn about American history!

 

At the end of the week, we drove to Rehobeth Beach, Delaware where we spent a wonderful week with Jocelyn, Dan and Talli! Lots of great weather, waves for Talli to use her boogie board, karaoke singing, pool time and fun with friends. Coincidentally, Beth and her family were there the same week. We had a fun dinner with them and kept running into them on the beach!

 

 Bill and I took the ferry to New Jersey and visited Cape May which is one of the country's oldest vacation resort towns. There are still lots of Victorian homes in the town which are wonderful to see. Here's the view from the back of the ferry.

 

Spent some time with Talli Jane the following week. Here are the Three Amigos - Uno Amigo y Dos Amigas!!!!!

 

 

The first weekend in August, we flew to Atlanta and  bought a condo!!!! We spent one night and had our stuff moved out of storage into our new place then flew back to Silver Spring!!!! It's exciting to have a new home in Atlanta!!! We bought a place in The Reid House on Peachtree Street diagonally across from the High Museum. A great place in a great location!

 

And finally, yesterday, August 13 we toured the Capitol and visited Congressman John Lewis' office. We were invited to sit in his office and view a short video and then his staff took our picture. The Congressman was away on vacation but will be back for the March on Washington Commemoration Activities later this month.

 



 

That's all for now!

More later, Cappy

Almost a month since my last post! June 22nd saw the arrival of my sister Sara, her son John and his fiancée Casey. John and Casey live in New York City and took the bus to DC to see Sara. They left on Sunday and Monday and then Bill, Sara and I went to Asheville, NC for our annual Sisters' Gathering.

We walked and talked and laughed and ate and slept and walked and talked and laughed and ate and slept and shopped! Some fun pics of our time together!

 

On the way home, Bill, Sara and I stopped at Washington and Lee University and Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, Va. We also visited the Fralin Art Museum at the University of Va. After spending the night in Charlottesville, Va we took a tour of Monticello. We were most impressed with the tours we took of the home, slave quarters and gardens. We appreciated the fact that the docents didn't shy away from discussions of  slavery and how 500+ slaves facilitated the running and maintaining of Thomas Jefferson's estate. 



 

Immediately after we returned home, Dan's step-daughter Sarah, husband Daniel and sons Christopher and Joshua came for a week long visit. Here we are after climbing Sugarloaf Mountain on a hot muggy day. We're so happy to have reached the top!!

 

We celebrated Christopher's 11th birthday on July 2nd and Talli's 11th birthday on July 6th!!!! Sarah and her family gave Talli the best gift ever. A microphone for singing karaoke! We have had so much fun "performing" for each other!!!

 

One day last week Bill and I went into DC and visited the Smithsonian Institution Building, the Freer and Sackler Galleries http://www.asia.si.edu/, the National Museum of African Art http://africa.si.edu/ and the Sculpture Garden. Lots of amazing art on a hot, muggy Washington DC day and all for free! One of the wonderful things about our nation's capital!

 

Saturday, July 13 we drove to St. Michael's, Md which is a small town in Talbot County, Maryland, USA. The population was 1,029 at the 2010 census. Saint Michaels derives its name from the Episcopal Parish established here in 1677. The church attracted settlers who engaged in tobacco growing and ship building. They have a great maritime museum there with tons of info about boat building and crabbing!

 

The weather like much of the east coast is hot and muggy so we're trying to walk earlier and earlier in the morning. It still feels like walking through warm pea soup!!!

 

More later,

Cappy

 

Special happenings on June 11th! Talli Jane Basile was promoted to 6th grade!!!!

 

Best buds with Ms. Munoz their kindergarten teacher!!!!



 

Final, final day of school when all students, teachers, staff and parents line the hallways of the school and "Clap Out" the 5th graders!!!! Sweet times!

 

 

On Sunday, June 16th, Bill and I drove to Winchester, VA to the Museum of the Shenandoah Valley.   http://www.shenandoahmuseum.org/

 

There is a wonderful museum, an 18th century home, the Glen Burnie House and fabulous gardens. Unfortunately the home is closed for renovation but we were able to stroll through the magnificant gardens.

 

 

The weather is starting to warm up but mornings are still great for walking. Big doings this coming weekend with family coming to town and then off to Asheville, NC next week for our annual Sisters' Gathering!

More later,

Cappy



Phew!!! It's been less than a minute since my last post! I'm so pleased with myself:-)

On June 2nd, Bill and I went into DC for the 30th Annual Dupont-Kalorama Walk Weekend.   www.dkmuseums.org

Apparently once a year, the 9 museums in the consortium offer free admission. As you can imagine, there were tons of folks visiting these places. I'm guessing that many of them like us had never been there before.

We got to see the:

Woodrow Wilson House     www.woodrowwilsonhouse.org which is DC's only presidential museum.

Textile Museum      www.textilemuseum.org  including lots of kids activities like sheep shearing and showing how yarn is made as well as amazing textiles from all over the world.

Phillips Collection     www.phillipscollection.org with modern and contemporary American and European art in a spectactular building.

Fondo Del Sol    www.fondodelsol.org  which is a nonprofit bilingual, community-based museum composed of artists, filmmakers, and educators who share a common dedication to the art and cultural heritage of the people of the Americas and the great American Diaspora.

Anderson House - The Society of the Cincinnati   www.societyofthecincinnati.org  the winter home of American diplomat Larz Anderson and his wife Isabel, an author and benefactress. We were told that this home was built for entertaining and it was over the top spectacular!

Since then, I've made a couple of new friends, found a new chiropractor, starting working out again and lots done lots of walking.

Yesterday, we went to church and the church picnic! Lots of great food and dancing.

Some of the wilder dancers!!!!!Shelly, Lana, Talli and Jocelyn

 

That afternoon, we took the Metro downtown for a mix of activities. We viewed the One Million Bones exhibit on the mall. www.onemillionbones.org

 



 





These are artwork bones made by students, educators, artists and activists. They are designed and displayed to raise awareness of ongoing genocide and mass atrocities. As you can imagine, it was powerful and difficult to take in and a great way to bring attention to global acts of violence.

 

It was Gay Pride weekend so we wandered through the crowds of people and booths and music rejoicing that there are now Gay Pride events and remembering times in the not too distant past when this would not have been possible without huge risk of arrest and physical harm.

 

We then stopped into the National Gallery of Art which was a welcome relief from the sun and heat. www.nga.gov  And we also saw some of the amazing art collections!

 

Our final stop after returning to Silver Spring was ice cream at Moorenko's which is close by and great ice cream!  

 

More to come,

Cappy

 

 

 

 

 

 



Yikes!!!!! It's been over two weeks since my last post.

The weekend of May 24th, Bill and I met in Atlanta for our sweet goddaughter Shannon's high school graduation! It was a joyous event and we are delighted for her accomplishment!

The proud God parents:-)

 

Moms and sister.

Shannon and cousins Barry, Cary and D'earica.

 

Before flying "home" to Silver Spring, Bill and I spent a quick couple of hours with a realtor looking for a place to live when we return to Atlanta. More about that later!

 

We joined Jocelyn, Dan and Talli on Memorial Day for a yummy picnic. Here are Gramma, Talli and Amelia taking a break from playing 4-squares!

 

 

On Friday, May 31st, Bill and I were chaperones for Talli's 5th grade trip to Mt. Vernon. Three busloads of kids joined several hundreds of kids from other schools at George Washington's estate. It was great fun and we learned a lot.

 

Arriving at the crack of dawn!

Our small group: Sean, Nicholas, Talli and Daphne.

Learning something!

NOT learning something!

 

More to come!

Cappy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We've been pretty busy since we got to Silver Spring. The first weekend we were here, we went to a Kentucky Derby party with Jocelyn and Dan. I won $11.00 for chosing the winner Orb! (Actually Bill told me which horse to bet on and I actually listened to him!)

 

The Happy Winner/s!

 

 

Bill and I drove to Baltimore to see the Baltimore Orioles play the San Diego Padres. Unfortunately the final score was Padres 8, Orioles 4:-(

As you can see, we enjoyed ourselves anyway!

 

 

That same week, we visited the Boonsboro Museum which was a fascinating collection of Civil War items as well as collections of china and religious icons. The owner, Doug Bast, lives at the museum and has collected all of the items over many years.



http://www.boonsboromuseum.com/

 

That same day we visited the Chrystal Grotto Caverns which were discovered in 1920. http://www.crystalgrottoescaverns.com/

I was somewhat leery of being underground in a small space but we had a great tour and saw some amazing stalagmites and stalactites which I've never seen in person before!

 

 

 

We've attended 3 of Talli's concerts: 2 choral concerts and one instrumental. Here's TJB playing the trumpet!



 

Last weekend Bill and I volunteered with the Out of Sight Dragon Boat Team who were racing on the Potomac. I'd heard about but never been to Dragon Boat races and we had a great time. The Out of Sight Dragons are literally without sight! A group of blind and visually impaired people with the oldest woman aged 86 and the oldest man aged 85! It was a great way to meet some cool people, guide the paddlers to and from the boats and scream my head off! There are 20 paddlers per boat, a drummer and a steerer. The OSD team filled 16 of the slots and then had other paddlers fill the remaining 4 slots. They raced 3 times on Saturday and they met their goal of bettering their time each race! Very exciting!

 

THE OUT OF SIGHT DRAGON TEAM

 

That's all for now!

Cappy