Just a quick post this week from Missouri. It’s rare for us to have a week when we can snuggle all the grandkids in a 7-day span, but this week it happened! We also visited the historic Blennerhasset Island in the middle of the Ohio River.
Harman Blennerhasset was an Irish noble who immigrated to the Ohio with his wife at the end of the 18th century. They built a mansion on an island where they hosted lots of big wigs from the colonial era, which was pretty impressive for living on the frontier. The whole thing got really dramatic when they welcomed Aaron Burr after the whole “vice president killed Hamilton in a duel” thing. Burr convinced Blennerhasset to participate in his plan to create a separate nation in Texas with him as King. Burr was arrested for treason, along with Blennerhasset and others. They were never convicted of the conspiracy, but the debacle ruined Blennerhasset and he and his family never returned to their fabulous mansion, which burned to the ground in 1811. The state of West Virginia rebuilt it and you can ride a sternwheeler out to the island for a tour. It was worth the visit.
We also got to do some outings with Huck and Piper this week. We took them to the mall to ride the little train and to have lunch. We also went to the children’s museum in Parkersburg, which is always a good time. Baby Hugh is getting chunky and starting to smile and coo and just generally turn on the charm.
We are now settled in at Alex’s place and will be here for a few more days, playing hard with Teddy and Peter, and impatiently awaiting the arrival of grandkid #6. Any day now! We are trying to help them to have some extra rest in anticipation of their new addition.
Next week we will be on the road and moving slowly westward, so catch you then! Have a great week.
From the Big Easy to Music City
Hi! This is just a quick check in from the road. We spent the week on the move. We started in New Orleans, then we drove up through the Mississippi Delta on the Blues Highway. We stopped at lots of smaller places along the way to visit museums and check out the history of the blues and our country. Then we cut across to Alabama to visit Muscle Shoals to tour the recording studio and to see the US Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville. Then from there it was north to Nashville, Tennessee. We are here to visit a friend (Adam Overacker) and to enjoy some more music. See you next week from an old classic, Marietta, Ohio. Hopefully I’ll have time this next week to fill in the details from a very eventful road trip! Enjoy your week!
Hello from…
…warm and sunny New Orleans, LA! We are here for a long weekend to enjoy the delicious food and lots of great jazz and blues. We will check in again next weekend from another city stop on our way back to the grandkids. Have a great week!
San Antonio and Padre Island
This week has been pretty quiet, so I thought I would give you the details on our mini trip to San Antonio from last weekend as well as answering some questions from you!