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.
A Quick Update
Hi! It’s been a few weeks since I checked in. And this message will be a short one. We have really enjoyed the last couple of weeks with the grandkids and all the family shenanigans. I’ll fill in the details next week. Today is our 31st wedding anniversary and we are on the move again. We stopped at our favorite BBQ place for lunch and we are snowbirding instead of snowboarding. We are bound for Corpus Christi, TX via Austin. It should be a pleasant place to park ourselves for a few weeks. Have a good one!
Chicago, part 2
We had a great week in Chicago! This will be a quick installment and then we will probably be off the radar for a bit. This coming week we will be in a small town: Napoleon, Ohio. We are on our way to Marietta to meet up with our two oldest kids, their families, and other various family members for an early Christmas celebration.
Where are We?
Thanks to those who submitted a guess for our latest destination (Martha and Emily). I had to laugh at your guesses, since it seems that you think we are smart and that we would go somewhere warm like New Orleans or Florida. NOPE!