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.
Fringe Frenzy
Hello from Edinburgh! We had a couple of very steamy days in London, then hopped on a train bound for Scotland. We are here to immerse ourselves in the craziness that is the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and enjoy this magical city.
Seagulls and the West End
It’s been a lovely week in England. We finished up our road trip in the south and returned to London for a few days to rest and regroup.
Land Lubbers Again
Hello! It’s been a great week for us and we hope you are all doing well! We would really love to hear from you all – we miss you. So please feel free to us a message or write a comment and let us know what you’re up to! We finished up our cruise with a stop in Scotland and now we are road-tripping around the south of England.