From Rumson, New Jersey to Shippensburg, Pennsylvania, another memorable family visit – June 3 – 8
FRANK AND SHAWN’S
Shawn and Frank’s place is the perfect beginning to a week with family. We sit on the deck and get caught up, then move inside for dinner. This year they surprised Camille with birthday candles on a key lime cheesecake.
LASH BAR AND THE BEACH
Brother Joseph needed an extra pair of slacks so the three of us found ourselves in an outlet mall. After small deliberation, we decided not to drop in at the Eyebrow and Lash Bar. It was Camille’s birthday, so she chose the next stop: Avon-by-the-Sea, located at the corner of Nostalgia and Memory Lane.
SCENES FROM A PERFECT DAY
The boardwalk beckoned, the Shark River sparkled, and the drawbridge between Avon and Belmar remained closed as one after another fishing boats returned from the sea. Camille had hoped to witness the magic of a bridge opening, but no such luck.
BEST BIRTHDAY PRESENT EVER!
We were a tenth of a mile down the boardwalk when we saw a boat that we hoped would be large enough to trigger the bridge, so we ran back, laughing and breathless. The bells began clanging, traffic stopped, and Joseph and Camille went underneath to watch this engineering wonder grind through its process, displacing doves and swallows. Camille had not been beneath this bridge since she was nine years old and Joseph, who was a toddler at the time, had never sat underneath to watch the heavy counterweight lower and rise.
ENJOYING THE LAKE HOUSE
The day kept on getting better as Bob drove us to Jim and Kathryn’s lake house in Medford Lakes. Naturally, we went for another walk before settling into the comfy chairs with the spectacular lake view. And then, we went to dinner for Italian food!
SOME WORK HAPPENS
Jim recruited Joseph to canoe over to a tree in need of pruning.
ANOTHER SPARKLE DAY
All Bob and Camille had to do was sit on shore and enjoy. It was another brilliant day, water shining, and every leaf crisp and clear.
WEST TO SHIPPENSBURG
Bob’s travel timing is always spot-on. Once again we found ourselves swimming upstream, unobstructed. Jim brought his bicycle for tooling around town and Joseph had no compunction about riding it down the hotel hall.
DISC GOLF
Brother Michael took Camille onto a golf course where he says he has seen the Amish play. Good exercise and Camille even threw a few of Michael’s discs.
THE FAMILY HOUSE
Camille’s family moved to this house at 210 Orange Street the summer before she entered her junior year of high school. Her bedroom, which she did not have to share, was located in the back of the house and had its own set of stairs.
JULIA’S HOUSE
Our neighbor, Julia, lived on the corner in a fine, turreted home. Camille lived there her senior year in another room with its own set of stairs.
LURGAN’S GREENHOUSE
Camille jumped at the chance to join John and Darla at Lurgan’s, a must-see, run by Mennonites, and extraordinary in every way.
SUCCESS
Darla found the string of pearls she was looking for, and John rescued a swallowtail butterfly from a spider’s web and set it free on the impatiens.
FRIDAY NIGHT DINNER
Dinner at the hotel grill with the siblings and their spouses is another tradition to feed body and soul. Deb and Bob stayed at the hotel for the first time this year. Jim and John get caught up.
And Camille and Darla got a little hand-holding time.
REUNION
We hold the reunion at a park on a Saturday and for the second year in a row, Michael and Brandon set up their equipment so that Mom, the matriarch, could sing to three generations. Cousin Brian drove up from Maryland. More photos and story on this page: Reunion 2019