Cape Cod Vacation June 2012 Paul, Sally, Heather

This is my favorite ice cream and hamburger shop in New England.

In front of my childhood home in Westfield, MA.

Charlie and Kathy Smith (brother/sister) live in my childhood home. My mother sold the house to a "Dr. Smith", and Kathy's family bought the house from Dr. Smith in 1962 and have lived there since. Kathy and I talked non-stop about mutual knowledge of neighbors, community, and details about the house.

My elementary school. 100 yrs old now, and has 200 kids who all walk to school

The Carollon at Stanley Park, Westfield MA. I remember the slate walkway and holding the train of the newly crowned "Stanley Park Princess" as a very young boy

Big Copper Beach tree, which was the focal point of my outdoor play. I had a favorite branch about six feet up the tree, which was my favorite place to sit.

We met up with my niece Pamela in Easthampton for coffee. As we sat outside, a random woman walked up and asked her to watch her dog while she ran inside. He's a bull Mastiff, named "Baby Bull". He's only 10 months old and will gain another 100+ lbs before he's full grown.

Massachussetts is home of Dunkin' Donuts. Yes we had some.

Highland Lighthouse, Eastham Mass

Heather and I exploring Ellis Landing

Locals say this is the oldest general store in the US. Brewster, MA

Chatham Light and Coast Guard Station

Heather gathered seashells

Nauset Light, logo for Cape Cod potato chips

I took this picture because it's classic old Cape Cod architecture.

Heather in a fresh water stream on the beach

View of Sandy Neck, Barnstable, Cape Cod

Heather and I at the Cape

Old Sea Pines Inn, Brewster MA. It used to be a school for girls and is now a B&B. Built in 1850

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Spring in a bottle

Sal and I both like tulips, so while winter still has a loose grip on Minnesota, we're enjoying some "bottled freshness". I remember planting tulip bulbs with my Mom when I was a kid growing up in Massachsetts I can still recall the frangrance of the bone meal that we always poured into the hole before pressing the bulb gently into place. I think they might be my favorite flower.

Welcome to the Wisconsin North Woods

Nana and I love going with very long-time friends Steve and Pam to their wonderful old Eagle River, Wisconsin cabin, about 250 miles from our MN home. The four of us generally drive up in one car. My assignment is to bring car snacks for everybody. Fall is great for apples and cheese, and some baked goodie, like cookie or brownie, plus nut-or-snack mix. The in-car visiting is non-stop. We decide when, where, or whether to do Friday night supper. Painted glass piece hanging in the cabin window overlooking loon-populated Bass Lake (Eagle River, WI) The fire, essential to a great northwoods cabin experience most months of the year. The boat and the dock at bottom of the cabin hill. The water level low due to the unusually dry summer in these parts. The driveway up to the main road. Bass Lake

The Gentle Smith Matriarch

We met in 1966 when she was 18 and I was 22. We began dating soon afterward, and as I recall never disagreed on much. Our childhood homes were 3000 miles apart and we loved Minnesota and each other, so we got engaged in July 67, married in December and moved into a house with a teenage foster daughter. This was followed by , Daughter 1 the following September, Daughter 2 three years later, Daughter 3, a year and a half later, ..and eventually Son, 3 years later. There were also about 15 different short-term teen-foster boys in those years. The gentle matriarch has worked her whole life, hard. I went to college nights for a few years, she worked outside the home part-time while the kids were growing. She spent frugally, loved lavishly, and has always cared first and foremost about her family. She is a gentle giant who has brought love, fun, discipline, imagination, good food, and artistic, creative homemaking to our big family....and as I write this she's preparing for Easter Dinner...

PTCPapa

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