Santa came and brought lots of reasons for excitement in the McPherran household…
Category Archives: Friends
12-hours in the Big Apple
A quick hop into the Big Apple for a well executed tour (by our friend, Sue) of some highlights – the American Indian museum, housed in the former Customs House, a walk along Wall Street, lunch at an Indian restaurant in lower east side, exhibits at the New York Public Library, Bryant Park and a virtual reality experience at a Facebook demo lounge, and the cream on top – the Broadway show “Jersey Boys”! What a day!
Lady Justice and the Manhattan skyline from Guttenberg, NJ.
Fancy subway cars!
Grand Central & Lower Manhattan
The magnificent public library (research)
On the streets…
Shop windows, Christmas lights and experiencing VR!
Jersey Boys and total number of steps walked!! = 9.5 miles!!!
A little culture
We started the day with an 11 a.m. Christmas Chamber Music concert at the Staatstheater, but actually held in the elegant foyer.
The afternoon we were in the Rheingau and Eltville for a walk through town and along the Rhein.
And ended the day and vacation at Gutschaenke Langehof in Rauenthal.
Around Wiesbaden and Out on the Town
More wandering the streets of Wiesbaden with our friend, Sue, who flew in for the weekend!
A ride up to Neroberg to see the Russian Chapel.
Relaxing few hours spent at the Thermal Bad
An evening out on the town to see the shop windows, lights of the Weihnachtsmarkt, and a few songs at der Eimer!!
Maine summer = enjoying visitors
Henk and Agnita’s visit wouldn’t be complete without blueberry pancakes and a trip to 3Tides!
A flying visit to Toronto
Only spent Wednesday evening until early Saturday morning, but we packed in quite a bit. The botanical gardens, IKEA (naturally!), a walk on the boardwalk at the Beaches, Queen Street, and Roncesvalles. It was all great!
Bryant Stove & Music Museum
These photos do not do justice to the scope of the collection and the cacophony of tooting horns, carnival music and much more that meet you at Bryant’s Stove and Music Museum in Thorndike. The stacks of piano rolls are nothing compared to the implements varying from tiny hand crank models to elaborate calliopes. We were lucky enough to have the master mind and mechanical genius, Joe Bryant, give us a tour and share his stories of this unique collection.
A few days on the west coast (FL)
East coast or west coast? I am fascinated by trying to determine how people figure out which they prefer. Both have pros and cons, of course.
So we drove from Fort Pierce to Port Charlotte by way of Rte 70 via Okeechobe and Arcadia. It is absolutely unnecessary to turn the steering wheel a degree, and one could possibly believe that you’d been transported to Texas or Oklahoma! It has a very strong western feel with lots of cattle and horses grazing in pastures, and cowboy hats, jeans and boots are the common attire.
I immediately fell in love with our Airbnb rented loft in Port Charlotte where we stayed for three nights.
We made a little trip up to Osprey to meet up with friends for lunch at Casey Key Fish House which was lovely – sitting outside on the deck at the water’s edge.
Viewing the sunset at Port Charlotte Beach Park.
A long walk on Punta Gorda’s Harbor Walk.
A couple of hours at the beach on the Gulf.
Another great evening at Young’s Lobster Pound
Why don’t we come here more often???
Cape Anne, MA with our Dutchies!
We always have a wonderful time with Agnita, Henk, Lucca, and Julia and this was an unexpected visit which made it even more special. 36 hours exploring Rockport and Cape Anne.
Early Autumn in Nova Scotia
A road trip to Nova Scotia was made even more enjoyable by a stop in Shediac and spending the evening with Odette and Jerry, whom we met on our Panama Canal/South America cruise in 2008.
A stop for lunch at Le Caveau restaurant in Grand Pre.
Our destination – Bridgetown, NS – with good friends, Jean and John plus the added bonus of Irene and Arvid joining us from Toronto. We’re having a good catch-up and some good laughs along with celebration of Jean’s birthday on 28th.
Sightseeing on the Fundy Shore with quick visit to J&J’s cabin.
A drive to Luckett’s winery for lunch (near Wolfville).
To Annapolis Royal for the Saturday market, then off to shop for lobster. The one Jean is holding is the largest I’ve ever seen – a 14lber!
Back to the cabin to cook and eat the lobster! the most perfect evening possible.
Maine’s Common Ground Fair
Unlike some of my friends, I only go to the Common Ground Fair every three years or so .. not because I don’t like it, but because I have become shy of crowds, queues, traffic, etc. – especially in Maine. Anyway, it was good to spend some time there today, despite the cooler than forecast temps. My favorite demo is with the sheep dogs, and the apple tasting wasn’t half bad either!
My beautiful and diverse homeland (7)
Southward bound with a stop in Leicester to visit Lesley. Enjoyed a nice walk around Foxton Canal and enjoyed watching the long boats go through the series of locks.
And then another most delicious Indian dinner.
Onward to Dorset via the Fosse way.
