Loaded and ready to go! We drove away on Sept 15th...
the day before our 45th Anniversary! We decided to
celebrate by driving cross country!
With Beka in NYC we needed to go - plus
half the car was filled with stuff from her LA apartment
that she could use.
We drove for 5 days to Joe's in S. Carolina.
We stopped and saw friend, Val in Nashville, and
friend, MaryPat, just 15 min from Joe's!
It was great to spend 3 nights and see Lisa, Emily,
Joey, Kelly and their darling girls: Lily and Harper!
Didn't get pics of Lisa, Kelly or Harper 😏
While in the Carolina's we met 6 Burnham nieces and nephews!
We hadn't seen any of them for 16 years...and some since they
were babies! What a very very special time!
It just happened to be on the 16th anniversary of Gramma
Burnham's death! We decided she arranged it all!
John, another Burnham nephew, wasn't able to be at the picnic,
so we had a great visit at his new home just minutes away!
So very special! Hopefully the start of being able to
see these great kids more often!!
We then took 2 days to drive to our hotel in Edgewater, NJ!
It was a very rainy trip...a tropical storm followed us the
whole way! We got to our hotel on a Sunday evening...
and just rested and looked out at the Hudson River and
Manhattan through the rain, as Beka was working!
We drove into NYC on Monday, Beka's day off!
We unloaded her things at her apartment, parked our car a
few blocks away, then got to see her place and hang out
all day with her and Root!! We walked to Central Park
and all around in the rain, and went out to eat in a lovely
Mediterranean restaurant! So fun seeing Beka and her
stomping grounds!
The next day we drove into the city, parked, hung out with
Beka & Root, then all got ready to head to the theater.
We rode on the subway (Dad wasn't too thrilled ;),
walked around Times Square, left Beka at the
Stage Door then got to our seats to see a fabulous
production of Wicked!!
We took the subway back to Beka's and went to her
rooftop deck and enjoyed seeing the stars and
the city lights! What a great 'escape' from the
busy city. We had to hug goodbye, as we were
leaving the next morning! Amazing to think we
drove to NYC to see our 'baby'!!
The day we left it was actually sunny ...
a great view from our hotel room.
We took 2 days to drive to Fremont so we could arrive early
enough to see my 89 yr old Aunt Janie and cousins Mike, Sherrie
Amy and some of their spouses! Cousin Mark and his
sweetheart Denise invited us to dinner on their porch...
Such a lovely time! We drove by the homestead on our way
to Cincinnati the next day!
Greeting everyone on Steve's front porch...
we were together for just a day, but what a great time!
Sure missed Joe but great that 5 of us, 4 spouses
and 4 nephews could hang out.
Amazing to be at Steve's ... he recently finished his
'Speak Easy' in his basement which was beyond belief!!
Lots of great food, drink, karaoke and fun!
There were only 4 girls there, so we had a sweet porch visit!
The next morning Tom cooked breakfast from his new
van! We stopped by just for hugs before heading on!
find Tim's grandparents home at Carter Lake,
where he spent many summers!
Here's a pic of the old house ... and the current home!
Changes but the same basic house and sidewalks
that Tim walked on with his grandma down to the lake.
The next day we drove to Kansas City, saw sights where Tim
grew up, then met brother Jack and Christine for dinner!
So special to re-connect to all our family!
We were now in the middle of the country - half way home!!
Our last stop was Tom's condo in Frisco, CO!
He wasn't there but it was great to see all the work
he's done! Next time we'll spend longer,
but we were so ready to be home!
What a Trip ... We were gone for 22 nights, drove 6072 miles,
saw 6 siblings, 5 in-laws, 13 nieces and nephews, 4 great
nieces and nephews, 4 cousins, 1 aunt, 2 friends,
and 1 daughter! Everything went so smoothly, we saw
so much of the country and so much family
... so thankful we did it!!
