Lilac Sunday

Sunday May 11 was Lilac Sunday at the Arnold Arboretum, close to where we live.

New Orleans

Relaxed and listened to a ton of great music the second weekend of the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Music Festival. We're going to try to go back, but our friends are getting married that week next year; so we're trying to convince them to go there for their honeymoon if the dates work out. Met some really nice people there from Metairie, LA, an area hard hit by the flooding from Katrina.

After Jazz Fest ended, I attended the Continuity Insights Management Conference. It was the first Business Continuity conference I've attended, and I'm glad to have gone. Learned a lot of great stuff and met some really nice people (seems to be a theme here).

Here's a few pics; to see any of them in a larger format just click on the picture window to go to the photo album.

NYC

Drove down to Manhattan for a long weekend April 18-20. Got a good price on a room at the Hilton next to Ground Zero. Realized why the price was low as we listened to the construction that went on through the night 47 stories below us. Oh well, probably no more noisy than anyplace else there. Got a good night's sleep Saturday, I think they stopped construction to set up the grounds for the Pope's visit Sunday morning. It was pretty cool to see him from our room, and watch the activities on the TV at the same time. Forgot to take my camera, but we've been to NYC a few times now so no big deal. here's a picture of some skinny people who look like us from 1999.

New Years Eve

We stayed at the Sandals resort in Ocho Rios, Jamaica for New Years Eve. It was a blast to dance in the main pool and even nicer to relax in our private pool. Here's a slide show of our pictures, to see any of them in a larger format just click on the picture window to go to the photo album.

Another piece of our vacations is the ride to and from the airport. For not a whole lot more than it costs to park at the airport, we go from our front door to and from the airport curb by riding with Boston Private Car. It's a great service, locally owned and operated by two brothers. We usually get picked up by Wayne (one of the brothers); to begin and end a trip by being greeted by such a friendly person really makes a vacation feel special.

Sandals Resort, Whitehouse Jamaica (revisited)

Back to Sandals resort in Whitehouse, Jamaica. In very subtle ways the food, amenities and service were just a little better than when we were there in April. We also knew our way around the large resort this time. Here's a slide show of our pictures, to see any of them in a larger format just click on the picture window to go to the photo album.


We met some really nice fellow travelers at the resort. Hali and Jim had their professional-grade cameras and lenses with them, here is a link to their pictures. We've been to many of the same places, but they rock climb, sail and scuba, while we have drinks on the rocks and read our books.

dog-sitting

Anthony dog-sat his boss' dogs for a few days. They're both rescued puppies and are about 5 months old. It's funny to watch them wrestle, the Pomeranian is slightly dominant over the St. Bernard but they get along great. They're well behaved and quiet, but I don't think we're ready to have dog toys and dog slobber all over the place, so a few days was just the right amount of time to have them here.

June Vacation Travels

1700 miles driving, 1300 miles on a cruise ship. It was a very busy month of touring along the Eastern Seaboard. We started planning this trip in February, made lodging arrangements in April and May, and hit the road June 3rd. Drove for 16 days, spent a few days at home, then got on a one week cruise from Boston to Nova Scotia. Here's a summary of where we went....

Atlantic city, NJ (The Borgata, casinos and boardwalk)

Washington, D.C. (Air and Space Annex @ Dulles, American Indian Museum, Potomac River dinner cruise, Old Alexandria).

Charlottesville, VA (Thomas Jefferson's Monticello, wineries)

Baltimore, MD (waterfront area)

Philadelphia, PA (Independence Hall, Liberty Bell, Constitution museum, Federal Reserve, FEMA open house)

New York City, NY (Wall Street area)

Cutchogue, NY (North Fork of Long Island)

Boston, MA (Home, then onto the msMaasdam for a cruise)

Newport, RI

Portland, ME

Saint John, New Brunswick Canada

Halifax, Nova Scotia Canada

Bar Harbor, ME

Here's a link to the web photo album, or you can just watch the sideshow below. I haven't gotten around to putting captions on all the pictures yet, sorry about that.

2007 June drive

2007 June Cruise

coworker's baby shower

Couple of pictures from a baby shower that Debbie hosted for a coworker. The second picture was a mistake, but it came out pretty cool looking.