It may take me a few days to share all the places we went in New York last week so I hope you will stick with me through all these posts and photos. If I play it right I should be able to drag this out for a while . . .

Anyway, the whole reason I wanted to go to this part of New York was to visit Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s home in Hyde Park. I’ve driven by it every year going back and forth to Rhinebeck and last year I read Jean Edward Smith’s lengthy biography on FDR and that made me even more determined to visit his home. As an added bonus, last week was National Park Service Week and admission was free. We still had to pay to visit his library and museum because that is run by the National Archives but still, free admission to the mansion was a very nice surprise.

The place did not disappoint. The grounds are beautiful. And the mansion is mansion-y.

Our tour guide, a local college student doing an internship, was entertaining and did a great job explaining things about FDR and ER and their time in Hyde Park. I knew a lot of it already (did I mention the biography I read was long?) but it was a nice refresher on all things FDR.

President Roosevelt and Mrs. Roosevelt are buried on the grounds and the tomb is surrounded by a beautiful garden. I imagine it’s truly spectacular in the summer when the roses are in bloom.

The library is the only presidential library actually used by a sitting president. His office is still intact, there are lots of photos, and there are relics of his life.

Like this Silver Buffalo from the Boy Scouts of America. I don’t know much about this award but Dale was impressed and asked me to take a picture of it for his dad.

And Eleanor Roosevelt’s knitting needles. I had to take a picture and show you, of course. The card says that she knit a lot during meetings. Smart woman, that ER.

Aside from the mansion and the library, the grounds are lovely. The view behind the house to the Hudson River is spectacular and it’s easy to see why FDR loved spending time here.

As you can see, Dale enjoyed our visit, too.

I think FDR was a great president in a very difficult time in our country’s history. Truly, the more I learn about him (and I learned a lot because [did I say this already?] that book was long) the more I admire him.

I have a secret about last week. All those posts about knitting and finished knits and stuff were written in advance because I was actually away on vacation. I didn’t want to leave you all in the lurch but I also didn’t want to worry about blogging while on vacation because sometimes, well, blogging feels a little too much like work. So I saved up some FOs and I pre-wrote that whole week.

Now that I’m home I can fill you in on our fun four days away.  We rented a beautiful converted barn in the Catskills, just outside of Woodstock, NY. I found the place on Trip Advisor and it did not disappoint us at all.

It was basically one large room with a bed in one corner and a living area in the opposite corner.

There was a spiral staircase to an upstairs loft that had another bed.

There were windows all around so it basically felt like being outside without actually being outside.

There was a hot tub.

And beautiful gardens.

And a whimsical sculpture that I just loved.

It was the perfect place to relax and recharge and hang out together. We played games and cards, we took advantage of the hot tub every night, we cooked and drank wine and just enjoyed being together.

It wasn’t all about hanging out at the house, though. Come back tomorrow and I’ll show you the sights!

My favorite time of day at the beach is late afternoon. The sun is low in the sky and all of the day-trippers have gone home. It’s the perfect time for a glass of wine, some cheese and crackers, and a late day swim.

I only got to spend one late afternoon at the beach last week and it was lovely. Just Dale and I with a margarita (or two) and a swim in the balmy waves. It was probably my favorite hour of the whole week.

There was an evening, though, where we rode our bikes to the beach. We had eaten a late lunch and decided to all take a ride together. The light was gorgeous and I was so glad I had tossed the camera into the basket of my bike.

I was able to get a good photo of everyone.

Hannah on her bike.

And Jess grinning.

Patrick with his long hair getting blown around.

And Hannah and Jess by the shore.

I even thought to have Hannah take a picture of Dale and I.

Family portraits at the beach are a very good thing.

I am back from my family vacation on Cape Cod. It was as wonderful as always. There was time to do all of my favorite things.

I spent lots of time at the beach.

I read – in fact I finished 2 books.

I knit a lot. I finished a pair of socks and made some progress on a shawl I am knitting for a friend to wear in her wedding next month.

I took lots of photos and created some great memories.

I shopped and ate delicious foods.

I rode my bike and walked on the beach.

I hung out with my family and friends.

The only thing that would have made it better would have been another week of it!

Yesterday’s adventures included a trip on the ferry from Plymouth to Provincetown. I couldn’t resist a picture of Dale’s beer – Cape Cod Red – and my mojito at lunch. You don’t get a better view than that!

Monday’s activities including a drive to Gloucester and Rockport. While in Rockport we met commenter extraordinaire, Mary K. She let us park at her house (a huge deal since parking spaces in Rockport are very hard to come by) and we had a great little visit with her. We also walked around and admired the shops and the scenery. The day ended with fried clams at Farnam’s.

I love being on vacation.

My 2 week vacation officially starts today. We’ll be home this week and then going to the Cape next week and we’re all very happy about resting and relaxing, visiting and sightseeing, hanging out and playing games.

I’ll still be blogging this week but it will be blogging of the lighter variety. A picture and a few words or something of that nature.

For today:

A picture of last Friday’s visit to Easton’s Beach in Newport. After a busy afternoon of walking around Newport, a visit to the beach was the perfect way to end the day.

Come to think of it, that’s the perfect way to end any day.

We had such a great visit with our kids last week! We managed to do plenty of visiting and relaxing but also did some fun vacation stuff like going to the beach and going to a Rox game. We ended the week with a cook out to celebrate Dale’s birthday and it was an awesome party, if I do say so myself.

We even fit in a family photo shoot.

I got shots of Dale with his kids.

Dale with his grandkids.

And even Dale and I with the kids and grandkids.

Like any vacation, it was over all too fast. Good thing we have long memories to go with those photos.

As you may have surmised from yesterday’s post, I spent the past few days in Florida. Dale and I made a quick trip down to visit his son Brant, daughter-in-law Heather and granddaughter, Ambrynn last weekend. Like any good vacation, we crammed a lot into a short amount of time.

We visited shopping areas like Fisherman’s Wharf in Punta Gorda. I found some cool Jimmy Buffett themed Tervis glasses but I didn’t buy them and opted to try and find them online instead. It was fun to walk around in summer clothes, sightseeing and shopping.

Of course we went to the beach. Ambrynn played in the sand while Heather and I chatted.

And Dale and Brant hunted for shark’s teeth. Dale and I found 11 between the two of us. Brant found 50. I think he spends too much time doing this!

We went to Sanibel and visited the Ding Darling Wildlife Refuge. We saw lots and lots of birds, including this Roseate Spoonbill. I saw some telephotos lenses that I truly envied and I wish I had thought to rent one before we went on this trip. Next time I will, that’s a certainty.

While on Sanibel we had lunch at the famous Bubble Room and then went to the beach and searched for shells. The tide wasn’t cooperating so we only found 1 unbroken shell but it was beautiful and warm and a good excuse to walk the beach. I studied a few of Brant’s books on Florida shells when we went back to the house and I’ve got some ideas on how to do this better next time, too.

Naturally, I took lots of photos. Photos of palm trees and sunsets. Photos of birds and fish.

And photos of my family. As beautiful as the photos of the flora and fauna, this one is my favorite. All of us together in the warm sunshine. I miss them already.