The Best of Times is Now

 

 

 

 

Sunday morning and the bride and groom look relaxed and happy as we all enjoy brunch together at the hotel. Sharon and Jonathan join cousin Brian, Larry, Jon and his friend Meghan for food and conversation. I am smiling with another Judy who is a good friend of my sister and me too. Carol and I sat on the beach all day and the sun and water were great. Soon it was time to eat dinner and we joined Jeff, Marlene and Bob at a waterfront place with good food and great scenery. Just look at that plate of onion rings. A beautiful weekend and many happy memories.

Tomorrow we head south to begin the trip home. It has been a long time away and we are looking forward to seeing our friends and resuming our activities.

In Other Words

 

 

 

 

 

Our family has a tradition of taking a family photo at every event. We also take a picture of "the others" which are those who have chosen to marry into our family. It has become a fun time for each gathering accompanied by a chant of Others, Others. So we welcome Jonathan into our family in the top photo with Bob, Debbie, Laura, Jeff and Rich. Next photo is Brian with cousins Sharon and Larry. Jayne and Deb on the dance floor where the cousins did the stroll and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. What would a wedding be without a hora and lifting the bride and groom on chairs? Jeff and I are pooped after dancing the night away and Brian and Jeff ready to call it a night. 

Celebration

 

 

 

 

 

 

The party begins as the bride and groom enter the ballroom. Sharon was a beautiful bride and her dress was gorgeous. A great family gathering with cousins Meryl and Jayne, Marlene and Bob, Meryl and Rich. Cousin gals Carol, Marlene, me, Jayne, Sharon, Debbie and Meryl.

Here Comes the Bride...

 

 

 

 

 

It's time for the ceremony and we take our seats as the bridal party enters. First is Jonathan with the JP who will conduct the ceremony. Brother Larry and wife Laura are next. Jon Liff escorts Jonathan's sister Sara. We all stand as Sharon and Carol walk down the aisle. Sharon and Jonathan exchange vows and rings as the sun begins to set. All finished as they appear to run back down the aisle. It was a beautiful and meaningful ceremony and now it is time to start the celebration.

Pachabel's Canon

 

 

 

All dressed up and ready for the wedding. The day was perfect and we assembled for the ceremony. Top photo is Sharon and Jonathan on a balcony checking out the guests. I thought they looked like Romeo and Juliet. Four first cousins, Jayne, me, Marlene and mother of the bride, Carol. Carol with her two sons, Larry (left) and Jon. Bottom photo is me flanked by Brian and Jeff.

By the Beautiful Sea

 

Cousins congregated on the beach to visit and soak up some sun. We are all in Falmouth for the wedding of my niece Sharon Liff and Jonathan Charwick. The hotel is located on Buzzard's Bay and the day was picture perfect with blue sky and puffy white clouds. We talked, swam and enjoyed spending some time together since we all live in different parts of the country. Top photo (l-r) Judy, Jayne, Marlene, Debbie and Meryl. Bottom photo we add Bob and Rich.

A Bicycle Built for Two

 

 

Brian and I took a bicycle ride in from Falmouth to Woods Hole. We rode 7.5 miles along a pretty bike path that passes wooded areas, marshes, beaches and parking lots. Jeff dropped us off at our starting point and picked us up when we finished. We stopped for a nice lunch in Woods Hole. Along the way we saw lots of wild tomatoes growing in the sandy soil.

Getting Ready Rag

 

We drove to Providence today to pick up Brian who came in by train. First photo is the state capitol and then we are eating again. This time enjoying lunch at the Cheesecake Factory near the Amtrak Station. Got my hair done and yesterday and Jeff and I both had manicures and pedicures. We are now ready to party this weekend as we celebrate Sharon and Jon's wedding.

A Whaling We Will Go

 

 

 

 

 

 

Unlike the title song characters (Carousel) we were only watching the whales and what a show they put on for us. First we saw several small Minke whales and later a few Humpbacks. We were cruising in the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary and had a lucky day. Also saw many gulls, terns and shearwaters flying, fishing and floating. Two adult Humpbacks swam near our boat and would "fluke" as they prepared to dive deep only to reappear a few minutes later. We saw several different adults with unique tail markings. Some of them were know to our captain and even have names as they summer here every year.

Later we came upon a mother and calf who delighted us doing acrobatics and displaying a lot of energy. The calf is seven or eight months old and kept rolling over and over and it looked like she/he was waving to us. He would then would dive down and  breech where he would jump completely out of the water. This happened three times and very near the boat.

It was very exciting and we were happy to return to land after three hours at sea. We retreived our car and drove home stopping to eat along the way. A wonderful day.