July 11 to August 1, 2008

Cristián and Antonia's visit to the USA

We invited our "son," Cristián, and his girlfriend, Antonia, to vacation with us in the USA. We visited a dozen states from Florida to New Hampshire and saw Disney World, Washington DC, New York City and Boston, plus many friends and relatives along the way.

Though they arrived late and tired from Europe on a Friday evening (Cristián from Seville, Spain, and Antonia from the Hague in Holland), we all got up early Saturday morning to participate in the 8:00 a.m. Tai Chi class on the beach. Our excellent instructor, Larry, from the local YMCA, guided us well. Then we hit the waves!

		Afterwards, it was time to relax at the dock, read a book, or begin practicing their instruments in our new sun room.

Cristián and Antonia visited our neighbor, Marie, who is also a professional musician. She teaches violin, and plays locally. Marie showed Cristián some of her music, and then Cristián and Antonia played for us.

Next stop: Orlando! We drove to Orlando, about 3 hours south of Fernandina Beach, and stayed overnight so we could have a full day at the Magic Kingdom after going to Downtown Disney the first day.

The Lego store at Downtown Disney with its many Lego creations was a delightful and memorable place. We were all fascinated with the many Lego displays, such as a wall of tiny Lego people, a dragon, and a family of tourists with dogs made of Legos.

The next day we spent a wonderful and full day at the Magic Kingdom.

From Florida our first stop heading north was at Curt and Susan's house in North Carolina. They were our neighbors when we lived in Wilmington NC, near Wrightsville Beach. Susan, as always, fed us well!

We even got to see an old friend, Andy Wood, who worked with Artie on local environmental issues in the late 1980's (note the 1990 Earth Day shirt that Artie wore for the occasion). Andy now has a weekly guest spot on NPR radio, and he works for the NC Audubon Society as North Carolina's Educational Director.
One more walk down memory lane was a visit to the house we used to live in on Bradley Creek.

We enjoyed several days with Dennis and Cari. One day we did lots of sightseeing in Washington DC. Just like scouts we were prepared! We took along a cooler with drinks and snacks, maps and of course, enough cameras for everyone with an extra one for good measure!

Martians? No, just the bunch of us getting ready to see a 3-D movie at IMax theater in the Smithsonian.

We pounded the streets, seeing all the famous landmarks, statues and parks from morning till night.

At the Washington Monument, Antonia went head over heels (or was it heels over head?)!

From the Lincoln Memorial to the Smithsonian Museum, every sight was spectacular. We were proud to show off our Capital City.

Back at Den and Cari's house in Maryland, the "cook off" included a breakfast of Swedish Pancakes, a specialty of Den's, while dinner one evening was a Chilean tradition: a cazuela, cooked by Antonia and Cristián.

Kristin and her Dad, John, stopped over to visit while we were "in the neighborhood." John lives within 20 minutes from Den and Cari, and by luck Kristin was visiting from Boulder Colorado. We were happy to see them!

		Next stop north was Toms River NJ at Ray and Shelley's house.

Ray and Shelley took special care of Cristián and Antonia, first with a trip to the New Jersey shore and then a fun kayak adventure in Toms River.

By coincidence, Laura (Margy's sister Bibba's daughter) was at Seaside Heights NJ, at the same time we were there. So we fit in a very short visit on the boardwalk.

Next stop: The Big Apple New York City!
We arranged to stay over one night in Manhattan, so we could fully take in all the sights and sounds of New York, during daytime and night. This shot, near Times Square, was but one of the surprises to behold.

		Ray was our expert guide. We had lunch at the famous Carnegie Deli, where sandwiches are piled too high, as shown above.

Joined by Alan, Ronnie, John and Lori, the 9 of us feasted on a typical New York Deli lunch. Stuffed!

Alan then led us to China Town, where we browsed the streets and shops along the way. Afterwards, Cristián and Antonia went around downtown on their own, exploring the neon lit venues till nearly midnight. Does it look like they are having fun yet? You bet!

In addition to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC would not be complete without a visit to Grand Central Station. Cristián and Antonia saw the secret echo chamber and whispered to each other.

Next State: Connecticut, with a brief stop at the house of Lenny, Jenna and Ali. They admired the instruments and enjoyed a special at-home concert. From there we drove up to New Hampshire to enjoy our final days together.

At our New Hampshire condo, much of the time was spent simply relaxing, after over two weeks of traveling the East Coast of the USA, sightseeing and doing so much. Here Cristián and Antonia enjoyed a simple routine of practicing their instruments, and for Antonia handcrafting her oboe reeds. Margy used the time to catch up on her emails and stocks. We each found our space, to do as we pleased.

When the musicians felt ready, another concert was performed. This time for Elaine and Larry.

		We also did a day-trip into Boston, where Sherry drove us around the city. Then we ended up at their downtown apartment to see her husband Stewart and their daughter Ali. We enjoyed our first experience with Wii, feeling like champions or beginners in bowling, golf, baseball, boxing and tennis. What fun!

We visited Alan and his two sons, Noah and Aaron, at their apartment, and went out to dinner. A quick visit but also fun.		Another day we visited nephew Danny's house to see Roberta, and their kids, Maddie and Max, plus Indy, their "cross dressing" dog.

The final days ended quickly at our condo. What a great vacation for all of us! Lots of love and great memories.
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