and I'm going to Carolina in my mind.....

We are leaving the campground, after spending 12 days here in VA Beach with the kids/grand kids. I have no real excuse for not blogging....we have been busy and tried to spend as much time as we could with the kids.....working around their busy schedules.


Mike is working 2 jobs now so Rob can work part time and have some extra study time. Her nursing curriculum is extremely difficult and very time consuming. We did manage however to thoroughly enjoy our visit with them.


Everyone with the exception of Sarah had the first weekend off so we cooked here at the campsite and of course was joined by Dave!!



Salt and Mike took off for the big airshow held at Oceania. They spent most of the day there on Saturday while I chilled out here at the resort with Rob.....who spent most of the day in her books! We are so proud of the discipline she is displaying in order to get her nursing license.

Lots of stunts by the famous "Blue Angels"....with no mishaps this year.

Rob hard at work with her Anatomy and Physiology studies!!

Robin and I escaped for a huge grocery shop....trying to pick up things that would be easy for everyone to fix around their crazy schedules. Grandma Kitty spent some serious time doing math homework with Rachael....never my favorite subject but she is still young enough where I can still do it with ease!

Last weekend Salt and I ventured down to the beach and the annual "Neptune Festival". We were able to take in the parade, take in the many vendors and see some of the sand sculptures!

Later we took everyone to the "Outback" for dinner and then went back to Mike and Rob's house for a movie.

Part of the parade.....

We were wishing Emma was with us to watch the unicyclist jump rope....jumping rope seems to be her new forte. However, she started Karate last week and thinks this is going to be her "favorite" thing!! Are you all picturing Emma in Karate???????

There were some magnificent sand sculptures. This one was created by a gentleman who has entered the contest for the last 20 years. Unfortunately the weather was so nasty prior to the festival,many of the sculptures were ruined.

This picture is for you Janna....there must have been 20 volleyball games going on at the beach on Saturday. You would have loved it.....lots of young good looking boys with a lot of skill!!

We received our nephew Ben's senior picture the other day. Isn't he handsome...boy is he a Karpel....I can see both Todd and Uncle Tom in that handsome face!!

Let's get down to the main attraction with a little less talk and a lot more action......

I guess it's time to take a break and catch up on some blogging. I gave up my Verizon wireless card, as I now have high speed on the island and free Internet at the resort in Florida. Consequently, until settling here in VA Beach for 2 weeks, Internet hasn't been that available. That and the fact we have been extremely busy!

We set up the motor home at Grasse Point for a week while I prepared for travel and Salt closed up the Island Home.

Our first stop was in Plattsburgh, NY were we stayed at Cumberland Head State Park.....it's a great park right on Lake Champlain and was only about 15 minutes from where Liz's wedding was to be held.

The first afternoon we were there the winds were unbelievably strong which evidently is the wind surfers and para sailing surfers answered prayers! We were entertained most of the afternoon watching these guys do amazing tricks!!

Saturday we attended Liz Bacci's wedding. It was a beautiful wedding and the first time I had seen Liz or Judy in about 8 years. What fun catching up!!

This was the setting, overlooking the lake.

Dad escorting the bride down the isle.......

Mr. and Mrs. Michael and Liz Carpenter

Liz and Mike with Liz's parents, Enea and Judy......

Sunday morning we attended a breakfast held at Valcor (a part of Plattsburg University) where the wedding had been held the previous day. We had a much better opportunity to sit down and catch up with Liz and Judy's lives.

After leaving Plattsburg, we put the motor home on the ferry and headed to Burlington, VT where we visited with my friend Stella Chastenay. Stella and her husband Ed had been very close friends with Bill and myself when we lived in Vermont. Ed was a trap shooter and took us home to dinner one night and we have been fast friends from that day forward.

After we boarded the ferry, I looked up and there was Judy's brother Bud......he was returning to Boston and decided to make a stop in VT for some famous lasagna. As you can see from the spray in the background and the flutter of Bud's pant legs....it was another very windy afternoon. I think we were getting some aftermath of "Ike".


Our first stop in VT was at my favorite market in the islands....we stocked up on maple syrup for the winter!

We stayed one night with Stella, took her to dinner at the Windjammer, which serves some of the best Prime Rib in the area.

We then headed for Princeton, NJ and a visit with our friends Peter and Frances Rossmassler.

They have a magnificent home (farm) in Princeton, but will be selling it and heading for a retirement home in PA this March.

This is their home and we were able to park the motor home right in the field in front of the house.

I love the old wind mill which has been preserved.

After leaving NJ we headed to Virginia Beach and a 2 week stay with Mike and his family.

We are parked in a RV resort about 2 miles from the kids home but they decided they wanted to bring their new tent (with 2 closets) and spend the weekend here at the park with us. The kids like the pool and the campfires and Rob, Mike and Dave just like getting away for a change of scenery. Robin will be studying a big part of the weekend but we are going to take a little time for a shopping trip while the boys attend the big airshow.

Here Pop and Rachael try and figure out the new tent.....

TA DA.....completed! Now we just have to wait for Rob and Mike to get out of work!!!