Virginia

Here we are in beautiful Fairfax, VA visiting Miles' family staying with his sister Lorrie and her family. I haven't been here in about 9 years and I have forgotten how green and lush the vegetation is. I just love the green. There was a wonderful family get together courtesy of Aunt Janice and Uncle Herb which was a great way to see 35+ members of the clan.

A special highlight was an overnight on Bob Smith's (Miles' friend) yacht (yes, 48-foot YACHT) on the Chesapeake Bay. It was FANTASTIC. Daniel joined us, Bob and Patty, which made 5 plus Gail (the live-in cook and Jill-of-all-trades). I could really get used to having her around! The boat is docked at Edgewater, MD where Miles used to work at a water ski school and we went a ways out and anchored for the night. The shore is dotted with mega-homes. The next day we took the dinghy out and zoomed around the Bay. Miles and Daniel swam, while the rest of us just felt spoiled and relaxed on deck, reading and playing Bananagrams (thanks, Jude!) a new Scrabble-like game. Life is definitely good.

Back to Fairfax, more good visits with family and even squeezed in a nice hour and a half hike around Burke Lake--so very pretty and relaxing.

We also spent an afternoon at Great Falls National Park in Virginia with Miles' brother Gene. This is a beautiful park/gorge along the Potomac River that has white water rapids and falls and remnants of old canals and locks.
The rest of the day was spent at the Appleton pool (Miles' sister's place). You can see by the photos that there are Olympic champs in the making in the Belly Flop and Cannon Ball categories.