Early Friday morning (5:30 - yes, that's early) I boarded a plane and took off for 9 fun-filled days in Rhode Island, visiting Hans, Rachel, Josiah and Annika. The flight routed me through Philadelphia, with 10 minutes to get from my arriving gate to my departure gate. Thankfully these gates were in the same concourse, so I hurried from B13 to B6, making it just in time. I was the last one to board, found my seat, and the door was closed. Whew!
Landing in Boston gives an amazing experience of flying low on the Atlantic coastline, viewing interesting islands with vacated, or seeminly so, once populated areas. When it feels like we may skim the water, we touch down on the runway which commences right at the coast. Hans was already waiting for me, so that was a highlight. We made our way to baggage claim, to wait for my bag. All the bags came out, but mine and that of another passenger who boarded in Minneapolis. Ours never showed up, so we both made a claim at the office. Guess when mine was finally delivered to the De For household? Saturday - 5 :15 pm. Oh, well. At least I got it.
Josiah and Annika are such great grand children. Annika has changed the most since I last saw them in late December. She walks all over and loves to sing. Her hair has little soft curls. She has three new front top teeth. Josiah is very bright, still loves Thomas and Friends. He and I have played trains, read stories, watched some of his favorite programs. (photos to follow)
Yesterday Rachel, Josiah and I toured the Blithewold Home/museum in Bristol, just about 20 miles from here in Newport. It is a beautiful home and acreage (about 70 acres) that a Dutch family, the Blithewolds, bought when they immigrated from The Netherlands in the late 1800's. It is on the coastline so has a gorgeous view. Talk about wonderful! I loved all of the Dutch influence. The huge dining room had a plate rail around the perimeter of the room (about 40' x 20') and on it were the most wonderful Delft plates and platters I have ever seen. I wanted so much to take pictures, but the tour guide had said none were allowed. It was a self-guided tour. That didn't keep me from sneaking a few pictures (without my flash) in some of the other rooms. I know, I should have followed the rules, but it was just so lovely. They had a greenhouse with a couple of lemon trees and had huge lemons hanging from them. After touring the buildings, we wandered around the grounds. The reason we were there was to see the daffodil show, but with the cooler temps here, they were just beginning to open. I imagine by next week they should be just gorgeous!
Today Hans and I are going to Trinity Episcopal Church in Newport. It dates back to the late 1600's and has the oldest organ in the US. In December around Christmas, Rachel sang in a community choir there. The whole service was done in candlelight. The interior has the family-owned boxed pews. I guess one box was used by George Washington. I'm very anxious to go there. I'll probably be able to add to this entry later.
Landing in Boston gives an amazing experience of flying low on the Atlantic coastline, viewing interesting islands with vacated, or seeminly so, once populated areas. When it feels like we may skim the water, we touch down on the runway which commences right at the coast. Hans was already waiting for me, so that was a highlight. We made our way to baggage claim, to wait for my bag. All the bags came out, but mine and that of another passenger who boarded in Minneapolis. Ours never showed up, so we both made a claim at the office. Guess when mine was finally delivered to the De For household? Saturday - 5 :15 pm. Oh, well. At least I got it.
Josiah and Annika are such great grand children. Annika has changed the most since I last saw them in late December. She walks all over and loves to sing. Her hair has little soft curls. She has three new front top teeth. Josiah is very bright, still loves Thomas and Friends. He and I have played trains, read stories, watched some of his favorite programs. (photos to follow)
Yesterday Rachel, Josiah and I toured the Blithewold Home/museum in Bristol, just about 20 miles from here in Newport. It is a beautiful home and acreage (about 70 acres) that a Dutch family, the Blithewolds, bought when they immigrated from The Netherlands in the late 1800's. It is on the coastline so has a gorgeous view. Talk about wonderful! I loved all of the Dutch influence. The huge dining room had a plate rail around the perimeter of the room (about 40' x 20') and on it were the most wonderful Delft plates and platters I have ever seen. I wanted so much to take pictures, but the tour guide had said none were allowed. It was a self-guided tour. That didn't keep me from sneaking a few pictures (without my flash) in some of the other rooms. I know, I should have followed the rules, but it was just so lovely. They had a greenhouse with a couple of lemon trees and had huge lemons hanging from them. After touring the buildings, we wandered around the grounds. The reason we were there was to see the daffodil show, but with the cooler temps here, they were just beginning to open. I imagine by next week they should be just gorgeous!
Today Hans and I are going to Trinity Episcopal Church in Newport. It dates back to the late 1600's and has the oldest organ in the US. In December around Christmas, Rachel sang in a community choir there. The whole service was done in candlelight. The interior has the family-owned boxed pews. I guess one box was used by George Washington. I'm very anxious to go there. I'll probably be able to add to this entry later.
1 comment:
The Van Wickles established Blithewold, just FYI. I knew you would love it just as soon as I walked into the dining room and saw all the enormous Delft platters!
Post a Comment