The Barkers and Jackson Hole

Today we woke up after a great night sleep and Karen’s house and started to hike up a pretty big mountain which we decided to stop about half-way up and turn around. After lunch we went to the barkers where we played Xbox and swam in the Jacuzzi. We then went to the Rendevous café and I ordered a great burger and almost ate all of it. We then came back home ate some ice cream, watched some TV and fell asleep

Jackson Hole, Wyoming

Wednesday, August 19th We got up early in Buffalo, Wyoming, where we stayed at the Seven Gables Inn. We hit the road by 8 am, headed for Jackson Hole. Our original destination was the battlefield at Little Bighorn, in southern Montana, but we decided to pass on George Custer’s last battle. Instead, with everyone getting fatigued, we headed west for Jackson Hole, where Eileen’s high school friend, Karen Kerr Romaine, lives. We arrived into the Teton valley at about 5 pm, saw a grizzly from the main road, passed probably the prettiest mountain view in America, and then showed up at Karen’s house in town. That night, Karen invited us to join her and several friends for a “going away” cookout for Karen, who is in the process of moving to Dallas. The boys played with all the dogs and later cooked Smores over the fire. A beautiful, warm, windless night in Jackson.

Mt. Rushmore

Tuesday, August 18th , we left Deadwood and headed south to Mt. Rushmore, where the crowds were big and the heat was intense. The boys said that the Presidents looked smaller in person than in photographs…but it was still pretty good. We then drove down the road to see Crazy Horse, the mountain sculpture that remains unfinished but was still impressive. Then we headed back to Deadwood, where the boys hit the go-kart track, which they said was much better then Cape Cod’s version. Then we got on I-90 and headed west, where the land got flat and very dry. We arrived in Buffalo, Wyoming, at 8 pm.

Deadwood South Dakota

Sunday, August 16th Left early for the long drive to Deadwood, South Dakota. We drove through the Badlands, bypassed Wall Drug, and finally arrived (after almost 11 hours) at about 7 pm in Deadwood, where Steve’s mother was born 75 years ago. Steve’s uncle, Vince Coyle, now lives in Deadwood, and Vince and his wife, Joanne, hosted us for the next two nights.
Monday, August 17th After a long night’s sleep, we had lunch in Kevin Costner’s saloon in Deadwood and then headed over to the historic Frawley Ranch, which is the ranch started and still operated by Steve’s Mom’s family (and is on US National Historic Register). The ranch, started in the 1880s, once comprised 4,500 acres in nearby Spearfish. The ranch, which at one time included dairies and cattle and also had its own community school house (still standing), is still used today for cattle and buffalo grazing. Steve’s great uncle, Hank Frawley, gave us a great 2 hour tour over all the different ranch buildings, many of which have been restored. The highlight was when Hank took us (in his old Suburban) through the pastures into a heard of Buffalo, which we fed with some grain treats. The huge Buffalo surrounded our car and followed us for a mile or so, where the biggest males almost stuck their heads in our car. Then back to Deadwood, where we watched the Giants game and where Mom and Dad played Black Jack at one of the gambling saloons (no luck but at least we didn’t end up like Wild Bill Hickok…).

Aunt Cathy

Saturday, August 15th. We left Lake Geneva, Wisconsin today at 1 pm. Beautiful lake and some of the prettiest farm country we’ve seen on the trip. Met up with good friend Carolyn Lesley, who was in town with some friends, about a 3D film deal. Got a parking ticket in town….slow breakfast service….eager to get on road. Started driving north to Minneapolis, which we hit by 6 pm. We stopped off to see Sam Salas, the former headmaster at Cranbrook School in Michigan, where Steve taught in the 1980s. Then we arrived at Steve’s cousin, Cathy Coyle, who hosted a family dinner, including Cathy’s sister and her new twins.

Lake Geneva

Friday, August 14th. We drove into hot, sunny Chicago at 10 am on Lake Shore Drive. Steve had some business meetings downtown, so Eileen took boys to the Aquarium, where the boys saw dolphins, otters, and king crabs. Eileen said there were about 5,000 people there at same time. Then we headed north to Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, and on the freeways outside of Chicago we got caught in the WORST traffic yet on our trip…it took us 2 ½ hours to go 25 miles (heck, you can run a marathon as fast). Arriving in Lake Geneva, we found that that we had made reservations at a bed and breakfast that was more like the Bates Hotel …..We quickly negotiated an exit and decamped at a place up the hill that was a little better but still pretty marginal (most places didn’t take dogs). The kids complained but watched Rudy and were quickly asleep.

Notre Dame

Wednesday, August 12th. Detroit and Henry Ford. Got up and ran with the boys down to the Detroit waterfront. Hot and humid. Big improvements made downtown here and two new stadiums, Ford Field and Tiger Stadium, were both impressive. Then we started the drive from Detroit to South Bend. Called Poppy and Kelly to wish them a happy birthday. Stopped off in Ann Arbor (on the way), where boys toured the impressive campus, saw the new business school, the law school, and rest of campus. As we left town we drove by the Michigan stadium (actually a huge bowl dug into the ground)….still reputed to be the largest in the US (102,000 capacity)….impressive, especially if you cheer for the maze and blue. Made it to South Bend by 630 pm, where the parents of Steve’s brother in law, the Cordills, were hosting us. After a gracious and delicious steak cook out, we were in bed, ready to tour ND the next day.
Thursday, August 13th. We visited the Notre Dame campus today, first time for the boys. It was sunny, hot, got into the low 90s in afternoon. Great campus….lots of new dorms and buildings since Eileen and Steve last saw campus 15 years ago. Boys loved it. Saw Golden Dome, Sacred Heart Basilica, Hammes Book Store. Campus is flat but handsome buildings and criss-crossing walkways make it a great walking experience. Sat thru an impromptu 1 hour admissions office video and presentation ….maybe a little premature but what the heck. Highlight of day was when Steve, Thomas and Pat “met” Jimmy Clausen outside the football team’s dining hall. Had dinner with our hosts, the Cordills at a local Italian legend, Bruno’s, in South Bend.

Detroit

Tuesday, August 11th. Trip through Ontario. We left Niagara Falls at about 11:30 am…and headed west across flat Ontario towards Detroit. We stopped for pizza halfway and had some great food at a pizza place owned by an Iraqi who had moved to Canada. Ride was uneventful until we hit a rainstorm about two hours from Windsor….rained so hard we had to pull to side of road. Canada looked like USA but the names of stores, etc., were different. Then it was onto to Windsor, where gambling (Caesar’s) is the biggest thing in town. Went thru the Windsor-Detroit tunnel. Drove north to Cranbrook, the Bloomfield Hills-based prep school where Dad taught in the early 1980s. Then it was down to Dearborn (where the Henry Ford museum is located), where we tried in vain to find a hotel that took dogs. We finally ended up at a Marriott town-house Residence Inn. We checked in but found the accommodations pretty scary – the rooms smelled like cooked food, were dirty and the crowd there was transient and not so great. Dad went to the front desk and they were nice enough to let us bail free of charge. It was now 8:30 pm, all of us were hot and hungry, and Mom and Dad were also dragging. We called downtown to the Westin Book-Cadillac Hotel, which had been renovated in 2008 at a cost of $200 million, and they had a big room for us. We then stopped at the local PF Chang’s, where me, Rob and Patrick liked the food and where we got a bonus at dessert….they had made an extra set of desserts and gave it to us free – that made everyone happy. We then got into the car and made it to the Motor City, unpacked, and had a great night’s sleep.

Niagra Falls

Monday, August 10th. Niagra Falls. Packed and drove to Niagara Falls (Canadian side), with Mom’s sister, Aunt Kathleen, and her two boys, and checked into the big Sheraton at the fall…a great choice. Plan was to have Mom’s sister leave after dinner. Took “Maid of the Mist” boat ride that afternoon (everyone got wet), then headed back to the hotel, where we all hit the big indoor Water Park. Dinner at Hard Rock Café. Then, we decided to have Aunt Kathleen and her boys stay the night with us….5 kids and 3 adults in all….all jammed into one room. I can’t remember who slept on the floor but it worked out fine. All of us took one more turn riding the slides at the water park the next morning before we all went our separate ways.

Buffalo

Sunday, August 9th. Buffalo. We got up early, went to church with Gigi and Poppy, and then started driving north to Buffalo. We arrived at 6 pm and headed to Eileen’s cousins, the O’Neils, in suburban Buffalo for a special cook-out. Only drama when Patrick was knocked over when Jackie, our lab, ran after another neighborhood dog. Spent night at Eileen’s aunt, Aunt Eileen. A summer storm knocked out power but then we got lights back just before we went to sleep.

Dad's Birthday

Saturday, August 8th. Short Hills and Dad’s Birthday. Visited with our old nanny, Gloria, at 9:30 am. She is back from visiting Phillipines and is healthy. Then drove to Montclair to see old Corcoran family friend Rose Cetrillo, who was widowed last fall. Reminisced about when Mom and Dad announced their engagement 15 years ago in their basement on Christmas Eve 1992. We all swam in Cetrillo pool. Then off to Baltusrol, where Patrick, Rob and I had a golf lesson on the new driving range. Birthday dinner that night with Mom, Ed and rest of family at Baltusrol for Dad 51st birthday. Uncle Chris told good jokes.

Back to New Jersey

Friday, August 7th. Funeral for a Friend. Up early, then departed at 8 am from Southampton for Huntington, Long Island, where we attended the funeral of the father of Dad’s college roommate, Joe Swenson. Arrived at St. Patrick’s Church in Huntington just in time for 10:45 am service. Moving service, great music for 88-year old Walter Swenson, whom everyone loved and respected. Attended post-Mass reception with Swenson brothers and family. Great catching up with Joe and Cindy and the rest of their extended family. Left for Short Hills at 3 pm; after bad Friday traffic, arrived in NJ at 6:00 pm. After three holes of casual golf at Baltusrol, had pizza dinner then to bed, exhausted

South Hampton

Wednesday, August 5th. Ferry to Hamptons. Departed Harwichport in morning. Drove to New London, Ct, then took Orient Point ferry from New London to Orient Point. Beautiful day on Long Island Sound. Took Shelter Island ferry from Greenport, then to Sag Harbor. Arrived in Southampton at 3 pm. Uncle Kelly and Aunt Susan’s house was amazing. Headed to beach, where Jackie loved playing around in the ocean. Quiet dinner with take-out. Good time with our cousins, the Dohertys.
Thursday, August 6th. Southampton. Slept late. Dad played tennis with Sue on the lawn courts at the Meadow Club, where she won 6-2. Hit golf balls at Shinnecock with Kelly and Dad in early afternoon. Then… we boarded private van for trip to the new Yankee Stadium, where we watched the Yankees beat the Red Sox 13-6. Stadium was great, Yankees got a lot of hits, and overall experience was one of highlights of the trip! Wow. Arrived home at 1 am for well-deserved sleep.

Nantucket

Saturday, August 1st. Drove from Belgrade Lakes to Nantucket. On way, stopped at Dad’s business school friend, Ken Shea, to see their big Marshfield, Mass home, which was spectacular. Then on to Hyannis, where we boarded a small commercial flight to Nantucket. We were allowed to bring Jackie, our lab, on board and I got to sit by the pilot in the copilot seat. Arrived Nantucket at 6 pm to a beautiful summer night. Dinner with Mom’s friends, the Glors, where we also stayed.
Sunday, August 2-3. Nantucket. Dad played golf at Nantucket Golf Club. We went to beach and swam in pool. The next day we went to beach but got lost….once we got to beach, the water was really rough and Mom got caught in some waves…but she was ok once we got to shore. A little scary but all turned out ok.
Tuesday, August 4th. Cape Cod. Departed for Harwichport. Dinner with Mom’s old friends, the MacCarthy’s. We played on Cape Cod beach, then ate clams. Played with Fran MacCarthy’s kids, whom we knew well from NJ. Jackie loved the warm water on Cape.

Maine

July 27-31. The Long Drive to Maine. After a great time at Skytop, we all started to head up to Maine. The new house that Uncle Chris and Aunt Beth built on Great Pond in the Belgrade Lakes area was just incredible… it blew me away. We had an awesome time up there with all our cousins, and guess what? I learned how to wakeboard, even though I can’t even come close to snowboarding, let alone on water. I basically got up on my first try, but the boat didn’t accelerate fast enough for some reason, so I basically fell on my face. On the second night, all of my cousins and our parents watched the movie, “Taken”, with Liam Neeson. That was an incredible movie and we had some surround sound so I was always shaking in my chair. We had and absolute blast there and it was incredible bunch of days with all my cousins. We also got to drive our ski boat a lot, which we don’t see very much since it’s kept in Maine, not Oregon. On the last day, we visited Bowdoin College in southern Maine, where my Uncle Chris attended college. My Uncle Chris took my cousin, Chris Jr. for an interview…while he met someone in admissions; my Dad and I went and met with the Bowdoin basketball coach. It was funny when he asked me…”so, what grade are you in….?” When he learned I was only going into 8th grade he laughed and then said we should keep in touch with him.

Skytop

July 23. Skytop, PA – O’Connell Family Reunion. Drove to Skytop in the Pocono Mountains in Pennsylvania. We drove up to Skytop in our red Ford Expedition with our Oregon plates. The bellhop didn't believe that we drove all the way from Oregon. Once we went to check in we waited for everyone to show up. Once they did, we headed out for dinner. I had the chicken parmagan and it was very good. Then I had the greatest dessert of my life -- it was called the chocolate obsession. It was a half cooked piece of brownie like cake with ice cream on top. I almost died, it was so good. Then we got our videogame money and played on a fast and furious game. We then played golf the next day and I shot and a 101 for 18 holes – an ok score, but my Dad said it was a good score since we had to count all the strokes. The next day I shot a 114 and I played terrible. Then we went.... paintballing, which was a total blast. By far the most insane part of the weekend. I got shot up pretty bad by my uncle, Joe Warncke, who was on the Chicago S.W.A.T. team. He was insane. It was soooooooo much fun.

Aunt Beth and Uncle Chris's house

July 21. Mom’s Birthday. We spent another day hanging out with my friend Will Pagano, Gloria, our old nanny, and our cousins, while we stayed at Aunt Beth’s and Uncle Chris’s house in Basking Ridge, NJ. We also played golf at Baltusrol, our old golf club, where I played with my Dad and Will and other friends. The course was in great shape and I played pretty well. That night we had a small birthday party for my Mom and we stayed in the basement and played a gun game, which was a lot of fun. The basement was square but the laundry room was like a backwards L shaped room at the bottom, with the long part going up on the right side. You could get in the laundry room two ways, one each end or the room. It was like “attack and defend” type of game…lots o f fun for all of us.

Mt. Vernon

July 20. Mount Vernon. Today after a morning drive, we stopped by Mount Vernon for a quick stop. After taking a look at George Washington’s big white house on the hill by the river, we went inside for a quick tour, which turned into us sitting down for a 20 minute movie about Washington and his war battles, all while Mom was waiting outside in the heat with our dog Jackie. When we saw her she was very mad because she wanted to see Robbie, who had been on a trip for 10 days in the Galapagos Islands. She then drove straight for 3 1/2 hours nonstop to NJ even when Patrick and I had to pee. So...... we ended up having to “go” in a bottle, which was unfortunate. Eventually we showed up at Gigi's and Poppy's house in Short Hills, NJ, where we got to see Robbie for the first time in 20 days. We were all happy to see him. Then my parents dropped me off to spend the night at Will Pagano’s house. I had a lot of fun that night.

Williamsberg

July 19. Williamsburg. Today we showed up at Williamsburg and checked in at the Crown Plaza hotel. Walked around and saw all the old churches, government buildings and shops. We then decided to go visit University of William and Mary. It was a very nice looking school that impressed me a lot (my Dad said it was the second oldest school in USA). We also visited the football stadium, which was small but still pretty good. We then went to a nice restaurant for dinner in the main section of old Williamsburg. I looked and saw someone eating some homemade Mac and cheese and it looked awesome. I ordered it and I then realized it was $16 …but I had already ordered it. Then the waiter brought it and it was a huge portion and I couldn't even come close to eating it. Mom and Dad were not happy. After we went back to the hotel we were able to watch a funny movie called "Old Skool" with Will Ferrell. But it was a little inappropriate for Patrick, so we had to jump around with other shows on TV.

Aunt Beth's House

We spent to more days hanging out with friends from the East Coast and we stayed and Aunt Beths house.