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.