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Lake House, 2024

In sharp contrast to the flooding of last year, we had a week of mostly good weather.

Yosemite, 2024

We flew from LGA to Fresno on Thursday, May 2. Our national parks visits began with Sequoia and Kings Canyon, then Yosemite. From Yosemite, we drove to Lincoln, for a visit with my cousin Jane and her son, Ian. Then we drove to Walnut Creek to visit Allan and Ellen Hauskens. She had meticulously planned a lot of activities, including visits to the Eugene O'Neill National Historic Site, Mount Diablo State Park, two Napa Valley wineries, and the John Muir National Historic Site. We ended our stay  with a trip to Alcatraz.

Italy, 2023

We spent nearly three weeks in Italy, from September 27 to October 15, starting in Varenna, on the shore of Lake Como. The first couple of days, we were on our own. Then we joined a 17-day Rick Steves tour, with our wonderful guide, Marianna. The tour began in the beauty of Lake Como and ended with the crowds and the metropolitan bustle of Rome.

Labor Day Weekend Project, 2023 

We visited Belmont for Labor Day weekend and helped with a gravel-patio-and-raised-planters project.

Yellowstone-Grand Teton, August 2023

Despite all the rain, we saw a lot of amazing scenery and had an excellent trip. One of the fun parts was how much Annie and Leo remembered of the 2018 trip. Lots of déjà vu!

Lake House, July 2023

We won't soon forget this week: floods, canceled plans, and Tammy the dog.

Maine, June 2023

John and Susan Foote, the parents of Nick Dempsey's significant other, Maggie, invited a mass invasion of Dempseys, Keelers, and Flatts to the family beach house in York, Maine. We left our blue car in Belmont for Noel and Annie to drive later, because Annie had to work. Rachel, Judy, Leo, and I got to York in time for supper. Noel and Annie got to the hotel late that night. On Friday, June 16, we had breakfast with the Belmont crew at Molly O's, then spent pretty much the whole day on the beach, across from the Foote house. Rachel, Noel, and the kids left after the beach. We enjoyed another supper with the Footes. On Saturday, Judy and I met Kenny and Regina for breakfast at Goldenrod, where Susan Foote used to work, then drove back to the Bridgeport ferry through the rain. 

Leo Week, April 2023

While Rachel and Noel were traveling in Israel with a group from Grace Chapel, we stayed with Leo and Ollie. We took Leo on three college campus visits: UMass Dartmouth, College of the Atlantic, and Gordon College. Sadly, Ollie disappeared toward the end of our stay. We put up signs and called animal control officers. But he was still missing at the end of the week. When Rachel finally found him, one of his legs was so badly injured that the vet had to remove it. So Ollie is now a tripod cat. On the bright side, Leo has the same number of legs that he had before our time with him.

Baptism Weekend, November 2022

We drove up to Massachusetts on Thursday, to spend time with Rachel, Noel, Leo, and Annie (back from college), before the baptism of Charlie and Sadie on Sunday in Reading.

Marli and Alex Get Married—Finally

On October 7, Marli and Alex exchanged vows in a rooftop ceremony in Long Island City, with spectacular views—the start of a fun weekend.

Taste of New England Seacoast Staycation, 2022

 Flooding canceled our Yellowstone trip. So Rachel and Judy planned a vacation/staycation visit to New England, partly at the Keeler-Flatt home and partly on day trips to Sakonnet Garden in Rhode Island; Plum Island, Cuttyhunk Island, and Cape Ann in Massachusetts; Ogunquit and Portland, Maine—with a lot of swimming and sand.

Lake House, 2022

We spent the week of July 9 to 16 at the newly refurbished lake house, with its shiny new kitchen, rearranged doors, and tricky little steps. Greg Flatt came midweek, and the Konigs stayed two nights at the Echo Lake Inn. We also had happy hour at the Levas house. At the end of the week, we visited Ron and Mary Ann Freund.

Belgium and France, 2022

With Allan and Ellen Hauskens, friends from our 2017 Rick Steves Ireland tour, we traveled to Belgium and France from June 17 to July 2. Ellen and Judy planned out the Belgium part of the trip and our first couple of days in Paris. Then we joined a Rick Steves tour for a week in Paris, including a visit to Versailles. 

Annie's Graduation from Belmont High School, June 4, 2022

It was a lovely day in Belmont for Annie's graduation.

Legislative Correspondents Association Show, May 24, 2022

My friend Lisa Broughton drove me to Albany, for the awards lunch of the Legislative Correspondents Alumni Association and a little reunion of former Newsday Albany Bureau journalists: Lisa, Karen Roach, Matthew Cox, and me. And we had an unexpected surprise: Mike Arena, another Albany veteran was there, too. In the evening, we attended the LCA Show. Gov. Kathy Hochul gave the Democratic rebuttal, and Andrew Giuliani gave the Republican rebuttal.

Moskalenko-Carlson Wedding, May 14, 2022

We drove to Fishkill for the wedding of Elizabeth Moskalenko and Thomas Carlson. Liz is one of Judy's all-time favorite students. She calls Judy "Mom."

Our Trip South: PA, VA, NC

At the end of April, we drove south. The goal was to visit Kathy and Sal in Cary, plus a visit to Renée in Huntersville. Judy planned stops along the way at the Brandywine River Museum of Art in Chadds Ford and Chanticleer Gardens in Wayne, a suburb of Philadelphia. Then we spent three nights at the Pisgah Inn, on the beautiful Blue Ridge Parkway, before visiting Renée and Kathy. (Sal was ill. So we only saw him briefly, outside.)

UVM, Dartmouth

After Easter Sunday church, we drove to Vermont so that Annie could attend the accepted-students event at UVM. Then Judy and I drove toward Dartmouth, where Alexis had asked me to speak with her students about some of the journalism issues arising from the Jeffrey MacDonald murder case.

Kenny and Regina's Milestones

 On April 9, we gathered at Pig Beach in Astoria to celebrate the 70th birthdays and 40th wedding anniversary of Kenny and Regina.

Belmont, January-March, 2022

We traveled north for MLK weekend, for Presidents Week, and for Annie and Leo's play.

Lake House 2021: Judy's 75th Birthday

Last year, we went to the lake house in the middle of the pandemic and didn't go anywhere but down to the lake. This year was very different. The Denver Dempsey-Locke clan, the Baldwin-Astoria Dempseys, and the Levas clan all rented houses nearby. So it was a gigantic, mostly-post-pandemic family reunion. It was also the week of Judy's 75th birthday. Unfortunately, she came down with a cold, which became bronchitis, and she experienced atrial fibrillation again. So her health problems cast a shadow on an otherwise joyful week. Still, the week offered a lot of water fun and smiles.

Rachel and Leo Visit, April 2021

Annie and Noel both had commitments in Boston, but Rachel and Leo came down for a couple of days during spring break. Bekah and Dayton joined us on Tuesday morning for breakfast at the diner. Then the five of us hiked Quogue Wildlife Refuge. The next day, Judy had to go to the ER for her a-fib. So she missed the final day of the visit. Rachel and Leo went home Thursday morning.

Easter 2021

We drove up on Holy Thursday and stayed until Monday.

Christmas 2020

Normally, I take dozens of photos at Christmas. But for this Covid Christmas, I took just three—two of the Belmont branch on the Echo Show and one in person, when Hailey dropped by. More photos next year, b'ezrat HaShem.

Cape Cod 2020

Jane, Jessica, and Amanda visited Cape Cod, and we drove down in October to meet them.

Labor Day Weekend 2020

We braved the pandemic for Rachel's birthday. So we tried again on Labor Day weekend. And we lived to tell the tale.

Lake House 2020

Complying with the strict Vermont rules, we spent a week at the lake house, with no side trips to our usual haunts, such as Simon Pearce and Okemo. A lot of swimming (for the swimming members of the family) and a lot of good cooking by Judy and Rachel.

Rachel's Birthday

Thanks to the pandemic, we hadn't seen Rachel, Noel, Annie, and Leo for months. So we decided to head north to Belmont for Rachel's birthday. We drove up to Halibut Point, then visited with Tambo, Mike, Charlie, and Sadie in Reading. And Arnbo and Siegbo paid a socially distanced visit to Waverley Street. 

Accompanying Art and Gloria Miguel in Their Grief

Art and Gloria's daughter, Rina, died April 15 of COVID-19. They had not been allowed to visit her in the hospital. Nor could they drive to Staten Island to console Rina's husband, Sam, and their children, Alex and Amelia. So the Gourmet Group decided to show up at Art and Gloria's house on Sunday, April 19, to offer our love and solidarity. We met at a parking lot not far from their home and proceeded there in a caravan. Adding to the sadness, Sunday was Sam and Rina's wedding anniversary. So we read parts from their wedding ceremony. We sang "How Great Thou Art" and concluded with a favorite of Rina's, "You Are My Sunshine." As you'll see from the photos, there were too many people and too many cars to allow for a complete observance of distancing. That was a bit nervous-making, but the important thing was that the event clearly meant a lot to Art and Gloria, Sam, Alex, Amelia, and the whole family. 

Stockbridge 2020

On my birthday, we drove to our Airbnb, in Austerlitz, New York, just a half hour from Stockbridge. That night, we met Alexis and her brother Paul at the Red Lion Inn for supper, and Paul's Internet friend and her daughter joined us. Alexis and Paul stayed overnight with us. Sunday morning, they met their cousin, Fran, whose lecture at the Norman Rockwell Museum was one of the reasons we planned the trip. The other was skiing. On Sunday, we had lunch in Stockbridge, attended the lecture, then returned to the house to wait for the Belmont gang. On Monday, we drove to Butternut, where Noel and Leo went skiing, Annie went snowboarding, and Rachel, Judy, Leo, and Bob went tubing. On Monday, we visited MassMOCA.

Christmas 2019

Boston

We spent a few days in Boston, providing some adventures for Annie, Leo, Hailey, and Joan. The whale watch on Wednesday was spectacular. Below the slideshow of still photos, check out the video of a humpback whale swimming under our ship.

OMG: A Whale Visits

Leo provided the excited color commentary, with multiple repetitions of "Oh, my God," as a whale swam up to and under our ship.

Newfoundland

We decided to go to Newfoundland this year for three reasons:
We loved the musical, Come from Away, about the way people in the little town of Gander offered hospitality and friendship to thousands of stranded airline passengers, when the terrorist attacks of 9/11 caused the closing of the skies to air traffic.
In my genealogy research, I found that my great-grandmother, Laura Brideson, was baptized in what is now the Basilica of St. John the Baptist in St. John's, and my great-great-grandparents were married there.
Gros Morne National Park is reputed to have the highest concentration of moose in North America. Judy has wanted to see moose for years.
Well, we visited Gander and met with the man who served as its mayor on that terrible day. We visited the basilica and photographed the baptismal font. And we saw a grand total of two moose, though not in Gros Morne National Park.
We also met some very nice people, both our tour mates and the people of Newfoundland, who were universally kind and welcoming.
Our photos are in this slideshow, and below that, you'll find some videos.

Bonne Bay Boat Ride

On Saturday, August 3, we took a delightful boat ride on Bonne Bay. Our crew was also our entertainment, a band called Anchors Aweigh.

Gander's Former Mayor Recalls 9/11

On the same day as our Bonne Bay boat ride, we heard from Claude Elliott, who was the mayor of Gander when about 7,000 "plane people" descended on the small town after the terrorist attacks of 9/11 forced the closing of all air traffic over North America. Notice that he mentions that 38 "haircraft" landed. Newfoundlanders tend to add the letter "h" in front of many words beginning with a vowel. 

So Many Birds

On Tuesday, August 6, we took a whales-and-puffins boat ride through the Witless Bay Ecological Reserve, which I like to call the Witless Protection Program. We saw a playful humpback whale and thousands of birds. This video gives you the sounds of some of the birds.

The Screech-In

The tour closed with a unique Newfoundland ceremony called the Screech-In. Newfoundland used to trade cod with the West Indies for rum. The ceremony recalls this by forcing each person to kiss a deceased cod, then swallow a shot of Screech rum. That made us honorary Newfoundlanders. I guess I could have skipped the kissing and drinking, because I'm actually part Newfoundlander. But the mistress of ceremonies, Sheila Williams, a talented comedian with great comic timing, wasn't taking no for an answer. We didn't get any images of the interspecies kissing, but here's Sheila singing. 

Lake House

As we do every year, we spent a week at Echo Lake. Though Bekah couldn't get off from her new job, Bobby and Dayton joined Judy and me, Rachel, Noel, Joan, Annie, Leo, and Jed. We saw Jim Tepper and Deb briefly. The Konigs and the Goldrings visited. Mostly, the weather was great.

Our Fiftieth Anniversary

For the occasion, we spent two nights in Manhattan and saw The Ferryman and Come from Away. On Thursday, we walked The High Line, including some newly opened sections. We had lunch in a Mexican restaurant near its southern end, then walked to the Stonewall National Monument. (The Stonewall uprising and our wedding happened on the same day in 1969.) On Friday, we drove out to Forest Hills for the lovely anniversary dinner at Alberto's, complete with haiku, limericks, speeches, a song, and an epic poem. On Saturday, Kenny and I went to Citi Field to mark yet another historic 1969 event, the World Series triumph of the Miracle Mets. While we were there, the rest of the gang went to Port Jeff Country Club and the beach. I got home from the ballpark in time for a little birthday celebration for Rachel.

Kathy's 70th Birthday

Sal put together a surprise party for Kathy's 70th birthday, and I flew down to Florida for it. Kathy was truly surprised. Below the slideshow of still photos, there's a video of Kathy's arrival at Frankie and Lauren's home in Boca Raton. I also got to visit with the Konigs and see a Mets game in Port St. Lucie.

Joe

Feeling helpless this morning, as we all do, I decided to go through some of my photos and put together this collection of shots with Joe in them. The happiest one dates back to the summer of 2010 at Cape Cod, before Joe's health began to suffer. The most recent photos show the gathering at Citi Field for the Mets v. Rockies, then at our house for the big birthday party. I hope some of them give you a momentary smile at a horrible time.

Christmas 2018

If you notice a slight over-representation of Regina in these photos, it's because of my guilt feelings: In all the Thanksgiving photos, I didn't have a single one of Regina, the founder of the feast. Mea culpa. So I set out at Christmas to take several photos of Regina. In the process, I somehow totally forgot to take the customary fireplace photo of Bekah, Bobby, Dayton, and Hailey. Oh, well. Maybe I'll catch up with them on the next holiday. 

Thanksgiving 2018

As usual, a packed house at the home of the Baldwin Dempseys.

Rat Pack Halloween Weekend

While Noel was in Colorado and Rachel was leading a retreat, we spent time with Annie and Leo. Happily, our visit coincided with Rat Pack Halloween.

August 2018: Yellowstone-Grand Teton

From August 8 to 18, Judy and I traveled with Leo and Annie through two great national parks in Wyoming. The kids loved it.

August 2018: Hailey and Leo's Sort-Of Birthday

Their actual birthday was July 31. On that date, though, Leo was in Belmont and Hailey at work. Leo wanted to come to Grannie and Bob's to celebrate. They  drove down Friday night. It rained heavily Saturday morning and early afternoon. Undaunted, Leo wanted to swim in the Schaentzler pool. So Grannie and Rachel took umbrellas and accompanied him. The weather got better, and we spent a long time at the pool.  Hailey and Tyler stopped by. Hailey took a brief dip, but then she and Tyler left, and she went on to a birthday cake at a friend's house.

July 2018: Allan and Ellen

After a busy family reunion on Cape Cod, our kindred spirits from the 2017 Ireland tour, Allan and Ellen Hauskens, took a train to New York City to see a bunch of plays and tour the town. On Wednesday, July 25, we met them at the 9/11 Museum, then had supper nearby at Trinity Place, a restaurant on the site of a former bank, complete with vault. On Friday, we met them at Becco, the Lidia Bastianich restaurant in the theater district. After supper, we saw The Band's Visit, a winner of multiple Tony awards. We stayed overnight at a Hilton Garden hotel on 54th Street. On Saturday morning, we took the subway to the Lower East Side, had breakfast at Russ and Daughters, and took the "Under One Roof" tour at the Tenement Museum. We had lunch at the frenetic Katz's Deli, took the subway back to midtown, and Judy and I drove home. On Sunday, I attended a March for Our Lives gun control rally in Huntington, then picked up Allan and Ellen at the Huntington LIRR station. We sat on our deck, ate munchies, and chatted companionably for a couple of hours. Then we took them on a Stony Brook tour and had supper at Pentimento. Finally, we drove them to the Ronkonkoma station for their return trip to Manhattan. We really enjoyed their visit. 

July 2018: The Lake House

We had fewer people and less excitement this year. No wedding this time. The weather was really hot, but everyone seemed to have a good time. As always, the Pawson-Ryan aggregation attended, this time accompanied by Bob Pawson, Ken's brother. Morgan and Brooke Anderson visited. So did Kenny and Regina.  The sad note is that John, the son of Roz and Dennis, had died—very young.

May 2018: Kathy and Sal in Ireland

On Kathy and Sal's tour of Ireland with a small group, one of the highlights was their visit to St. Colman's Church, Macroom, County Cork. Before their trip, I worked on our family genealogy, to find them a place associated with our ancestors. In that research, Macroom showed up as the place where Jeremiah Keeler, our great-great grandfather, was baptized. Online, I found an image of the handwritten baptismal record. In the church, they looked at the actual book and the page itself. They visited several of the places that Judy and I visited in 2017, including Gallarus Oratory  on the beautiful Dingle Peninsula, and the Cliffs of Moher. They also visited the Ring of Kerry, which we experienced in 2004. Soon after they returned from Ireland, they drove up to New York for an engagement party, and we had dinner together. I grabbed a few of their photos from both Sal's phone and Kathy's. And here they are.

May 2018: Joe's birthday, Mets v. Rockies

Since the Rockies happened to be coming to Citi Field on the weekend of Joe Dempsey's birthday, we naturally gathered at the ballpark, from all corners of the country. For the Saturday night game, we had a three-hour tailgating party in Parking Lot C, followed by the ballgame, attended by about 60 of Joe's family and friends. The game sucked comprehensively, as the Mets lost meekly to the Rockies. (Joe would differ about that description, but this is my website, not his.) On Sunday, we had a party at our house, with 37 people in attendance. The Mets lost again, and Jessica marked the occasion by producing a broom. I was not pleased, but no violence ensued. Everyone seemed to have a good time. It was great to see the Denver, Baldwin, and Cortland Dempseys all represented.

Christmas 2017

October 2017: Dayton's birthday party

Dayton wanted a destination party, and Bobby and Bekah arranged one at Boomer's in Medford. The weather looked threatening in the morning, but that didn't stop everyone from having fun on the go karts, rollercoaster, and train. 

August 2017: Bekah and Bobby

Our week at the Tepper family's lake house is always a happy time. This year, it was even happier. When Bekah and Bobby decided to get married, her first thought was to make it happen on the dock at Echo Lake, where our family has shared so many good times. Everybody played a role in getting ready for the big moment: Judy supervised all the arrangements. Three hours before the wedding, to calm herself, Bekah vacuumed the house. Hailey did Bekah's hair. Rachel and Judy put together the flowers to adorn the dock. Rachel baked the wedding cake and officiated.  Jane created a shark from a watermelon, as part of the food table. Our guests helped carry the food and drinks down to the beach. Noel, Charlie, and I provided the entrance music. Joe got dressed up a bit and walked Bekah down the hill, to join our guests, who had come from as far away as Long Island, Albany, Texas, and Colorado—and as close as the Tepper homes flanking the lake house. It was a simple Vermont country wedding—even a bit of a hippie wedding, in keeping with Leo's current fascination with all things hippie.

August 2017: Grannie Camp

On Sunday, we met Noel and Rachel and the kids for supper in New London, then brought them home with us for Grannie Camp. Monday was rainy. So I took them with me to Cedarmere, where they drew, read, and had a piece of Joselo's birthday cake. On Tuesday, we picked up Dayton and went to the Bronx Zoo. On Wednesday, we visited the hummingbird sanctuary in Riverhead. On Thursday, we visited North Shore Horse Rescue, then on to the Orient ferry.

July 2017: Wisconsin, Minnesota

The primary reason for the trip was a joyous one: the wedding of our nephew, John Dempsey, and Mary Elmendorf Roberts, a wonderful young woman from a close and highly accomplished family. Following the wedding, Judy and I joined Regina,  Kenny,  Joe, and Jane for a houseboat adventure in Voyageurs National Park, on the Minnesota-Canada border. Then Judy and I drove back to Minneapolis, through Duluth, for some further adventures, before returning home.

June-July 2017: Ireland

This was our third Rick Steves tour, and our amazing run of luck continued.

On our first Rick tour of England in 2014, we loved our guide, Tom Hooper, a former barrister. When Rick created a new tour that included Cornwall, we were hoping like crazy that Tom, a native of Cornwall, would be our guide for that 2016 tour. And he was! When we decided on an Ireland tour in 2017, Judy read carefully the reviews of all the Ireland guides. In that process, she learned about Cathie Ryan, who not only led the tour brilliantly but broke into song all along the way. So we decided that we really, really wanted Cathie Ryan as our guide. When the email from Rick Steves arrived, announcing our tour mates and our guide, once again we got exactly the guide we wanted, Cathie Ryan. What luck!

Once we knew Cathie would be our guide, we started doing a little research on her. Seeing Cathie's photo made Judy think, wait a second, I know this person. Then she remembered: Years ago, Cathie and her band had come to Judy's school as part of an arts program and Cathie had sung in Judy's classroom. Judy had asked her to sing "Danny Boy," and Cathie had complied beautifully, singing it a cappella. In addition to finding that lovely coincidence, we downloaded some of Cathie's songs from iTunes and listened to them many, many times. We were anticipating a great trip, and we weren't disappointed. Cathie was the perfect guide, singing for us often and giving us a real feel for Ireland. And we loved our tour mates. This slideshow starts with portraits of those who accompanied us on this never-to-be-forgotten journey. NOTE: For videos from the Ireland trip, including Cathie singing in a variety of settings and Judy playing with a falcon, go to Videos>Travel.

May 2017: Memorial Day weekend

On the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend, Rachel drove down with Annie and Leo. Noel had to stay behind in Boston for work. On Sunday, after Mass, we walked in Avalon Park in Stony Brook. We showed Leo the home of Robert Mercer, and he asked to have his photo taken there. So we obliged.

April 2017: Texas

On April 18, we flew down to Houston, to spend some time with Ken and Marge Pawson at their home in The Woodlands.

April 2017: Easter

We drove to Boston on Holy Thursday. On Friday, we met Rachel at Harvard's Science Center and had a picnic from the food trucks. On Saturday, Judy, Annie and I took the bus to Cambridge Common for the tax day protest. Later in the day, Hailey and Tyler arrived and joined in the Easter egg coloring. After the Easter vigil at St. Brigid's in Lexington, we went to the hotel pool, so Annie and Leo could swim. On Easter Sunday, Hailey and Tyler went on an urban adventure in Cambridge and Boston, then joined us for a great dinner. Other highlights: violin-guitar entertainment and a defenestration. Right below the photos, take a look at two videos, one of the tax protest and one of Leaping Leo.

February 2017: Not Our President Week

Leo was off from school and Annie was away at camp. We drove to Belmont to do a little child care for Leo and to welcome Annie home. As an extra treat, John Dempsey and his fiancée, Mary Roberts, came by on Thursday for supper. On Saturday, we visited Drumlin Farm and Churchill Stables.

January 2017: Women's March on Washington

To join hundreds of thousands of women in Washington, Judy and Linda Resnick endured 12 hours on a bus, lots of walking, and lots of standing. The march posed its logistical problems, but they were both glad they went. Judy and her iPhone camera still have a tenuous relationship, but she did get a few good shots. Most of the photos are Linda's.

Christmas 2016

This year, in contrast to past years, I took just a handful of photos. As usual, Rebekah, Leo, and Dayton are difficult to catch in the act of smiling into the camera. Everyone else was cooperative.

Thanksgiving 2016

Kenny's repaired knee wasn't quite up to the rigors of a big Dempsey Thanksgiving in Baldwin. So we had a smaller gathering at our place in Stony Brook. On Wednesday, I took Annie to Pal-O-Mine Equestrian for a riding lesson. On Friday, we visited Frank Melville Park in Setauket.

November 2016: Helen's 90th birthday

To celebrate Helen Brinton's 90th birthday, a group of her friends put together a surprise party at the Three Village Inn on Sunday, November 13. Helen was truly surprised, and she really enjoyed basking in the love of friends and family.

November 2016: Dear God, no!

The first two photos are from election night, as Judy watched the results at a gathering of our friends, and Marli and Caitlin watched elsewhere. Caitlin sent a text with the photo saying: "It's gonna be AOK!!!" When I answered that the photo didn't exactly look like AOK, Caitlin answered: "OK, panicking now." The other photos are from a protest march, from Union Square to Trump Tower on Saturday, November 12. Judy and I made the trek with a few thousand friends. Just below the slideshow, you'll see a YouTube video of Judy marching and chanting.

August 2016: The Lake House

Another great week at Echo Lake, with family and friends, including the Minucci-Levas clan, the Pawson-Ryan clan, and Caroline and Eli Saganich.

July-August 2016: England

We left for England on Saturday night, July 16 and arrived on Sunday morning, July 17. We caught a train from London to Canterbury and checked into our room in the Canterbury Cathedral Lodge. We walked around Canterbury on our own on Sunday and Monday, until we met on Monday evening with Tom Hooper, our wonderful guide, and our tour mates. The photos and captions tell the rest of the story of our Rick Steves tour, followed by some photos of our tour mates, then our days in London after the Rick Steves tour ended. 

July 2016: Loon Lake

With the Rat Pack, we had a beautiful house on Loon Lake. Pros: lovely views, neat architecture, old friends. Cons: No WiFi, and for the first day or so, a lot of hot water problems. But we saw a lot of beautiful spots.

April 2016: Patriots' Week

On Patriots' Day, Rachel drove down with Annie and Leo to stay for a couple of days. We had a family dinner on Monday, with Rebekah, Hailey and Dayton. On Tuesday morning. Rachel and Leo used my iPhone to record the adventures of his traveling menagerie. Then Leo and I were off to the library and the park, where Annie joined us. On Wednesday, I took Annie to the Suffolk Equestrian Center in Medford for a riding lesson on a horse named Rave. Later, after lunch at Latitude 121, we walked at West Meadow Beach, met Rebekah and Dayton, and had  supper at home.

March-April 2016: Cozumel

Right after Easter, Judy and Hailey and I flew to Cozumel to join the Denver and Baldwin Dempseys and friends in celebrating the one-year anniversary of Joe Dempsey's bone-marrow transplant. It was a momentous occasion in a beautiful place.

A few of Jane's Cozumel photos

Christmas 2015 in Stony Brook

In the past, I've taken way too many photos at Christmas. This time, I resolved to take fewer. But I appear to have gone too far. I didn't get the usual Rebekah-Rachel photo, or the Rocky Point family portrait—or the Kenny closeup. Also, not a single image of Hailey and Nysa. Mea culpa. Maybe it was partly because I took Annie, Leo, and Dayton to the park for an hour. Or maybe I was just having too much fun. Anyway, here are the photos that survived. Maybe next year I'll get the balance right.

Thanksgiving 2015 in Baldwin

We had the usual raucous Thanksgiving at Kenny and Regina's home in Baldwin. The house looked great, and everyone enjoyed the hospitality and the festivities—including the singing of "Alice's Restaurant," on the 50th anniversary of the Thanksgiving events that inspired the song. This time, Charlie Levas joined Noel Flatt in providing the guitar accompaniment.

August 2015: A visit with the Pawsons

On Saturday, August 29, we drove up to Albany to visit Ken and Margie Pawson in Loudonville. Before supper, we hiked along the Mohawk-Hudson Bike-Hike Path in Colonie.

August 2015: Moosehead Lake

At the end of the week at Echo Lake, Hailey, Nysa, Dayton and Zachary all went back to Long Island. On Saturday morning, Judy and I drove north toward Maine, with Annie and Leo, on a long-planned moose-hunting adventure. These photos are all of Moosehead Lake and the surrounding area in Maine. There, after waking to a glorious sunrise on Sunday morning, we took a three-hour boat ride, searching for a moose. No moose. But we took a few photos of the boat ride. That night, we saw one moose, but it was in the middle of the night. So, no photo. Later, we drove to New Hampshire and took a four-hour van ride. We saw a grand total of one moose. But it was dark, and the moose was quick. So, again, no photo.

July 2015: Echo Lake

The family descended on Echo Lake from July 25 to 31. We had great weather, fun guests, and celebrated the birthdays of Hailey, Nysa, and Leo. Since we had just seen the spectacular Crater Lake a couple of weeks earlier, you might imagine that Echo Lake would seem pretty tiny and inconsequential in comparison. But we loved it as much as we always do. I tried to take fewer photos than usual, and I mostly succeeded. But it's tough not to take a lot of shots of the lake.

July 2015: Our trip to the Northwest

Judy and I flew out to Portland for a whirlwind tour of national parks and other sites. We spent time at Crater Lake National Park, historic Timberline Lodge at Mt. Hood, Olympic National Park, Seattle, and Mount Rainier National Park.

July 2015: A great night in Coney Island

On July 6, I drove to MCU Park in Coney Island, to see Tyler Badamo pitch for the Brooklyn Cyclones. I met with Anne and John De Guardi, Tyler's great-aunt and great-uncle, and Paul and Doris Badamo, his grandparents. Tyler pitched a great game.

June 2015: Boston

We drove up to Boston Sunday (our wedding anniversary) to attend the 5:30 Mass at St. Joseph's in Belmont, where Noel's New Roads Orchestra provided the liturgical music. On Monday, we drove to Southwick's Zoo in Mendon, about an hour from Belmont. Annie and Leo loved it. On Tuesday, we walked along the beach at Castle Island, on Boston Harbor, right across from Logan International Airport. The kids went swimming. Then we had ice cream at Moozy's, and we drove home.

April 2015: Patriots' Week

Leo and Annie came down for Patriots' Week, and we spent time at the grist mill in Stony Brook, in Avalon Park, at the Cradle of Aviation Museum, and at North Shore Horse Rescue.

April 2015: Denver

We flew out to Denver from April 7 to 11 to spend some time with Joe before he went into the hospital for his bone marrow transplant. While Joe and Jane made one medical visit, the four of us spent time at the botanical gardens. On Friday, we attended opening day at Coors Field, then the mammoth party for Joe at Phil's Place. Check out the video of Joe's moving speech in Video>Family.

February 2015: Horses and Dogs​

We drove north to Vermont and New Hampshire to take Dayton, Annie, and Leo on a horse-drawn sleigh ride and a husky-drawn sleigh ride. We spent some time with Alexis, who gave us tips on places to visit, such as the ice slide at Dartmouth's Occom Pond, the nearby hill, and the Montshire Museum. We visited King Arthur Flour, and we had lunch at Simon Pearce. 

June-July 2014: Lake House

This time, we had a two-week stay: the first one with our family and the second with the Rat Pack. The first week, our adventures included zip lining at Okemo. The second week, we did a Segway tour, also at Okemo.

May 2014: Charlie!

We drove up to Reading to pay our first visit to Charles William O'Brien. Then Noel and I accompanied Annie and Leo to the YMCA pool, where they both took deep-end tests, while Grannie and Rachel shopped for supper with the Konigs. The next day, we went to town hall to see Annie's art work, but the exhibit was closed. An outrage!

February 2014: Presidents Week

Annie and Leo spent a couple of days with us in February, playing in the snow with Dayton, then making ingenious but unsuccessful bunny traps.

December 2013: The Levas marriage

On December 26, we joined newlyweds Janice and Charlie and a star-studded cast of thousands for a celebratory dinner at Il Bacco in Little Neck. Janice's friend, Father Gabriel, led the prayers.