A trip to New England for some family gatherings

 

Date: 6/28/2014 – 7/6/2014

Location: Parsonsfield, Maine

 

In late June Julie and I headed up to New England, flying into Boston. We spent a few days in Marlborough which is the town that I grew up in. My father had moved back there several years ago and the family was giving him party for his 90 birthday. Here’s a picture of my dad and his sister Alice. They are both doing great for their age.

 

After the party had concluded and everything was cleaned up, then five of us made the 2 hour drive up to Maine where two of my brothers and wives own a large home on a very peaceful lake. This is a great place for family gatherings. But this was the calm before the storm. The five of us enjoyed our quiet days before the 23 (give or take a few) other family members joined us for Fourth of July festivities,

Here are s few pictures of the lake taken from their dock. A beautiful place!!

My brother and I got in some early morning fishing on the lake. I caught a few, but couldn't keep up with my him. Plus, I didn’t want to show him up!!

             

The days before the large group of family arrived was also a good time to relax and do some reading. Here’s my niece and Julie during some quiet time.

            

 

We also did a short day trip to one of the dams on a nearby river. We explored the rocks and areas below the dam, even though there were signs warning us of the dangers.

This lake is also great for canoeing and kayaking as there’s usually very little boat traffic. Here’s Julie and my sister-in-law during a late evening paddle.

Julie and I did a few paddles around the lake. Here’s the GPS track of one of those trips.

 

As the fourth of July rolled around, the amount of family at the lake place grew exponentially! At one point there were family members from Florida, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Vermont. We had a great time celebrating the holiday. 

Here’s the youngest member of the Whitney gang. Just joining this world several weeks earlier. He was dressed for the occasion.

 

And the tradition continues. Last year we had the first Curtis Cup Corn Hole Challenge. This was a full day of corn hole competition and finishing with the championship match. So, this year we continued on with the 2nd Annual Curtis Cup Challenge. Curtis is my father who donated some $$ last year to the winners pot. So, we decided to name it after him.

We have to use a chalk board to keep track of the score, since none of us can remember as the game progresses. Not sure if it is old age or the beer, but our memory sure is lacking during the tournament.

Here are some young fans cheering on the competition.

Here’s some not so young fans, also watching the corn hole matches.

My daughter and her husband even came dressed in their corn hole competition uniforms. They came to play and were determined to win and take home the money. Guess they’ll have to wait until next year.

After a long series of matches, the eventually winners were my brother and his wife. This cements the Florida hold on the corn hole tournament winners. Last year their son and his wife were the winners.

 

Another highlight of the weekend is the clam and lobster boil. Things get very quiet for awhile and everyone gets serious about digging into their dinner. Here’s a few pics of everyone chowing down.

 

 

Here’s a few pictures of the gang that had gathered for the family celebration.

 

We also did a few rounds of Thunderstruck, which is now becoming a family tradition. I’m just saying it involves way too much beer and can lead to some wild times. But this year we seemed to somewhat behave ourselves.

A few remaining random pictures.

          

Before we had to head back home we did one more short hike with my cousin from Vermont. We wanted to see if we could make it all the way around the lake. Luckily we were able to make it all the way since I wouldn’t have wanted to turn around. Here’s the GPS track of that hike.