East coast trip day 12: One last visit in Shrewsbury

The 12th day of our trip was spent visiting with Vienne's great grandmother and great grandfather out in Shrewsbury. It was neat to see 4 generations of beautiful ladies in da house! Vienne's great aunts Kathie, Taffy and Diane along with her great uncle Danny and auntie Arianne stopped by to say hello.













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East coast trip day 11: Elaine and Hebert's Candy Mansion!!

Day 11 began with a visit from Nana Sian's friend and ex-roommate Elaine. Vienne was instantly in love with her new dalmatian puppy, courtesy of Elaine.

Then afterward, it was off to the Hebert's Candy Mansion! Read more about the history of candy mansion here!





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MUSIC: Big Rock Candy Mountain by Susie Tallman

East Coast trip day 10 - Chris, Donna and Vienne's party

Day 10 was spent in Easthampton visiting Danielle's good friend from high school, Chris Wayne. Chris lives in NY and is an assistant director with The View. We had the pleasure of attending a taping of The View a few years ago, courtesy of Chris. Next up was Donna, the mother of Danielle's ex, with whom she has stayed close.

Finally, we ended up back at Meme's for a party thrown in Vienne's honor by her Pepe and her Aunt Ellen. Many of Danielle's cousins and a few of her father's motorcycle buddies attended. We snacked on ribs and Thanksgiving leftovers.

Chris and Vienne:


Donna, Danielle and Vienne:









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East Coast trip day 9 - Frank and Ruth's!

We slept in a bit on Friday, day 9 of our trip. Nana Sian was at work that day, so Danielle, Vienne and I ate a late lunch at the local greasy spoon (ok, ok...it wasn't that greasy) then it was off to Woodstock, Ct. for a brief visit with Frank and Ruth Wilson.

Frank is my dad's cousin, and as teenagers in the 60s, they had some rascally times: cruisin' for chicks and racing their hot rods all over Eugene, Oregon. I met Frank and his wife Ruth many times as a kid (and as an adult as well, most recently being Danielle and I's wedding), but it had been MANY years since I had seen their kids, Heath and Marnie. Their other daughter Linn has since moved to Montana. We had a great time visiting for the night while watching the Oregon Ducks football team squeak by the Arizona Wildcats. We also gave ourselves migraines trying to figure out the exact relation of Vienne to Frank & Ruth, their kids and their grandkids. 2nd cousin, twice removed is about the best we came up with.





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East Coast trip day 8 - Thanksgiving!

On Thursday - a little more than a week into our trip - we had a wonderful Thanksgiving at Great Grandma Meme's house. The feast consisted of the usual delightfulness - red wine, ham and turkey, punkin' pie and great conversation!




As usual, Vienne slept through part of the evening, but ended up showing off for everyone near the end of the night. Trust me, there was plenty of "ham" on the table that night!






(Click on any photo to see the large version)

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MUSIC: Simple Gift by Jewel

East Coast trip day 7 - Mount Auburn Cemetary

At the suggestion of Auntie Arianne, we visited Mount Auburn Cemetary, located in Boston. Unfortunately, Nana Sian couldn't join us because she had to work. But first, before we could explore the cemetary (with such famous inhabitants as Oliver Wendell Holmes, Henry Cabot Lodge and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow) we had to change Vienne's stinky poo pants in the only place possible - in the trunk of the car!!!!







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MUSIC: I'll Wait by Van Halen

Monumental day!!

Please pardon me as I take a quick detour from the videos of our East Coast trip in order to present to you all a very special moment in Vienne's life.

Take a gander: