Georgia friends

We are using the beach this week properly - entertaining friends from Georgia. Sandy and Vonn are decades long friends of Lisa and De Linda (De Anne's sister) and we have vacationed with them several times before. This time we cut out the middlemen (Lisa & De Linda) and invited Sandy and Vonn down for some beach time.

 The ladies looking for shells:

Yes, it is a beautiful beach, and this afternoon we will take them to an even nicer beach about a mile away.

Evening update - There is nothing better for a man than having three women cooking him a ribeye steak dinner with all the fixings!

Atlanta detour

At the urging of De Anne's sister, De Linda, we took I-85 home instead of I-95. That allowed a detour visit to Atlanta and got us off the traffic hell that I-95 has become.

De Linda and Lisa had completely remodeled their kitchen last year and this year the major project was a new deck. We arrived as the finishing touches were being done.

New back deck:

From the front  yard:

We have rejoined the beach crowd and look forward to getting some of that white sugar sand between our toes tomorrow.

Homecoming

Tristan is home from his Afghanistan tour. We were amazed to meet his Commanding Officer from Washington DC at the International gates in the Baltimore airport. His first CO from his Afghan tour also appeared. The four of us compared notes on Tristan while waiting for the delayed flight. That two Navy  captains would travel to Baltimore to welcome Tristan home was very special.

De Anne, alarmed at his skinny condition, has been feeding him non-stop.

Three whirlwind days of unpacking, furniture buying, and (since it is IKEA furniture) a lot of assembly. He is now stationed in DC and his new assignment is getting a master's degree in International Relations.

DC 4th

One last beach walk before traveling north to greet Tristan returning from his tour of duty.

We are now in Arlington VA at Tristan's apartment next to the Potomac River. He was in this building last year and wanted back in again, so he rented it, sight unseen, over the Internet - from the other side of the world.

Tristan does not land in the US until Tuesday, but De Anne and I came early to set the place up, avoid Fourth of July traffic, and play tourist.

The bad weather yesterday scared us away from the Mall festivities; however, from the raised Freedom Walk we had a great view of the fireworks and dry weather for a while. Tristan's building is on the left of the picture and the Washington monument is to the left of the fireworks.

Back at the beach

We completed our summer vacation in Canada and arrived back at the beach to enjoy our somewhat obstructed, but never the less, beautiful sea view again.

A few thoughts on Canada. It is a difficult place to remember that you are in a foreign country. I had a harder time with language dialect moving from the Midwest to the deep South back in the 1970's. New construction was going on everywhere. We noted the noise, rudeness, and general chaos exhibited by so many American youth was missing in Canada. A safe, lovely country to visit.... in spring or summer.

 Our next trip, later this summer, is to Washington DC to welcome home our eldest son from his overseas assignment.

Tip of Canada

Since we are on a peninsula surrounded by Lake Erie, Lake st. Clair, and the Detroit river a car or bike ride usually ends up at waters edge.

We visited Amherstburg and toured the waterfront and the remains of a fort with a plaque containing a brief mention of the War of 1812 and the indignities suffered at the hands of the American fleet led by Admiral Perry. 

The waterfront with Bois Blanc island in the background. This side of the island is for northbound ships, and southbound ships use the other side.

 

We also visited the southern tip of Canada. Unlike the USA, this southern tip was devoid of strange people, open air bars, and free-range chickens.

We visited the marsh lands near the tip and it looked so much like the Everglades that we half expected to see an alligator. We also noted the lack of hand rails on the elevated walkway. A clear sign that Canadian liability laws have not reached the fine edge of US laws. 

To preserve the fragile ecosystem we were required to take a trolley the last two miles.

Finally, after a short walk through the woods we arrived at tip of Canada - a beach and the beautiful waters of Lake Erie. Kept beautiful by the constant filtering of water by billions of zebra mussels. 

The right side

We entered Canada across the International bridge from Detroit, passing over to the right side of the Detroit river.  After a quiz about guns, liquor, and tobacco which we seemed to pass, the only comment from the border agent was that he would be glad to go live in our home if we would take over his job.

Terry and Brenda spent a few days giving us a familiarization tour of the area before embarking on their Alaskan cruise, leaving their dog, Koby, to our tender mercies. 

Now, De Anne and I have a great deal of experience caring for canines; however, this one is about 100 pounds lighter than most of our previous charges. On the plus side, since the current politically correct trend is " puppy pooper scooping" a small dog is not without his charms.

We have biked and driven to various points on the Detroit river and in each case I was pleased with being on the right (Canadian) side.