Due to our school calendar, we barely made it to Bethesda in time for Christmas. Fortunately, traveling on Christmas Eve is surprisingly pleasant — no crowds at the airport and plenty of room on the plane. This visit included Anthony and Andrew’s families plus Max. Dave, Nancy, and Raven spent the holiday in Utah. We missed them!
We flew to Bethesda to visit my parents for about a week around Christmas. A major blizzard and arctic chill was kicking off on the day we left, so we were lucky to make it with only a moderate delay. It was cold in the DC area too, but not nearly as bad as places further north. It was a fun trip, overlapping for a few days with Dave, Nancy, Raven, and Max.
We decided to take the risk of traveling this Christmas after two years of staying put. We flew to Bethesda to visit Andrew’s parents (known to the kids as “Grummy and Grandpa Stape”). Andrew’s brother, David, also visited with his family (Nancy, Raven, and Max). We were nervous about COVID the whole time, but multiple self-tests have come out negative, so we think we made it.
We avoided indoor activities beyond the family, but had a great time skating and exploring the National Mall. Pictures below capture a bit of the spirit (click on them for larger versions).
And, a video of Raven and Nancy doing a spin on the ice:
I found this screenshot while cleaning up my computer today. It’s from a Roy virtual get-together on March 14, 2021. Some of us were having fun with virtual backgrounds.
It’s odd to think that in the five+ months since this shot was taken, two of the three Roy-boy families have moved into new homes.
While visiting my parents, I idly mentioned to my dad that I was looking for a good book on Southeast Asian mythology. With a gleam in his eye, he motioned for me to follow him down to the basement library (one of at least two rooms that could be called libraries in this house). Three minutes later I had this stack balanced under my chin:
We scheduled our Bethesda segment with my parents primarily to celebrate my dad’s 80th birthday and originally planned to stay for five or six days and then do some Appalachian camping on our way north to Ithaca. As it turned out, we needed all the time we could get for some family R&R.
Shortly after our arrival, Sarah was stricken with strep throat and Maggie had an infected finger, requiring multiple trips to urgent care. I was fighting a cold (we feared it might be strep, but I dodged that bullet) and my poor dad was hit with a powerful cold as well. But it was the perfect place to curl up and lick our wounds. The kids love it there and adore their grandparents. (One of my favorite moments of the trip was when Maggie refused to follow us downstairs for dinner, stating firmly, while sitting at the top of the stairs, “I want to wait for Grandpa!”)
Despite all of the illnesses, we did manage to get out with the kids a fair amount. The pictures below make it look like all we did was romp around, but really we just never took out the camera when we were convalescing.
We spent Christmas in Bethesda with Grummy and Grandpa Stape, and all the Roy cousins. Fourteen people under one roof! Wonderful mayhem.
Our big Thanksgiving gathering took place in Santa Cruz again this year. The consensus is that Santa Cruz is the best of the various destinations that we’ve been to. It’s close. It’s beautiful. Rental houses are plentiful and relatively affordable. And there is no shortage of fun. (Plus, nutritionists always recommend riding roller coasters after a 10,000 calorie meal.) Thanks to Nancy for the massive job of organizing the event! Some favorite pictures are below. Click on them to see larger versions or click here to see the full album. (You may notice a slight parental bias in picture subjects…)
