Home Alone

For the last three days I have been doing one of the things I like to do best during my stays in this beautiful house. Being home alone!! I like to be here and take care of the place while Tom and Judy are at work. It really makes me feel like one of the family. The time goes quickly, sometimes Adam will call and we will talk, other times, Sarah and the boys, Davey and Derek will call. Always the question, "Are you home alone Joe?" Yep, home alone --- nice!!

Well, yesterday, Judy had a reasonably easy work load so she and I went to collect her car that had been in the garage for the last couple of days. On the way home we had a walk along by the beautiful Medicine Lake that lies just behind Tom and Judy’s house. I got what I think are some nice pictures - before my camera batteries ran out- that I would like to share with you.

This is a very nice and helpful person that we met at the Lexus dealership in Wayzata. His name is Chris Doyle and he is one of the chief service technicians in the service department. Is he Irish? Well of course he is!! Judy is enjoying this Chris. I have beaten her to the punch in singing your praises. Well, what I said about you is true. You have been a very kind and considerate person that treated us with the greatest courtesy and help all along the way since Judy's problem with her car began.

Carlson Towers, Minnetonka, Minnesota

Judy relaxing beside Medicine Lake

I started the lakeside series of pictures with a picture of my gracious host Judy. What better way to end than with this picture of her taken beside the lake.

All the above pictures were taken along the shoreline of Medicine lake close to Tom and Judy's house. I don't think Judy fully realised the beauty that lay on her own doorstep until we walked along by the side of this lake.

More Pictures From Our Trip To Duluth

Visit to Duluth and day out in Minnesota

Saturday,
Tom and Judy and I went on a trip to the city of Duluth which is situated 150 miles north of Minneapolis/St Paul. A beautiful phenomenon occurs across the country at this time of the year when the many different species of trees shed their summer foliage and adorn themselves with the beautiful colours of Fall or Autumn as we in Ireland know it. Each species of tree, having its own distinctive colouring makes for a lovely kaleidoscope of colours when the leaves begin to change.

On the road to Duluth

Duluth, with its many different variety of trees is a place where this occurrence can be observed at its best.

Most of the nice colouring we saw was on the road to Duluth.  This is a picture of a house surrounded by the trees in their Autumn colouring

If we didn't get to see the Autumn colours at Duluth, we certainly got to see some nice foliage along the way



More trees in their Autumn plumage

We were disappointed however, because time and tide and the changing of the leaves wait for no man (or even Judy) and we didn’t get to see the magnificent event, not because we were late for it, but we happened to be a couple of weeks too early. We did however get to see the greatest of the Great Lakes, Superior, on which Duluth is a major shipping port.

To say we were disappointed is not strictly correct; in fact it is not correct in any sense. This was one of the most enjoyable days I have ever experienced. On the way to Duluth, we stopped off at one of Minnesota’s state parks of which it has many. This one was named Fr. Hennepin State Park.

Fr. Hennepin State Park is a beautifully laid out park that verges onto one of Minnesota’s ten thousand lakes, known as Lake Milacs. It was a beautiful sunny day and it was most enjoyable to explore the nature trails and walkways of this nice park.

Later we had lunch at a diner, in the nearest town, that was straight out of the 1950’s. I expected to see Marty McFly of Back to The Future fame, come through the door at any moment. However, the food was great and the service equally so.

Next stop was Duluth and there we had some nice time along the shore of Lake Superior before driving on to another state park. This one was called Gooseberry Falls and as the name implies, it is the scene of the famous Gooseberry Falls. These consist of the Middle and Lower Falls of the Gooseberry River, as it plummets through a rocky gorge.

Judy beats us to the top as usual.  On the way up to Gooseberry Falls



Tom and Judy at Gooseberry Falls

Trip to America two

I began my second trip of the year to the USA and Minnesota, on Wednesday 19 September. The first leg of the trip brought me through Atlanta, where there was a 4 hour delay before catching the onward flight to Minneapolis/St Paul where I was met by Judy. Soon I was enjoying a hearty meal with her and Tom in the comfort of their their home in Plymouth.

Next morning, after a good rest, Judy and myself set forth to visit Sarah and the boys, Davey and Derek. What better way to spend the first day of my holiday than with those two little boys and their mom.

We had a lovely day playing on the swings and batting the ball. Davey at 4 years old, it quite a batter and with Judy acting as pitcher we had a very enjoyable game. An interesting point – once when Davey gave a ball quite a whack. Judy said to him: aren’t you quite the power house? I’m not a house was his reply, I’m a boy.

Davey and Derek flying high

Taking a break

Derek Judy and Davey

When evening came and we were leaving for home, we received a tornado watch and a severe thunderstorm warning. Fifteen minutes before the thunder storm warning expired, we set out for home. However, what we were unaware of was that the warning had been extended an hour and a half in the area of home. The result being that we drove straight into the storm. It was a pretty severe storm but with Judy’s expert driving, we made it home safe and sound. Also, we were fortunate to have power when we got home, while 14,000 other homes were without.

Approaching Storm

Threatening Skies

View through Judy's windshield

Severe flooding on the road home

Final Weeks of My First Visit to America

Well, my next visit to America is very close at hand (I leave on Wednesday next 19 September) and I find I haven’t got round to fully recording my last visit yet. Well I suppose such are they vagrancies of human nature. Some of us start off with the greatest intentions and we get a lot of things done and then we fall into a state of lethargy and before we know it, days turn into weeks and weeks into months and we find at the end of it all a deadline is upon us and we have nothing done. Sometimes I come under that heading I'm afraid. I have no excuses to offer, I stand guilty as charged. All I can do is apologise to my readers and promise that next time the trip will be recorded on a daily basis and not left until I return home.

It’s very hard to get home from a trip such as I had the last time. Your body arrives back on schedule, but ones mind and emotions are still with the events and people you have left behind. It takes a long time to collect that mind and be able to do a series of posts that fully does justice to all you have experienced.

I have written a lot about my time with the entire Wright family. There would be many more times that I would experience their hospitality and the feel good togetherness of being in their company.

One such time was Easter and what a great time we had then. Arranging the egg hunt on Easter Sunday for the children (and some adults too) was very special. What a beautiful tradition this is to be enjoyed by children and adults alike.

Easter egg hunt in progress

Little Derek’s birthday party is another event that will stay with me for a long time. Unfortunately, that may have been over shadowed slightly by the fact that it took place a couple of days before I was due to leave for home. On the positive side though, it was a marvellous way to finish the holiday. Never in my wildest dreams did I think that I would ever again find myself enjoying a childhood experience such as swinging on a garden swing or careering down a slide like a five-year old, but that is what those people do for you, they make you forget all the deficiencies you have accumulated in 68 odd years of life and give you the ability to live the moment. And what wonderful moments they were – now I’m looking forward to doing it all again because Davey has informed me no later than today that he is anxiously awaiting playing on the swing with Gramma Joe, as we are affectionately known. In fact he was insisting that we be there today, but I’m afraid he’ll have to wait another week before I can take up that challenge again.

Having a swinging time at Derek's Birthday Party

Another great aspect of Derek’s birthday party was that Tom and I got a great opportunity to play with toys Derek had got for his presents.

Grandpa and Derek enjoying the toys

Another bringing together of family and friends was Judy’s birthday. How fortunate I was to be there for that. By this time of course, I was well ensconced in the family, but it was marvellous to meet all the friends that had come to pay tribute to her on this marvellous day. It was such a strange thing. Even though I had never met any of the friends face to face, I knew most of them from having seen them on video and pictures. I don’t want to single out any of them; they all deserve special mention for their friendship and total acceptance and understanding of my friendship with the entire family that found its roots in my chance visit to the chat room in mid 2005, but I have to mention Tom and Judy’s next-door neighbour, Joan. I had found a special connection with Joan. I had heard so often, while talking to Judy, the sound of her mower as she mowed the grass on her yard (we call it a lawn). I would say to Judy, “there goes Joan again”. It was great to meet at last the architect of that sound I had become so familiar with.

Sarah, Joe, and ??? at Judy's Party

Judy’s party having coincided with my visit and the fact that the good St Patrick also had an input - it being his Feast Day - gave the party a real Irish flavour. Adam managed to acquire a Céad míle fáilte banner to be hung under the mantle in the fireplace room and it was very hard not to notice that most other things were emblazoned in the green of the Emerald Isle. I thank you Tom and Judy and all the family for sharing this special day with me.

To get the atmosphere of a day like this, you have to understand the open door policy of the Wright household and the all-embracing closeness of the family to each other and to everyone that has the good fortune to be their guest.

For this special day, the hostess duties were taken over by Sara Beth, Sarah, and Kara. Judy could not have left this duty in more capable hands. They expertly organised everything and helped to make the day a most pleasant and enjoyable experience and one that will reside in my heart for a long time.

MY VISIT TO NEW JERSEY

My trip to visit my family in New Jersey was a trip that was long-overdue. Although I have seen my sister-in-law Maureen and her husband Tom - my brother-in-law - on numerous occasions on their visits home to Ireland, I had not seen their two children - my niece and nephew - Mary and Edward since they were children. Now, of course, they are adults with spouses and children of their own. One of the most pleasurable parts of the tour was seeing them again after all the years and getting acquainted with Mary’s husband, Anthony, and Edwards wife, Amy and of course their children.

Tom and Maureen met me when I flew into Newark on a wet and winterly evening but the warmth of their welcome and the eventual arrival at their home in New Jersey made the weather a very insignificant matter.

On my second day in New Jersey, Tom took me on a train ride to Philadelphia where he brought me on a very interesting tour of the battleship New Jersey which is now retired from a long and fruitful campaign. It is now a museum piece and lies at anchor in Camden docks New Jersey.

I think the tour of this magnificent ship was a nostalgic occasion for Tom because if memory serves me correctly, it was one of the ships he served on during his long career with the American navy.

On board the SS New Jersey - one of its deck guns was able to fire this shell 25 miles

For me, one of most nostalgic moments was meeting my niece Mary. I hadn’t seen her since she was a child and meeting her brought back many happy memories of the times she spent with us at our old family home near Nenagh. She was a beautiful child then that was loved by all of us. It was no surprise for me to see that she had retained that beauty of character and generosity. I just felt pangs of sorrow that her aunt was not there to share this moment.

Mary and Anthony, her husband, have two beautiful children that I immediately lost my heart to, Abigail and Aileen. We immediately became firm friends and I would spend many happy hours with them during the rest of my stay in New Jersey.

Later on my first visit to them I met Anthony, when he arrived home from work. What can I say about Anthony? He is one of those guys that immediately makes you feel at home and at ease in his house. I’m sure Tom and Maureen will agree with me when I say that they could not be blessed with a better and nicer – and more worthy husband – for their daughter.

Mary and Anthony

Abigail, Maureen, Joe, Tom, Mary, Aileen, Anthony.

Story time, Aileen, Joe and Abigail

Well enough of the nostalgia, I just felt it was important for me to try to put into words how I feel and have always felt about my late wife’s family and who I am proud to say are my family too.

It was great to see my nephew Edward again after all the years. His dad, Tom, and I waited for him outside the building where he works in Philadelphia. A lot of people were going in and out of that building, but I recognised him immediately I saw him come out even though I hadn’t seen him since he was a young boy. Later we went for a most enjoyable lunch at his favourite restaurant.

Enjoying lunch with Edward and his dad, Tom, in Philadelphia

My stay with Tom and Maureen was pretty hectic and exciting. Over the course of a few days we managed to visit many parts of New York City. We visited Anthony at his place of work and got a tour of his building. We got to visit Ground Zero – now a construction site. We went to the top of the Empire State Building, had lunch at a famous Irish pub and restaurant on Murray Street, called Biddy Early’s where the food was excellent.

Tom and Maureen enjoying lunch at Biddy Early's bar and restaurant

I was hoping to get to visit Ellis Island where some of my aunts and uncles arrived when they immigrated to America in the early 1900’s but the time schedule didn’t allow for this, so this visit will have to wait for the next time

Probably one of the most poignant places any Irish visitor to New York can visit is the Irish Hunger Memorial garden—located on the corner of 290 Vesey and North End Avenue.

The Irish Hunger Memorial garden is a monument to those who perished during An Gorta Mór (The Great Hunger), and is a symbol to highlight areas of the world affected by hunger today.

The Irish Hunger Memorial site sits on a half-acre piece of land, significant as a clause added to the Irish Poor Laws by Sir William Gregory during the famine meant that anyone who owned more than a half-acre of land was not eligible for any aid or relief. Many of the starving were poor but owned a half-acre, forcing them to abandon their homes in order to obtain food.

Part of the Hunger Memorial

Before it was time for me to return to Minneapolis, we spend a beautiful day with Edward and Amy and their three children – Melissa, William and Laney. I also enjoyed a great family get together day and a beautiful meal that Maureen prepared as a going away party. This was a wonderful day but it was sad at the end saying good bye to everyone. Soon though, I hope to return to see all of them again.

Edward, Joe, Maureen, Melissa, William, Amy, Laney and Tom

Melissa, Laney and Edward

One thing that I really felt deeply was the friendliness and kindness of Tom and Maureen’s neighbours that I had got to know during my stay. They all came to say good bye to me the night before I left to return to Minneapolis.

This trip to America was one of the greatest experiences of my life, but it wasn’t over yet. I still had two weeks with my dear friends in Minnesota before returning home to Ireland.

I still had a trip with Tom and Judy to Colville Park to see the eagles – the eagles didn’t turn up but that was just a minor thing. At least I got to feel the waters of the famous Mississippi river. I still had a day at Minnesota zoo with Judy, Sarah, Davey and Derek, an evening at kinder musik and a day at the Mall of America with Judy.

Homeward bound. Approaching Dublin Airport with Ireland's Eye underneath

My thanks and my love to everyone that made this visit to America one of the most enjoyable experiences of my life.