I’m Back – Vacation was Great.

After a couple of weeks vacation, I am back home. The break was terrific. My highlight was a presentation to the “Aunties” about the Darling Family. I’ve been working on their tree for quite some time and developed a “life book,” ala Henry Louis Gates’s “Finding your Roots.”  It went over exceptionally well. They have the life book and a biography of each of their ancestors on their Father’s side that I could find as well as a CD containing copies of the images of all the documents used to do the book. I also did a slide show of key highlights of their family tree.

Also, while there, I took photos of many photos, letters, and documents that I hadn’t seen before, as well as recorded conversations with many of the Aunties. I will have hours and hours of work to incorporate the information into my records, but it will be fun.

We did some shopping at Reny’s – A Maine Adventure. Usually, I’m not too fond of shopping, but Reny’s t is always a pleasure. They carry a lot of “manly stuff,” Carhartt, Pendleton, and Woolrich — In sizes that fit me. I picked up a new fedora and suspenders. I love Reny’s.

My wife and I then attended the wedding of her niece, SH. It was a beautiful event on Casco Bay (Portland, ME). Another event for my records with photos.

My wife then visited with her best friend since the 8th grade, EB. It was great to see her again. We laughed long enough and hard enough to cause my side to hurt. We were able to turn on EB and her husband to TED Talks. There is one we call “Amy the Unicorn” that my wife and I find amazing. Fun to watch, entertaining, engaging, and even enlightening. It has nothing to do with genealogy but is well worth watching. See it on TED.

We followed my wife’s passion and went stalking the wild tourmaline, appetite, and other stones at various quarries in Maine through Poland Mining Camps. The food was excellent, the beds comfortable, and my wife was thrilled with the rocks she collected.

I’ve still got a lot of follow-ups to do after the vacation, catch up on email, incorporate photos into iPhoto and categorize them. Soon I will be back to my everyday life and be able to support the Smyrna Historical and Genealogical Society, work on my genealogy, and blog here.

[This post was gently edited and the categories and tags were updated  on 5 August 2022.]