Hyannis

If it's true that a pictures say a thousand words, than this blog is worth a million. The above pictures are:

1. The Grave of Mother Goose

2. The grave of Paul Revere

3. A Memorial to JFK in Hyannis, MA

4. The grave of John Hancock

5. Gelato in Little Italy (Boston)

6. Kathleen & Erin at the statue of John Harvard in Harvard Square

7. The cutest Post Office in America (Hyannis)

After having a wonderful day in Boston, we had a delightful dinner with Judy, Jamie and Jeff Sheldon. We did not get back to Kathleen's apt. until around midnight. We had a lazy morning and did what all New Englanders seem to do on Fridays;:we headed to Cape Cod. After stalking a few Kennedys we toured Hyannis and Barnstable.

Hope all is well in your neck of the woods and that your Barns are stable too.

Ken, Cathy, Kathleen and Erin

We're in Boston

Busy day today. We took the train from Providence to Boston. We walked the Freedom trail, saw the graves of Mother Goose, John Hancock and had lunch at Quincy Market. We also had gelato in little Italy.
We took a tour of Harvard while Kathleen was in class. Here is a photo of the Widener Library @ Harvard. We took a peek inside and saw a genuine Gutenberg Bible!
Tonight we are meeting Judy and Jamie for dinner. The weather today is wonderful.

In Providence

The drive went well but 1200 miles is 1200 miles.

But good company made the time pass quickly.

We've invaded Kathleen's apartment but tried to make up for it by buying her things, like a fan and groceries. She is a wonderful host. We took a trolly tour of Providence yesterday and also a walking tour of Brown University. Both were fun. We plan on going to Boston today.

On our way out here we saw a HHHHUUUGE Motor home pulling a very small car. As we approached it from behind we saw this note on the rear window of the tiny car.

First Day on The Road

First day on the road:

0:30 amount of time it took for us to disobey Judy, the GPS.
04:32 amount of time it took for us to run our first red light
40:00 amount of time it took for us to stop for food

And so began another Blaney family road trip. Highlights thus far include going thru Chicago which Dad took as an opportunity to discuss the downfall of American politics, not knowing when we actually crossed into Indiana.

If this is the first time you are joining us for a Blaney family road trip, let me tell you something.
We are history fanatics. Not in a "how many states can you name" way, but a "name all the states, in alphabetical order way. Now do the capitals. Now the presidents. Now who was your favorite president and why"-kind of way.

In an earlier blog, dad asked our fellow Catholics to pray to your favorite intercessory saint. He should have specifically mentioned not to pray to St. Jude. At this point we are not yet a hopeless cause.

So we end our first night in Youngstown, Ohio. 600 miles down and 600 more to go.

Erin

It's Not Hot Enough Here!

Greetings,

After reading that Boston and New York have set record high triple diget temperatures, Cathy, Erin and I decided to jump into our beat up van and drive 1200 miles so we can get us some of that! The truth is we are traveling east to visit Kathleen in Providence, Rhode Island.

We know that when we get to the end of our block, we have to turn left. We're pretty sure that we have to go through Chicago and turn left again. If we hit the ocean we've gone too far. Other than that we have put ourselves at the mercy of our GPS.

During our trip we know that the sites to see will include Providence, Boston, Newport, perhaps NYC, perhaps Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket and maybe a visit with cousins in Boston and Connecticut. Do any of you have any further suggestions?

Please send your suggestions to us and your prayers for safe travel to God. If you are Catholic you may send your prayers to your favorite intercessory saint.

We'll try to keep you posted about on progress.

Ken, Cathy and Erin

2010 Blaney Family Christmas

Greetings and Merry Christmas!

2010 began with Erin moving to the John Felice Center in Rome. She moved to the Eternal City in January. Her blisters from walking began the day after her arrival as did her love of art, wine and gelato.

Cathy and I went to visit her in February. While she attended classes during the week, we took trips to Assisi and Florence. Assisi was a stark contrast to Rome. A small village, it is the home of St. Francis and St. Claire and is built into a hill with many cobblestone roads and sidewalk passageways that lead to the many levels of the city (think Belle in Beauty and the Beast). Florence is the home of the Renaissance, Michelangelo and as a fellow tourist told us, "a butt full of art". We saw Michelangelo's David, the Uffizi and more famous art than we will ever see again in our lifetimes. But Rome is ...well… Rome. It's home to the Trevi fountain, St Peter's Basilica, the Pope, the Vatican, the Vatican Museum, The Borghese Gallery, the Forum, the Colosseum, four of the most important churches in Christendom…and Erin.

Erin did not want for company during her stay there. After our return home, she was visited by Jon, Mary Jo and Kathleen and just before she left, her grandfather went for a visit and to escort her home. His visit was highlighted by late dinners and a horse drawn carriage ride thru the old city of Rome - a memory that they will both cherish forever. She also managed to fit in some traveling with friends including a desert camping trip to Tunisia where she learned camels are still used for transportation.

Upon her return to the states, Erin settled into her apartment in Milwaukee, worked at Barnes and Noble, readied herself for her senior year at Marquette and it was Kathleen's turn to move. She had spent her post graduate year studying, volunteering at Notre Dame High School and being a nanny for Brian and Martha's two children. Her time at NDA was highlighted when she helped chaperone a group of students on a service trip to Canton, Mississippi to rehab homes. Between Kathleen and Erin this was the 5th trip to this very impoverished area. Her nanny job caused her to fall in love with her two charges, Emmett and Claire, a love which they returned two fold.

In August, it was time for Kathleen to pack her bags, say good-bye and drive 1200 miles to Providence, RI with her mother to begin working on her Master's Degree in Public Health at Brown University. I flew out a week later for a visit and to drive the car back to Green Bay. Her adaptation to Brown, Rhode Island and being away from home, family and friends was made easier by a visit from Mary Jo and Jon. During their visit the three of them met young Ted Kennedy, Patrick Kennedy and Joan Kennedy and saw the Kennedy compound in Hyannis. Also helping her to settle in was my cousin and her husband, Barb and Bruce Hoag who invited her to their gorgeous home in Connecticut.

Other highlights of the year included extended visits with friends and family and time at the cottage. We have been truly blessed.

Greetings and Merry Christmas,
Ken, Cathy, Kathleen and Erin

April in Door County

Greetings from Door County!

We were feeling a little left out this weekend because we were not blogging and I'm sure you all wanted to know about our weekend.

We stopped in Sturgeon Bay on the way up and had Chinese food. We both had cashew chicken. It was very good and we brought some home. When we got to the cottage we had a fire and watched TV then went to bed.

On Saturday we went to lunch at Summer Kitchen. We both had some kind of pita pockets with chicken and a cup of soup. I had mushroom soup and I think Cathy did too. We stopped at Nelson Hardware on the way back to the cottage and bought some fertilizer. Cathy also bought some reading glasses. I bought a toenail clipper.....but that is a whole different blog!

After a stop at Not Licked Yet (AKA Twice Licked) we walked down to Gibralter HS to watch a baseball game. WE were playing Sevastapol. WE won! Way to go Vikings! Cathy and I went for a nice walk and later that night we had ribs for dinner. They were good.

On Sunday we went for a long walk into town. We walked past the park entrance but did not go in. We walked past Gibralter Grill but it's now open yet. We had leftovers and as I write this, we are preparing to head back to GB! (I figure if I use all exclamation points this will all seem interesting, but it's not.) This afternoon we talked with Erin via SKYPE. It sounds like the Pilgrimage to Rome was going well except that the Pope "slipped them the Screwgie" by not showing up at his window to lead them in prayer. He sent, instead, a video presentation of himself - perhaps next time he will just blog like the rest of us.

Hope all well with you. We enjoy reading all of your blogs.

Ken and Cathy