The "Family Vacation" Story

Brother Steve works on a puzzle with his son Matt.

It was an ordinary day.  Sitting at the kitchen table working on a jigsaw puzzle with my brother Steve.  This particular White Mountain jigsaw puzzle has 1,000 pieces and features an old-time General Store in any town USA.  Steve loves to put puzzles together and will sit in front of one for hours until it has been finished.  Great way to talk about "the good old times" when we were kids growing up on North Queen Street in Lancaster, PA.  

Another puzzle completed.

For the past few years, Steve and Kathy, my sister-in-law, have invited Carol and me to visit with them during their annual fall trip to the Jersey Shore.  We have such a great time laughing and telling stories of our families as well as making visits to different places along the south Jersey coast.  A trip to the zoo, trip to find Cape May diamonds on Sunset Beach, our now traditional trip to the Lobster House for lunch, visits to the beach to bask in the fall sun and trips for shopping fill the days of the week.  I feel I have grown to known my brother and his family over the past few years more than ever before.  

Puzzle completed.

This year we made a visit to the Cape May lighthouse with Steve's son and wife, spent an early evening snapping shots of the sunset, exploring Sunset Beach once again to find the elusive Cape May diamond, went shopping on Washington Street in Cape May, ate evening meals at a variety of restaurants in Stone Harbor and had our lunch-time meal at the Lobster House.  All that, plus sitting at the kitchen table endlessly talking of times past while putting the jigsaw puzzles together.  At times we tend to forget how important family time together can be and our trip to the shore each year now tends to help bring us closer.  I have included a few photos of some of our adventures from our 2016 trip to Stone Harbor. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

Shopping on Washington Street in Cape May. 

View northward from the top of the Cape May Lighthouse.

Looking up at some of the 199 steps of the Cape May Lighthouse.

Looking up the outside of the lighthouse.

My brother Steve helping another beachgoer find Cape May Diamonds.

Sunset in Stone Harbor.

I have taken a photograph at this same location every year for perhaps 25 years.

A visit to the Watering Hull for our evening meal.

Steve and me share a taste of my Pina Colada.

The final puzzle of vacation which features locations in Stone Harbor.  Pictured from the left are: Matt, Steve and LDub.