One afternoon, I hear someone outside the laundry rooom. I found several boys playing in the snow. Two on sleds and one with a real snowboard. I didn’t realize the hill next to our house was a good sledding hill.

Lynn agreed to go sledding. It was a great time!

The post Snowy Cincinnati first appeared on LeRoy Family Blog.

It was a great trip. We arrived a few days early so we could explore the area. It’s all desert (warm, sunny, and dry) with some really beautiful mountains. Nathan, Hannah, Lynn and I troured Zion Park on foot. It was a great day of hiking.

The next day we drove the Ironman bike course and it took us almost as much time it would for the athletes. Matthew arrived on Friday and he joined me and Lynn on an electric bikeride through Zion. That was really special too. We did the Narrows hike and then Matthew and I climbed Scout’s Landing. That was a VERY hard climb.

The race itself was impressive. We were up and at the swim course before sunrise. The pro’s started at sun-up. It took Nathan an hour to start after the pro start. He finished the whole race in under seven hours. He averages 10 minute miles on the run. You can see his results on the Ironman Website Results Page.

The winners were hard to believe. Average 28mph for the bike and 5:27 for the run. Insane!!

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The weather was perfect at 78 degress and hardly a cloud in the sky. We drove the Porsche to Melissa Palmer’s. That was a tough drive due to all the traffic. Our usual 60 minute drive became over 90 minutes. But, driving a convertible in perfect weather is hard to complain about.

Some key points that I loved the most:
1. As it got dark, the temp was noticable cooler
2. The animals did NOT get quiet
3. Seeing the corona of the sun was indescribable
4. It seemed like dawn but 360 degrees

We tried to take pictures but none worked very well. Here are some that I though were better:
* Eclipse for Skylink – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ust2eR3nhJc
* Eclipse from James Webb Telescope: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2127373170805852/permalink/2310705759139258/?mibextid=WC7FNe&rdid=Q327YSa0mj5DSOIE

The post 2024 Eclipse first appeared on LeRoy Family Blog.

It was a great weekend. Lynn and went down on her actual birthday which was nice, We spent some time at the pool and I played some golf.

The party was excellent! Carin and Mom did most of the arrangements. Mary created the video below. Lynn and I were Emcee and organized the games. Margaret and Don helped with the flowers.

It was amazing how many friends from Grandezza showed up.

The post Mom’s 90th Birthday Party first appeared on LeRoy Family Blog.

The guys went to a Yankees Game, the girls went to see Lion King.

Lynn and I took care of Mom for the weekend. It was hard with her new knee but we had lots of fun.

The post Lauren Shower first appeared on LeRoy Family Blog.

The post Lynn’s Knee Surgery first appeared on LeRoy Family Blog.

The post Charlottesville with Mary and Paul first appeared on LeRoy Family Blog.

We have so many stories to tell but I’ll try to keep it short. The house was great. Right on Lake Phillips. Lynn did a great job finding it.

My favorite day was Acadia National Park. We made reservations for our visit to Cadillac Mountain. It was a beautiful blue sky day. We could see all the way to Nova Scotia. The hiking was smooth and moderate.

We did a lot of driving around the park and then stopped at Jorden Pond for lunch. It’s a famous spot with sonderful outsid seating with a view of the mountain. The unfortunate part was the crowds. Matthew couldn’t find a parking spot and left before lunch. Too bad we didn’t get the message.

Our day trip to Camden was awesome. Again, the weather was perfect. We booked a schooner ride for everyone. The 100 year old boat was captained by it’s owners and that trip was really special. We saw lots of wild life. in Dolphince. Selas, and lots of birds. After the sail boat ride, we toured the city for a while before driving back north. And, of course, stopping at Young’s lobster pound along the way.

We also arranged for Family Photos for everyone. The photographer did a great job. The pictures came out awesome.

As a grand finally, Bob rented a Jet Ski for the day. That was tons of fun for everyone.

The big downfall of the whole trip was when Mom fell down the stairs. She cracked her head on the cement pretty good. She had a big black eye, broken wrist, and we all got a pretty good scare. She had to spend the night in the hospital but it ended better than we expected.

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We flew to Vegas and rented a large SUV.  It was a Ford Expedition EL and just big enough for everyone (7 people) and their luggage to fit.  Because the flight was very early, and given the time change, we landed early in the morning and immediately started driving to The Canyon.  

We stopped at the Hoover Dam for a quick tour.  I’ve seen it from an airplane many times but standing on top of it gives you a whole new appreciation for this structure; the scale is amazing.

After a short stop at the dam, we continued our drive to the hotel in Tusayan, AZ where our hotel for the stay is.  The Grand Hotel at the Grand Canyon as very nice.  It’s only a few miles south of The Canyon.  We settled in quickly and then drove up to see what we traveled so long for.

Day 1:  We were hoping for a bike tour but all the bikes were gone. So, we did a bunch of walking around the main visitor center.  The views are jaw dropping.  It almost looked fake.

After a few hours of slowly walking along the south rim, we went back to the bike shop and found they had bikes for us.  Our bike ride from the visitor center towards Hermit’s Rest was strenous but stunning.  We didn’t make it the whole way but it was very cool.  Dinner was the Big-E that no one liked.

Day 2: Nothing was planned for the morning so we drove along 64 towards Desert View Tower.  It looks really old but it’s not.  The architect just wanted it to look like that.  The drive was beautiful with lots of stops to check out the view.

In the evening we took a guided tour to watch the sunset over the canyon. Our guide was Nathan and he did great, especially with the kids on our tour.  The Canyon is amazing as it changes colors through the day.  As each hour passes, the colors change.  You see reds and greens and browns,  It’s amazing.  Dinner was Mexican and the best meal in Tusayan.

Day 3: This was the big day.  Our chance to hike down into the Canyon.  Our guide was John who runs his own guided tours of the canyon.  He has spent a lot of time below the rim.  The trek was crazy.  The walls are very steep and so is the trail.  Our trip saw:

• 1000 feet of vertical drop and over 3 miles round trip.
• Two mule trains.  They carry the supplies to and from camps at the bottom.  They don’t run every day.  We were lucky to see two.
• Eons of errosion.  There are literally billions of years of errosion and each layer had distinct kinds of earth/dirt.  
• Seeing the canyon from this perspective made it entirely different. 

Lynn had a bum knee but did great.  Both up and down, she was smooth, slow and steady.  We only made it to Cedar Ridge but that was good enough for most of us. 

We drove back to Vegas on Day 4.  That was really uneventful. 

• Stayed at the Venetian Hotel which is really nice. 
• Saw the only show in town.  It was good but not great.  We spent some time at the pool. 
• Walked around Vegas a bunch.
• It was 110 degrees each day.

I so thankful we could do this as a family.

The post Grand Canyon Vacation first appeared on LeRoy Family Blog.

We planned a trip to Naples in October of 2019.  The plan was to rent Bob and Sheila Hague’s condo in Grandezza and work remotely for two weeks.  In December, Mom LeRoy decides she’s leaving All seasons and moving back to Grandezza.  

Turns out Mom’s move overlapped with our trip.  Lynn and I got to help her move into the new place.  Don’t get me wrong; it’s very nice and she seems very happy.  It just wasn’t on the original agenda.

In the middle of it all, Lynn went to Winter Haven to help her parents.  She went to the doctor with Mom and visited with Lawyers and friends too.  They all come to Naples for a few days too.  

Space Launch

One of my bucket list items was completed on this trip.  Over almost 30 years of traveling to Florida, I’ve not once seen a live space launch.  As Lynn says “Bob was bound and determined to see it this time”

It was scheduled for Saturday but it was obvious that weather was going to scrub the mission until 8:00 the next day.  I got up at 3:30 and checked the weather and the NASA sites.  It looked like a good day to fly.  I left Naples and headed to Cape Canaveral at 4:00.  It’s a 3 1/2 hour drive and the 

When I arrived the launch was delayed until 9:00.  So, I continued to drive closer.  I was funneled into the actual space center visitors area.  It was $10 to park.  When I got to the ticket window, I asked where the best place to view the launch and she said the Saturn Launch viewing area; $50 to enter and a 30 minute bus drive.

I arrived at the viewing area at 9:00 The launch was now delayed until 10:30.  Because I was alone, it was easy to find a single spot on the bleachers. The guy in front of me is a tour guide but attended on his own.  He could answer every question you asked.

The rocket launched at 10:30 as planned.  Feeling the vibration from the launch was incredible.  The mission was to test the emergency escape system on the Crew Dragon capsule.  The mission was  perfect.  And, the booster exploded just as planned. 

Five minutes after launch I headed to the buses to return to Naples.  While in line the guy in front of me was looking at his pictures.  I asked him for copies (weird I know).  While he was sending them, I asked “where are you from”.  Of course, she said Cincinnati.  Small world.

Tisdel Boat

Turns out John Tisdel was in Naples at the same time.  He invited us onto his boat for a tour around.  It was short and tons of fun.  Hopefully, next time we’ll be able to stay longer.

The post Naples Florida first appeared on LeRoy Family Blog.