February 3rd – Golf with Russ Schwartz and John McLaughlin at Old Corkscrew and then dinner at Bevy’s in Naples. We had dinner with Carin and Brian at Oak and Stone.
Feb 8th/9th – Venice beach with the Daventry friends. Lynn went shopping with the girls. Bob played Sarasota National golf course.
Feb 9th – Vanderbuilt Beach with our Swaim Field friends. The Allison’s came to visit and we watched the Super Bowl at the McLaughlin’s condo. Lots of work that week and dinners. Friday we played golf at Peplican Marsh; a beautiul golf course.
Feb 16th – Carin invited us to play her executive golf course at the Villages of Country Creek and then dinner again at O&S. That was a great day. On Tuesday, we had dinner at Meghan’s house. And Lynn’s Mom arrived on Thursday. Friday was golf at Arrowhead.
Feb 23th – We had brunch at the main Grandezza Club dining room. That was special because Mom, Sheila Hague and Gladys Larson all were there. Tuesday Gladys goes home and Wednesday we all leave.

Lynn and I spent a LOT of time with Mom.

• Dinner the day after we arrived at Bone Fish.
• Visits about every other day. The drive is 20 minutes each way.
• I played Bingo with her on Monday’s at 6:00pm
• She lost a hearing-aid so we scheduled an appointment and I took her to get tested for new aids.
• Brunch at Grandezza

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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!

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Lynn had a very busy week preparing to be away for eight days. Shortly after we boarded, she started feeling really bad. By the time we got to the hotel, she was down for the count. We got a covid test and, of course, it’s positive. The next two days she locked herself in the hotel room. I moved into Nathan’s room.

Day 1 – Lynn’s doctor ordered up some Paxlovid. While Lynn tried to recover, the guys went hiking in the local hills, got dinner together, and hung out a Matthew’s apartment.

Day 2 – She wasn’t better but rallied a bit as we drove to Yellowstone. That’s a long trip from Missoula. Four hours to get to the park; 90 minutes inside the part to arrive at the Yellowstone Lake Hotel.

Day 3 – Feeling a bit better, we took the Yellowstone South Loop drive. It’s amazing how big that park is. The South Loop is an easy two hour drive. Our stops included:

• West Thumb with many amazing hot springs. It’s so cool to see the water just boiling in the pools. The water is clear and deep but boiling like crazy. It’s not an illusion, if you touch it, it’s HOT.
• Old Faithful is definitely something to see. But it’s not the only geyser there. They all shoot very high in the air.
• Lots of other stops along the way too. So many geysers, falls and overlooks. We were on the road for most of the day.

Day 4 – Ready to vacation again, we headed for the North Loop and made lots of stops.

• We started at the “Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone”. This really felt like the Grand Canyon. The erosion from the river and falls were stunning.
• Our drive through Lamar Valley was to look for wildlife. We found it in Bison. There are SO many, it’s amazing. They’re HUGE and everywhere. But we didn’t see any bears.
• The valley follows the Lamar River, Lynn wanted to stop at a “Rivery River” stop. Nathan and Matthew were climbing on the big rocks/boulders. Nathan slipped and got to ride home in his “skivies”.
• Our stop at Mammoth Hot Springs was really cool. The Travistine (expelled Limestone) created a massive mountain over the springs.
• Norris Geyser is unique in that most of the other geysers are just hot water. Norris is sulfuric acid. You shouldn’t touch this water and it looks like your on another planet.

Day 5 – We returned to Missoula. Again the drive out of the park took two hours and then another four to get back to Missoula.

Day 6 – Nathan headed for home. Matthew and Lynn toured Missoula. I worked.

Day 7 – We flew home. Our best option was to leave afternoon and arrive home at 1:00am

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We did some dinners and hung out in her new apartment at Amavida. I was also lucky enough to play golf twice.

1. Carin and I played together at her course in the Villages of Country Creek. We did well together.
2. Meghan and I played against Ricky and Max at Grandezza. Our game of cart scramble ended in a tie.

The post Visit Mom 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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This year Jorden joined us. Because Matthew was in Montana, Jorden flew with me. We got upgraded to first class on the flight to Denver. They had a full meal ready for us. Since we already ate in the airport I passed; but, Jorden had a second breakfast.

We picked up Matthew in Denver and drove up the mountain and headed directly for Keystone where we skied half the day. The snow was good and it got us a nice warm-up for the rest of the week. The next day we skied Vail, which is always epic, and then Beavercreek the last day.

The weather was beautiful with cool temps and clear blue skies. Unfortunately, the day we left, they got a foot of snow. Maybe next year.

The worst part of the trip was Matthew fell on “Ripsaw” and dislocated his shoulder. The ski patrol was there quickly and gave him a complimentary sled ride down the mountain. The doctors at the onsite urgent care had him fixed up in less than 90 minutes.

Here’s a video of the trip:

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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

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Then in the early 1900’s, Michael Collins led the fight to make Ireland a free state again. What he did for the country is amazing. He’s the only layman that has a church named after him. I think this is why the Irish are so nice. They’ve been through so much and today is a great time for Ireland.

This is the itinerary for the trip:

Day 1

As usual when traveling to Europe, it was a very long day. We were fortunate enough to fly Delta One (First Class). When we arrived at the Davenport hotel at 9:30AM, our room wasn’t ready so we toured the city for a while. We rode the Hop-on / Hop-off bus. We love those.

The little statues are actual sound “experiences”. We could talk to each other across the park using them. It’s the same for why I had my head stuck in a rock; when you hum, it vibrates your whole body.

After some lunch, we went back to the hotel to get our room. This trip, Lynn was able to adjust to the time change much quicker than I did. I fell asleep early and slept until morning.

Day 2

Today was another day of touring Dublin. Today’s big event was the Guiness Storehouse. It was founded in 1759. The orginal owner signed a 9000 year lease for the land. If you like Guiness, you’d love this tour. Lynn’s not a beer drinker but she enjoyed the tour.

At the end of the tour, you get a free pint at the top of the Storehouse. It has a great panoramic view of Dublin.

After the tour, we had dinner at “The Banks”. It’s an old bank converted to a restaurant.

Day 3

We had a “free day” on the schule but Lynn found us some interesting tours to take. The first was a tour of the “Jeanie Johnston“. It was a ship the took hundreds of Irish to Canada and America. It’s the only ship with zero fatalities. It was shocking to see how many people fit into those tiny ships. To get to the ship, the people took a 100 mile trek from central Ireland to Dublin. It was called the “Famine Walk”.

We also visited the EPIC Museum. Another great way to learn more about Ireland and it’s history.

At the end of the day, we went to an “Irish House Party“. Lots of singing and dancing. Lots of fun.

Day 4

Our driver for the first few days was Francis Sullivan. He took us from Dublin to Galway. Rather than speed across the country on the Motorway, we asked him to take the old road through the samll cities. The city I enjoyed the most was Athlone. We stopped at “Sean’s Pub” and actually got to speak to the owner. He told us the pub’s story that started 900 years ago. He said Netflix is going to produce a documentary about it.

We also drove through Ballinasloe. It’s famous for it’s horse events like riding, showing and trading. There was also a Irish hurling match going on that day.

That night we stayed at the Glenlo Abbey Hotel. It was my favorite hotel of the entire trip. The Abbey was built for a man’s wife who died just before it was complete. The Abbey was spectalar. Lynn and I spent the evenings in the Abbey with cocktails.

Day 5

Francis took us north through the Cannemara region. It was a full day of driving through Fjords, Mountains and Coastline. Lynn’s highlight was the “Painted Sheep”. They spray paint them with blue, red, and green spots as a way of branding the sheep to a specific farmer.

After the long-drive, we did some walking and shoppping in Galway. For Dinner, we had italian in the Latin Quarter. Galway is a great little city.

Day 6

We switched drivers today. Our new driver is Tim Foley. He’s about 75 and was a milk farmer. He still lives in the house where he was born.

Tim took us to the Cliffs of Moher. This was my favorite stop on the trip. They are 350 million years old, At 700 feet tall, they are spectacular to see.

We then drove to Killarney for the night at the Great Southern Hotel. It was very nice too. While at dinner in Killarney, we met people from Columbus Ohio and Louisville Kentucky.

Day 7

The famous Irish weather didn’t dissapoint us. While the weather was nice most of our trip, today was different! We were supposed to drive the “Ring of Kerry” but there was a big storm off the coast with gale force winds over 60mph. We had to wait until late in the day to leave.

The first half the trip was very difficult to see anything due to the low clouds and heavy wind and rain. The second half was much better. We stopped about half-way in Waterville for lunch at Dooley’s. It was right on the coast. The sea was raging. This was Lynn’s favorite part of our trip. She loves the small sea-side villiages.

We met some americans on a golf trip. They actually played golf in the storm. I imagine even if you could hit the green, the wind would blow the ball off again. They said is was “Bananas!”

Day 8

Today was our last tour; to Cork. Along the way, we stopped in Blarney to see the Blarney Castle and “Kiss the Blarney Stone”. I kissed it, Lynn chose to pass on that. The castle was very impressive.

That evening, we toured Cork and had a nice dinner. We stayed at the Hayfield Manor Hotel.

Day 9

Our final drive was to Dublin. It took almost three hours. We did a lot of walking and shopping. Dinner was at our favorite pub, Kennedy’s. We stayed at the Davenport Hotel again. No pics today.

Day 10

Leave for long trip home at 7:00am.

The post 2023 Ireland 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.

After our weekend in the city, we drove out to the wedding. It was an incredible event. Andrew killed it with the ceremony. The reception was excellent with a great band and wonderful food.

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