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

The post First Visit to Matthew in Montana first appeared on LeRoy Family Blog.

On Friday, we went snowmobiling with White Mountain Tours.  Our ride started at noon and we each had a 2017 Polaris LXT 550; they rode like Cadillac’s.  Our guide took us across a 2,000 acres private property for two hours.  We started at 10,000 feet and climbed up to about 12,500 feet.  The groomed trails where easy for Lynn and Mary to manage until they had to stop for a bio-break.  Lynn sank in the snow up to her chest and that was kinda scary.

On Saturday, Paul and Bob went skiing at Beavercreek.  Mary and Lynn spent some time in the Beavercreek Spa. The weather was supposed to be 24 degrees but it felt like -10.  The snow was groomed corduroy and very fast.  The crowds were very small all day.

For dinner on Saturday, we went to the Ski Tip Lodge.  An awesome restaurant based out of a historic stage coach stop.  The rustic feel of the lodge was ideal for a five-star meal.

Great times with the family.

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The island is amazing. It measures about 600′ x 700′. They’ve owned it for 30 years. You can only get there by boat. There is one main house plus a “Granny House” plus several small, one room cabins that are just big enough for a double-bed, dresser and a closet. The main house has a “West Deck” that has a spectacular view of the bay. The Granny House is new for Lisa’s parents. It’s a larger, open air cabin with an open architecture for living room/bed room, a small kitchenette, and bathroom.

The weather was gorgeous in the mid-80’s with totally sunny skies, and at night, down to low 60s (perfect sleeping weather while you hear the lapping of the lake waves on the rocky shoreline). We spent a lot of time sitting on the “West Deck” watching sunsets, drinking cocktails, and enjoying the great company. Along with David’s “divine” homemade bread he would make each day, we shared cooking the dinners each night. That was great fun too! We never went back to the mainland until we left four-days later.

We mostly focused on watersports like wake boarding, kayaking, swimming and such. Nathan and Reese did some fishing but didn’t have much luck. Boat excursions to check-out the uninhabited islands was lots of fun—“Flat Rock”, “Spider Island”, and “Mushroom Island” to name a few. In the past when Nathan visited, him and Reese would campout on these islands all night. One highlight for me was climbing a 30 foot rock cliff to jump off; anything Nathan can do, I can do too.

Lynn and Lisa went kayaking one morning after breakfast. Many of the islands are private and the Allisons treat it like a neighborhood. This is the Jackson’s, that’s the Miller’s, here are the Jone’s. Lynn got everyone’s stories, and during their adventure, they stopped to visit her Uncle (her mom’s brother) on his own Island, along with her Aunt and a cousin from Germany. During the week, families stop by for cocktails, others would invite you to dinner. It was very warm and welcoming. Surprisingly, many owners are from Ohio and Indiana.
It was a great time. Here are some pictures.

And a timelapse sunset:

The post Canada with Allisons first appeared on LeRoy Family Blog.

Saturday was skiing and boarding at Vail. It had snowed a couple inches that evening which made for great conditions. We skied the entire mountain; front-side, back-bowls, and big sky basin. It was a great day.

Mary and Paul took us snowshoeing at the Keystone Nordic center on Sunday. That was really cool. We hiked for nearly four miles. Some of the snow was very deep. Everyone had a great time.

Sunday we returned to Keystone to ride the mountain. The good news was the crowds were very small. We loved the Keystone terrain park.

The post Colorado 2015 first appeared on LeRoy Family Blog.

The post Last of the Italy Photos first appeared on LeRoy Family Blog.

We couldn’t have asked for a better “last day in Italia”. The weather was in the 70s, sunny, and the Venice atmosphere was everything we expected–waterways, canals, hidden streets, cafes, shops, and tourists from every country in the world–many from the United States. We spent alot of time with a family from Atlanta–they were stopping here for a week before heading to Greece for one month!

The day started with a light breakfast in the morning room, then we all hit the walkways and waterways–we took a Gondola ride last night, two Grand Canal taxi rides today (one in the day, and one in the evening after dinner), visited shops, churches, San Marco’s Square, Rialto Bridge, and of course, the infamous Grand Canal. We had our last Italia pasta meals–and, are exhausted. Nathan has a very bad sinus infection–need to get him home so he can get to the doctor on Thursday. The rest of us are doing great, and very healthy, although, I think we are looking forward to our own beds and environment.

The water taxi picks us up at 6:45 a.m., and it is a 90 minute boat ride to the airport. Then off we go. We will be home Cincinnati time tomorrow night (Wednesday night) at about 10:00 p.m. Nathan has a request for real American food–either a cheeseburger or our American Indian dish at the local diner–He has already asked Matthew to have this cuisine waiting for him when we arrive at the house tomorrow night. We are to call Matthew before we leave Atlanta for our “menu” request. Guess he has had his fill of pizza and pasta, pasta, pasta……

Ciao Italy!

Love, Bob, Lynn, Nathan, Barry and Jackie

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The post Venice and Murano first appeared on LeRoy Family Blog.

After a 4 hour car drive, and an hour boat ride, we arrived at our Hotel on San Marco. It is the most “American like” hotel we have been in since arriving in Italy, but still very European. Although there are no pictures of today since the majority was traveling, we will include them in tomorrow’s blog–but think “Gondolas”, waterways, ancient churches, and narrow streets. We also noticed that the dress is less touristy, and more “upscale” overall. A very old, but clean city.

Barry and Jackie stayed on schedule, and arrive here in Venice tomorrow mid-afternoon. We will meet up with them again for our last two days in Italy. A short update today, but look for more writing and pictures tomorrow.

Happy Father’s Day to all you Dad’s reading this!

The post Cinque Terre to Venice Today first appeared on LeRoy Family Blog.

In Vernazza, the most amazing thing happened which proves once again the old cliche that it is a small world! We saw the Moeller class that just graduated accompanied by Brother Ron and other chaperones. We had so much fun talking about our mutual friends and neighbors! It began when a few of the guys saw Nathan’s Sycamore gym shorts, and they asked us where we were from, and because we knew they were from Moeller (their shirts, etc.), we said Montgomery. They said “no way”! It was a highlight of our trip to see these young men, and they kept calling over their friends when they discovered we lived in Swaim Field–we talked for about 20 minutes with about 15 of them, and they invited us to hike to Monterossa with them. They really wanted us to come, and Bob would have in a minute, but he knew that Nathan and I were about ready to collapse, and he didn’t want to leave us on our own. These boys had just arrived so did not just finish the two hour hike we just completed–they were ready to go!

Another fun tidbit is that there are Americans everywhere. In fact, in the lobby restaurant area, Bob and Nathan will be watching the World Cup with a bunch of people from Indiana. Since it begins at midnight here, I don’t think I can stay awake.

A Jackie and Barry report from Lake Como before I sign off–they are having a lovely time visiting wineries in Bellagio, and mixing with the rich and famous. We look forward to meeting up with them in Venice to exchange stories. Barry will not believe it when I tell him that there are vending machines at the train stations within Cinque Terre that sell toothbrushes, toothpaste and other toiletries since it is a place for hikers and back packers who just “wing it” in nature along the way.

Love you all, and will write again tomorrow evening.

The post Hiking in Cinque Terre first appeared on LeRoy Family Blog.

This is the day we went our separate ways—Barry and Jackie left for the Lake Como Region, and Bob, Lynn, and Nathan left for Cinque Terre. Because we have been communicating via text, we know Barry and Jackie have arrived “save and sound” in Lake Como, and they know we are here in Cinque Terre all settled in. Their drive was 4 hours, and our drive was only 2 hours with a stop in Pisa to view the infamous Leaning Tower of Pisa.

Because I can only report on the LeRoy portion of the trip at this point, we will have to update you on Barry and Jackie once we all meet up in Venice on Monday. I do know that Jackie is already looking for George Clooney’s mansion since one of his main residence’s is located not far from their 5-star hotel. And, I am not kidding.

In contrast, Bob, Lynn, and Nathan are in Cinque Terre–no fancy hotels, but just your basic Italian boutique hotel. We wanted to come here to hike the five cities along the Mediterranean Seacoast, swim in the sea, and engage with the locals along the way. It is 7 miles from the first town to the last, with your choice of paved or unpaved trails leading to Monterosso, the last town which is at the top. We will begin the hike tomorrow, along with hundreds of other tourists, and know it will take close to 6 hours since we will stop in each of the towns to look through shops and have lunch. At the top, we plan to take the Ferry back to our hotel. We will most likely not swim in the Mediterranean tomorrow since we spent about 3 hours at the beach today–which was very interesting, and much that I cannot report on this blog. One thing I can say is that the Mediterranean Sea is so blue and clean! I could not stop staring at the water and beach area.

We had dinner at small restaurant that overlooked the Mediterranean–dined outside on the deck and enjoyed the sites. Enjoy our pictures of today’s adventures in Pisa and Cinque Terre, and we will be writing again tomorrow after our long day of hiking up the coast. Love you all.

The post Cinque Terre first appeared on LeRoy Family Blog.