DE REGRESO DE EEUU

Los jubilados just returned from an inefficient fuel odyssey through many of the United States, pausing in four of them to visit cherished family and friends.  We unfortunately missed some in both categories, which we hope to make up for in the future.  Here are some photos:

We flew into Pittsburgh.  This is Nana with her two hijos.

Our hijo mayor, Robbie, flew in from Chicago.  Here he is with his madre and his tía Mary Ann.

Robbie's youngest son, our nieto, Tennessee, sporting his new braces, but eating lustily nonetheless.

Then we drove to WV to close on our old house, and have lunch with the Biolas (see ancient post for photos).  Thanks, Heather and Joe.  Missed Mimi and Alain who were busy baking bread in a nearby town.  After lunch we drove to NC to visit our old friend, Kenille and see her new (for us) beautiful house.  Thanks for your hospitality, Kenille.

Next morning off to Tuscaloosa, AL to see our hijo menor and his new family of gemelos.

Here they are, Patrick and Finnian, doing what they don't do often enough, i.e. sleep.

Abuela and madre with the twins.  Looks like morning, but who knows when you're not getting much sleep.

Here's padre, who did more of the night shift with twins than abuela, in a rare not-holding-a-baby moment.  But with both grandparents asleep, who was going to take his picture with one or both of the boyz, as their parents call them.  See Pussy Willow there?  When the twins cry she runs and jumps on the parents' bed to make sure they get up and take care of things.

Padre and hijo dug a 75-foot French drain along the back of their new house in the 90+ degree AL heat.  Both survived.

We drove back to NC to spend the night and then on to Mechanicsburg, PA.

Mi madre y su esposo live there.

Mi hermana, Donna, flew in from Sacramento to visit with us and our parents.

Then back to Pittsburgh, where we had some delicious meals.

The hermanos do enjoy their wine.

A sample appetizer: gorgonzola blue cheese souffle with stone fruit salad, candied walnuts, baby arugula, honey and white balsamic vinaigrette.

  We flew back to Mexico with way too many suitcases containing almost all of the rest of our earthly US possessions that we had stored in AL.  Everything survived the inspections and the drug-sniffing dogs, although the box the desktop computer was packed in was opened for inspection both in the US and Mexico.  Luckily, el sr J had stowed some packing tape in his carry-on bag. 

We're "at home" now, resting up.