Last week on Gran’s birthday, Jeff & I went & picked up Mallory & Clara, & headed over to spend some time with her at the nursing home. It was a good afternoon.

As hard as it is to believe, Mallory is finishing up her Junior Golf career. The local tournament was last week – the region is this weekend. This is the only picture I got of her playing last week – by the time the tournament was over I was feeling worse and worse, so didn’t even go up to get my usual post-match photo. I was running a fever when I got home, but I tested negative for covid, and it only lasted about 24 hours. Hoping to feel much better this weekend so I can really enjoy watching her play.

Last week Charlie called & asked if he and his buddies could come out here and shoot, since the shooting range was closed. As it turned out, Mallory happened to be here that afternoon, so she got to try her hand at shooting for the first time, and really seemed to enjoy it. Here are a couple of pictures.

Normally before we head home on our last day of vacation we take a group picture of everyone in front of something special about the condo where we stayed. This year, though, with Lindee & the girls leaving early, we never thought about it. So I took a picture of the really cool skylight window over the hot tub in the condo.

…Lindee & the girls headed home, & Jeff & I just spent a low key day at the resort and in the area right around there, resting up some for the drive home the next day. We played goofy golf there at the resort, & Jeff had me take this picture of him looking dejected when I was beating him on the front nine. He came back strong at the end, though, & won by two 🙂

The girls had seen and heard about Grand Central Station in some TV show that they watch, so we rode the subway there on our last morning in NYC. It is majestic – and we walked outside to get a picture of the gorgeous old architecture. I had learned the last time that I was in NY that in the 1980’s there was a move to tear it down and replace it with a more modern structure, and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis spearheaded the drive to save it. I am so glad they did.

Meet me under the clock 🙂

Our final stop of the day Thursday was at Strawberry Fields, the part of Central Park that was right across the street from the Dakota, where John Lennon lived and was ultimately shot and killed in 1980. It’s where his ashes are scattered, and has been renamed Strawberry Fields.

Thursday morning we were at the 9/11 Memorial early, to take the first guided tour of the day. I have been to the Memorial several times, but never taken this tour, and it was so meaningful. I had seen this wall every time, of course, but learned that the tiles were painted to reflect how beautifully blue the sky was that day. kThere are 2994 tiles, one for each person who died that day. And each tile is hung sort of off center – not in straight columns – to represent the individuality of each victim. And behind the wall is an office of the NYC Medical Examiner, along with all of the remains of victims who have never been identified from the attacks. They will continue to be tested as DNA testing improves, although our tour guide says some families have asked not to be notified if their loved one’s remains are ever identified. It was pretty emotional just knowing that was there.

I remembered seeing the Survivor Tree when we were there before, and wanted Jeff and the girls to see it, too. Here are a couple of pictures.