Oh It’s Cold Outside

After the great Thanksgiving weekend, we followed Cheryl up north to the Adirondacks where she began her new job.  For those who do not know, she has left the Smithsonian and taken a position as Director of Interpretation at the Museum of the Adirondacks. The museum provides her and the family with an A-frame cabin until she finds a home.  Dave and Bennett will join her up here at the end of the year.

This is mountainous country with lots of snow.  The museum campus, where we are staying, is in far upstate New York and close to Canada.  It is snowing as I write, snowed yesterday and the day before.  Fortunately, the roads are well plowed.  Jerry proved his metal by driving for more than an hour in the snow and keeping his California cool.

We went into Saranac Lake, the largest “city” around to check out the town.  Our lunch at Blue Moon Café was delicious.  Jerry took photos of Saranac Lake and the lakefront houses.

Lots of hiking, fishing and outdoor activities in this area which Cheryl, Dave & Bennett will love.

Growing up in Colorado did nothing to prepare Anna Lee for the beauty of the heavy snow.  We are surrounded by trees that are adorned with white covering and the sides of the road shows the beauty of cold weather.

 The snow on the deck outside the cabin is over a foot deep.  That little bump is a small BBQ,

Ever so often, snow drops off the roof or the trees, causing a slight thud.

The boulders on the side of the road bare cascading frozen waterfalls.

Thanksgiving

This holiday is traditionally all about family and food and we observed the traditions in an orthodox manner.

Daughter Cheryl and cousins Leora and Ed created a wonderful feast including some healthy foods.

 Ed and Leora set a goal of a dessert per person but fell short about three desserts.  What we had was so yummy.  Jeff was a major contributor to the sweet buffet.

When we weren’t eating, we played games, took naps and looked at devices.

At the end, we took a family photo.

It was another wonderful family Thanksgiving.

Kvel (Brag) Time

We are back in DC enjoying time with family.  Our first adventure of this trip was to go to Natural History to see the exhibit Cheryl created on elephants and their plight today

The exhibit goes back in history to show human’s interaction with these magnificent creatures.  Included are Theodore Roosevelt’s photos of his hunting trips to Africa as well as his later leadership regarding the environment.

For too many decades people were indifferent to the consequences of poaching elephants.  This exhibit calls the public’s attention to what is currently happening.

The exhibit contains a collection of books and articles show the gradual awareness of the importance of these magnificent beasts.  This one is covered in elephant hide.

Included on display are two books from Bennett’s collection

 one from Dave’s family’s  collection

Cheryl, Dave and Bennett are leaving DC and moving to upstate NY.  We have been helping with the packing.  Bennett jumped right in to help.