Travels

• 2001
• 1999-2000
• 1991-1998

After two days in Mountain View where Jacques attended a meeting, we left for San Francisco where we spent the next three days bumming around. We visited the Golden Gate Bridge, had lunch in Sausalito, visited Muir Woods (Coastal redwoods) and ended the afternoon in the Sonoma valley. The next day was spent in town riding the cable cars to Ghirardelli Square (shopping), Fisherman's Warf and Pier 39 where we had lunch and viewed the hundreds of harbor seals that stay there all year. For our last day in SF, we started with breakfast on Union Street and later on visited the Marina district, the Presidio, the Ocean Beach area and then visited the Japanese Tea Gardens in Golden Gate Park. We finished the day by going to Chinatown for dinner and some shopping.

It was cool as one expect in SF but overall we had a great time.

More pictures in 

• Monterey SlideShow and
• San Francisco SlideShow

On our third day, we headed West toward Gallup but not without stopping at the El Morro National Monument and the Pueblo of Zuni . Gallup is a major trading center for the native americans. After spending the first half of our fourth day in the famous Richardson's Trading Post , we finally started north via Window Rock , the Navajo Nation capital, and stopped at the Historic Hubbell Trading Post in Ganado AZ. Later that day, we reached Canyon de Chelly, AZ where we stayed at the Thunderbird Lodge right in the park. At that point, we were deep into the the largest Native American tribe in the Southwest, the Navajo Nation . 

The next morning, we took a 1/2 day jeep tour of the canyon to see the canyon itself (an amazing geological sight) and the cliff dwellings left by the Anasazi who lived there 1000 years ago. Then it was off to Mesa Verde to see more cliff dwellers (300 - 1300 AD). We returned to via the Chaco Culture National Historical Park and spent our last two days in Santa Fe in shops and in museums. The final day, we returned to Albuquerque via the Turquoise Trail (route 14), stopping for brunch at the San-Marcos Cafe and spending our last hour in Old-Town Albuquerque before catching our non-stop 4-hour flight back home. We were gone nine days and this trip has been the best one in quite a few years.

More pictures in SlideShow.

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Since 1999 was the year we moved to Maryland, we traveled much less and invited our friends from Delaware to come for weekends. The Celias, the Sayres, the Evensons, the Biebers, the Pyles and the Clarks all came to visit. And my sister came from Québec for a week in May.

Our next big trip was to warm Jamaica in February 2000 with our friends the Celias from Delaware. We went to the same resort ( Enchanted Gardens in Ocho Rios ) as the one we went to two years earlier. And again we had a ball.

Later on that spring, we spent a week in Southern Texas, first in Galveston , a beautiful historic city on the Gulf of Mexico and then another four days in San Antonio with its missions, the Alamo and the River Walk.

The following summer, it was our turn to go see my sister in Quebec. Place Jacques Cartier and the Old Port in Old-Montréal were our big hit that year. On the way back, we did the Litchfield Hills region of western Connecticut. Charming area.

On July 1st, 2000, we went to Baltimore's inner Harbor to see the tall ships as they spent a few there before regrouping in New Youk on the 4th for the big parade. See the pictures that I took that day as they were ready to leave Baltimore.

Fall 2000 saw us going back to Chicago for the birth of Maryann's first grandson, John Maxwell. And we went back for the Christening and Xmas.

Maryann went back to Chicago for her birthday in May 2001 and to see Max who is now six months old. See picture at right.

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The 1998 winter and spring found us back in Chicago for the Holidays, in Jamaica for a week in late January, in Atlanta and Savannah, GA to visit Maryann's daughter in April and back to Chicago in May  for a wedding and to see the kids again. 

In September, we went to Quebec to visit my sister Louise, do some touring in Charlevoix and to attend the First L'Heureux Reunion , a get-together of cousins and collaborators who work with me on the L'heureux Genealogy.

And of course, we were back in Chicago to spend every Christmas with all the children and grand-children.

And there is the occasional PowWow or antique show that we must attend. We also ski out of state at least once a year - usually in Vermont. But in 1995, we went to Taos, NM where we combined skiing with visiting Indian pueblos. Last year, we went to Sugarbush Ski Valley, VT and stayed at the Valley Inn . 

And being less than an hour from Baltimore and  Washington , we visit these cities several times a year. 

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