Greetings Loyal Airmen, here we are back at Hangar 27 after two glorious weeks back in New England. Valerie and the Air Chief had a great time visiting with family and friends. And we took lots of pictures to share with all of you. Like the one above of a giant lobster sculpture on the back of a flatbed truck we passed on the highway. Obviously going to be set as an advertising piece from a seafood restaurant.  And yes, Loyal Airmen, we did have some great seafood meals while there…to include fresh Maine lobster. Yummy.

We started our vacation in Bethel, Conn visiting with son Scott, his wife Katie and our two awesome grandkids, Taryn and Logan. Here’s a great shot of 14 yr old Taryn who is now a freshmen in high school. She belongs to the school’s marching band and Valerie and the Air Chief actually got to see them performance twice. She’s becoming a beautiful young woman and so talented.

And not to be outdone by the girls in the family, here’s a fun shot of son Scott, grandson Logan (9) and the Air Chief. The three amigos. Logan’s in Cub Scouts and he and his dad enjoy their time together. Scott is really a great father we are so proud of him. Our week with them went by all too fast.

Soon as we got into southern New Hampshire, we realized we had gotten into peek foliage season and snapped dozens of great photos showing Mother Nature’s autumn quilt.

The colors were simply breathtaking.  We also made a point to head out to the coast. As living in Colorado, we do miss seeing the beaches and the mighty Atlantic.

Above is a shot of the Nubble Lighthouse on York Beach, Maine, the place where Valerie and the Air Chief had their very first date. Great shot of her there, it was such a beautiful, glorious day.

Of course one of our major reasons for our trip was to see Mom, Gabrielle Fortier, who will be turning 91 on Nov 1st. She is doing great and that’s us together in her room with one of her many beautiful paintings on the wall behind us. We saw her every single day that second week in New Hampshire.

On our last night there, we hooked up with some of Valerie’s family and went out to dinner together. Our friendly waitress was kind enough to snap this group shot. Left to right, the Air Chief, Andy Fagan and his wife Sandy (Valerie’s younger sister) Gus Pappajohn and his wife Barbara (Valerie’s older sister) and of course Val. A wild and crazy bunch. We had a great time seeing them all again. Of course we visited with our daughter Michelle and her husband Chris and saw our dear friend Linda and Justin. All in all a truly awesome trip.  We miss them already.

Ron – Over and Out!