Michigan, Canada and following
Michigan
and Ontario
We
returned to Michigan and continued our visit with Paul. Spent the
4th of July just over the Canadian border with his girlfriend’s family
then got ready to make our own foray into that country again. Ontario
was the home of my Irish ancestors who emigrated here in the mid 1800's
and lived in Bruce County. I found early land records and census
records of their time here and in Wellington County. We visited Stratford
and saw a couple of Shakespearean plays, then to Toronto where we enjoyed
a performance of The Lion King. Next, Niagara Falls beckoned,
and we revisited this magnificent natural phenomenon. In the Canadian capital,
Ottawa, we enjoyed the “very English” changing of the guard on Parliament
Hill.
Quebec
Montreal’s
magnificent churches filled our visit there during a sweltering heat wave.
En route to Quebec City we had a blowout on one of our dual rear tires.
The CAA quickly came to our rescue, and we were on our way again in a few
hours.
Our visit to Quebec City and its environs was enjoyable but came to an abrupt end when we received word of Paul’s water skiing accident. We returned quickly to Pontiac, Michigan where surgery for a shattered vertebrae was performed. We spent the next two months there with him during his recovery. Paul treated us to a performance of West Side Story at a magnificently restored theater, though he wasn’t able to attend. Late in September as we prepared to depart, Ray received word his mother was in the hospital, so he flew to Tucson for ten days to be with her.
One day after our departure, another bang in the motor, and we were marooned in Peru, Illinois until a new engine block arrived to replace our damaged one. A week later it was mid-October, and we were heading west on I80 through ice and snow. We arrived in California just before Halloween to be with friends and family.
Our
time here has been filled with family, friends and activities, but we shared
somber moments when a dear friend died, followed by another the next week.
Grandchildren, dinner parties, evenings of cards and family activities
have occupied us most of the time, and it is good to be in this kind of
bustle at the holidays.
Thanksgiving was at Mark’s home in Fair Oaks, California with most of the family there, including Paul and his friend, Robyn, who flew in from Michigan. We have square danced, gone to the opera, the ballet and an ice show, a Hanukkah celebration, several Christmas parties, and had our annual physicals and dental visits. So, life is good. We are even ready for Christmas, with all but a few minor purchases remaining.
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Tennison
Christmas Letters