Here's To Life!

Enjoyed the 4th of July here in Oak Park.  Paul and I went to Oak Park's parade in the early afternoon - always a chance to see neighbors.  Lots of candy and brochures passed out at the parade.  Kristin and her boyfriend, Jason and John and his new girlfriend, Sasha came for a cookout in the late afternoon.  This was the first time that we had a chance to meet Sasha.  She is a very nice girl who John seems to like very much.  It was a hot day so we did most of the cooking outside on the grill. Later in the evening, John and Sasha went to friend's of John's in Oak Park, and Paul and I walked over to see the fireworks at the high school.  It poured just as we were about to start out but then the rain stopped so it was a pleasant walk.  We found a dry picnic table bench to sit at and enjoy the show.

My mother, my sister and I took a trip to Scotland the last week in June.  We flew from Boston to Glasgow, rented a car and drove to the village of Coylumbridge in Cairngorm National Park.  We stayed at a Hilton Resort for a week and had a great time driving around the countryside, walking through castles, castle gardens and being together.  Among the places we went were Urquehart Castle on Loch Ness, Balmoral Castle which is the summer home of the queen of England and Cawdor Castle, a castle that is still lived in.  We also toured the Isle of Skye, the battlefield at Culloden and enjoyed the views of the Moray Firth.  We probably put about a 1000 miles on the car.  Joy did all of the driving, since she had experience driving on the left hand side of the road.  It got a little tricky on the two lane roads, we learned about passing places and how to avoid sheep in the middle of the road. It was a wonderful trip.  My sister and I haven't spen...