Happy Halloween

Haunted Ship

My brother in law and I took our niece and nephew to see a haunted ship! The USS Barry which is now a museum was totally set up like a haunted house for Halloween. Going through the inside of the ship there was scary stuff around every corner. Lots of gore, blood, bats, and creepy characters. The kids screamed and had a blast!







The most interesting part was that my Dad served as the Executive Officer on this ship when it was stationed in Newport in the 70s. It was fun for the kids to hear stories and see the ship for themselves!

USS Barry (DD-933) was one of eighteen Forrest Sherman-class destroyers of the United States Navy, and was the third US destroyer to be named for Commodore John Barry. Commissioned in 1954, she spent most of her career in the Caribbean, Atlantic, and Mediterranean, but also served in the Viet Nam War, for which she earned two battle stars. Another notable aspect of her service was the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962. Decommissioned in 1982, she is now a museum ship at the Washington Navy Yard. Here she is in her glory days.

Gingerbread houses

The Town of Oak Bluffs is a resort town on the northeast shore of Martha's Vineyard. Originally incorporated in 1880 as Cottage City, in 1907 the town's name was changed because of the growth in the year round population and the changing face of the resort required an acknowledgement the town was not just "Cottage City" any more. Oak Bluffs is also home to many whimsical "gingerbread cottages", all arranged around the Tabernacle in Trinity Park. The area was originally used for Methodist camp meetings starting in 1835. At the time they were housed in large tents arranged in a semicircle. In the 1860s and 1870s the tents were replaced with wooden cottages. Today there are over 300 cottages in this community of summer residents and a smaller number of year-round residents who value the intimacy created by the crowding of cottages on small tent lots. Many of the cottages have been owned by the same families for generations. Walking around you can see street after street filled with these colorful cottages which look like they were pulled right off the pages of a fairytale.

Fall on the Vineyard

Martha's Vineyard is so beautiful this time of year, the days are cool and clear and the air is crisp. Fall has always been my favorite time of year and I think the photos capture the island's serenity.

Jam

Making jam is a ritual for our family and today was my turn! My mother is the Queen of preserving and wins all the blue ribbons at the Agricultural Fair so I like to make jam under her supervision and learn new tricks. Today we made raspberry jam, blackberry jam and triple berry jam (raspberry/blackberry/blueberry). I can't wait to give it out to my friends!

Blenheim Palace

One of the most impressive homes we visited was Blenheim Palace. It was a rainy day, no surprise there, and we were not allowed to take picture inside hence I only have the exterior which as you can see is quite impressive. Blenheim Palace is a large and monumental country house situated in Woodstock, Oxfordshire, England. It is the only non-episcopal country house in England to hold the title of palace. The palace, one of England's largest houses, was built between 1705 and circa 1724. Designed in the rare, and short-lived, English Baroque style, architectural appreciation of the palace is as divided today as it was in the 1720s. It is unique in its combined usage as a family home, mausoleum and national monument. The palace is also notable as the birthplace and ancestral home of Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill. The house is filled with letters and photos of Churchill throughout his life. The building of the palace was a minefield of political intrigue by Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough. Following the palace's completion, it became the home of the Churchill family for the following 300 years, and various members of the family have in that period wrought various changes, in the interiors, park and gardens. At the end of the 19th century, the palace and the Churchills were saved from ruin by an American marriage. Thus, the exterior of the palace remains in good repair and exactly as completed.

The Cotswolds

I know this trip it taking forever to blog and I thank you for hanging in there but it is by far one of the best holidays ever! I know it is thanks to my friends Terry and Keith who planned our travels, did all the driving, and showed us the best England has to offer. Ok, back to the program...the Cotswolds are a range of hills in west-central England, sometimes called the "Heart of England", an area 25 miles across and 90 miles long. The area has been designated as the Cotswold Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The highest point in the Cotswolds range is Cleeve Hill at 1,083 ft, 2.5 miles to the north of Cheltenham. The Cotswolds lie mainly within the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire, but extend into parts of Wiltshire, Somerset, Worcestershire and Warwickshire.
The area is characterised by attractive small towns and villages built of the underlying Cotswold stone (a yellow oolitic limestone). This limestone is rich in fossils, in particular fossilised sea urchins. In the Middle Ages the wool trade made the Cotswolds prosperous. Some of this money was put into the building of churches so the area has a number of large handsome Cotswold stone "wool churches". The area remains affluent and has attracted wealthy people who own second homes in the area or have chosen to retire there.