Annual Rodgers Family Beach Vacation 2016

With the exception of my sister Beth Ann's husband Rich (who could not leave his practice) and her son Jared (who is in Alaska for the summer), everyone in the four-generation Rodgers family, ranging in age from 89 to two months, was at the beach in Ocean City, Maryland, this year.  That made 29 of us, and we were joined by my good friend Lori Shoemaker, who lives in Washington, D.C., her two children, Michael and Elizabeth, and Elizabeth's friend Zofia.  So, there were 33!

Every morning, a contingent got up early to put out our two dozen beach chairs, the beach shade tent and the large bag of beach toys close to the lifeguard stand in front of our condominium building and at the high tide line in order to secure our large and primo position on the beach.  (We were not the only ones doing this.  By 7:30 a.m. each morning, a significant portion of the high tide line has been reserved by umbrellas casting shade on empty chairs.)  We bring down the 4 tables for playing cards, the umbrellas, the numerous boogie boards, towels, coolers and other paraphernalia later.

The beach by mid-morning

After four weeks in the U.K., we finally experienced true summer!  Every day, the temperature was in the mid-80's and there was a breeze.  There were only two thunderstorms during the week.  One was in the evening but was very brief, and the other occurred in the middle of the night, so no adverse weather interfered with our fun in the sun.  Also, there was no need to wear multiple layers.  The most we needed to do was put a beach cover-up or a t-shirt over our swimsuits if we were getting too much sun.

My four-month old grandniece Leena and my two-month-old grandnephew Roman (They're cousins.) chilling on the beach under their pop-up sunshade

My older sister Kerri Lyn and her husband Charlie provided breakfast and make-your-own lunch in their condo each day, and the rest of us signed up for different evenings to prepare dinner for the multitude.  There was more than enough food for everyone!  We only went out to eat one night, at a restaurant on the end of the peninsula at tables overlooking the inlet to the bay.  After that, we spent some time on the boardwalk where the little kids enjoyed some amusements rides.  The boardwalk is much too crowded, bright and noisy for my taste, so my family and Dad only stayed long enough to watch the kids for a while.

Matthew, Rachael, Katya, Matt (Kirsten boyfriend) Kirsten, Alex, Olivia, Leena (The babies get passed around a lot.), Randy, April and Kes

Honor, Haiti, Baker, Mikey (Cindy's husband), Beth Ann, Cooper, Cindy (my oldest niece) and Michael

Dad, Rick, Roman (his son), Julia, Leena (her niece), Karen, Terry (my brother), Peter, Kerri Lyn and Charlie 

The three Taylor kids--Cooper, Leena and Baker; Kes; and the three Petry kids--Roman, Haiti and Honor

Baker and Honor

Baker and Honor and Cooper, Haiti and Kes

Roman, who looks like his Papa, Charlie

The other beach traditions continued.  We played cards on the beach every day.  (The women won the team gin rummy championship!)  The little kids built castles and dug pools in the sand.  Everyone spent time in the ocean with the exception of a few people who, for reasons incomprehensible to the rest of us, do not like to go in the water, and the kids also enjoyed the swimming pool.

The usual crowd in the water

Leena with her great granddad

Two dozen of us, including my dad (who came in second), played putt-putt golf one night.

Most of our crowd ready to play putt-putt golf

Zofia, Michael, Katya and Elizabeth

Dad, my sister Beth Ann with my niece Haiti, and my niece Olivia 

My niece Rachael, my brother Randy, his daughter Kes and his wife April

Two of my grandnephews, Baker and Cooper, with their dad Mikey and Olivia's fiance Alex

Matthew, my nephew Michael, Peter and my friend Lori

My niece-in-law Julia, her second daughter Honor, me, my nephew Rick (married to Julia) and their son Roman

My dad putting with Rachael, April, my sister Kerri Lyn and Beth Ann in the background

Honor learning to putt with her dad Rick (my oldest nephew).  It was her first year.

As usual, steamed crabs were featured on the menu Sunday night, with people taking turns at the table on the balcony whacking them with mallets and digging out the meat.  (It's a mess!) Other food traditions include a donut run one morning to the Fractured Prune, which makes gourmet donuts, and a much-anticipated stop at Rita's for frozen custard.  Even more highly anticipated is my sister-in-law April's creme brulee.  There are always a few extras, and the bidding for them is fierce.

We spent one evening on the beach with sparklers and light sticks.  And, although there was a minor mutiny, at least some of the guys went to a minor league baseball game a half-hour drive away in Salisbury one evening.  The women had no such problems with cohesion, and the majority went shopping in Bethany Beach.  Added this year to the activities among the teen to 40-something crowd was Pokemon Go.  I don't get it, but it seemed to be a bonding experience!

Olivia, Honor and Beth Ann on the beach at night 

Katya with a sparkler but inseparable from her music

On the last day of vacation, we managed to take the family photos without too much fussing.  It's not easy getting 29 people to look at the camera and smile at the same time!  Of course, every year we depend on April to perform magic with photoshop to produce an image in which everyone looks good!

Dad made it into the water before the left the beach for the last time this year.

Randy, Terry, Dad and Michael

To help you figure it all out, here are photos of the family divided into logical groups by age of my siblings and me.

My older sister Kerri Lyn and her husband Charlie

Their son Rick, his wife Julia, their two girls Haiti and Honor and their baby boy Roman

Kerri Lyn and Charlie's daughter Cindy and her husband Mikey and their chidren Cooper, Leena and Baker

The entire Petry clan

Katya, me, Peter and Matthew

My younger brother Terry, his wife Karen and their children Rachael and Michael

My younger sister Beth Ann with her two daughters, Kirsten and Olivia, and their boyfriends, Matt and Alex 

My youngest brother Randy with his wife April and their daughter Kes 

My dad with all his grandchildren except Jared 

My dad with his five children

Most amazingly and unusually, with that many people gathered together, no one was ill and contagious diseases did not spread (although my dad has developed a cold a couple of days after returning).  We could not have asked for a better vacation (although it would have been nice to have Rich and Jared with us).

Transition from the UK to the US

The day dawned bright and almost cloudless on Tuesday, July 12, but by the time I had gotten ready and packed all my things for our flight later that day, a steady rain had begun to fall.  From the coziness of the kitchen, looking out the large windows at the lawn and flowers and pond, I actually enjoyed watching the rain in this beautiful setting.  When we were all ready, we enjoyed a delicious lunch (including fresh vegetables from the large garden again) before departing. 

The drive to Heathrow went smoothly, and we had plenty of time at the airport for checking in and security screening—which was a good thing, since Katya had clearly not thought through her packing.  Instead of putting all her liquids--including large bottles of shampoo, conditioner, saline solution, finger polish remover and body wash—in her checked bag, she had left them all in her carry-on.  So, of course, her bag had to be opened and everything had to be inspected and all her liquids had to be thrown in the trash!  (Yes, she is blond.)

The flight to Dulles as well as the flight to Pittsburgh were uneventful (although there was more turbulence than usual on the cross Atlantic flight).  We arrived at 11 p.m., bleary-eyed, and picked up a rental car to drive to New Cumberland (WV), the place where I grew up.  Even at that time of night, the air was warmer than it had been at any time during our stay in the UK; it seemed like summer at last!

Now, Wednesday and Thursday have passed.  We have spent time with my dad, gone to Walmart to replenish Katya’s supplies and purchase a few other things, and packed up for the annual Rodgers family beach vacation in Ocean City, Maryland. 

It is now Friday evening; we departed for the beach at 10 a.m. this morning, and we have stopped just 30 miles inland for the night.  Internet service is notoriously inadequate at the condominiums we rent, so the next post may not appear for a week or so.

Last Full Day in the UK

On Monday morning (July 11), we got another late start.  (But, hey, we are on vacation!)  After we packed up all our stuff in the car and said goodbye to Will (Jess had already left for work before I got up.), we drove to the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew.  I had never been there before, and it was a place Katya really wanted to visit.  Arriving at 11:30, after maneuvering through traffic and getting slightly lost trying to find parking, we decided to split up, with Matthew and Peter going off together and Katya and I setting off by ourselves, with the plan to meet at one of the cafes at 1:30 for lunch.  I had a wonderful time exploring on my own. 

Enormous, flowering horse chestnut trees greeted our eyes a we entered through the Elizabeth Gate.  Passing the Orangery (which no longer is used to grow orange trees), I turned left onto the Great Broad Walk, which I strolled down slowly, admiring the wonderful, colorful border gardens on both sides.  The Hive, a mesh-like structure with exhibits about bees, was overrun with people so I passed by and made my way to the Palm House.  It was such a beautiful day outside, and so humid inside, that I turned around and exited almost as soon as I had entered.  I passed through the rose garden and walked across lawns to the Henry Moore sculpture near the lake.  Then I went to the Treetop Walkway, where visitors can climb up 18 meters to a meandering, circular walkway through a canopy of lime, sweet chestnut and oak trees. 

Horse chestnut tree looming behind border flowers

Orangery from the Great Broad Walk

Palm House

Henry Moore sculpture

Treetop Walkway

I walked through cedar trees and reached the water lily pond, where I observed a peacock who was willing to stop and observe me when I approached.  There were also moorhens swimming in the pond, which seems a bit overgrown with reeds and other vegetation.  

Peacock by the lily pond

Moorhen gliding across the lily pond

Then I walked along the long lake and crossed the bridge halfway along the shore to reach the Minka House and the bamboo garden.  The Minka House is a reconstruction of an old, traditional Japanese house that was designed to withstand earthquakes and tsunamis.  It is surrounded by the bamboo garden. 

Minka House

Next came the Rhododendron Dell, where I learned that most of these shrubs are not native and are, in fact, aggressively invasive species.  Finally, I made it to the White Peaks Café a little before the appointed time—and just before it started to rain lightly.  Peter and Matthew soon arrived, but there was no sign of Katya.  Texting revealed that she had gotten turned around and was in the southwest section of the park rather than the northeast part where she was supposed to meet us.  We had finished lunch by the time she arrived and then we waited for her to eat. 

We departed London for our final UK destination, the home and organic farm of Catherine and John Hartz, about an hour’s drive west of London.  The intermittent rain had let up by the time we arrived, so, after tea and cake, we were able to go out and strolll around the walled garden and the recently landscaped pond.  I wondered aloud why we had bothered to visit Kew Gardens when the loveliness of their gardens and lawns clearly competed in beauty. 

The walled garden and summer house at the Hartz's home

Looking across the pond to the house

John arrived home from work around 5 p.m., and the four of us plus Catherine, John and their youngest child, Phoebe, who is 18, put on our boots to walk around the fields and through the woods and see the black sheep and Angus cattle they raise.  Afterwards, we relaxed in the warm summerhouse in the walled garden, drinking champagne and shucking broad beans for dinner.  Dinner was delicious and the conversation was lively.  We compared stories of our travel adventures, including John’s recent ascent of Kilimanjaro.  The Hartz family is perhaps the only family I know who travels as much as—or maybe even more than—we do.  It was great to spend the last evening of our four week vacation in Great Britain with them.

Another Day in London

The family was lazy on Sunday morning (July 10), so we did not leave the house until after lunchtime.  We took the Underground to South Kensington and emerged to warmth and blue skies.  Matthew and Peter set off for the Science Museum, and Katya and I went to the Victoria and Albert Museum.  Of course, there is an overwhelming amount on display, so we selected the galleries we were most interested in:  Japan; the displays of vast and ornate pieces of silver and gold in the Whiteley galleries; and jewelry.  Then we sat in the courtyard garden for a while, enjoying the sunshine and watching the people having picnics and the children playing in the large, shallow pool. 

Katya arising like Venus from a half shell in the courtyard garden

Sculpture and wading pool at the Victoria and Albert

Katya wanted to walk, so she left the museum to stroll the streets and I stayed at the V&A and visited the South Asia gallery, the Southeast Asia gallery and an exhibit on fashion through the ages.  In both the jewelry galleries and the South Asia gallery, I was struck by the number of pieces that came to the museum through donations by military personnel who were allowed to split up the spoils of the empires conquered by British forces, such as the Mughal empire in India. 

Small part of the exhibits of gold and silver

Of course, the building and interior design features of the Victoria and Albert also merit attention.  The rooms of the cafe, decorated with ceramic tiles and stained glass, are breathtaking.  

Cafe in the Victoria and Albert Museum

Detail of ceramic columns and ceilings in the cafe

I stayed in the museum until closing time.  Our plan was to meet at the corner where we had emerged from the Underground at 6 p.m.  When I arrived at 5:50, no one else was there, and I realized, looking at the map on the kiosk, that I was only a 5-minute walk from the Brompton Oratory, a spectacular Baroque Catholic Church that had not been open the last time we were in South Kensington.  Since it was Sunday, I figured that the doors would be open, and they were!  The previous service had ended and the next mass was not scheduled for another hour, so I was free to roam around this great space as rays of light streamed through the clerestory windows.  It was heavenly.

Nave and apse of the Brompton Oratory

Brompton Oratory altar

I was a few minutes late getting back to our meeting spot, but it did not matter, because (surprise, surprise!) Katya was lost.  Through a series of exchanged texts, Peter was able to pinpoint her location a few blocks away, and we walked to where she was and then rode the subway and buses back to East Finchley.  At the house, we rested briefly and then set off for a nearby pub in Muswell Hill with William (Wendy and Don’s younger son).  Matthew had already been there a few times, taking full advantage of his freedom to drink ale and whiskey in the UK, and he wanted to watch the final of the world soccer match in a pub with the locals that night.  Katya, William and I left after finishing our meals, but Matthew and Peter stayed on to watch Portugal take the championship.  (The game was also on the TV at the house, but Jesse, Will and I were not a rowdy crowd.)