Expeditions

A family's photograph album is generally about the extended family -- and, often, is all that remains of it.
-- Susan Sontag

Saturday, July 5, 1997

Plans shifted today, and the relatives who were to have gone on to visit the Crayola Factory in Pennsylvania, instead decided to hang around with us for another day. Back into the pool, everyone!

I poked around on my sister's computer, and figured out that her modem was set to be very slow when it didn't need to be. It's been a long time (two years, I think!) since I was working with Windows 3.1. I figured out how to log on to her AOL account, and how to use it to telnet to my own account, and how to ftp files to and from my own account. I feel much better not being cut off from the net.

We took an afternoon excursion to Bellevue Park, a Delaware State park. Delaware has a lot of very nice parks, many of them former DuPont estates. This estate must have belonged to a very horsey DuPont, because there are stables, an indoor riding arena, and a one-mile track. The track has been turned into a life-course with exercise stations around it, as well as still being available to runners and bikers.

There were several family reunions taking place, as well as picnickers all over the park. My sister B---- and I took a turn around the track (at a walking pace) along with my two nephews E---- and J--- and my cousin's son. There was a large age range and ability range among the children, so we ended up pretty spread out, but it was a nice walk.

Every expedition we seem to take rather a lot of stuff. Where it would be my Seattle sister's style to just make some sandwiches at home and put them and a water bottle into a back pack, my Delaware sister brings the cooler and sandwich ingredients, which ties you to the car or involves a lot more toting of stuff.

We noted on a sign that there would be a concert at the park on Sunday evening, a group with the cryptic name of "FPCheer". This seemed like a possibility for us.