Get In Car, Go Somwhere Else

For the last week I have been on vacation. We spent six days, five nights at the beach and then came back home for a few days. We were very fortunate and were able to use my Aunt and Uncle's vacation home. It's a good size and they have lots of big baby gear. We spent most of our time at the beach and at a nearby park, but we did get a chance to go to two museums, a small natural history museum and a museum for kids. On Thursday we came home. We went apple picking on Friday, went to the fire station on Saturday and today we went to a parade. Henry didn't last very long at the parade, but the parade's route was only two houses away.



Hazel's first trip to the ocean. Right after this Meg was able to spin with Henry and still hold Hazel in her Moby.



We found all sorts of stuff at the beach, seaweed, starfish, crabs, horseshoe crabs, shells and cool rocks.



Henry totally loves spending time in the ocean. He's as excited as he gets and could play at the waters edge forever if we let him.



Henry and I making a sand castle. Right now his castles are just mounds of sand, but I think next year they'll be even better.



Henry climbing up some dunes.



Hazel in a little chair her grandfather made.



Henry at the natural history machine. The lobster moves slowly he told us.



We went for a nice walk on the grounds of the natural history museum. Henry really like the planks they had laid out in the marsh. We told them they were bridges.



Meg handling two kids at the shore!



Hazel's first time wearing jewelery. Henry put this necklace on her.

I did really well with my halves just before we left for vacation. 8,000 half dollars had thirty-six 90% silver halves (1900O, 1944, 1945S, 1948, 1952, 1957D, 1962, 1963, 26 x 1964, 2 x 1964D), fifty-six 40% silver halves (10 x 1966, 23 x 1967, 16 x 1968D, 7 x 1969D), two proof halves (1977S, 1986S) and two postage stamps (3¢ Wagon stamps, unused). The best of this batch was my second Barber half! The 1900O is the oldest half I've found and the first coin I've found from the New Orleans mint. It's in pretty good condition too.



3,360 quarters turned up one Washington (1959), seven Canadians, four US nickels, two US dimes, one US penny and one UK 10 pence.

5,000 dimes rounded up four silver dimes (1927, 1954, 1962, 1963), two US pennies, six Canadians, one UK 5 pence and one UK 6 pence. The 1927 Mercury is a new variety. In this batch I also found a 2010D. The UK 6 pence is a new type for me.

1,720 nickels had one War Time (1943P), four Canadians (1 Ni) and one Norwegian 50 ore.

7,700 pennies produced forty Wheats, sixty-three Canadians, five US dimes and one Australian 1¢. The Wheats were:

1926, 1928, 1939, 1940(2), 1941(2), 1944(4), 1945, 1946(3), 1947(3), 1949, 1949S, 1951, 1952(2), 1952D, 1953(2), 1953D, 1953S, 1955D, 1956(2), 1956D, 1957(2), 1957D(4), 1958D



I also had time to finally finish a two volume set I was reading Vol. 1 and 2 of the Mekong Exploration Commission Report (1866–1868) by Francis Garnier as translated from French to English and published by White Lotus. I just don't have the time to read that I used to and these two volumes were 671 pages so it took me a while. It was a good read, much better than the single volume report of the same journey by Louis Carne. Neither book has much to say about the interactions between the exploration team, but this treatment has far more personal reflections in it. About 150 pages of the first volume is written by DeLaporte the team's artist as Garnier was extremely ill for a time. I sure wish I could read some letters by the commission members after reading these two accounts, but if they do exist I'm pretty sure they'd be in French. Perhaps I should have taken French in school and not German!

Found: 6 pennies, 1 dime, 1 quarter (in a pond), 2 foreign coins (2 Canadian quarters)