Hi to all,
Valerie & I are about to make another circumnavigation of the U.S. It is our plan to see as many of you as possible, but because of the complexity of the trip there will be some of you that we will have to miss. There are 82 people and places of interest on our list including siblings, cousins (1st thru 4th cousins), nephews & nieces (grand & great), high school and college class mates, colleagues, former teachers and students, friends and places. Hopefully many of you would like to gather a favorite watering hole or other gathering place for some great reunions. We won't be able to see you all, but, being the party animal that I am, we will make every effort to come close.
We plan to begin our 2-month, 10,000 mile odyssey this Wednesday (May 15) and be in Sacramento by the evening. We'll spend a day with some of Valerie's relatives there and then head south to Orange County California for some of my family. From there we head east visiting all manner of folks and then turn north in Georgia travelling up the coast visiting cousins and colleagues and pausing at Civil War battlefields to remember those in our families who fought and died there. We will go all the way to Magog, Quebec, where a branch of Valerie's family lived in the early 1800s. From there we head back south and then west through New York and Pennsylvania to Ohio where both of our families lived in the 19th century and where many of those with McIntosh blood running through their veins still live. While in the mideast, as I call it, we get a bit crazy zigging and zagging to Kentucky to Michigan to Indiana to Illinois.
Then we will look towards home covering more miles than relatives and seeing some pretty spectacular scenery. Perhaps the last major stop before home will be Kalispell, Montana. It was there that my father was born in 1915, and his mother died just 11 days later. She has rested in an unmarked grave since, but my brother and I have made arrangements to have a marker installed for her, and Valerie and I will pause to view it.
Then we turn southwest for home with a possible pause in Washington to visit with the Zirkles in Richland, Washington.
That's all for now, but it is our plan to post a blog every day or so. We're hoping to meet with many of you in person, or at least on line.
Best wishes,
Bruce & Valerie
What an ambitious trip! I envy you your stop in Orange County, CA, because that's where I was raised and where my brother and sister still live. I'll be following along to know if and when you get close to Gettysburg. There was no mention of your motor home. Is that your conveyance?
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