After our walk we headed to Old Town San Diego to explore for the afternoon. Some interesting history there . They were also preparing for The Day of the Dead Celebration which would take place that night.

While on the Left Coast we had a chance to visit the Mission at San Juan Capistrano. I would suggest a visit there if you are in the area. Easy access off I -5 . Here are some of my pictures from our afternoon there.

before the graduation there was a weapons display of weapons Infantry soldiers were trained on

Some photos from the Graduation Ceremony

After graduation we had 40 minutes with our son before he had to report for the next phase of his training MART (Marines awaiting Recon training) . It was great to see all these fine young men graduate and moving on in their Marine careers. They are an example of all that is good with this generation. They should be an inspiration to us all!!!!

Parris Island July 14th 2011 Family day

My oldest son came to us last summer after coming home from college and announced he wanted to join the US Marines. He had expressed interest all through high school in joining the Military,we talked him into trying college first. He did well in college but decided he had no clear Major interest . So instead of throwing money and time at the “American Dream” (OUR DREAM) he entered the DEP of the Marine Corps. Ever since the attacks of 9/11 our son has expressed interest in Military service. He was deeply effected by the attacks and drawn to the commitment of service to our nation. The week of April 18th 2011 he boarded a bus in Raleigh NC bound for Parris Island SC and the toughest basic training in the US Military. Recruits are on Parris Island for 13 weeks, guided and molded by a group of dedicated Drill Instructors.

We left Durham on July 13th to head down to the July 15th graduation of 1st Recruit training Battalion Co Delta, our son had become One of the Few, The Proud, A Marine .

Brigadier General Lori Reynolds Commanding General Eastern Recruiting Region Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, S.C. Leads Delta Co on Moto Run on Family day July 14th 2011

We just returned from a road trip to CHICAGO, and I was a little concerned since BIG Cities usually are not my thing. Well I was pleasantly surprised by the beauty and cleanliness of the place. We were on a road trip to my nieces graduation from Northwestern University and opted to stay in the city since we had never been there before. We stayed at Whitehall Hotel on Delaware Place. A comfortable hotel with in walking distance of most of the sights downtown. We drove through NC. , Va. ,W.Va. ,Ky., Indiana, and southern Illinois to get there. I was surprised to see Windmill farms north of Indianapolis. Seems like a good use of farm land as a second resource .

After we got settled into the hotel we hit the streets and did some sight seeing before the my brother n law and his wife arrived later that day. We headed down to Millennium Park about 10 blocks south of our hotel.I was struck by how walker friendly and clean Chicago was from the get go.

After exploring the Park we head across Lake shore Drive and sat there taking in the views.

It was suppose to rain but we lucked out and had a wonderful cloudy sky DAY. Here is a slide show of pictures from the trip. Someday I hope to return to Chicago and take in more of what the city has to offer.