Disney: The Kids Were Alright
The Simple Adventures Of Sue & Lee Ann
by Lee Ann
2y ago
The two great-grandkids, 9 and 6, had a wonderful time. I have to get that out of the way. As a mature adult, I realize that 85% of this trip was about the kids having a wonderful time. And they did. Did I mention that? They did not, however, know what was going on behind the scenes in at the Happiest Place on Earth. So here is where I say, to parents and grandparents, please consider dropping $10,000 over six days somewhere else. Or spending half of that amount in some wondrous, non-artificial scenic someplace like Yellowstone or the Grand Canyon or the Blue Ridge Mountains. The selfish grown ..read more
Visit website
The Complicated-est Place on Earth
The Simple Adventures Of Sue & Lee Ann
by Lee Ann
2y ago
We are going to Walt Disney World in Orlando in February 2022. I thought I better start sharing my experiences helping to plan this trip. In the year 2000, Sue and I took the grandkids – Shelby and Ryan – to Walt Disney World. Yes, there was a spreadsheet involved, but all in all it was a simpler time. Sue acted mostly as sherpa holding on to our stuff and collecting Fast Passes because “Pirates of the Caribbean” was as wild a ride as she could stomach. Fast forward to 2022. Sue is 75 and I am 65. We are tagging along on granddaughter Shelby’s trip later this month to Orlando with two great-gr ..read more
Visit website
Giving the Lakes the Finger
The Simple Adventures Of Sue & Lee Ann
by Lee Ann
2y ago
Throughout the pandemic, we have observed a range of behaviors from people our age. I know a grandma just recently recovered from breast cancer who flies out west to visit loved ones and travels regularly with her significant other. Another couple who regularly entertain the unvaccinated grandkids and have taken multiple Road Scholar trips. An urban couple who have remained in virtual lockdown the entire time — no haircuts, Instacart and takeout only. She would chide us just for going to the grocery store, even though we always went at 6 a.m. and masked up. This is the couple with whom we made ..read more
Visit website
Want maple syrup with that?
The Simple Adventures Of Sue & Lee Ann
by Lee Ann
3y ago
NOTE: Please see a portfolio of our Quebec photos. Part Two of three parts Lunch at the L’en Tailleur sugar shack. The accordion player ambled through the chalet-like dining room, belting out Quebecois folk songs as we played along with sets of spoons. We were in a cabane a sucre, or sugar shack, on the Ile d’Orleans next door to Quebec City. Especially in the spring, the sugar shack is a venerable cultural tradition sticky with sirop d’erable – the ubiquitous maple syrup. We were waiting for our dessert – pancakes and syrup – after a family-style spread of pea soup, h ..read more
Visit website
Quebec: Quelle surprise!
The Simple Adventures Of Sue & Lee Ann
by Lee Ann
3y ago
NOTE: Please see a portfolio of our Quebec photos. Part One of three parts The Porte St-Jean, just up the street from our hotel. At 6:30 a.m., we heard a rustling at our hotel door. Was someone trying to break in? Tentatively, we peered out. Hanging on the door was a wicker picnic basket. It was breakfast! Croissants, patisseries, yogurt, glass bottles of orange juice, cheese, and fruit. Amazed, I went down to the lounge of the Hotel du Vieux-Quebec to get the free 24-hour-a-day cafe au lait. Quebec City was a steady stream of pleasant surprises: . . . Turnin ..read more
Visit website
Misty about Chincoteague
The Simple Adventures Of Sue & Lee Ann
by Lee Ann
3y ago
Chincoteague is less than two hours from our home, and yet we had never visited. So we drove down the day after Labor Day, with Hurricane Dorian looming at the end of the week. We are already planning to return. Chincoteague is a throwback to childhood days at the beach. You have to forgive the tacky wooden billboards, one after the other, anchored in the marsh (oy) as you travel the long causeway onto the island. There are no golf courses, no trendy restaurants, no outlets, no Grotto’s. These are all positives, in our book. There are spectacular sunsets, endless waterfront views, many casual ..read more
Visit website
Off the beaten path
The Simple Adventures Of Sue & Lee Ann
by Lee Ann
3y ago
Please see trip photographs on our portfolio site and video at end of post. We could hear the Colorado River long before we actually saw it, the relentless clash of water and rocks. We were descending Cathedral Wash, a puzzle of multiple levels of ledges and drop-offs, including one called The Pit. Many of us agreed that we would have turned around when we came to the first outcropping we had to scramble up onto and inch around –  with The Pit yawning below. But we had two experienced female guides who knew which route to pick. We were mostly over 60, we had been hiking all week with Road ..read more
Visit website
New Mexico, muy encantando
The Simple Adventures Of Sue & Lee Ann
by Lee Ann
3y ago
Please see our New Mexico photo gallery. The last stop on our RoadScholar tour of Albuquerque, Taos and Santa Fe was another kiva – this one at Coronado Historic Site in the Albuquerque suburb of Bernalillo. A kiva is a sacred room within an Indian pueblo, where religious rites are performed. This visit required climbing up one ladder and down another one into the underground chamber; only 13 of us at a time. The room included reproductions of pre-Columbian murals that were discovered along with the remains of the pueblo. Sue and Lee Ann at one of many museums during the tour. Unlike the man ..read more
Visit website
You can (sort of) go home again
The Simple Adventures Of Sue & Lee Ann
by Lee Ann
3y ago
There are a few places on earth where I feel like my soul is at home. Where the psychic roots run deep, my DNA is buzzing contentedly, and I always feel a welcome familiarity no matter how long I have been gone. One of those places is the Texas Hill Country, land of my mother’s clan and a rocky, rolling landscape  of cedar, winding creeks and limestone bungalows. The other, oddly, is Pittsburgh – a city I have not lived in since 1966. The domestic memories are not good ones; my father cheated and was cruel to my sister and me. When I lived there, my mother would drive downtown on the Park ..read more
Visit website
Yurt, sweet yurt – a camping adventure
The Simple Adventures Of Sue & Lee Ann
by Lee Ann
3y ago
Our camping experiences date to Girl Scouts and, for me, a few miserable outings in high school. That was quite awhile ago. But we thought trying again might be an antidote to my desire for a small RV. The two-night outing to Trap Pond State Park near Laurel, Delaware, was only about 25 miles from our house. We would not starve. We could try out some of the delights of camping, such as walking to the bathhouse and lighting a propane stove, without feeling stranded. We decided to reserve a yurt, of which there are two at Trap Pond. The rate was $40 a night before Memorial Day. “Yurts are a fun ..read more
Visit website

Follow The Simple Adventures Of Sue & Lee Ann on FeedSpot

Continue with Google
Continue with Apple
OR