Busy weeks for all of us and the political robo-calls continue unabated. Tonight we can hear Paul Ryan and Joe Biden debate the issues as vice-presidential candidates. Remember that you can vote now in the Presidential Election by requesting a paper absentee ballot or cast your ballot in person at One-Stop Early Voting which begins next Thursday, October 18. Closest Early Voting polling place for Mecklenburg County registered voters in our area is the Cornelius Town Hall. Early Voting information and sample ballots are available at any Mecklenburg County library.
Three couples in Davidson got away from all the political “mud slinging” by heading across the pond for vacation. Today Around Davidson visits with Susan and Randy Nelson, Chris and Nicole Perri and Bob and Susan Manning to hear about their adventures.
The Perris were greeted by a rainbow at Urqhardt Castle on Loch Ness
A SPECIAL ANNIVERSARY
Chris and Nicole Perri of McConnell celebrated their 15th wedding anniversary in Scotland. Nicole’s parents, Paula and Rolf Thommen, came up from Southport, to manage the “homefront” and see that the Perri children, Gabe, Elizabeth and Ben, got to school on time. (Gabe and Elizabeth are students at Pine Lake Prep and Benjamin is enrolled in preschool at St. Alban’s.)
Craigievar Castle, one of Chris and Nicole’s favorites near Aberdeen.
It was a wonderful trip for Chris and Nicole. Brimming with enthusiasm, Chris sent the following notes: Our 15th Anniversary trip was a great success. We started with an elegant evening in Edinburgh and stayed in the historic hotel overlooking Edinburgh Castle. Nicole and I got to explore a dozen castles from 13th century ruins to grand manor estates all over the country. We loved the history, architecture and beautiful countryside and determined that there may be more sheep than people in Scotland! We capped off our trip with a wonderful round of golf just outside of Glasgow overlooking the Firth of Fife. A highlight was visiting the Urqhardt Castle on Loch Ness and being greeted by a beautiful rainbow.
Chris and Nicole played a round of golf outside Glasgow overlooking Wemyss Bay
The Perris packed a lot into their mid-September week’s vacation. Congratulations on your wedding anniversary. Not too early to start thinking about your 20th…
The beautiful (and famous) lily pond at Giverny
FROM BON JOUR TO GUTEN TAG!
Susan and Randy Nelson are back after almost two weeks in Europe; first trying out their French in Gay Paree and then switching to German in Switzerland. Their trip was thanks to a Davidson College Matthews Travel Grant Randy received earlier this year. Leaving their Avinger Lane home on September 22, they first flew to Paris for a week. Favorite highlights in the City of Lights were touring Notre Dame on Sunday when mass was being held and enjoying a relaxing cruise down the Seine. Randy and Susan also enjoyed a day trip to Giverny, Monet’s home outside of Paris. There they could see his flower gardens and the water garden from which he painted his famous lily pads which they viewed at the l’Orangerie Museum in Paris.
A marvelous view from the Shilthorn in the Swiss Alps
Leaving the city behind, The Nelsons took the train to the “country,” as they put it and spent the second week of their vacation in Switzerland. They saw the bears in Bern (they are the mascots of Bern and have lived in the city since 1480), enjoyed the sights of Lausanne and spent the most time at a small hotel in Wilderswil near Interlaken. Taking time to consider highlights of Switzerland, Susan mentioned the incredible way the mountains meet Lake Geneva in Lausanne, the boat cruise on Lake Geneva to the Castle of Chillon, the fact that the Swiss trains run perfectly on time every time, and the charming village of Wilderswil where cows grazed outside their hotel. Randy and Susan also mastered the Schilthorn ascent which required three trains and three cable cars. And of course, the Swiss chocolate was wonderful at any time of day.
The view from Randy and Susan’s hotel room in Wilderswil.
Randy and Susan flew home from Zurich on October 4 with fond memories of their travels but happy smiles as they returned to their own Davidson routines.
CELEBRATING A BIRTHDAY IN ENGLAND
Bob Manning certainly knows how to keep a birthday celebration going for weeks. He turned the BIG Seven-O in early August and partied with family at the beach. Then in September he and his wife, Susan, headed to Stow-on-the-Wold, England, which is in the center of the Cotswolds. There they rented a 17th century stone cottage in the heart of Stow for a month (which fortunately had been updated with a modern kitchen and bathroom).
The “professor” at Stonehenge pointing to an ancient spear carving.
During their weeks there, Bob and Susan took a number of fun day trips including an after-hours visit to Stonehenge where one can still wander among stones, visits to Stratford upon Avon to see the Shakespeare sites, not to mention four Shakespeare plays, and also spent time in Oxford to see the various colleges, Harry Potter sites, and tried their hand at punting (guiding your boat with a pole) on the river.
John Manning and his wife, Vic, tried their hand at punting while visiting in England.
One day they took a canal boat trip with old friends from Bob’s UVA graduate school days (Bob and Gillian Wild who live in Wooten under Edge in the Cotswolds). The Mannings also had visitors throughout their stay including Bob’s old friend from high school (J. O. Martin and his wife, Doris from Washington, DC), son, John Manning and his wife, Vic (their son, Brooks, stayed home with his other grandmother), and UVA graduate school friends from Charlottesville, VA (Joe Monaghan and wife, Kate). All the visitors came to help celebrate Bob’s 70th birthday – a marvelous event which just kept on and on! Susan wrote that “It was a wonderful vacation, and we had a great time including those quiet days when just the two of us would ‘ramble’ the village.” How nice! And once more, Bob – Happy Birthday to you!
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Have news for Around Davidson? Write to Brenda Barger at hbbarger@gmail.com.
