Mario looks over the edge onto the Crawford Notch. Rising on his left is Mount Webster, which we climbed the day before.

 
After lunch my nephew Mario and I ascended Mount Willard in a record time of 36 minutes practically running the entire way. At the top we met up with other members of our party who had climbed up much earlier.

 
For lunch we dined at the Mount Washington Hotel which affords a spectacular view of its namesake pictured here in the background.

 
Under the careful supervision of her Uncle Stephen, Maya is not to be outdone by her brothers and cousins. She climbs the rock face and becomes the youngest member of our crew to survive the plunge.

 
Kyle braves the heaviest portion of the water fall which is oh so freezing cold.

 
This morning we did a short hike to Ripley Falls which at 100 feet is the second tallest in New Hampshire. It took little time for the kids (and some of the more robust adults) to strip down and enter the frigid water. Each child in turn climbed up the rock face to slide down and plunge into the pool below.

 
After dinner the birthday celebration begins. Jeanine (aka Vanna) and sister Susan have created a Jeopardy style game featuring trivia questions, charades, pictionary, dance & stunts, and scavenger hunts. The theme of each question or challenge relates to some aspect of the life of my mother or I.

 
Seating for 21 was not a problem at the lodge. We have now been joined by my other sister Alissa, her husband John and my nephew Johnie and niece Rachel.

 
On the way down, Stephen, Burton and Mario take a quick plunge in this ice cold waterfall pool. Click on the photo for a better look at the expression on his face after a few seconds in the water.

 
The view from the top was spectacular and the cloud formations added to the overall drama of the scene.

 
We reached the summit of this very difficult climb after 5 hours and would take another 3 to descend.

 
This is Mario’s first exposure to climbing and he is the strongest of our team. It was a great pleasure to climb with him and to introduce him to this way of enjoying the great outdoors. His parents would have been very proud of his courage and tenacity. My uncle Bob was the first to introduce me to climbing so this uncle/nephew tradition has been passed down for at least two generations now.

 
Mayela (age 43) shows off her guns. Her older brother decides to stand behind the camera rather than face the humiliation of comparing biceps.

 
My uncle Bob (age 72), my sister Mayela and husband Stephen, my cousin-in-law Burton, my nephew and I set out to climb 4,000 foot Mount Webster, part of the Presidential Range.

 
Her protruding tongue is very cute, but I must teach her to protect it by keeping it inside her mouth.

 
After a quick breakfast Maya scales the first mountain she finds.

 
I am the first to rise and cannot resist photographing my favorite daughter.

 
After dinner young and old retire to the basement of the lodge for a ping pong tournament.

 
My art shot for the evening.

 
Lounging before dinner, Jeanine is responsible for orchestrating the family reunion weekend which is a joint celebration of my mother’s 80th birthday and my 50th (not till late September actually).

 
Before the evening ends we are joined by my parents, my uncle Bob and aunt Maruja, sister Mayela and brother-in-law Stephen, and Jeanine’s sister Susan who drove up with us from Concord. Here we pose in front of the Crawford train depot illuminated by the setting sun.

 
We arrive in time for a quick hike around Saco Lake. Kyle had to remain in Concord for high school soccer tryouts and will not join us until tomorrow.

 
Our arrival coincides with three perfect days of weather after a long stretch of rain. Temperatures are perfect for hiking.

 
We will spend a total of three nights at the Highland Center Lodge which is run by the Appalachian Mountain Club of which we are members. The accomodations are spartan but cozy and allow plenty of room for our group of twenty one.

 
My first vacation day since I started work at Sonos. The family heads north to Crawford’s Notch, NH for a family reunion/dual birthday celebration weekend. Here we enter Franconia Notch as we near our destination in the White Mountains. We are renting another van while the Honda is being repaired.

 
My boss demonstrates his photographic talent capturing this image of me on day two of our strategy summit. It’s nice to be on the other end of the lens for a change.

 
The executive team at Sonos after day one of a two day strategic planning session held in Cambridge. Although it was a rather long day, we made excellent progress. Rather than joining the group for dinner, I drove home to be with the family only to discover on my arrival that they had gone with the VanDoren’s to watch a Revolution (pro soccer team) game in Foxborough. As they were leaving the parking lot the van was hit by a stadium employee who was speeding on his way out. No major injuries to speak of but the van is going to need some serious work.

 
Kyle has become something of a grill master and is largely responsible for this evening’s meal featuring a dry rub salmon. Yum yum.

 
Today Jeanine, Maya and the VanDoren clan went whale watching. I had to work and regret having missed such a great adventure.

 
For desert we enjoyed a marbled pound cake baked by Maya. She was as proud of her creation as we were appreciative of the delicious treat.

 
Today the VanDoren family from Belgium arrived. They will be visiting with us for the next few days. Francis (far right) was a foreign exchange student who lived with Jeanine for a year during high school. They have stayed in touch ever since. Counter clockwise from Francis are here husband Dirk, son Arne, yours truly, Maya, daughter Jolene, my bride and Nala completes the picture. We enjoyed dinner on the sun porch and got to watch a beautiful full moon rising over the field.