Dear Henry

We went to St. Michaels for the Fourth of July. Aunt Abby and Uncle Andy's beach house just isn't quite finished and ready for visitors just yet. That was okay by me. I was sad there a year ago on the Fourth of July thinking back to our last time there together.



At the same instant that I started thinking about how I get sad at about the same spot each time we drive out of St. Michaels, Mom said to me, "That was a really nice weekend." It was. I think that the nicer the time I am having the more sad I get. We went to listen to a big band play at the Maritime Museum and everything was so perfect that I started to cry. We all sat out on the lawn and the weather was beautiful. Joe was jumping on top of Mommy and Nana, and Jack was laying back on top of me. I was happy and of course started thinking about you.

The spot that had me thinking about how sad I get when we leave St. Michaels was right next to the Easton Airport on Route 50 crossing Black Dog Alley. That was the airport that you, me and Papa Sy flew into in Uncle Dan's plane. I read somewhere that there was an airport operating on a farm on Black Dog Alley for many years before the big one was built next door. The man who started that airport (which was on his farm) did so to be able to transport bootleg whiskey. Whiskey is a grown up drink, like wine. I think you tasted wine but you never tasted whiskey. It is pretty strong stuff.

There was a man named Winston Churchill who was Prime Minister of England. Prime Minister is like being president. When Churchill used to get sad his family said that he was having a "Black Dog." That meant he was in a funk and grouchy. He was someone who liked whiskey.

I went to Winston Churchill High School. I pointed it out to you whenever we drove by. It is out near where Bella lives.



The doggy behind Joe is Zoey. She is Aunt Alice and Uncle Peter's dog. Joe loves her and Jack wants nothing to do with her. I still think that Jack is scared of dogs because of the time when he was just a baby and he got nipped in the forehead by Aunt Alice and Uncle Peter's old dog - either Jinx or Harley - at their beach house in Bethany. Uncle Peter gave Mom and me a ride on his new boat this weekend. It is really big and really fast.



On Sunday night we went into Easton with friends of Mom and watched the fireworks from the Acme parking lot. It is the parking lot of the theater where we went with you and Jack to see Toy Story 2 and some other movies. It also happens to be the perfect spot to watch the Easton fireworks. Joe saw his first fireworks and absolutely loved them. He kept opening his mouth wide and smiling big each time one went off. Jack liked them but as you might remember he really doesn't like loud noises. That was too bad because we were very close to where they were shooting them off so the bangs were the loudest I ever heard. We are going to get earplugs for next year.





While we were in Easton we ran by the Wal Mart and picked up a few things. Wal Mart is the best place for Band Aids. We found Fairly Odd Parents, Hot Wheels and Strawberry Shortcake band aids to bring to Georgetown for the Henry Toolkit.



Joe went swimming. It took him a while to work up the courage to go all the way into the pool. He spent most of the time hanging out on the steps in all of his clothes - soaking wet - but he finally got comfortable with me holding him and walking through the water. I put him on the raft with Mom and he was in heaven - and so was Mom.



One of the neat things I noticed this weekend was that the ospreys are getting a little braver too. They are now leaving their nest, flying over to the dock and resting on top of the mast of the sailboat and one of the pylons. It is almost like after all of these years that Nana and Papa have lived there the birds finally trust us humans enough to come closer to the house without worrying. The birds still freak out when we paddle the kayak by the nest, but it is nice to see them coming closer.

Joe and I do this thing on the front steps of our house where I lay down and he lays down on top of me and we watch the birds fly overhead. It is something that I never did (or don't remember doing) with you and Jack. It is our special thing. When we were in St. Michaels this weekend, Joe said "let's look at birds," and we laid down together and watched. The funny thing is that no birds flew by. And, as you know, St. Michaels is the bird capitol. I don't know where the herons, or the osprey or the bald eagles were, but I didn't care. I had Joe laying down on top of me.