On Thursday afternoon my brother Russ and his sons Nathan and Jayden arrived at our house with my mom for an overnight visit. They live in California, and we don’t see them often, so it was great having them. Thursday afternoon we had a fine time at the beach, and Friday morning we went to the Cape May Point State Park where we walked on one of the trails…

…and climbed the 200 or so steps inside the Cape May Lighthouse to see the views from the top. At least, all of us including Ellen, but not my mom, who wisely chose to sit comfortably in the shade below. We had a fine visit, then Friday afternoon Russ and the gang drove back to Mom’s place in north-central New Jersey.

On Saturday morning Ellen and I drove to my other brother Doug’s home in northeastern New Jersey where the whole family met to spend more time together, and on Saturday evening, had a fine dinner out to celebrate my mom’s 90th birthday. The restaurant is in a former bank, with the large vault in the background. Here are Ellen, Doug, his wife Lena, and Mom’s grandsons Dylan, Jayden, Nathan and Charlie, Russ and Mom. Great meal.

On Sunday morning many of us drove to Yogi Berra Stadium at Monclair State College to see an exhibition baseball game in which Charlie Klein, Doug and Lena’s son, was playing. It was a fun experience. It’s a minor league stadium, and very professional looking. Charlie played a number of positions, including catcher, center field and short-stop, as seen here. He’s quite a good player for his age, 11, and this is a town team. He also plays on other teams.

Charlie hit two singles and a double in four at-bats, and drove in three runs. Here’s one of his hits, note the ball at upper right.

Charlie looking alert on second base.

And scoring a run. The team did great, winning 10 to 3. They play on a field about 3/4 the pro size, as far as base positions, and six innings, or two hours whichever comes first. There were some special rules at this exhibition game, but it was all very enjoyable to watch.

Here are some Klein men and boys at the game: Nathan, Charlie, Doug, Jayden, Russ and myself. We’re proud of Charlie, and of our family, especially our mom, who is still going strong.