My Long Lost Cousin Alex

A few months ago, I got an E-Mail from an Alex Levin from Sweden. He was writing to see if we were related. It turns out that Alex has been researching his American relatives for a few years. My mother's father was Swedish and his father came over from Sweden in 1892. Alex was interested in reconnecting with his American relatives. The last time the American and Swedish families were in touch was the 1930s. Through some digging around the confirming some facts it turns out that we were indeed related. This came from a part of the family I knew nothing about. My grandfather never talked about his family and we never asked. It was most interesting to learn about this facet of my family.

The biggest question I has was how does a Swede come up with the name Levin? The story was the Nils Levin's (my great - great grandfather) name used to have the last name Olafsson and didn't want a name so common so he changed it. I heard this story and Alex had a similar take so that helped confirm the connection.

Alex and his wife, Caroline came to the States last week. They spent some time in New York and they passed through Philadelphia in their way to Chicago and Cleveland. Tina and I met them in Center City last Tuesday. We took them around the city and did the typical touristy things (Liberty Bell, Constitution Hall...). During lunch Alex shared with me some things he brought from Sweden, including a photo album he gave us outlining details and photos from Sweden. It was fascinating to see all this information. The tour ended with Alex and I driving through North Philly which houses the parts of the city you don't find in the guide books. I think Alex liked this part of the tour most of all as this is something you would never find in Sweden.

It was a very enjoyable visit and we look forward to continuing to keep in touch.

The Ride Across Jersey

On Saturday, Tina and I and another couple rode the MS 150 ride from Cherry Hill, New Jersey to Ocean City. Our ride was 1 day, 77.4 miles. You can ride both ways, but since this was our first ride, we thought we would take it easy. It turns out that the ride wasn't that bad. New Jersey is relatively flat so there weren't any killer hills to contend with. The only real challenge were the two bridges that you need to go over right at the end. Since there were over 7,000 riders, there was never a point where you weren't riding with a cluster of riders. Since it was a "ride" and not a "race", the pace and group were pretty relaxed. Along the way there were several rest stops where you could rehydrate and get something to eat. They also had DJs. It was a pretty festive atmosphere. The weather held out for the most part. Forecasts earlier predicted rain all day. We started out dry and ended dry. It rained for about 20 minutes which was pretty refreshing. After riding 73 miles, the killer hills were at the end. It was a lot of fun in addition to it being a fundraiser for a good cause. We already signed up for next year. Who wants to join us?