Where the hell did July go?
This is the first time I've been able to sit and write a bit--I'm sitting at the car place waiting to find out what is wrong with my beloved Pilot. After 2000 miles cavorting all over New England and Atlantic Canada, it started growling--tired maybe? And it just got too loud and shaky to ignore. It's not the muffler since it's coming from the front of the car. So I sit and wait.
July was a-m-a-z-i-n-g. There was so much going on! This could take a while to describe, but I figure I'm stuck here, so....
July 3 and 4
Tall ships! Boston hosted some tall ships for the celebration of July 4th and the 200th commemoration of the War of 1812, meaning the importance of the role of the USS Constitution...yeah, I need to go back and reread the details about that war. For me, it meant that I got to spend a day trekking all over Boston with my nieces and sisters-in-law--we walked from North Station to the Seaport via the North End and waterfront, and ended our day at Legal Seafood. Did you know that they have an amazing gluten free menu, and that it includes fried fish?? They fry in chickpea flour!! Oh, it was sooooooo good. I thought I was forever lost to the joys of fried clams.
And then I got to spend July 4th on board the above mentioned USS Constitution with Sis and Mr. Wonderful, watching our friend in his role as commander of the USS Constitution! Oh, it was awesome. The USCG Eagle sailed behind us, there were Blue Angels flying over us...just spectacular.
What we looked like from Castle Island
The Commander
With Mr. Wonderful
It was pretty hot, but we found a space with a breeze and just stayed there. It was raining when we got to the ship, but the heavens cleared as we turned towards the harbor. The harbor was packed with tons and tons of boats of every possible size, and the entire waterfront was packed with people. You couldn't see any green space on Castle Island. Freaky connection with the people standing next to us--they knew some people Mr. W knew from his days in Maryland, and they lived in the same town as the commander. Small world.
NH
After July 4th I headed north to spend a few days with Sis in NH. I brought Mookie and O'Malley along for their vet appointment and got yelled at because they are obese--Mookie weighs 19.6 lbs, and O'Malley 17.4! I knew Mook was large because he's just a big-boned cat, but I had no idea that O'Malley had porked up that much. I have to change their diets. Sis and I went walking and hung out for a few days--it was nice. She's exploring the gluten free world too.
Road trip to PEI
After leaving NH, I went home and repacked for our trip to PEI with Mr. Wonderful's aunt. We hit the road on Saturday and stopped the first night in Ellsworth, Maine. We found a great restaurant called Cleonice where I had the best paella since I was in Spain. The next couple of days were in St. Stephen and St. Andrews, New Brunswick--loved St. Andrews and had no luck finding more records in St. Stephen. From there we headed to PEI and Tignish, the hometown of Mr. W's grandmother. We met up with cousins and spent a couple of days roaming around so Aunt L could see where her mother came from. She said it was quite emotional. We had a tour of the cannery in Tignish thanks to Cousin Gerald, and got some incredibly delicious frozen lobster that we ate the next day. His son gave us a tour of the Tignish Fire Hall much to Mr. W's delight since they got to talk about apparatus and calls.
We went to Charlottetown for a couple of days and saw the other end of the island. We also took in an Irish ceili at the PEI Irish Benevolent Society that was fantastic--flute player, fiddler and guitar/vocalist. They put on a great show. And then we headed home with a stop in Saint John and NH to pick up Mookie and O'Malley who were vacationing with Sis at their summer abode. We put 2000 miles on the car!
On the red dirt road...
Posing at Cape Bear
On the gluten front, Canada seems to be much more aware than the US. There were many more menu options, even in tiny towns, that were delicious. I only got slightly sick once, and that was after the waitress assured me that my meal would be gluten free. Lots more choices in supermarkets too. I was very happy. Pretty impressive to only get sick once when we were eating out every day multiple times a day.
All in all it was a really good trip, and I think Mr. Wonderful was really happy to show Tignish to Aunt L and make connections with the cousins. We were there in 2009. It really is a beautiful place to see--tons of potato fields in bloom, lots and lots of lobster and mussels. I still have to read Ann of Green Gables at some point....
Women's Weekend 2012 in Breckenridge, Colorado
After our trip to Canada, I came home and in a couple of days turned the laundry right around, repacked and jumped on a plane to Denver for our Women's Weekend. This is an event that happens every couple of years whenever we can pull it off--a group of friends from high school ditch their husbands and kids, and we all get together for a couple of days to catch up and reconnect. We're spread all over the country, so the logistics can get pretty interesting. However, with the help of my brother-in-law and the use of his condo in Breckenridge, we had a great time!! Five of us made it this time for what someone called a "deliciously luxurious" weekend. We met up in Denver on Friday and took full advantage of the hotel's happy hour and restaurant near the airport. On Saturday we headed west to the Rockies and were in Breckenridge by 1pm. First stop was the resort's spa to book some "treatments". Bonus was that all 5 of us could use their hot tubs and hot saltwater pool while undergoing treatment--we picked up some wine, cheese and crackers and soaked for hours. I had a great hot stone massage that lasted an hour---aaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh. It really was awesome. We went back to the spa the next day for more. We had amazing food at the Motherloaded Tavern, Blue Moose Restaurant and Blue River Bistro, and of course stopped both days at Coldstone Creamery. I think Coldstone comes the closest to the Steve's Ice Cream of our high school days, and we spent a lot of time at Steve's.... The condo was perfect and the resort had lots to offer. The mountains were spectacular. All in all, it really was a deliciously luxurious weekend with great friends whom I've known since I was 15.
The Fab Five outside Coldstone with another ice cream (cinnamon with Heath bar mixed in was my personal fav)
In the saltwater pool with the mountains in the background
We might not see each other for months or years at a time, and we keep in touch via Facebook. But, once we get together, it's like I just saw these friends yesterday and we pick up where we left off. All topics are up for discussion, lots of memories come bubbling to the surface (Remember the time when....) and there's a lot of laughter. Sometimes there are tears, but that's part of life and someone always has something good to say to help change perspective. It's very easy. I'm so lucky to have these wonderful people in my life and always feel renewed after our weekends. I think this was the 10th time we've managed to get together since 1986 like this, although this was the first time that we didn't stay at someone's house for part of the weekend. I vote to do it again next year.....
And to end off Jumpin' July, I had my first bone density test done yesterday, followed by a mamogram. I'm waiting for my bloodwork results from earlier in the month. I'm still gluten free and still feel pretty damn good. Bring on August! Maybe I'll find out what my job for next year is--still no clue whether I'm teaching full time or moving to admin. Either way, me da igual. And on a happy note, 74% of my kids passed the AP test with a 3, 4 or 5! Up slightly from last year. Whew.
Car update: the wheel bearing has to be replaced. Really? After only 53,000 miles? It's under warranty, but it will take another hour or so to finish. So much for my day.
No comments:
Post a Comment