May and June
This summer ended up being filled with family, friends, and fun. I know, cheesy alliteration, but that’s how I roll.
Speaking of rolling, my husband decided to finally buy himself a touring motorcycle. He has owned and ridden a smallish “naked ninja” style bike for years but wanted a more powerful bike to take on long rides, so after much contemplation, he bought a Harley.
After just riding the Harley for a couple of weeks, he decided to take the smaller sport bike out for a spin. He came home after a couple of hours and disappointedly declared Velma (yes, he names his toys) didn’t have enough oomph anymore. So, a few days later he trades her in for a Triumph motorcycle. And no, he is not having some sort of midlife crisis. He hardly ever buys big boy toys, so I am glad he splurged on himself for a change.
At the end of May I flew to Texas to help my sister following surgery, then brought Mom back home with me for a couple of weeks. While she was here, we did some sightseeing, attended shows at two different theatres, and took a boat ride on the Erie Canal. It was fun to take Mom through a lock so she could see how it works up close and personal. Between me being at my sister’s and Mom being here, she ended up stuck with me for a whole month.
July and August
I safely delivered Mom back home to Texas and got home just in time to welcome our son and his family for a week. This was their first trip here since we moved into our house, and it was so nice having enough room for everyone to spread out. We did some sightseeing and a little light hiking while they were here, but mostly just spent relaxing time together. It was great.
In late July my dear friend Alexa came to visit. I had a blast showing her around our new community. It had been a long time since we have spent any quality time together – I think the last time was on our trip to Ireland a couple of years ago. She spent a few days here, then we drove to Canada.
We spent an afternoon doing fun touristy stuff in Niagara Falls, spent the night in a neat boutique hotel, then wandered over to Niagara on the Lake (one of my favorite places!) to sightsee before I had to take her to the airport in Buffalo. So much fun getting to spend time with my friend!
After Alexa left, our friends Mike and Marcie stopped in for a couple of days while traveling from PA to MA. I really enjoyed spending time with Marcie, and Rob had fun introducing Mike to our local breweries and distilleries. The visit was too short, but now that we all live on the same side of the country, we get to see each other more often.
Marcie and Mike left on Wednesday, and on Friday my best friend from junior high and one of his daughters came to visit. Miracle! We have been trying to get him to visit us since we moved from TX the first time! We have invited him to MA, CA, and AZ, but he finally made it to NY. Loved just being with one of the few people in the world who knows exactly who I am. He knows all the secrets – good and bad- and has always kept them safe. And it was wonderful getting to know his adult daughter, who we hadn’t seen since she was about 12 years old. It was casual but fun. We visited some breweries; the guys rode the motorcycles a couple of times; we ate delicious grilled animal flesh; and stayed up WAY too late a couple of nights. Looking forward to his next visit!
We had a quiet anniversary celebration – 39 years – then Rob started prepping for his final tasks leading up to retirement.
September
It finally happened. As of Sept. 4,Rob is officially retired. And he’s loving every minute of it. He has several volunteer projects he is pursuing and is looking forward to keeping busy doing the things that he wants to do.
We rounded out our summer of friends, family, and fun with a dinner with my cousin Russell and his lovely wife, Darlene. They are concessionaires and have delicious food stands at many state and county fairs across the northeast part of the U.S. Last year while they were at the NY State Fair, we were not able to connect, but this year we made it happen. It was so nice to have dinner with family and just reconnect after many years. And let me tell you – if you are looking for the MOST delicious corndogs on the planet, ya gotta find my relatives. Pretty sure the Phillips family perfected the corndog!
September also brought some unexpected – but AMAZING surprises, which I will reveal later, but now I need to wrap this up so I can go pack for my next adventure. If you are reading this on October 1, I will be on my way to Central Europe for a two week tour. I will post lots of pictures on social media!
Talk soon!