Going back to where I left off a month ago; the weekend before my two week vacation. Friday, my usual, Saturday I got up and went to Barre then Newbury for my appointment. I was home the rest of the day. On Sunday, I got up and headed down to Milford to see the Mannings as it had been a year. Danielle had to be at her work's booth most of the day so I hung out with Mr. Manning until she was done. Keeping with the theme of the year, he shared some things with me about their life as a family which drives home the point that things aren't always what they seem :( Obviously not going to go into detail but I feel bad for them and I hope they can come up with a solution to make things better. I'm not really sure what I can do but I should at least reach out and let them know I'm always here to talk. We hung out at the pumpkin festival with Madison and her good friend, eating yummy food and getting henna tattoos. The food fest ended with a delicious coffee then we helped them clean up their booth. We went out for Mexican and spent the rest of the evening playing Apples to Apples before heading home with some parting gifts...a pumpkin and Krispy Kreme doughnuts. I spent the day Monday doing stuffies and getting ready for the week.
And the moment we've all been waiting for...my yearly 2 week vacation and how I spent it...this is what I wrote on 11.3:
Tomorrow concludes my 2 week 2019 Fall vacation. I’m currently sitting on the Dartmouth coach anxiously awaiting the reunion with my car and subsequently Xander and my home. I’ve been in Oceanside, CA since Tuesday visiting the Byrne’s. I’m making the most of my travel time by starting this month’s entry as it tends to be more lengthy when my time isn’t occupied by my job. It’s been a busy and productive vacation and I’ve caught up with a lot of family and friends. Next year, I will strive for more downtime but that never seems to be a possibility but I can hope for the best. Let’s start from the beginning: my vaca kicked off with a family reunion at the farm in CT which was originally initiated by an east coast vacation planned by Annie and Frank. They wanted to introduce Eddie to extended family and it grew to become a sizable crowd. I went to Barre class Saturday morning, did some stuffies, got ready and hit the road. I arrived at the farm around 4ish after a quick pit stop in Windsor to drop off Xander. The rest of Saturday was spent at David and Pauline’s house where they hosted a large group for dinner (vegan chili, cornbread, salad, chicken sausage). My immediate family was there plus so many people I haven’t seen in years: Corey (gf), Alayna, Marc, Scarlett, Megan (Cory), Vicki, Jaime (gf), Braedan, Maeve, Jenny, Mike, and last but not least, Jane. After dinner, the group staying at the main house headed over to hang out. I joined a little late and was the first one to head to bed. Jane and I shared a room and she kept me up most of the first night snoring. We had breakfast at the main house, visited for a little while then some of us headed out for a walk around the farm. I went for a run around the farm after several people left for home then got ready and headed over to D & P’s house for the rest of the evening. After some snacking, Marc, Jane and I went to the store for dinner items. We had burgers and roasted veggies and spent the rest of the evening visiting. The Inn people, again headed across the street for the night but Jane and I ended up staying up late chatting over beers. We finally retired to bed and I got up Monday morning to meet Elaine for breakfast in town. We had a nice visit as she came to the farm afterwards to hang out for a bit. After she left, I wasn’t too far behind. I made it home with my boy eventually after making many stops. I tried to see Laura but she spent most of that day at the hospital with her mom (we now know she has an adenocarcinoma diagnosis with metastasis from an unknown primary site). I feel terrible for her.
I'm going to structure the rest of my vacation as more of an outline:
Tuesday: I hired a different person to come wash my windows because the guy who pressure washed my house lasy year was a no-show on the 14th. I bought some groceries and cleaned some things in my bathroom (vent, light fixtures, showerhead).
Wednesday: I got a massage in Lebanon, grabbed a coffee and finally explored the old cemetery by my house. Did some yard clean up and made a pan of macaroni and cheese.
Thursday: Cleaned my bedroom and tried a new class at Mighty Yoga.
Friday: Nasty cold came to a head, cleaned my living room.
Saturday: Had to cancel going to Salem due to feeling like crap (add a period to that). Tried to rest most of the day but managed to spend some time at Bina's going away party at Trail Break.
Sunday: Felt like crap but managed to clean my kitchen.
Monday: Still felt poor but had to accomplish things for my trip: Scott came over to look at my attic (I got paranoid after one of my neighbors had water damage in their attic over the summer), ran some errands, did the dishes and cleaned Xander's potty room, started packing.
Tuesday: Day started super early for travel to southern CA. Arrived at the Byrne household around 4 their time. I managed to make it the rest of the day but crashed at bedtime. I got a tour of their house, the neighborhood, and I got treated to homemade chili and cornbread for dinner.
Wednesday: Suzy had to work so I was on my own. I went for a 1.5 hour run (mostly along the ocean). Once I was showered, I explored their street and found some food at a health food store and experienced Revolution Roasters for the first time. I started a book on their rooftop deck until it got too cold then read in mt room until Suzy got home. We went out for some delicious Mexican food.
Thursday: Suzy made breakfast then we got ready to head out on bikes to ride along the oceans. We rode to Carlsbad and saw some awesome ocean views (also a not so awesome view of a fallen older lady in a crosswalk). We stopped for a smoothie and to check out some stores. We relaxed on the deck and figured out our Halloween costumes...we dressed up as crazy marathon runners and went to the Farmer's Market as such. Hands down, the best one I've been to. So much food, so many people dressed up.
Friday: Another day on my own as Suzy had to work. I tried a Barre class at noon then finished my burrito for lunch (so good). I found myself on a bench overlooking the ocean in the sun for the rest of the afternoon, reading. I headed back to their place where I read in my room until Suzy got home. She made chicken parm for dinner, we hung out in her complex's hot tub, then I finished the rest of my farmer's market dinner.
Saturday: We went for a morning run with Seamus then got ready to meet Granny and Pete at a winery in Temecula...oddly enough they are both members. Small world. We wine-tasted, had lunch, took some pictures and had a nice visit. We stopped at another winery before heading back. Suzy made a yummy, healthy dinner (rice, sweet potato, mushroom and spinach).
Sunday: Uneventful travel day home. Flight was faster going east, grabbed the coach to New London. Made my way to Windsor to get my boy and got home around 10ish. Boy did I miss that fluff. Monday, I had a hair appointment, grabbed some groceries and got ready to go back to work.
Speaking of small worlds...last week I checked out some DNA relatives on the 23andme website and ended up connecting with my Grammy's youngest brother's great-granddaughter. Most of them are in Canada so it was so strange to find out she lived in Claremont with her family for part of her childhood. What?!
Ok, I can't put this run off any longer.
No comments:
Post a Comment