Hey, all! I know I’ve been AWOL a lot due to my shoulder/arm issues (I haven’t been able to scrap or sit at a computer without experiencing a lot of pain - boohoo!) but I’ve missed y’all!!! I’d love to hear what everyone has been up to because I love to travel vicariously through other people (especially about @michelepixels wonderful road trip!). So, whatcha all been up to? My sister and BiL just left yesterday after a two week visit, and we did the tourist thing proud! Ha!! I live near Washington, DC so we did the monuments and the Museum of the Bible there, then tackled lots of historic places in Virginia: Jamestown, Yorktown, Colonial Williamsburg, Monticello, Richmond, Old Town Alexandria, and Great Falls and Shenandoah National Parks just to name a few. It simply felt so good to be out and about after being shut down for so long. I’ll try to get pages done as my body allows, but we had a blast! Let’s get this party rolling and tell everyone of your adventures, big or small! I can’t wait to read about them, and post pics if you want, too!
I’m sorry about your shoulder/arm issues and hope they get better soon! We went on vacation with my parents and siblings and spent a lot of time swimming and playing pickleball. Now we’re recovering from vacation.
Thank you! Isn’t that the case? A vacation from your vacation! One of our former neighbors loved to play pickle ball. Hey we’re even in a league for Seniors!! It looks like a lot of fun!
So mid-June we spent a week in Williamsburg, VA. We did Busch Gardens and Water Country, but also squeezed in the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown. Both parks were not busy at all since we went Monday & Tuesday. We went back to BG on Friday and more rides were open but the lines were longer. Still love me a smooth roller coaster. Then we were home for a week and half. Then we flew with my parents to Michigan to visit my sister at her new home on Rainbow Lake. She has a pontoon boat we took out almost every day. So relaxing to just sit by the water - plus lake breeze!! My entire family was there, less my 2 sons, so it was a great time. Also got to see my other sister's new home and the home my niece and DH are renovating. Back home now and hope to go tent camping with the new doggo in a few weeks. Then summer is over as college starts back for the DD in early August.
Hmmmm ... I have a three day retreat/crop coming up in a couple of weeks. Then the following weekend I'm probably heading to Ocean City for the week. I haven't decided if it's worth the effort or not. Chase is in summer school, so he can't go. And that means that I have to make sure there's enough food in the house for him and my daughter (she no longer drives) while I'm gone. Then there's the 3-4 hour drive from Northern VA to OC ... so we shall see. I may be running around like a headless chicken on the 31st getting ready to go.
Right after school got out we spent a week at Lake Anna (in Virginia). We mostly did things like beach days and mini-golf, but we also spent a day in Charlottesville and toured UVA (my rising senior's first college visit!) Last weekend we were at Great Falls and hiked near the waterfall. Next week we're driving up to Connecticut to finally see my parents and siblings and their families. We haven't seen anyone in person since January 2020! It has to be a short trip this time because of schedules, but in August the kids and I will go back for a second visit. If some of the other colleges that DS wants to look at are doing in person visits, we may go see a few of them over the summer. I'm hoping to get all of it scheduled early next week.
No adventures here….too expensive and if I did do anything it would be for a job interview most likely.
Jay has been on vacation since the evening of the 2nd, and goes back to work Monday the 12th. We drove over to Mobile on Saturday and went to an estate sale and a cool antique mall, as well as hitting up a BBQ spot while we were over there. We stopped on the way back home at a fireworks store and it was CRAZY. I stayed in the car, but Olivia and Jay went inside. On Sunday, I went to my mom's in the early afternoon to cook with her and my sister. It was a combo Fourth of July/late birthday dinner for Daniel. We were there until about 9 pm. My mom's water heater went out, so she conceded and we used Chinet, paper napkins, and plastic cups (or the Yetis that we all seem to have). Still, she never serves from cooking pots, so we had a ton of dishes. We had to boil water to wash them and it turned into an entire family activity. It's been raining something awful all week, so our plans to hit the beach and the river have not come to pass. Monday and Tuesday we stayed home and just relaxed. Watched movies and/or TV series, read, played computer games, etc. On Tuesday, Jay ended up using his new Blackstone that he got for Father's Day and grilled the most amazing chicken which we had with roasted potatoes and green beans. Wednesday, I helped Jay's aunt with her living will and last will & testament, and then we had to take Piper to the vet because she has a hot spot near her tail. She's now on antibiotics and anti-itching meds and is wearing a cone of shame. LOL Today we were home most of the day. Jay did some running around in the early afternoon, getting an oil change, running to the thrift store to drop off donations, etc. At 6 pm, Jay and I left to go out to dinner for our anniversary. Our anniversary was back in October, but it was two days after his sister passed. It's been 8 months now, but even tonight we both got teary thinking about Theresa. Anyway, our dinner was OK. The steaks were meh. Tomorrow we'll be heading out so Daniel can pick up the latest Fortnite comic and so Jay can get some books for his new coin collecting hobby. I think we'll do some more shopping depending on how my back holds up and grab a late lunch. We've put off our river and beach plans until we hit a stretch where we don't have so much rain or thunderstorms. I mean, it is Florida, so we usually always get a shower or two, but these strong thunderstorms aren't anything I want to be out in the middle of at the river or beach for sure. So we have that to look forward to before school starts back on August 10th.
No vacation as such this year. I am still weary of getting on a plane for 3-4 hours, crowded airports,and public transports, which is the only way you can leave Malta, unless you take a ferry to Sicily,and stop at the ferry terminal... We do go swimming at least 3times a week, and though we have had ,are still having a heatwave, we go early and are home again before mid day,so we would t fry. A few evenings we have had pizza on the beach too, but mostly just stay in and try to stay cool. I will be going to an online retreat this weekend, and in August will be starting an Art class ,also on line. . As soon as the worst heat is over Tony is looking forward to gardening, growing veg.( as opposed to just pouring water on everything....)
I had July 1st through the 6th off work and just stayed home and played in my craft room a ton. It was my idea of a perfect vacation. Lol. We are also taking a camping weekend the first weekend of August at Silver Lake Michigan. My sister is coming at the end of July and we will spend the weekend either at the beach here or playing tourist around town which is always fun. Mostly we have a low key summer though and that's the way I like it.
My parents visited last month. We hadn't seen them since Feb 2020. Then they drove the kids back to MI with them, and I flew up a week later so I could hang out with my family and then fly the kids back home. Only my parents/the kids knew I was coming up, so I got to surprise my extended family on the Fourth. We also saw my ILs, whom we hadn't seen in person since Oct 2019. The kids were so happy to have all four grandparents together (we met at the zoo--only open spaces for DS who is too young to get vaccinated). The kids and I flew home yesterday. Now it's back to reality, like bedtimes for them and laundry for me! @Karen I thought about you when I was in MI. I figured you were working so I didn't PM you. I guess I should have...maybe I could have enticed you away from your craft room for a little coffee date!
No traveling for me this summer. I had hoped to go to visit relatives from FL when they are in MI this month. Found out that they are only going to be there a week so their time to have visitors is limited. But the silver lining is they are driving instead of flying and they come up I-75 which goes right by my town. Evidently they hope to stop in town this trip (didn't last year because of COVID). I'll know more early next week because the 16th is the day they will be coming through this area. And, on the 22nd 3 high school friends and I are getting together at my house. We took a trip to FL our senior year (1974) and had the best time. I've seen each of them at various reunions but never all of us at the same time. We're just going to hang out and act like we're 18 again.
@QuiltyMom So sorry about your shoulder/arm issues!! Hope they start to feel much better soon!! So far... Chance and I have done a few day road trips. One to Carowinds Amusement Park One to Pittsburgh to see the Dodgers play (that's us, grabbed from a highlight reel ) Clayton Kershaw And one to Bedford, VA to see the D-Day Memorial. We also went to Myrtle Beach, SC for a week and got back last Sunday. Top Golf is one of our favs We have a couple more day trips planned if we can swing it and we are hoping to get some hiking adventures in really soon!
No vacations planned this summer. I've definitely been out shopping a lot, and we drove about an hour away for an estate sale and antique shopping. A beach/river/pool trip is definitely on my list. Hopefully soon. *crosses fingers*
We were going to Sydney in September but we just don't know how things are going to go as they are in lockdown at the moment and some news reports are suggesting it will extend beyond August. Other than that we have been sticking close to home and doing little day trips every now and then. Hope your shoulder/arm is feeling much better now Jan! I love experiencing your adventures vicariously!
We went to FL back in May. We've been hanging out at home. I've been organizing the house and doing lots of house projects that I just don't have time for during the school year. I've also been planning/prepping for the 21/22 school year for my kids and our homeschool group that I direct. My hubby and I have a 3 day trip planned in August for our birthday/anniversary. We'll be going to Chattanooga like we have the last couple of years. It's one of our favorite places. Just hiked here with friends on Wednesday. Only 30 minutes from my house! Anyone want to come visit? And here's a mural my girls and I painted on the wall.