Summer Gone

The whole summer has gone by and I haven't written anything since June 7. Shame on me! It's been a busy summer. Lots of hiking and letterboxing, some walks at the beach, but no swimming this year. Next year I will have to carve out time to spend lolling on the beaches. Have hiked on Mt. Aggie, Parker Mountain, trails around Pickering Pond, Mt. Isinglas, Vaughan Woods, Bauneg Beg, the Urban Forestry, the Wm. Champlain Forest, Odiorne Point and other nice places. Got to kayak with my co-workers in lieu of the Christmas party we never had last December. I vote for kayaking again instead of a stuffy indoor party during the already busy holidays. We had a beautiful day and lots of fun in spite of fighting the ocean currents. Then we got to eat seafood afterwards....life is good! J and I had a nice long weekend in September at the Cape for my niece's wedding. It was a beautiful wedding, a fun-filled weekend and lots of decadent food! It was so nice to see my niece and her husband so thoroughly enjoying themselves. That's the way to have a wedding. They invited everyone to the rehearsal dinner the night before and then hosted a farewell breakfast the morning after, before they headed to Bermuda. Must have cost a fortune but everyone had such a great time. I'm really glad we were able to be there for it all. I finally got to see the Blue Man Group last weekend. J promised to take me 7 years ago when we were first dating.....somehow the years went by without it happening. So, when the hospital sponsored a trip to BMG via bus, I jumped on the chance to go. J couldn't go, worked the night before and had to work that night, so I went with a friend/co-worker and we had a blast. Sat in the second row with ponchos on in case of big splashes. It's so interactive and so intense! The little kid in me came out and I found I was quite intimidated by the Blue Man on the left. He looked so stern and I didn't know what to expect, knowing it was an interactive show. I was trying not to stand out in the crowd so as not to be selected for on-stage performance. Still, I ended up with a Blue Man on my head.....the very same stern one who intimidated me. He jumped into the crowd and was staring L right in the eye while I cringed in the next seat. Next thing I knew, he was using my head to push himself off onto the next row and crawled his way through the audience that way, stepping on the chair arms and using people's heads for balance. Yikes! At least I wasn't the guy that got zipped into a coverall, strung up by his feet and painted blue all over and then swung to hit up against a canvas and make "art", or the poor girl who had to sit on stage while they learned how to open and eat a Twinkie with her teaching them how. Anyway, awesome drumming and entertainment. Loved the show. Would go again with J so he can see them. So now Fall is here and I'm thinking of my Massachusetts good friend J and hoping we can have a weekend together at her sister's place. Perfect time of year for it and I miss her. It's too long in between visits with me here and her in western Mass. Apple picking was good this year. Took my stepdaughter with me this time and we sampled our way through the orchards deciding which variety of apple was the best. She chose the Honey Crisp and I chose the Cortland, though the Honey Crisps were a close second. I think I might go back for the Northern Spys when they are ready, pretty soon. We could probably get a pumpkin at the same time.