MA Trip

 Our long overdue trip to Massachusetts is too soon a memory (Delaney, what figure of speech is that?). We left Saturday morning, June 26, and drove back on July 4. In addition to seeing a lot of family that we haven't seen in maybe 18 months, we also thought we could enjoy some really pleasant summer weather. Well... that was not what New England had in store for us this time. For the first half of our trip, it was upper 90s and humid, and for the second half cold and rainy. What the heck! But we had a lot of fun. We had originally planned on staying till the morning of the 5th, but after what an easy drive home we had, I think leaving on an actual holiday might be the way to go from now on. Compared to the 14.5 hours it took to get there (and this with only two 10-minute stops for gas and bathrooms), we made it back home in 11.5 hours (with a third 5-minute stop). We have no time to waste because Tim can not take many days off from his new job yet -- or probably ever, because he only has one other employee, and the rest are volunteers.

This was two hours into the trip there, right after we got on 95 North. When I saw this I said, "I'm questioning all my life choices right now." Ha! No, of course I wouldn't change a single one that led me here, but man, to be staring down the barrel of 623 miles on 95...there's nothing like it.

On Sunday we celebrated our niece Juliana's high school graduation. She graduated second in her class, and will be attending Tim's alma mater, Worcester State University, this fall. I believe she plans to major in elementary education. Juliana's the one at the far right in the picture above.

On the first really hot day, a bunch of us went out for mini golf and ice cream. I had to kind of wonder as we sweated in the sun why are we doing this to ourselves, but in spite of myself I enjoyed it. Tim got a couple holes in one, and we was proud of himself.

Back at Grandma and Grandpa's, Joey finally took off his swim muscles and started doggy-paddling. Yay!

We spent another day at Kathy's for lunch and the pool. I wasn't complaining, not one bit.

We did a lot of things at Karen's. Let's see... a movie for those who wanted to watch a movie (I think only Tim and I didn't), games for the kids, dinner for all of us (and no one was opting out of Matt's grilled steak tips!), and a very silly game called Incohearent: Family Edition. There might be another edition out there that is not family friendly, but I'm not sure. That night we presented Tim Sr with his Father's Day gift, a replica of the Point Judith lighthouse, where he would often go with his brother Billy who passed away a few months ago. Eternal rest grant unto him, oh Lord; and let perpetual light shine upon him.

One morning Tim took Delaney as promised, along with anyone else who wanted to go, to Patriots Place in Foxboro. It was very hot, and they only stayed long enough to buy a few t-shirts. Delaney, Annie, and I have matching t-shirts, but I have no pictures. Boo.

This was the point of the week where the heat and humidity started giving way to clouds, storms, and falling temperatures. Karen has a few of these cute hot air balloons hanging on her porch, and I loved how they looked with the mix of clouds and sun.

Matt told us he saw Tim Sr trying to play Pokemon with Joey, and when Timmy offered to help his grandpa, Joey said, "Yes, please help him!"🤣

We all went out to dinner together one night, and had a really nice time. Tim and I got Delaney to take our picture outside with the nice view before it started to rain. Ideally, we would have gotten a picture of all of us out here, but by the time we were ready for a group photo, it was pouring.

Delaney said, "But I wore these clothes as a deterrent to taking photos." Well, so much for that.

This spider plant belonged to Tim's grandmother Alice Grazulis Brady, who died when he was three. I don't know much about her, but I have gathered that she was devoutly Catholic, her parents were from Lithuania, and she once saved Tim Sr and a neighbor boy from a tornado by shoving them behind a refrigerator. We took home three of the babies, and they are all thriving so far. If for whatever reason they don't make it, there's plenty more where that came from. I love plants, and I especially love plants with family history.

And that's about it. We were sad as always to say goodbye, but then we had an easy trip home and the sight of our blooming crape myrtle and hydrangeas to welcome us.