Unencumbered by Thoughts

It has been some time since the last Adventure was posted. It doesn’t mean that it hasn’t been exciting…only that I’ve been too lazy to put something up.

The last few weeks have been a bit of a whirlwind. We started out three weeks ago opening up the cottage (over Memorial Day weekend). The dock was put in, the raft floated, cottage cleaned and the orientation sign-post put back into place.

There are a couple of new additions. London tops the pole, just beneath the sign to Nana and Papa’s, with the distance and direction to Admiral Nelson’s statue in Trafalgar Square. This sign replaces the former Philadelphia posting and is serving double duty for Sarah and to show where Scott is when not in-country. Likewise, Harvard has replaced Rutgers and is now the closest location (again, next to Nana and Papa being .75 miles away…as the crow flies). Finally, our newest posting is to the University of Delaware where Laura will be in attendance this fall. The colors match those of the fighting Blue Hens of Delaware.

It was a little cool and overcast on Saturday for the work to get done, but it cleared up on Sunday and we had a crowd in to celebrate Memorial Day. Dad, Nana and Papa, Bill and Sheila, and Dave, Karen and Anna all made it for one of the first official cookouts of the summer. No one went swimming (except for me while putting the dock in and Papa when he sort of ‘fell’ in while putting the dock in…it could have happened to anyone), but we enjoyed the sunshine, family and some good steaks and scallops.

On Monday the three brothers played some golf and I posted my normal less than stellar score. But we did have a good time getting out and enjoying the day. Before heading back to Connecticut I was able to snap a picture of Cheri and Nana.

Since the work week was already shortened by Monday being a holiday I decided to make up for it by taking Friday off as well. Cheri and I got up early (3:30ish) to head for Providence and a flight to Houston. We were heading down to attend the wedding of Sarah’s best friend in High School, Ashley Mullins. Sarah was in the wedding party so this was a chance to see her, go to the wedding and visit with friends in The Woodlands, TX.

You can see Sarah coming out of the service with Ashley’s brother Graham. Sarah looked gorgeous in her bridesmaid gown (which is true whether it comes from her father or not).

At the reception we were able to get a shot of the High School friends—Sarah, Ashley Mott (nee Mullins), Ashley Roberts, and Jessica ? (nee Elliot).

Cheri and I also enjoyed the wedding and the reception and from the picture you can see that both Jess and Sarah get their great looks from their mother…woo-hoo! At the reception Cheri and I sat with a friend of Ashley’s father and as we talked about Sarah returning back to London the next day we found out that he worked for British Air (which Sarah was flying). After all was said and done he made a phone call and the next day Sarah found herself upgraded two classes for her flight back. It made the return flight much better for her and she now says that is the only way she wants to fly.

Besides the wedding, Cheri and I stayed with our good friends Barb and Bill Benham. We toured around The Woodlands to see how much it has changed over the last seven years and laughed our way through a great steak dinner. It was a great weekend and we were glad to see Sarah, Bill and Barb. We also stopped by our friends the Omohondros (John and Peggy) and arranged for them to pay a return visit to us the next weekend.

We flew back to Providence on Monday, and following another shortened week got into, once again, a fun-filled weekend. Saturday morning was spent doing some yard work and house cleaning, just to try and stay ahead, and then it was off to Loudon for Kevin’s graduation party. It was great to get together with the extended family—including the Strout side—and Kevin said, in a happy and positive way, “I have more family than friends! ” You can see him listening intently to advice from his Aunt Cheri. Likewise you can see Dave enjoying some time with (first cousin-once removed by marriage) Roland—after 50 years I am starting to understand some of this family tree stuff.

The party was fun, but after a couple of hours we were back on the road to Connecticut. Our original plans had been to meet Jack and Stephanie Gosselin for dinner at a local restaurant that has received great reviews. However a slight mix-up in the scheduling plans with their son Ian resulted in us going to an end-of-the-year college party at their house in North Stonington (down on the Connecticut coast about 45 minutes south of Woodstock). Another steak dinner (I am seeing a positive trend here), good company, Red Sox baseball on the TV in the back room made for an enjoyable evening.

Sunday morning we were up early, and happy to be in our own bed on the weekend for a slight change. We sang and helped out in church before heading out to Worcester for a matinee show of the musical Chicago. Cheri and I have seen this before, but it is a fun show with great singing and dancing, and it is a part of the Broadway series the Hanover Theater now offers.

After the show we quickly headed home, but not quite quick enough, to meet the Omohondros at our house. They arrived a little early so we were still at the grocery store for some last minute items when John called to make sure they were at the right house. We told them to make themselves at home and we would be there in about 20 minutes, so they settled on to the deck and Calvin the cat entertained them.

It was fun to have them with us for an evening, and another steak dinner (see what I mean) washed down with a variety of wines made for a pleasant evening. They had a 9:30 flight out of Hartford the next morning so we were all up to see them off and to head back to work.

So although it was back to work this was also the week of the Massachusetts Hospital Association annual meeting. The speakers were focusing on the issues of Health Care Reform and a bit on Strategic Planning, both current topics of interest, and the Health System supported my attending. So Cheri and I headed out Monday evening for the Chatham Bars Inn out on Cape Cod. The program was good and included a golf outing, annual awards dinner and the speaker programs.

The pictures below show the view from our room and patio out over the bay.

After we arrived Monday evening we went to a restaurant recommended by a friend that is located in nearby Orleans. The food was very good and I managed to get another steak—seared tuna this time (Cheri thought I needed to give the red meat world a break). In such a setting we had a wonderful stay and although it rained quite a bit—not evidenced in the photos—we had a great time; particularly for our first time on the Cape. We also later learned that Papa worked washing dishes at the Chatham Bars Inn when he was seventeen (after the second crop of hay was put away). His memory of the Inn is not the same as that of a guest's—he saw a lot of the kitchen.

After finishing out the week in the office we got up Saturday morning and headed for the cottage. Since it has been mostly overcast and rainy I have been taking the opportunity to get out this update of the adventures. I know the next few weekends will also be filled so I will see about getting out more updates as we go along…but then, absence does make the heart grow fonder so we’ll see…