A Marathon Weekend

Never ones to step away from a challenge…we had a marathon weekend of adventures—Showers, Sunny Days, Reunions, Eating In, Music Out.  If we could do it this weekend…then we scheduled it.

For the last couple of years we have tried to frequently get together for dinner with Dave and Mary Richardson—Dave is my second cousin and was in our wedding.  These dinners are always a great time to catch up about family and share a few laughs. 

Since we always seem to have a good time we thought it would only be better if we could get other family members to join-in.  Friday night Bill and Sheila drove down to Worcester to join us at an Italian restaurant (Dave and Karen were unable to make this rendezvous, but possible a future time).

When it finally came time to look at the menu…and it took some time since the conversation kept going and going…it turned out that Dave had forgotten his reading glasses—this is getting to be a little bit of a habit for our get-togethers with them.  Fortunately Cheri had a nicely stripped pair with her.  Never wanting to miss a blog photo opportunity I quickly got my blackberry off my hip and fired away.

Since the camera was out we also got our waiter to capture a group shot of us around the table…although the photo does show the shortcomings of a phone/camera/personal organizer…we’re not really that fuzzy…



Friday night got us to through a couple of the marathon water stops and then it was on to Saturday…

Although we had some recovery by not having to get up too early…we did take advantage of the morning time to either run (Cheri for four miles) or bike (me for 35 miles).  I did a little three state jaunt and if you have any interest (and really, who would) you can see the route and climbs at this link:   http://www.mapmyride.com/route/detail/22267700/

With that out of the way, we cleaned up, dressed up and headed out the door to continue the next leg.   I dropped Cheri off at a Country Clun in Lynn, MA to attend a baby shower for Alexis—a separate guest blog is coming to fill in the details on that little soiree—and then headed on to NH to run some errands and spend a little bit of time with my Dad at Bill and Sheila’s house (Bill was off golfing and Sheila was obviously at the shower with Cheri).

  Guest Blogger Section (Woo Hoo)!  

We are all excitedly anticipating the arrival of the next Swenson generation.  Our Nephew Eric and his wife Alexis are due the beginning of October.  Busy people that they are it was difficult to schedule time for a shower so it was decided to have one gigantic shower to include both sides of the family, friends and co-workers.  About 80+ people gathered for a nice luncheon.  Her sisters and Mother did an awesome job decorating the tables and the room.  Here is a picture of the “diaper” cake decorated in her nursery theme of a bunny with earthy colors.  They had empty box favors at each setting where we could wander over to the candy table to fill our boxes with our own choice of candy all of course color coordinated with her nursery  colors.  MMMMMMMM!  We enjoyed a delicious buffet meal with open bar and then sat back to watch Alexis open her gifts.  Good thing Eric works for FedEx because he needed their services to move everything home!  Us more experienced Moms enjoyed seeing what was new and “needed” to raise a baby.  Things sure have changed.  There was also an Advice Book being passed around so we could all impart our pearls of wisdom learned after successfully raising our own children.

It was great to see Alexis’ family and to catch up with some of the Swenson related family that I hadn’t seen in a while.  Shelia put the nurses together at one table and it was fun visiting with her co-worker and her sister Sandy.  It was a fun afternoon.  Alexis looks great with six weeks to go.  I am anxious to get my hands on this little one!

   Back to Your Regular Muse…

Cheri got a ride back to Loudon with Karen (and Kevin came along for the ride…he had been keeping Eric company during the shower).  She got to Bill and Sheila’s just in time to change clothes again and we headed back to Concord.

This weekend had been scheduled as the 35th year reunion for my high school class and we were some of the “out of towners” in for the event.  We graduated about 150, from what I heard four are no longer with us, and the reunion brought 22 of us together along with Susan McCellan, a teacher to which we had dedicated the yearbook—getting children off to college on this weekend may have kept several of my classmates away.

We sat at a table with Cheri’s cousin Les—one of my best friends in high school and he helped in getting Cheri and I together—along with Lisa (formerly Stevens) who he dated in high school and college—they reconnected about 18 months ago.   It was also great to see another great friend, Jay LeClair, who I haven’t seen in at least twenty-five years.  He lives in Loudon now (Boscawen when we were growing up) on the village road not far from Dad’s house.

We also spent time with Alison Richardson (formerly Goodrich) and her husband Dave who was in the class ahead of us.  We always enjoy their company—even though it seems we have five years in between our chances to  get together.

I was prepared, in the words of George Will, to be a pessimist about the whole event, that way, “…you are either proven right, or pleasantly surprised.”  Fortunately it was very pleasant and we had a great time. 

For any of my classmates that didn’t make it, see if you can figure out who is who in the photo…

 
We stayed until almost eleven pm before heading up to the cottage for the evening.

Sunday morning was another break in the marathon…at least for some coffee, omelets and brief time sitting by the lake…and then we got on the road heading back to Connecticut.  We got home with enough time to do some quick things around the house—actually Cheri did some quick things and I took a twelve minute power nap—and then out the door heading for Jack and Stephanie Gosselin’s house in North Stonington (near Mystic).

We caught up with the Gosselins, climbed into their car together, and headed for the Jonathan Edward Vineyard in Stonington.  Throughout the summer the vineyard puts on Thursday night concerts under a tent, and four times during the year they have some special events on Sunday…this was one of the Sundays—Ben Taylor, James Taylor’s son, was performing.

The tent is set up on a grassy area next to active vines.

 
One of the great things about the concert series is that they allow you to bring a picnic dinner …and they sell you their wine (imagine that)…and they provide the glasses.

Some other friends of the Gosselins—John who owns the building where Jack’s office is located, Sarah (who in Facebook jargon is ‘in a relationship with’ John), Eden her daughter and her parents Don and Sally—joined us and we settled into a perfect spot just outside the warmth of the tent.

We had a great spread of food, which everyone contributed to and participated in….pastas, chicken and an outstanding antipasto sandwich.  It was all great with the wine and seltzer water to help wash it down (we didn’t drink wine the whole time).

Then, as it got darker, the entertainment started at the far end of the tent.  The warm up group—Brothers McCann—was great and Jack ended up getting one of their CD’s.  Ben Taylor was only OK…of course with his lineage we probably over-expect his performance, but it was only mediocre.

Overall the event was a fundraiser for Chikumbuso - a women and orphans project in Zambia.  Half of the ticket saies as well as some silent auction items and other merchandise sales were all going to this program to support microenterprises and education in Zambia.

It was a wonderful evening and we have decided to try and make it to more of these concerts next year.
The concert was over around 9:30 so we were still able to get home at a reasonable time.  The end of a marathon adventure…every part of it well worth it.

The Blogger Question of the Day (leave your answers in Post a Comment...because comments are always welcome)...

The Guest Blogger should:

A.  Be a more regular contributor to the blog.

B.  Should be the regular writer and let the other guy be the guest writer.

C.  Start her own Blog since she is so good!

D.  Do just as she's doing...contributing at times.

E.  Other...(again comments are welcome and we applaud creativity).

Some More of those Brickin’ Chick’n

Jess and PJ went from the wedding in New Jersey to a week a the cottage…one of the best weather weeks there this summer.  What better way to end the stay than to have a family party...since we were together with the Whitney-Fenton connections last week, it only made sense to have this week be the Swenson-Fenton connection…plus a few friends.

Cheri and I headed up on Friday night and stayed with Nana and Papa for the weekend—a comfortable bed where we could retire when the partying got late….not that it ever gets to late for any of us…it was just in case.  We got up fairly early on Saturday morning to get in some exercise—thereby justifying any over-indulgence later in the day…or possibly several days.  Cheri headed out with Kristina for five mile run / walk—she meant to run the whole time, but on her way back in along the rail trail she ran into (figuratively, not literally) Aunt Beth walking, so she walked and visited for a while as well. 

My plans included having Willis Ingram join me for a bike ride—we have both given up on most of our running and are focusing our energies on cycling instead.  By 9:30 I felt it necessary to call Willis (Kristina gave me his cell phone number) about our 9:00 ride.  He had experienced a “brain-freeze” about the whole event and was unable to make it so I headed out on a 30 mile loop around Franklin-Boscawen-Salisbury and back by myself…I was then ready for anything…including a nap (which never happened.)

Once we were all back, and showered we headed over to the cottage to start the day’s festivities.  Thomas and Robert Morris had shown up earlier in the morning and Kevin and Ashley had arrived just ahead of us.  It didn’t take long before people were enjoying the water.

Meanwhile, I sat with my closest friends  and began contemplating the afternoon’s barbeque. 

Before we knew it, the crowds were settling in to visit and keep an eye on the cooking.

It wasn’t too long before Willis showed up and joined my circle of empty chairs.

Being so successful the first time we tried it we decided to make some more Brickin' Chick'n for this crowd. This time I doubled the amount being made by deboning and butterflying eight whole chickens. I did this all on Thursday night, made a Tuscan-style marinade, placed them in individual gallon size freezer bags, and froze the birds in the marinade for travel. Saturday morning while I was out cycling Jess took the bags out of the cooler so they could properly thaw. Some time on the two grills—under a brick—and we had Brickin' Chick'n.

A little lesson learned...although it seemed that all of chicken was done and there were clear juices coming from the joint areas, the uneven heating of the grills meant I should have checked all of the chicken. As it was only one drumstick and one thick breast were undercooked...and we had plenty that was fully cooked, so those pieces went back to become part of a future salad (after a little more cooking time).

Everyone seemed to get their fill of Brickin’ Chick’n  and it wasn’t too long before evening started to settle in.  Since it was cooling off a little, and still a beautiful evening we decided a beach fire was in order.

As it got later we headed our separate ways to retire…as noted earlier.  Those remaining at the cottage played euchre—a card game—well into the morning hours, but it was generally a quiet evening.

Sunday morning we brought a ham and egg casserole to the cottage for breakfast and then…too soon…it was time for us to all pack up and head out.  We got PJ and Jess on to their flight to Denver and Cheri and I then went home to recover from another week of Adventures.

Bells will be Ringing…

A “red-eye” flight began our recent excursion…fortunately not for us, but for Jessica…which was fortunate for us. Jess flew into Boston on Tuesday morning to begin her summer vacation in New England and the timing leads right into the weekend activities.

Jess would touch down with us for a day and then head for the Cottage as a home-base for the next eleven days. PJ (Philip J.) Fallis joined Jess on Saturday morning (see, Jess’ Facebook page under “In a Relationship with…”) and became an active member of this Adventure.

Of course this Adventure includes a major event—and timing is everything—right in the middle of Jess’ stay. Friday arrived with us traveling to New Jersey for Dan Whitney & Monica Rodriguez’s wedding.

Cheri and I left Connecticut early in the afternoon and drove down to Newark International Airport to pick-up Dan Chang who was flying in from Florida. Paula and Tara Chang had earlier in the week flown up to Norfolk to spend a Family Day with Jake Chang on his current ship. Work kept Dan from joining them and timing would make it difficult for Paula to pick him up, so we provided chauffeur services to get Dan from the airport to the hotel we were all using.

Paula met us late at the hotel and the four of us headed out for a great dinner...and more importantly a great time together. Of course sharing a meal and a couple of bottles of wine helped us to make a decision to suddenly show up at Deb and Scott's house for a little Wedding-eve chance to visit.

so of course we joined her. Some were awake and around for us to see, but for most we had to wait until the next morning—there was also a contingent group already in New Brunswick, the site of the wedding.

Scott's mother Adeline was already positioned in front of the Red Sox game…  Additional family members were already at the Whitney house, Scott's brother and sister, Steve and Deb plus Deb's daughter Ashley.

Saturday morning was a little leisurely—at least for those of us attending as guests only—with some time for breakfast, changing into appropriate attire and driving down to New Brunswick for a 12:30 wedding. We made sure to plan the trip to allow time for us to visit with others before the wedding and to get a few photos of the Chapel, and each other before the service.

I didn't capture photos of the whole group, but I did get a photo of Monica and her father.

Once everyone was settled, the service began in earnest. Dan was dashing, as a groom should be and waited expectantly for Monica. Deb and Scott came down the aisle and then turned to watch the entrance of the wedding party.

Monica was a gorgeous bride and both she and Dan looked extremely happy...not the least bit nervous.



Besides a blending of families the service also bridged religions with Father Alex Enriquez and Reverend Charles Bigelow presiding. It was a wonderful service with singing, readings, humor, and traditions—including a laying on of a veil over the couple and a laying of a cord representing the connections and binding together of the individuals.

Following the service there was some time for photos outside of the Chapel...


and then we headed off to the Harvest Moon microbrewery—a favorite spot of Dan and Monica while they were attending Rutgers—for the reception. There were appetizers...bubbles to blow...visiting...a full meal...and, of course some libations.



The reception spanned the afternoon and wouldn't be complete without the bride and groom dancing...

bouquets being tossed...



and the heads being eaten off the top of the wedding cake figurines.



The reception lasted well over five hours and everyone had a great time either participating…or watching from above.











By 7:30 we needed to move out of the microbrewery…Dan and Monica headed out with friends from college to enjoy some of their old haunts…Dan and Paula needed to head back to Norfolk to meet up with Tara…many of the rest of us headed back north to Deb and Scott’s house.  The plan had been to have a large get-together, but the day caught up with many of us and although it wasn’t early…we called it an early evening.

Sunday morning, Deb and Scott hosted a large brunch for the family members that had travel to the wedding and would be back on the road home shortly.  Dan and Monica were in New Brunswick and leaving in the afternoon on a flight to the west coast for their honeymoon—San Diego, Napa Valley, San Francisco.  A week of time together to begin their own Adventures.

To see all of the photos...good, bad and unedited...click on the "kissing" photo below to be taken to a web album and all 277 pictures.

Whitney Wedding 2010