1/4-1/10/17 - RI; Walt/Trina (MA); Marissa (VT); D’Orvilliers (CT & NJ)
Current Location: Assateague Island National Seashore, Oceanside Campground, Site 26
One of the perks of traveling and not having a set schedule is we can visit with friends and family along the way. We had a great stretch of visiting with family for a week. I haven’t been in Massachusetts to visit with Walt and Trina in almost 15 years. As a kid we would go up for a long weekend every year between Thanksgiving and Christmas. I can remember those weekends being filled with long chats that lasted well into the early morning hours. (around the kitchen table, drinking tea of course) shopping at The Christmas Tree Shoppes. This trip was much of the same- minus the shopping. Great conversation, great food, to accompany the many laughs and stories shared.
From there we headed up to Vermont to spend time with Marissa and Scott. Spending time with my sister and nephew is something that I cherish and with that I could do a lot more of. We spent several days giggling like little kids, sleigh riding, playing with dinosaurs, and going out to see the local hotspots. There haven’t been too many occasions we’ve spent time together as adults. I wish we lived closer because phone calls and texts just aren’t the same.
Rooney and Chunk loved playing together from the first light of day until they fell asleep. Rooney and Peanut on the other hand was not as successful as we hoped, although it was quite amusing to watch. Both cat and dog were confused and interested about each other, as long as there was a 3 foot perimeter… Rooney would be brave and walk past Peanut as she stared him down, hissing and swinging her little paws at him. Much to Rooney’s dismay, she never came around. Maybe next time.
We continued our trip south from Vermont to visit with the Connecticut D’Orvilliers. Following the common theme, we haven’t been there in many many years as well. We had a great dinner with Marc, Sue, Katherine, Aunt Ann and Pepere. After dinner Pepere, Eric and I sat together in Pepere’s living room as he shared stories of his childhood, raising his family, and of Memere. We truly enjoyed hearing these new-to-us stories! In the morning Pepere took us on a tour of the ol’ stomping grounds.
Back in New Jersey we got the two families together for a New Jersey delicacy, pizza. It’s not until you venture, not too far away, that you find that there are a few things NJ has nailed and other places just can’t figure out how to do the same way- Pizza, bagels, deli sandwiches. While there are many places that are good, they’re just not the same. We spent Wednesday morning working on small projects around the van that either got postponed or we decided needed to be added to the to-do list. We were able to spend some quality time. albeit short, with our parents as well as some family friends.
Thank you to everyone for having us in your homes, sharing stories and laughs over incredible meals. We originally said the pillars of our trip were trail running, skiing and breweries. However, we likely knew family/friends time would be high on that list. We probably took it for granted but these times have really made the trip for us so far.
Lara