It's Already July

I'm having a hard time comprehending the fact that we're starting the month of July. What does that mean? We're almost halfway through the year, the days will only get shorter for the next 6 months (as my grandpa was really good at pointing out), it's my birthday month, summer vacation/trips are just around the corner, the temps keep heating up (although not today -- it's only 61°), and next month I'll be back at work.

But let's focus on the positive.

My summer vacation started a little later this year than last. Meg and I took longer to wrap up the year and prepare for next year due to the fact that it was our first time going through it. I had about a week of summer vacation and then headed out to Boston for a counselor tour which included Tufts University, Boston University and Northeastern University. I stayed an extra day and visited Boston College and Emerson College. The trip was really great, I learned a lot about the various universities, met some great people, and with my one free day, I saw as much of Boston as I could.

  

The opening reception was held at Fenway Park, which was awesome! No Red Sox game, but we did get a tour of the stadium and enjoyed ballpark food and ice cream sundaes in a batting helmet.

With my free afternoon/evening, I walked from our hotel at Fenway all the way to the Boston Common where I found the start of the Freedom Trail. I figured I would see as much of the Freedom Trail as I could, but had no intention of completing the entire thing. I made it all the way to Paul Revere's house on the North End and decided it was getting late, I was getting tired and I had a long walk ahead of me.

                           

                           

I made it back to the Fenway hotel, grabbed my luggage and walked all the way around the park to the T station and caught the train out to Brookline where I was staying for the night. Once I got to Brookline, I checked into the Inn and headed out to check out my surroundings. Mostly I wanted to see how far away the nearest coffee shop was so I could grab a cup in the morning before catching the T to Boston College. So I walked some more. By the time I went to bed, I had walked 28,880 steps -- 12.5 miles. Needless to say, I was exhausted. As a result, I didn't get going very easily the next morning so I never made it to get coffee. Man was I kicking myself throughout my entire visit to BC.

The highlight of the trip came after my visit to BC. Jos, my college roommate, picked me up and we spent the next several hours catching up on the past 16 years. We haven't kept in very good contact over the years, so it was especially wonderful to hear about her life, family, experiences, etc in person.

This past weekend, Anita and I threw a bridal shower for Sara, so much of my time post-Boston was spent running around in preparation for the shower. In addition, the Lyles came over for dinner on Friday night. The boys had a good time looking for birds through the binoculars (or "vernoculahs" as the younger one refers to them). We went to a 30th bday party Saturday night and came home in time to assemble an egg bake for the shower and go to bed by 10:30pm. We were both exhausted after a busy week.

I sort of feel like summer vacation officially started this week. I'm trying to fill my time with productive things (doc appts, house projects, etc), social get-togethers (time with friends and family), activity (running regularly, meeting for walks, etc), and unscheduled/relaxing time (bird watching [yep, I've become a bird watcher], reading, floating, etc). Our summer, like everyone, is busy and scheduled (at least for the weekends). But everything we have planned is great: time with family at the Lakes, family wedding, anniversary trip to Bayfield, etc. I have to say that I am much less anxious about the booked weekends than I would be if I had to work over the summer. I feel fortunate.