Episode 75: July – September 2016

Highlights of the quarter:

• Visitors galore!
• July 4^th in Michigan;
• Weekend in Newport, Rhode Island;
• Australia adventures;
• Neal visits Stillwater;
• Vacation in St Lucia;
• More Manhattan adventures.

We’re now well-settled into New York life.  Exploring all of the different neighborhoods on our bikes has proven to be one of our favorite summer weekend activities.  Some of the highlights of our adventures this quarter were a night out at the U.S. Open tennis (watching Serena Williams lose); a visit to the City of New York History Museum; an up-close and personal magic show at the historic Waldorf Astoria; a food tour of the Lower East Side; catching a movie at dusk at Bryant Park; a visit to the Statue of Liberty; and our first sailing adventure along the Hudson River.

We’ve been blessed with loads of visitors – we caught up for dinner with Freedom, Jason and Isabella, who were visiting from Atlanta; had lunch with Cecilia, Steve and the boys from Switzerland; saw Karen and Morgan Fennesey-Ketola from Michigan; Jenni Dunn from Australia stayed with us for a few days; and Jen, Anna and Alyssa Bowman came over from Texas and stayed with us for a week.  With Jen and the girls, we got to be tourists in our own town, walking over the Brooklyn Bridge and seeing the Broadway production of Aladdin.  During another visitor’s stay – our friend, Stephanie, who visited from Baltimore – we watched the play, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night, and discovered some new restaurants.  Neal’s mom also came to hang out for a few days – she and Neal first visited family in San Diego and then flew cross-country for a few days in New York.  While Neal’s mom was here we caught up with Neal’s cousins, ate at some great places (our favorite on the repeat list was the Lower East Side Indian eatery, Babu Ji) and saw the Cirque du Soleil show Paramour.

We were lucky enough to see some great music concerts this quarter as well.  In July, we visited Neal’s uncle and aunt in New Jersey and had a fantastic home-cooked lunch before heading to Met Life Stadium to see Coldplay.  Later in the quarter, thanks to Neal’s tenacity, we were lucky enough to get tickets to see Adele at Madison Square Garden.

Work trips took me to Mexico, Argentina, China and Singapore, and I took the opportunity while on the other side of the world to drop into Australia for a quick visit.  I was able to spend some great quality time with my mom, and also had the opportunity to celebrate Nicole and Craig’s engagement with them and all our friends.  Neal’s work travels took him to multiple states (in many instances multiple states in one day), but he was also able to spend a few days visiting his mom and grandparents in Oklahoma.

We spent the July 4^th weekend in Michigan.  It was a perfect summer weekend on the lake with friends.  It was also a great chance to escape the heat of New York for a weekend.  We did that again in the quarter when we took a relaxing road trip to Newport, Rhode Island.  That was our final adventure in my car, as shortly after that, we finally gave in to urban living and sold the car.  It will be rental cars from here on!

Finally, the quarter saw us take some time out for us on the beautiful island of St. Lucia.  The all-inclusive resort we stayed at made us not feel bad at all for doing nothing much more than lay on the beach, read, eat and swim in the gorgeous waters of the Caribbean.  We did manage to see a little more on our small hike up a small hill to Fort Rodney and from the helicopter ride over the island that took us back to the airport.  It was the perfect summer getaway.

We hope you had an enjoyable summer as well.  Until the next time, take care!