Adventure #5 Swallow Show in Old Lyme

On Tuesday I went to Fred and Peggy Harris' gorgeous home in Old Lyme.  He had noticed my Swallow necklace at the last Barn Show and asked me if I liked Swallows.  I told him that I did, and there was a connection to my Mom there for me.  We had even named our sailboat Swallow.  So he invited me to their home on the water for the nightly "swallow show" that happens this time of year. 

Their house is incredible and sits on the water just north of the bridge in Old Lyme.  We headed down to the dock and sat on the back of their boat to watch the show.  At first there were no birds in the sky at all.  then we started to see a few come in.

They don't come until the sun is just ready to set:

Some of them flew along the surface of the water.

Here you can see of few of them flying around with the moon in the background.

At first these next 4 pictures don't look very exciting - but look closely.  The birds started to come from everywhere! If you click on each picture individually, you will see what I mean.

And more!

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And more!

     

AND MORE!  Thousands of Swallows!!

This one is a little hard to see, but its the only good one I got of them them diving down into the tall grass to sleep for the night.  Once they decide to go it happens so quickly -- some like a funnel cloud, and some like a waterfall - straight down.  And then it is over.  There are always a few stragglers and Fred and Peggy said that they call those the teenagers that aren't quite ready for bed yet!

It was an amazing experience, and I plan on going back again if they'll have me!  Special thanks to my cousin Heidi for latting me borrow her nice camera!

Adventure #4 Hiking in Guilford

So, I went to Meetup.com after my friend Ro told me about it.  It's very cool -- check it out!  Found a hiking group and signed up for a hike in Guilford.  I brought Becky along with me.  That's what I love about Becky -- she's always up for anything! She didn't even remind me that she has had 4 surgeries on her ankle!!  (sledding accident!).  She's a trooper!

 I thought I owned hiking boots, but couldn't find them this morning, so I went with sneakers.  That was OK because many of the other hikers were wearing sneakers too. 
There were 8 of us all together: Jim, Angel, Jacob, Priya, Maria, Becky, myself and our hike leader Evan. Evan was a great leader. Many of us were first timers with the group.  Maria is from Norway and is here at Yale doing a fellowship. Priya recently moved from Utah to Connecticut for an engineering job.  Jacob is a produce buyer for 15 WholeFoods stores.  Interesting group of people! 

The hike itself was great - only about 5 miles, but some of it was challenging.  We went through some narrow pass-throughs and clmibed some steep rocks. 

We got voted best picnic at snack time -- I brought pitas, hummus, grapes, cherry tomatoes, and carrots.  We didn't tell anyone that our tomato juice was actually homeade Bloody Mary's ala Becky!!! 

We didn't share those!

We saw some really cool stuff -- nice views:

And would you believe cactus in Connecticut??

And maybe the world's strongest tree?

We then hit Coffee's General Store in Old Lyme for some wraps and chips, and Becky and I headed back to my house for luch and a bottle of wine.  Which of course I now have to finish!!! 

Mmmmm Malbec!

Adventure #3 Guitar Under the Stars

Saturday night - Headed up to Hartford to meet Becky and Dean at their "home in the hood".  Super cute place!  We put Basset Hound Abner into his harness, grabbed a few "roadies" (aka beers) and took a walk into Hartford.  We trekked to the Riverfront to see "Guitar Under the Stars" with Daniel Salazar backed by the Hartford Festival  Orchestra in a concert featuring Spanish, Latin, and World Music.  Very cool! 

Abner was on his very best behavior as always!

After the show we hit the Arch Street Tavern and then headed home.  Abner's little legs were getting tired, so he played "therapy dog" and got us on the Star Shuttle which gaves a ride part of the way back. 

Here's Becky and Dean on the shuttle!

Adventure #2 Norwich Inn and Spa

No pics for this one.  When I returned from Michigan I headed to the Norwich Inn and Spa for the week.  Stupid expensive and I still had to work each day, but it was wonderful.  It was so peaceful there.  I needed to be away from the house and do some R&R.  (I think one of those "R"s was for the Ravenwood Red Zin that I drank a lot of while I was there!).  I went on their 7am walks, and took morning meditation classes followed by yoga.  In the evenings I took more yoga and meditation classes and had great dinners.  In the evenings I sat outside next to the beautiful fountain they have at the front entrance.  I think some healing went on while I was there.  On one of the morning walks I met a really nice woman who is going through some similar life changes.  We exchanged numbers and plan on doing some kayaking together!  Oh, and I did manage to fit one massage in which was wonderful.  I plan on going back again -- maybe just for a day next time though!

Adventure #1 Taylor Goes to College!

Well on September 2nd, we had the car packed to the roof and were ready to head to Ypsilanti Michigan where Taylor will be attending Eastern Michigan University.  I never would have guessed that we could get all of that stuff in the car!

The drive went really well.  Taylor drove the whole first day except for the last hour and a half and we made it all the way across Pennsylvania.  We found a hotel and a buffet for dinner (T's favorite thing!).  The next day we headed to Michigan!  Taylor drove the whole way. The playlist for our trip was hysterical:  Eminem, Shakira, Taylor Swift, Disney movie songs (Pocahontas, little Mermaid etc), Johnny Cash, etc. My head was spinning!

We made it to our hotel in Ypsilanti and discovered that the UCONN football team and many UCONN fans were staying in the same hotel with us!  It seemed funny to see all the UCONN apparel!

The next morning we headed over to the college and met Taylor's roomate Katie and her family.  The girls instantly bonded.  taylor was very intent on getting her posters up right away!

We then headed off to get her parking tag and then have lunch.  Then it was time to say goodbye! 

I spent one more night in the hotel and flew home on Sunday.  So far all reports from Michigan are happy ones.  She seems to be having a wonderful time!!