18 + 1 Day

I just got up from a much needed nap. Boooyyyy did I need that.

Yesterday we had a great time celebrating Annalisse's big day. It wasn't a knock-down-drag-out crazy celebration; there was no big party and not even any balloons (the structure of the day did not lend itself to that), but it was a nice day spent with family experiencing a small slice of Annalisse's new life at Mercyhurst.

The day started early with a stop at the Head of the Genesee Regatta where Cam was racing in the afternoon. The weather started out typically crappy with a steady rain, and we got pretty wet regardless of our best attempts to keep dry. We didn't tell Cam we were coming, but his face did light up when he saw us, a good sign! His sister ran to him yelling his name and flailing her arms - announcing, in her usual low key way, that she had arrived.  After chatting a bit and finding the Mercyhurst team (but she would not speak to them), we hit the road for Erie around 9:30 and checked in with Cam later in the day to find out how they did. He said his boat came in 8th out of 18. Not too bad. They beat some pretty good boats so he was happy enough with how that turned out. We are still waiting to hear if he will be going to the Head of the Charles in Boston in a couple of weeks.

Surprise!

Back to the birthday girl and her big day: when we got to Erie we dropped A's stuff off at her room, and, while she was taking a shower, went to the bookstore to find a couple of t-shirts to wear to the football game (drudgery since I hate football, but I digress). After the rainy start, it turned out to be a beeeaaauuutttiiiiffffuuulll day to be out and about. We went to the game for a little while and sat with Fairport friends Deb and her daughter, Rachel, then headed out around 3:30pm to check into the hotel and find a place to eat. We ended up at the Brewery at Union Station, which was in a cool old building. Now, I will say Erie is not much to look at...pretty run down, lot's of graffiti and tons of shuttered up buildings. It's hard coming from a cute little town like Fairport to see beauty there.

The dinner, though, was very good, and it turns out the restaurant is haunted, so that was a fun conversation with the waitress! After dinner we went to Wegmans to stock up on all Annalisse's gluten free/dairy free snacks, then went back to campus to a Music/Dancing arts program which featured students and faculty. It was very impressive; tons of talent on that stage.

Around 8:30 we said our goodbyes to the birthday girl so she could celebrate with her friends. We made our way back to the hotel where, having been upgraded to a two-bedroom suite due to overbooking, I enjoyed a luxurious bath in the jacuzzi tub. It was wonderful!!

We got up early and, after picking up a dozen Krispy Kremes for Cam and his roomies, we hit the road and finally got home (after haircuts for Mark and Cam, then lunch) around 1:30. I really missed my hang time with my pup. I'm happy to be home with him.

Do you ever feel like you need another weekend to recover from the weekend?

That kid

Awkward