July 2021

Oh my gosh, so many photos to choose from in July.

I'll try not to overdo it but I had 3 trips and several events with family and friends.  It was great to have a reprieve at work as well, but then the Delta variant changed all that and it's back to 2020 these days.  When will it end?

Brennan was in town for 3 months this summer and had a part time job at YES Cinema - our independent theater in town.  He joined in on some of our July adventures but declined all travel.  I think he was happy to have some free time after a very busy freshman year at Purdue.  

Thomas was in Indy and taking a bunch of summer classes.  Thomas has changed his major to Data Sciences so he was trying to catch up on all the classes he still has to take.  He was home quite a bit though, and it was great to have time just the 4 of us (and the pups of course).

We loved spending time with Jess, Ying, and Frankie this summer as they visited our good friends Cindy and Eric.  Frankie loved Bailey and wanted to walk him everywhere.  Brennan had a good time practicing Mandarin with Ying.  We went to their house for 4th of July fireworks.

And then I was off on my first trip!  A long-awaited "girls trip" with special friends from different parts of my life.  We all travel so well together and have not had a chance since Maine 3 years ago.  That theme was "let's go see the lighthouses up the coast of Maine".  This year's theme was "chasing waterfalls".  I lost count but we hiked to or saw probably 30 across upstate New York - the Finger Lakes region, and then we finished in the Poconos of Pennsylvania.  

My first stop was to pick up Alexandra in Cleveland.  We did a little sightseeing before going to Cuyahoga National Park to do some hiking.

Here is the house from "A Christmas Story" - it just sits in a neighborhood in Cleveland!

We also stopped by the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame

Then we headed to the National Park where we stayed long enough to see the famous Cuyahoga sunset (with a lot of other visitors).  I love the train that you can ride throughout the park.  It was really pretty - and right between Cleveland and Akron - who knew?

We had a very full 4 days of hiking, visiting wineries, and sightseeing.  I won't detail each place with visited but I can list them here and share some of my favorite sites.  I'll star the ones I really loved.

We started at Letchworth State Park* (Grand Canyon of the East), then stopped at Monica's Famous Pie to pick up dinner and their famous grape pie.  We went to Watkins Glen State Park and hiked  to see approximately 10 waterfalls.  Their are 18 named falls there.  The little town is charming as well.  We stopped at Shequaga Falls Park* which is a ginormous waterfall right behind two houses in a neighborhood - it was pretty incredible to see.  And we took the short walk to see Havana Glen Falls and Eagle Cliff Falls.  

We then traveled to see Ithaca Falls*, again right in the middle of town, we walked the Cornell University campus, went to Cascadilla Gorge Trail* in Ithaca, Buttermilk Falls State Park  and then went to Lucifer Falls at Robert Treman State Park*.  Then we headed to Taughannock Falls State Park* which is 215 feet taller than Niagara Falls, and then headed to Seneca Falls* for some non-hiking sightseeing.

All along the way we checked out wineries* on the Cayuga Lake - one of several finger lakes.

In Seneca Falls we saw the Women's Rights National Historic Park, where the suffrage movement began.  And we saw all of the It's a Wonderful Life sites*.  Seneca Falls was the inspiration for Bedford Falls in the movie and this year is the 75th anniversary.  Even the bridge is there, inspired by a real life tragedy.  

As we headed to the Poconos we enjoyed hiking at Ricketts Glen State Park, Seven Tubs Nature Area, and a very cool ending to our hiking - Hickory Run Boulder Field*.  We stopped for lunch in Scranton, PA where The Office* was filmed and got to see all the fun things there.  It was a wonderful trip!

I then got to travel to visit Natalie and Shelly at the IUM pageant in Galloway, New Jersey.  Natalie represented Mississippi so well and won the Community Service award that she was working toward.  Natalie was just fantastic and we were so proud of her!  I had a ball!

Disney dinner (Shelly brought me some ears!)

Shelly and I did a little sightseeing while Natalie was in rehearsals

I got back in time to join friends at the Jimmy Buffet concert.  Brennan joined us too.  We had a great time, even though the rain threatened.  It was GREAT!

And then David and I headed to Birmingham for a "girls trip"!  

We met up with Amy and Eleanor, and Laurie and Kate.  We have not all seen each other in 5 years.  We were overdue!  

David and I explored Birmingham before the ladies arrived.  And then David headed to a racing museum and an aircraft museum - both he thought were incredible.  We all met up for dinner with David.

The ladies spent the day sightseeing and catching up.  So much fun! 

We toured the Birmingham Botanical Gardens which are gorgeous, free, and definitely worth your time.

I love these ladies and wish we lived closer.  Maybe we can all meet up (including the guys, my boys, and their boys) again soon.

And FINALLY, we enjoyed "Christmas in July" with our wine club.  This is our annual pontoon party, boating from one home to another.  We dressed for Christmas and the 90* heat.  It was perfect.

Here are the ladies (the men were all on the porch) - just like an 8th grade dance!

Happy August!