July 27 and August 10, 2025

Sorry, I’m writing this many months later. We had several fun family get-aways over the summer. In late July, Emily, Michael and I headed to Connecticut for a Dickens family reunion. We rented a lovely house in Mystic for the weekend while Louie stayed home with a new dog/house sitter. My cousins Mike and Kathy Dickens managed to assemble all of their kids and all of Harry and Linda’s kids to descend from all over the country on the farm in Preston for an amazing weekend of eating and visiting. With seven adult children, eight including Emily, six spouses, twelve grandchildren and six senior cousins, it was quite a gathering. Michael and I have seen Mike and Kathy various times in the past few years, but it has probably been since my mom’s sister Isabelle died in 2017 that I have seen my other Californian cousins Harry and Linda. It felt wonderful to be a part of a large welcoming family. It was fantastic for Emily to reconnect with all the adult children in her generation and their spouses. They have so much in common and really enjoyed reinvigorating their friendships. Leah, the youngest, arranged all sorts of fun activities including swimming at a local pond, ice cream at a favorite roadside stand, and a wonderful breakfast crawl around Mystic. Michael and I did the fantastic tour at Mystic Seaport – hard to believe we have never actually been there – as well as a visit to the Nautilus submarine museum in New London. Mike arranged for a pizza truck to arrive at the farm Saturday afternoon to feed the hungry mob. The weekend flowed easily and smoothly with many heartfelt conversations between young and old.

A few weeks later Michael, Louie and I drove to Boothbay Harbor, Maine where we rented a lovely house on Appalache Pond. The drive up on an August Saturday was grueling as expected, but Louie was a great traveler, and the house was a quiet refuge. The week was relaxing as we hung out on the deck, or drove into town for lobster, or found a short easy hike around a beautiful rocky point. Louie and I took more strenuous hikes on fantastic trails through the woods right near our house. We both enjoyed swimming in the pond and though Louie didn’t like it, I had fun paddling around in a kayak. Michael got to rest and relax while I took care of most of the driving and arrangements. Too bad my friends Kerry and Kip weren’t at their family home in Boothbay the week we were there. Next time!