Practically Perfect Long Weekend

Have you ever tied 3 or 4 days tied together that were just wonderful, in a variety of ways. That is the way I can describe the past 4 days for Jim and me.

Thursday was Veteran's Day which meant a day off from school. After taking a couple of minutes at 11:00 AM on the 11th day of the 11th month to be thankful and grateful for the service of many past and present, I got to have lunch with a close friend.

I picked up Jim at 4 PM to begin our trip to Connecticut. We headed east, spending the night in the Albany area. In the morning, Jim realized that we would be crossing the Appalachian Trail while on I-90 and wondered if I wanted to stop and hike for a bit! Well, of course I did. So after a 45 minute drive on the interstate we exited and started our search for where the AT crossed the road we were on. We couldn't find it at our first road crossing, but were successful on our second try, finding the trail in Tyringham, MA. I changed into my hiking boots, we loaded up our day pack with some water and snacks and then headed south on the trail. We hiked for about 45 minutes, following a boardwalk over what must be a swampy area in the spring and climbing some good hills to get some nice overlook views. We turned around and retraced our steps, heading north on the trail, back to our car.



But then we decided we really needed to see what the trail was like on the other side of the road, so we hiked almost another 30 minutes, all up hill, hoping to get a view when we got to the top, but no such luck, so we turned around and returned to the car. Now I must tell you that the weather was absolutely perfect for a day of hiking~sunny, clear and in the mid 60's! It was very exciting to be out on the AT~plus my feet felt good in my new boots.

After getting back in to the car, we drove lots of back country roads towards New Haven, CT. There was yarn store in New Haven that I wanted to visit (of course there was!). Our trusty GPS took us through part of the Yale campus and right to Knit New Haven, a lovely yarn store, which just happened to have some yarn that I thought I needed to add to my stash. And since it was such a beautiful day, Jim enjoyed his walk through this part of New Haven and Yale, so he didn't mind the time I spent in the yarn store.

We were in Connecticut to see the SU XC team race in the Northeast Regional Championships. Corey was not running, but had come along with the team. While in New Haven we contacted Corey to see where he was and what his plans were. The team was staying west of New Haven and we would have to wait until the next day to see him, which was fine with us.

We continued on east to the town of Madison, where we were staying at the Tidewater Inn, a lovely place located only a mile from the race site at Hammonasset State Park. We had nice room at the B&B, where we got settled in before heading down to the state park for a walk on the beach.


It was a perfect time to stroll in the sand as the waves gently lapped at the shore and the sun was setting. We returned to the B&B in time for a wine and cheese gathering for the guests and the innkeeper. Our innkeeper recommended and made reservations for us at an Italian restaurant in Old Saybrook, about 7 miles down the road. We had a delicious dinner there.

Saturday morning dawned clear once again, with the promise of a delightful day. We returned to the state park, with plenty of time before the races (women's and men's) so we walked around the nature center and then I took the Dunes Trail back to the race site, while Jim drove the car. While we were walking the course, we met up with Corey, who was doing a workout.
We got to spend some time with him between races, but during the races, we all went our own ways to cheer on the SU teams.

There were 39 schools at this regional meet and last year both the SU men's and women's team won so they were running with targets on their backs this year. And once again the SU runners rose to the occasion and won both events!!!

It was a great day to be wearing the orange and blue of SU!! Both teams will be running in the national championship races in Terre Haute on Nov. 22nd, and Corey will be running on the SU men's team! We will be there to cheer them all on!

Shortly after the last SU runner crossed the line, and we were pretty sure they had won, Jim and I jumped in the car because we needed to get home that night. Jim was racing on Sunday morning!! We had an uneventful trip home, but Corey could not say the same. The SU runners and coaches were traveling in two big vans and the first van (the one in which Corey was riding) hit a deer on the Thruway!! Fortunately, no humans were hurt, but the van and the deer were not so lucky. So, a tow truck was called and all the guys in the first van climbed into the second van, where all the gals were riding and drove the last 45 miles back to SU! Champions and Survivors!!

Today Jim raced at Center Park in Fairport. He had a good race and it was a good day for running. I went along to help with registration. I was then asked to hand out some lanyards to all the runners after they crossed the finished line, which I agreed to do. Well, I learned a lesson and will never agree to do anything at the end of the finish line chute. As some of the guys came across the line, they were gagging and puking and snot was coming out of their noses, and I was completely grossed out!!! Never again! After the women's race started I followed along walking the first 5K of the 6K course and got some good exercise. With some of the hills I walked up, I can see why some of the faster runners with throwing up at the end of the race!

Tonight we closed out this great weekend by having the parents here for supper. I made them each make their own Naan pizza (all you Seinfeld fans will recognize this as a Kramer business plan!) and we each enjoyed our own creation.

We talked to Tucker briefly this weekend and he is looking forward to closing on his house. Corey commented that that seemed like such a "grown-up" thing for Tucker to be doing!!

I hope you did something this weekend that made a good memory~ I know I sure did.

Hope all is well.