In my last post My 2019 Highlights-Part 1 I wrote about my adventures over the first part of the year. Here is how the summer went:
June: During the first weekend of June my household took a trip to Front Royal, Virginia to participate in the Relay for Life. My sister Liz organized a family team in honor of my mother and others we have known who have had cancer. On our way to Front Royal, we made a stop at Cunningham Falls State Park in Maryland because it was on our way. I remember going there once as a child. I wanted to see if you can still walk up the waterfall, which is what we did in 1988, a summer where there was a drought, when I was a kid.
While at the park this time, We put Baby Nugget into the hiking backpack and took both the paved path to the waterfall. The falls were as pretty as I remembered but these days there are gates up dissuade any would be waterfall hikers. On the way back to our car, we took the non-paved trail and almost immediately began to question our judgment as it was more difficult with two small children than seemed to be indicated on the sign. Ultimately, when we finished our hike, we were glad that we took the less traveled path as it ended up being a little challenging but fun.
We had a nice time visiting with my family while attending the Relay for Life. The Relay was also very meaningful. The lit luminary bags were beautiful at night. Here is a picture
We didn’t end up getting to go to Shenandoah National Park while we were visiting Front Royal but I drove on Skyline Drive with my sister Liz on a previous visit. I would like to get back there and check it out again though.
Also in June, Mr. Katie went on a weekend away with friends from college while I traveled to my hometown in western, PA to visit my family. My Dad put up his pop-up camper up for us to sleep in because Mr. Man had really been looking forward to “camping out” while we were there. Mr. Man also spent a lot of time on that visit in Pap’s (my dad) shed sitting on his riding tractor, pretending to drive it. On the Friday, while we were visiting, my aunt hosted an impromptu family gathering on her deck with at least 12 people in attendance. The weather was warm bordering on hot that day and the the kids played in the kiddie pool. The next day my aunt, cousin, and four of my five sisters all got together to go to Idlewild & SoakZone. It was a fun, no-stress amusement park visit because everyone seemed to be in a good mood and the park wasn’t overly crowded. We ended up staying almost until closing time which was crazy because I brought a three year old and one year old with me . It was the kind of outing that was somewhat planned but also seemed to come together at the last minute. It was a day that had a serendipitous feeling because up until it happened I hadn’t really counted on seeing so many of my sisters at one time. The whole weekend had sort of a serendipitous weekend because I had a lot of fun and I saw so much family and most of the outings were planned at the last minute.
In early July, I went on a weekend away, without Mr. Katie and the boys to the town of Berkeley Springs, West Virginia which is a cute little tourist town with a warm springs in the center of town. The town is situated around a major thoroughfare and people park there their cars and get out to bath their feet in the mineral springs in the center of town. Berkeley Springs also has a swimming pool near the springs that is fed with springwater as well as lots of cutesy little shops, art galleries, and a farmers market. People also come to Berkeley Springs for its spas and bathhouses. My sister and I had a nice weekend away where we swam at the pool, visited the cute little shops, and got a few spa treatments. We stayed at Cacapon Resort State Park in a park lodge. I would recommend it to anyone who wants to visit the area.
In July, the whole family made another trip to western Pennsylvania. We visited with my Dad, sister Liz, and my sister Annie and her family who we didn’t see in June. We went back to Idlewild because we got free tickets last year and wanted to use them before they expired.
We also went to the Pittsburgh Zoo and visited my grandma who lives in Pittsburgh. It was great to see her. I usually only get to see her about once a year. As always, she doated on us and was very happy to see us. Not long after we got home from that trip, Baby Nugget had scheduled out-patient surgery. Mr. Katie took him to the surgery while I spent the day with Mr. Man. Baby Nugget did a great job being patient while waiting to be taken back for his appointment. He recovered quickly and it all almost all felt like a non-event in retrospect.
The week after Baby Nugget’s surgery was my 40th birthday. Mr. Katie took the day off and we had a marvious day swimming at the “Fun Pool” in Macungie. That day was also the first time in my running training where I ran for over an hour at one time.
Sometime in July I became reinvigerated about writing in my blog too so when I think back on all the things that happend in July. I am thankful for that too.
June and July were very busy months. In my next entry I will write about some of the highlights of the following months. See you then. Love, Katie
What are some of the hightlights of your year?
