After three months, we're finally in New York - one of two stops that precipitated this trip in the first place. This is also our longest stop of the trip at just about three weeks. That seems almost like an eternity compared to the brief stops we've made along the way.
We're staying on Silver Lake in Rachel's hometown of Perry.
Even better, we found ourselves a beautiful lakeside cottage with plenty of views and an amazing sunset almost every night.
After a couple days of settling in, we had what felt like our first weekend in forever without a national park to attend to. Instead, we spent Saturday morning poking around nearby Letchworth State Park, aka, the Grand Canyon of the East. This also happens to be a spot where Rachel worked many a summer (serving goodies at the snack shop) back in her high school days.
And in the evening, Rachel's family threw me an early birthday party! It was great to see everyone after so long, in particular because this year we've had so little social contact with anyone.
After we rescued Becky from the killer whale, we settled in for cake and a rousing covid-friendly humming rendition of Happy Birthday to You.
On Sunday, we had the opportunity to enjoy a special Christmas experience that was completely new to Nathan: cutting down a fresh Christmas tree! The Drapers invited us to join them for their annual tree outing. We spent the afternoon seeking the perfect tree, and Todd even let Nathan do the cutting! This was great training for when we'll be living in Oregon- the Christmas tree capitol of the United States.
The next couple of weeks felt almost like life had returned to normal. I spent my days working, and Rachel and Nathan chilled at the house, did school work, and spent time at Grammy and Pop-pop's baking cookies and visiting.
With our schedule more settled than it had been in months, I even had the chance to enjoy my weekly game night with Tim, Adam, and Steve. This has been particularly special for me because this is one little piece of our old life that I was able to bring along with me on the great adventure. With everything we've left behind, this weekly event has become more and more important to me. I know that no matter what state I'm in, these guys will be ready to kick my butt at Eclipse, Tapestry, or whatever else is on tap that night. It's also time for our weekly gaming chat/podcast. Shameless plug: if you're interested, you can find us in the Apple iTunes store, Spotify, or YouTube by searching for "Board Game Hot Takes"!
Evenings at home were also a great opportunity to keep up to date on what's happening in the Holiday Baking Championship.
Our time in Perry wasn't all about playing games and eating pie! We had a great time getting out in the woods in Letchworth. It may not be a National Park, but it'll always be National in my heart!
All that hiking made me hungry. I need some more pie!
Great sunset photos!
ReplyDeleteWho were the young ladies in the photos?
Why did you decide to shave off the beard while in NY?