OK, now I'm a bit behind on things, so let's catch up.
You may remember that we headed to Rehoboth Beach for the last weekend of September, to get together with family. You may also remember that it was the weekend of the nor'easter that dumped massive amounts of rain and wind along the Northeast coast.
However, things like that do not deter us. And frankly, it was all good for that weekend. When we were chccking in at our hotel on Friday, the woman at the front desk said that Wednesday and Thursday were really awful there, weather-wise, but it wasn't supposed to be too bad for the weekend. And she turned out to be right. It was rainy some of the time, really windy sometimes, but mostly just cloudy and the ground was wet. The ocean was a different story - it was roiling and reminding everyone that in spite of what we humans may think, Mother Nature is the one in charge!
Anyway, unbeknownst to us, Friday evening was the Annual Rehoboth Golden Retriever Meet Up and Parade. As you can imagine, we were all over that. While everyone else was still arriving and settling in, we headed over a few blocks to see it and were in no way disappointed. People and their dogs were dressed up for Halloween, and it was amazing. There were easily 300 dogs there, mostly Golden Retrievers, but also a few others who were family members and also dressed up.
It was the best, and we had a wonderful time talking to the people and petting their dogs. And all of the dogs were really well-behaved - not much barking, or growling, and lots of doggie kisses were available.
Walking back to the hotel, we decided that one good thing about the nor'easter was the beautiful sky we got; I promise you, nothing was on fire, but check it out!
My niece Julie and her husband Keith had rented an Air BnB for them, their kids, and the dog. So after dinner at one of our fave places, we headed there to see everyone.
We got to meet our 8-month-old nephdog, Dash, who was really sweet, and as most puppies are, a tangle of too-long legs. (I didn't tell Katie he was there, btw.)
There was the usual amount of loud talk, hilarity, singing, and taking turns acting out things. One really great thing was that my little great-nephew Oden, who is on the spectrum, was a whole different kid than the last time we saw him. He used to be just completely in his own universe all of the time, but since last year, he has been in some kind of special school in Manhattan, and it's made a world of difference! He was chatty, involved, joked around, and was part of the group, and it was so good to see.
The next morning, we met at one of our fave breakfast places, along with my niece Liz and her husband Greg, who drove up from near Baltimore the night before, and we're stayng through breakfast. We had the nicest waiter, and that's something when you have 12 noisy people who haven't seen each other for over a year or so. Then everyone into the little town to poke around in the shops. The Tim and I pealed off to explore a yarn store that had just opened this past February, though we did check out the bookstore and a little home/gift store with everyone beforehand.
Of course, as advertised - saying it would happen rain or shine - Saturday was the Mrs. Roper Romp, which was as hilarious as ever. My niece's husband Patrick took some great videos. Did I ask him to send me one? No. Did I take any photos myself? No. However, we did decide tentatively to try and participate ourselves next year.
We had another great dinner at a seafood place, where our waiter told us that the good thing about there being so many of us was that it made it seem like the restaurant was busy. 😂 Followed by more ridiculousness at the Air BnB.
Sunday morning, everyone got their own breakfasts and joined the group at Amanda and Patrick's hotel room. We ate, drank, and laughed. Amanda made everyone mimosas, and it was really fun. We left before anyone else because we had to be home no later than 3 PM to pick up Katie where she was boarding.
It was such a wonderful weekend! We were so happy and relieved to see both Patricks. My niece's husband Patrick looked just like himself, except he was just starting to grow his hair back after losing it in chemotherapy. His bone marrow transplant has been successful, as far as the doctors can tell. We are all hoping that is going to last as long as possible.
My brother-in-law Patrick looked a bit frail, and has lost a LOT of weight, but the drugs he is taking as part of a clinical trial have really been helping him. If you didn't know how sick he was, and how much weight he'd lost, you'd think he was the same guy you had always known.
It was great to just be able to all be together as usual, without having to worry about someone and how they were doing, because we could see it before our eyes. Such a happy relief! I talked to my sister last week, and she said that it was just the kind of thing she and my brother-in-law needed, and they had the best time they've had in such a long time.
So the nor'easter made absolutely no impact on our fun or our activity, and yes, if the weather had been nicer, we would have been on the beach and/or at the hotel pool, but it would have been a matter of a different location only.
Of course, it took The Tim and I the next week to recover - the change in our usual routine really threw us off, but it was more than worth it.
And the yarn store visit and my purchases will show up in another post, never fear.
I'm just glad to be able to say that everyone was doing as well as possible, and that did my soul a lot of good. 💕
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