Reunion and Beach in In the Meadow

We were out of town for most of this past week. The beginning part of the week we went to a family reunion for my MIL’s family in the Catskills. They rented a huge old house. It had been a camp at one time, and it was really in the middle of nowhere. We didn’t get any mobile phone reception at the house, just i-messages. There was one night where just about everyone who was able to come was there at the same time. It was good to see everyone. Some of them are getting up there in years, and even the younger people, you just never know how many chances you will get to see them.

There was a pool and pond on the grounds. The house was charming, but also sort of creepy. Fortunately we had great weather. If it had been foggy or stormy, it would have been really creepy. There was a wraparound porch and several smaller porches. On the first floor there were big gathering rooms, and a commercial kitchen with old appliances. Each of the families took a night to cook. On our night we made chicken kabobs and heated them on the outdoor grill.

The second and third floors had been rooms for the campers. This is where we slept. There were long hallways on each floor. Several people said it reminded them of the movie “The Shining.” When I was a kid I read Alfred Hitchcock mystery stories for young readers. They were old stories even then, written between the 1920s and 1960s. The house would have fit right in to one of the stories.

During the second part of the week, we went to the coast of Rhode Island. We stayed in a hotel with a pool. There was a walkway to the beach. We had hot weather and it was a great time to be at the beach. We ate lots of lobster rolls. We went to the lighthouse at Point Judith. It was choppy and there were people surfing.

So now we are home and not doing a whole lot. Timmy and Kayla have some babysitting and yard work jobs lined up. The twins needed a break from studying and didn’t do any prep for the knowledge test for their learners permits while we were away. We will see how motivated they are to get the learners permits in the next couple of weeks.