June and July, 2012
We stayed close to home for our 2 super hot months in Florida. We caught up on doctor appointments, did lots of reading, and watched quite a few movies. Our fall months will be busy, so it was nice to be at home for a while.
At the end of July, I bravely installed the new OS X operating system for the Mac. It’s called Mountain Lion. The desktop now works more like the iPad and iPhone and syncs things wirelessly to all devices. I could not have done this without the knowledge I receive at my OMUG (Ocala Macintosh User Group) meetings
Narragansett Beach House
Friday, August 10 to Friday the 17, 2012
When I got a call that our flight would be delayed, I should have known that our day wouldn't go too smoothly. It was a sign of things to come. Our 11:20 flight didn't take off until 12:30, so we arrived in Providence about 3:30. It was raining when we landed, and while driving to the beach house, we experienced near monsoon conditions on the highway. There were even tornado warnings in the area. I had called Dan to tell him how bad the driving was, so they decided to stay at home until the morning. Patrick was due to arrive at the house on Saturday also.
We had a surprise from Barbara, my friend since first grade. She had left us a bouquet of flowers and a magazine of local events. Barbara lives only 2 houses away from the beach house. The linens were delivered after we arrived at the house because it had been raining so hard. John and I then went to Arturo Joe's for a most delicious meal of chowder and fish & chips. After a trip to the market, we unpacked and finally got to bed about 11.
Saturday morning John and I met Karen and Dave Marcotte in Wakefield at Jim's Dock for breakfast. We enjoyed a breakfast with them before going to sit on their boat for a while. We stayed until almost noon. Click here to view pictures taken at Jim's Dock. When we arrived back at the beach house, Dan, Carolyn, and the girls were there and had settled into their rooms. Alan arrived shortly after, and then Barbara and John stopped by for a visit. Patrick and Holly were last to arrive. After Barbara and John left, the rest of us went to Mew's Tavern for an early dinner. Click here to see pictures of some of the family and Mew's Tavern. Alan and I took a ride over to see Claudia who was working at the store that she and Matt had opened this summer. Then we drove to see Matt who was at work at the pizza restaurant. Back at the house, we played a family-type game.
On Sunday morning, our 45th anniversary, we were treated to doughnuts for breakfast. We all sat around and chatted before we had to leave for Newport for a brunch. Barbara and John stopped before we left to bring us a gift for our anniversary. Once in Newport, we had brunch at Perro Salado, a superb Spanish fusion restaurant. We visited a few shops afterward. I then called John's sister Kathleen to see if we could all stop by to see her place in Newport. We drove over to Sea Villa where she gave us a tour of the grounds. We took some pictures on the rocky cliffs overlooking the ocean. Click to see the pictures from our special day in Newport.
On the way back to the beach house, we stopped to see Matt and Claudia at Seaweed Style before it closed. The girls bought pretty sundresses. Quite a few tee-shirts were bought. The rest of the evening was spent enjoying quality family time. It is so wonderful to spend all this time together! Click to see pictures taken at Seaweed Style in Galilee.
On Monday morning, Patrick drove Holly back home because she had to work. (He returned later in the day.) Dan, Carolyn, and the girls went to the beach for several hours. John and I spent the afternoon in Matunuck visiting with Mary and Paul Maloney at their beach house. In the evening, we tried going to a couple of restaurants but they were too busy so we opted for subs and pizza. More family chatting and tv watching ended the day.
On Tuesday, I walked over to Barbara's house at 10:30. The group of 6 ladies from Woonsocket arrived at 11:30. We went to Turtle Soup for lunch. After lunch we went back to Barbara's where we had dessert. Barbara had set up chairs in the back yard just like Martha Stewart would do. Part of the group were on the 50th reunion committee. Our Diamond Hill Gang was well represented. It was a wonderful afternoon reminiscing with Barbara, Joyce, Sandy, Audrey, Marcy, Esther, and Nancy. Click to see pictures of the girls.
While I was with the ladies, the rest of the family went out to lunch at Crazy Burger before they went on a fishing boat in Galilee. Carolyn and Dan were the only 2 who caught fish. Carolyn's was the largest fish caught in the group. While Patrick went to the beach for an hour with the girls, Dan and Carolyn went to the market to get ingredients to cook the fish that they caught for our evening meal. Our fish dinner was excellent!!!
The family was going to go kayaking early on Wednesday, but it was raining off and on when we woke up. Most of them went to Adventure Land when the weather cleared. Patrick stayed with me until 2 when he drove back home to get Holly. He was back with Holly in time to go to Spain Restaurant. (Pat and I played 3 games of Cribbage before he left.). When Dan returned with the others, I played a couple of games of Cribbage with him. Spain Restaurant was very good. Everyone enjoyed their meals.
On Thursday morning, John and I had breakfast with Barbara and John at T's. Then after a pit stop at their house, we were given a tour of parts of Narragansett that visitors don't normally see. Back at the beach house, we hung around for a while and then went to Crazy Burger which had been featured on Diners and Dives on the Food Channel. When we returned to the beach house, Dan and Carolyn finished packing up their belongings and headed home about 4. Pat and Holly stayed until about 6. Alan had come to visit for a while after work, and he left about 7.
Friday morning ended a wonderful week in Narragansett. We left the house and stopped at Barbara's for a few minutes so we could see Tami with her boys Adam and Myles. Our trip home was pleasant. We were at our house at 7:30 PM.