I don’t know what it is about this summer. It’s been a beautiful one in New England. We had about two weeks where it was hitting 90°F, but nothing like the heat the rest of the country (and world) has been experiencing. It’s also been wetter than usual. You might have seen the images out of Vermont. We had a similar experience with our main road into town where the post office, school, fire department, and police department cut off from our part of town due to washout from storms. It washed out once in the spring, and they did a patch job on the road. It didn’t last a month when another storm washed it out even worse. It took about 3 weeks for them to rebuild it this time and it just reopened this past weekend. It was closed again today as they did more work on the road. We’ll see how it holds up in the long run this time.

This past June was the 10-year anniversary of my oldest daughter’s suicide. I seemed to get through it pretty well, but I think that might be some of what was weighing on me. I got to July and just really didn’t want to go anywhere. I’d make plans and then wake up in the morning and decide I really didn’t want to. My geocaching exploits started to feel more like work than fun. other than taking my son to work and food shopping, I didn’t really go anywhere or do much. At home I had my remote job and working on this blog, as well as diamond painting.

I’m a little more than halfway through, but I’ve made a lot of progress since I’ve been a hermit this summer.

For my husband’s birthday, I did get us tickets to see the Mets play the Red Sox at Fenway the day after he turned 59. We walked around downtown Boston a bit as he’d never been to the city before. Fenway Park was built when people were much smaller. I’m not just talking weight-wise, but height-wise too. One person near us was having trouble fitting in the seats because of his long legs. We couldn’t sit next to each other unless I turned sideways and put my arm around him. The row in front of us was empty at first, so we and another couple next to us kept changing out who sat in front. At first it was me and the wife, then it was the two husbands. It filled up and we jockeyed around a bit for a while. Even though the Mets lost, it was a fun day and I managed to knock off another stadium in my quest to visit all of the major league ballparks.

The Mets, however, have been depressing to watch. I expected so much more from this season, but it was not to be. I do think that the aging pitching staff was an issues, especially with the new pitch clock rules. I think the trade deadline deals they made are great for the future, but it’s been hard to keep watching them.

One weekend I booked a site at the local Jellystone Park and took my granddaughter camping there for her birthday. They have a great waterpark there and lots of activities. We could be right in the same area we live and camp. Even though it rained one afternoon into the night, it was so much fun she wants to do it again next year! Easy birthday present for the kids.

As I said, I haven’t been out geocaching much. I would make plans and wake up that morning and just feel like I didn’t have it in me to go out. Last week I did get two “first-to-finds” on the new Recreation Trail they built in North Conway. It goes about 3 miles from one of the skiing mountains to a trail that enters an old granite quarry. A friend of mine hosts a geocaching even every year on Swan Island in Maine. I committed to go to that, but even on Saturday morning I almost decided not to go. I’m glad I did though. It was a nice day of relaxing and socializing and I did find a couple of geocaches as well.

Swan Island is a state park in Maine that is on an Island in the Kennebec River. The top picture is the view from one of the camping shelters they have there. The shelters are enclosed on three sides and off the ground, so it’s a great spot for camping. There’s a fire pit and picnic table in front of the shelter. There’s no electricity on the island and no running water at the sites, but there are bathrooms with showers and flush toilets. One of the other geocachers shuttled me over in their boat. There used to be a ferry, but for now it’s shut down. Hopefully, it will run again some day because it’s a beautiful location that really should be enjoyed. One of the geocachers brought her grandson who could ride his bicycle all over the island. It’s just about 4 miles long and 1 mile wide, so you couldn’t go too far and get lost. There are lots of trails to different locations. At one time, it was a settlement and there are still some houses standing with signs telling the history.

I did start thinking about a YouTube Channel and creating content. I made a couple of diamond painting videos. They aren’t that great as I realized after I did the that I really have to film and take pictures in landscape mode, rather than the portrait mode that I usually use. Still, I’m going to keep trying. There will be a lot of different content, from diamond painting to our camping trips and travel. I just have to keep practicing editing. The first video is below. If you’re so inclined, please subscribe to the channel as I can’t monetize what I am doing until I have 500 subscribers.

We still have a few more weeks of summer, and I’m taking my son to see Bruce Springsteen in Foxboro next week. We’re also heading to Disney World at the end of September for a wedding and some vacation time. We’re staying in the campground there – something I haven’t done in about 20 years! Back then we used to tent camp. For me, it’s been slow summer with lots of down-time. I hope you’ve been enjoying your summer as well.