Chestertown is a small town in Upstate New York. There, we have a cabin that we've had since I was a baby. It's built right near Loon Lake, which is a really small lake surrounded by mountains. The whole place is really quaint and scenic. You sort of feel like you're "roughing it" every time you're there. It's certainly not a huge vacation destination, but it reminds me of my summers growing up.
Our cabin at Loon Lake, or "The Nest" as we call it is built on land that my grandfather (my Mom's Dad) gave her, so there are always members of my Mom's family up there staying at various different homes. My Mom has 4 sisters, so it seems there is always one Aunt or another up there for Connor to meet and play with. That will be cool. Of course my parents will be there the whole time and for the last three weeks my sister and her kids will be there. Also, the very last week, my older sister Julie, Jeff, and my brother-in-law Arthur will arrive, so it will be a Roach reunion of sorts.
As I said before, since I was a baby, my family and I would go up to our house at Loon Lake for the entire summer. It was just a three hour drive from our home in New Jersey, so it was a relatively short road trip for all us kids to make (me and my two sisters).
My parents never installed a T.V., so we had to get creative. We spent our days swimming, water skiing, canoeing, reading, playing pretend, building forts, going for runs, playing card games, coloring, hiking mountains, picking wild raspberries, helping my grandpa in his workshop, or watching monarch caterpillars hatch and fly. We spent our nights roasting marshmallows and singing songs by the campfire and as we got older, sharing drinks and stories.
We'd spend all summer there and as we turned into teenagers we sometimes dreaded the massive amount of family time, but now that I'm grown, I realize how wonderful those memories were and how much they shaped my life. I am really looking forward to letting Connor make memories of his own at a place that is so synonymous with family.
Connor and I fly out Tuesday morning. I'm a little nervous about the 5 1/2 hours of flying time and the layover in Newark, but I think if he can make it ten hours home from Oklahoma, he can make it 5 hours on an airplane. Of course for our Oklahoma trip I had Jeff's help. Yikes. I just hope he doesn't have teeth issues that crop up. He has been such a great flyer in the past. I just hope he amazes me again.
Wish us luck on our New York adventure. I believe my parents do have high speed internet, so I should be able to blog, but I'm not entirely sure how much time I'll have. I'll certainly do my best.
On a side note, I want to give a shout out to my amazing husband. We haven't even left, but I feel like I miss you already, because I know what's coming. Connor will miss you like crazy too and I will do whatever I can to send you pictures and tell you what we're up to, so you feel like you're with us every step of the way. We are so lucky to have you as both a wonderful husband and a terrific Daddy. We love you. Bye bye Daddy.
On Saturday morning, Connor was having fun in the kitchen while I made his breakfast.
I will say though, I believe he thinks he's being naughty when in fact, I actually encouraged he play in this cabinet. There is nothing fragile in there.
Connor and I having a heart to heart on Saturday.
Saturday night we took Connor to Benihana for the first time. The food was great and Connor was entertained, but it was a pretty long dinner, so by the end, Connor was a bit over it, plus it was his bed time, so we sort of needed to hurry out. He made it though and ate a good dinner. Good boy.
Here he is in the beginning, mesmerized by the chef.
Today we hung out at home and I started packing. This afternoon though, we took Connor over to the nearest playground and tried out the swings. He seemed to enjoy it.
Hanging out on the swings. We had to cut our park trip short though, because the mosquitoes were getting us. We've had so much rain lately that the mosquitoes are going crazy. It's awful.
It was really sweet, as Connor came up Jeff would give him a little kiss.
Some sweet father and son bonding.
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