(York Beach, Maine - The best day of the week!)
The bad news was the weather. This was by far the worst weather vacation I can recall. It rained every day.
Our last day of vacation was the best. We had a nice morning on the beach. But mid-afternoon, the clouds rolled in again, and severe thunderstorms in the area forced the lifeguards to empty the beach.
While we always have a few activities ready for the inevitable rainy day, my patience with shopping, eating, and walking in the rain was wearning thin.
For the entire eight-day vacation, we had a total of six hours of sun! Oh well.
This year, instead of the usual three or so books, I decided to bring just one book for summer reading: 'Red and Me - My Coach, My Lifelong Friend' by Bill Russell. Not bad, but a bit short and light, even for summer reading. In addition I had loaded my iPod with some podcasts, to see how that would work out. Not bad! While I tried a bunch, the three that I particularly liked ended up being:
- Patriots Football Weekly in Progress
- NPR Science Friday
- Scientific American
My older son, who had been searching for months, finally got approval on a mortgage and was able to close and move into his new condominium. With the economy the way it is, the condo prices were good, but despite having been pre-approved, the approval process was very painful. We spent several days during vacation going to banks, faxing statements to loan officers, etc. Fortunately, it all worked out, and he's happily moved into a lovely condo, in a terrific area.
My younger son had graduated college and was looking for a job. He had been getting just a few interviews, and no offers. During vacation, he got two offers, and accepted one! He'll be a (gasp!) Software Engineer, developing systems marketed to travel agencies. It's with a small division of a large global company. It seems like a great job, right up his alley, with lots of potential. I'm really happy for him, and very proud.
So while not the most relaxing vacation, and certainly not the best weather, it was a really good week family-wise.
