Away we Go ....

Saying Goodbye to Alice

I hate goodbyes! I find them harder and harder ... I am not sure why? I notice my breathing changes, I start to get agitated and teary!! The hardest goodbyes are always to our children and grandchildren. Maybe I don't need a reason ... saying goodbye is a good enough reason to feel sad. My biggest concern is 'will I see you again?' A hang over from the CTV collapse I think.

Marmite and Melted Cheese Bagel

It has been a while since we have been through Auckland's International Airport ... it has really changed ... very up market these days. I was impressed with the new layout and food hall where I had my last marmite and cheese combo for a while. It was yummy!

We finally arrived in SF after a long flight ... the plane was cold and we just could not get comfortable or warm. Next time I am going to look at booking extra leg room or 'Economy Plus'. We have to catch a connecting flight to Boston, I try to book a flight that will not have Mike having to drive through the middle of the night or early hours of the morning, which usually means we have a long wait at the airport.

Hanging Out at Starbucks

We found a Starbucks and hung out there using their free wifi. I love doing Clueword puzzles, they can get addictive for me and I can end up spending hours doing them, so I was entertained for a while ... Pete hung out at a table listening to podcasts and charging his devices. 

I am always going in the wrong direction or walking on the wrong side of the footpath when we are in the US. I seem to be walking into the foot traffic head on ... this was very helpful for me, I could have had a head on going into the restroom the wrong way.

We flew Alaskan Air ... very nice. WE caught their red eye special, their last flight at night and arrives in Boston first thing in the morning. It was a lovely morning flying into Boston. 

We got a real surprise when we opened the boot of Mikes car and Roxcy & Lars jumped out at us. We don't get to see them often  enough but when we do it is 'always' a treat. They are always so pleased to see us ... I am very grateful that we are able to do this. We love spending time with our children and grandchildren. Lars really enjoys hanging out with Pete ... they talk cars, mountain biking. Lars is into American history at the moment and we are being educated in the American Tea Party and Paul Revere.

Selfie time with our Roxcy ... she has the most beautiful smile, her whole face lights ups. I have mentioned in previous blogs how Roxcy loves her Mum. When we got back to Windsor and Roxcy saw Chris' car in the drive she squealed with joy and came running towards me saying 'I haven't seen my Mum for the whole day!' ... then she ran off to see her Mum. 

We made our usual visit to the ice cream store and bought ice creams. Their taste has not changed but the size of their ice creams have.

Roxcy's ice cream was almost as big as her face. In the past when we have bought ice creams for Roxcy she would never finish them ... someone else, usually Mum or Dad would end up finishing it. My Grandad would have said to Roxcy, 'your eye's are bigger than your belly!' Roxcy ate the whole ice cream ... impressive!

Checking out Lars and Roxcy back yard play ground, trampoline, fort, flying fox and a gymnastic beam for Roxcy. Jason came over to say hi. Pete has already made a date to join Jason in weight lifting while we are here.

Mike has always been a visionary ... never to be deterred. He moved over to the States with Chris after they were married ... the first few years were challenging but they have really done well. Mike has built a Property Management and Maintenance Business and Chris has a great job as Manager, Creative Productions at Dartmouth Hitchcock Hospital. They bought and renovated a house, have two beautiful children and have built a community and life for themselves here in Windsor. They have worked really hard to get where they are. Mike is looking at buying this space and he has something in mind for it. I have always really liked how Mike works with possibility and looks at all avenues to make something happen.

We really like it here in Windsor. It is very peaceful and restorative. Life is slower. You can walk to most places easily from Mike & Chris' house. People know each other and stop and chat on the street. There are no big stores here, just the essentials. We find it easy and simple. 

Roxcy lost her front tooth the day we arrived ... a big moment in a child's life. A sign of moving from a littley to a biggey. The tooth fairy visited and left her $2 ... inflation. On our way out to the Lyall's pool today Lars and Roxcy were chatting in the back and this is how it went ...'Roxcy, no offense, you look super ugly with that tooth gone.' Both Chris and I were gob smacked ... I did not know whether to laugh or sound shocked. Roxcy wasn't at all phased, she did no believe him and said that she looks different not ugly.

Family pool time at the Lyall's pool. It was so warm.

We are taking Lars & Roxcy to Scotland with us on July 4 and it is Lars' birthday July 10, so we had an early birthday party for him at the Escape Factory and had pizza for dinner. We had a lot of fun. I was a little concerned about where it might all lead, we never did well as a family at Monopoly.

It is hard to believe that we have been here for just over 24 hours. We have gone from winter to summer ... short days to long evenings. Wood burners and heat pumps to air con. Three layers to short sleeved t-shirts. Socks and shoes to jandals. This is our evening walk back to the Inn and catching the evening light.