travelogue and observations
Jun. 30th, 2003 10:15 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dchenesSo, weekend.
Friday night I went to CT on the train, and arrived at the train station in Mystic two minutes before my parents did (cell phones are wonderful things; I called when the train got to Westerly, which is nine minutes away from Mystic by train).
Saturday we went sailing, sort of. There was wind in the harbor, and not much outside it, so we went for a sail/drift/motor/drift/sail/motor. The boat is still running on the same tank of fuel that was put in it four years ago, so Dad is trying to use some of it up.
1. The water is still too cold for legions of jellyfish to have arrived.
2. There aren't a whole lot of lobster traps out yet, which makes sailing less of a challenge.
3. Even when it's overcast, it's possible to go sailing and get rather badly sunburned (I present my legs as evidence). I always forget how much light gets reflected off the water and the bright white fiberglass deck.
4. My father really enjoys going out on the boat. I had forgotten this, because he hasn't done it in two years due to having carpal tunnel surgery done on both hands. I suspect he'll be doing a lot more sailing now that it won't hurt so much to do it.
5. I really wish my father would do something preventative about the fact that he can't swim. He can't swim because he doesn't float, and he doesn't wear a lifejacket. My mother can swim, but she can't hold him up and I suspect she isn't strong enough to haul him back out of the water if she stays on the boat. They have a lifesaving rig, but it seems to be living in the boat cabin, not on the rail where it might actually be useful.
So anyway, after we got back from the boat, Dad and I went off to the Providence airport to pick up my aunt and uncle (my uncle still looks like the Swedish Chef, only greyer of hair). He had his right hip replaced in the middle of May, so we were expecting him to come down the elevator in a wheelchair. He did come down the elevator, but he did it under his own power, with a cane. He had a walker in his checked luggage. We all went back to Noank and had dinner and hung around some.
Sunday, we were descended upon by the rest of Dad's side of the family. Dad has three sisters, and the two that don't live in Seattle live in West Hartford and Boston, so they came down and we all hung around together and answered the age-old question of how many Swedes it takes to grill a salmon (three, apparently, but don't ask me why). I took some very silly pictures of the four siblings. Sometime around 5:00, I hitched a ride back to Boston with the Boston branch of the family.
So passed my weekend. Today I'm at work again, waiting for Friday, and wondering when the fact that one of the students isn't here became my problem. Today I must remember to call Kent State again, but it won't be until this afternoon, when Dr. H will be at his other office.
When I came into work this morning, it looked like it was going to open up and pour at any minute. I hope it does.
Friday night I went to CT on the train, and arrived at the train station in Mystic two minutes before my parents did (cell phones are wonderful things; I called when the train got to Westerly, which is nine minutes away from Mystic by train).
Saturday we went sailing, sort of. There was wind in the harbor, and not much outside it, so we went for a sail/drift/motor/drift/sail/motor. The boat is still running on the same tank of fuel that was put in it four years ago, so Dad is trying to use some of it up.
1. The water is still too cold for legions of jellyfish to have arrived.
2. There aren't a whole lot of lobster traps out yet, which makes sailing less of a challenge.
3. Even when it's overcast, it's possible to go sailing and get rather badly sunburned (I present my legs as evidence). I always forget how much light gets reflected off the water and the bright white fiberglass deck.
4. My father really enjoys going out on the boat. I had forgotten this, because he hasn't done it in two years due to having carpal tunnel surgery done on both hands. I suspect he'll be doing a lot more sailing now that it won't hurt so much to do it.
5. I really wish my father would do something preventative about the fact that he can't swim. He can't swim because he doesn't float, and he doesn't wear a lifejacket. My mother can swim, but she can't hold him up and I suspect she isn't strong enough to haul him back out of the water if she stays on the boat. They have a lifesaving rig, but it seems to be living in the boat cabin, not on the rail where it might actually be useful.
So anyway, after we got back from the boat, Dad and I went off to the Providence airport to pick up my aunt and uncle (my uncle still looks like the Swedish Chef, only greyer of hair). He had his right hip replaced in the middle of May, so we were expecting him to come down the elevator in a wheelchair. He did come down the elevator, but he did it under his own power, with a cane. He had a walker in his checked luggage. We all went back to Noank and had dinner and hung around some.
Sunday, we were descended upon by the rest of Dad's side of the family. Dad has three sisters, and the two that don't live in Seattle live in West Hartford and Boston, so they came down and we all hung around together and answered the age-old question of how many Swedes it takes to grill a salmon (three, apparently, but don't ask me why). I took some very silly pictures of the four siblings. Sometime around 5:00, I hitched a ride back to Boston with the Boston branch of the family.
So passed my weekend. Today I'm at work again, waiting for Friday, and wondering when the fact that one of the students isn't here became my problem. Today I must remember to call Kent State again, but it won't be until this afternoon, when Dr. H will be at his other office.
When I came into work this morning, it looked like it was going to open up and pour at any minute. I hope it does.
