OK, I admit that I did have a bit of time in which I could have been writing a blog, but we’ve just been living summer life. An uneventful drive from Chicago to Maryland kicked off the final segment of our U.S. tour before we return to Valencia.

We took two days for the drive, stayed in a typical Residence Inn in Somewheresville, Ohio, (with an excellent waffle maker) ate at a perfectly mediocre taco joint and made it to Maryland with a bit of rain, but no other drama. We are staying in the same townhouse we’ve stayed in twice before, mostly because it is a mere 15 minutes to our granddaughter (and her parents).

After arriving, we scooped up our adorable granddaughter and took her to visit her Nana (Steven’s mom) in Florida. Man, were we nervous. The girl is a perpetual motion machine with nonstop chatter to go with it. As old people, we tire easily! Grandpa did a stand up job on the plane, using different voices to pretend to be Tigey and Bear Bear — the stuffies that must always travel with Hannah. Two hours of that. I’m sure the people around us were thrilled, but we made it to Nana’s all in one piece, or maybe with a few more dead brain cells.

Steven was trying to work, so Nana and I planned morning activities for Hannah. We arrived on Monday and Hannah couldn’t wait to go swimming, so, of course, we did. We also took advatage of the path around the pond to collect shells and count lizards.

After day one, we went to Gumbo Limbo Nature Center in Boca, where Hannah ran around. We also hit Sugar Sand Park, which has a water feature in the playground, a science center and nature walk, a carousel, and — best of all — a raccoon family! Even with all that, I think the hit of the week was the pool. We went swimming every day, except for the one with the thunderstorm and boy, wasn’t that the most disappointing day ever! On Friday, we had a two swim day! Hannah bravely dove into the deep end (5 feet) and retrieving diving sharks from the bottom of the pool She even swam from one end to the other. Grammy and Grandpa were exhausted, but Hannah was not.

We played uncountable games of Uno and Sorry (guess who won most of the time) and went out for Italian food with Nana’s adopted great-grandson, Christian. OK, there might have been a little bit of TV in there, but way less that you might expect.

In case you are wondering, we followed all of Hannah’s parent’s rules (yes, sunscreen twice a day; yes, only one treat per day; no, no more stuffies!) but that doesn’t mean there weren’t two days of ice cream and a new princess coloring book.

The flight back to Baltimore was similar in style, except it was lunchtime, so there were moments when Hannah wasn’t talking. We had a great time, but were happy to drop her back with her parents and get a day of grownup time (read: napping).

After being in Maryland for a week, and getting a chance to see the women I worked with at the Summit School during the pandemic (always great to see them!), we spent a weekend in New York, so we we could spend some time with Uncle David and Aunt Marcella, who also took us out to Daniel, one of the two top restaurants in New York. Wow! The food was delicious (they have a vegetarian menu) and the service was impeccable. Afterwards, we got a tour of the kitchen. It’s like The Bear only everyone was smiling, there was no yelling and it was extremely clean … glimmering, really. They even sent us home with a little cake it what looked like a ring box. That, too, was delicious, Can you tell I’ve never been to that caliber of restaurant before?

The next day, I got a chance to spend a few hours with my friend Susanna, where I got to crow about Daniel. We headed back to Maryland on Saturday and Monday I was back at BWI for a flight to Boston, where my college roommate, Terryl, was going to pick me up so we could head out to a women’s week at her family cottage in Maine.

We crammed a lot of fun and some real talk into those few days. If I told you that we ate during sunset overlooking the lake (until it got too buggy), did a lighthouse tour and walked along the craggy Atlantic coast, ate a the Lobster Shack (its actual name), spend a day in Freeport, home of LL Bean, lazed around one morning and then headed to Portland to wander and then go to a Jackie Greene show at One Longfellow Square, and had a dance party after a French 75 or two, that wouldn’t even come close to describing what a great week it was.

There’s something magical about being with a friend who’s known you for a lifetime through joy and ridiculous decisions and still feeling as though the friendship could last forever and you’d still have room for it to grow and change. Thanks, Terryl! Love you. And thanks to our understanding husbands, or maybe they were happy to be rid of us for the week (There is just no way I am going to make a comment here…waaaaaayyyyyy too dangerous). It could go either way.

Back in Maryland, we’re spending as much time as we can with our granddaughter — enjoying watching her in swimming and gymnastics classes and reading bedtime stories. She even lasted an entire baseball game, Orioles vs. Guardians, not a great one, but fun none the less. If you guessed that Hannah’s favorite player is Pete Alonso aka Polar Bear, you know Hannah very well. She also might have had some blue cotton candy, but who’s to know? Finally, we attended Rosh Hashanah services, a reminder that we are starting anew once again and have a chance to do it all just a bit better.

We’re now finished with our arduous packing and jettisoning of things that won’t fit. Well, that part was mostly me since Steven has so little clothing. How do men get away with that? Two suitcases each of 23 kilos plus a carryon. Sounds like a lot until you realize we’re trying to pack our lives into them. I think we’ve done it. We’ll see what we miss the most when we arrive.

Next time we post, we will be back in Valencia for the duration, or as long as we can plan (6 months? more? who knows?) [and really for the first time in 5 years, with no plans to travel].