Adios Connecticut

It was definitely hard to leave Connecticut.  I spent so much restorative time there - on the water, reading, running on the beach, sitting in a cottage listening to the sounds of the ocean.  I absolutely loved my stay, and already look forward to going back.  

It was so lovely to be able to talk with Therese and spend so much time with my aunt that I don't often see.  She is such a wealth of knowledge and has such a genuine soul.  On our last days together we went to a Barnum museum (that was under repair due to damage from a tornado) and learned some interesting history of Tom Thumb and Barnum's life as a prankster.  And Therese got me hooked on a PBS show we would watch at night - Merlin.  

I always think of David as such a fun uncle, always good for playing outside and joking around.  And this time around, I learned from David that his dog Marty McFly is the BEST dog in the world.  I tried deny it at first, but that dog seriously is cute.  He is David's buddy and follows him everywhere, and Marty was my running buddy a few days.

I also got to spend much needed time with my cousins  I am very impressed with them both.  With Matthew, I got to talk about adventure and travel.  He has some wanderlust in his soul, and I can't wait to hear where the wind will blow him.  I also got to work as crew under him during a sail race, and learned that he runs a tight ship and means business!  

Jason invited me to stay later than I had planned, so that we could spend time when he was off work.  So Friday night and Saturday it was just me and Jason - everyone else had left.  Jason was so sweet, he took me out to dinner and ice cream.  In all the talking we got to do, we learned a lot about each other!  And I feel lucky to have him as a cousin - he's a pretty cool guy.  And I am in awe of how much self awareness he has, and how focused he is on the goals in his life.  I could use some of that laser focus!  

The next day he took me to the cottage, and we took the motorboat out to get lunch at the yacht club.  And then I got inducted into a Raymond family tradition. . . Dam building!  We built a huge dam, somewhere between 100 and 150 feet long.  It was so fun!

Thank you Raymonds, for taking such good care of me, and showing me such a good time.  Love you all!  Feel free to send Marty over to me if you get tired of playing fetch with him . . . 

Marty McFly

Jason and I channeling our inner Beaver, and building a dam