July 4th Weekend

We were looking forward to seeing Dan this weekend. He flew in from Los Angeles on Friday, and we picked him up at the airport at 9:15 p.m. The plane was delayed due to lightning striking the FAA center in Nashua which controls air traffic for the northeast U.S. The July 4th weekend was set to be hot and humid.

Dan likes to make car trips when he comes home. Until a few months ago, he did not own a car so he had no need for insurance, That meant I did a lot of the driving. This time, Dan said he would do all the driving

On Saturday, we spent the day seeing historic sites west of Boston, We first went to the battlegreen in Lexington, then drove west like the redcoats did in 1775. We made it to the North Bridge in Concord, something I had not found while taking previous visitors on this tour.

Our last stop was Walden Pond. Aside from having a replica of Thoreau's cabin, it is now just a beach that was crowded with warm bathers.

Susan sat in the front with Dan and I sat in the back. After a while, I was nodding my head, trying to keep from falling asleep. It was too hot for me. I did not even get out of the car when they stopped for ice cream.

Dan and Susan look as fit as this minuteman

Susan and I always run a race on July 4. Jacob started running a few races with us in 1997. Dan ran a few races with us in 1990 but had not run since. We talked Dan into running to make this the first race all 4 members of our family ran together.

The temperature was supposed to be 96 degrees Sunday, but when we woke up at 7:00 it was raining. Though the rain stopped it was still only 80 degrees at race time. Susan was worried that Dan would not be able to spend 5 miles in the sun, but he surprised all of us by running 45:10.

I was happy to finish feeling better than I did the previous week when I ended up needing an IV after a race. Susan and Jacob had their usually mother - son battle.

When we got back home, Susan had top prepare for a cook out. While Dan was here, Susan invited her brother and his family. The cook out turned into a cook in when no one wanted to sit outside. The usual game of whiffle ball lasted only 10 minutes this year. In the evening we went to the fireworks downtown.

On Monday, Dan planned to drive to the mountains for a day trip but changed his mind. With the temperature reaching 97 degrees, we went to the movies in the afternoon and "the force" was with us while watching the new Stars Wars movie. I liked it a lot more than I thought I would.

Before Dan left Tuesday afternoon, we went to Parker's Maple Barn for a large breakfast of pancakes. As usual, it was sad to see him leave.

An hour after his plane took off, a severe thunderstorm swept through the state and the heat wave broke.