We spent a big chunk of the last week preparing, cleaning etc, and on Saturday we had a Labor Day BBQ with Anne’s family: siblings and their kids (and their kids), Ben, Anne’s mom, and even her Uncle Joe. We fired up the oven and made pizza, had burgers and hot dogs, and corn on the cob and all kinds of summer salads. All in all a perfect way to end the summer.
Sunday was recovery day: Ben had stayed over, and he and we cleaned the yard, and the kitchen, and made a nice (huge) breakfast. We hung out until mid afternoon, when we drove him home to Philly and checked out his new apartment. (We took Kelly Drive, which meant we drove right past one of the locations I’ve been studying recently, where there was a river crossing on the Schuylkill at the end of what is now Ferry Street, part of the native path between Philly and Harrisburg.) When we got home we visited with our neighbors Matt and Diet, and Matt’s dad who was in town for a few days.
Yesterday was a CAT group ride down Cherry Valley, sort of the “second half” of our Blue Mountain ride the week before. It’s also one of the Road Scholar routes, so I invited my boss and co-ride-leader Andrea along, and some people from the D&L were there as well — one person at least, and some of her friends — it was a pretty nice crowd. We rode from outside Wind Gap to lunch at the Apple Pie Store in Delaware Water Gap, then retraced our steps back to the cars. Not a bad ride, about 26 miles in all, and we finished just before the rain started…
It’s been raining ever since, a nice mild soaking rain, something we really need right now. Today I’m just hanging out, doing some more post-party straightening and getting ready for cello duets with my friend Donna.
