This past weekend was our trip to MD to reconnect with Harry's sister, Cindy, and her family. It ended up being a wonderful trip, and it was probably one of the best weekends of Harry's life. I'm just so unbelievably happy for him. And for Cindy.
Cindy, her husband, Todd, and their 3 kids, Nikki, Cassie, and Tyler, welcomed us into their home like we'd all known each other for years. We talked and ate and talked some more over the course of our short weekend visit, getting to know one another, trying to fill in all the gaps, and cramming 30 some-odd years into 2 days. It was quite a task, and we've really only skimmed the surface. Lucky for us, we've got the time and the inclination to keep it going.
We arrived at Cindy's house Friday morning around 11, and were greeted by Cindy and Nikki. We peeled ourselves out of the car, we all hugged, then proceeded into the house for some bevvies. From that point on, we didn't stop talking. We ate lunch, chatted, had a beer, got a tour of the house and the grounds, and watched Ellie playing outside while chatting some more. Eventually, we settled back into the kitchen, still chatting away, and Ellie managed to get a nap in later in the afternoon. After she woke up, we ordered pizza for dinner, and finally, around 7:30 had to say goodnight for the evening so we could find our hotel and check in. Ellie was in a great mood the whole day and was a bit wired, but all three of us finally settle down for the evening a little before 10am.
We woke up the next morning awaiting our trip to the Maryland Zoo at 10am. We met Cindy and the gang there, and ventured in. I met Todd for the first time, and we hit it off right away when Cindy laughingly told him how she saw me whip out my hand sanitizer the day before and knew we'd get along. The man is a cleanliness fanatic after my own heart.
We walked around the zoo for 3 hours, and Ellie was completely awesome the whole time. She was so excited to be around all her new cousins and aunt and uncle. We had a picnic lunch after then decided to go back to our hotel so everyone could go swimming in the indoor pool. Ellie LOVED the pool, and taking her out and bringing her back to the room for a nap was the only time she screamed bloody murder the entire weekend. She would have stayed in that pool forever if we had let her.
With me back in our room with Ellie, Harry got some time to chat with his sister one-on-one. I think they really needed that. I was hoping I would be able to give them some time alone. I'm glad they got the chance.
After Ellie's nap, we packed up and headed back over to their house for dinner. Everyone hung around in the front yard, the adults had a few beers with the exception of me who only had one (I'm a killjoy, I know), and Ellie played lacrosse - LOL. We had a wonderful dinner prepared by Todd, and let me just say, the man knows his way around a kitchen and grill. Steak and baked potatoes makes this girl happy.
We traded more stories, laughed, and more during that dinner. Then they surprised me with a birthday cake! I was totally caught unawares, even as they were singing. I didn't even have any idea who we were singing for until they said my name. Color me oblivious.
After dinner and dessert, we all sat down in front of the tube to watch a video Nikki had created for one of her classes. It was a series of pictures of her family when they lived in CT set to music. Then the "for sale" sign flashed onto the screen, along with a picture of their old house. Finally, she ends the video with pictures of new friends she's made in MD and more of her family in their new home. It was really sweet, and I'm happy we got to see it. She worked really hard on it, and it was important to her. She was excited to show it to us.
We had to say goodbye and get back to the hotel around 8:30, but we were meeting Cindy and Todd one more time the next morning before we left. They met us at our hotel, and we had breakfast together there. It was a nice and quiet meal together, and made for a perfect ending to the weekend. We all hugged goodbye and slowly but surely made our way back north to CT.
All in all, it was a fabulous trip, and I'm so glad we made it. Harry's already thinking about going back down there, and they've already told us they're making a b-line for our house when they come back up next month to visit the rest of the family. We're very much looking forward to that.
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And totally not part of the story, but it was HOT when we got back home! LOL. We had set up a radon test in the basement before we left, and you're not allowed to keep windows or doors open while the test is being performed. We figured this weekend would be perfect for it because the house has to remain closed up for 4 days. We set it up on Thursday at 6pm, and we can't open the windows until tonight at 6pm. That means we had to keep all the windows closed yesterday when it was almost 90 degrees outside. HOLY CRAP! Yeah, it sucked.
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