Whirlwind Tour East: Fourth of July and Some Lobby

Normally I don't like abandoning my blog for long periods of time, but I've been traveling to visit friends and family for the past couple weeks. Shortly after returning from the mammal conference in Portland, Matt and I headed to Connecticut and Virginia.

There never seems to be enough time to see the people I care about. That's true regardless of if my visits are a week or a month long. I haven't been back home since Christmas, which thanks to a stomach virus, wasn't the most productive trip. This time no one got sick, my mom took some time off of work to be with me, and I feel like we got more out of my visit.

On July 4th I met up with Jenn to go to the annual Willimantic Boom Box Parade. We got there early to get a seat on the porch at the Willimantic Brewery. It was so weird, and also fun. The parade has no marching bands, but a radio station plays marching music and people bring radios, and there were also some speakers set up at the parade itself. It also seems like just about anyone can march in this thing, and there were individual people marching, church groups, political groups, and businesses that participated. It's kind of hard to describe, because it's such a random assortment of entertainment. I'd like to be able to go again next year.

In the afternoon Lura and Steve stopped by to say hello, chat, and make plans for later in the week. We sat out on the patio, drank Hosmer Mountain sodas, and caught up. Later in the afternoon Grandma and Uncle Dave came over and we grilled some chicken and enjoyed other cookout stuff. I really value even these short visits with people, I've always liked just sitting around, being with people, talking. Sometimes I feel like there's an expectation to always be "doing" something, but to me this counts as "something". I did it more in high school and college with friends. It's sad it doesn't happen more often, because graduate school has made me into an accomplished breeze shooter.

On Tuesday my Mom, Matt, and I drove down to Abbots in Noank, CT for a lobster lunch. It might seem silly to make a trip like that, but after being in New Mexico, and no where near an ocean and reliable seafood, it isn't weird. We enjoyed some steamed mussels while we waited for our lunch, and took in some nice scenery. We sat out on the dock that looks out over the marina nearby.