What’s been going on?  Summer is over and I’ve fallen behind.  

That’s not to say I haven’t posted, because I have, I’ve posted our year end summaries. I say “our” because Bill contributes to the summaries as much as I do – actually it’s probably fair to say more because he is the numbers guy who tracks all those numbers and uses those numbers to come up with the information I share here.  

I’ve also posted “Thoughts on Seasonal Camping” about our workamping experience this summer.  

There’s so much to tell you!

I took a few days off work to spend time with my daughter and my niece, checking off boxes on the wedding to-do list.  What fun we had getting our dresses fitted, choosing flowers, and having our hair and make-up done!  

While I was away, Bill stayed back at Country Oaks – I missed out on Star Wars weekend.  

The bride-to-be came back to NJ with me, to spend some time with Bill and I. I cannot adequately put into words how happy that made us!  Our son was able to join us for a shorter time, as he had planned time off to see the total eclipse down in TN with the Yaeger’s.  We had them both to ourselves!  YAY!  Don’t get me wrong – we love Derek but that was our last time together before our family of 4 became 5 and it was nice to have that.  

Walking the boards and a campfire were Murray family traditions that were revived and left us wishing we could stop time – just for a moment.   

Billy, sadly, had to head back to PA, but we had plenty of time with Michelle.  She had a list of things she wanted to do and we checked off the boxes as the days went by. 

One day we took a ferry ride to Lewes DE. We parked the car and walked on. Our friends, Elizabeth-Anne & Morris, are workamping at Delaware Seashore State Park and they met us when we docked.  

Our first stop was visiting my nephew, Andrew’s, memorial cross.  We had not seen it in person and it was important to us to pay respects.  There are actually 2 crosses, one was put up right away by his friends, the second one was added later by my sister.  

I, for one, was exhausted and starving after the emotional time thinking about Andrew. His loss still brings great sadness. 

With Morris behind the wheel, we turned southeast toward he and Elizabeth-Anne’s summer home. We decided to cross the Charles W Cullen Bridge and get some lunch at the newly opened Big Chill Beach Club.  The views of the ocean are awesome!  

We are very grateful to Elizabeth-Anne & Morris for picking us up, driving us around and bringing us back to the ferry for our ride back to NJ.  We thank them for the tour of their summer campground home, it has been added to our places to visit.  Hope our paths cross again soon!

Bill finally got to check his “take the boat out” box during Michelle’s visit.  The wind picked up and we motored back sooner than we would have liked, but it was nice for awhile.  

While Michelle was visiting, we got to watch the eclipse!  Where we were there was only 78% – not the total eclipse, but it was very cool anyway.  My boss, Bob, got out his welders mask, and also our friend, Tina, gave us a pair of special glasses.  I worked that day, and people came up to the office at the campground to look, safely, at the sun as the moon passed in front of it.  It was very exciting!  

 

Quickly as she arrived, it was time for her to head home.  Bill drove Michelle to the bus, which took her to Johnstown, where Derek picked her up.  It was a very special time with our daughter before she walks down the aisle.  Bill and I will forever cherish those days, waking up and falling asleep with our girl under our roof; doing things together, sharing meals, walking the boards, toes in the sand with drinks in our hands.  

Bill stopped and had lunch with Billy before heading back to Country Oaks.  They enjoyed quite the meal. 

After Michelle went home, the countdown to the end of our Jersey Shore summer began.  We had less than 2 weeks to go!  

It’s easy to “follow” – get an email for every post – when you enter your email address below!  Thanks!