Shifting Gears

First... a "moment". TJ and I headed north on July 2, a Friday afternoon amidst torrential rain. The Houston airport was packed and all flights were running 2 hours late. Lovely. We decided to eat dinner and were among the masses at the food court when it happened. I looked up to see a large group of military men and women all dressed in their desert fatigues walking through the terminal. Then... the "moment". One person started to clap and then another and then before I knew it the entire airport was standing and clapping as the men and women passed through. What a patriotic beginning to our 4th of July weekend!

We made it to Pittsburgh ridiculously late that night/morning and shifted into reunion-palooza mode. The reunion was for TJ's mother's side of the family. 125 family members descended on the William Penn hotel in downtown Pittsburgh. I am sure they are still wondering what hit them!


Here are all of the Mahoney branch of the family, plus a few extras, who were at the reunion at the lookout over the river in Pittsburgh. I would like to say that it was refreshing to be north and that we had a welcome reprieve from the heat of the south but as luck would have it, the temps were in the 90's! BUT....the sun was shining and the humidity was considerably lower, ahhh. It was so great to see everyone together and to see the city that raised 4 great women who went on to raise 4 amazing families! Sometimes reunions are tricky, this one was not. It was a genuine happy to be together reunion.


I never knew Pittsburgh was such a nice city!


Sadie in her, Nova Scotia or Bust dog travel crate!
Next, we shifted gears again into Nova Scotia or Bust mode. We left beautiful, and getting hotter by the minute, Pittsburgh on Monday and headed to Nova Scotia. We flew to Newark where we were going to board the same plane as our dog Sadie who was flying up from Houston. Piece of cake! It was only 101 degrees in Newark that day. Glad we opted for the temperature controlled environment for the beast. We eventually arrived in Halifax at 10pm on Monday. Sadie arrived as well. The only trick was picking her up.

This part could be a blog post all unto itself! Here is the short version; we got through customs, got picked up by my Mom and Dad, we drove to the cargo hangar to get Sadie, we drove back to customs to get the paperwork signed, we drove back to the hangar, we called the night shift dude who showed up eventually and let us have our very cool, calm and collected dog who then peed for about a half an hour! She had been in that crate from 8:45 am until 11 pm and was still pleasant. Go figure!



We are all here and have shifted seriously into vacation mode! So much to get done around here but who cares? We are just happy to be here. I think I'll go cut some flowers and put them in the house. Maybe they will distract any visitors from seeing all the dust, dirt and clutter around here. Do you think?

July 2 -Houston- blood pressure- 152/90
July 3&4- Pittsburgh- blood pressure- 145/85
July 5-Halifax airport- blood pressure- 160/92!!!
July 7- Amherst Shore- blood pressure- 110/ 70 This place is good for my health! I think I'll just stay!