June 2024

In early June Tessie graduated from Bowman Elementary. After 12 years, we are grateful to everyone at this wonderful school. 

Heather reached a non-milestone birthday, 47+1

and she continued to attend rock concerts in the rain,

this one was Hootie & the Blowfish with Bare Naked Ladies

and then the next weekend Sarah McLachlan

While shopping at Wilson Farm, we ran into teacher Jen from Tessie's preschool

At a friend's birthday party, Tessie completed her first escape room

On Juneteenth I committed to take the girls on a day hike in the White Mountains. It was a very hot day and I thought that constant hydration would keep me going, but on the ascent it was clear that my body was spending 99% of its energy on keeping my core from overheating and 1% was left for locomotion. It was a long day. 

I attended a mitochondrial conference in Cleveland

In contrast to Chicago, whose lakefront is so accessible, Cleveland's lakefront is isolated by a highway, train tracks, and heavy industry 

Cleveland's most famous tourist attraction is the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Sunset over Lake Erie

After the conference I met Katy, Charlie, Erin, and Caroline at Cedar Point

They had a great day in the park on the famous roller coasters

Meanwhile Heather and Tessie were in North Carolina where Tessie attended farm camp while Heather worked and visited with Nana, Ana, and Chris

On our way out of Ohio I stopped at Trader Joe's, where I've made a habit of buying their state-specific grocery bags. Sadly in Cleveland they didn't have the Ohio bag but instead offered a random mix from places I've already visited (VA, NJ, NC, PA, DC)

I'm surprisingly thin on the New England state bags but I have a pretty good set of the Eastern seaboard and the West

In early July Erin stayed on Cape Cod with one of her school friends

Heather madly knitted to complete gifts for the hosts of our upcoming Italian trip

Lexington put on a great fireworks show for the 4th

ATL-CHI

On our final day in Atlanta we explored the city on foot via a 5K race 

The course was in Chastain Park and quite hilly

and yes it felt good to blow by this 12 year-old

They handed out hardware and Erin took home the top female spot with a time of 22:43. Caroline and I won 3rd place age bracket medals for our times of 29:19 and 28:14.

Next we took the girls to their first MLB game at the new Braves stadium

I loved being so close to the action

Not sure how much baseball knowledge was imparted to the girls. Tessie may be the only baseball fan in history to have come to the park and eaten both cucumbers

and sour plums, purchased earlier at a farmer's market

The next weekend we went to Chicago for a party. Being fans of Rick Bayless from his PBS shows, we booked dinner at Frontera Grill and were thrilled to find him in the banquette behind us.

We signed up for another 5K race, this time alongside Chicago's lakefront 

It was a perfectly flat course

I went out too fast and was hurting for the last 1K

same for Caroline

Erin ran a 22:08, I did a 26-flat and Caroline came in at 27:58

Since our last visit to Chicago, President Biden created a new National Monument around the 1955 murder of Emmitt Till in Mississippi, which galvanized the civil rights movement

It's a work in progress, but this is the Robert's Temple Church of God in Christ, where Emmett's funeral was held

Meanwhile, the girls shopped

and I took an architectural cruise on the Chicago River

Pizzeria Uno's numero uno is a historic landmark

We ordered their signature deep-dish pizza. It weighed like 10 pounds and after 1 slice no one wanted another one.

Then it was off to the party. Friends Tom & Amy have connections to Chicago and they decided to throw a party for no particular occasion, just an excuse to get together with friends and family. They rented the penthouse ballroom in an art deco building and encouraged attendees to pick up the theme. The girls looked great!

I went with the gangster look

They brought in dance instructors to teach the foxtrot and the Charleston and then the band played period pieces all night