AUGUST 14

Thursday morning was spent packing up and visiting with Dan's mom and aunt Evelyn. Toby was back to near-perfect health, so he was once again interested in what everyone was up to. We stopped in at Dan's dad's office to say goodbye, then drove to Logan airport to catch our flight.

After a layover in Dallas, we arrived in Tucson around 11:30pm. Dan decided he's not flying again, so this may be the last vacation together. He's trying to convince me of the romance of cross-country train rides. I think I'll meet him at the next destination instead.

AUGUST 13

Our final day touring around the area was spent on Cape Cod near the towns of Sandwich, Mashpee, New Seabury and Falmouth. Dan's family had an annual tradition of visiting Popponesset when he and his siblings were kids. The drive is only about an hour from their home, so it was nice to have a full day out of the car. The particular area we spent our time in was called Popponesset Marketplace- a 1950s development that includes small restaurants and shops along 4' wide seashell walkways.

We walked around for a bit, then had lunch in the central gazebo amidst billowing white shade cloths. It was the first full day of sun and 80 degree weather, so everyone seemed to be out enjoying the breeze. I ordered some clam strips and a crab cake for us to share- it was all a bit heavy on the oil factor, but completely delicious.

After lunch we took a drive around the area, then headed to South Cape Beach State Park. For a while we both napped on our towels in the sun. Then Dan decided to hoist me onto his back and charge us both into the ocean, thinking the "inch by inch" technique of adjusting to the temperature wasn't going to work. The water was actually pretty warm- around 70 degrees. This section of the cape is warmer due to being more shallow and less exposed to the cold currents. We played around in the waves for a bit, then napped a while longer.

As the sun was going down Dan and I made our way back to the Popponesset Marketplace to cash in on the "Wednesday Night Lobster Special" signs we had seen hanging around the place. We each had the standard dinner, which included the lobster, corn and coleslaw for only $12. I also took the opportunity to order 2 oysters on the half shell (for the first time). Everything was amazing. I can guarantee Tucson offers nothing like this in such a relaxing setting.

We ended the night with 18 holes of mini golf. We were tied at hole 9, but by 18 Dan had me by 3 points. I took the prize for best shot of the night, though, by hitting the ball through a lattice obstacle, off the stone wall, and directly into the hole. Completely a shot of luck, but it still had Dan cursing. When we went back to try the shot again, I couldn't even get it through the holes after 10+ attempts.

AUGUST 12

Last night Dan and I drove up to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and found a small (crappy) motel to sleep at in order to make the most of today. Originally we had planned to drive to the White Mountains of N.H. for a nice long, high hike, but there has just been too much rain, and it would have been a gamble to drive there and hope for some sun. Instead, Dan thought it would be fun to show me some of the historic towns north of Boston and do the more traditional tourist stuff.

Portsmouth was a lovely town. It was fun to see how many of the homes were built in the early 1700s. We ventured through a bit of a historic park, Strawberry Banke, that shows some of the original layout of the town, along with narrations of various peoples' lives (shipbuilders, town leaders, teachers, etc).

The waterfront around the town caters to everything from small personal watercraft to enormous freight barges. There is also a naval shipyard here (NAVSEA), where one of Dan's friends used to work, helping to maintain nuclear submarines.

We wandered around some beautiful parks and gardens, then headed towards the cutesy downtown shopping area. Portsmouth has some great restaurants, bars, coffee shops and boutiques. If the homes weren't extremely high priced it would be a fantastic place to live, situated between great cities, mountains with hiking and skiing, and an ocean where the surfing is quite good (so I hear...obviously a wet suit is required at almost all times. At this point just splashing around at the edge of the water is ok with me).

We ate lunch at a funky joint Dan used to frequent- The Friendly Toast- where I had a New England version of huevos rancheros.

As we explored the town a bit more I found an amazing fabric shop. I was ready to buy up the entire store (then realized I do not own a sewing machine, and doing things by hand may take more than the rest of my life). I limited myself to about 1.5 yds of some lovely contemporary florals and am committed to making some pillow covers when I get back. http://www.portsmouthfabric.com/

We ended with the town square - couldn't pass up the traditional white steepled church.

After leaving Portsmouth we hit a few more destinations. The first was an old fort along the coast that civilians built in order to protect their homes during the revolutionary war.

Dan then took me across the state border into Kittery Maine, and on up the coast to a few different beach towns. We stopped here and there, looking at the surf and poking our feet in the sand.

As we headed back down the interstate we stopped in Hampton to pop in on the cabinet-maker Dan used to work for.

Our last stop was Newburyport, MA. It was another very lovely town with a white-steepled church and curving brick streets. We ate dinner at a Nepali restaurant and then proceeded to drive back through Boston to Norwell (hitting horrendous traffic- even at 10pm).

AUGUST 11

- closed due to inclement weather-

(I have seen more rain here in a week than 4+ years in Arizona & Colorado)

AUGUST 10

Took a break from the photographing due to being completely exhausted from the events of the previous day.

We all slept in until about noon or later and proceeded to lounge in the kitchen while snacking on leftovers. By 3, Dan and I left for Sommerville to hang out with his friends Adam and Liz. The live on the bottom floor of a 3 level house that has been converted into individual units. Sommerville is very cute- tons of older homes on narrow streets. Their home is in between the Harvard and Tufts campuses, so it's a very young area. After chatting at the house for a bit, we headed out to try some candle pin bowling. When Dan moved west, he had never seen or been aware of "big ball" bowling; in the same manner, I had never seen the game played this way. The pins are much thinner and the ball is a little larger than one used in croquet. I have a hard time with normal bowling, so this version resulted in a score of about...40? Maybe not even that high. Embarrassing.

Following the game we went to a small party being held for an old high school friend of Dan. I met 7-8 old guy friends and their girlfriends/wives.

We headed back to the house around 1 and completely crashed.

AUGUST 9

When I first woke up around 8 the skies were looming with clouds and rain seemed inevitable, but the sun popped out at about 11, which made things just right. We (Dan, Michael and I) left for the Cohasset Harbor Inn around 11:25, with the parents and Jackie following 10 minutes later.

While Dan and his brother prepared, I wandered around a little and found a seat in the second row on the aisle. The chairs were set up to look out over the boats in the harbor. It happened to be the lowest low tide of the year, so the water was very low, but it still looked nice.

First Dan walked his mom in...

followed by his brother with the maid of honor, Debi...

and finally Jim and Jacky.

The service was done by a justice of the peace. He did a very nice job, and kept the service very short (it seemed like 12-14 minutes...powerful and to-the-point).

After the ceremony, the family took photos while the guests were offered cocktails and hor devours.

Dan and his brother awaiting their turn.

Debi and her boyfriend doing the same.

After an hour or so of mingling, everyone took their seats in the banquet room. There were about 65 guests seated at 7 tables.

Igor and Jackie made their entrance and immediately danced to the first song. Following that, both the maid of honor and the best man did their toasts.

All of the food was quite good. The first plate was tortellini with pesto sauce, followed by an arugula salad, and finally either a shrimp and lobster dish over rice or chicken with sauteed vegetables.


The red velvet cake was lovely and tasted amazing. Dan was expecting a "man size" piece, so he thought the "shingle" size offered on the plate was a little disappointing. We ended up sneaking back once or twice.

The party lasted until 5, with lots of dancing and people chatting out on the patio under the sun.

After the formal reception was over, all of the guests were invited to the Kelliher home for a barbecue/after-party. People played boccie, darts, pool, talked more, and ate more. The last guests left after midnight- most people were looking pretty whipped by then. Jackie and Igor left for Cape Cod around 1am. They have a cottage rented in Hyannis for a full week, which will be a nice break before she goes back to teaching and his classes start up.

Overall it was a beautiful day and things went smoothly. I think they are relieved that this portion of things is done, but it will be a nice day to look back on.