The (Not So) Dog Days of Summer

Hello again loyal readers! Shamefully, I don’t even have a decent excuse for the gap between this post and its predecessor besides that I’ve been too busy out gathering material for it. Even that isn’t a water-tight alibi, however, since more than a fair share of summer ’13 thus far has been spent napping and discovering the all-consuming Pandora’s Box that is Netflix. As I hope to show here, though, not all my time has been spent watching classic Doctor Whos and past seasons of Top Gear; as thrilling as that is, that’d definitely be more on the shorter, less eventful side of these blogs. So without further ado, here’s “what I did over summer vacation,” – part I!!!

First off, I realize it’s been so long since I’ve thrown one of these together that I’ve left Holy Cross finals’ season completely undocumented. While the exams and essays lived up to their appropriately brutal reputation, they were actually overshadowed in my mind by the slew of farewells to friends (most of whom are leaving to study abroad all next year) I had to make. With my roommate headed to Palma, Spain, and two very good friends taking advantage of the excellent Classics department’s programs in Athens and Rome, it was pretty weird saying goodbye and realizing that I may or may not be able to see them again till the beginning of senior year, over a full calendar cycle away. I’m glad I’ve got a FULL plate on campus next semester to keep me distracted for sure. Everyone going abroad (you all know who you are), I wish you the best of luck, you’re gonna absolutely kill it and have the time of your lives!

Home life was a welcome reprieve afterwards, and I’ve since had more than enough time to catch up on sleep and TV shows alike (on a side note: Game of Thrones’ Red Wedding??? Holy Stark! Glad I was busy that night and had to pass up on that invitation). Going from there, then, in chronological order, I’ve:

Run two 1/2 marathons, one in Beantown for Boston’s peerless PD and the other in Woodstock,VT, for fun. The latter of these is probably among the more scenic places you could ever hope to run at, with the course running (no pun intended) alongside the Queechee River beneath Vermont’s famously green slopes.

The breathtaking gorge itself. The reason it looks so sheer is simple - it is!

A fearless adventurer wading out to the center of the gorge. If you think he's an overly reckless youth, the answer is simple - he is!

Headed into Fenway for a Sox game. The ballpark itself is actually a secondary priority to me, 19 year old I am with a respective 19 year old stomach. That meant a pre-game trip to Yawkey Way’s El Tiante’s, so named after famous 70s Sox pitcher Luis Tiant. And guess who, of all people, was there greeting hungry customers: the man, the legend himself! A quiet, humble guy, complete with his trademark footlong Cuban cigar.

Met former First Lady Laura Bush and her daughter Jenna, this year’s speakers at Middlesex Community College’s Celebrity Forum, an annual fundraiser put on by my dad Patrick and his colleagues at MCC. It was a night (blessedly) free of the politics one might have expected to accompany such distinguished guests, and all in attendance walked away with the same impression of two unbelievably charming, big-hearted, strong women who’ve inspired MILLIONS around the world.

The honorable First Lady Laura Bush and her daughter Jenna. I like to think my OWN first family cleans up pretty nice!

Last but not least, spent a fabulous few days vacationing down on Martha’s Vineyard. Some people go for jam-packed, thrill-a-minute vacation destinations, but me? The sleepy, lazy afternoons spent lying on the Vineyard’s South Beach are my idea of paradise. Late mornings, an entire book cover to cover, and daily trips to Mad Martha’s ice cream joint. Doesn’t get better, I’m telling you.

A man and his dog. The level of contentment pictured here on the part of both concerned parties is hard to overstate.

My attempt at looking deep and thoughtful. It ended with me tumbling down the hill and accumulating most of Mememsha beach in my shoes in the process.

Well, that’s about it folks. The countdown to the return to campus lies at just over 50 days, and with the summer break already roughly halfway over, I can’t wait to see what the next half brings. Till then, everyone make sure you enjoy your summer as much as possible, and more importantly, STAY COOL!!

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