Way too many people/businesses/groups thought that same weekend was the perfect time for some function or other. There were birthday parties, gatherings, the Grass Valley clogging thing that I went to last year, etc. I wish there were more of me, so I could have gone to more than just the one event, but Clare & Jon's wedding was a great time and I'm so glad I was there. We stayed in Half Moon Bay, got to enjoy the weather variety, and food, and the wedding seemed to last all day Saturday. It was all just fantastic.
I seem to be missing the major clogging events this year. Our club was hosting a dance in mid-August, but I had my brother's wedding to attend, in Amarillo. It was hectic getting there, and there was wedding prep and craziness that got thrown our way, but there were definitely some good times. I still had twinges of guilt, since I had promised my clogging group that I'd help with the dance, but I just reminded myself that they told me it was more important to be with my family. I got to meet some neat relatives of Jenn's; Jenn & Jenn's family were nice enough to put us (the Fisher siblings & family) up at their family cottage by the lake, which was fun to swim in and hang out by. Edgar, Evan, Eren, and I stayed up late playing a hilariously long game of Uno, and then Fluxx, the night before the wedding. Evan, Eren, and Micah did some swimming in the lake before the wedding. After the wedding, Edgar and I got to hang out with Jenn's Uncle Delk and his family, swimming in and hanging out by the lake. They come from Austin, and the lake was low there, so apparently he hadn't been able to take his boat out on the water lately. One of the family's boats was at the dock, so Delk took us all out for a midnight ride in the boat. It was a fantastic time. I enjoyed getting to spend an extra day or two with Edgar (I flew in and out of Austin, instead of Amarillo), and driving to Amarillo and back with him and Uncle Dick, Aunt June, and Mema. Edgar and I even got to take up some of the burden of driving, which I enjoy doing.
There's another clogging thing in late October. I missed it last year, so I hoped to do it this year, but Rob and I are going to Europe for two weeks around that time, to visit London, Scotland, and Ireland. I guess it'll have to wait for another year. I did talk to a clogger recently who said it's a concrete floor, which is exhausting to dance on, so I'm not missing out too much, but still, if there are fun dances... ah well.
I'm very excited about the upcoming Europe trip. It's only a few days away. We'll fly in to London, head straight up to Edinburgh on a high speed train, then spend a few days there with a friend. We'll rent a car and drive around more of Scotland, checking out the Highlands, Loch Ness, and so many other things. After that week is gone, we're flying to Dublin, spending two days there, then getting another rental car, and driving around Ireland for the rest of the week. We're going up to Giant's Causeway, then over to Donegal, then down to Galway, then back to Dublin, with all sorts of stops along the way. After that, we'll fly to London, see some of Rob's friends, get an afternoon with Jason & Sarah, who happen to be in London that same weekend, then we'll fly back home the day before Halloween. Woohooo!!!!
I wanted to get a few more photos in this post, but I didn't get any from Eliot's wedding weekend, so it's just text. Hope it's not too wordy. Love you all!
