Vacation #1 2010.
I recently went on a little mini vacation to Massachusetts and Minnesota to visit friends and family. I decided that I needed a good break from my life in Berkeley. I am now living on my brother's couch because they were supposed to move to SC, but of course, they have NOT!!! I made the (wrong) decision to try and help my brother to move to SC by living on his couch... he told me they were leaving within one month... well here we are 8 months later, with no RESOLUTION!! So to relax a little, I decided to go on a little get away and go see friends and family. I decided to go to Mass first because I hadn't seen my friend Carrie and her family in almost 20 years... so I purchased one way flights from SFO to Providence, RI and then to Minneapolis, then to Oakland. I left on January 16 and returned to Oakland on Jan. 21. I was supposed to be home on the 20th but things got shuffled and I came home one day later.. will explain that in a second... I NEEDED to see people that I hadn't seen in years... and it was FANTASTIC... my BFF Carrie, met me at the Providence, RI airport and we went to her house where I stayed for two nights and one and one half days... I got to see my old home in Mansfield, Mass and her house... in Foxboro, Mass which by the way is GORGEOUS... she and her husband Jeff, have done an excellent job of fixing this house up and adding a great addition to the house... I was in heaven.. just let me tell you... it was fabulous... we were going the entire time... but it was SO WORTH IT.... Sunday, I got to see her family... which I hadn't seen in almost 30 years... the last time I was in Mass was 1987 just after my mom passed away... I definitely needed to go "home". Her kids are great... her house is gorgeous and her family was great... my families old place was almost the same... as it was in the late 1970's. We tried to get into the house, but the new owners, wouldn't let us in... which I understood that... but he said we could walk around the house and look all over the place... I was extatic over that... because it brought back to sooooooooooooo many good memories... I walked in the drive way and could remember being 7 years old and running down that drive way chasing my brother Steve in the snow and ice... and the Christmas that I "discovered" Santa... the garden that was in the back yard and was STILL there... people whom have lived that house over the last 30+ years... have used the same spot that my parents started growing a garden... unfortunately, the pool that was right outside the back door was taken down YEARS ago... but the fish pond, that had my gold fish, Barney and Fred from the Flinstones.. yes, I was a huge Flintstones, fan... was partially there.. they had filled it in... but the original outline and rocks are still there... the fence that was in the back yard.. still there... it has been updated... when I glanced into the garage... boy did I go down memory lane... the garage was EXACTLY the same... no big changes... it had a older stair case... up to a kind of apartment, or just a extra room that was still there... the stairs and all. I didn't take the chance to run up the stairs... but oh the memories.. The back yard fence... was mostly gone... at least the side from the corner of the house to the garage... they have painted the house.. a blue... and it looked fabulous... we also went by my old elementary school, Park Row, which is now the town hall, and the library is now the school administration building, they are both a stone's throw from the house.. Carrie's old house is still next door and looks just the same... I got to see so much stuff... and in Foxboro, I got to see the new England Patriots stadium... and a huge outdoor bass shop and my old church on Main St. I didn't get to attend, but will again.. when I return.