Summer 2014 in Review

OK, so I guess summer hasn't officially run its course, as Labor Day still lies before me and the weather is thankfully still sultry, but as a college employee it all kinda ends, along with my quiet workdays and vacation time, when the faculty and students return to the building. (Though if I look at it from that standpoint, it also starts earlier, in mid- to late-May.)

Anyway, to recap, summer 2014 was pretty much the best summer of my life. I remained healthy (and more or less happy), my family members stayed healthy, my workplace was peaceful, and I had travel adventures galore. I'm fairly certain that I've never before traveled by car, airplane, motorcoach, boat, monster truck, and helium balloon all in the course of a single summer.

Posing outside Boldt Castle

It all started in mid-May, with my magical mystery Mother's Day motorcoach tour, which took me and my mom to the Finger Lakes (Magical Mystery Mother's Day Tour). Less than a month later, I was off to visit family in Florida, and just two weeks later, it was back to a different part of the Finger Lakes (no wine this time) for an unforgettable "Mary Poppins" performance (Vacation (All I Ever Wanted).

July offered an opportunity to catch up at work and take care of some practical personal matters (car repairs, passport application, etc.) after June's whirlwind schedule. And then August brought with it my journey back in time to see Melissa Anderson from "Little House on the Prairie" and ride a Civil War replica tethered helium balloon (Prairie Tales). 

Just a week later, I rose at 4:20 a.m. for my third (and final) motorcoach trip of the summer, this time traveling to magnificent Alexandria Bay for a lunch cruise of the St. Lawrence River and a glimpse of both the U.S. and Canadian sides of the 1000 Islands before disembarking at Boldt Castle for a self-guided tour of its maze-like interior and lush grounds. After spending hours on a bus (a comfortable motorcoach, but a bus no less), followed by 2 1/2 hours on a boat (while inevitably overindulging on a gut-busting buffet), there's nothing better than a vigorous hike, especially when the weather is sunny and 75ish. It was the perfect summer daytrip escape.

A view of the St. Lawrence River from the boat

 It was difficult to imagine such beautiful summer days when I booked these trips in the midst of a hellish upstate New York winter, but I'm glad I had the faith, or determination, or delusions, or whatever it took to make the phone calls.

So, what's on tap for next summer? I'm still exploring my options (I figure I still have some time to sort things out, and even I know that not everything can (or should) be planned months in advance), but I know summer 2014 will be tough to top!