Wrapping Up our PA Stay, 6/29-7/05/2017

Friday night Mary, a dear friend and colleague from my years working at Medecision (2000-2013), hosted a get-together at her house. She had invited many of our mutual friends and we had a great time catching up with each other, chowing down on pizza, lots of desserts, and beer and wine! I had not seen most in two years or more, so we really appreciated our hosts, Mary and Jim, pulling this together for us.  

Saturday night we met long-time friends, John and Barbara, for dinner at The Whip Tavern, a traditional English pub (www.thewhiptarvern.com). We went early as the place is very popular and they do not accept reservations. The fish and chips were fantastic and we all shared one of their divine desserts. We very much enjoyed the company, food, and ambiance there. 

I met Safiya, a friend and colleague, since my years at Intracorp/CIGNA (1984-2000) for lunch at the Roots Cafe in West Chester (rootscafewc.com). We have always stayed in touch over the years and it was great to catch up in person during our visit to the area. The food at this small restaurant (with an outdoor seating area in the rear) was fresh and delicious.

Wanting to squeeze one more visit in with my brother, Mark, we met him for dinner at Mexican Table in Hockessin, DE (www.mexicantablerestaurant.com). We have eaten here many times in the past. The food and margaritas are always good!

I have been wanting to see my good friend Joan's grandchildren. She and Skip's son, Mikel, now have three little ones (Kellen, 2, and twins, Maeve and Maddie, 9 months). So, we stopped by for a morning visit before the kids took a nap. How very precious they are! 

On the way home, I picked up some flowers for Michael's grave...he died in 2008, two years before John and I reconnected (after 40 years). Whenever we are in town, we always visit the four graves of loved ones in this area. Jessie, his mom, always keeps a wreath or plants flowers here. We continue to stay in close touch with her. 

On July 4th, Sadie had her annual physical at Banfield Pet Hospital. All of her medical history is maintained centrally, so any Banfield (there are 9,000 in the US) we take her to has access to her previous medical and immunization history. She has lost weight and is very healthy at age 7! Yay!!

I went to Staci's to see the family. Her older daughter, Alyssa, has three children and I had never met the two youngest, Hayden and Jaxson. Kaylee is so excited to be going to kindergarten this year! Alyssa recently had surgery on her ankle making it a challenge to keep up with the three kiddos when Victor is at work. 

Also Staci's younger daughter, Coral, with her boyfriend, Jake. Coral graduated high school this year and will be attending West Chester University in the fall. 

We had a traditional July 4th dinner (burgers, hotdogs, macaroni salad, potato salad) - yummy!) and visited awhile, before they went to see the fireworks in Kerr Park in Downingtown. The kids are adorable!

We did laundry, cleaned the RV, and packed up to depart for the Poconos on Thursday. Our last night we stopped in at Timothy's, one of the places we frequented when we lived in the area (www.mytimothysrestaurants.com). It was fun catching up with good friends, John and Diane. We're hoping to see them at Dewey Beach in the fall. 

Here's a picture of the 5 of us, John, my John, Kevin, Diane and me. 

By the time we left on the 6th, we were exhausted from so much socializing! And I know I have gained some weight...not a good thing! While it is always wonderful to be back home again to see friends and family, we still get the itch to be back on the road. And we always spend more money when we are here, compared to our normal routine. We're both excited about our travel plans to New England this summer.