My Winter Vacation

My intentions were to blog through my trip to Rochester, to keep track of everything I did. I quickly realized, though, that I wanted to spend as much time as I could with everyone and not have to be chained to the computer. So, I fell behind posting my daily pictures (though I did take at least one photo everyday) and haven't actually written anything here in a week. Forgive me.

So, here's a recap of my Northern adventures, mostly for my own recollection of the trip later on.

wednesday
I flew from Gulfport, Miss., to Houston to Newark to Rochester and realized very quickly that airplane seats are terribly uncomfortable, especially for pregnant ladies. I also realized that people are quite kind, especially to pregnant ladies. My dad picked me up from the airport in the bitter cold. We got coffee, then hunted down a pair of winter boots, and finally ended up at Wegmans to shop for dinner. I got settled in and, like a good sport, my dad watched the season premier of Lost with me (though I could barely keep my eyes open after being up for 19 hours).

thursday
In the morning, my dad and I went snowshoeing at Black Creek Park. It was my first time. Even though I said I didn't want to go but two or three miles, we still ended up going 3.7 miles. My hips hurt so bad, I had to take my snowshoes off and walk with about a half mile to go. It took us almost an hour longer than we planned, so we ran home so I could get ready to meet my grad school buddy Caroline for coffee in Geneseo. In graduate school, we met every week for coffee, and even though it had been two years since we last saw each other, it was just like old times, only now with babies. That evening, my dad had a friend visit, so we all visited and ate a bean stew concoction that my dad and I had tinkered with periodically throughout the day. Then we watched a Victor Borge DVD laughed our heads off.

friday
My dad and I got coffee, then he drove me to meet my college friend Kristen and her two boys at the mall in Victor. We wandered around, talking a lot about eating local, nonprocessed foods and motherhood. We ate lunch, and our time went by far too quickly. Sandi, my mother in law, picked me up from the mall to take me to her house (I got passed around a lot that day). She made lasagna, and I help tie ribbon for the diaper cake for my shower. My father in law, Tom, came home, and we watched the news before my friend Amy showed up for dinner. We ate bread, salad, steak, broccoli, and potatoes before having black forest cake for dessert. It was delicious, and I was stuffed. Amy and I left to go to her new home, chatted for a while, and I stayed overnight since we were headed to the shower in the morning. Her bed is hard as a rock. I swear I could barely walk when I got out of it in the morning.

saturday
After running around town and going to Brueggers, the best bagel shop in the city, for breakfast, we headed back to Tom and Sandi's to help set up for the shower. Everyone showed up around noon, in spite of the poor weather conditions, and we visited and ate and opened presents. It was lovely, and I got a lot of cute things for the baby (and some functional stuff too). That evening, my dad and I went for more coffee (going out for coffee is our "thing", as you can see) and ended up getting into a long and deep discussion about spiritual matters. We stopped at Wegmans again, then drove by my alma mater to see the newly erected library before heading home.

sunday
I met my mom for coffee and spent the early afternoon with her chatting. We wound up at Brueggers for a bagel and more conversation. Then, I met friends from college, who I hadn't seen in about four years, at Olive Garden for an early dinner. We had such a good time catching up and reminiscing. I went back to my dad's, and we watched The Dark Knight (he had never seen it and loved it).

monday
We were going to go snowshoeing again, but the temperature wasn't supposed to get out of the teens. Instead, my dad and I went to the furniture store, and he found a set of chairs he wants to put in front of his gas stove. We got more coffee and took a drive through the country. He showed me one of the houses he lived in as a kid. When we got home, I packed up my stuff and we hung out for a while.

tuesday
Traveling home. I started in single digit temps and ended up in seventy degree weather. I was so happy to see Adam and was so exhausted.

It was a great trip, but strange. I felt very conscious that this was the last time I'd see everyone before motherhood. This was especially true with my dad, who I reminded several times that this would be the last time he'd have me all to himself like this. At the end of it all, though, we toasted the baby and are very much looking forward to the changes to come.

The trip was the last thing I was looking forward to before the birth. Now, the only things on the horizon are the birth and all the setting up and getting ready we have to do before the birth. And there's a lot to do!

And in April and May, people will migrate South for a visit to see the baby. I'm sure I'll be exhausted then too, but in a good way.