First, some updates: The night manager loved my SO and put him on extra shifts whenever he could-- which was very good for Brendan since it bumped up his income for the summer, but also exhausting. For two months, I woke at 6:30am so we could talk for about an hour when he came home in the mornings, after which he'd go to bed and I'd go to work. Then he'd sleep through my work day and wake up in the afternoon so we could spend the afternoon together before he had to leave for work. It wasn't bad, but we're both relieved that he's done working nights (for now) since he's gone back to school.
As of now, he's moved in to his new apartment and started his classes. It's been going well so far, and he's really interested in what he's learning. The program offers an optional "third" (second for him) year that Brendan seems to be really interested in. I have mixed feelings about it since that means he'll be putting off getting a job for even longer (so we'll be spending another year apart...), but he will be very qualified for whatever he finds when he's finished.
Now, for the visit: My mom happened to rent a house on a lake in Cape Cod for a week around the time Brendan wanted to come visit, so she invited my sister and me to come and stay with our respective SOs. Unfortunately, I couldn't take more than a couple days off of work without cutting into Christmas break, so it ended up being a short 4-day trip.
THURSDAY
I have to say, Brendan has had the WORST luck with transportation. His flight was originally scheduled to arrive at 4:10pm, but ended up not getting in until around 5:30pm due to delays. Fortunately (?), because of traffic, I was able to get there right on time and only had to make two loops around the airport pickup line.
Thursday also happened to be our 6 month anniversary! I brought him home and let him get settled in while I ordered dinner for us, then surprised him with some gifts (a shirt, chocolates, some underwear) I'd been saving up for the past couple weeks, along with a SUPER FANCY SPECIAL CUSTOMIZED 6-pack of hard root beer for us to share (he is a beer drinker, but I am not, so I compromised). I worked hard on it, and I think it's a pretty accurate reflection of our relationship!
We had a big, yummy dinner with bubble tea and some root beers, then cuddled up on the couch for an episode of Game of Thrones. It was exceptionally hot that night, so although we wanted to go to bed together, he ended up sleeping on the couch in the living room where the air conditioner was.
FRIDAY
Brendan made us some breakfast while I showered and got ready for work. I had to leave him at home while I was gone, but fortunately we have half days on Fridays in the summer and I was able to get out at 12:30. I had asked Brendan to make sure all our things were packed and ready for when I got home so that we could leave as soon as possible, and he did not disappoint. He had everything ready to go by the door when I walked in, and since I was so early, we had time to just talk and relax for a bit. Then we hit the road with all our bags in the trunk and headed back to CT to meet the family!
We stopped by the house briefly so Brendan could meet my mom and stepdad (and cats) and drop off his things. My cats loved him immediately and were all over him (he passed the test!!!). Unfortunately, we had to keep it brief, as I'd arranged to meet one of my local friends-- a mutual friend, the reason Brendan and I met in the first place-- at the [locally famous] creamery in town. We had a great time chatting with our friend, and the ice cream was totally as good as I said it was.
Afterwards, I took him to an old, semi-abandoned mental institution in the middle of town. It's a must-see for any visitors to my hometown, but it was especially exciting for Brendan, as a number of the buildings haven't been touched in years and have that creepy, haunted vibe to them. He wanted to go inside one that was poorly boarded up, but I said no because we didn't have a lot of time and I'm pretty sure that would be considered trespassing. I told him about the closed off tunnels all around campus that people used to sneak into and showed him the walking trails around campus.
After that, I took him out to dinner at a local favorite restaurant, where we got way, way too much pizza to eat by ourselves and ended up taking the majority of it home and sharing it with my family. It was kind of weird having Brendan in the house-- I've NEVER brought a boyfriend home before, so this was the first time my parents had ever really seen me with a significant other. Brendan spent some time bonding with my favorite kitty, and we spent the night between chatting with my parents, watching TV downstairs (okay, maybe not a lot of watching...
), and showing him some things like books and stuffed animals I had in my room. My mom had him sleep in my sister's room, since my sister was away at her girlfriend's house for the night.SATURDAY
The big day! Saturday morning, we talked my stepdad into getting breakfast sandwiches from the General Store (it didn't take much convincing) and spent the morning packing the cars and chatting. We ended up being ready about half an hour earlier than planned and just decided to leave then so we'd get a head start. Brendan and I split the driving and ended up right next to my sister on the highway once we were closer to MA. We stopped at the rest stop before the Bourne Bridge to meet up with everyone and have lunch, then got on our way into Cape Cod.
The house was set a ways back in the woods, overlooking another house with access to the lake. It was absolutely gorgeous, newly constructed, clean, and comfortable. After a bit of debate over it with my sister and her gf, Brendan and I were given the king bed upstairs and marveled at the view. It was kind of late in the evening, so we went out to dinner with the family, and Brendan and I ended up ordering the same thing (by accident). Dinner was really delicious, and my family really enjoyed talking to Brendan over food.
Immediately afterwards, we decided to check out the beaches-- first the ocean, then the bay. Brendan was so excited to see the ocean since he's used to being at the lakes. He also wasn't quite expecting the saltiness (again, used to the Great Lakes), but not much you can do about that! It was late in the day, so the sun was setting as we arrived at the ocean side, and we got some really gorgeous views of the sunset, accompanied by a few seals in the water. The tide was in when we got to the bay side, but we waded out into the water for a little bit anyway. Then we went back to the house and spent the evening getting settled and chatting.
SUNDAY
On Sunday Brendan treated my whole family to a delicious home-cooked breakfast, after which we went to the Salt Pond visitor center and learned about the formation (and erosion) of Cape Cod and its various points. We also took a brief hike through some of the trails around the center, but part of it was flooded, so we kind of went around one way and then back to see the other. Brendan had a really good time since it was nature-y (and we did, too). He also hates $1 bills, so he donated all of his to the "Canada" slot in the visitor donations box. :P
After that, Brendan asked if I wanted to go see anything in town, and I insisted that we go see the Christmas Tree Shop and Cuffy's (a touristy t-shirt shop). While we were in the Christmas Tree Shop, we found this whale pitcher called "glug glug whale", which I got very excited about and immediately took a picture of and sent to Brendan's mom (much to his chagrin) because she has a similar pitcher that they call the "glug glug fish" because it makes weird sounds as the water sloshes around in it. Later on after we had already gone back home, Brendan said his mom thought it would make a great christmas present for when I come up during the holidays, so I asked my mom to go back to the store to get it. Christmas gift OBTAINED!
Later on in the day as the temps started to cool off again, we went to spend some time at the bayside. We checked the tides and made sure we'd be going while the tide was out, since the bay side is very flat and when the water goes out, it goes WAAAAY out. The lots stop charging admission at 4:30pm, so we showed up right as they were opening up and got a great spot on the beach. Brendan and I walked out a ways and talked for a bit, and I reminded him to be careful of razor clams and pointed out their shells to him in the sand so he knew what they looked like and he could collect one for his shell collection.
Me being me, of course I was the one who stepped on a razor clam. It got a good slice through my foot and pinky toe, making it really hard to walk barefoot. Brendan kindly offered his sandals, which he'd been holding so they wouldn't get wet as we passed through the tide pools. Well, if they weren't wet before, they surely were now. At least the water washed off any blood I bled onto them as we walked back to where my parents were sitting (this is also now the second time I've bled on his things...
).
Overall, though, we had a really good time. Brendan and my stepdad went out walking and checked out the Oyster farm down a ways. I think they also talked a bit, and while they were gone, my mom was telling me how Brendan was a total keeper. I was like Yes!! I know!!! It felt so good to know that she approved.
That night Brendan continued to wow my parents by grilling some steaks to perfection. He and my stepdad bonded over grilling and just chatted out on the back porch while I helped set the table and watched my family learn to love him as much as I do.
MONDAY
Since we were right on the water, we thought it would be a great opportunity to go kayaking!! There was a place to rent kayaks right in town and they had their own dock to set off from and everything. Brendan, my stepdad and I took off bright and early to avoid any crowds and spent the morning out on the water. It was a beautiful day for kayaking and we had a wonderful time chatting as we paddled down the waterway leisurely. We stopped to check out the marshy area along the side and Brendan fished up some shells from the shallow waters. It was really neat to see all of that up close from the comfort of a kayak.
Since we went to the bay side on Sunday, we decided to spend the evening at Nauset Beach on the ocean side. It was a gorgeous day, but apparently we arrived shortly after a shark had attacked a seal and scared off a number of beachgoers, which explains why it was exceptionally empty. Regardless, the weather was good, the water was cold, and Brendan dove right in. It was so fun to watch him and my stepdad enjoy the waves. When he came back in, Brendan wrapped himself in the towel I got for him (see pic at end) and asked me to take a walk with him on the beach, and we spent the time talking and looking for nice shells that he could take back home with him. Towards the end of our walk, we went to dig up what we thought was a cool looking shell... but instead, we found some sort of mollusk!
Really cool!
TUESDAY
Sad day.
It was time to go back. I wanted to leave around noon so that we'd be back in town in time for dinner. I had planned to take Brendan out to lunch since he hadn't gotten to try REAL New England clam chowder, but he decided he'd get some another time and wanted to get back to CT sooner rather than later in order to avoid rush hour traffic. It worked out fairly well for us and we ended up stopping for lunch at a popular rest stop. We made it back in town earlier than planned and since we were both still full from lunch, we just hung around the house for a bit after taking care of the kitties. I showed him some photo albums from when I was younger and we relaxed on the couch. After a bit when we were more ready to eat, I took him to the local diner, which is an absolute must for anyone from my town. We got a ton of food and it was all delicious. I'm so glad he got to see it!
We got back to the apartment kind of late, and it was GOD AWFUL HOT. We both slept in the living room where the air conditioner is, because it was just too hot to sleep in the bed. Figures we get the two HOTTEST NIGHTS of the whole summer for the two nights we're alone at my apartment.
WEDNESDAY
Even more sad day.
We packed up in the morning and I drove him to the airport before work, dropped him off, then headed in. The airport roads are a mess right now because of all the constructions, and the GPS has no idea what's going on, so FYI, if you're going to LGA, follow the signs, not the GPS. :P In addition to this mess, poor Brendan got stuck with nearly 5 hours of delays before his flight finally took off. I was over halfway done with my work day by the time he was in the air. All in all, though, he made it in one piece, and his parents were very happy to have him home.Currently we are scheduled for another visit during the third week in October. I can't wait to see him again!
