Vacation

So we are on vacation number 2. Number one was quite an adventure - 10 days with my parents, sharing hotel rooms, on a revolutionary war odyssey. We started in Philadelphia and saw Independence Hall, The liberty Bell and various other sites of interest. Then we went to New York. We did take in a show (Kinky Boots - awesome btw), but took a walking tour of lower Manhattan to discover the sites and NYC's role in the war for independence. After New York was Boston, with the U.S.S. Constitution (I know, War of 1812, but still very cool) and the Tea Party Museum (highly recommended). We then drove to upstate New York and took in Fort Ticonderoga (where they were hosting a reenactment), Fort William Henry (which was literally next door to the hotel) and finally the National Park where the Battle of Saratoga took place. We also did a ghost tour at Fort William Henry.

It was very interesting, but one of my favorite outcomes of the tour was some of the conversations I had with Wayne. Now we are on our vacation in Detroit (yes - I vacation in Detroit), checking in with all the in-laws. Wayne's youngest niece is just 15months, and adorable. She really loved me, and we played some music together and she loves dancing. She kept wanting me to hold her, and of course I'm just in love with her - but it leaves a bit of a lump in my stomach. I'm glad we don't live closer, just because I did have a few crying sessions since we came. Makes me wish there were a way to have a child.

But otherwise, I'm also trying to keep up with my violin/mandolin practice. I've finally taken the advice of my fiddle teacher (one year later) and do a mode (essential a scale) a day. I practice on mandolin, then fiddle - both scales, arpeggios, etudes from a book, double stops and then some actual songs in the right key. Today it's Tuesday, so it's key of G - and I had a nice version of Irish Washerwoman that fit.