Family and friend time back east

Beavertail State Park, RI

The end of September and the beginning of October was time for us to reconnect with so many dear old friends and to see our families back east. Our friends Erik and Britton's wedding in Vermont was the reason for the timing and we were thrilled to be in Vermont at the start of fall foliage. All of our trips back east are too short even with just family visits, so it can be hard to sneak in time with friends we care deeply about. But not this trip - this trip was fantastic because we got loads of time with our friends and our families.

 Old URI friends....Christine, Julie Fidler?, Julie Barber?, and Lance

 

Jay, Julie, Julie, Caroline, Tom, and Timmy. The last time we saw Julie Fidler and Tom, Caroline was an infant!

Allison and Jay on the beach in West Falmouth - yes - we swam right at the end of September and it was lovely!

We even managed to sneak in an entire day with our dear friend Tim around Hyannis. We left him at his car dealer to pick up his car at the end of the day where this photo was taken, I promise we did not spend the day at a car dealer. We went to the beach and swam! We ate great food! We sipped lovely cocktails! We spent precious time together catching up on life...... every minute was worth it.

 West Falmouth sunsets are the best sunsets

There is always so much to celebrate at the White household!

We somehow managed to visit Christina, Sara, Henry, and Jackson without getting a single photo of Christina or Sara. =( But we did get a shot of Jay pulling off some serious air guitar on the trampoline with Henry and Jackson.

Things got serious when I was challenged to a game of chess by Henry, who eventually lost interest (I was too slow for him) and Jackson took over. I love the lecture I appear to be getting from Jackson here.

 Jackson, Julie, Henry, and Jay - nephews with their new Slow Loris shirts!

 Boat time on the Hudson with my awesome parents

 The mighty Hudson

 

We finally made it to the popular newish bar in Valatie with my parents. We have only been hearing about this joint for a few years now! They had good beer on tap and it was a cute set-up for little ol' Valatie. I can't get over how Valatie is getting cooler and cooler stuff in town, while historic old Kinderhook has empty storefronts because of a crazy landlord who charges his tenants too much, resulting in empty stores. I hope someday that will change because sweet Kinderhook is such an awesome old town.

And now we are in Vermont crushing apples to make cider for Erik and Britton's wedding.

  Rochester, VT and the view from Erik and Britton's wedding barn

 Old friends - Jane and Jay

We (J&J with the Bradleys) rented a hilarious old house stuck in the late 70s with amazing views and wonderful roads all around. The morning of the wedding saw us playing with our friend's kiddos (memory games that they could beat us at) and going on walks around the wonderful town and property of the rental house.

 Erik and Britton pulled out all the stops....this barn was gorgeous and ready for a party!

 The wonderful couple

 Rhode Island friends

 Prim and proper: J&J, Mike, and Eric

 Better representation of our friendships

 Sad to leave our friends and New England in fall..... but we loved the brunch in a gorgeous area of VT.

 Anacortes beer festival (poor Jay had an awful cold and stayed home).....but Jake, Kat, Liz, and I had fun

Fun with friends continued! Mike D. came to visit from AK and we got to take him on a local walk with our favorite pooch, Denali. This was a pretty funny walk.....I was the gimp with the bad knee, Mike was recovering from the Anacortes beer festival, and Jay had a cold. We didn't make it too far but we had fun!

September photos: https://goo.gl/photos/Ywtz9d1isjSSDkv7A

October photos: https://goo.gl/photos/rAvBYvSVAZkLjTmNA