July 4 in Ithaca

Every year I make July 4 the time of year that I go back and visit my mom in Ithaca. AND, every year it is as if a higher being is trying to convince me that travel is not my friend at this time of year. It is true, getting there lately has been like forcing a square peg into a round hole. And yet, I persevere. It really is the best time to visit.

This year, my mom had been out to visit us so she traveled back east with us. It turned out to be nice to have the extra set of hands as our flight from JFK to Syracuse was canceled and we ended up renting a car at 9 pm, scrounging a carseat (since our luggage and checked carseat were nowhere to be found) and driving the 5 hours since they couldn't get us on another flight for 3 days. "Weather related", they said. "Yeah, I'll weather related you" is what we were all thinking.....the catch all for "we can't be held responsible".

Aaaaanyway.....once Alan was done swearing he wouldn't visit Ithaca but every few years, we arrived and had a great time. The kids have plenty of room to run around, we spent time with old friends, I had a mini-class reunion and re-connected with old classmates, and overall we spent good time outdoors and relaxed.

I love visiting our cottage on Cayuga Lake and the memories of growing up there warm my heart. I am so happy to be able to share that with my kids. It truly is GORE-geous.





And did I mention on the way home they messed up our connecting flight and after a drive to Syracuse we had to drive BACK to Ithaca and leave the next day instead of the day we were supposed to? Oh brother........