Just another update

It has been a couple of weeks since our last post and we both enjoyed a vacation the last few days of September and first couple of days of October. Just did alot of stuff around the house the first few days and then on Wednesday, Oct 1st, we headed to New Jersey to visit with Patrick's brother Michael and enjoy the sites and weather! We stayed with Michael and his family and they are very generous host! We might have to consider a stop at their house every year!

We were able to go into New York City for two days-Thursday just Patrick and myself to do "touristy" things like ride the double decker buses, visit Ground Zero again (our 2nd time)-I just can't explain it exactly but I feel very drawn to that area. This is the second time we have visited that particular area and it is amazing the progress that has been made to build the Freedom Tower on that site. The thoughts that still come to mind when you see the pit that used to be the Twin Towers and surrounding buildings are just undescribable. I still remember exactly where I was and what I was doing when I saw the plane crash into the second tower. Even though we knew no one personally to have lost their life in that tragedy, the gravity and seriousness of the whole situation is surreal. Sorry-I have digressed.

The next day we went with Mike and Grace (Mike's wife) and Grace's friend, Nang to the Bronx Zoo. It is amazing that such a tranquil place is in the middle of New York City. What a great zoo-fairly easy to walk, great exhibits and the weather was fanstastic. A little overcast and right around 68 degrees-very nice indeed! Saturday took us to Bucks County, Pennsylvania and then on to Doylestown later in the afternoon to attend church at the Catholic Shrine in that area. We also have a shrine close to our home and it is funny how different the two places are. The shrine close to our house is very pretty, ornate and almost opulent. The shrine in Doylestown was not as ornate or opulent but the grounds that the shrine sits on are breathtaking! We attended mass around 5 pm and when mass ended we walked out of the church and looked out over the hills of Pennsylvania while the sun was starting to set and at the same moment we walked out of the church doors 2 hot air ballons rose up over the tree tops. It was spectacular!

Needless to say, you can tell we had a great time and really need to thank Mike and the entire New Jersey clan for their hospitality. It was just the type of get away we needed!

Now we are back to work, and life as we know as "normal". I love the first couple of weeks after vacation because the total craziness has not returned in full, I am a little more relaxed and less focused on time and what I have to do and how long I have to do it. I know that will come to an end soon, but I enjoy it for now. I am looking forward to visiting my folks next weekend. My poor mom has had to have surgery on her arm after sustaining a fall back in June. She has already done ALOT of therapy and exercises but still ultimately needed surgery and now has to start over at square one. I can't imagine how frustrating that must be. So I am planning a little visit to offer some help for both my mom and dad.

Until next time