East Coast Overload, Part 1

We overbooked, and I feel like I have been eating birthday cake, or sitting at the Thanksgiving table, for about six weeks straight. My husband and I are back in our hometown of Greenbelt, Maryland, visiting all the family and friends we left behind one year ago when we moved to Saudi Arabia. I have been eating and drinking more than my share, and exercising less than my share, so I'm feeling kind of gross. But also blissful! What I really am understanding now is that I need to build more time in between things to enjoy and process. We have stuffed so much into our schedule that I haven't had time to savor our experiences, much less think and write about them.

That's how it goes. But I can show you some photographs, and tell you that in future, I want to slow it down so that I can be a more considered traveler--and take a little more time to digest and to write. 

Here is my eldest niece at soccer practice. She's on a league team now, and the difference in her skill level after a year is remarkable!

Here is our new nephew and our new niece. Both were born while we were overseas.

In early October, our family visited a farm in West Virginia, and I took a turn on a hand-cranked apple press that dated back to 1860.

I learned to shoot a rifle....

... and took a trip to Ocean City, Maryland with my husband and with Baxter, the dog Michael and I had to leave behind when we went to Saudi Arabia. (Don't worry: Baxter is fine. He's living with his best doggy friend Henry, and Henry's family.)

Michael and his father shared their first drink in a year.

The family traveled to Rhode Island to celebrate my husband's grandmother's 90th birthday. She showed up to her own birthday party dressed as Tipsy the Clown.

Next: a week in New Hampshire, the Marine Corps Marathon, and a New York weekend.