Summer Heat

I know you are all relishing the spring but given the temperatures where I live during the summer months, I always need to plan ahead. Plans cemented are:

Month of June: Fly to Detroit airport, rent a car, drive to my friend Bonnie's house on Lake Williams. Spend a week contemplating nature with a good friend. Drive to Saginaw to hook up with my cousin Mary and subsequently enjoy the company of my Michigan cousins who live in Ann Arbor and in and around Detroit. Fly home for a couple of days to do laundry and pack for the rest of the summer.

Month of July: Drive to California to spend my granddaughter's birthday and the 4th of July with my kids and grandkids. Leave my car with them. Fly from LAX on July 7 to spend a week with my friend Allyson in Boston. We will rent a car to leisurely drive to my friend Holly who moved back to Maine after many years in Cambridge, then DC. She has graciously invited us to spend time with her in Old Orchard Beach. Perhaps we will take the CAT ferry to Novia Scotia for a couple of days. Then it is back to Boston for a couple of days before I return to California.

Month of August: I have rented an awesome beach cottage near Venice Beach. I will spend time with my friend Katie and perhaps take a drive up to Hearst Castle. I look forward to playing some bridge with old colleagues at RAND. But most of all I will enjoy my son and his family while celebrating his birthday at the end of August.

All in all, a well-planned summer I think. As I planned these months I thought back to last year at this time when I was anticipating my first trip downunder to Australia and New Zealand. As exotic as that was, this summer will re-unite me with loved family and good friends and afford me the opportunity to visit somewhere I have never been: Nova Scotia.