It’s been two damp, chilly days up here in New England, more in keeping with early April than the conclusion of May. But I’ll take unseasonable weather with my folks than lovely weather without them. However, if the weather gods could cooperate on Tuesday to give us a dry spell to take care of some outdoor tasks, I’d be appreciative.

Mum and I snuck out on Saturday to buy plants for her garden, but I came home with several more vegetables for mine, as well. We’ve watched movies and baseball and listened to music. Dad and I wrestled for a bit with his computer. We’ve read and I’ve knit and there was a fire. Mum has made mountains of food.

Tomorrow, Karen and I will meet up. We’ll find some lunch, we’ll walk along the river, and we’ll catch up. The forecast depends on the site as to whether we’ll be dry or have showers periodically drip on us. Either way, it will be fine, because I’ll get to spend time with her.

I can’t wait.

I wanted to share just a few of the photos I took at Shenandoah National Park on Friday afternoon as I traversed Skyline Drive.

That’s Old Rag in the distance, the most popular hiking destination in Shenandoah National Park.

I started walking down to a waterfall before deciding I really didn’t have time to get there and back before I ran out of light. Making that choice allowed me the opportunity to catch Big Meadow bathed in rose light:

And the sunset over Skyline Drive:

Even though I didn’t get to go with Rudi, I’m glad I went anyway.

Yet more photos are here.

When I originally scheduled this work trip, we thought there would be a second day of events, but those didn’t pan out. But I still wanted to get my day of fun at the beach, so today I chose to work remotely. This was my office this morning. I also worked at my hotel room, a coffeeshop/florist, and a branch of the Broward County Library. (The beach was the nicest of the bunch, but the one my computer liked the least. Apparently track pads aren’t a fan of ocean breezes.)

No sewage that I noted, but they were flying the flags that indicated “dangerous marine life” and “medium hazard” for man o’wars (jellyfish on steroids) and rip currents, so I only got my toes wet.

I am on the road again for work tomorrow, this time to Fort Lauderdale.

Interestingly, all three of my recent trips — to the Bay Area, to Phoenix, and to southern Florida — will have had similar weather — highs in the 70s.

I might have hoped for slightly warmer weather for this trip, since I’ll be staying through Saturday with the original hopes of getting in some beach time. Also, Fort Lauderdale has been struggling in recent months with sewage leaks (19 of them since December), so I will need to be careful in finding a beach to visit. They have nearly 25 miles of coastline, so I’m still optimistic that I may yet be able to find an area that’s not hazardous. However, if it’s as bad as some articles have claimed (dead fish floating on rivers), I’m not above canceling my extra time and coming home early.

But I am staying in a small, plantation-style hotel with just a dozen rooms, part of a resort of faded glory and, in the case of this hotel, seemingly Southern gothic charm. (I’m hoping for the quirky side of that descriptor, rather than creepy.) I am a fan of off-beat accommodations, so I’m hopeful this will be a plus. It does have a pool, so hopefully even if ocean swimming is out of the question, I’ll still get to don a bathing suit for a while.

It’s also spring training, and my two favorite teams train in Florida. I got rained out of seeing baseball last Saturday in Phoenix, but I am hopeful that I can pull off a game in West Palm Beach, which seems to be less than an hour north of Fort Lauderdale via train. And if neither the beach nor baseball is possible, maybe I’ll take the train south into Miami for the day or figure out how to book a tour of the Everglades, which are nearby. What I’m saying is that there are options, and I am determined to avail myself of them.

Plus, maybe I’ll get to see a manatee in the wild, which would be amazingly awesome. Keep your fingers crossed!

I’m currently hanging out at the Phoenix airport waiting for the red-eye plane that will take me home. It’s been a long couple days and I’m done. I may not be awake long enough for the flight attendant instructions.

But I will make good use of tomorrow. I should arrive home just as the farmers market opens, so I’ll take the compost over and get some breakfast before I take a short nap with Corey.

I have bowling in the early afternoon (thus only a short sleep) and would like to follow that up by planting some peas in my garden. And maybe I’ll return a few things to the library.

Tomorrow night I need to stay awake long enough to watch the final installment of Sanditon and to greet Rudi when he returns from coaching in central Pennsylvania. However, I’m betting he won’t object too much if I want to make it an early night. Monday’s coming fast, after all… (Plus, the next work trip begins on Wednesday.)

Have a great Sunday, everyone!