Whenever my family visits me from Boston, the Weekend always ends up being rather Epic. I've been trying to get better through the years without overscheduling them. I'm very blessed to have so many wonderful friends who love to see my family. This Memorial Day weekend I was lucky to get a visit from my Dad Padre (Mike,) Mom Madre (Karen,) and sister Suzanne (Zannie.) This weekend was definitely action packed with many wonderful memories.
Friday I started cleaning my place a little deeper knowing that I was having company. It's not often I get both my parents and sister all visiting me, but it's terrific when we can coordinate it. Saturday morning I continued my annual tradition of doing a Facebook Live preview video at The Green Valley Farms Pro Rodeo. Every year folks ask me about all of the fun involved with it, and I love getting to do these videos and show everyone how fun this event is. I'll never forget one year when a bull inside the cage gave me a look and minor bluff charge. Fun for the whole family at the rodeo!
After my Facebook Live video, it was time to go back at my place and continue cleaning. I cleaned most of my place the day before, just didn't want to clean my bathroom until after I took a Saturday morning shower. While cleaning my kitchen, I made a discovery that didn't make me too happy. I found mouse droppings on my kitchen counter for the first time in months. Ugh. I was so disappointed because I'm constantly trying to keep my place clean. On top of that, I rarely have food out in my kitchen anyway. My sister made a great point that even though my place was very clean, I still live in the woods on a mountain and am not home that often. It's not something that is necessarily my fault, despite a ton of effort to keep my place clean. I bought two mousetraps from McAfee Hardware, and they're called D-Con. I hope they work great. Time will tell.
My family arrived at 2:30, a four hour drive from Mansfield, Massachusetts. I had ice cold beverages ready for each of them. Beer for Padre, wine for Madre, and a High Noon seltzer for Zannie. Success. They were able to make it up to my place in plenty of time for my 5pm reservation at Industry Kitchen And Bar in Sparta. My parents had such a fun time when I brought them there back in February, I knew my sister would get a kick out of seeing it. I knew they would all love it. Our dinner ended up being FANTASTIC. My friend Chef Carmine reached out to me earlier in the day and asked if I still would prefer a filet mignon steak. Yes I do! Yes please! I sent my family the link to their menu knowing that they had plenty of time during the car ride to digest it. I figured this would make planning even easier.
Our waitress Christina was absolutely fantastic. Chef Carmine and Manager Tim were absolutely terrific. They all made me and my family feel like rock stars. Madre did bacon wrapped scallops, Zannie did a lobster roll, Padre did the spaghetti lobster fra diavlo, and I did a filet mignon. They then sent over a surprise for us, lasagna sticks! Have you ever heard of a lasagna stick in your life? It is basically fried lasagna, and my family LOVED it. I was so elated to start my family's vacation holiday weekend off with a tremendous dinner. You can see everything about Industry Kitchen And Bar by clicking here.
We then ventured back to Tiki Bar at Minerals and saw so many of my wonderful friends. It was the perfect way to wrap up our night.
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Sunday morning I picked up some bacon egg and cheese sandwiches for my family. Even though I could've gone crazy celebrating their visit with Taylor Ham sandwiches, I figured it was easy to keep things light. I didn't want my family to be weighed down with food comas.
Sunday I took my family to my happy place. Tiki Bar at Crystal Springs with their 180 Vista infinite pool. Even if you're not swimming in the pools, I find this place to be so therapeutic and relaxing. The gorgeous views of Wild Turkey golf course with the beautiful valley off in the distance, this is one of the best views all around our area. I knew my family would love it. We were able to see some more of our friends over there too.
Sunday afternoon it was time to feed the family. I took them over to The Irish Cottage Inn in Franklin. Our home away from home. We all had excellent meals there too!
After fueling up at The Cottage, we were ready to venture over to Hef's Hut Bar & Grill in Vernon. The weather was absolutely perfect while we were relaxing on their patio. All of the sudden, even more friends showed up who I wasn't even expecting. My family had a great time with our friends. So many great laughs together. We'll take it!
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Monday we did our usual farewell lunch at The Cottage. I had my family follow me so I could have them on the right path towards 84. I'm very happy my family let me lead them after seeing 23 closed. I called my sister and told them to follow me, as I cut through Crystal Springs and then took my family back onto 517. Padre said "so we're basically going back the way we came." They're learning some of the streets near me, for sure.
I then did my usual teary goodbye with my family. Madre and I usually cry first. After getting them on their way, they recommended I go back and relax at a Tiki Bar. I never want to just go home when my family leaves. My small condo just seems so much bigger and quiet after they leave. Minerals Tiki Bar was closed. I then went to Crystal Springs. Every step I took the wind got stronger and the clouds became darker. I ran into some friends there who offered to get me a drink. I looked at them and said "no. This could easily end up with me getting absolutely drenched just walking back to my car, and I'll have nobody to blame but myself."
Where did I end up? 23 by ShopRite in Franklin was closed as well. After all that, I just said time to give up. I ended up right back at The Cottage again. It ended up working out great, I was able to spend time with friends who made me laugh and keep my mind off of missing my family. When they got home, I was able to breathe a sigh of relief.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read my Epic Weekend In Pictures. Time to start planning next weekend!