This wasn't my most Epic active Weekend In Pictures, which is totally okay for me. Over the 4th Of July Weekend, I was off Thursday from work, then on again Friday. I said to friends you won't hear me complaining about having a day off, then working the next day, and having two days off after that. Happy Birthday, America!
Last weekend we had a ton going on with the annual Rock, Ribs & Ridges concert festival. I was happy to not really have work happening throughout the weekend except for Friday. Friday wasn't even that hectic here with so many folks being on vacation anyway. On Thursday, I spent 3 hours in the hot sun at Crystal Springs 180 Vista Pool. Yes, this is the place I often refer to as my Heaven on Earth Happy Place. I had a wonderful time relaxing there. I also then realized that sunscreen should be reapplied every so often instead of the set it and forget dumb move I accidentally made. I woke up Friday morning a little pink on my face, chest and stomach. I wasn't the level of a red Boston Lobstawh, like Steve Andrews joked at 8:45am on 102.3 WSUS, but it was more pink than preferred. I was too cheap to buy a whole bottle of aloe vera because it wasn't that bad anyway.
Friday night I met up with one of my friends for some fun at Minerals Moonshine Tiki Bar. We planned to only meet up for one round, but then all of the sudden my murderer's row of besties started showing up one by one. Besties Jasen & Brendan, Carrie, Christine & Chris, and a few more! There's no way I could leave my besties who seemingly kept showing up one by one. The night was too beautiful and we were having too much fun. A fun Friday night after a day at work that honestly wasn't bad, I was just slightly jealous of everyone else who had it off. Ever have one of those days where you feel like you're one of just a very few (errrr, let's go with "select," instead of "few,) who are actually having to work? That being said, it was just radio, not like I was digging a ditch or on a roof in the 90 million degree weather. It's like when my favorite Bill Belichick always said "hey, it beats having a real job and working for a living."
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Saturday morning I went to Rockaway Mall on a slight whim. It's a fun escape for me once a month give or take. Yes, with 15 South being much more interesting and drama filled with the downed bridge it's a more interesting and slightly longer drive to Rockaway Mall. No big deal. As long as there isn't traffic, then all good. Now it's 45 minutes away from me in Vernon. Guess what? Most things are at least 45 minutes from Vernon anyway. When I first moved here over 10 years ago, while adjusting to living here in Jersey, you could usually hear me coin the phrase that "Vernon is a 45 minute drive away from Vernon itself!"
I basically got a quick little 30 minute shoulder chair massage, hit up the Bank Of America ATM, and did a quick lunch at Buffalo Wild Wings. It was delicious. I was happy with my Rockaway Mall trip. I also got a case of water at Target. Talk about productive errands! That should last me quite awhile now.
Saturday afternoon my friend Artie texted me asking if I was in town. I called him back confirming that yes, Boston for me is hopefully next weekend, not this past weekend. I didn't want to get into the potential hassle of taking Friday off from work, and dealing with possibly one of the biggest travel weeks in history for The 4th. I believe on TV & radio we were warning folks that 70 million people were travelling at some point during the holiday week? Next week hopefully won't be as crazy busy. I was able to meet up with bestie Artie, and several other great friends too! It was great to see Donna, Mike Schneider, Ed, former Franklin Mayor Paul Crowley, former Hamburg Mayor Paul Marino, Buckeye Paul and Artie. We weren't even together for that long, but it just felt like we were all just laughing for hours. Lots of fun laughs together, the way life should be!
Saturday night I was at Minerals Moonshine Tiki for the live music they had happening. They have probably had more fun, live music there than I've ever seen in any year, and all the artists I've seen have been terrific. It was hot but we were able to hang out in the shade with my besties JG and Roy. Success!
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Sunday I was a little torn. I wanted to go to my Crystal Springs Steve's Heaven On Earth Happy Place Vista 180 Pool, but still didn't want to get too much sunshine exposure. I wasn't as pink as Friday morning, but still didn't want to make any silly, unnecessary mistakes. I was able to figure out a way to make best of both worlds work. I was able to just chill at The Crystal Springs Tiki Bar there which is totally shaded up from trees! Boom. I was able to enjoy the gorgeous view of Wild Turkey Golf Course and then the valley, while relaxing in the shade. I was good there for a couple hours. One of my friends Troy saw me alone and generously offered for me to join him and his friends in the pool. I thanked him, and declined explaining that my Irish Caboose needed some shade after all of the sun I've been lucky to get this summer.
I think when there are so many possibilities with things that can go wrong during Fourth Of July Weekend, we can probably feel blessed and victorious that there weren't any injuries. I'm happy to say my little burn from Thursday wasn't too bad, and hey, if we still have all of our limbs, success. Thank you so much for taking the time to read my Epic Weekend In Pictures. Time to start planning next weekend, where I'm hoping to Ship Up To Boston and see my family! (Maybe some friends too if they're around, lol.)