Great Summer, Anxious Fall

I'm very sorry to see the unofficial end of summer (September 1). I tried to take a vacation from my problems (ala "What About Bob?") to have some fun and work on being a better father and husband. Fun was had. Highlights to follow:

Smaller stuff included several wonderful afternoons at the local beach. The water is very cold and the sand is a bit rocky, so the kids don't really like it that much. Somehow just being at the edge of a sweet geographical feature makes me feel good, unless it is a tar pit or sinkhole. I just love it there.

Playing with my son seems to give him great joy. I'm pretty much over Mario Kart, but it seems to make him happy and that makes me happy too.

A few spectator events that were fun:
- Monster Jam the truck rally (photo in previous entry). My boy wanted to see that, and it was my first truck rally. A big thrill for him was just seeing that these things really exist, which is not unlike the amusement I got from it. It really is a joy to see something this ridiculous and frivolous. A bit like pro wrestling only much louder and dirtier.
- Pearl Jam show. This was just me with a friend. They put on a great show. Lots of great songs, great playing and highly enthused fans.
- Radiohead show. Took my girl to see my favorite band for the first time. Total joy.
- A few Red Sox games. I always enjoy being in The "Pahk". Baseball still curls my toes.

The family trips were also fantastic. First up was a short trip to San Francisco. I had not been there since our honeymoon nearly 20 years ago. I do love it there. It feels European and that is a very good thing. The mixture of architectural styles, lifestyles, nationalities etc is that same wonderful melting pot effect that makes me love Boston. It seemed a good warm-up for the BIG trip for the kids.

The BIG trip was a Mediterranean cruise on Royal Caribbean organized by my wonderful wife. I will write a separate entry about this because I am hungry right now.