My girlfriend had told me that her last client visit for the week would be in a town two hours north from our hometown just outside New York City. We decided to go from that client visit and drive another two hours north to see Cooperstown, the home of the Baseball Hall of Fame. When we made that plan, we didn’t realize our trip would coincide with the hall’s induction weekend. As a result, a normally quiet little town was packed to the gills with visitors and dignitaries. Every store, including the local CVS, seemed to be hosting a signing by some baseball figure. The hall was very special, and the atmosphere in Cooperstown was nothing short of electric. It was our first trip to that little town to the north, but it certainly will not be the last.

Last weekend was one of the first really nice, warm and sunny weekends of the summer in New York. I fortunately had made plans to go to the beach with a friend I hadn’t seen in a while. So, I went with my girlfriend and one of her friends to Penn Station in the morning to take the train to the Jersey Shore. After a long two hour train ride, we arrived in Asbury Park, where my friend was waiting for me in her car. She took us to the boardwalk and beach area, and we set up all of our gear. We grabbed some boardwalk food and had a little picnic on the beach while soaking up a few rays. It wasn’t too hot, maybe a tiny breeze too, so it was just perfect for a day at the beach. We each went into the water a little bit, though it was a little colder than I’d like. After several hours, we decided to leave the beach and go for dinner or a drink. We went to the main street area where we found a nice tavern and got some dinner before we had to catch the train home. All in all, it was a lovely day out!