So, three years ago, Barbara and I ventured up to Massachusetts for one of her high school reunions. Sounded like a good idea at the time. Barbara hadn't seen many of her classmates in years, we were scheduled to head up to New England anyway, so we figured - “What the heck.” The original date for he reunion had been postponed due to COVID concerns, and the delay seemed reasonable. We go, had a nice time, and Barbara came back with COVID anyway!
And of course, what happens when you live and travel in a 38' Class A motor home? The people inside all get sick with the same thing, only a few days later. So Barbara and I both suffered through COVID as a result of her reunion.
Apparently, we learned nothing from that experience, as my 50th high school reunion loomed large this year. Pretty significant number, and the last time we went to one of mine was 40 years ago. So we figured - “What the heck.”
Took the Jeep this time, as most campgrounds in Massachusetts and New Hampshire were already closed for the season. A two-day drive got us to the Fairfield Inn on the Tewksbury / Andover line at 5:15PM; well after check-in time. Alas, our room (along with quite a few others as we found out) was not ready yet. So we wait until almost 6:30 to check in. Dinner was at the Wendy's next door. At least we'll get a good night's sleep before the reunion the next night (Saturday).
With limited time to spend in MA, we decide to hit the seafood portion of our trip for lunch on Saturday. A relatively quick trip to Ipswich to the Clam Box took care of our seafood craving, and we head back to the hotel to get ready for the reunion. It's being held less than 5 minutes up the road from us at the Long Meadow Golf Club in Lowell, and it's a pretty nice venue.
Our requisite meal every time we visit Massachusetts. Fried clams and scallops! |
Thank God for name tags with yearbook pictures and names, because with about 4-6 exceptions, I wouldn't have been able to pick out most of the attendees from a lineup! Had a nice time and spoke to some people I hadn't seen in 50 years.
Meanwhile in checking with my banking app, I find out that I have been charged for our room a second time (the first time was through Expedia). Apparently, the new girl at the front desk didn't know how to process Expedia reservations, where they need to initiate a transfer of funds from Expedia to the hotel, so to her it looked as if I hadn't paid. Now I had to get the charges reversed on my card, which of course would take a good 7 days to show up on my credit card.
Sunday is a day to visit with my best friend from way back in Junior High days, Rick Penney. Nice time catching up on all the news regarding other friends of ours, had some great pizza, and we head back to the hotel. We set up a visit the next day (Monday) with my sister-in-law Debby, and look forward to the roast beef sandwich portion of our short visit.
Woke up Monday morning with a seriously scratchy throat, which doesn't bode well. Cancel our visit with the sister-in-law (which was good because apparently SHE was coming down with something as well), and make plans to check out early and head back south to Georgia. Of course, I get worse as the day progresses, to the point where I have to visit an emergency room in Woodstock, VA at 3AM for relief. All tests came back negative for the flu, RSV and COVID, but whatever I have is pretty serious.
Unfortunately, Barbara is stuck in the Jeep with me for about 24 hours, so of course she gets sick as well, even though it's a milder version of whatever I had. But it took a week to get pretty much over it.
So – NO MORE REUNIONS!
Meanwhile, Grover is living the life of Riley at our youngest daughter's house. He's getting a bit overfed, he's getting treats, he's helping himself to blankets and pillows, and he's putting their cat, Ragnar, on notice that feline antics will not be tolerated. He also gets to wait for his buddy, Jace, to get off the bus every day.
Excitement reigns as Grover waits for his buddy, Jace to get off the bus. Ragnar is just a copy cat. |
Grover even got to spend a couple of extra days at Alicia's house, because we didn't want to get near them with whatever we had. He wouldn't leave Barbara's side all day. He's so needy!
Travel can be lots of fun, but one aspect of this lifestyle is that we're more isolated from the general populace than many people are, so sometimes our immune systems seem to be more susceptible to picking up bad viruses when we get in crowded situations. At least, that's what seems to happen to us after getting into crowded situations – like reunions. Or maybe it's because we're just getting older. Who knows?