End of May Faves

 

It's almost the end of the month and a 4 day weekend for me due to Memorial Day weekend and our school not using all of our snowdays!  yippee!!

Before I head off to do some hiking in the mountains,  I'm pausing to share FIVE of my FAVE blessings from the past week.  It was truly a special time last weekend.  Linking up with Susanne with other like-minded bloggers to share our blessings and say "thank You, God". 

FIVE FAVES

a glimpse of Whaleback Lighthouse
Portsmouth, NH from the Common

Portsmouth Harbor Lighthouse

Dave explores in low tide 
off the rocks at Great Island Common

• NEW HAMPSHIRE/THE OCEAN!  I can't say this enough: I am SO thankful I got to see, hear, and smell the ocean on Friday!!  It has been a long 2 years! We arrived in NH around 1 pm and arrived on campus (UNH) in Durham around 1:20 where we gave Claire a quick hug, got our tickets for the graduation ceremony the next day, and made plans on the logistics for after the ceremony.  Because Claire had a Sociology zoom meeting followed by time with friends, we headed to the hotel in Dover (next town over) and checked in.  Then we freshened up and left for Portsmouth (only about 15 min away) where we explored Great Island Common Park and just sat and breathed in the ocean! We also literally touched the sand (my feet were so happy) and walked the entire length of the park along the edge of the water, over the rocks and back.  You can see Maine (only a 15 min drive) to the north and 2 lighthouses from the Common.

Portsmouth, NH

Dave on our walking tour 

downtown Portsmouth

• AFTERNOON/EVENING DATE:  Because Claire couldn't do dinner with us until the next night after the Graduation Ceremony, Dave and I headed into downtown Portsmouth after spending a couple hours at the ocean/on the common to walk around on a self-guided tour and to have an early dinner. I love New England architecture and the photos here depict the area so well.  Portsmouth is a gem.  We absolutely fell in love with this Italian restaurant and the meal was exquisite. Dave had a glass of merlot and I had a glass of Reisling.  He ordered the Lobster Ravioli and I ordered the Chicken Piccata.  We shared bruschetta as an appetizer.  It was pricey but we said "it's a celebration weekend, so let's do it up!".  I'm thankful we had this time together to explore and eat a great meal. 

lobby of The Hampton Inn
Dover, NH

hotel breakfast area

• PAMPERING:  When we checked into our hotel in Dover (the larger town near the University in Durham), we were amazed at the pampering we received from the hotel staff.  Even though it is a bit different due to the pandemic, the room was spotless, the hallways have all been renovated as well as the bathrooms since we were there last in 2019 and they had graduation decor for all the parents displayed throughout the hotel!  I'm thankful for a welcoming town and place to stay. 

Dave and I with our youngest girl!

Claire in front of The Gables South
her on campus apartment since 8/20

• UNH GRADUATION!!  YES!  The University of New Hampshire figured out how to do  safe IN PERSON graduation ceremonies over the span of 3 days!! (from what I'm hearing of my friends with kids in the SUNY system and some private colleges in NYS those admins couldn't figure it out!).  The UNH has EIGHT colleges (plus grad school and a law school) in their system, 6 of which are on campus in Durham, the flagship site.  Claire was in COLA. (College of Liberal Arts).  Each college had their own  ceremony between Friday and Saturday evening.  Claire's was on Saturday 22 May at 4 pm and it was so well done we were very impressed and thankful.  We had a police escort from a parking lot on the edge of campus in a shuttle and all we had to do to ride the shuttle to the stadium was to show our tickets (each student was allowed 2) and show our proof of Covid Vaccination or proof of a negative test within 72 hours of the ceremony. Almost everyone I saw around me showed proof of vaccination.  Wolf Biltzer was the Commencement speaker!!  He spoke remotely from Washington and it was awesome.  And short!!  The weather was HOT (88 degrees in the blazing sun) but we didn't care.  Everyone was spaced out in the stadium and actually there were a lot less people than we expected.  Claire graduated with University Honors with a BSin Sociology and 3 minors:  Russian, Ballet, Psychology.  She has the sash for being a member of Alpha Phi Omega for 4 years volunteering her time at Waysmeet.  She also was given 3 cords to wear proudly: The Salmon one was for Sociology honors; white was for being a University Scholar (based on GPA), and the teal cord was for Alpha Kappa Delta the International Honor Society for Sociologist. We were thrilled that each student (there were about 700) walked across the stage and that the entire ceremony was only 1 hour and 10 minutes! So thankful for our time at UNH and it is a campus we are truly  going to miss!!  (bonus:  anyone from the class of 2020 was allowed to come back with their parents for an in-person ceremony on Sunday at 2 different  times.  From the cheering we heard as we moved Claire out of her apartment Sunday morning, it sounded as though almost everyone from the Class of 2020 showed up!) KUDOS to UNH!!

DINNER and DRINKS

Dave and Claire in Portsmouth

a Degas style tatoo!
she treated her self!

• CELEBRATIONS!  After the Graduation Ceremony and meeting her roommate for photos, we headed into downtown Portsmouth as we had a dinner reservation at this amazing place.  If you are a vegetarian or vegan/plant-based person you MUST go to this place if you're ever on the New England Coast. It's so delish and prices are reasonable for the type of food and drink you experience.  After our rather late dinner, we walked a bit around downtown because I had never been there at night and I love how the town decorates.  The next morning we helped move her out of the apartment, putting all of her things in the 2 cars and then we headed over to this place where she worked as a barista for the past couple of years. I bought one of their mugs along with some Equal Exchange Olive Oil and tea and a tea diffuser for Claire.  I also gave them a donation.  We are so thankful for The Freedom Cafe and all that they have meant to us over the past 4 years. We are also so thankful for a safe trip and for Claire's precious memories of her time at UNH. 

Well, that wraps up my week...actually, last weekend!  This week had a couple of blessings too but the main one for me, as work/teaching has been extremely stressful this week, is that I have a FOUR day weekend starting today and I'm very thankful for it. 

ENJOY the weekend!!