Tag Archives: New York

Sep20

Mother’s Day in New England – Part 2 in New York

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Mother’s Day in New England – Part 2 in New York

Friday, 08-May-2026 through Wednesday, 13-May-2026

It’s been a bit since I’ve been out to New England – and what better reason to go back than to celebrate Mother’s Day? I’d been meaning to go back to visit my Mom and Grandma, and this was the perfect opportunity for not only a good family visit, but also for a bit of an escape from Ireland – a road trip, and catching up with friends…


It moved from the dirt, to the tops of the shrubs.

See, Mother’s day this year was focused on gardening. After helping my Mom with the garden there, I hopped in a car and drove my way West, into Upstate New York, to visit my Grandma.

The drive, to be clear, was part of the trip – an intended and critical part of the trip. I adore driving – it’s one of my methods of meditation, and the road let’s me relax in ways that other activities don’t. My body is occupied, and my mind is free to wander, to process, and to make connections and understandings that I’d otherwise miss out on.

I drove, and I drove, and the miles vanished under the wheels. After a while, I arrived.

Dinner was had, and stories were shared. The main goal here was to visit – to simply spend time, without goals and without requirements. The time passed enjoyably – we got to visit, we watched a movie about a vineyard and a sommelier, and we spent time together.

In symmetry with the previous stage of the visit, I helped out in the garden again – this time, checking the health of the nearby trees, and pulling some Virginia Creepers off a Rhododendron bush.

Turns out, by the way, that I’m slightly sensitive to said Virginia Creepers. Got a nice rash on my unprotected forearms, which was a little bit worrying… but thankfully not any real major concern, as it washed away after a day or so.

Thankfully, the positive memories won’t be washing away anytime soon. It was a brief visit, but I can’t express just how thankful I am to have been able to take it.

May19

A flight of New England Fancy – Easter in New York

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It’s been a while since I’ve been back to Massachusetts… I think it was for Dillon and Liz’s wedding, wasn’t it? That’s sounding right… though I frankly can’t believe that was only six months ago. These last few months have felt like forever, and it was high time that I got back East. The rock was calling, family and friends beckoned, and I hadn’t seen my Grandma in far, far too long…

Saturday to Monday, 16-Apr-2022 through 18-Apr-2022

Man… how long has it been since I’ve been in New York to visit my Grandma?

I’d been to Upstate New York back in October of 2021, for Dillon’s bachelor party… but before then? I think it must have been 2017, maybe? Five years… that can’t be right…

It’s been along time, we’ll leave it at that.

I met my Dad and Stepmom there – they’d actually driven out from Arizona (!!!) to visit for a week or two, so just like the Seder earlier in the day, we were getting the whole family together for a long-overdue visit. It’d been ages, and I was absolutely looking forward to a good bit of time catching up with everyone!

And… we spent a good bit of time catching up!

There’s not really too much to go over, as a blog post, for this one. We spent time together, we talked, we told stories, and we took the time that we had as a very appreciated gift. We didn’t rush, we cooked great meals, and I wrote down as many stories as I could get from everyone. We helped out around the house a bit, took walks, played with the cats, and enjoyed the calm and quiet.

It was an excellent few days, and even the unexpected snowstorm on the drive home somehow felt… right.



And, as a quick addition… did I mention that we cooked a lot? I think I poached more eggs that weekend than I have in the last year – having a few experts on hand definitely helped me out, and I’m pretty sure I leveled up my Hollandaise sauce skillz at least a few points…

And, along with the excellent cooking… New recipes to try out!

Jan24

2021 – A retrospective

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2021. The whole thing.

I started this post out by just creating a list of all the adventures that I went on in 2021. But… I realized pretty quickly that wasn’t particularly interesting – While it was informative, it was pretty dry, and the list didn’t really capture the feeling of the year.

Instead, I think I’ll just post my favorite pictures, along with a quick summary of the sort of the major adventures of the year:

  • The winter brought lots of backpacking and snow hiking – It’s still strange to me how much I’ve grown to know Oregon in the last year and a half… or, more accurately, how little of Oregon I really met in the preceding four years.
  • I visited friends in Sacramento in the spring; had amazing catch-up time, and saw some stunning views of Lake Tahoe
  • In the late spring, I visited one of the most photographed lakes in the Pacific North West – Colchuck Lake! I even summitted Asgard’s Pass with a friend… though the blood-price for that trip was steep. I injured my knee again, which put me out of hiking condition for nearly two months afterward.
  • The summer saw the death of my Grandmother, a blow to the entire family that we’ll never truly move on from. I was brought unexpectedly face-to-face with just how much of my personality came from her. Her passing brought an unexpected gift, though, in the form of nearly two weeks visiting family and friends back in New England.
  • The early fall brought my first dedicated rock climbing trip in quite some time – along with summitting what is probably the most iconic climbing route I’ve ever done. Devil’s Tower, in the bag!
  • The late fall brought friendship and comradery in amounts I haven’t seen in years. A backpacking trip with friends, and a huge event in my friend group – My friend Dillon’s bachelor party, and my role as best man in his wedding!
  • The winter is still coming in to Oregon, but the end of 2021 brought the return of beautifully snowy conditions up on Mt. Hood, and a reminder of just how glorious the Oregon Coast really can be…


**As always, if anyone would like a copy of any of these photos, please let me know. I have many of them already printed, but can always re-print anything that anyone would like.