We had an absolutely wonderful day in the Portland area on Tuesday. We took the ferry to Peaks Island and rented bikes.

We rode all around the island, enjoying the views. The weather was gorgeous. Even the artwork on the side of the road was delightful.

I think this area needs to be on our every-summer-vacation-destination list.

I just spent an hour this morning reading on the porch of this lovely inn on the coast of Maine. Joining me on the porch was a young woman who spent the time tending to the hanging plants. What a wonderful summer job, trimming petunias in the sea breeze with the sound of the surf in the background.

The Fourth of July.

My extended family has been getting together every 4th since the 1960's at a sort of cabin-in-the-woods in Leverett, Massachusetts. I think the first time I attended was about 1980 so I was quite late to the party. The family has grown and shrunk through all these years and travel plans have gotten in the way of attending, but I think my cousin Mary has been to every 4th except two. That's pretty impressive. My attendance has been spotty, at best, but I did make it this year, along with 44 other relatives of one sort or another. The branches of the family tree have reached as far as fourth cousins.

Unfortunately, it was quite soggy so the usual outside crowd was missing as everyone crammed inside.

We did manage to find space for everybody around the table for a sit-down meal.

Dad found it to be a bit chilly but he managed just fine.

Lee and my brother Chick made good use of the rocking chairs, which usually dot the lawn but were relegated to the porch because of the rain.

I don't think our travels plans for next summer will have us back in the US by July 4th but it's nice to know that the Elder clan will be gathering once again at Rocky Rest.

Catch-up post: Here's a recap of our lovely, last-day-in-Simsbury hike with our Sheldon/Cox friends.

It was a beautiful day and the company was wonderful.

We've had a wonderful few days here in Simsbury, staying at our friend Nicki's house. The bike riding has been splendid with no ill effects on my wrist. The hiking as also been very nice. We just got back from White Memorial Conservation area in Litchfield. It was lush and quiet, except for the droning of the many mosquitoes. It was well worth the drive out there to be able to take such a nice hike.

Nice lean-to accommodations for campers.

Old ice house structures in the woods.

Bantam Lake

This afternoon we're going to hike up Talcott Mountain for a wonderful view of the Farmingotn Valley.

On our way to Boston on Friday we stopped off at Quabbin Reservoir for a walk and a picnic. We used to go there a lot when we lived in Belchertown, way back in the early 1980's. It's just as peaceful and beautiful as I remember.

This first week back in the states has been lots of family. My family has included lovely dinners, games at the table with family friends and attacks by my sister's tiny little special needs dog.

In Boston we spent time with Lee's family walking around the city's new park, the Greenway, celebrated a belated birthday dinner for Lee and hopped on and off lots and lots of subways.

Today we borrow a car and head to Simsbury for the week. We're hoping the weather clears up and we can do a lot of biking. My wrist isn't completely healed yet but I'm trying not to let it limit us too much. We're looking forward to reconnecting with friends after a year away.

Wednesday we took a quick day trip down to Simsbury. It was like traveling through some weird time warp. I know we've been gone - I've made over 300 posts to this blog, after all - but it's as though no time passed by in Simsbury while we've been away. It's kind of humbling to know that the world doesn't change just because you have. I guess that can be comforting in a way too.

It was such a beautiful day - sunny and dry, flowers blooming everywhere - it was hard to imagine why we left in the first place. Then I remember the few days we were here in December when it was about zero degrees and I think about the awful winter that you all had in New England and it reminds me that June is a really short month.

Weather, of course, is not really why we left. But it is one of the many factors that comes into play when I think about The Next Step. It seems like we talk about TNS every day. You'd think once you've made a decision you just live with that decision for awhile. But not this one, apparently. We spent about two years discussing options before we headed off to Taiwan and the plane had barely landed before we started talking about how long we wanted to stay and where to go next. Two years or three? Go to another international school or back to Simsbury? There are about a gazillion considerations, weather being one of them, that we keep weighing in on. On a good day in Taiwan my opinion swings one way, then something will happen that makes me want to leave the next day.

Since we've arrived in the US we've had many people ask if we're glad we went to Taiwan. The answer is absolutely yes. But we never intended to stay there forever so the question of what to do next is always looming.