and the visiting begins....

Today is Saturday...we arrived in Gloucester yesterday after spending 2 days with Stephen in Sturbridge..it was really hard to say goodbye to him- the only thing that made it easier is that he should be able to spend a couple of days with us in Gloucester. The ride here was uneventful and easy, unusual for a Friday in the summer. Usually the traffic would be a killer, but I guess when they are predicting hurricanes, people don't head to the beach....Go figure. Our first day here we spent cleaning, shopping, etc. and just walked to Wingaersheek beach, a mile or so down the street. Its sooooo awesome to be here where we can see so many friends/family, and be near the ocean. We can't wait to get the inflatable out on the water. Hopefully the weather will clear eventually. No actual hurricane here, but tons of rain and wind today. Gloucester is having a problem with the water- there is potentially bacteria in it, so everyone has to boil their water. We had water in our tank so we have been using that up, and haven't had to use the town water, but it won't last much longer. We really don't want to put that water through our pipes if we can avoid it. Hopefully they get the situation squared away soon. This afternoon, my brothers Rich and Ray, and my sister-in-law Dawn came over. We ate lunch here, then went bowling this afternoon. It was actually pretty fun, since most of us (except Rich, who bowls in a league) haven't bowled candlepin for years. We went to dinner at the Gloucester House, a well known restaurant, afterwards. Tomorrow more friends will be here. The next week or so will pretty much be visiting, although there is a schooner festival this coming weekend that should be interesting...