Our summer vacation was a three-part trip. First, we celebrated Marty’s 80th birthday on Long Island. Then we headed to Vermont for Rosie and Zach’s wedding. Finally, we wrapped things up in Portugal with the #friends4life Schwartzberg clan.

Coronavirus made things tricky. The guest list for Marty’s birthday ended up shorter than planned. Alison, an especially important guest, tested positive and spent the week feeling lousy at the Stony Brook Holiday Inn Express. It was a great party, but it wasn’t the same without her.

Marty’s big bash was held at the historic Setauket Neighborhood House on a beautiful, albeit humid, summer day.

We were lucky to have a little time with Alison at her parents’ house before the symptoms hit.

Vermont

Quarantine continued in Vermont at the Waybury Inn. Alison, along with a few other infected guests, joined the wedding from a safe distance outside. The wedding itself was lovely. Max was part of the groom’s party and made some friends his age. We also caught up with cousins, aunts, uncles, and friends we hadn’t seen in years.

Things settled down, virus-wise, just in time for a family boating trip on Lake Champlain. Thirty years ago, when I lived in Burlington, I never spent much time on the lake. It’s enormous—200 km long, 20 km wide, with nearly 1,000 km of shoreline stretching across New York, Vermont, and Quebec.

Portugal

In Portugal, the virus struck again. This time, Jeremy and his daughter, Maya, came down with fever and headaches. Later, Hena caught it too. Despite all this, we had a fantastic time. We celebrated Alison’s 36th birthday in Porto, sailing along the Duoro River.

The Year Begins Again

And just like that, summer came to an end. So far, so good. The kids are back at school, Alison and I are on Zoom calls, the dog is barking at deliveries, and the cats are pawing at him and hissing.