Family Weekend

I left Charlotte, North Carolina and headed to New York so I could visit Grace at college for family weekend. My flight was supposed to go to New York City then to Syracuse where Earl would pick me up in the car and we would drive the two hours on to Grace's college. That plan had so many possible flaws. And some sort of tropical storm that battered the East Coast decided to interfere. Instead, the airline flew me to Washington, DC then to Buffalo, New York, which is much farther from her college.
We stayed in a cedar cabin in the woods with an outdoorsy young couple and their 20-month-old daughter, Aurora. The sunrise turned the wet fields misty.

After Grace's swim practice, we spent the day together going to a football game and a swim team cookout.

We took Grace to visit baby Aurora to get her toddler fix. That was fairly mean of us because Aurora sobbed every time we left. She got attached very quickly.

I gave them Grace's cell phone number in case they ever need a babysitter.
Grace and her friends had planned a dinner with all of their friends and parents together at an Italian restaurant. When we got in the restaurant, the students scattered to their table and the parents sat together. They were a fun, intelligent group.

I took some photos of the "kids" table, which included some little siblings.
One of the siblings, an 8-year-old boy named Nick, was shunned by the older kids. He sat between his parents and me. This kid was a hoot. So I got a few posed shots of him then set him loose in the restaurant with the camera.
After dinner, we went to a Singers concert of music from France and then danced to a band that included some of their professors.
The next morning we joined Grace for brunch at the cafeteria before our long trek home. Earl smuggled a turnover out of the cafeteria, which embarrassed Grace.
And we left Grace on the beautiful campus as she cried big tears. Loving it where she is, but missing home like crazy.