A Relaxing Day in Southampton

Day 21, Monday, June 30

I was the last one up this morning...the bed was so comfortable and the house was so quiet that I stayed in dreamland WAY past everyone else. It was heavenly!

Curt set up our camper in Ross and Lorna's yard, and when they came in to see how we have it set up, we realized that they are our first "visitors" in the camper on this trip. We all settled in for an hour of storytelling and laughter. It's so fun watching Ross and Curt together...I wish we lived closer so we could all see more of each other.

Midmorning, Curt and Ross left to run some errands, and Lorna and I headed out to do our own. One of the things that I've been concerned about on this whole trip so far is my lack of access to a printer. I'm attending a week long Mandolin camp next week, and I already feel like I may be in over my head with that. I haven't had a way to print off the music that I'm supposed to be practicing ahead of time. Lorna had to go to "The Package Store" today to mail a package, so I took along my iPad and asked John, the proprietor, if I could pay to have him print my music for me. His first question was not "How many pages?" Instead, he asked, "Is it good music?" Of course! Bach, Handel, and some other great composers. 

We chatted as he printed off the MANY pages (almost 50!), and it took a good amount of his time. 

He and his wife Lyn run the store, and I caught a glimpse of their son in uniform, who had just returned from deployment in Malaysia.

When the pages were all printed and I asked John how much I owed him, he said "Just have a good time at music camp. That's all I ask."

What a guy! Thank you so much, John! Because of you, I won't have to go to mandolin camp totally unprepared. That GREATLY eases my mind!

This afternoon, after putting my music notebook together, I began practicing mandolin in earnest while Curt swam, and we continued to spend comfortable visiting time with Ross and Lorna. After dinner, Ray, one of their favorite neighbors, stopped by for a visit. I really like this slower pace of life, being able to relax into long stretches of easy conversation several times a day. I must say, retirement is starting to grow on me!

Tomorrow we plan to go out and about a bit, so I'll try to get some photos of this beautifully picturesque part of New England. Until then, sleep tight!