Post-Test Bonding in Rochester

If you saw the previous blog post, then you know that Ryan took Part II of his Dental Boards this Monday and Tuesday.

I don’t know if I will ever forget the image of him frolicking down the hallway in his slippers and athletic shorts, rejoicing that the exam was over.  

But actually, in spite of the torturous exam, the two-days were very fun.  I think Ryan would even agree with that.  We decided to make a “get-away” out of it; I went with him to Rochester (where the test was given) so we could spend some quality time together before his new school year starts.

We looked up hotels that were near the testing center, and we booked ourselves a spot at the cheapest one we could find.

Isn’t she a beauty?

Despite its dingy appearance, this place was TOWtally awesome!

The first day, the test was from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.  Yikes!  Luckily, there was a Wegmans and a Barnes and Nobles nearby, so I had quiet, air conditioned places to “work” while Ryan tested. 

I say “work” because all I really did was update our blog and shop for cards and stationary.  I gave the blog a bit of a facelift (did you notice?) so that it will be easy to navigate for families who want to know more about us for the adoption.  As for the card shopping spree—well, writing letters and cards is my hobby (is that weird?) so I always need a cute stash.  And really, Barnes and Nobles has an awesome stationary department.

Which is your favorite?  I must tell you, in case you can't tell from the photo, that the fish and the birds are fabric with stitching details all around.  I could not resist them.  But the orange ones are fun too because orange is my favorite color.  And the stationary reminded me of Little Women or something.  And the the box of brightly colored cards was cheap--and cute as well.  I will go through this many cards in no time at all.

After the test, Ryan was, obviously, exhausted.  So we went out to dinner and got us some barb-e-que.  YUM.  Then it was raining, so we just went back to the hotel and hung out.  I love it when we allow ourselves to do nothing.   

The next morning, I was quite shocked when I received breakfast in bed.  Who knew that the Towpath Motel offered such a service?  I will admit that the waiter did look slightly familiar, and it was a little odd when he hopped into bed and ate it with me.  I had a healthy bowl of Fruit Loops.

Looking his best, bright and early in the A.M.
You may notice (if you saw the video) that he didn't change out of these clothes for the test.  Classy, Ry!

Day 2 of the exam was just a halfer, so I picked Ryan up at noon with the leftovers from our dinner the night before, watched him do a crazy dance (which, by the way, was not something staged…he was dancing like that before I pulled out the camera), and then we had the rest of the day to spend together.  We had no plan.  Love love love loooooooooove that. 

First, we drove around downtown Rochester.  We stopped at a funky retro/estate store where I saw this watermelon picnic basket and knew that we must own it and use it frequently.

If you look closely, you will notice that the seeds are big black beads.  

Then we decided to wander on to Palmyra, where we spent a couple of hours together in the LDS Temple. 

Finally, we headed to beautiful Canandaigua, a quaint little town not far from Palmyra, where we got gelato and walked around the lake.  It is lovely there.

Don't worry--Ryan did change out of this outfit for the Temple.
He then changed back into it for the lake.
Also, that's my gelato in his left hand; he didn't have two cones.

We sat on the dock as the sun set, dangled our feet in the water, and talked about how nice it is to not have an agenda for one day.

Then we drove home with the windows down.  (The AC in our car is broken, which makes me more than a little bit unhappy--but on a summer evening with Ry, it actually feels quite pleasant to have the windows down.)

As I write this, and as I reflect on the other blog posts I've written this summer, I realize that it has been a good couple of months.  That's what I love about writing--it helps me to recognize the meaning in my moments.  On a day to day basis, I don't always notice.  I may even feel sorry for myself occasionally.   But how can I ever feel sorry for myself when I've had days like the one I just wrote about?  It's nice to remember that.