The Eve of Summer

I remain, still, with a foot in my school year and a foot in the summer. It's my final day of work tomorrow. (And for as long as this school year seems to have lasted, it still hasn't been as long of a campaign as last year, which ended on June 26.) I'll probably be fairly purposeful tomorrow.

But it's summer in that the kids and I have already made three adventures since late May. Most recently, yesterday in fact, we made an excursion to Scranton, visiting Steamtown and a Coal Mine. I think the kids preferred the latter of the destinations. The trip had something of a feel akin to a field trip, which is somewhat ironic given that this school year marks the first in seventeen in which I did not lead, organize, or chaperone a field trip. I had a blast, though, especially going below the earth on the Lackawanna Coal Mine tour. The kids were a little creeped out. A little cold. But mostly curious and intrigued by the experience. Sam told me that the tour wasn't at all what he expected. It was more interesting.

Sorting mail at Steamtown.

Sam upon his return to the surface. 

There are more, and better, photos from the trip. I'll get around to organizing them and writing a bit more about this.

I'll admit, though, I'm not in the mood to write much as my wife's plight is on my mind. Her annual business trip to Oz means it's summer. But it would appear she's had a pretty rough trip into Australia. Flight delays. Missing baggage. Some unworkable ATM and credit cards. She's had a true ordeal over the weekend, and I can't help but think of how frustrating that has been for her. At the same time, I'm glad that at least this cascading set of travel mishaps occurred while going to a nation like Australia. Fortunately her work doesn't have her going to Greece, or Belarus, or Singapore, or somewhere else where language, custom, law, or what have you could really put her in jeopardy.