The last weekend of June, my dad and stepmother came out for a visit. We wandered up to Freeport and Portsmouth for a day. The weather was actually nice for most of the time they were out here. It was good to see them again, and I’m thinking of making a trip out to visit them in the not-to-distant future.

For the long weekend, I traveled down to Hyde Park, NY with my mom, niece, and nephew to meet up with my aunt and uncle to visit my cousin who is attending the CIA. We dined at the school’s Escoffier Restaurant, which was quite good. I’m somewhat kicking myself for forgetting my camera that night, as I would have liked to have taken some shots of the school’s interior. I will have to visit again.

We spent most of the 3rd visiting some of the historical sites in Hyde Park, including the FDR Presidential Library and Top Cottage. I was mostly surprised by the simplicity of Top Cottage. It’s not really a terribly remarkable building, simple but well built. It’s odd to think of a US President entertaining foreign dignitaries there. I did end up taking a number of pictures throughout the day, which I’ve posted in my gallery.

In the evening we attended a demolition derby at the Duchess County Fairgrounds in nearby Rhinebeck, NY. Very entertaining, though somewhat marred by pain from a wisdom tooth that’s being extracted soon. I expect it was the highlight of the trip for my nephew, who didn’t seem all that impressed by the historical sites earlier in the day.

Overall a very good birthday and 4th of July. Somehow I managed to avoid all the fireworks, and ended up not having any kind of party. I’d still like to have some people over to my place at some point, but I’m not sure when.

Thanks to everyone who wished me a Happy Birthday over on Twitter and Facebook!