This was up on my Mom’s refrigerator. Sarah, me, Emily, and Ashley sometime around 1980. Eleanor, Ida, Jack, Eli, Sam, Elizabeth, Nico, Liam, Caleb, Jacob, and Julien will be reenacting this at some point, c.2016.

We’re just back from ten days in New England; a week home in Maine for my sister Barb’s wedding, followed by a few all-too-short days at Saquish. Joining us at the beach were my sisters Sarah and Margie, Ben Petersen, my aunts Barbara and Jamie, and my Mom (and of course Foley and Jib).

For those who don’t know…a seven-mile sandspit sticks out into a Massachusetts bay, doglegs for about a mile, and that mile+ dogleg is Saquish. It really shouldn’t exist. Close to Boston, but requiring 4×4 or a boat to reach, there are no phone lines or electricity, beyond what might be provided through solar or wind. Our house was built by my grandfather and, like many, rests on stilts to protect from winter storm surges. We all grew up spending weeks at the house each year as kids. These days we manage only a few days a year…but fantasize about spending a full week out there again someday.

We’re just back from a couple weeks in New England. While there we spent some time out at Saquish, the family beach place in Massachussetts. As always, it was a great and relaxing few days.