It’s been a busy couple of weeks with travel and visiting family.

Louie and I went to Chautauqua, NY to spend a few days visiting my sister Leslie and her family there. Her husband is in the orchestra and she subs, so they spend the summer there. (He is a cellist, she’s a violinist like me). Leslie recently had her second baby, my first nephew, so we were excited to see him again.

We stayed at the Pine Hill Resort near their house. This was a great place to stay, because it was close, quiet, and clean. What more could you want in a hotel? We didn’t spend much time on the property, but there is a boat dock and you can get right down to the lake. The room had a lot of pine and smelled very nice!

It was a relaxing few days. We walked around, had some nice meals, saw Bemus Point, Mayville, hiked in Chautauqua Gorge, walked around the grounds of Chautauqua, saw a ballet, hung out with my niece and nephew a lot, went to Southern Tier Brewing Company, and went to a barbecue. Louie went sailing and I spent time on the beach.

The town of Bemus Point was adorable. Very quiet, calm, and what you’d expect for a lakeside resort town.

Athena liked the tiny chairs.

Luca’s face is too chonky!

We enjoyed the lake breezes!

Louie and I took a hike along the Chautauqua Gorge. We took a few pictures but my eyes were closed in all of them. Fail.

We hope to go back next summer for a longer visit! There was more to do in the area, and along the way (for instance, we drove right by Cleveland without stopping and I’d love to take a day and look up some old friends to visit and see where I used to live and show Louie!) It’s also not terribly far from Niagara Falls and Louie has never been there.

Also, this guy.

When we got back to St Louis we only had a few hours until my sister Carrie visited. She normally lives in NYC but had been in Minnesota and then Chicago so she popped over to visit for a few days. It was incredibly hot here at that time, so we mostly just hung out inside, but we also went to the Art Museum and the Campbell House Museum.

This cat might have missed us while we were gone.

Lots of great artwork. I think the St Louis Art Museum is really great—it’s not huge or overwhelming, but just really well done.

There are tons more pictures on my instagram, so go check that out if you haven’t!

Now I have 5 days, counting today, until we hit the road for a longer time. I’ve been planning this upcoming road trip since last September, so I really can’t believe it’s almost here! We’ve already assembled and organized all our camping gear (which is no small feat) and the only things left to do are to finish packing our clothes, load the car, take care of the cat and the house, and hit the road! Well, and a million other things, plus working this week, but rest assured, I’ve got lists and plans made, and it will all work out. Our biggest concerns are bears, hailstorms, and flash floods.