Where does the time go? It feels like I was launched out of a cannon at the beginning of the month and have been hurdling forward ever since! June was crazy, hectic, and most certainly a blast- although I did fall behind on my posts just a little bit. Now that I’ve got a couple of quiet days ahead of me before Fourth of July weekend, I’ve been playing catching up.

I thought I’d be writing this from San Diego right now- but with my work schedule, current case load, and friends moving to and from the area in recent weeks- I’ve been grounded here on the East Coast for the time being. I’ll be returning to SoCal soon, though!

I didn’t spend all of June in Massachusetts sitting behind my desk or helping friends pack/unpack their belongings, though. A considerable amount of time was spent hanging around NYC, too. A few weeks ago I had my aura read in Chinatown, and last weekend a group of friends and I caught an early morning train into Grand Central Station to give one of our own a nearly 16-hour tour of some of the city’s most famous landmarks since he had never been to NYC before and was itching to go. We started in Times Square, made our way to Radio City Music Hall, then Rockefeller Center, Central Park (where our friend had his first authentic pretzel cart experience,) One World Trade Center, the 9/11 Memorial, Battery Park, Wall Street- and then worked our way to Brooklyn before we caught an evening subway back to Grand Central. We did it all on foot- and I’m pretty sure I’m still sore from it!

The only two landmarks we couldn’t make it to were the Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island, which were closed by the time we made it to where the ferries were- and the top of the Empire State Building. The weather was rainy and foggy the entire time we were there- so much, in fact- that we couldn’t see the top of most of the skyscrapers! With visibility being next to zero- we all collectively decided to head back on a sunnier day to finish the tour properly.

The 9/11 Memorial especially stood out to me. The last time I was down by where the Twin Towers once stood was in the Spring of 2002- and there was nothing left. It was both horrifying and heartbreaking. Now, over a decade later- and this beautiful memorial stands in it’s place. It’s truly something to behold. While I was there, I leaned that a white rose is placed on name plates to commemorate victims’ birthdays- which I thought was so touching (because everyone deserves to be recognized and remembered- especially on their birthday.) It happened to be Martin N. DeMeo’s birthday while I was in the area, and I snapped a photo of his rose.

I haven’t checked out the 9/11 Museum yet, but the memorial itself was worth the trip.

So what’s in store for July? More travel, of course (and not just to NYC this time!) some fashion and recipe posts I’ve been meaning to put up for a couple of weeks now, a head-to-head breakdown of Hampton Beach v. Old Orchard Beach, the usual subscription box reviews- and maybe a good old fashioned camping trip (weather permitting!)

And while I may not physically be at San Diego Comic-Con in the coming days- I’m very much there in spirit (and my spirit just happens to be cosplaying!) I might be writing up a couple of posts about upcoming projects that are displayed/revealed there based on the panels and press releases that are provided to those of us not in attendance. I’m really looking forward to seeing the new trailer for the sixth season of “The Walking Dead” and anything pertaining to Quentin Tarantino’s “The Hateful Eight!”

July is the prelude to what might be my busiest and most exciting month yet- August- but we’ll get to that when the time comes!

Until then- I’m ready to slow things down a bit and enjoy all the fun July has to offer!

xx