It was a weird Fourth of July this year. Kind of like last year, but in different ways. I didn't have the boys and I wasn't at the Cape, all of which were hard for me, and the weather was chilly and very un-Fourth-of-July-like, especially for the first half of the day. I was also bummed about the state of our (once great; still great?) country and where I think it's headed in the not-too-distant future.
But there was a particular highlight of the day, and that was that my mom, my sister Jennifer, and I went to The Wayside Inn and Grist Mill and walked around the vast grounds, which is kind of a Fourth of July family tradition going back to when we moved here in the early 90s. Back then we would have a picnic by the Grist Mill too, but we didn't do that this time because we went between lunch and dinner. Our little excursion to a special place definitely made a bummer of a Fourth a lot better for me!
Have I mentioned before that this is one of my favorite places ever? P.S. Do you see the wedding party in this picture? 
Kinda awkward selfies 😆
I love this landscape scenery. This is what you see when you walk across the back of the field from the Grist Mill over to the Inn. 😍
The pretty dark pink building through the trees is the Inn. It has a really good restaurant (and gift shop!) too.
There's a pretty little English-like flower garden off to the side.
At the end of the garden is a bust of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, who wrote Tales of a Wayside Inn. Jennifer and I did a re-creation of family pictures we did when we were younger around this very bust. We're missing three siblings, but we did the best we could!
My hand was awkwardly placed; it looked like I was scratching his head. 😄
Boots and a sweater on the Fourth of July is unusual for Massachusetts. As you can see I stay in my church clothes all day on Sundays, pretty much no matter what. I am a Sabbath Day die-hard. 😇😄
There's a pretty lakeside walking trail through the woods behind the Inn that we went down.
Someone had fashioned this rustic little lean-to.
I'm still not sure what a "flybrary" is.
Then we walked over to the "Mary Had a Little Lamb" schoolhouse and the Martha Mary Chapel.
And finally we walked back to the Mill where we were parked.
The stream was full; there had been quite a bit of rain recently. (And there was a lot more to come in July! It turned out to be a wet, cool month overall.)
😍
One last selfie before we hit the road. This one was the best of the bunch, though I still don't like the way that I look in it!
Thank you Wayside Inn, Mom, and Jennifer, for helping to redeem an otherwise not-so-great day!
