Better late than never? Here is what I did in July — I spent two weeks at summer camp (see more here and here), one week with my parents on Cape Cod, and one week doing life maintenance stuff in Connecticut. It was a true summer vacation month with equal parts adventure and relaxation. Not all months are like this, and July will go down as one of the best of 2017 for me. So grateful for all that I got to do and all the people I spent time with.

Here we are with the pups in Cape Cod — we were dog sitting Oscar while my sister was away. Love having the two of them together!

My parents took me kayaking at Herring River, a route they’ve enjoyed over the years that I’ve always wanted to try. You have to time it with the tides — start kayaking the last hour of low tide (so the current takes you out towards the ocean), then there’s about 30 minutes of slack tide, and then return back the first hour of high tide (so the current takes you back inland). This way you’re not fighting the tides and can paddle along easily. I shot a bunch of GoPro footage I plan to edit together and will write a longer post about this! It was a scenic ride.

Biked up to Nickerson State Park along the Cape Cod Rail Trail with my dad:

Walking in Chatham:

Mom and Dad, thanks for sharing your vacation with me! I love you so much!

We spent an afternoon at Nickerson State Park. I’ve written about it before here; it’s one of our favorite places on the Cape.

We spent July 4th on West Dennis Beach with my aunt and uncle. Lovely picnic dinner on the water followed by watching fireworks up and down the shoreline.

Spent a very fun evening at the charming Scargo Manor bed & breakfast in Dennis — two of my friends from LA were visiting and invited me to hang out by the campfire for a few hours! What a treat. Roy, one of the owners, joined us with some local friends of his, and we all had a blast. If you’re looking for a place to stay on Cape Cod, this is the first place I’d recommend.

Oh, and I made this New York Times chocolate cookie recipe. I read the comments and added two things: tiny amounts of orange zest and ground coffee (1 teaspoon each) that you can’t specifically detect but they add a general spice flavor that is PERFECT. I toasted walnuts in a skillet before adding them to the dough. And I let the dough chill for 48 hours in the fridge before baking since apparently that makes a difference (I rolled it into balls first). And I used regular flour (not cake and bread flour as the recipe specifies). These cookies were so delicious, especially when dunked in milk.

I’ll write a whole separate post about Cape Cod because I took like 500 photos that week. Lots of fun times!

And here is my first week at summer camp for Funniest Videos! Here’s Julie and I at the registration table for check-in:

Our whole group — 26 kids and 5 adults!

Aww, camp! I’ve already shared photos and stories from these weeks in separate posts so I’ll keep it short here.

We stopped in nearby Millerton, NY after camp ended to have lunch and visit Oblong bookstore (I love this place so much). I also have to do a whole post on Millerton soon — I got to visit multiple times this summer!

Have you heard about Blind Date with a Book? They wrap up ARCs (Advanced Reading Copies — books before they are officially published) and include a short description on the front, but you don’t find out the title or author until you purchase it and tear off the wrapping (this store also offers a kids version downstairs). What a fun concept!

I heart Irving Farm Coffee Roasters in Millerton (and also in NYC):

A few days later, I had dinner at Claire’s Corner Copia in New Haven with my sister, followed by a screening of The Big Sick (which we loved).

Second week at summer camp for Amazing gRace!

Another Millerton photo during break time with Bailey, Tyler, and Lulu!

I finally visited the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center in Waterford, CT! Can’t believe it’s taken me so many years to get here. I would have loved to see Martyna Majok’s play Queens or the new musical Superhero but I was at camp during those brief runs. Instead I saw a reading of a one-act play called The One ATM in Antarctica by Adam Esquenazi Douglas that had nothing to do with ATMs or Antarctica! The title is a metaphor for sobriety. Here is a photo from the pub next to the theater:

Autographed copy from the In the Heights workshop here 12 years ago!

Gorgeous cottages on the theater center’s property — the artists and crew stay here throughout the summer.

And I made it to Williamstown Theatre Festival in Massachusetts for the first time ever! Totally worth the drive. I saw Moscow Moscow Moscow Moscow Moscow Moscow by Halley Feiffer, an adaptation of Chekhov’s The Three Sisters with hyper-modern dialogue. Cast included Thomas Sadowski, Cristin Militia, Tavi Gavinson, Micah Stock, and more impressive names. I loved the play.

Lawn talk before the show with Chekhov expert and longtime Williamstown alum Steve Lawson, moderated by WTF Associate Artistic Director Laura Savia.

Fish and chips at The Log, which hosts a bunch of WTF programming over the summer:

Then I drove to New Hampshire to visit my cousin’s family! Loved catching up with David, Julie, and Ryden. We drove up to Story Land for the day, an amusement park I haven’t been to since I was a kid… like 25 years ago! It was super fun afternoon and I’ll write a whole post about it soon. Meanwhile, here are some cute photos:

My sister and I also visited our cousins in the Ludlow, MA area — they have four (almost five!) kids between them and it was a treat to see everyone. We had a delicious dinner and then played board games after the kids went to bed. Wish I’d remembered to take a photo!

Also not documented in photos: I went into NYC to see a few shows (Spamilton off-Broadway and Pipeline at Lincoln Center). Saw part one of NTLive’s Angels in America (I was at camp the night part two hit theaters so I hope they screen it again soon).

Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone I got to spend time with last month! My life is richer for spending time with every single one of you!