Friday night our friend Jen organized a weblogger get-together in Hampden, where I met up with friends old and new. Mama couldn’t find a sitter, unfortunately, so I had to go stag. Parking in Hampden has gotten cutthroat these days, especially on the Avenue where the party was, but I’ve gotten skilled at fitting the Scout into a shoebox. Inside the store (Trohv), I followed the sound of laughter to the basement where I found the meet-up in full swing. We chatted, sipped wine and beer, ogled the store’s goods, and the time flew by. At the conclusion, a gaggle of us packed up and walked down the street to a wine bar where we continued the discussion until about 11:30. It really was a lot of fun, and hopefully the next one will get organized sooner rather than later.

Saturday we handed Finn off to the neighbor and high-tailed it to Laurel to look at cars. On the lot under a threatening sky, we lined up two possibilities: a blue ’07 and a gray ’09 Accord with similar low mileage. The ’07 (seventh gen) was absolutely cherry, like it had just rolled out of the factory, and it handled like a roller skate for its size. The ’09 (eighth gen) was unkempt inside but bigger all the way around, felt tight, and offered more amenities. We opted for the newer of the two, wrote a big fat check, and drove it off the lot. Back at home, armed with a bottle of Armor All and some Windex, Finn and I cleaned up the interior, then installed her seat and took it for a spin. Because she hadn’t napped, she promptly fell asleep, which was all the approval I needed.

Sunday we got up early to get on the road, and headed out over the bridge to Easton to visit the Morrises. The plan was to hit the pumpkin patch and do some fun fall-oriented stuff, but the weather failed to cooperate so we went bowling instead. I’ve never seen this before, but this alley had these two-railed racks that can be used as slides for a bowling ball; both Zachary and Finn seemed to enjoy knocking pins over and visiting the sticker machine. After the thrill was gone, we took them to get some lunch, then some ice cream, and finally an outdoor playground to run off the sugar. It was great to see them and spend (a little) time in conversation; chasing the kids around makes it difficult but not impossible.

At one point, as we pushed the two of them on the swings, Rob turned to me and said, “Look at us. Who would have believed this?” Then he leaned over, shook my hand, and said, “Thanks for still being here 20 years later.”