Girls vs. Boys

A wonderful way to mark the end of the school year is for the parents to leave town for a long weekend. And they don't even go away with each other, but hang out with their friends. For Sarah's crew it was off to the Willamette Valley in Oregon. The scenery was gorgeous, the wine was smooth, and it didn't take long to jump right into the rhythms of friendship.

The four amigas from Santa Barbara signed up for a private tour and visited four different wineries on their first full day. Because this group had gone to Napa a few years earlier, they appreciated the combination of good wine and good scenery. One added bonus in Oregon was that the crowds were smaller and the whole scene wasn't as pretentious. They loved it!

Another perk of Portland is that the city has an endless number of breweries. Although the girls tried to visit them all, the final total was only about 3 or 4. I guess they'll need to go back again soon.

It was a smaller crew this time around, but there was still a lot of laughter and a good number of activities. Not pictured is the hike to Pittock Mansion in downtown Portland - okay, to be honest it was really the hike down from Pittock Mansion due to the Uber ride taken to the top of the trail. This ensured all friendships stayed intact but all still got exercise.

John's trip took him back to the familiar state of Connecticut, which meant he got to kick it off with a night at the McBean residence. And this gave him the opportunity for some quality time with his favorite English bulldog, Martha. She is the best, and this was the only way to get a selfie with her while she was somewhat still.

This year the five fellas gathered at a rental on Candlewood Lake on the Connecticut-New York border. The place came with enough space for everyone, a lot of stairs, and an incredible view of the lake. John and crew spent as much of their time as possible by the fire pit, catching up and talking about life in general.

It was great to have everyone in one place without any distractions for a couple of days. At this point this crew represents about forty years of friendship. If you just look at Woods you might not believe it's been forty years, but the other four actually show the real passage of time. In the end, both Sarah and John had great friend trips, but as we prepared this post it also became obvious that girls take more pictures than boys.