When I was still a student, Labor Day weekend seemed like a blessing and a curse; it’s summer’s last hurrah, a time for families to get together for one last barbeque, and for kids to savor their last precious days of summer vacation. Even though my sister and I are older now, we still instinctively sense that summer is ending and that autumn is not that far away.
This year, we didn’t hold a large barbeque, but hearing our neighbors throwing parties this weekend reminded me of a few snaps I took earlier this summer at my father’s annual kid’s day and company picnic. I felt that they somehow still captured the essence of summer . . .
Lots of activities for the kids.
Top left: Dad’s plate of a massive bbq turkey leg and a vegetarian faux bbq-ed meat, grilled corn on the cob. Top right: My plate consisted of mainly foods from the kid’s buffet (I was missing tator tots like mad!). Ironically, the foods they served the kids ended up tasting much better than the foods provided for the parents; not sure if it was due to me reminiscing about foods I used to eat as a kid or not. Bottom: My sister’s plate.
After we ate, we walked around and talked with some of my dad’s coworkers; my mom and I stopped at a tent where they were popping kettle corn. This stuff was delicious; fat, round kernels lightly coated in a salty/sweet glaze. If I weren’t already stuffed from dinner, I would have gotten another bag (or two).
My mom was eyeing the cake that they had set out and so we patiently queued up to get a slice while the caterers frantically cut the cakes.
This engineer was nice enough to stick his head out and smile for my photo:
Rewarded at last!
Sadly, while the frosting looked pristine, it lacked any kind of sweetness (tasted almost like whipped oil); the cake, thankfully, was moist and sweet. We ended up scraping off the frosting and just eating the cake by itself.
While I’m sad that summer is almost over, I am anxiously anticipating fall (my favorite season of all). Fall, to me, brings cool, crisp weather (an excuse to start wearing all those fall clothes and coats that I love so much), apple season, and the holidays.
