Mini vacations are always welcome on my calendar. A recent four-night trip to Long Island (LI) was just that and was a fabulous getaway. The main reason for the trip was to attend a wedding for Michael, the son of our friend’s Armen & Maryellen. Cathy and I have never been to LI so the wedding was a perfect scenario to attend the ceremony, enjoy the reception and add two extra days to our trip so we could experience what the area had to offer. The first step of our little journey started with a drive to Bridgeport to catch the Thursday morning ferry to Port Jefferson in LI. That into itself was an experience. What added to that initial phase of our journey was the picture-perfect weather. Sitting up on the main deck with a bright blue sky, abundant sunshine and a light breeze made the hour and 15-minute ferry ride that much more enjoyable. We arrived in Port Jeff right on schedule, just in time to have a delicious lunch. After lunch we walked around the village, stopped in a few shops and were then ready to continue our journey. We hopped in our vehicle and drove about 45 minutes to Riverhead which was our home base for the next four nights.

As autumn approaches, many families begin partaking in an abundance of traditions. Whether that’s apple picking, pumpkin picking, pumpkin carving and painting, a huge leaf pile, Halloween decorating and much more! Next comes Thanksgiving, where recipes are passed on from generation to generation, football games are played and watched, and card and board games are played. From there the holiday season kicks into gear as Hanukah, Christmas and New Years bring their own set of family traditions. All these traditions are annual connections, to our friends and families, passed from one generation to the next… until they aren’t. People move, go to college, pass away, get married, or start their own lives. I’m sure you thought of your own childhood traditions while reading this, and I hope they’re good memories. Sometimes starting a tradition may be difficult but once they’re off and running, they’re awesome. Well, this year, Rachels family and I spent all day a couple Saturdays ago, making pickled eggplant and hope to keep the tradition going for years to come.

Along with the nice weather we had here in New England for most of the summer, many investors enjoyed a reprieve from equity volatility during the latter half of June through mid-August. In July, in particular, US equities posted a stellar month, and many got a sense of hope that the pain through the first six months of the year was over. That is, until the news hit that inflation was still stubbornly high and the labor market’s resilience was stronger than expected. July’s gains were given back in the matter of two weeks, and we again found ourselves back in a lower trading range, bouncing up and down but not making any meaningful progress either way. It’s frustrating, to say the least, but not uncommon.