While we were at the Ipswich River Sanctuary for canoeing, we passed by the Innermost House. It is a small cabin that Mass Audubon members can rent for $30 per night. We've always thought about it but had never done it.
Even though it was Memorial Day weekend coming up, I gave them a call to see if it might be available. It was! For Sunday night. I grabbed it.
The girls were very excited.
One of the coolest parts of renting the cabin is that you have the entire sanctuary to yourself once it closes at dusk. We took the girls for a walk with flashlights when it was almost dark. They really like the book Owl Moon, in which a child goes "owling" with her dad, walking through the dark woods. However, they did not find this as romantic as the book. They were terrified to be in the woods in the dark. I kept trying to calm them to no avail. We went on maybe a 1/2 mile walk. They survived but were very glad to arrive back at the cabin.
It was a little cool at night so we built a fire in the wood stove. The girls thought that was awesome.
I was amazed when I woke up at 7:00 and everyone else was still sleeping soundly. I snuck out of the cabin as quietly as I could and went for a dawn walk down to the Old Stone Bridge and then to the nearby platform in the swamp. This was in the Month of Diagnosis. We were spending all of this time outdoors because it was a good distraction for Carol and me. We didn't yet know exactly what kind of cancer I was dealing with so we hadn't told the kids yet. I lay on the platform and pondered my future. It was calming.
When I got back to the cabin at 8:15 or so the women were all just waking up. We decided to go for a little hike and then we would go in search of pancakes for breakfast.
The route I chose for the hike was one we had never been on before. It turned out to be fairly long, but beautiful. The girls were tired and hungry by the end.
Then we ended up at the Village Pancake House in Rowley, MA. Just what we were looking for.
We'll definitely be staying in the Innermost House again. We'll have to try it in different seasons.
That wood stove would make for a pretty cozy setting in the winter.
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