Pawtuckaway - Father's Day 2019

Last weekend we joined 6 other families for our annual neighborhood Father's Day Weekend camping trip at Pawtuckaway State Park.

One can reserve spaces there 11 months in advance. We want the sweet spots on Neal's Cove that have swimmable waterfront plus the fun boulders off shore. So I coordinate all the neighbors to make reservations on the first available day. This year we had the entire core of Neal's Cove.

Friday night was a bit windy but pleasant. Saturday was perfect. The forecast was for rain over night Saturday and most of the day Sunday, so a couple of families departed after dinner on Saturday. It turned out to be a bit of a false alarm. It only rained a tiny bit during the night, and then was dry until 10:45 in the morning. Enough time for a relaxing breakfast and fire and packing while dry.

I made a pledge to myself to swim three times Saturday, with one of them at night. I succeeded. The lake felt chilly at first but one got used to it quickly and then it was really nice.

Carol worked all day Thursday and part of Friday before the trip to precook a ton of fantastic food. We had the best camping meals ever. Thanks, Carol!

It was a fantastic Father's Day.

It's already on my calendar to sync everyone in a few weeks on July 20 to make reservations for next year.

Acadia National Park

We rarely travel on three-day weekends because holiday weekend traffic on the roads in and out of Boston is legendary. But back in the spring our neighbors Brendan and Molly told us that every Labor Day they go up to Acadia National Park in Maine. We made campground reservations together, and I planned to take Thursday and Friday off to beat at least one of the traffic jams.

We haven't visited Acadia in the eight years we've lived here because the drive is long. Google Maps says 4.5 hours, but for us that means at least 6 because 1) Ruby isn't very fast and 2) we like to stop, and we sometimes take scenic routes. But with the extra days off work it was worth the drive.

We stayed at the Blackwoods Campground, which is part of the park. It was very nice. We expected it to be packed for the holiday weekend, but I don't think we ever saw it more than 2/3 full. And, strangely, many people came for one night on Thursday, Friday and Saturday so our campground neighbors kept changing.

Acadia is an unusual national park in that it was formed from land donations and acquisitions. So it's more surrounded by "civilization" than other parks. The beautiful town of Bar Harbor is only a 20 minute drive from the campground and we ended up going into town every day, I think.

One of the major land donors was John D. Rockefeller Jr. He dreamed of making the entire Mount Desert Island car free. Toward the end, he funded and supervised construction of 50 miles of gravel carriage roads in the park, including a bunch of beautiful granite bridges. We brought four bikes with us and enjoyed a very pretty ride on Friday.

On Saturday Charlotte and I and our neighbors hiked up Cadillac Mountain, the highest point on the island and in the park. The hike gains 1500' over 3.5 miles, so it's very gradual. It's a gorgeous view most of the way. Charlotte did very well. Audrey and Carol were having a mother-daughter day and met us at the top.

Sunday morning we went on a boat cruise called "Diver Ed's Dive-In Theater". Diver Ed is a manic guy who has been a commercial diver forever. They have a high tech camera rig and a hydrophone-based audio system. We motored out into Bar Harbor and next to one of the Porcupine Islands that are part of the national park and anchored in about 60' of water. Diver Ed suited up and had the kids on the boat push him in. Then he gave us a high definition video tour of the bottom with narration over the hydrophone system, with his wife as the straight man on the boat. They were hilarious. He showed us sea stars, anemones, crabs, fish and tons of lobsters - and his favorite: sea cucumbers.

He collected a lot of animals in a bag and eventually brought them back to the surface. Then he had all the kids come up to the front area and showed them the animals up close and let them handle them. When that was over they released all the animals back into the sea.

It was quite entertaining. Diver Ed is quite the character. In the off season, he dives for scallops during their season from December to April. The water gets down to 26 degrees! He also doesn't like to use a dive light because it blinds him to everything that isn't directly in its beam. So he dives in almost darkness. His wife said he regularly gets harassed by fairly large animals and has to guess what they were because he can't really see. One time, what he assumes was a seal dragged him down an embankment. Anyway, that cruise was well worth the price of admission.

On Sunday the remnants of Hurricane Harvey passed through. The original forecast was for it to rain all day, but that kept improving and the rain didn't actually arrive until 4:15pm. We got in a hike from Sand Beach around Great Head. The rocks were very cool and the views very pretty. When the rain did arrive we headed into town and found a lovely seafood restaurant for dinner with Brendan and Molly and Anna.

We did pretty well on traffic on the way home. We left Acadia around 11. We didn't really hit traffic until 7 miles from the I-95 bridge over the Piscataqua River, which forms the border between Maine and New Hampshire. Our GPS took us on a circuitous alternate route through countryside. It was probably a draw in terms of time, but at least we were moving and in shade a lot of the time instead of sitting in bumper-to-bumper traffic in the hot sun on the freeway. We stopped in Portsmouth, New Hampshire for a late lunch before the last hour to home.

T'was a very lovely weekend.

Cape Cod - September

For the fourth year in a row we joined our friends the Latta-Giulianas at their family cottage in Dennisport, Cape Cod, for the weekend after Labor Day.

We've established a bunch of traditions as part of this weekend:

• Eat hot dogs at The Dog House
• Eat ice cream at the Sundae School
• Visit a cool outdoor place (this year it was Long Pasture Audubon Sanctuary)
• Lots of independent kid play in the quiet cottage community

This year Audrey and I added a 30-mile bike ride. Last year she and I rode the 10-mile route at Hub on Wheels. Audrey said she'd like to ride the longer route. So we've been going on training rides to work up to the 40-mile ride around Boston next weekend. We rode on the beautiful Cape Cod Rail Trail.

It was warm and a little humid this year. But we slept with the van side door and hatch wide open (we have screens), and the girls enjoyed the screened windows on three sides in the tent upstairs. It was delightful sleeping in warm temps and a breeze.

And now it's time for fall. After the 85 degree day we're going to have on Wednesday, that is.

Cape Cod 2015

In mid-September we joined the Latta-Giulianas at their family cottage in Dennis Port on Cape Cod. It's becoming an annual event. It's great to be there after the crowds of summer have departed.

This year the weather and the ocean were still warm enough for swimming and we spent a fair bit of time at the beach a block from the cottage.

The cottage is in a "cottage park" that has a pond and wooded areas. This year, for the first time for our kids at least, the kids disappeared for long periods of time and explored the woods. After they had them mapped out, they took the adults on a tour.

One of the highlights was a dead heron.

We also had our traditional meal at the Dog House.

Lake Dennison Camping

When we arrived in New England in the summer of 2009 we immediately learned that one cannot go camping on the spur of the moment, at least during the main season. All of the public campgrounds and many of the private ones accept reservations six months in advance and if you don't book well in advance you're out of luck.

Six months ago our neighbors Molly and Brendan invited us to join them for a camping trip in August. We chose Lake Dennison. We were supposed to camp there with other neighbors in 2013 but something came up and we couldn't make it.

As this particular trip approached, the weather wasn't looking promising. Early in the preceding week, it looked like it would rain all weekend. But the forecast slowly improved as the week went one, and by Friday it looked like it could be OK, with just a few showers. We decided to go for it. Brendan and Molly were wavering but they were infected by our resolve.

Friday as we were packing it was one of those really gross New England summer days with high temps and very high humidity. I left work a little early and took the train home, and after just the 7-minute walk from the train station to home I was soaked in sweat. Ick. Meanwhile, the cold front that was bringing the worst of the rain was passing slowly over the campground about 60 miles west of us.

When we arrived at Lake Dennison, the campground was wet but it wasn't raining. We immediately set up lots of shelter. We have a canopy that we always bring, and I had borrowed a very large tarp from a neighbor to give us more dry area in case it rained a lot.

We were prepared.

Well, the weekend turned out to be fantastic.

The weather on the other side of the front was much more pleasant - warm but not too hot, and much less humid. And it didn't rain again during our entire visit.

There is a public swimming beach on the opposite side of the lake from our camp site. I paddled there in the canoe with Brendan and Molly and Anna, and Carol and the girls rode bikes there. We hung out at the beach for a few hours. The lake temperature was perfect.

We enjoyed our campfires and the girls played and played.

The rain arrived just as we were finishing packing on Sunday morning. It was still pleasantly warm out, so the girls and I went for a swim in the rain before we departed. It was a perfect ending.

Circus Camp and Montreal

Okay, this combination of trips to and from circus camp gets a little complicated. Here's the itinerary:

Wednesday Evening	Drive from Boston to Danville, VT and camp.
Thursday Morning	Drop Charlotte off at 36-hour camp.
Thursday Afternoon	John, Carol and Audrey hike Mt. Mansfield. Then visit Ben & Jerry's factory!
Friday	John, Carol and Audrey visit St. Johnsbury, VT
Friday Afternoon	Pick up Charlotte at camp, attend demonstrations.
Friday Evening	Drive to Montreal.
Saturday	Have an awesome day in Montreal. Run into our goof friend Ken from Seattle.
Sunday	Drive back to Greensboro, VT to drop Audrey off at week-long camp.
Sunday Evening	Drive home. Charlotte enjoys week of being only child.
All Week	Go to work blah blah blah.
Saturday Morning	Drive back to Greensboro, VT to pick up Audrey from camp. Attend demonstrations.
Saturday Evening/Sunday Morning	Stay in a fun cabin in Barton, VT. Have dinner in St. Johnsbury.
Sunday Afternoon	Attend opening performance of Circus Smirkus summer tour - in the Big Top in a pasture.
Sunday Evening	Drive home.

And here's the looooong story...

We've lost track but I think this is the fourth year that one or both of the girls has gone to Smirkus Camp. Audrey went to the 36-hour Smirkling Camp twice and this was her second year of week-long camp. This was Charlotte's second time at Smirkling Camp. Smirkling Camp takes place over a Thursday night and camp is more than three hours from home, so we make a vacation of it.

In past years camp has been held at various boarding schools that they rent. But over the past few years Circus Smirkus raised $2 million, purchased a farm near their headquarters and finally were able to build their own permanent home. They were in a mad dash to get it ready for the first camp session. They held a work party in early June and seemingly half of the population of Greensboro (population 700) showed up to help. They barely made it! The dorms were still in a somewhat unfinished state but no campers or parents cared.

After we dropped Charlotte off, Audrey and Carol and I headed to Stowe. I had scoped out possible hikes and Mt. Mansfield, the highest point in Vermont, sounded doable. Unfortunately the forecast said we'd get rain in the late afternoon so we were under some time pressure. The hike was steep, rocky and muggy. Audrey was not enjoying it. A few hundred feet below the summit we came across the Green Mountain Club's Taft Lodge. It was a great stopping place. After some lunch and a rest we headed back down.

It never did rain.

In the evening we headed to St. Johnsbury to eat at a new restaurant I had found while researching: Kingdom Taproom. We had a great flatbread and a fancy salad. We liked the atmosphere.

On Friday we returned to camp to pick up Charlotte and attend her demonstrations. My favorite thing was the tumbling: watching Charlotte use a springboard and do a somersault.

Every year when we do this trip I ponder the idea of going to Montreal. It's a five hour drive from home, but only two hours from camp. This year we decided to do it. We departed camp about 4:30 and took the scenic route to a minor border crossing at North Troy, VT. We ended up getting delayed there because we had a bundle of firewood in the van. After a search, they made us drive back into the US to drop the firewood at the side of the road, then enter Canada again.

After a stop at a mall to buy a Canadian SIM card so I could use my phone for navigation and to find restaurants and attractions in Montreal, we finally arrived at our hotel downtown around 10:30.

On Saturday we first headed for Old Montreal to find some breakfast. We stopped at the first tourist crepe restaurant we found. It was alright. It served the purpose.

While we were eating we kept hearing jazz from the place next door. It also seemed like a constant stream of people was entering that establishment. But we went on our way.

We explored Old Montreal, which is very quaint. We went into several art galleries and Audrey, in particular, enjoyed that. We saw a lot of very cool art. We also stopped to listen to a great duo on the street and bought their CD.

At some point one of us posted on Facebook that we were in Montreal and our dear friend Britt commented that our dear friend Ken, her husband, was there for a conference. We eventually made contact and made a plan to meet for dinner.

Meanwhile, we took the subway to the Olympic Village from 1976 and the nearby Botanical Gardens. In the gardens is a place called the Insectarium which is a museum of sorts devoted to bugs. We had been told it was popular with kids. All of us loved it! Very fascinating.

One especially cool exhibit was a viney tree that had been trained to grow in a long horizontal arch from its pot to another pot about 10 feet away. At one end was an ant colony, and at the other end was a food source (a flowering plant). There was no glass. One could watch the ants chew off bits of plant (often in a team) before one of them took on the load and carried it all the way back to the nest. There were thousands of ants all making the round trip. And the most fascinating thing? The ants don't eat the leaves: they feed them to a fungus that lives in their nest, and the ants farm and eat the fungus!

I was blown away by the variety of insects. Even just among beetles and moths there were hundreds and hundreds of different species. It is a fantastic illustration of the power of natural selection to drive specialization toward a species' unique niche.

After that we went up in the slanted observation tower that was built as the centerpiece of the Olympic Village for a great view of the city. Back at the base, we discovered the Olympic swimming and diving pool is "hidden" under the tower.

Then it was time to go find Ken and find some dinner.

Ken had been busy at a technical conference all week and hadn't seen much of the city. We took him back down through Old Montreal, looking for restaurants along the way. We ended up back at the square where we had breakfast and guess what looked best? That place with the jazz.

It turns out the place has a lovely courtyard and the jazz is live.

There was a long line, but a strange thing happened. I went to the front and asked the greeter how long the wait would be for a party of five. He told me to wait right there. We were confused for a minute or two, but then he told me to go back in line and get my party and in we went! To a fantastic table overlooking the stage! We're not sure what happened, but we didn't complain.

The setting was magical: a beautiful garden courtyard with a lively crowd enjoying a gorgeous summer evening while listening to live music. I was on cloud nine.

We really enjoyed hanging out with Ken. After dinner we watched some street performers, the girls had their sketch drawn and we ended with some ice cream. By the time we walked Ken back to his hotel and took the subway back to ours it was pretty late.

It had been an absolutely perfect day! Thank you for the nice introduction, Montreal!

Sunday morning we drove back to Vermont in order to drop Audrey off at camp at 3:00. Then we drove home.

Charlotte really enjoyed being the only child for a week!

Saturday morning we got up at 6:00am and drove back up to Greensboro to pick Audrey up at 10:00.

For this one-night stay I had reserved a cabin next to the river in Barton, VT, about 20 minutes from camp. The girls loved it. There was a pool, and we could walk up the river a short distance to a stone railroad viaduct that was picturesque. That night we drove back to St. Johnsbury to return to the Kingdom Taproom.

On Sunday we slept in a little and laid around. Then we had a late breakfast and visited a yard sale in Glover just down the road from Barton. We bought some dishes and an old shoe shine kit.

Then it was back to Greensboro for the 1:00 performance of Circus Smirkus - this was the initial performance of the 70-performance summer tour. I really like going to the inaugural performance because it is held in a big top in the middle of a pasture at the circus headquarters, which is an old farm down a long dirt road.

The performance was great, as always.

Finally, all the fun was over. it was time to drive back to Melrose once more and get back to normal life.

The part of Vermont we visit every year for camp is called the Northeast Kingdom. Every year when we're there I spend a lot of time fantasizing about living there because it is such a gorgeous landscape: very green, rolling hills with surprise vistas, scenic little rivers. Of course, we always see it in June. I bet the winters there feel pretty damn long.

We'll do it again next year! Although next year both girls will go to week-long camp so the logistics will be a little easier.

Pawtuckaway Camping

In Mid-June we went camping at Pawtuckaway State Park in New Hampshire with our friends and neighbors Dana and Rachel and the boys: Miles, Linus and Zack.

We usually go to Pawtuckaway in September a couple weeks after school starts. At that time it is less than half full and peaceful. It can also be a little cool for swimming (although that never stops Audrey). This was our first time in the middle of summer. We loved it.

We had camp sites across from each other and Dana and Rachel's was on the water. There's a great swimming spot there with some large boulders the kids can easily get out to. They love to perch on them and jump off.

The weather was ideal, with warm but comfortable temperatures. Not too many bugs. We got in lots of swimming, some canoeing and at one point the kids all disappeared for a while on an adventure of their own.

We'll definitely have to go back in high season next summer!

Oh, I almost forgot. At one point we gave the girls a few dollars so they could go to the camp store to buy candy. Audrey came back with crickets! And she ate them!

Ruby's New Tent

Ruby's New Tent

Way back in May the tool I use to upload photo albums stopped working. I needed to find a new method, but I got busy with summer and a job change and life. Then this week I discovered that the tool I use still works, I just have to use it differently. So get ready for the flood of photo albums to get us up to date.

We'll start with some photos from May when I replaced the pop-top tent on Ruby, our VW Vanagon camper van.

The original tent was canvas and was getting pretty tired. It only had one window, which didn't provide enough ventilation. The screen in the window was badly torn.

The new tent is nylon and more mildew-resistant. It has three windows, all with replaceable screens.

I had read the instructions for replacing the tent in advance and knew it was going to be a tedious job. There are a lot of screws that are in hard to reach places. I was prepared, therefore, and I was able to remain patient through hours of struggle.

The girls love being able to open the side windows. They can also easily remove the screen from the front window and climb out onto the little cargo deck above the driver and passenger seats.

We've had a few camping trips since then and we love the new tent.

Neighborhood Camping Trip

Neighborhood Camping Trip

Last October we joined our next door neighbors for a weekend of camping at Pawtuckaway State Park in New Hampshire. We had such a great time and enjoyed being there in the fall so much that we decided to go again this fall - and to invite a bunch of other neighbors. Six families total were able to join us.

We had sites right on the lake and the water was still warm enough for swimming. The Burtnetts brought a kayak. There were a gaggle of kids who know and like each other. We felt safe letting Audrey wander with the older kids and at one point she went off on a frog hunt with Parker and Ned for a couple of hours.

Both nights had clear skies and we took the girls to the big parking lot by the swimming area to stargaze. We used the awesome phone app Star Walk to identify stars and constellations. I think it was the first time the girls have seen the Milky Way clearly.

On Saturday evening I built a cooking fire and all the families ended up assembling at our campsite for a big semi-impromptu potluck dinner. It was most enjoyable.

Everyone is excited to do it again next September.

Polar Caves and Santa's Village

Polar Caves

Santa's Village | Video

Last year we visited Santa's Village in Jefferson, NH in October and had a great time with cooler weather and no crowds. We decided to repeat the experience this year and went the weekend after school started.

Along the way to Santa's Village, in Rumney, NH, is Polar Caves. It's essentially a huge pile of very large boulders that long ago fell off an adjacent cliff, purportedly 50,000 years ago. The caves are the spaces between the boulders. Over the decades the owners have built a series of boardwalks and ladders through the caves that are very cool, both figuratively and literally.

Charlotte was a little hesitant at first but soon she was in the swing of it. We went through every cave and the girls even made it through the tightest cave: Lemon Squeeze. Mom and dad would have had to crawl on our bellies for Lemon Squeeze and we weren't keen to get that dirty.

Santa's Village has a policy that if you arrive less than three hours before closing your admission is also good the next day. So we always plan to get there exactly three hours before closing on Saturday and then spend most of Sunday at the park, too. Saturday afternoon we made a tour of our favorite rides before heading across the road to the campground.

That evening we had a cool thunderstorm. Unfortunately we only got to see a couple of nearby lightning strikes. We played bingo in the pavilion and the girls had their faces painted.

I think our favorite ride this time was the bumper cars. Most of the time there was no line so the operator would let the session go on forever and then would let us stay in the cars while a few people swapped out and then we'd go for another round. We had a blast.

Click here for the video.

Fall Camping

Click for photos

Way back when we camped at Wells Point State Park with the Burtnetts (our backyard neighbors) they told us they had a cabin reserved for October 22nd at Pawtuckaway State Park in New Hampshire. We put it on our calendar and went on with life. Last week Carol and I debated whether we still wanted to go because we've been away a lot of weekends lately. But then we reminded ourselves, "Hey, it's the Burtnetts! We always have a great time with them." So on Saturday off we went to New Hampshire.

We didn't leave town until mid-afternoon because Audrey had figure skating class until noon. Pawtuckaway is only about an hour away and we arrived at about 3:00. It's quite a large campground but most of it was closed for the season. There are only 5 cabins and they are off by themselves. The regular campsites that were open were in a different part of the park so overall the park felt very deserted and quiet. The foliage was gorgeous.

We hung out for a bit and Audrey and I went for a little bike ride. The we all decided to go for a walk to the beach and some of the small islands near it. On the way to the beach we played a game catching falling leaves before they hit the ground. Then we arrived at the playground and everyone played on swings and the seesaw and the slides and the climbing wall. Near the beach there was a bridge to a cool little island. The kids used logs as balance beams. The older kids were doing it on a log that stuck out into the lake. Audrey really wanted to do it, too, but it was only about 55 degrees out and walking back to the van in wet clothes would not have been fun. I "persuaded" her not to try it. The younger kids built gnome homes. It was a spectacularly beautiful spot out on a peninsula in the lake with gorgeous fall colors along the shore.

Then it was back to traverse the beach and visit another peninsula and cross another bridge to an island that was equally cool. We scoped out some great campsites to try to reserve for summer.

Sunset was approaching so we headed back to the cabin and started a fire and cooked hot dogs for dinner. The teenage girls built a very cool gnome home in the trees near the cabin. We played many rounds of "guess the animal". Then we roasted marshmallows for s'mores. By then it was getting late and the kids headed to bed. Scott and I sat by the fire for a while and were visited by a raccoon who was not shy.

The temperature got down into the high 30s overnight. We had plenty of clothes and blankets with us so we all managed to stay warm. Except for Carol. But Carol wears a sweatshirt when it is 80 degrees.

In the morning it was chilly but not too bad. We all had a little breakfast and then Carol and Audrey went off for a long bike ride exploring the rest of the campground. We had a little firewood left so we started a fire. I thought the three pieces of wood we had would only last 20 minutes but we managed to milk the fire for more than an hour. Audrey spent a fair bit of time "fire fishing", as she called it: holding a stick in the fire to light the end, putting it out in the ashes, repeating.

In late morning we decided to go for a hike in another part of the park before heading home. We packed up and left the campground. We had to drive about 10 miles out of and around the park to a different entrance. Once back in the park the road turned to dirt and an adventure! Carol was nervous, but it wasn't really that bad. It was maybe a mile to the trailhead.

The hike we had chosen was to a boulder field - a collection of large glacial erratics among rolling hills. The boulders were impressive! The largest ones were probably 30-40' tall. The kids had a blast clambering among them, through caves and passages and onto ledges. Have I mentioned that the fall colors were gorgeous?

The Burtnetts needed to head home and we wanted to continue on the loop trail around the pond so we said our goodbyes. Along the trail we found even more boulders and cliffs and very cool cave that was about 30' long and ended up near the trail again. It was fairly dark going through it - the girls were very brave and very proud when they emerged. When we came to a road I was disoriented but Carol was sure which way to go. That's the opposite of our usual state but a nice change of pace. Sure enough, a few minutes along the road in Carol's direction and we were back at Ruby. A little more than an hour later we were home.

We really had a fantastic time. We've decided to make it an annual trip. In fact, we might try to recruit other neighborhood families and reserve all five cabins next year.

Santa's Village

Santa's Village

Back in June while Audrey was at Circus Camp the rest of us went to Santa's Village, an amusement park in northern New Hampshire scaled for little kids. Charlotte had such a great time that Audrey really wanted to go. We had planned to return in the late summer or fall. Last weekend we had a real bout of Indian Summer - 87 degrees in Boston and 79 degrees forecast at Santa's Village - so we seized the opportunity.

We left Saturday morning and took the scenic route up Route 16 through Conway and North Conway which are the epicenter of White Mountains tourist activity. Unfortunately I didn't think hard enough about the fact that plenty of other people would be heading north to enjoy the fine weather, plus the normal "leaf peepers" so we got stuck in a traffic jam in those towns for more than an hour. We still made it to Santa's Village with an hour left and we managed to snag a bunch of rides before closing. If you enter less than three hours before closing your ticket is good for another day and that was part of our plan.

We camped across the road at the Lantern Inn and Campground. It was a pleasant place and they even had s'more making as a free activity. The girls made instant friends with a family with two boys and a little girl who pulled in to the next campsite. They played "midnight tag" (at 7:00) for a long time. I laid on my back on the picnic table and tried to see some of the Draconids meteor shower. No luck. The moon was almost full and rising and there was a wispy thin cloud layer that was illuminated just enough by the moon to obscure all but the brightest stars. I didn't see a single meteor in 25 minutes of staring.

In the morning we drove a mile to the town of Jefferson for breakfast. It so happened the fire department was holding their annual fundraiser breakfast that day so we joined them in one of the town churches.

We were in line at the entrance about 20 minutes before the park opened. There was a good crowd at the park but it never got too crowded. I think the longest we waited to get on a ride was 10 minutes, if that. Both girls liked the Sleigh Skyway (a monorail), the antique cars and the twirling candy cane ride. Audrey fell in love with the reindeer roller coaster and she also went on the flying swings with Carol. Charlotte loved the racing water rafts. We all had a blast on the bumper cars.

In the afternoon we headed out to the parking lot for lunch in the van and to put on swim suits for the small water park. The girls and I played in the water for almost two hours. Charlotte went down her first little kids water slide, and Audrey went down her first "real" water slide. She was afraid of the enclosed slide but I reassured her that it was fun and eventually she gave it a try. She loved it. There is a huge bucket on top that slowly fills and then empties out and douses the center of the water park every few minutes (just like at Great Wolf Lodge). This one has a bell that gives warning and Audrey was very tuned into it because she did not want to get doused. But as we were about to dry off I invited Audrey to stand under the torrent with me and she did! She hugged my legs very tightly but was brave and of course afterward thought it was great fun.

By then it was about 2:30. I thought we might leave at 4:00 or so since we had a three hour drive home and I had to work the next day (the girls had Columbus Day off). But we were having so much fun that I let go of my schedule and we ended up closing the park down at 6:00. It was really a fantastic day.

The drive home was a breeze, perhaps due to the Monday holiday. We were home shortly after 9:00 so I wasn't even up late. We realized later in the week that we had forgotten to watch the gas gage and had arrived home on fumes. The weekend getaway gods were apparently watching over us.

We might get in one more weekend camping trip this coming weekend. We have definitely gotten good use out of our camper van ("Ruby Tuesday") this season.

Oh, and the leaves in the White Mountains were a little subdued but still gorgeous, especially the "golden hour" before sunset.

Cape Cod Cottage

Cape Cod Cottage

Back when Carol and I were coaching Audrey's T-ball team there was a boy on the team named Zack. He and Audrey hit it off and it turns out they only live a block away. We started hanging out together. Zack's parents are Dana and Rachel and he has two brothers Linus (3) and Miles (2). They love to come over and play chase in our yard. When I'm not biking and I ride the train to work Dana and I are often on the same train.

They have a beach cottage in Dennisport on Cape Cod that has been in Dana's family since the early 70s. Dana and Rachel invited us to join them there on the weekend after Labor Day. We drove Ruby Tuesday down and camped in their driveway.

The cottage is classic: plywood walls, mixed flooring, big louver windows, outdoor shower and a Gorton's fisherman lamp. It is in a little community with a bunch of other similar cottages along narrow sandy drives. There's a pond on the property and the beach is a block away. Great bike riding for the kids and they took advantage of it.

We of course had to partake in traditional beach activities. We had ice cream at the Sundae School. We played mini-golf at Pirate's Cove. We petted animals and saw a cool live tegu demonstration at Zooquarium. It wasn't warm enough to swim in the ocean, but the kids and I flew a kite on the beach.

After we packed up and closed the cottage on Sunday we all visited the Long Pasture Audubon Sanctuary in Barnstable. It was fantastic. Right off the bat we encountered a bunch of goats running loose eating vegetation. The kids really enjoyed feeding and petting the goats. And naming them. Then we had a lovely picnic on the grass overlooking Cape Cod Bay and went for a walk through the forest to a butterfly meadow. It wasn't butterfly season but the walk and the meadow were pretty.

As our last stop we visited Four Seas Ice Cream in Centerville but we hit it on their last day of business for the season. They weren't serving scoops, they were only selling pints and quarts. So we bought a quart of chocolate and improvised with camping stuff from the van, using a knife and cutting board to slice servings for everyone. We successfully produced five kids with chocolate faces.

It was a really fun weekend.

Wells State Park

Wells State Park Camping

We went camping with our neighbors the Burtnetts a year ago and had a great time. We really wanted to do it again this summer but schedules didn't line up until August. Last weekend we went together to Wells State Park in the middle of the state in the town of Sturbridge. We chose it because it has a swimming pond and is a relatively small campground. We thought it would have good roads for the kids to ride bikes on. They turned out to be rough dirt roads, but no matter...

On Friday night we went to a small clearing near our campsite to watch the Perseids meteor shower. We could only stand it for about 20 minutes because we were getting eaten by bugs even though we had lots of bug spray on. Most of us saw one big meteor streak across the sky - the best one I've ever seen. Unfortunately Audrey was looking away at that moment and missed it.

Audrey has been very excited to fish lately. Back in June on the way to Cape Cod we bought her a rod and reel and I put some weights on the line but no hook. She casted for hours. In the Wells State Park handout we got at checkin it said there was a ranger-led fishing activity Saturday morning so I called and signed up the whole gang. Audrey really enjoyed it, especially having a real hook and real bait (earthworms). The group caught a couple of sunfish and a yellow perch and neighbor Scott caught a small smallmouth bass, all of which were released.

The fishing activity was at 10:00 am. We spent the rest of the day at the pond beach. The girls and the Burtnett kids swam and swam and swam. They also hooked up with some tween boys who were collecting frogs and other critters. The weather was fantastic.

Back at camp we had dinner and then s'mores, of course.

Sunday morning we awoke to rain, which hadn't been forecast until later in the day. The Burtnetts packed up and headed out. We packed a little more slowly since the camper van is a lot more comfortable than a tent in the rain. But we were still home before noon and had a free afternoon to just relax.

The trip was very fun. If we go back to that campground next year we scoped out the sites that we want - right by the lake and also on a paved loop that will be perfect for bike riding.

Cape Cod Camping

Cape Cod Camping

After having such a great time at Nickerson State Park on Cape Cod last June, I put it on my calendar for January to make a reservation for this June.

It was while we were at Nickerson last year that Audrey learned to ride her bike without training wheels. After some reticence Charlotte this spring took to her bike (with training wheels). The campground has paved loops that have very little traffic and what traffic there is moves slowly because the place is full of kids. So we brought bikes for both girls and also Carol's junky old mountain bike which is great for one of us to ride along with them.

After we rode around the loops with the girls a fair number of times I had Audrey demonstrate that she could navigate the turns and remember to stop when passing the loop entrance. Then we brought sidewalk chalk with us on a tour and made signs for the girls on the road indicating where to turn and stop. They seemed to have it down, so we took a leap and let the girls ride without us as long as they stayed together and stayed in the specified loops. They were very successful and loved the independence. What a milestone! This is the first time the girls have been out of our site or hearing while in our care!

On one part of "loop C" there is a small hill. Audrey learned how to stand while pedaling to make it up the hill. Charlotte was leery of the downhill the first time but then decided she loved it and became quit the speed demon going down it.

I think Charlotte rode about 100 laps of the loops with Audrey, and Audrey probably rode 100 more on her own and with other kids she met. They loved it.

There is also a great pond, with a sandy beach about a 10 minute walk through the forest from our campsite. The first day and a half we were there it was cool but then it warmed up and we had several fun swimming sessions. The girls also played in the sand for hours. Audrey had recently been asking for a fishing rod, so we stopped on the way to the Cape and bought her an inexpensive rod and reel. I put weights and a bobber on the line but no hook and showed her how to cast. She was content to do that for long periods; seeing how far she could cast the line (pretty far!).

I had ambitions to explore the Cape a little more this year. For example, I wanted to visit the Cape Cod National Seashore. But every time we talked about leaving the campground to go do something else the girls would protest. We recently heard of a piece of parenting advice from Jack Black: "Don't ever try to make a happy kid happier." We followed that advice, and the girls never left the campground over the entire four days. We only started the van once, when I drove by myself to a nearby town to get take out dinner.

On the last day after checking out of the campground we finally did some "Cape stuff". We ate breakfast at The Pancake Man, played a round of mini golf and then as we left the Cape we visited Four Seas Ice Cream and enjoyed delicious handmade strawberry ice cream (made with fresh strawberries).

The trip was a great success and we will definitely be doing it again next June.

A day after returning home we departed for Seattle. That'll be the subject of the next post or two once I get the photos organized.

Smirkus Camp/Santa's Village

Our most recent adventure was a trip to northern Vermont. Photos and video are presented in three parts. As always, click on the images to go to a photo album for each story. And don't miss the "video" links below the images.

Photos | Video Smirkus Camp Last August Audrey's classmate Sophia invited us all to her birthday party which included a group trip to see Circus Smirkus. It's a circus that travels around new England in the summer with a cast made up entirely of kids aged 8-17. They also run a summer camp where campers learn circus skills, and campers can audition to join the traveling show. After the show I immediately went home and put a reminder on my calendar to sign Audrey up (Charlotte's not old enough yet). In November I was able to register Audrey. Sophia also registered and Audrey and Sophia requested to be roommates. The introductory camp is called Smirkling Camp and was held this past weekend from 9:00am Friday morning until 3:30pm Saturday. I took Friday off and we drove up Thursday night to a campground in Danville, VT. Friday morning we got up early and delivered Audrey to camp. We got her all settled in her room and met her counselor and she was good to go. We took off to explore the area with Charlotte and Sophia's parents and 4-year-old sister Maya. We returned to camp at 3:30 on Saturday for a demonstration of what the campers had learned. Audrey demonstrated a ton of skills for us: rope climbing, hanging fabric aerial tricks, a trapeze "pyramid" with 6 kids, tumbling, human pyramids, mini-trampoline, plate spinning, tight wire walking and rolling globe walking. I was impressed especially by the trapeze and hanging fabric work. Audrey had obviously been paying attention which can sometimes be a challenge for her. After all the demonstrations it was "Pie Day". The clowning instructor taught us all how to correctly deliver and receive pies to the face. Then the campers got to pie the counselor/instructor of their choice and then they got to pie their parents. Audrey got me good. Audrey obviously had a fantastic time. We look forward to her returning to circus camp next summer, either for Smirkling Camp again or perhaps for a week. Charlotte says she doesn't want to go but she may change her mind.

Photos | Video Santa's Village While Audrey was at circus camp Sophia's parents Marie and Dan and her sister Maya joined us to drive an hour to Santa's Village in Jefferson, VT. It's an amusement park aimed at elementary school kids and was a perfect treat for Charlotte while Audrey was off having fun. Charlotte is always a little wary of amusement rides but she warms up eventually. That's what happened this time, too. For example there is a sleigh ride monorail that traverses the park and she at first wanted nothing to do with it because it travels about 20' off the ground. But after watching our friends ride it and thinking about it for a bit she decided she really wanted to go. She loved it and was proud to conquer her fear. We also rode bumper cars, antique cars, and a gentle spinning ride that she and Maya could have ridden all day. Charlotte even got on the ferris wheel with me, but she got a little scared at the top and we got off early. We also got to pet and feed reindeer with antlers covered in soft velvet and we got to play a little in the small water park ("Ho Ho H2O"). Audrey is of course jealous that Charlotte got to go to Santa's Village. So we'll have to make a return trip later in the summer after our Seattle visit.

Northern Vermont Northern Vermont While Audrey was at circus camp in Lyndon Center, VT we spent some time in nearby St. Johnsbury, VT. St. Johnsbury grew in the mid-1800's as the home of the Fairbanks Scale company. The founders got rich and built significant buildings in the town center including the Athenaeum and the Fairbanks Museum. The museum is pretty cool. A slice of Victorian times, both in its architecture and its collection. The landscape in northern Vermont (the Northeast Kingdom) and New Hampshire (the Great North Woods and the White Mountains Region) is beautiful. Verdant is a good description. It's also pretty remote. As we drove there on I-93 and I-91 I imagined what it was like before there were interstate highways. It takes over 3 hours today from Boston. It would have taken a very long time to travel there in pre-freeway days. Or on a horse. One of these days we'll push on even farther north and visit Montreal and Quebec City.

Catching Up

Sheesh, it's been more than a month since my last real post. We've been busy.

As always, click on the small photos to go to a photo album for each story.

New York Weekend New York Weekend At the beginning of April we went to New York for a weekend to visit my friend Brady and his daughter Isabel and attend Sleep No More. We had a great weekend. Saturday we all went to the Metropolitan Museum. We weren't sure if the girls would enjoy it, but we promised them they'd see suits of armor. On the way to the armor we passed through the Egyptian section (including the temple) and the Art Deco section. They liked all of it. After the museum we went across the street to the Ancient Playground where the girls had a blast. Saturday night we spent at the performance, which was fascinating. Our friends had seen it in Boston last year when it was staged in an empty school and had raved about it. It lived up to the hype. Just the "set" was amazing: five floors of multiple adjoining warehouses, all meticulously constructed and decorated and available for audience exploration. And the performance was intriguing, too. It consists of about eight or nine non-speaking characters moving through the space and periodically interacting. Audience members just follow whichever character they want, or none at all. We're very glad we went. On Sunday morning we went to Cafe Centosette, which was Brady and Isabel's favorite breakfast spot. Unfortunately we found out during our meal that it was their last day in business. The rent was raised and was now too high. Bummer. But Brady asked the secret of their delicious Dutch Babies: it's Bisquick! And a cast iron skillet.

Crane Estate Crane Estate May Day Open House We subscribe to a weekly email list called Boston Central that lists stuff to do with kids. It's been a fantastic resource and probably once a month we do one of the activities we learn about from that source. The most recent was the Crane Estate Open House on May Day. The Crane Estate was the summer home of plumbing fixture magnate Richard Crane. It is now owned by the Trustees of Reservations, a New England open space and heritage site preservation group. Another part of the property is Crane Beach which is very popular in the summer. Carol packed a picnic for us and off we went. There were a few hundred people there but the grounds are huge so it didn't feel crowded. We played croquet and chased each other around and had a delicious lunch. The Castle Hill mansion was open for self-guided tours. Then local high school girls danced around a may pole. We wandered down the Grand Allee to Steep Hill Beach and played on the beach for a good long time. I drew a maze in the sand. It was the first time I've ever drawn a maze; it turned out to be not too difficult to solve. Of course being in only two dimensions didn't help since you could see right over the "walls".

Mystic Seaport Mystic Seaport We visited Mystic Seaport last April and had such a great time we've sort of decided to make it our annual first camping trip of the year. So the first weekend in May we drove down after the girls' ballet lessons on Saturday and arrived mid-afternoon. The girls were excited to go straight to the playground, which consists of three boat play structures that kids can climb in and on: a tugboat, a fishing boat and a sailboat. They could play there for a very long time. Right next door is the "Children's Museum" which is the ground floor of a converted house that contains: another fishing boat structure with fish they can catch and decks to swab and woodwork to paint; a couple of sailor's berths; and a galley in which they can pretend to cook up a feast. This year there's a new indoor area in one of the real museum buildings that has a puppet theater, period dress-up clothes (Mystic Seaport mainly focuses on the mid-19th century when Mystic was a thriving shipbuilding center), and some cool old games and puzzles. So we spent a lot of time there as well. We only had a couple of hours on Saturday before closing, but tickets are good for a second day. So we headed to the local KOA campground and made dinner. While we were eating a thunderstorm approached from the southeast. We quickly cleaned up and got in the van as it started to rain a little. We were hoping it would roll right over us because that would have been cool in the van, but it just brushed us with a little wind and rain. We could see plenty of lightning nearby though and hear thunder. Sunday was Mother's Day. I had researched local breakfast places and decided on Kitchen Little. It's very near Mystic Seaport so we had passed it on Saturday. It's definitely little. Although once inside we found it packs people in very efficiently and can actually hold probably 40 people, partially in a covered outdoor area overlooking the river. Back at Mystic Seaport we revisited the huge scale model of the Mystic River that does a great job of showing what the area was like in the 1850s, including the many shipyards and ships in various stages of construction. We also spent a fair bit of time aboard the Charles W. Morgan, the last surviving wooden whaling ship which is being painstakingly restored. The restoration is an amazing process with a fascinating facility. They rebuild parts of the ship using the same materials and techniques as were originally used. Finally, the most popular activity with kids is a little shop where they can build their own boats. There are small pieces of wood in various shapes plus paper, string and hot glue guns that they can use to build whatever they want on top of a bare hull. They love it. We had just as much fun as last year, so our plan of making it an annual event is confirmed. Oh, the campground also has a big jumping pillow that we all love.

Spring 2011 Everything Else Boy, there is lot of other spring news, too. Charlotte is wrapping up Pre-K and will go to full-day Kindergarten next year at the same school Audrey attends. We're very excited for everyone to be able to walk to and from school together. Audrey is wrapping up first grade and has had a great year. She's becoming quite the reader, which warms my heart to no end. She has recently taken up the habit of spontaneously curling up with a book. Audrey has also started losing her baby teeth. On the bottom the new teeth came in behind the old ones and in January the dentist pulled the two front bottom baby teeth (with some kind of magic: Audrey liked the experience!). The top two front teeth were loose seemingly forever but finally came out a couple of weeks ago. She looks damn cute with her gap-toothed smile. Both girls have been excited about riding their bikes this spring. Audrey shed her training wheels last summer and she picked up right where she left off. Charlotte has decided to ride with training wheels after not liking them last year. On nice days they both ride their bikes to Audrey's school with mom walking along. Carol took the girls to the deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum one afternoon and they enjoyed all the outdoor sculpture as well as the indoor exhibits. We also attended the MIT Open House on April 30. It was the first campus-wide open house in 30 years. A fellow robot team mentor works at the Plasma Science and Fusion Center and had specifically told me about events there, so we made sure to attend the Plasma and Pickles presentation. We also saw some robot demonstrations and Audrey got to fly a quadracopter. I got to see a lot more of the MIT campus, which I ride my bike past every day on my way to and from work. Finally: several years ago I read an article about the invention of colored bubbles. It's a very difficult problem because: soap bubbles are very thin and dye is heavy enough that it just flows to the bottom of the bubble it was hard to come up with a dye that wouldn't stain kids' clothes But after more than a decade of work an inventor figured it out. After reading the story I was excited for the bubbles to hit the market so I could try them out. But that never happened. Then a week or two ago we saw an ad on TV for Crayola Washable Colored Bubbles. I'm not sure if it is the same chemistry as that described in the article, but they are the first colored bubbles I have seen on the market. Carol picked up a the pink and green varieties for the girls (and for me). Unfortunately, they are a bit of a disappointment. The green ones have a fair bit of color to them but the pink ones are very faintly colored. However, even though they are "washable" the fluid is very dark colored (the pink looks like slightly watered down blood) and it's very hard to believe that they aren't going to stain anything they touch. We did prove that it washes right off of concrete and that it can be easily blotted out of cotton clothing. It was interesting to close the loop on the story. I'm not sure if we'll be buying any more of them.

Whew, we're all caught up now.

Maine Weekend

Maine Weekend

This weekend we loaded up Ruby Tuesday and headed for the coast of Maine. We already had a plan to go there when last week Audrey asked me out of the blue, "Dad, can we go to a lighthouse someday?" Excellent timing! That gave me a theme for planning what to do on the trip.

Audrey had her first soccer game Saturday morning, followed immediately by her first ballet lesson. Charlotte had her first ballet lesson at the same time as Audrey's soccer game. Our chauffeuring career has begun! We were done with all that by 11:00 and we got out of town before 1:00. It's less than a two hour drive to our destination.

We stayed at the KOA campground in Saco, ME. KOAs are like the McDonald's of camping - they aren't exactly "wild" but you always know what you're going to get: clean and well-run. And they serve inexpensive outdoor pancake breakfasts! This one even had an ice cream social Saturday night.

I brought along Audrey's bike. She was very concerned that the campground wouldn't have paved roads. It didn't, but it had well-packed gravel and she had a great time riding her bike around the loop where we were camped. Audrey finally let me show her how to tip the bike to one side and lean on that foot while getting started and that made a big difference. That girl just does not want to be told how to do things!

After exploring the campground we headed for Schooner Mini-golf nearby. Carol and I were neck and neck for the entire round but I ended up winning by a stroke on the last hole.

Then we drove through the busy little town of Old Orchard Beach, complete with an amusement park right on the beach. It looks like a fun place to stay for a few days next summer and there are some campgrounds right in town. The KOA also runs a shuttle to the town.

Back at the campsite I built a very slow-developing fire. The wood seemed dry but it took forever to get going. I'm going to have to cheat and pack a blowtorch. We all roasted hot dogs for dinner and then the girls headed off to the ice cream social while I watched the fire. Even after ice cream it was still mandatory that each girl roast a marshmallow and make a s'more before bed.

Audrey and Charlotte befriended boys Nathan and Christopher at the ice cream social and we ended up at the pancake breakfast with them, too. Then they all played together at the playground for quite a while before we headed back to break camp.

I had done some research on lighthouses while planning the trip. Maine has dozens of them but many are not open to the public. Even the ones that are have restrictions on age or height the preclude our kids from climbing the towers. We ended up going to the most popular Maine lighthouse: Portland Head Light. No tower climbing, but a decent museum and it's in a large park that is the former Fort Williams (for those of you in Seattle, think Fort Casey).

We spent several hours at the park. After visiting the lighthouse and museum we had a great picnic on the grass. Then we explored the rest of the park, following little trails to secret picnic tables and to chimneys for underground rooms near the old gun emplacements. Audrey and I got out on the shore rocks a bit.

I thought we could squeeze in one more lighthouse before heading home. I tried to find Portland Breakwater Light, aka "Bug Light", but instead I found Spring Point Ledge Light. Charlotte was tired and stayed in the van to play games with Carol while Audrey and I ventured out on the jetty to the light. The jetty is made of large quarried blocks of granite (5-6' on a side) placed with level tops and jumpable gaps between them. Audrey loved it. On the way back I asked her to count the rocks she stepped on and she counted 127.

While packing for the trip I remembered to pack binoculars and the girls' new magnifying glass. We used them a lot while exploring Fort Williams. We could see several other lighthouses in the distance, and we watched a large tanker very slowly enter the harbor and dock with the help of three tug boats.

One of my main missions as a dad is to show my kids as much of the world as I can. When I feel like I've created a good dose of discovery it makes me very happy so I came home from this trip on a high. Great weekend.

Storyland

Storyland

Right after we moved to Massachusetts we started hearing about Storyland in New Hampshire. It's a theme park geared toward young children and other parents told us their kids loved it. We had last weekend open and the weather forecast was good, so off we went in our camper van.

Once we cleared a huge traffic jam at the New Hampshire border for the Boston-Portsmouth Air Show, we had a pleasant drive up to North Conway and Glen, NH. This is the heart of the White Mountains and very close to Mt. Washington - the highest peak in the Northeast.

We arrived at Storyland about 3:30. If you enter after 3:00 your ticket is good for another day as well - we planned to be there 3-6 on Saturday and most of the day on Sunday.

The girls loved it. Audrey is the perfect age for the place, and Charlotte will be next year. The rides are all scaled down to kid size: a roller coaster that is "real" (same construction as a big coaster) but is short and never goes all that fast; a ferris wheel with enclosed "balloons" instead of open seats; etc.

We had a great time exploring the park and riding rides until closing time at 6:00. Then we headed to the Green Meadow Campground right next door. What a peaceful place! Maybe it was just the contrast with a theme park full of bright colors and noise, but the campground seemed wonderful.

We hung out for a while and the girls played on the playground and made some friends (of course). Then we set off in search of dinner. When we got back it was dark and we took the girls out in the meadow for some excellent stargazing. The Milky Way was out in almost-full glory (the sky wasn't completely dark yet) and we could see lots of constellations and several planets. Audrey always amazes us with her observational skills and she pointed out several satellites. Then we set up the van and we all fell asleep.

We set the alarm for morning to give us time to get breakfast before being at the Storyland gate when it opened. We were second in line. I learned a lesson: do not ride the Tilt-a-Whirl first thing in the morning with a full stomach. I was nauseous to varying extents for a few hours afterward.

Both girls had little breakthroughs of their own. Charlotte was leery of the balloon ferris wheel and wouldn't go on it at first, but eventually she gave it a try and of course it was then her favorite ride. She also tried the Turtle Twirl (Tilt-a-Whirl - she cried) and even the roller coaster. Audrey hopped right on the roller coaster and loved it. She was most afraid of the Bamboo Chutes (log flume ride) but eventually tried it and then that was her favorite ride. We all had fun on the raft ride, on which one could get pretty wet. But it was a hot day and our clothing dried pretty quickly.

We covered pretty much the whole park and around 3:00 we started heading for the gate. Of course that took almost an hour - lots of "just one more"'s. We were OK indulging them, after all that's why we had come.

We headed home a different way, via Bear Notch Road and the Kancamangus Highway to I-93 in Lincoln, NH then down 93 all the way home. Traffic slowed at times but wasn't as bad as I imagined it could be on a Sunday evening heading back to the city.

The trip was a blast and I'm sure we'll go back for a weekend next summer.

What Happened to Those Five Weeks?

Wow, it's been forever since I've posted! Since December 17th! OK, let's get caught up.

New York December 2009

The highlight of December was a visit from my sister Tricia and her husband Frank. The girls were very excited to see their aunt and uncle and were counting down the days until they arrived.

Tricia and Frank had never been to New York, so we planned in advance to drive there during their visit and spend three days. We ended up delaying our trip by a day due to a big snowstorm, but 24 hours later the roads were clear so off we went. Ruby (our van) did just fine.

Tricia and Frank had their own hotel arrangements and we each went our own way so they could explore without having to deal with kid logistics. We stayed at our gracious friends Brady and Julie's apartment. It was fun to see New York both decorated for the holidays and also with a bunch of fresh snow. We went to a couple of museums, had dinner with our friends Bill and Sara, visited Grand Central Station and a few other sights and had a good time just traipsing around the city in winter.

Christmas 2009

On Christmas Eve we drove back to Boston. Christmas morning the girls ripped into their gifts and Carol made her traditional cinnamon rolls. Carol and I did pretty well this year at keeping the girls' gifts pretty modest. Well, except for the new Wii that is.

We knew that a video game would trump all other presents, so we let the girls play with everything else all morning and then in early afternoon we hastily organized a treasure hunt that ended at the Wii. The girls were thrilled. They've really been enjoying it and I think we're doing an alright job of limiting the amount. Sometimes Carol and I play after the girls are asleep.

Holidays 2009

Tricia and Frank were still here for three days after Christmas so we did a little sightseeing. We took them to Salem and its Peabody Essex Museum, and also to Rockport which is a scenic seaside town. In summer it's mobbed, but we had the place to ourselves. We bought some fudge and taffy to support the winter economy.

After our visitors departed I still had a week off. One of the days we drove down to Newport, Rhode Island to visit the famous mansions there. Only three of them are open in the dead of winter, but they are the three best ones: The Elms, Marble House and The Breakers. They are spectacular. The amount of money that went into building (and maintaining) them is astounding, especially considering they were just these families' summer homes.

The Beach in January

We've had about 50% more snow than normal so far this winter. I think we've had about 6 or 7 snowfalls of 4" or more. We've also had slighly below-normal temperatures. Last Saturday we had a day of sunshine and 45 degrees. It felt like Spring! So we headed to Wingaersheek Beach in Gloucester. Audrey hates bulky clothing so she was in heaven running around without a jacket on. Both girls had fun poking around in the sand and the shallow water and the snow. There was a weird zone at the high tide mark where about 6" of snow was covered with sand. It looked like normal firm sand, but when we stepped on it we sank in with a crunch. A very strange sensation.

Well there you go. We're caught up. I have a bunch of raw video from New York and Christmas that I need to edit. I'll post that when I can.

Oh, some very exciting news for me. Audrey has been learning a lot of phonetics in Kindergarten and doing very well at it. We bought her some Bob books which are for beginning readers. The last two nights Audrey has read two of our bedtime stories! Watching my kids learn to read is one of the things I'm most excited about as a parent. I'm thrilled.