Saugus Iron Works

Saugus Iron Works

We live a few miles from Route 1, which for you Seattleites is like Highway 99 (and in fact is Highway 99's opposite counterpart in the federal highway numbering system). We use it often to get to destinations on the North Shore. For the two years we've been here we've driven by a sign on Route 1 for the Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site (Wikipedia article). Saugus is the next town east of Melrose. A few weeks ago we finally visited the site.

I had read about the site a little but didn't know too much about it. We hooked up with a ranger-led tour to learn more.

John Winthrop, an early governor of the colony, recognized the need for a local source of iron so he commissioned his son to travel to England and bring back the technology and skilled workers to start an iron works. Winthop Jr. didn't last very long as the boss and he put the iron works in the wrong place (Quincy), but it was later re-sited to the Saugus River where there was ample forest to fire the blast furnace as well as bog iron (ore) and elevation change to provide water power. The iron works was started in 1646 - only 26 years after the pilgrims landed.

The iron works only operated for a little more than 20 years and then failed for various financial reasons. But the people who worked there spread out and built iron works elsewhere in Massachusetts and in other colonies. This was the very beginning of industrialization in America.

The Saugus site fell into disuse and in fact was eventually buried. The town preserved the main house and was proud of the it but the actual works were completely "lost". Just after World War II the town invited steel industry magnates to town in the hopes of raising preservation funds for the house. As the ranger tells it, they weren't so interested in the house but they recognized the slag heap in the river bed and knew that if there was a slag heap it pointed the way to a blast furnace. They funded excavation and restoration and rebuilt the blast furnace, forge, and rolling and slitting mill on the original foundations.

On the tour they activate the huge water wheels and drive the giant leather bellows of the blast furnace and the 500lb water-powered hammer in the forge. I found the machinery fascinating. The rangers are also skilled at evoking what it must have been like to work there with the heat of the blast furnace and the constant banging of the big hammer.

It was a very cool piece of history to discover. My parents were just visiting this week and I had to go again so I could take my dad who is an engineer.

New Pets

We've been promising the girls for a long time that we could get some fish. We finally pulled the trigger and bought a 10-gallon tank. About $100 worth of gear for 54 cents worth of fish!

May I introduce Ginny Weasly (top) and Flapper Merliah (although the names change every time we ask what they are).

This photo was taken right after I filled the tank using a gallon milk jug. Notice the cool lines of bubbles remaining from each gallon added.

Seattle and Richland Summer Visit

Seattle-Richland Summer Visit

In the first two weeks of July we made our annual pilgrimage to Seattle and Richland to spend time with family and friends. We all flew to Seattle together on June 29th. I returned to Boston on July 10 and Carol and the girls came home on the 20th.

We spent the first few nights at my sister Tricia's and her husband Frank's house in Puyallup. Frank is a jack-of-all-trades who also happens to be very good at all of them. They recently decided to get chickens, so Frank built a very fancy chicken palace to house their flock. The girls are fascinated by chickens (don't be surprised if I report someday that we have some), so they were excited. They also had a blast raiding Aunt Tricia's closet for dress-up, including pretend weddings in her wedding gown (they watched and seemed to be reenacting the royal wedding).

Since we were relatively close to Mt. Rainier we decided to go there for a day trip. Carol grew up camping at Cougar Rock campground every year and has great fondness for the park. I also spent a lot of time there as a climber and climbing instructor so I have my own fondness for it. We checked out the new bridge at Longmire (replacing the one that was washed out a few years ago), walked the Longmire historic trail, had a picnic at Cougar Rock campground, visited Paradise to check out the new visitor center and then on the way out of the park walked down to the river across from Cougar Rock to check out the log bridge. It was a very fun day. Next year we're going to borrow camping gear and spend at least a night at Cougar Rock - it's a beautiful place.

Then we moved up to Seattle where we stayed in the house of some friends who were out of town. It was a great base. My friend Scott is a fellow cycling fan so he already had his DVR set up to record each day of the Tour de France!

In Seattle we got to spend a lot of time with my parents and sister as well as Carol's brother Bob and his family. I was worried when we arrived that we hadn't made many plans with friends and they would all be busy, but the week worked out fantastically with many dates with friends. Grandma and Grandpa kept the girls for a couple of nights so Carol and I had real dates. We even spontaneously went swing dancing at the Century Ballroom where we met in January, 2000. We also went on a hike to Rattlesnake Ledge on a gorgeous day. That hike has spectacular views.

We visited our favorite spots in Seattle: the Woodland Park Zoo and the Ballard Locks. Then on my last full day in town we hosted a picnic at Volunteer Park and about 35 friends showed up to say hello, including Jeremy and Jill who live in Borneo, Kathy and Mark who live in Myanmar, and Paul and Keely who live with 1-year-old twins. It was really enjoyable to touch base with so many old friends.

Carol and the girls dropped me off at the airport and headed straight for Richland, where Carol's parents live a block from the Columbia River. They spent their time riding bikes and swimming and boating and enjoying Grandma Mary's great food. When Carol is visiting she and her parents play cards late into every night.

Then it was back to Seattle for a few days before they flew back to me in Boston. They were all ready to be home by then and I was sure glad to have them back.

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.

Charlotte's Pre-K Class

Charlotte Pre-K Class

Charlotte's Pre-K teachers were kind to send home a DVD with a collection of photos they had taken throughout the year. It's fun to see Charlotte's classmates and activities. Charlotte really loved Pre-K and had a couple of very good friends. Her best friend is Caroline.

While she enjoyed her two years at the Franklin Early Childhood Center, Charlotte is even more excited about being a Kindergartner at Roosevelt - the same School as Audrey - this fall.