First Day of School

The first day of school has arrived. 

K was excited to be getting back to school. She is excited about her homeroom teacher and getting back to math, science, and literature. 

A was a bit nervous, she even told me on Wednesday - "I am really stressed about school". She was concerned whether she would have any friends. Her best friend from last year was switching schools and A knew she would not be there this year.  Needless to say she had a bit of anxiety as to how it would turn out and had fitful nights of sleep.  When I asked if she was concerned about the school work in second grade - she looked at me like I was nuts - and asked "Why - it should be easy - I know all the stuff!!!"  Let's hope she is right about that.

As we arrived at the school yard - you would have thought A was a rock star. Some kids greeted and hugged like they were her long lost friends. Then during class, she and a new little girl hit it off and apparently are best friends. She even got to show the new student around.

K also was greeted with hugs by a friend. They hugged like they had not seen each other in years (they had just seen each other 2 nights before).

Sigh of relief from me as we begin the school year.  High hopes that homework will be done without a hassle and kids will awake and be out the door on time.  First 2 days looks good, but the girls are probably just  lulling me into a false sense of security only to be tricked by them next week!! At least with the 3 day weekend - it gives me a break before heading full gear into the school year.

New Look and questions answered

New Look:

I changed the look of the blog -I realized the other one was a killer on the eyes with the dots.  Hopefully this "new look" will be easier to read. Stay tuned - it could change again.

Questions Answered:

There have been a few questions regarding the outcome of items in previous posts.  Here are some of the answers to those questions:

*Did the 18X2 inch piece of glass make it home safely?  Yes I am glad to report that the piece of glass made it home all in one piece.  It was even in the checked baggage.  I inquired with K what her plans were for the glass - she said she was thinking we cold break it into small pieces for a mosaic stepping stone!!

*Did A have any further problems in the saltwater? The next time we had the opportunity to go swimming - I covered her with a mixture of vaseline and sunscreen.  She did fine.  Then when we went to Brackley Beach - she had another breakout at the very end - just on her neck it turned all red.  We speculate that each time she may have somehow had a run in with a jelly fish or seaweed that had jelly fish remains in it.

*What kind of gas mileage did the XTerra get?  We never calculated it - it would have been depressing. As we would speed up going uphill, you could almost watch the gas gauge go to empty!

Days 13-17 - Family Vacation

Day 13-Monday

This is the day we leave PEI. It is truly a hard thing to do – leave such a beautiful place. We have a nice leisurely breakfast, say our goodbyes to Aunt J, Uncle C, and cousin E. Take a few more pictures.

We head up to the Confederation Bridge to cross back on to the “mainland”. The bridge is 13km and the toll is $41.50 (now that’s a toll). I actually do not mind the high toll, as I believe this is what keeps PEI pristine – otherwise mainlanders might be more tempted to visit more often and there would be more of them ruining the beauty of the island. It used to be the only way to get on the island was via ferry. Uncle M insists he will never use the bridge and drives south to the ferry at the other end of the island. And I thought I was resistant to change!! From the bridge we are able to see lobster buoys and lobster boats - pretty cool.

We headed to Hopewell Rocks which is noted to have the highest tide. This confuses me - as what it really is seems to be is the highest/lowest fluctuation of tides– whatever. It is incredible – at lowest tide you can walk way out on the beach. We of course hit there about an hour after highest tide – meaning there is no beach to walk on (looks like Super Nerd Tourist Family returns). We still hiked down to the “beach” and fortunately they do open the beach once the tide has moved out below a certain point. Incredible how quickly it moves out. Guess that is why it is a hot tourist spot!!

From there we travelled on to Bay of Fundy National Park – it was late afternoon – so we just drove through it. We actually had to drive through it to get to St. John and continue south. At this point it would have taken twice as long to get back to the Trans-Canada Highway 1. Nice thing is that the Park Ranger waived the $20 fee because we said we were just driving through. You know how we like “Free”.

As we hit St John we debated whether to get a hotel there or travel further. It was quite early (5ish). My gut instinct said we should stay in St. John, but then I looked at the map and said, let’s continue on to St George and get a hotel there. St. George looks way bigger on the map. It had 2 hotels, one had a room with a queen bed or a room with 2 doubles that was a smoking room. They referred us to the other hotel in town – it turns out I do have standards as to where I will stay. I never thought of myself as a hotel snob, but this place was a dive. We decided to have dinner and continue on to St Stephen – which is the town where you cross through the border back to USA. Of the 4 hotels that existed, nothing in St. Stephen had a vacancy (another thriving metropolis). Here is the problem, after the border in the US is the “Airline Road” named as such due to the fact it is 90 miles of 2 lane road that follows the path of the airlines. There are not many services (AAA will not even route people this way). Aunt J has been known to travel this road faster than an airplane can fly it!!! Others in the family have attempted to beat her land speed record, none have been able to do it. It is about 8:15 – T says I am up to the “Airline” tonight, so we venture down the “Airline”. K & A begin to jabber and annoy us and each other – I offer them each a quarter to be quiet for 20 minutes. During the 20 minutes A falls asleep. At the end of the 20 minutes, K feels it is necessary to try to wake A to let her know that they have earned the quarters. I threaten K that she will not have the quarter if she continues to wake her sister. At this point she also decides to sleep (safe choice). We keep seeing signs that say watch for Moose or Moose Crossing. Although I would have liked to see a moose, I am relieved we did not see one tonight! We hit Brewer/Bangor, Maine at about 10:15, T and I look at each other both with a “Now what?” expression. We scan the nightline of the “city” from the freeway looking for something that resembles a hotel – no luck. T decides to take a random downtown exit – fortunately there was the “Fireside Inn” right at the bottom of the exit with a vacancy with 2 queen beds. Turns out that the Fireside Inn has upgraded all the mattresses to Tempurpedic mattresses. We get an excellent nights rest!

Day 14- Tuesday

We wake to a downpour of rain hitting the window and I have the beginning of a cold. Relieved that we are not doing the “Airline Road” today - it is way worse to do it in the pouring rain than at night. We head south – next stop is LL Bean (yes again). We got A her backpack and K her book bag from the LL Bean outlet store. They monogram it while you wait – how cool is that? We continue on down the road headed to Gardner, Massachusetts, T’s hometown. Of course we hit commute traffic at the New Hampshire/Mass. border. We arrive safely and are greeted by Memere and Papa.

Day 15 – Wednesday

Today is K’s 12th Birthday. She is excited to be celebrating it in Gardner. We are having a get together at 1:00. Aunt T and Uncle M are coming down from New Hampshire. Memere’s sister Aunt G and her husband are coming up from Connecticut. It was great to see everyone. We have an ice cream cake, FunFetti cupcakes, lollipop cookies, whoopee pies… more food than you can imagine. Later, Aunt L came over and brought each of the girls a necklace from her recent honeymoon in Jamaica. K seems to enjoy herself.

There is an attempt to go swimming in Papa’s pool, but after about 10 minutes the kids realize it is too cold. It is decided to go over to Aunt J’s pool as it will be warmer because it sits in the sun (plus she has a slide). While at Aunt J’s a bunch of blueberries are picked. A announces she will be making a pie.

Day 16 – Thursday

A gets up early so that she and Memere can make a blueberry pie. She abandons the process once cousin K gets up, but did help a bit. Memere not only makes one pie, but continues to make another pie. They were delicious.

T, Papa, Uncle M, Aunt T and the girls head to a Corn Maze. Most seemed to have a great time. They finished the maze in under the time posted, so they all received "gold medals". There were also some other activities for the kids to do at the maze. T returns not very enthused by corn mazes. I had said I was not feeling that well (actually I have heard that corn mazes are buggy-ewww) so I stayed behind with Memere. We went to Kohl’s and to Olive Garden for lunch. I had an excellent time visiting with Memere - just the 2 of us.

Day 17 – Friday

K sets her watch alarm so that she can get up early with Memere to bake a pie. She also helped Memere make some crepes for breakfast. This is the day we are heading back to the Northwest so it was great to have such a feast for breakfast.

We head to the airport, drop off the tin can XTerra at the rental car place and head to the airport. TSA does a thorough search of my bag. They take everything out of my bag – asking if I have anything sharp in it? I say NO. I had the bag of quarters for the tolls in the front pocket of my bag so they thought I had a bomb or something. When he finally gets to the quarters, he asks why I did not state I had the quarters – I said I did not think that quarters were sharp. At any rate, he says “Sorry, I will let you put the stuff back in the bag”. Gee thanks.

The flight was uneventful – packed, but uneventful. 

We arrived to the house at about 10PM, dropped into beds exhausted. Note from the housesitter informed us that there had been a thunderstorm and after the thunderstorm she could not get the internet connections to work. We called Qwest, they said they would send someone out between 1-6 on Saturday. 6pm came and went with no one from Qwest showing up. Is that India time or US time? Called again – they will send someone out between 1-4 on Sunday (yeah right). Fortunately, someone did finally show up at about 2 – our modem was fried so they gave us a new one. We are now back up and blogging!!!

That is it for our 17 day vacation. We had a blast. Not sure I would do 17 days away again, but maybe!!

Stay tuned to this blog for family updates – first day of school is this Thursday

Days 6-12 - Family Vacation/PEI

We are now officially residing in Prince Edward Island (PEI). It is beautiful, peaceful, serene, and calm. PEI reminds me of Alaska. All the locals know each other and everyone is so friendly and welcoming (yes even to US citizens). They do not seem to be concerned with politics, who has more money, who has the most prestigious jobs – they just live their lives simply and efficiently. Everyone is equal and is treated as an equal. Traditions abound – children remain close to their parents and grandparents and remain on the Island. We stay at Jewell’s Cottages. T’s family has been staying in these cottages every summer for 35 years. The cottages are located on the “quiet” side of the island. Beautiful red sand beaches with sea glass and sand bars – which is excellent for wading and swimming. No worries of fast currents or deep sea sweeping away the kids. PEI is truly one of the few places I have been that I consider to be paradise on earth.

And now on to the daily activities:

Day 6-Monday

Memere deluxe breakfast – what’s this you ask? More food than anyone has a right to have available- pancakes, sausage, bacon, Scottish bacon (ham), jam, real maple syrup and if there is something else you might want – Memere will fix that as well – just amazing.

We decided to venture in to Charlottetown. Papa knew about a free play at the Confederation Center. More free tourist stuff –and now we know where T gets this quest for “FREE” stuff. We saw a great little play called “We are Canadian” presented by the 2008 Young Company Creative Team. It was a presentation of Canada’s history and was a musical. The theater troupe consisted of young high school students from Quebec and PEI who travel around Canada doing this play. It includes not only singing but dancing, violin/fiddle, flute, piano, and drums. The young actors are all super talented in multiple theater skills. K & A were entranced with it.

Day 7-Tuesday

A very rainy day – but plans are to go to Summerside and see some little woods with miniature replica castles. We stop at Spinnakers Landing which is a cute little wharf with shops. We find out that the little woods thing did not open this season and so decide to go to Sharkys for lunch and head back home.

The girls stayed with Uncle M, Aunt T, and cousin K as we were invited to go out with the older generation. The older generation consists of T’s parents, the Jewell’s (owners of the cottages), and the couple in cottage 1 from Vermont who have also been renting at Jewell’s cottages for 30 years. We went for a fancy dinner on the north side of the island. I guess now that we are over 40 we are considered the older generation. A little bothersome at first, but hey a night out is a night out!!!

Dinner at The Pearl – I would say this was magnificent. Beautiful house converted into a restaurant. Absolute gourmet menu choices. I had the lobster ravioli – giant fresh homemade ravioli with lobster, onion and peppers drizzled with a lemon herb sauce. Finally I am validated in my quest for lemon with my lobster!! I am always the only one wanting lemon with my fish here on the east coast. T had prosciutto wrapped tenderloins (or as T puts it bacon wrapped steak). I don’t think T enjoyed it as much as I did, but he tends to shy away from places that serve flowers and spring greens on the plates!! Definite quality versus quantity on this one. 

Day 8-Wednesday

Again a huge breakfast then to the Bulk Barn to buy candy for the play. Bulk barn is this awesome store – everything imaginable that you can buy in bulk. Not bulk like Costco- bulk like Sweet Factory where you fill your bag with what you want and pay per pound. We were there to get candy (2 aisles worth to choose from) but it also had nuts, granola, pasta, flour (all kinds imaginable), spices. All of it in big bins and you could scoop out just what you need – so cool. Next into Charlottetown for the Anne of Green Gables matinee musical. It is very well done and the girls were on the edge of their seats with excitement for most of the play. Kind of a tradition and presented each summer (like Nutcracker ballet is in Seattle) but it was new to us and I thought it was quite a great musical. 

After the play we decided to hang out in Charlottetown and go back to the visitors center to see the Sand Castle Sculptures. They were pretty amazing – huge sculptures made out of PEI red sand. After the sand castles we went back to downtown Charlottetown for dinner at this great little Italian restaurant with flat bread gourmet pizzas. No flowers on the plate, but definitely way up the food chain from Pizza Hut.

Aunt J, Uncle C and cousin E arrive at about 10:00PM after a long days driving to PEI.

Day 9 – Thursday

Headed up north to Cavendish (Anne of Green Gables Land) and Shining Waters water park. Great little water park with 4 water slides, a wading pool, a petting zoo, paddle boats, pirate ship fun house, and a little adventure hiking trail with a suspension bridge, crooked house, swamp monster, and house of mirrors at the end. I almost did not partake of the waterslides, but then Aunt J said “You’ll regret it if you don’t’ try it – it makes you feel 10 years younger”. I knew I would regret it if I didn’t try it at least once– so tried it. You sit on little tubes and then you shoot down this slide into this toilet bowl where you swirl around and then go down the hole to another slide – yes it did make me feel 10 years younger and I did not want to leave!! Thanks Aunt J for the encouragement. The tubes acted as a sort of cushion so I did not need to worry as much for K or my safety. There was also a double tube so that 2 people could go down at the same time – went with K first then with T – quite fun – the heavier you are the more you swirl in the toilet bowl (think giant turd in the toilet bowl in the case of T & me!!!). The other tube slide did not have toilet bowl – it had this section of complete darkness and you could not tell which way you were going or where the next turn was – it was an incredible adrenalin rush!! There was also 2 regular water slides (the kind you don’t use a tube on) which were not as popular – A figured out quite quickly that you did not have to wait in line if you did these slides, so she kept sliding, then running back up the stairs of the slide and sliding – she was getting in about 4 runs to one of ours and having a blast. One thing to work on is how to decrease the giant wedgie received from the water slides. Each time I saw A – I was asking her to pull down the bottom of her suit.

Completed the day with dinner at the boardwalk – Subway sandwiches for K & A and fish and chips for T & me. The hardcore tourists – Papa, T, Uncle C, cousins E&K, and A all continued on for black light mini golf. Memere, K, and I headed back to the cottages as we were exhausted!!

Day 10- Friday

That 10 years younger I felt at Shining Waters caught up with me around 4 AM this morning – I ached like I was 10 years older (so this must be what 50 feels like- huh Kathy?)  I am going to need a lot of Advil. Still had a blast yesterday and would do it again in an instant!!

Gold Cup Parade – I am told (multiple times by multiple people) this is the 2nd largest parade in Canada. It is a nice parade. You can really get a feel for what the island is about by viewing the parade. I am told that they used to throw candy for the kids, but did not do it this year. Why have so many parades stopped with the candy?

After the parade went to Indigo bookstore so Aunt T could let K pick a book for her birthday present then went to Eastside Marios for lunch – fun Italian restaurant chain. Used to be one in Worcester MA, that we had been to, but it no longer is there. Back to the cottages for rest.

B did laundry – ugh even on vacation. I went to a little laundromat next to the convenience store about 8 miles from the cottages. K went to Victoria with Aunt J and Uncle C. Victoria is this cute little artsy community. K came home with a slab of glass from a stained glass shop – we will now attempt to transport home an 18 inch X 2 inch piece of glass. Not sure what vision K has for the glass – if it makes it home will determine what she can do with it I guess!! T& A stayed by the cottage. Then after dark we had a fire in the fire pit on the cliff above the beach and roasted some marshmallows.

Day 11 – Saturday

Relaxing morning and leisure day.  Beach combing and trips to Best of PEI store and Dairy Barn.  Pre packing for big move tomorrow.

We had a multi-celebration for K’s 12th birthday, cousin E’s 4th birthday, and the Jewell’s grandson J’s 15th birthday on Saturday night. Mussels, chowder, and pizza. It was quite fun – everyone from all 3 cottages. The last trip to PEI we had celebrated K's 3rd birthday - it is hard to believe we are celebrating her 12th birthday.

Day 12 – Sunday

Time for the cottage switch – Memere, Papa, and cousin K are headed back to Massachusetts and checking out of cottage 2. We are in cottage 3 and need to switch to cottage 2. This means we need to wait until Memere and Papa are out of cottage 2 and on the road so that we can move our stuff over. Usually they do not have 2 cottages and everyone stays in cottage 2. Cottage 3 was available for 1 week, so we lucked out, but it means a move in the middle. Aunt J usually follows Memere and Papa with her week, so she is used to the departure and adjusting to PEI without Memere and Papa. She also has a strict ritual that she follows to clean out the refrigerator after they leave. After we moved our stuff from cottage 3 to cottage 2 – in order to make room for all the food – we were trying to eat what we could. Points were awarded for consuming the items no one else wanted or for alcohol (10AM). No one actually had any alcohol – but extra points were offered.

After we ate and ate – the tide was high which meant no beach by the cottages, so we decided to venture to Brackley Beach. This is a beach on the north side of the island and has white sandy beaches. It was gorgeous. The kids played in the sand and surf while Aunt J, Uncle C, B, and T figured out life’s perplexities. We just about had them all figured out when dark clouds moved in and we decided we should probably head out. Just as we got everyone loaded in the cars – it began to pour rain – whew that was close.

We went back to the cottage and looked for sea glass as it was low tide. Tried to consume more of the leftovers from Memere and Papa. T&B consumed the remainder of Saturday nights chowder. The level of alcohol in the fridge was lowered. Uncle C took control of the remote and found the Patriots preseason game. Not sure if he saw it to the end or not, as the rest of us had headed to bed in preparation for our departure on Monday.

Days 3, 4, and 5 - Family Vacation

Get ready – this quite lengthy – as it is 3 days worth!!!

Day 3

Time to check out of hotel, leave Boston, and pick up the rental car.  To accomplish this, first we had to convince the hotel shuttle driver that yes the 4 of us, all our luggage which consist of 4 suitcases, one huge rolling duffel, car seat bag, one violin, one flute, 4 carry ons, camera bag, and a laptop & case (we are not what you would call “light travelers”) plus 2 other passengers would fit in the mini van they are calling the hotel shuttle.  The driver and T were thinking it would not fit – B stepped in, helped organize the situation and we were able to proceed to the airport to pick up the rental car.

 

Luck was left somewhere between the hotel and rental car place as when we arrived at Budget – there was a line stretching out the door.  While T waited in the line, B set up the girls with a spot to sit on the sidewalk.  K began reading her book, and A began opening and closing the umbrella.  There was a lady 2 people in front of us on the phone with the hospital and trying to get to see her mother – no one in front would offer to let her go before them.  It was pretty sad that these people could not show any compassion and help this lady and let her go first.  This made the hour wait for us seem insignificant we were in no hurry.  So first we get this pretty cool looking Dodge Nitro – start cramming our luggage in it. The entire time K is saying “can someone help me get my seat belt hooked.”  Both T & B keep saying “just wait until we get the car loaded, then we will help you.”  We get everything in the car (only 2 times shuffling bags around and cramming suitcases) - and begin to help K – and you guessed it – the seat belt was broken.  We had 2 choices – have K move to middle seat and sit right next to A for the next 14 days, or go in and see if they have different car.  Obviously it was worth trying for another car.  They offered a Ford Edge – yeah right, then offered a Ford Expedition – for only $20 more per day times 14 days– NOT!!! Then they offered us a Nissan XTerra with a roof rack– so YES .  We unloaded all the bags out of the Nitro and into the XTerra and are now touring about in an urban assault vehicle that is basicly a tin can on wheels.  But it fits the four of us with our luggage and we do look pretty cool in it!!

 

Everything is now loaded into the Xterra and we head out. Three lefts and a right later we are headed to the Sumner tunnel where the toll hasn’t been a dollah for twenty years.  Get to the Sumnah tunnel and get behind a cabbie who is paying his $5.50 to use the tunnel. The guy at the toll booth apologizes for it taking so long to clear the cab. We pay our $3.50 for the toll. We head off west towards Gardner. The drive along Storrow drive goes uneventfully and we make our way to Fresh Pond Parkway. T forgets who has the right of way on the rotary but no big deal cuz the Xterra has New York plates on it and one would expect a New Yahker to cut them off in a rotary.  After a 45 minute drive we arrive in Gahdnuh and head over to Smith St to see Auntie J and cousin E. They are both around in back by the pool. Since we were denied the pool at the hotel, we ask if we can jump in. The girls go right in. Even though E is shivering and her lower lip is quivering into the pool she goes. T goes to the Xterra to get his cell phone charger and manages to lock the keys in the vehicle. Good thing Aunt J has AAA they send out one of their authorized AAA trucks to unlock the vehicle. Amazing the guy got into the theft proof new vehicle in like a minute or less. Sound advice is to buy the Club. Maybe that will slow down a thief.

 

We go out to dinner at Friendly’s with one of T’s Uncles and Aunts.  K&A thoroughly enjoy their meal and A is coated in Ice Cream after dinner.

 

We then head to T’s parents house for the night.  J & E come by to visit then Uncle C comes by on his way home from work in Worcester. We hang out for a while do a couple of loads of wash and get the girls to bed.  T needs to go up and lay with them to get them to quiet down. They finally fall asleep. T figures out how to share his Dad’s internet connection from the Mac upstairs so that our Macbook can be on the web at the same time.

 

Day Four

The plan is to travel from Gardner to St. John, New Brunswick, CANADA. Stay the night in St John, then continue to the cottages at the Argyle Shore on Prince Edward Island on day 5.  Day begins with us going to breakfast with Aunt J, Uncle C & E.  We finally get out of the house and head over about an hour later than we had planned.  No big deal we are on VACATION.  Breakfast is great save for the tears that A has when she realizes she has left her Lobster on the bedpost at the house.  We go and collect the lobster.  T takes the back way and tests the four wheel drive ability of our Xterra.  We decide to top off the gas tank – then while leaving the gas station, the attendant changes the price from $3.69 to $3.67 (we paid the $3.69).  We finally hit the road and B decides to try out the new Sony noise canceling headphones and the iPod and is in heaven.  We end up in what is known at “beach” gridlock and not fast moving gridlock by any account.  We finally get to New Hampshire and pay a toll. Live Free or Die State? Toll? Yes indeed. So much for the EZ Pass saving time as the whole road is stopped. A is very confused by the idea of paying a toll – B tries to explain it, although it is right up there with explaining why the sky in blue or why some states charge sales tax and some don’t. Eventually we get through the beach traffic and get moving up the road at the speed it was made for. Next thing you know we are out of New Hampshire and into Maine.  We hit the Maine turnpike where they collect .60 tolls. We of course thought we were so smart to have a bag full of quarters for the tolls and are scrambling for a dime.  A says “I have 2 nickels – I will trade you for a quarter!” and makes some quick money. Of course the next Maine toll is also .60, so A makes some more money – how many nickels does that kid have? I think she is understanding the toll thing pretty well!! K states that she is going to get dimes for the return trip so she can cash in on the easy money.

 

We stop in Freeport, Maine to check out LL Bean flagship and outlet store as well as the other “outlet” stores.  While shopping, we get call from T’s parents (remember our plan is to cross the border and stay overnight in St John NB CA. The next day will be a short drive. The best of plans . . .)  T’s parents are letting us know that the cottage is ready now – even though it is not supposed to be ready until Sunday (tomorrow).  It is 4:15PM – we are at least 7 hours from the cottage and have not yet eaten lunch/dinner. At any rate – T is excited to get to the cottage and to see his mom and dad – so we cancel the hotel in St. John, call his parents to say we are headed to the cottages.  We get some dinner and head out for the long ride.  Again – B utilizes the noise cancelling headphones – these things are great!! You can only hear the really high pitched whining – and even then, just a little!!

 

So at 2AM local time (PEI is an hour later than EST) we pull into Jewell’s Cottages having survived the crossing into Canada in Calais, Maine where the Border Guard is very concerned as to whether we have pepper spray or mace or whether we routinely use the stuff – we of course do not – but whatever.  B says to A as we head up the road – “If you look across the river there – that is the land of the Free – USA.”  A says in a very concerned tone – “Who is in charge of us while we are in Canada?”  B says “Hmmm I guess you could say Papa is in charge of us now!” To which A exclaims “YAHHH no more George Bush!!”  As we passed through St John at 10:30PM – we saw the Holiday Inn we were supposed to stay at – big sigh by B!! We also survived a near miss with a raccoon, saw a coyote, and some really cool fog that hung just above us.  Also discovered the XTerra is not equipped with fog lights!

 

Memere (French for grandma) and Papa were awake and helped us to get settled into our cottage – which totally rocks!

 

Day 5

This is most likely the last blog for about a week – there is no internet and no cell phone coverage here at the cottages.  Actually kind of nice!

 

We sleep late and get up and spend a leisurely day – tide is out so kids can look for sea glass, swim, and we can relax.  Just as B is settling down to relax, A comes up from the beach crying and whimpering.  Seems she might have some sort of reaction to salt water.  The scratches on her legs and arms plus her scars from the chicken pox are all red and inflamed.  We get her in the shower, rinse her off, douse her with Benadryl cream and immediately the red inflammation goes away.  We have a couple different ideas to try so she can enjoy the water – involves coating her skin with Vaseline and perhaps some benadryl.  Luckily there is a water park on the island and plenty of things to do at the cottages. She ends up playing Sorry with Uncle M and Aunt T and is content for today with no water. Actually I am not sure even with the preventive measures she is going to be willing to try the water again.  We’ll see.

 

During the cocktail hour– K brought out her flute and played some music for our enjoyment. For dinner there was a lobster feast – T’s family style – this means that there was tons of food, gigantic lobsters, and tons of mussels.  At the end A played her violin by the seashore.  Evening was spent visiting. A with cousin M looking for fuzzy wuzzy caterpillars using a book light so they could see.  To bed exhausted!

 

 

Day Two Family Vacation -Boston

Nothing is as divine as a nights rest on a lumpy small bed.  With everyone well rested, Charlie Pass in hand, we headed to the T station -this time knowing exactly what we were doing and which trains would get us right to Copley Square.  Nice day - although the weather forecast is rain and thunder.  But B did get to use new sunglasses.

Main plan for the day was to ride the Ducks - the ultimate for a super nerd tourist family.  Luckily we booked our reservation online for 1:30 Duck Tour departing from the Prudential as they did sell out.  This allowed the morning to sight see.  We started at Copley Square and the 

 Boston Public Library (I must admit reason for this choice was that it was free).  Walked around Copley Square and saw the tortoise and the hare statues (Boston marathon), our reflection in John Hancock tower (K&A watched reflection while dancing), Fairmont hotel and then on to Boston Public library.  Walked around in the library and saw an interesting exhibit of WWI posters - "Buy Bonds" "Support our Troops" "Conserve our Resources"... Interesting how some of these same posters are the images we see today -some different reasons, same messages.    After viewing the reflecting pool in the middle of the library courtyard for a bit (A is drawn to water and I was sure she would end up in it) we decided to move on down the road.

We headed to the Prudential - to have some lunch.  Same as most downtown malls these days - nothing spectacular - a bunch of over priced stores.

A better food court than most with a chowdah place and a Ben & Jerry's.  Had lunch and went to eat 

our Ben & Jerry's on the terrace - and low and behold right across the street was the biggest Apple Store we had ever seen-3 floors high.  T did some bowing and such - at this point we did not go in, but T of course took some pictures.  He takes pictures of the weirdest things!!

On to Ride the Ducks - we rode the "Red Sox Nathan" duck with Captain Foghorn as our driver. The Ducks are old retired amphibious military vehicles, revitalized to be a cheesy, expensive yet quite fun tourist trap.  Capt. Foghorn drives around town pointing out historical and interesting sights and telling jokes.  Then goes up the Charles River and lets the kids drive the boat - both K & A drove it and looked quite cool doing it!

Here we are (last row) on the Duck reflection in John Hancock tower.  Capt. Foghorn tells a story about getting married on the Duck - my pessimistic side wonders if it is true or just created to add intrigue to the whole thing. At any rate it is a funny story to actually get married on a duck boat.

After the Duck - we head - you guessed it to the Apple store - it is the largest one in the US and ...IT'S  FREE (do you see a pattern with the free sights?)   We went in looked around checked our email, went on Webkinz, kids played with iPods and tried noise canceling headphones. After a while we head out to the street the skies had opened up and it began to rain. Really raining hard not a Seattle rain but an all out downpour. We don our rain coats and head off in search of the T Station. While walking T notices an umbrella in the trash. We collect said umbrella after looking around to see if it's owner was anywhere nearby. The umbrella functions well, is FREE,  and keeps the rain off of the girls.

We head towards the T go into the wrong entrance, read sign that says the entrance we need is across street, go across street- into wrong entrance again and end up same place first entrance had taken us.  A asks "Are we lost? Why are we walking is circles?" Please note each time A must open and close the broken umbrella. Finally head to entrance on side of Boston Public Library that looks like it has been bombed out and head down to the Green Line towards Haymarket.We finally reach Haymarket and find that it is still pouring down rain but we set off towards Faneuil Hall in the rain. While waiting to cross the street a Boston Police Car pulls up. Puts the left set of wheels up on the curb and parks. Two of Boston's finest get out and head for the Dunkin Donuts nearby. No need for a parking space we are Boston PD.

We had passed the New England  Holocaust Memorial  on the Duck and were now headed straight towards it. The Holocaust Memorial is made up of six glass pillars each representing one of the Nazi Concentration Camps. Numbers are etched in the glass similar to the numbers that the concentration camp victims were tatooed with. There were quotes from Holocaust survivors etched in each of the glass columns and on stones. The rain falling on us and the ground intensified the steam creating a surreal environment. The memorial made an impression on us all. What the survivors lived through was incredible. No human being should ever experience such inhumane treatment and suffering. K seemed particularly moved. 

From the monument we headed on to Faneuil Hall and the shops there. B fell into Tourist Trap mode and got both K&A a grain of rice with their name etched on it. Dinner was at Durgin Park in Boston - a restaurant that proudly proclaims to have been established "Way Before you were Born" it is the 2nd oldest operating dining establishment in Boston. In the entrance is a sort of "Meet your Meat" display of meats in a glass, refrigerated case. K & A both announce - "you do not expect us to eat that do you?"That's disgusting - poor animals"... After Dinner (of course we still ate there - K&A had chicken with pasta) we walked over to towards the site of the Rose Kennedy Green Belt atop the Big Dig.

T again took some unique photos. From there we took the Green Line T back to the Red Line then to North Quincy to the Hotel for a second nights sleep on the lumpy beds. I think we finally have the T figured out!! Just in time to pick up the rental car on day 3!

Day One Family Vacation-Bawston

We arrived into Logan airport at 6AM after our "red eye" flight. A couple travel plan errors/lessons- 1) 6AM in Boston is really 3AM to a West coast family; 2) Take the book from daughter so that she does not read it instead of sleeping; 3) If taking a "red eye" make sure you have a place to go until 3PM (check in at hotel). Hotel was nice enough to feed us the continental breakfast and hold our luggage, but could not offer us early check in!! We decided to venture into downtown Boston- "The T station is about 1/2 mile from here" so we decided walk to the T and be the super nerd tourist family.

First sign that you are a super nerd tourist family is that you believe the lady at the front desk that it is only a 1/2 mile to the T and venture out not sure if you are even headed in the correct direction. Oh yeah - did I mention yet that it is raining?! At any rate we found the T station - then had to ask help on how to buy the tickets and which train to downtown Boston. 

Well we made it to downtown. T station dropped us off right where Filene's basement used to be - Filenes is now closed and will be turned into condos - another historic building and tradition bites it and becomes a condo - AARGH. Is this progress?  As we emerged from the T station K is already complaining that her feet are cold and have blisters - she needs socks (Crocs without socs in the rain apparently gives one child a blister- other child is fine- how odd). So hoping to put the whining at bay about cold blistered feet - as we are headed up some random ally - I see a store that says "Socks Galore". At first I am thinking that there is some divine intervention a sock store while your child is whining that she needs socks - WOW!! I state to T - we need to go in here - he looks at me oddly - "K needs some socks - and this is a sock store- isn't that amazing?" He looks at me oddly again. We go in-there is a bunch of t-shirts, sunglasses, Boston souveneirs, stockings, colored contact lenses, cell phones with obscure plans.... In the very back are a few pairs of socks - the girls are trying to choose a pair of socks - I notice a sign saying must have ticket to go upstairs- I look up the stairs and well - lets just say I hurried the girls along in their sock choice making as upstairs appeared a little shady at best. As I am paying, a man cuts in line in front of me and an old lady (buying fish net stockings?) and throws down his ticket and 10 bucks. I do not know nor do I want to know what 10 bucks buys you upstairs - but I am now the object of many jokes of my husband's such as do you need any socks? Do you want to find a sock store? So we began our Boston touring with a whole bunch of naive and only a bit of sleep!

At the end of the alley - was Boston Common - beautiful park - only saw the edge as it was beginning to really pour rain. After taking pictures of what we thought was the Old North Church (then realizing it was Park Street Church-once again super nerd tourist family) we noticed the State House - it was free to go in and tour and it was dry. 

It was really cool - we saw where the house of representatives meet, the state senators, as well as the governor's office. In addition it is decorated with stained glass windows 

and historical art work all throughout. Free tour guides throughout tell stories about the art, the rooms, and the building. You can join and leave a tour anytime - lots of interesting facts not only about Massachusetts, but our country as well. Surprisingly the girls were very interested and it was exactly what I was hoping for with this part of the vacation - to have them exposed to our country's history.

That took about 2 hours - only about 3 hours left until we can check in. T suggests we go to Faneuil Hall marketplace. I am tired and hungry and would agree to most anything. It of course is quite far from where we are- and we need to navigate to it on surface streets that run every which way - I like those nice neat cities where streets run north/south and east/west and are numbered. There is no semblance of order to Boston streets. I realize it is part of the charm and history of te city.  So we walk, and walk, and walk, and walk (super nerd tourist family only did one circle and it was right when we left the state house). We finally make it, by this time I am not sure who is the grumpiest and whiniest - me or the girls. We go to Quincy market - the mother of all food courts and I am forced to decide in my fatigued state on a meal that I hope will provide enough energy to get me back to the hotel. We are fed and decide we can head back to the hotel. 

Navigating the T - we find a Blue Line T station and decide we can take the blue line to the Orange line then switch to the Green line which then goes to the Red line - the Red line being the one we need for our hotel. Those of you familiar with the T will know that super nerd tourist family strikes again - you would never need to switch 2 times to get to the train you need. At any rate, we just missed an Orange line train and then waited and waited for the next. Finally the loudspeaker announces that there has been a medical emergency and the next Orange line train is delayed. The locals all still are waiting - we figure it must come along in a bit since no one is doing anything to leave the underground sweat hole. After about 4 more trains worth of people show up and are also waiting for the next Orange line train and people are breathing my air - we decide to look closer at the train map- and figure out if we had stayed on the Blue line and rode it one more stop - we could have reached the Green line from the Blue line. So we venture back to the Blue line - hoping 1) that the medical emergency is not affecting the entire train system and 2) the girls won't notice we are back tracking (which A realizes and asks "Are we lost") They get upset when they think we are lost - so when we are - we always pretend we aren't !! At any rate we make it to where the Green line is - to our dismay we realize there is more than one Green line - bless that nice man who helped us figure out which Green line we needed (we actually could have taken any as they all went to the stop we needed).

We make it back to North Quincy Station it is pouring rain. Luckily I remember I have the hotel phone number in cell phone calls (I had called last week to see about an early check in). I call and they can send a shuttle to pick us up - "go to were the buses pick up". We of course go to the opposite end that we are supposed to be at for the bus pick up spot.

But we make it back to the hotel - we are able to check in an hour early - yahooo. We get to our room - Best Western reserved via Costco Travel - definitely not the Hyatt - but hey it is in our price range and at this point - I would have taken a bunk bed at the YWCA. AHHHH SLEEEEPPPP!! Now just if K & A would sleep - which they finally do once I threaten to lay on them if they don't shut up and go to sleep!

I wake at about 7:30PM (local time) and figure I better wake everyone up and we should eat, otherwise everyone will be up at midnight hungry. Turns out waking a pre-teen can get ugly. Finally everyone gets up and we head to a Cathay Pacific which is 2 blocks away. It is polynesian restaurant with foo-foo cocktails -bliss!! We over order - in the words of A - "This is like a feast". Stomachs full - everyone happy - we head back to the hotel for some TV (is there a limit to how many times a kid can watch a rerun of the Suite Life of Zach and Cody?). Back to sleep for the night and hopes of being on EST when we wake.

Considering the circumstances (no sleep and rain) it was a pretty fun day. The girls were real troopers. If my parent's had tried to drag me all over Boston on that little sleep - I must admit - I would have been a way bigger whiner. 

My Sister is 50!!

I can't believe my sister turned 50 on Friday!

Her family put it in the paper -
http://acorn.rgj.com/celebrations/view.php?id=8891

And so we begin

Today begins our blog.  We are not sure where it will go from here, but thought it would be fun to create a page of our happenings for family and friends.

We are getting ready for vacation - this is how we get ready

B is making lists in her head of all the things that need to be done by Tuesday, doing the wash, creating a blog, cleaning up....

K is playing Nintendo DS

T is reading the paper

and A is playing with "toots" the train.  

Did I say "we" are getting ready for vacation?

At any rate - the goal B has in creating the blog is so that when we travel and during other life events or even just daily events, we can post for all the world to see or just our family and friends to see!!