In June, we decided to surprise the girls with tickets to their very first concert: the Jonas Brothers. It has rained for the past four days straight here in Boston, and I was not sure if we would even be able to go to the concert at the outdoor Comcast theater. Amazingly, the rain stopped right before the concert began. Even still, when I saw a girl walking through the crowds carrying a sign that offered an upgraded seat for a few dollars, I hopped on the chance to get an actual seat under the pavilion. (Our lawn seats would have been great in the sun, but horrible today as all umbrellas, blankets and chairs are banned from this place. I'm not sure what the point of lawn seating is without a blanket or chairs.) Anyway, our new seats were amazing. We stopped along the way to sign cards for the Jo Bros and make a poster to hold up.
In the past I have not been a fan of the costumes the guys wear to perform in, but tonight they were great. I do have to say that only the most adorable Jonas Brother could get away with wearing bright yellow lumber jack. I know lumberjack plaid is everywhere this season, or last, but really it belongs in the forest where no one can see it.
I still cannot hear from all the high pitch screaming at the concert. They were selling earplugs at the theater; I'm pretty sure I should have bought some. The music wasn't too loud-it was awesome-but those girls screaming could have shattered wineglasses.
This was the best concert I've been to in ages, or maybe ever. For all it's "the mouse sees all" creepiness, Disney knows how to make magic, and the first act that was dedicated to hyping an upcoming tv movie was so well done. And while I get that Disney is there to make money, I like the Jonas Brothers. They're the real deal.
The girls had their favorite parts, but my favorite part was dancing and singing with two of my favorite people. When we told the girls where we were headed for the evening, they were not as excited as I thought they would be. It turns out that they didn't know what to expect. During the show, the girls repeatedly stopped dancing to give me a hug and say thanks for bringing them. Syd and I danced in the aisle and Ainsley and I sang together. Priceless.
Except for when the guys wanted to sing their favorite Beatles song and they were all "We expect all the moms out there to be dancing." What? How old do they think I am?
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Monday, August 23, 2010
Concord, MA: Minuteman Park
One of the first historical sites we visited after we moved here was Minuteman Park. This huge park in the city of Concord encompasses a handful of sites important to the beginning of the American Revolution. People usually bring their bikes to navigate their way through the various sites, but that does not work quite as well for us. A great place to start is the Visitor's Center. There is a one-room museum and a well-made multimedia presentation on the events of April 19 1775. The trail that connects the various historical sites was the same trail that Paul Revere rode.
On Saturday, we drove out to the Old North Bridge in Concord. BTW, they pronounce it "conkerd" around here. Concord has a quaint town square with some of the best ice cream I have ever tasted. You have to go down an alley to get to it, but it was worth wandering off the path. We happened to pass a cemetery called "Sleepy Hollow" and wondered if that was related to the "Legend of Sleepy Hollow." We followed the signs and the cars toward the parking lot for the Old North Bridge.
If you remember the story, the British Regulars were marching toward Concord because the Rebels had previously stashed a large quantity of arms and a cannon in a farm house across the bridge in Concord. The militia men were expecting the British and marched in front of them to the bridge. The Rebels crossed the bridge and waited on a small hill that afforded them a view of the troops near the bridge and the town. It is fairly impossible to imagine the view that they had because of the thick trees. Apparently in 1775, there were few trees as the land all around had been cleared for farming.
It was interesting to stand in the place where people stood up to tyranny. There are monuments and plaques all over the park. In addition, there are great trees for climbing and gardens for playing hide and seek. A visitor's center sits on the hill where the Rebels waited. There was a large centennial celebration at that spot, and they erected a tall monument. Emerson wrote a song that I think is called the Hymn of Concord. The famous phrase "the shot heard round the world" originates from this poem, although the first actual shot fired would have been in Lexington earlier that morning. Another interesting quote was a marker to the British troops who died in the battle at Concord. The plaque says that they travelled 3000 miles to "keep the past upon it's throne."
The most influential authors of the 1800s lived near the cradle of liberty: Emerson, Thoreau, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Luisa May Alcott. It is interesting to note that their ideas were inspired by the revolution. Something else I noticed in the movie was that the people were quoted as saying they wanted the right to govern themselves. That is what freedom and liberty meant to them: not the absence of rules but the rules that they themselves choose.
On Saturday, we drove out to the Old North Bridge in Concord. BTW, they pronounce it "conkerd" around here. Concord has a quaint town square with some of the best ice cream I have ever tasted. You have to go down an alley to get to it, but it was worth wandering off the path. We happened to pass a cemetery called "Sleepy Hollow" and wondered if that was related to the "Legend of Sleepy Hollow." We followed the signs and the cars toward the parking lot for the Old North Bridge.
If you remember the story, the British Regulars were marching toward Concord because the Rebels had previously stashed a large quantity of arms and a cannon in a farm house across the bridge in Concord. The militia men were expecting the British and marched in front of them to the bridge. The Rebels crossed the bridge and waited on a small hill that afforded them a view of the troops near the bridge and the town. It is fairly impossible to imagine the view that they had because of the thick trees. Apparently in 1775, there were few trees as the land all around had been cleared for farming.
It was interesting to stand in the place where people stood up to tyranny. There are monuments and plaques all over the park. In addition, there are great trees for climbing and gardens for playing hide and seek. A visitor's center sits on the hill where the Rebels waited. There was a large centennial celebration at that spot, and they erected a tall monument. Emerson wrote a song that I think is called the Hymn of Concord. The famous phrase "the shot heard round the world" originates from this poem, although the first actual shot fired would have been in Lexington earlier that morning. Another interesting quote was a marker to the British troops who died in the battle at Concord. The plaque says that they travelled 3000 miles to "keep the past upon it's throne."
The most influential authors of the 1800s lived near the cradle of liberty: Emerson, Thoreau, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Luisa May Alcott. It is interesting to note that their ideas were inspired by the revolution. Something else I noticed in the movie was that the people were quoted as saying they wanted the right to govern themselves. That is what freedom and liberty meant to them: not the absence of rules but the rules that they themselves choose.
Sunday, August 22, 2010
My Friday night
Neil's team at work planned an evening out last night and we were excited for the chance to get to know everyone better. I had a total closet fail, but finally managed to find something to wear fifteen minutes after I was supposed to have left. As can be expected, Neil was on call, and, as I pulled into our driveway with the babysitter, he called to tell me that he had a consult in the ER, so dinner wouldn't be happening.
I held back the tears, finished blow-drying my hair and drove to the nearest mall for the retail therapy that would fix my earlier closet fail. As I pulled into the parking lot, the children called me to let me know that I had the pizza money in my purse. I had them put the pizza guy on the phone and asked him what he wanted me to do. The nice guy left the pizzas there at the house and asked me to bring the money to the Dominoe's store. I turned my car around and drove the 15 minutes back past our house and to Dominoe's.
From there, I drove back to the mall, found a parking spot, and began walking through H&M. I hear that H&M is a great store; after I had been there five minutes, Neil called to let me know that he was done and did I want to come hang out with him? Of course, so I walked the flights of stairs back to my car, and drove the twenty minutes to the hospital.
From there we walked to meet his friends for what turned out to be happy hour, not dinner, at 8 o'clock. We had a fun night and shared a few Philly Cheesesteak Spring Rolls. They were to die for. I would guess that is the healthiest way to eat a Philly Cheesesteak: the size of an egg-roll with barely any carbs. Neil got called back into the hospital at 10:30, so I left.
By the time I got the sitter home and the girls asleep, it was midnight. Zach woke me up at 1:45 asking me why the tv was on. I walked into the living room to find Neil sitting on the couch, drinking a bottle of water, and taking his shoes off. I went back to bed.
I held back the tears, finished blow-drying my hair and drove to the nearest mall for the retail therapy that would fix my earlier closet fail. As I pulled into the parking lot, the children called me to let me know that I had the pizza money in my purse. I had them put the pizza guy on the phone and asked him what he wanted me to do. The nice guy left the pizzas there at the house and asked me to bring the money to the Dominoe's store. I turned my car around and drove the 15 minutes back past our house and to Dominoe's.
From there, I drove back to the mall, found a parking spot, and began walking through H&M. I hear that H&M is a great store; after I had been there five minutes, Neil called to let me know that he was done and did I want to come hang out with him? Of course, so I walked the flights of stairs back to my car, and drove the twenty minutes to the hospital.
From there we walked to meet his friends for what turned out to be happy hour, not dinner, at 8 o'clock. We had a fun night and shared a few Philly Cheesesteak Spring Rolls. They were to die for. I would guess that is the healthiest way to eat a Philly Cheesesteak: the size of an egg-roll with barely any carbs. Neil got called back into the hospital at 10:30, so I left.
By the time I got the sitter home and the girls asleep, it was midnight. Zach woke me up at 1:45 asking me why the tv was on. I walked into the living room to find Neil sitting on the couch, drinking a bottle of water, and taking his shoes off. I went back to bed.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
The Boston Staycation
Castle Island
A short drive down the Mass Turnpike leads us to Boston Harbor and a fort that dates back to storing the Stamps from the infamous "Stamp Act." Parking is a premium, so we parked along the boardwalk and walked to the fort. Unfortunately, they only give tours of the fort on weekends. We decided to take part of the Harbor Walk instead and enjoyed a beautiful day with a strong sea breeze. Sullivan's is a small restaurant located at the base of the fort. It got progressively busier, so we did not stay for lunch. The line was seriously into the parking lot. People in business attire, swimsuits, and walking clothes all wanted to eat there. We will have to find a better time to go back. We are going to take the kids' scooters and Audrey's tricycle.
Revere Beach
Also a short drive down the Mass Turnpike, but with a turn North past Logan airport, is the nation's oldest public beach. The beach was long and uncrowded, the parking was free, and the bathhouses were clean. We found some clams (or whatever they are) that were intact and the size of my hand. The actual beach more closely resembled Stewart Beach on Galveston than Wingersheek Beach outside of Gloucester further North on the New England coast. We decided to visit Revere Beach because they were throwing an end of summer party. We could have swam for hours except for the chilly 70F temperature and the breeze and the clouds. I decided these people must keep track of when the hot days end around here.
Boston Common
We made another trip down to Boston Common to meet some friends from San Antonio. This time we rode successfully navigated the T. The kids all had fun on the T; Ainsley made many friends with the various young ladies that sat next to her. We cannot wait to head back up there to ice skate this winter.
Cambridge Common
We did not ride the T to Cambridge because we would have taken the T one stop past Boston Common, switched trains, and then gone back West. There has to be a better way to get to Cambridge because the parking is crazy expensive up here. I will never complain about Houston and San Antonio down town again. We did drive and walk through some parts of Harvard. We met a friend from San Antonio at the Cambridge Common playground. It was redone in the last five years, and is an incredibly fun park. There is a small water feature and so many interesting things to play, climb, slide, and swing on. The kids played there for over 3 hours. Audrey picked that morning to go without shoes. That was interesting. I asked her to grab her flippies as we walked out the door. When I got in the car, I asked if everyone had on shoes. They said everyone did. When we got out of the car at the parking garage, I asked Audrey where her flippies were. I carried her on my back down one flight of stairs and on to the side walk. I tested the side walk, and it was not hot, so I made her walk barefoot the entire 4 blocks to the park. Every time we changed streets, I checked to make sure it wasn't hot, but I was not about to carry her that far. (She wears a 5T now-that's too big to be carried.) She has not forgotten her shoes since then. I'd read that Ben Affleck likes to take his kid(s) there, but he wasn't there that day.
Old Sturbridge Village
An hour drive West on the Mass Turnpike takes you to a living museum called Old Sturbridge Village. They offer a military discount on family memberships that cost only a few dollars more than the price of paying for my children to get in for one day. We visited on a Saturday with some new friends because it was the Redcoats and Rebels Revolutionary War Encampment. This was a New England version of a Renaissance Fair. We watched the mock battle, but some narration would have been nice, or a brochure explaining what we were watching. Still it was fun. The kids tried doing laundry old school style and doing musket drills. We were there about 6 hours and did not see everything there was to see and do. This Fall they offer days where you can help with their harvest, have some Halloween fun, eat Thanksgiving dinner there, and even take a sleigh ride in the snow.
Lake Cochituate
This is pronounced "Lake Kichitate" Everything up here is either an old English name or Native American. Neither one is very easy to pronounce. Worcester is "wooster", but instead of an "ou" sound, as in "You" it is an "oo" sound, as in "book." Gloucester is "glosster". I think.
Lake Cochituate is a beautifully wooded lake with a small beachfront entry. The water there is not particularly clear and the sand is not particularly beautiful, but it's a fun place to play with a bunch of friends when it's hot outside. It is a short drive West out Route 9, a section of which is the Spanish-American War highway. How old does a road have to be to pay homage to the veterans of the Spanish-American War?
Natick Mall
There is a beautiful mall less than a mile away from this lake. A Neiman Marcus, Nordstroms, American Girl Store, and Lego Store are just a few stores located here. We thought this mall was upscale. Then we went to the mall the opposite direction on Route 9, in Chesnut Hill, near Brookline. This mall had Bloomingdales, Bloomingdale Men and Home, Kate Spade, and Barney's New York. This is what they must consider upscale in Boston. The Natick mall, out in the burbs must be for the masses.
Downtown Boston
On our way back from Castle Island, we drove through a section of downtown Boston. On some streets, the crowd was so dense and the buildings were so tall that I thought I was in New York City. I cannot figure out if they were all on their lunch break, if they were tourists just walking around.
Money
The money that people spend up here amazes me. Everything is expensive, but people run around in expensive clothes, driving nice cars, eating out at expensive restaurants. It costs us $30 to feed our family at McDonald's and close to $60 if we sit down somewhere. That's why we stick to Bill's Pizza in Newton. It may cost $30, but it is actual food and not 70% plastic like McDonald's is. Plus it's Jim Krazinski's favorite pizza. Another example is the preschool tuition for 2 days a week: it would cost more than my nephew Connor's full time day care costs in Texas.
Misc activities
Each week we visit the Needham library to make sure it's not too quiet there. And we drive to playgrounds and splash pads all over Boston. Neil took Zach mountain biking for the first time ever, and I hiked the same spot with the kids another day, at nearby Cuttler Park. Sydney saw a snake. We hiked with Neil in Caryl Park in Dover, where we got lost and ended up walking past huge, house-size mounds of old trash. We were supposed to be climbing a hill that had views of down town. Obviously that did not work out, so we will head back there in a few weeks when it is not 90F outside. We still need to hit the arboretum and a few other outdoor places before it gets too cold.
Kayaking down the Charles River is incredibly popular here, but we are waiting until next summer to do that so that Audrey will be a little older.
Just like in Fayetteville, I miss having a swimming pool to spend the afternoon at when it's so hot. The city pool here in Needham is pretty fun, but was very expensive unless you bought your membership back in April. We considered it then, but decided not to because the only picture we could find of the pool was of a lake with a concrete wall in it. It did not look very promising, which is unfortunate because there is a lap pool, a beachfront entry, and a deep end with some diving boards. It's a mystery why they don't put pictures of that on the website.
We tried to sign up for bus service today. Apparently Sydney is the only one who qualifies for free bus service. We live less than two miles, as the crow flies, from the elementary school, so I would have to pay $740 each school year for Zach and Ainsley to ride the bus. The city of Needham is so concerned with the environment that they arrange their trash system, through financial disincentives, to promote recycling. And yet, the cost to ride the bus is so prohibitive, that there are many students who will ride in a car each day. That makes such little sense. This might just be another example of people spending money like it grows on trees. The people who put their kids in private schools have to pay for bus service on top of their tuition as well.
Dedham
There is a nearby town that we visit each week for their farmer's market. I love to buy the fresh fish. It's been caught that morning and tastes so fresh and un-fishy. They also have a great outdoor shopping area with an LLBean store, which I cannot wait to visit. Their movie theater has crystal chandeliers and a very upscale restaurant. The closest bowling alley is located there as well. It's sign has a ginormous panel of silver faux-sequins that shimmer in the light. You not only have to be 6 to bowl there, but no one under 21 is allowed after 6 PM. Apparently this is the place to be for young single adults who like to bowl in their metrosexual outfits. Bowling gets made fun of on the Simpson's all the time, but these kids make it cool. Or someone wants them to think they do. Neil took the kids to this mall to do some school shopping last week. Sydney and Ainsley were excited to get skinny jeans and "jeggings" from Justice. Jeggings are jeans that are really leggings so that you can wear boots over them without having to figure out what to do with your pants leg inside the boot. I keep trying to convince them that they should wait to wear anything more than walking shorts or capri pants to school because once it's cold, it's going to stay cold for a long time.
More Misc
The kids enjoy riding bikes and scooters in the neighborhood each evening. Sometimes they throw a football or play soccer in the yard. I enjoy having someone who comes to cut the yard. Except for when they show up at 7am. Even Zach was yelling, "Why are they cutting the yard by my window right now? I'm in bed." Neil has been incredibly busy the past few weeks, but I think that was to make up for the easy month he had in July.
My favorite things to buy in Boston are fresh fish, Trader Joe's frozen gnocchi, and pre-sliced apples from Cost-Co. And fish and chips from Legal Sea Food. Yum. I love Boston.
A short drive down the Mass Turnpike leads us to Boston Harbor and a fort that dates back to storing the Stamps from the infamous "Stamp Act." Parking is a premium, so we parked along the boardwalk and walked to the fort. Unfortunately, they only give tours of the fort on weekends. We decided to take part of the Harbor Walk instead and enjoyed a beautiful day with a strong sea breeze. Sullivan's is a small restaurant located at the base of the fort. It got progressively busier, so we did not stay for lunch. The line was seriously into the parking lot. People in business attire, swimsuits, and walking clothes all wanted to eat there. We will have to find a better time to go back. We are going to take the kids' scooters and Audrey's tricycle.
Revere Beach
Also a short drive down the Mass Turnpike, but with a turn North past Logan airport, is the nation's oldest public beach. The beach was long and uncrowded, the parking was free, and the bathhouses were clean. We found some clams (or whatever they are) that were intact and the size of my hand. The actual beach more closely resembled Stewart Beach on Galveston than Wingersheek Beach outside of Gloucester further North on the New England coast. We decided to visit Revere Beach because they were throwing an end of summer party. We could have swam for hours except for the chilly 70F temperature and the breeze and the clouds. I decided these people must keep track of when the hot days end around here.
Boston Common
We made another trip down to Boston Common to meet some friends from San Antonio. This time we rode successfully navigated the T. The kids all had fun on the T; Ainsley made many friends with the various young ladies that sat next to her. We cannot wait to head back up there to ice skate this winter.
Cambridge Common
We did not ride the T to Cambridge because we would have taken the T one stop past Boston Common, switched trains, and then gone back West. There has to be a better way to get to Cambridge because the parking is crazy expensive up here. I will never complain about Houston and San Antonio down town again. We did drive and walk through some parts of Harvard. We met a friend from San Antonio at the Cambridge Common playground. It was redone in the last five years, and is an incredibly fun park. There is a small water feature and so many interesting things to play, climb, slide, and swing on. The kids played there for over 3 hours. Audrey picked that morning to go without shoes. That was interesting. I asked her to grab her flippies as we walked out the door. When I got in the car, I asked if everyone had on shoes. They said everyone did. When we got out of the car at the parking garage, I asked Audrey where her flippies were. I carried her on my back down one flight of stairs and on to the side walk. I tested the side walk, and it was not hot, so I made her walk barefoot the entire 4 blocks to the park. Every time we changed streets, I checked to make sure it wasn't hot, but I was not about to carry her that far. (She wears a 5T now-that's too big to be carried.) She has not forgotten her shoes since then. I'd read that Ben Affleck likes to take his kid(s) there, but he wasn't there that day.
Old Sturbridge Village
An hour drive West on the Mass Turnpike takes you to a living museum called Old Sturbridge Village. They offer a military discount on family memberships that cost only a few dollars more than the price of paying for my children to get in for one day. We visited on a Saturday with some new friends because it was the Redcoats and Rebels Revolutionary War Encampment. This was a New England version of a Renaissance Fair. We watched the mock battle, but some narration would have been nice, or a brochure explaining what we were watching. Still it was fun. The kids tried doing laundry old school style and doing musket drills. We were there about 6 hours and did not see everything there was to see and do. This Fall they offer days where you can help with their harvest, have some Halloween fun, eat Thanksgiving dinner there, and even take a sleigh ride in the snow.
Lake Cochituate
This is pronounced "Lake Kichitate" Everything up here is either an old English name or Native American. Neither one is very easy to pronounce. Worcester is "wooster", but instead of an "ou" sound, as in "You" it is an "oo" sound, as in "book." Gloucester is "glosster". I think.
Lake Cochituate is a beautifully wooded lake with a small beachfront entry. The water there is not particularly clear and the sand is not particularly beautiful, but it's a fun place to play with a bunch of friends when it's hot outside. It is a short drive West out Route 9, a section of which is the Spanish-American War highway. How old does a road have to be to pay homage to the veterans of the Spanish-American War?
Natick Mall
There is a beautiful mall less than a mile away from this lake. A Neiman Marcus, Nordstroms, American Girl Store, and Lego Store are just a few stores located here. We thought this mall was upscale. Then we went to the mall the opposite direction on Route 9, in Chesnut Hill, near Brookline. This mall had Bloomingdales, Bloomingdale Men and Home, Kate Spade, and Barney's New York. This is what they must consider upscale in Boston. The Natick mall, out in the burbs must be for the masses.
Downtown Boston
On our way back from Castle Island, we drove through a section of downtown Boston. On some streets, the crowd was so dense and the buildings were so tall that I thought I was in New York City. I cannot figure out if they were all on their lunch break, if they were tourists just walking around.
Money
The money that people spend up here amazes me. Everything is expensive, but people run around in expensive clothes, driving nice cars, eating out at expensive restaurants. It costs us $30 to feed our family at McDonald's and close to $60 if we sit down somewhere. That's why we stick to Bill's Pizza in Newton. It may cost $30, but it is actual food and not 70% plastic like McDonald's is. Plus it's Jim Krazinski's favorite pizza. Another example is the preschool tuition for 2 days a week: it would cost more than my nephew Connor's full time day care costs in Texas.
Misc activities
Each week we visit the Needham library to make sure it's not too quiet there. And we drive to playgrounds and splash pads all over Boston. Neil took Zach mountain biking for the first time ever, and I hiked the same spot with the kids another day, at nearby Cuttler Park. Sydney saw a snake. We hiked with Neil in Caryl Park in Dover, where we got lost and ended up walking past huge, house-size mounds of old trash. We were supposed to be climbing a hill that had views of down town. Obviously that did not work out, so we will head back there in a few weeks when it is not 90F outside. We still need to hit the arboretum and a few other outdoor places before it gets too cold.
Kayaking down the Charles River is incredibly popular here, but we are waiting until next summer to do that so that Audrey will be a little older.
Just like in Fayetteville, I miss having a swimming pool to spend the afternoon at when it's so hot. The city pool here in Needham is pretty fun, but was very expensive unless you bought your membership back in April. We considered it then, but decided not to because the only picture we could find of the pool was of a lake with a concrete wall in it. It did not look very promising, which is unfortunate because there is a lap pool, a beachfront entry, and a deep end with some diving boards. It's a mystery why they don't put pictures of that on the website.
We tried to sign up for bus service today. Apparently Sydney is the only one who qualifies for free bus service. We live less than two miles, as the crow flies, from the elementary school, so I would have to pay $740 each school year for Zach and Ainsley to ride the bus. The city of Needham is so concerned with the environment that they arrange their trash system, through financial disincentives, to promote recycling. And yet, the cost to ride the bus is so prohibitive, that there are many students who will ride in a car each day. That makes such little sense. This might just be another example of people spending money like it grows on trees. The people who put their kids in private schools have to pay for bus service on top of their tuition as well.
Dedham
There is a nearby town that we visit each week for their farmer's market. I love to buy the fresh fish. It's been caught that morning and tastes so fresh and un-fishy. They also have a great outdoor shopping area with an LLBean store, which I cannot wait to visit. Their movie theater has crystal chandeliers and a very upscale restaurant. The closest bowling alley is located there as well. It's sign has a ginormous panel of silver faux-sequins that shimmer in the light. You not only have to be 6 to bowl there, but no one under 21 is allowed after 6 PM. Apparently this is the place to be for young single adults who like to bowl in their metrosexual outfits. Bowling gets made fun of on the Simpson's all the time, but these kids make it cool. Or someone wants them to think they do. Neil took the kids to this mall to do some school shopping last week. Sydney and Ainsley were excited to get skinny jeans and "jeggings" from Justice. Jeggings are jeans that are really leggings so that you can wear boots over them without having to figure out what to do with your pants leg inside the boot. I keep trying to convince them that they should wait to wear anything more than walking shorts or capri pants to school because once it's cold, it's going to stay cold for a long time.
More Misc
The kids enjoy riding bikes and scooters in the neighborhood each evening. Sometimes they throw a football or play soccer in the yard. I enjoy having someone who comes to cut the yard. Except for when they show up at 7am. Even Zach was yelling, "Why are they cutting the yard by my window right now? I'm in bed." Neil has been incredibly busy the past few weeks, but I think that was to make up for the easy month he had in July.
My favorite things to buy in Boston are fresh fish, Trader Joe's frozen gnocchi, and pre-sliced apples from Cost-Co. And fish and chips from Legal Sea Food. Yum. I love Boston.
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Boston Bucket List: Walden Pond
We visited Walden Pond with Neil's parents on a rainy Friday afternoon. The canopy was so thick that we barely got wet as we hiked to the original site of Thoreau's cabin and around the rest of the pond. In light of the heavy rains and flooding this past Spring, the park service quoted what Thoreau wrote about the changing levels of the pond from year to year. (Apparently this weather happens in cycles. Who knew?) The trail immediately next to the pond remains flooded, so we took the higher, more hilly trail. Despite the rain, it was a fun hike for all of us. Along the way we saw these brilliant orange plants that Audrey loved. They looked like a cross between a mushroom and a piece of coral. Although the rain thwarted our visions of writing in our journals at the cabin, Ann and Syd attempted to compose poems as they hiked along.
The hike up to the original cabin site is not far from the entrance to the park. There are stones that mark the cabin's dimensions, and it was tiny. Next to the cabin site there is a large pile of stones. I cannot figure out why they are there, but it reminds me of an outdoorsy, classy public restroom door: visitors sign their name to a stone and leave it there. Zach enjoyed adding on to a small tower that someone built out of tiny rocks.
The following is part of a quote engraved in a small memorial to Thoreau:
"...I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived..."
My thoughts on this are that it is less difficult to do when you are alone on a beautiful pond with no responsibility outside of caring for yourself. The real trick is to integrate this idea into our busy lives. I read the quote to the girls and attempted to explain in two minutes what it means to live deliberately and how it would be possible for someone to have lived but at the same time failed to live. Somehow, they didn't get it. We will have to keep going back until they do.
The hike up to the original cabin site is not far from the entrance to the park. There are stones that mark the cabin's dimensions, and it was tiny. Next to the cabin site there is a large pile of stones. I cannot figure out why they are there, but it reminds me of an outdoorsy, classy public restroom door: visitors sign their name to a stone and leave it there. Zach enjoyed adding on to a small tower that someone built out of tiny rocks.
The following is part of a quote engraved in a small memorial to Thoreau:
"...I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived..."
My thoughts on this are that it is less difficult to do when you are alone on a beautiful pond with no responsibility outside of caring for yourself. The real trick is to integrate this idea into our busy lives. I read the quote to the girls and attempted to explain in two minutes what it means to live deliberately and how it would be possible for someone to have lived but at the same time failed to live. Somehow, they didn't get it. We will have to keep going back until they do.
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