All Manner of Pressing Issues

We had a great 4th of July. We had a few friends over for a laid-back cookout. The guys manned the grill while the girls sat nearby and chatted. We had homemade lemonade (thanks, Richard!) and the weather was actually not too terribly hot. Olivia behaved herself even when her daddy did firecrackers in the backyard.

It’s such a good feeling to have friends in our home. I just love it.

One of our friends brought sparklers. They are my favorite firework. I was thrilled they brought them! In the picture of the girls, we all thought our sparklers were sparkling until about halfway through the picture. Then we tried to put our sparklers together to relight them all while taking the picture and clearly it didn’t work. In the picture with Gino, Richard and Olivia I know it looks like the guys were trying to catch her on fire–they weren’t.

After enjoying burgers outside and dessert inside, we sat around around the table and chatted (feeling quite 4th of July-ish with our blue/white tablecloth and red/white centerpiece–not to mention the red/white plaid plates and red/white polka-dotted napkins). Then, we walked over to the metro and went to the National Mall to view the fireworks display. We were on the west side of the capitol looking towards the Washington Monument. So, we were seeing the fireworks directly behind the monument. It was really breathtaking. We had what I think was the perfect view.

We had a great day!

We left Boston Wednesday and drove to Cape Cod. We stayed at an amazing bed and breakfast called Lion and Lamb Inn. The innkeepers are delightful and everything about the inn is wonderful. We’re already trying to decide when to go back. Our room was charming and it opened onto the courtyard. The pool and hot tub are in the courtyard. We didn’t get in the pool (too cool at night), but we did make good use of the hot tub. The innkeepers have darling dogs who tried to help us cope with Olivia’s absence. I cannot wait to go back!

So when we got to the inn, we checked in and Tom showed us around and gave us some information about things to do, places to go etc. In each room they have placed a very helpful binder of information about the area and he also gave us “driving tour” information. After we got settled into our room, I, of course, was ready to go! I wanted to get on the water! We walked about 1/2 a mile to Scudder’s Lane.

We then walked back to the inn and got our car and drove to Mattakeese Wharf to eat. Our food was very good and we had a window table with a waterfront view. Can’t beat good food served on a table with a view!

I talked Richard into going down to the water with me and watching the sunset. It didn’t take much. It was a beautiful evening (I was actually quite chilly). While we were on the beach we met a lady with a Cairn Terrier named Mu. The lady and the dog were both extra sweet. She told us about Mu enjoying preschool cartoons. We tried it last night while we were gone to the fireworks display and it worked like a charm! We really enjoyed sitting in the sand watching the sunset. It was just heavenly.

Then we made our way back to the inn where we took advantage of the hot tub. We met another couple there. The wife is a vet, so we got to hear some interesting animal stories. They have chickens, goats, several dogs and highland cattle. I am sure I left something out. They were fun to chat with.

The next day (Thursday) we got up and enjoyed a very tasty breakfast at the inn. Our first stop on this day was Hyannis where we saw one of the Kennedy’s houses. Hyannis is a wonderfully quaint little town.

Then we took the “driving tour”. The “driving tour” Tom (one of the innkeepers) gave us was simply two pages of information about things do or stop and see and places to eat on the way while driving from Barnstable to Provincetown.

We stopped at a few shops, including a great kitchen shop and an old general store. We also stopped at the Cape Cod National Seashore visitor’s center and several National Seashore beaches (Nauset Light Beach, Race Point Beach and Herring Cove Beach). We stopped for lunch at a restaurant called Land Ho! where we enjoyed fried oysters and shrimp. We drove all the way to Provincetown and then turned around and went back to Barnstable.

After sight-seeing tour, we enjoyed a quiet dinner at The Dolphin in Barnstable. We went back to Scudder’s Lane to watch the sunset.

I finally have the pictures from our trip organized and ready to share! I am going to write about each day, but please feel free just to look at the pictures and move on with your day. I realize it’s probably more information that anyone needs or wants, but I wanted to remember our trip. We had an absolutely wonderful time and we’re already looking forward to the next time we get to go to Boston and/or Cape Cod!

We left for Boston on June 25. I got out of school at 4:00. Several parents gave me BEAUTIFUL bouquets of flowers on the last day of school, so since we were going out of town, I passed those out to businesses we frequent and our neighbors. Then, I picked Olivia up from our house and dropped her off at daycare where she was boarded for the week. As soon as I got home, Richard called a cab and we were on our way to the airport! We grabbed a bite to eat at the airport and then were on our way to Boston.

We arrived in Boston around 9:00 I think. Our cab driver from the airport to our hotel was very nice. He told us lots of interesting things about Boston on our way to the hotel. I felt like we had our own tour guide. We stayed at the Hilton Back Bay. Our room was on the 25th floor and had an absolutely gorgeous view of the Boston brownstones, the Charles River and to the left Fenway Park.

Saturday Richard had several meetings to attend. We squeezed in lunch at P.F. Changs between his meetings. I realize it’s a chain and we normally do not eat at chain restaurants, but we both love P.F. Changs and had not eaten at one in a very long time. It was delicious as expected. Interestingly enough, our server’s mother was born in Arkansas. On a side-note. Our accents are always a conversation starter–sometimes we just tell people we live in DC and let them wonder. Other times we say we live in DC, but the accent is from AR. Sometimes the accent thing can get annoying because when I am ordering people get so wrapped up in my accent that they aren’t listening to me (or maybe can’t understand me?) and get my order wrong. This generally happens at coffee shops.

Anyway… on to the rest of Saturday.

Before lunch while Richard was in some of his meetings, I went to the Prudential Center. I am really not much of a shopper, but I couldn’t stand to just sit in the hotel room. I felt like that was sort of a waste, so I got up and got out. I went to Starbucks for breakfast and then walked around for a bit. I bought some artwork and went to a candy store and bought Jelly Bellies. I love going to candy shops and choosing my own Jelly Belly flavors.

I really need to stay focused here. I keep digressing!

So after I shopped and Richard went to meetings, we grabbed lunch at P.F. Changs. Over lunch, I talked Richard into taking a trolley tour with me. I love, love, love trolley tours. So, we got our tickets and boarded the trolley. On Saturday we got off the trolley at Paul Revere’s house, Old North Church and the Old State House. The Old North Church is where the ‘one if by land, two if by sea’ lanterns were hung. The balcony you see in the picture on the Old State House is the balcony from which the Declaration of Independence was first read in Boston.

After our short sight-seeing stint, we went to dinner at Summer Shack. Richard had lobster and I had crab legs (after an appetizer of mussels).

After dinner we went to the Prudential Building and went to the Sky Walk. We stayed there until it got dark so we could watch the sunset and see the city at night.

Then we went to the Cheesecake Factory by our hotel and got cheesecake to go. We went to a fountain nearby to enjoy our cheesecake. Afterward we called it a night!

Sunday was a busy day. I didn’t realize how much we did this day until I was compiling pictures. Our trolley passes were two-day passes. We started the day on Beacon Hill and walked over to a few historic burial grounds. There were saw where Sam Adams, Paul Revere, Mother Goose and several others are buried.

After we did this, we grabbed a bite to eat at Upper Crust. The pizza was tasty and the fountain Diet Coke hit the spot. Isn’t their delivery bike cute?

After we ate, we went into several shops on Charles Street. We really enjoyed that. Many of the shops we went into reminded me of a shop I worked at during the summers during college. However, my favorite shop we visited is the place where Julia Child bought groceries. It was a neat shop–even Richard liked it. Can you believe the two little doggies waiting for their owner? Dogs sitting outside a shop isn’t so interesting, but the fun part to us is that the white dog is a Westie (same as Olivia) and the brown dog is a Yorkie (same as Richard’s parents’ dogs, Ellie and Lucy).

Our next stop was a Boston Harbor Tour. I love being on the water, so this was extra fun for me! While we were on our tour, our boat (and all others) had to pull to the side and stop because a huge ship carrying natural gas was entering the harbor.

From here we visited Faneuil Hall and Faneuil Hall Marketplace (Quincy Market). There were some neat places to shop here, but the highlight for us was the guy doing street theater. He was talented and HYSTERICAL.

After this we meandered over to Newbury Street via Commonwealth Avenue. We stopped in an interesting wine cellar and then after much deliberation decided to eat at Bottega Fiorentina. We had delicious sandwiches. Across the street just happened to be a used book store. We had to stop in. I bought two books for my classroom library: Piggies by Audrey Wood and Chicka Chicka Boom Boom (my students literally wore my other copy of this one out). Richard got several books, too. We walked a little farther and then stopped in for an espresso drink–can’t remember the name of the place. Then, we called it a night!

Monday morning we got up bright and early and rode the subway and then a bus to the Kennedy Library. So far we have visited the Clinton, Nixon, Reagan and Kenndy
libraries (I have also been to Johnson’s library but was young and do not
remember it). Kennedy’s did not impress me as much as I thought it would. It
enjoyed it, but I guess I had higher expectations. Richard really enjoyed it.

We got through the library and got back to the hotel so Richard could go to his meetings. While he was meeting, I helped myself to the pool and sundeck at our hotel. Monday night we stopped in at a doggie boutique on Newbury Street called Pawsh. We bought Olivia’s summer collar there. From there we went to Casa Romero.

After we successfully stuffed ourselves on the best Mexican food we’ve eaten since we left Arkansas, we went to J.P. Licks to enjoy some ice cream. I had strawberry-rhubarb and Richard had Oreo. That was that for Monday.

Tuesday morning Richard was gone to meetings early. I was on my own. It was tempting to sleep in and hang around the hotel, but I thought I should get out and enjoy the city while we were there. So, I did just that. I went over to the Prudential Center for breakfast (diet coke and lemon
poppy seed muffin) and I went into Barnes and Noble for a few minutes, too. Then I headed over to Newbury Street. I went into a couple of shops and then went into a shop called Firefly. After dropping a few bucks in this shop, I decided I better head back to the hotel before I spent any more money. So, I put on my swimsuit and once again headed to the sundeck and pool.

Later in the afternoon I came back inside for lunch and to get ready in time to go to the Ringo Starr concert that evening. When Richard returned from his meetings, we left the hotel and took the subway over to where the concert was. We ate at a restaurant called No Name Restaurant. We do not recommend it.

However, we do recommend the Ringo Starr concert! Richard is better at sharing concert details, but long story short–it was fun!

The concert was held at an outdoor venue right on the water. The weather was perfect.

Wednesday was our last day in Boston. Richard had meetings that morning, but I did not! I went over to Newbury Street and had breakfast at Espresso Royale Cafe. I had an iced coffee and a cranberry-orange scone. I sat outside on their basement patio and enjoyed a view of the brownstones through a few trees. It was a great start to my day.

After I got some caffeine in my system, I headed back to the hotel and packed our suitcases so we could be on our way when Richard got out of his meetings.

We checked out of the hotel and headed over to see Harvard. I think it is difficult to really see what we think of as “Harvard” if you don’t park and walk. We did get to see Harvard Square and the football stadium. I did take a picture of this ivy though:

Next we were off to Cape Cod. First we stopped for lunch at a place a coworker wanted Richard to try. It is a chain barbeque restaurant. We wanted to give it a try although we were both a little leary of bbq in Boston and at a chain, but we tried it. It was just okay.

That concludes the Boston portion of our trip! It was wonderful. Boston is a beautiful city. I love the brownstones and being on the water. The weather is glorious which I figured out as soon as we stepped out of the airport. One more thing I should note is that everyone was very friendly there. I am beginning to wonder why I’ve heard so many people say that people from the north are unfriendly.

We loved our time in Boston and can’t wait to go back!

Coming up next: Cape Cod post!

The original plan was to leave at 7:00 a.m. Then, we realized we couldn’t take Olivia to daycare until 8:00. Of course, we weren’t ready until 8:15 and had to come back to the house twice (once because we forgot bug spray and the second time because I forgot my sunglasses). We got Olivia dropped off and by the time we hit the road, it was about 8:45. I hadn’t made the effort to cook breakfast or really even make anything available at home, so we stopped along the way. We tried to go to Panera,
but the line was super long, so we went to the Starbucks across the street.
With espresso and some breakfast in hand, we were on our way again. We
stopped one more time for gas. We made a few wrong turns, but they didn’t cost us much time. I think we got to the beach around noon.

As you can see from the pictures, it is absolutely beautiful. The Maryland side (where we were) is a state park and the Virginia is a national park, so the island is completely undeveloped. The sand dunes are so pretty and the beach just goes on for miles and miles and miles. There
were plenty of seashells for me to collect. Richard got to see a horse! I
didn’t see one. He saw it when he went back up to the concession/restroom
area. I did see many crabs and birds though.

When we got there, we walked down the beach a littleways to set up camp. Then, we ate a little bit and I couldn’t wait any longer. I had to go for a walk to collect seashells. Off I went while Richard attempted to read the NY Times at the windy beach. I collected a lot of seashells and even ran across a piece of drift wood I thought needed a happy home. After my walk, I came back and took a nap. Then I talked Richard into going for a walk with me. I collected more seashells then. I enlisted his help carrying them. Other than walking on the beach, I literally did nothing the whole day. I just sat in my chair and enjoyed the water, breeze and sounds. It was heavenly. As I sat in my classroom today drowning in children and paperwork, it was hard to believe I was at the beach less than 24 hours before.

Around 6:00, I decided we better head back. I knew I needed to get up to run this morning and that I needed to get decent night’s sleep to be able to run and be on my toes with my first graders today. So, we grabbed a quick bite to eat at the Assateague Crab House (yum) and then headed home (but not before we checked out the beach shack store next door). We made it home in 2 1/2 hours without any stops. I told Richard he needs to be prepared for me to be at the beach quite a bit this summer.

We had a great time and I’m already scheming how I can talk Richard into trip #2.