OUR TRIP TO NEW ENGLAND

Starting in Boston, we hit the ground running after checking into our hotel. We walked over to the Aquarium, had lunch there and walked through all the exhibits. This shark had an evil eye!

Kristen enjoyed the hands-on exhibit where she carefully picked up a hermit crab and some star fish. She also enjoyed the colorful rainforest frogs and the penguins. Afterward, we walked over to Fenuel Hall, explored the shops and booths there, and watched a street performer. After walking to an Italian restaurant in the North End for dinner, we returned to our hotel for a dip in the pool.

Friday morning, we headed out by ferry to the USS Constitution after a delightful breakfast buffet. When I pointed out some specks floating in the milk pitcher to our waiter, that became the family joke of the week.

We all learned a lot at the USS Constitution museum before getting on the ship for a guided tour. Afterward, we visited two WWII ships docked at the adjoining pier, then headed for the Science Museum on the other side of town. The entire museum is interactive where we could "play" with the exhibits and learn more about how things work. Freddy enjoyed making a rabbit with colorful chains on a magnetic board.


Saturday morning, after another delightful breakfast buffet at our hotel (and more "speck" jokes) we followed the Freedom Trail to the Old North Church. Sandy found lots of scripture references on the plaques leading up to the gate. After hearing a talk inside the church about the hanging of two lanterns warning that the British would be coming by sea, we stopped at the Paul Revere house.

Next, we headed for Mystic Seaport where we saw how HUGE a whaling ship really is. She was up in the shipyard for refurbishing, and as we approached, made us realize just how big the Ark must have been in Noah's day. Somehow, it doesn't look that big in the water.

We came back the next morning to see the other exhibits we missed, particularly the whaling demonstration (without the whale.) It was very well done, complete with a graphic, and somewhat gory, description of how a whale was killed. As we walked to the other side of the pier to see a rowing demonstration, Kristen remarked, "That was disgusting!"
"You mean the way they killed the whale?" I asked.
"No," she answered. "That horse (pulling a wagon) just pooped all over the road."

Aah, the joys of traveling with our grandchildren!
(Don't forget to click on photos to enlarge.)

Delayed July 4th Post (posted 7/28/10)

With all that's been happening, and also the oppressive heat and humidity we've had, it's taken me awhile to catch up!

July 4th was celebrated at Aunt Carol's house on her deck. We also took the opportunity to celebrate Rick's birthday while we were all together. After everyone else left, Freddy, Kristen, Carol and I enjoyed a swim and then took off for the Long Island Ducks baseball game. After the game, we watched a fabulous fireworks display at the ball park, getting back to Carol's after midnight!

The rest of the week was spent in the water or on the deck, except for a couple of afternoons we had to spend in the air-conditioning to escape the oppressive heat and humidity--the heat index rose to over 100 for 3 days in a row! By 3:30, however, the pool became shaded so we could go back in again.

Sandy came out on the train Thursday morning and joined in the fun!

HEAT WAVE HAS BROKEN...

...for now, anyway. A line of storms came through here this afternoon and cleared out the hot and humid air, reducing the temps by 10-15 degrees within an hour. It's much more comfortable now, and we're hoping it stays this way for awhile. Especially since this is VBS week for me.

I hope to post some photos of last week's trip to Boston with our son and his family. Most of my time has been taken up with either getting crafts ready for VBS (my dining room table is covered!) or just plain trying to stay cool in the oppressive heat we've had. Once VBS gets under way, I should have some time one afternoon this week--so stop back again soon!

SUMMER IS HERE!

This is the perfect week to be heading out to Long Island for more "poolage" with the grandkids at Aunt Carol's house. (See last year's post 7/10/09.) Temps are going to be in the 90's starting Sunday and continuing through most of the week.

After celebrating Rick's birthday on Sunday, we'll be heading out to a local baseball game and a fireworks display. The rest of the week will be spent mostly in the pool.

Check back on July 11th for photos!