Boston Harbor Islands National Park

When I actually sit down to think about it, I haven't been to that many national parks.  Everglades, Glacier, Yellowstone, Acadia... but I think that's about it.  Andy's been to the Grand Canyon.  And the kids... probably just the Everglades.  We've got a lot of work to do in that department, but we made a small dent this weekend visiting Spectacle Island in the Boston Harbor Islands National Park.  I've wanted to go there since researching it a bit online last year- there are 8 or so islands that you can reach by different ferry boats from downtown Boston, and each one is unique.  Some have old forts, some have beaches, some are just rocky islets with grassy tops.  This early in the season, you can only visit 2 of the islands, so we chose Spectacle Island for the day.

The ferry ride was a short 20 minutes, just long enough to snap some photos of the receding Boston skyline  and slap some sunscreen on the kids.  Then, we disembarked onto a small island with wide beaches and endless grass undulating in the wind.  So strange to be in downtown Boston one minute, and then out on this undeveloped island the next.  Our first activity was to walk the beaches.  Some were sandy and others rocky, but all were absolutely covered with beautiful sea glass pieces and pottery nicely rounded in the surf.  Spectacle Island was a quarantine area for ships and people with suspected disease at one time, and then in the middle of the 20th century it was a landfill site. During Boston's "big dig" in the 1990s, this island is where much of the dirt from the "dig" ended up.  You would never guess the islands history now from it's beautiful grassy slopes and hiking paths, but the abundance of sea glass and pottery gives a clue, I suppose.  Aiden came up with a contest idea, to see who could find the best pieces... rarest color, most unusual shape, best patterning or words... so we collected for over an hour and then sorted our loot.  Since Spectacle Island is a national park, they prefer you don't take anything home with you (even "cultural artifacts" like sea glass) so we knew we'd just be taking photos and leaving it all there.  We came up with some impressive pieces though, with lovely patterning and shades of purple, green and blue.  All in all it was a fun way to spend the first part of our day.

Then, on to walk the island.  There is a loop trail that rings the island, with several spiraling offshoots that reach the two highest points.  We walked round and round and round, urging Haley along as she wasn't feeling particularly "hikey" that day, and eventually reached the highest point on the north drumlin.  The views of Boston Harbor are outstanding from there, and the huge mowed grassy lawns are a crazy luxury for picnicking and lounging about on a beautiful summery day.  We found some shade under a tree on one lawn and laid out our lunch of cold sesame noodles, hummus & carrots, and cherries.  Everyone was tired enough to nap for awhile before heading back down to the beaches for some more exploring.

By 2:30 pm, we were ready to head back to civilization.  After exploring the playground at Christopher Columbus Park and getting an early seafood dinner, we drove home to New London, sunburned and tired from an adventurous day.  We're already planning a next time- to visit Georges and Peddocks Islands and see how they compare to our beautiful day at Spectacle.

Art, Gardens, More Bucket List...

Haley is wrapping up her last year at Windy Hill, with less than two weeks to go.  Last week WH held their annual "art show" where they display the kids' art projects in the college art gallery and hold a real "opening" with finger foods and drinks and such.  It's a great event each year, and the kids are always excited to dress up and go.  Haley wore a "new to her" pink polka dot dress and asked me to paint her nails bright pink too for the occasion.  Unfortunately, Dad and Aiden had a lacrosse game in Vermont, but Haley and I went to the art show to see Haley's work.  My favorite piece was an illustrated story she wrote about knights, a dragon, and a princess- it was a very elaborate story that ended with all parties being friends.

We've been hanging around New London on weekends lately, because Aiden has lacrosse, and it's just a great time of year to get work done outside.  We've been working on our vegetable garden, trying to keep the weeds at bay, and also planning some perennial beds around the house and lawn.  The kids have had multiple playdates with their "besties" too- which helps keep them very happy and occupied so Mom and Dad can get more work done!

We also ticked off a bucket list item last weekend- go canoeing.  We had grand plans of heading out to Grafton Pond, which is about a half hour away, and has 26 amazing protected islands to explore... but due to our busy weekend we ended up putting the canoe in just down the road at Messer Pond.  We did a lazy loop around the pond, exploring the marshes at one end and ogling the camps and houses along the shoreline.  This was Haley's first time canoeing, and she did great, even though she claims to hate how tippy it feels.  Aiden probably can't remember the last time he went canoeing, though he's gotten to kayak quite a bit at Oak Island or Islamorada.  I still hope we can get to Grafton Pond later this summer, but we'll have to see how it goes.  That bucket list is long....

Horse Play

As a family, we made a bucket list for the coming summer.  The list includes some pretty bizarre quests, including ¨make a composter¨ (Andy's), ¨eat the Mt Kearsarge at Arctic Dreams¨ (Aiden's- and by the way, I believe that's 20 scoops of ice cream), and ¨visit a lavender farm¨ (mine).  Haley's additions mostly include things she knows she's going to do anyway, like ¨be a flower girl¨ (in Jeanne & Joe's wedding) and ¨go to Parishville.¨  But she also had ¨ride a horse¨ on there, thanks to her recent obsession with all things horses, so we decided to start on the bucket list over Mother's Day weekend and get both kids a riding lesson.

I knew we had to go to the right place, with people (and horses) who were good with kids, or this could go horribly wrong.  Despite Haley's fervent love for horses, she doesn't have any clue about them in real life, and I'm pretty sure before last weekend she imagined your typical horse was maybe slightly larger than our dog Kimball.  And probably with a pink mane.  So really, NO idea.  I did a bit of research and found a place a little over an hour away in the lakes region that looked perfect- High Meadows Farm in Moultonborough.  They said they were all about beginners and learning about how to be safe around horses and how to care for them in addition to riding.  ¨No one is too young or old to ride¨  It sounded perfect... and it was.  ¨Miss Sue,¨ who runs the farm, is also a Kindergarten teacher, and there was never a moment when she wasn't convincing Haley that this was going to be the best and most exciting day of her life.  As a result, after she learned how to lead, groom, and saddle up a horse named Oreo Cookie, she hopped right on with a smile.  Sue had her trotting and directing the horse by herself in under and hour and I don't think I've ever seen such big smiles!  What a treat on Mother's Day to get to see that...

Aiden also had a great time- he got the more ¨advanced¨ lesson after Haley's, where he learned to post during a trot and did all the riding and directing the horse through different obstacles himself, without Sue helping.  I'm afraid the kids loved it so much we will have to go back, maybe for horse camp or at least for a family trail ride.  We must stop short of buying a pony though.  That cannot happen.  

It was fitting to start on our summer bucket list this past weekend, since the weather has felt just like summer for the past 2 weeks.  We went right from cold and gray and 40 degrees to 70, skipping the 50s and 60s entirely.  Its been a bit of a shock, but as shocks go, it's a nice one.  We even went for our first swim in Pleasant Lake on Saturday.  The mercury said 80 degrees, but the water said ¨Ha! You bozos! Try 45!¨-- but the kids and I still managed a breath-sucking plunge into the crystal clear lake.  It was worth it.  Summer is short here; you've got to take advantage while you can.  On to the next bucket list item...

Everyone but DAD went in!  Next time we throw him in...

Doughboys at the fire pit

Mother's Day brunch at Tuckers.  Aiden has developed a (decaf) coffee habit.

Making our own tortillas- tasty and fun