A Monday Drive

Monday was Presidents’ Day so Jennifer and Maura were both home. The afternoon seemed a good time for a family excursion. We had several hours of free time between morning chores and Maura’s ice skating lesson in the afternoon. We decided on a trip to the South Shore Arts Center in Cohasset, Massachusetts. Maura had been there on a school trip and it sounded like an interesting place to go. When we arrived we found that it was closed. You might think that we would have learned our lesson about making sure our destination was actually open before heading for a visit but apparently we have not.

Because we had no other plans for the afternoon we decided to drive down the shore and explore. We drove back roads through the towns of Cohasset, Scituate and Marshfield, seeing what there was to see. The day was a bit chilly to be outdoors but otherwise very fine and we enjoyed our trip. We drove by beaches and harbors, through woods and fields, by houses large and small. Towns in New England are much prettier away from the highways. Near major roads they put their unexceptional, if not ugly, buildings. The remarkable and beautiful ones lie where it takes more effort to see them. We talked as we drove. It was an enjoyable ride.

When we got to Marshfield we headed inland to Pembroke to do some shopping. I had driven by a game store, Medieval Starship, on Route 139 a few times and I thought it was a good time to stop and check the place out. As a family we enjoy playing board games and card games together and it was fun to see what was on the shelves. We all enjoyed the visit. Maura found several games she wants to add to her wish list. I might just buy her a copy of Lemming Mafia for her birthday in August. It sounds like a weirdly humorous game—the object is get your lemmings to throw themselves off a cliff. You put your opponents’ lemmings in cement overshoes to stop them. I can’t wait to play it.

After the game store we went down to check out The Bookshack, the new independent bookstore that opened up where the Borders used to be in the Independence Mall in Kingston. It looked like a good bookstore. I’ll admit I didn’t buy anything but I’ll try to make some purchases in the future when I have more money to spend—if the store lasts that long. As a writer I want to support bookstores. Even if most of my sales come through Amazon it helps to have a place where people can see and touch my book and where I can promote it in person. It’s hard to have a book signing on a web site.