Heritage Gardens and Museums in the Spring

This week is Maura’s spring break from school and we’re taking advantage of it, especially since the weather has so far been very pleasant. Yesterday we drove from Weymouth the Williamsburg, Virginia, but we’ve seen little except the very charming bed and breakfast where we are staying so I’ll save that trip for next week. Monday we did some more local travel so that Maura wouldn’t miss her skating lesson. We drove down to Sandwich on Cape Cod to show Jennifer, and my parents who are visiting from Indiana, the Heritage Gardens and Museums.

We had a very nice day, though it was hot for April. I never saw a weather report for Cape Cod but in Weymouth the temperature was reported to have hit 90 degrees Fahrenheit, though I was never uncomfortable. It was dry and there was a nice breeze. We left early and stopped for breakfast at Persy’s Place, in Kingston. They claim to have the largest breakfast menu in New England and I find no reason to doubt them. We don’t go there often because Kingston is a bit far to go for breakfast but I like the place a lot. It is the only restaurant I know of anywhere near where we live that has hash browns, which are my favorite breakfast potatoes.

After breakfast we drove on down to Sandwich. The gardens were beautiful though not yet in their full glory. There were many blooming daffodils and a few of the hundreds of rhododendrons had started to bloom. Some day we will have to visit in May, when they are in full flower. The crowds were not as oppressive as they had been when Maura were there before, on Free Museum Friday, and we walked the labyrinth almost undisturbed. Maura and I rode the carousel while my parents and Jennifer watched from a bench. I felt like a little kid and a proud dad all at once.

At the antique automobile museum we had a chance to enjoy the air conditioning while we had a leisurely look at the collection. Maura and I sat in the model T Ford that is the only one of the cars in the museum that you are allowed to touch. I imagined what a ride must have been like back then. The seats were remarkably comfortable but the car wasn’t moving so there was no way to know how good the springs were.

After the visit to the gardens we drove to the Thornton Burgess Society’s Greenbriar Preserve not far away. We went to visit the jam kitchen. The kitchen was a popular stop on the Cape before World War Two and hasn't changed much since then. We bought two jars as souvenirs and to enjoy later. I let Maura pick out a jar of orange cranberry rhubarb relish. Jennifer and I agreed on a jar of rhubarb ginger preserves.

Afterwards we rode home in comfort for a short rest before skating and a fine dinner at Stockholders, a Weymouth restaurant we had long been wanting to try. We were not disappointed and everyone agreed that the food and the service were excellent.

The Great Road Trip

This year our summer vacation was a visit to my family in Indiana. Because of moderate gas prices this summer we chose to drive. It made for a long and tiring journey in both directions but the vacation was everything I wanted it to be. We enjoyed the company of my parents and my sister Marcia and had a wonderfully fun and relaxing time. Our time in Indiana was divided between my parents’ home in Zionsville, just north of Indianapolis, and their vacation home on Lake Monroe, in the south central part of the state. When Jennifer and I had to head home we left Maura behind to spend an extra week with her grandparents.

We left at eleven o’clock on Saturday night, the end of my shift at Borders. Our plan was to drive overnight, avoiding traffic and as much as possible avoiding having to deal with a bored six-year-old. We figured that driving through the darkness would encourage Maura to sleep for a good part of the trip. The plan worked. Jennifer and I shared the driving, sleeping when we were not behind the wheel, and we all arrived safely in Zionsville tired but with our sanity intact.

Our stay in the Indianapolis area was very enjoyable. We went to the Indianapolis Children’s Museum were we saw the Tutankhamen and the Great Pharaohs of Egypt exhibition. I found it fascinating and could have spent all day in the exhibition but I think Maura enjoyed the time we spent in the permanent collections of the museum more. The Indianapolis Children’s Museum is a wonder and worth a visit for anyone visiting Indianapolis, with our without children.

The other highlight of our time in Zionsville was attending an Indianapolis Indians game. The Indians are Indianapolis’s AAA minor league baseball team. We got rained on and the home team didn’t win but it was still fun to sit in the stands and root for them. Victory Park, where the Indians play, is a great place to catch a game. The stadium is intimate and friendly, the ticket prices are reasonable and the level of play, though not up to major league standards, is still thoroughly professional.

On Thursday we took a side trip down to King's Island, an amusement park in Ohio, not far from Cincinnati. It was a fun trip, though a long day. Maura loves rides and at King’s Island she added roller coasters, which she had been avoiding, to her list of favorites. Maura often has to be coaxed onto rides, but once she’s on them the wilder they are the more fun she has. While we were at King’s Island we were able to see our friend Sean and his family. Sean moved to Ohio two years ago and we don’t often get to see him now. The chance to spend a few hours catching up with an old friend made a fun day even better.

On Friday we drove down to my parents’ house on Lake Monroe. A trip to the lake house is always a highlight of any visit to Indiana. The house is on a wooded hillside overlooking the quiet end of the lake. There are neighbors but they do little to disturb the tranquility of the place. There is nothing more relaxing than sitting on the large porch overlooking the lake watching the hummingbirds buzz around the feeders like feathered bees, then watching the fireflies rise into the treetops once the sun goes down.

The end of the trip was bittersweet. We said goodbye to Maura and my parents before getting in the car for our long drive home. She spent another week with her grandparents. Jennifer and I both missed Maura but it was nice to spend time alone together. The drive home was pleasant though long. We were lucky enough to witness a natural wonder as we made our way through western Pennsylvania. A rain shower in partial sunshine produced a perfect double rainbow to cheer us on our way.

April Vacation

Last week was Maura’s April vacation from school and we put the time to good use. Except for Tuesday, when Maura had a dentist appointment, we had a fun outing every day she was off from school. I’ve already written about our first outing, down to Cape Cod to go hiking on Monday. On Wednesday we visited one of our favorite haunts, the Children’s Museum. On Thursday was a trip to Weymouth’s annual April Vacation Carnival. On Friday Jennifer took the afternoon off and we took another family hike, this time in the rugged terrain of the Blue Hills Reservation.

We arrived in Downtown Boston on our Wednesday outing in time for an early lunch and a visit with Jennifer at her office building before we went to the museum. Though it rained later in the afternoon the weather was beautiful when we arrived in Boston so Maura and I ate our baloney sandwiches on the Greenway. Because it was Earth Day there was an event going on and we enjoyed listening to a rhythm band and watching stilt walkers as we ate our lunch. Afterwards we met Jennifer for a stroll and desert which she brought with her from an office party. Her building was having an Earth Day event in the lobby and we picked up some biodegradable swag. The Children’s Museum was as usual noisy, chaotic and crowded. Maura had a wonderful time. There were no new exhibits of note but there were a few Earth Day demonstrators there as well and Maura got a piggy bank for her collection.

Thursday morning we spent at home because we had a coupon for an unlimited ride bracelet that started at 2 pm. Maura was very excited all morning. Julie Tittler and Peter came over to join us at the carnival. Maura loves carnival rides and she had a great time, though she couldn’t convince Peter, who is four, to ride any rides with her. Maura is big enough to ride almost all of the carnival rides by herself now, including some of the really wild ones. I didn’t ride with her this time. I would have had fun doing but I wanted to save a little money. I did play a carnival game to win Maura a prize. I won a plush husky puppy throwing darts at balloons. Sometimes it’s worthwhile to spend ten dollars for a two dollar stuffed animal.

On Friday Maura had hot dogs from Windy City Eats for lunch and then went to pick Jennifer up at the T-station. Since we forgot our Blue Hills trail map we went to reservation headquarters to pick up a new one and started our hike from there. We hiked for about three hours, out on the very rugged Skyline Trail and a longer and flatter route back. The weather was almost perfect and the hike was wonderful. It’s really great to get out and get some outdoor exercise on a perfect spring day. We were all exhausted by the time it was over though. The steep and rocky terrain is hard on knees and ankles.

April vacation made me look forward to summer. Maura has a few weeks of activities planned over the summer, she’ll be attending a day camp at one of town parks one week and spend a week apart from us with her grandparents in Indiana and another week with us. We will both be home for most of the summer and I plan on taking her on lots of outings.