Traveling Together - Cape Cod

Teach's family left us on Wednesday morning. It was hard to say goodbye, not knowing when we might see them again. We piled in the Suburban not long afterward. It was finally time to see the beach!

You know how much I love big water and I could hardly wait for the chance to play in the sand on Cape Cod.  We wanted to drive to Provincetown, all the way at the tip of the cape. That way we could make several stops along the way. Our first one was the Visitor's Center for the Cape Cod National Shoreline.

I didn't even know there was such a thing as a National Shoreline before this trip. Sadly, many of their exhibits were still closed, but we did get a great view of the water. 

You could even climb to the top of the building and get almost 360 degrees of water. Only a tiny area obstructed our view of the ocean and the bay.

Our next stop was the beach! We already had our swimming suits on, so we quickly made our way across the sand. The buoys for safe swimming were only out about 50 yards, but there is no way we would have gone for than 5 yards into the water. Our 2nd wave knocked me off my feet and pulled me out a bit. Thankfully, the 3rd and 4th waves brought me back in. 

After that, we were more careful. We sat in the sand and let the water wash over us. Not glamorous, but definitely safer. 

We gathered some beautiful stones and dug in the sand. 

After an hour or so, we washed off the sand in the public showers and climbed back in the car. The kids were ready for lunch. We ate at a little seafood joint and then got back in the car. It might sound easy to find a public beach, but many of the beaches there are private.

Thankfully, my sweetie had another one in mind. We weren't planning to get wet this time. This beach had tons of shells and the kids were having fun collecting them.

We walked in the water, but stayed clear of the big waves.

The girls posed for some pics for me.

Back in the car again. We stopped at an A&W for ice cream because they had a car show going on. My sweetie loves a good car show...

Our plan was to go back to the condo since it was getting late, but the kids spied a mini golf course that we just couldn't pass up.

It was the perfect way to finish up our incredible day. 

The kids have all gotten to be pretty good mini golfers.

Baby Doll hit the hole-in-one twice!

Traveling Together - Salem and Plymouth

We had originally planned to enjoy the SEE Science Center on Tuesday, but sadly, it was closed for maintenance, so we decided to drive around Nashua and see all the places my sweetie stayed or ate dinner or whatever when he was working in Boston five years ago. We let the kids have a quick dip in the pool before we checked out, but the water was SO cold!

My sweetie really loves this beautiful place. First stop, Hayward ice cream (I know, ice cream for lunch...). My sweetie swears this is the best in the Boston area.

Our next stop was Salem. We considered the Salem Witch Museum, but decided against it since we had children with us. We did want to see Proctor's Ledge. They have erected a memorial where many of the alleged witches were hung.

Two of these women, Rebecca Nurse and Mary Esty, are many greats back aunts of ours. Their brother, Jacob, was our grandfather.

The Ledge was well preserved and the idea that these innocent people died here felt all too real.

Next, we went to the actual burial site of Rebecca Nurse. It is said that her children took her body away and gave her a proper Christian burial on their homestead. It was difficult to find this little cemetery and if you ever go there, make sure you have plenty of bug spray. We were only there for a few minutes and everyone had multiple bites.

Back on the road to Plymouth; we had warned the kids that Plymouth rock was pretty anticlimactic, but they were still excited to go there. 

We missed the last tour of the Mayflower II by about 15 minutes, so we headed for the little shops across the street. My old Plymouth shirt is nearly worn out...

We grabbed dinner near the dock and then the kids walked down to the water. Teach is leaving us in the morning and we hadn't been to the beach yet. I guess she will have to go when she gets back to New Jersey.

Traveling Together - Boston Tea Party Museum and Fenway Park

On Monday, we were back in full craziness mode. It was Labor Day and my sweetie wanted us to get off Cape Cod as early as possible, so we piled into the car early and made our way to the Alewife train station (I know, such a silly name...). 

Our first stop was a quick walk to the Boston Harbor so that we could see the Boston Tea Party Museum. It was pretty expensive and my sweetie had heard that it wasn't that great, but I really enjoyed it. 

Ok, so tossing the tea overboard wasn't all that amazing, but once we got inside the museum itself, I was stunned at the video and live portrayals that made the plight of the minutemen and their families all too real. 

Honestly, it was the only thing we did all week that brought tears to my eyes. I wish I could show you the things inside, but they don't allow any pics.

When our tour was over, we hoofed it back to the train station, caught a train, then a transfer, then climbed a million stairs to get out of the station. By then, Curly was getting anxious. It was only 25 minutes until first pitch and he really wanted to get to Fenway Park before that happened. 

We stopped at a little booth to buy a hat for Twizlet, then we stood in a line for security. Curly wanted a hat too, but he figured he could get one in the park just as cheap... he was wrong... $50 vs $24 for the same hat!!

He really started dancing when we got in a line to buy hot dogs, but after all that, we still managed to get in before the National Anthem. 

Sadly for me, the seats were pretty tight, but it wasn't very crowded, so I sat on the end and draped my leg over the seat in front of me. That made it tolerable so I could watch the game.

Teach took her little guy out since he was not having much fun and that meant she wasn't either. It was so hot!! The frozen lemonade became my new favorite drink even if it did have calories. Twiz took off after a couple of hours. He had to catch a flight home since he had to work on Tuesday. Teach and the kids were staying with us until Wednesday.

The Red Sox were winning most of the game which was awesome since Tampa Bay is ranked much higher than they are. The heat finally got to us and we decided to leave after the 7th inning stretch. Sadly, the Sox lost by 1 in the 10th inning. 

We were way down the road by then, on our way to New Hampshire via Lexington and Concord. We stopped at a little Italian place my sweetie used to eat at all the time when they were working in Nashua. Soon we were back on the road, our final destination for the night? Merrimack.

Traveling Together - Mashpee

Sunday was our down day. It took us about 20 minutes to get to the nearest meetinghouse location for Sacrament Meeting. 

After that we came back to the condo in Mashpee. My sweetie had big dinner plans with the things he bought at the Haymarket and the underground meat sellers, but he didn't really want any help, so we made our way over to the pool.

Unfortunately, the inside pool was closed for a couple of hours so the kids got in the outdoor pool. It was a little too cold for me, but the hot tub was just right even though it was a bit lonely. 

It wasn't long before they opened the pool, but I was ready for something else, so Scout and I played mini golf. 

After we finished, we walked back to the condo so we could change. My sweetie was struggling with the Matchlight charcoal we purchased at a little convenience store, so we spent about half an hour babying the fire until it looked like we might be able to cook on it. And when I say 'we,' I mean 'he.'

Dinner was amazing! We had grilled swordfish with raspberry chutney, steak, baby potatoes, sweet potatoes, salad, and cabbage. It truly was a feast, and I am so grateful for the hands that prepared it. 

We went to bed early, because Labor Day was going to be a big day...