Santa Monica Pier

The kids had an interest in visiting the Santa Monica Pier, especially the amusement rides. When we arrived there Monday, before heading down to the pier with the masses, we first went into the Atlas Obscura nearby. Although the building is clearly marked, the entry is ambiguous since the attraction is in shared space with a senior center. That made it all the more intriguing and the free admission was a bonus! The room was circular and easily fit us all. The usual pinhole was more like a porthole. The image was displayed on a large round disc that could be rotated. We could see all around us and even could focus small areas.  Very interesting.

Down at the Pier, we all took a ride on the historic carousel houses in the hippodrome designed by designed by Charles Looffe to house one of his carousels (it was replaced about 23 years after its installation). Jeff also knew of Looffe carousel at Crescent Park in RI that is still in operatiin. The amusement rides by the beautiful beaches gave a feeling of bygone times. Although touristy, it is nice to see places like this still exist and people delight in them as much today. As the kids enjoyed unlimited rides and some independence, the adults went off to the Dudes Brewery Co. for a sampling of local beer and snacks for lunch. The highlight of our time there though  took place outside. There was a HUGE swarm of bees in the air that finally settled on a table. They were covering a section so thickly that they looked like a dripping stalactite. It was an uncommon sight for us, for sure.

Our west coast adventures have come to an end. It was another fun trip. The best part for us was spending time with Jeff and Amanda. Thank you guys for your wonderful company and gracious hospitality.  Hope we see you both again soon!

Hurrah for Hollywood

Per our tourist request, Amanda and Jeff were kind enough to take us to a Hollywood sign viewing point. To our surprise, it was a popular spot. Down the road was the Hollywood Reservoir, an artificial reservoir constructed in 1924 and seemingly not in use at the present. It was a lovely location and we enjoyed a walk around it and got many views of the Hollywood sign without any of the crowds!

Afterwards we went to the Science Center. This was fun for kids and adults. Among other things, we saw an IMAX film about Apollo 11, experienced a hurricane simulator, and saw the space shuttle Endeavour while learning about the space shuttles and their missions.

We weren't done with museums yet though. We had two more gems to visit. The first was the Center for Land Use Interpretation  (clui.org). The mission of this organization seems to be looking at how humans interact with the planet and how the man made structures reflect culture and this interaction. The website, of course, describes it much better. The current exhibit was about shortwave radios--the history, the old buildings and sites devoted to them, and one site that still broadcasts the Voice of America. Right next door was the Museum for Jurassic Technology (http://mjt.org/) This is another place that is difficult to describe. At first glance, it seems to be a museum for strange collections and an introduction to obscure historical figures. A small truth is tied to these things and people so it is not clear to the visitor that these exhibits are not as straightforward as one might think. 

The evening ended with a delicious meal and games. Do you know the height of an Oscar statuette? It could win you big money in Wits and Wagers if you do!

Mission San Juan Capistrano

We headed south today and visited this mission. It is widely known for the swallows returning each year. Actually though, there was a spate of years that they didn't return. Due to urban growth,  they could find higher buildings in the surrounding areas for nesting. Scientists have worked hard to keep them returning to the mission including playing a male swallow mating song to attract them in. We all toured at our own pace with the help of audio guides. The mission has had an interesting history. Afterwards we were able to meet up with Jean and Fenway to catch up.

Snakes in LA

We arrived in Los Angeles on Friday. Amanda and Jeff took us for a fantastic hike at the Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area. It provided a panoramic view of the city. I was just amazed at how large and sprawling it was. We also learned about the Baldwin Hills Reservoir which was formally on this site and which failed in 1963. After cracking, it emptied in 77 minutes and destroying nearly 70 homes. Now it is an inviting green, grassy bowl with many trees. It is a contrast to the scrubbier, dry landscape around it.

Stay CALM and Escape

Thursday in Bakersfield was hot! Despite the heat, we went to check out the California Living Museum (CALM). It has native plants and native non-releasable animals  (due to injury or threat). Unlike a large zoo, we had great access to the exhibits either through proximity or select view areas. We saw some very cool animals such as the CA condor with its huge wing span and the desert tortoise. The poor bears looked very hot. The kids were fascinated by a pelican almost turning its throat inside out and a scrub jay nipped John through the wire cage!

After cooling down and grabbing lunch at Temblor Brewing Company, we decided to enter the world of escape rooms. We were successful escapees from the Crimson Storm room in which we needed to find the treasure from a sinking pirate ship that we were imprisoned on. Great fun!

Raisins and Coffee Pots

On Wednesday, we made our way to Bakersfield. On the way we stopped for some unusual sights in the town of Kingsburg. Our first stop was at the Sunmaid raisin factory and gift shop. There we saw the "world's largest raisin box." We learned that many of the grape vines we had been seeing were the Thompson variety. We drove further into town and paused for a photo of the Swedish coffee pot a.k.a town water tower. https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/swedish-coffee-pot-tower

Cable Cars and Other Iconic Actvities

While the teenagers slept in to late morning, we bought a day pass for the cable cars and had an enjoyable morning riding around. We began with boarding the Powell-Hyde line near Ghirardelli Square, and ending in Union Square. The line to ride back was huge, so we walked through the Financial District to Market St. where the California line does not seem to be as much on the tourist radar. We hopped off that line at Powell St., crossed the street, and hopped back on the Powell-Mason line to complete our trip. What is time in San Francisco without riding the cable cars?!

We split up after lunch with John and Isaac heading to the Golden Gate Bridge to have a redux of walking over it. One side was closed to pedestrians so it was a bit crowded with foot traffic and bikes. Isaac, who really wanted to do this again, but doesn't love heights, power walked the whole way, leaving John to play catch up!  And that's telling because John is usually the one leaving the rest of the family in the dust as he zips to a destination!  Once they were back on solid ground, John stopped at Golden Gate Park to grab some sand for his collection. While they were out, Adelaide and I hopped on the cable cars to visit Chinatown. 

Later in the afternoon, John and I walked to Crissy Field to watch the windsurfers and ship traffic coming in and out of the bay. We were surprised by a sea lion stopping right in front of us who peeked up to check out what was happening above water! After, we collected the kids and brought them to an outstanding Korean restaurant John and I had gone to the night before called Surisan. And before the day was done, John and Isaac put those cable car passes to good use and had a night time ride. A nice ending to our time in San Francisco.

Wave Organ

We had a late lunch at the Chart House at Pier 39. The views are incredible as it is all glass overlooking the bay. We thoroughly enjoyed that and watching all the pelicans fly by. The Mango Smoke and Air drink, well, we didnt enjoy that so much. Gelatinous liquid smoke. Thankfully that view made up for it!

Later we walked to the marina on what seemed like a treasure hunt for another Atlas Obscura suggestion. This was a wave organ with pipes both in the water and above. Truthfully, it was less musical and more gurgling, but the sunset behind the Golden Gate made the trek totally worthwhile!

Pushed From the Throne

The sea lions were so active today! They were jockeying for position, rolling over to sun their bellies, and performing acrobatics in the water. On other visits to SF, they have just lain on the floating docks like bumps on a log. Not today! This guy, with his mouth open, was such a bully! He kept other sea lions off his dock by barking at them and pushing them off as soon as they would flop on. He finally lost his lofty position after being repeatedly challenged by one opponent. We cheered when he was finally pushed from his throne.

Magowan's Infinite Mirror Maze

This is housed in the upper level of Pier 39 with a very unassuming entrance. It is a bargain at $5 per person for admission. It was loads of fun. As you can see, there is a psychedelic groove to it. Before you enter you must don thin plastic gloves. This is so you don't leave smudges on the mirrors because you WILL touch them to see if you are truly going through an opening or not. Don't get separated from your party or you will spend time chasing down reflections instead of an actual person!

From Bridge...

...to Bridge

We arrived in San Francisco late yesterday afternoon. John and I immediately set out and did a quick walk around the waterfront. It was busy! We swung back to the hotel (Courtyard--funky smell loud ac, but great location) to get the kids. We headed up Columbus Ave. to North Beach and ate at Ideale, an Italian restaurant specializing in Roman influenced dishes.

Today (Monday), John and I got up early and walked around enjoying the quiet before the bustle of the crowds set in. We had delicious crepes for breakfast at a place around the corner from the hotel. We all went on the Red and White boat line "Bridge to Bridge" cruise. The Golden Gate had a line of fog running along its length and as we got closer to it, the more obscured it became! When we crossed beneath it, there was only dense fog leading out of the bay. We swung around for a close up of Alcatraz before heading under the Bay Bridge. The boat ride came with audio so we learned all about the reconstruction of the Bay Bridge after the 1989 earthquake.

The Most Photographed Victorian (?)

Atlas Obscura guided us to another quirky stop after spending a night in Eureka. They described it so well:

"Designed by Samuel and Joseph Newsom, architects from San Francisco, the Carson Museum in Eureka, CA, showcases a peculiar American style. The unique structure—made primarily of redwood and 97,000 feet of white mahogany from Central America, and onyx from East India, Mexico and the Philippines—has continued to draw gawkers from all over the country. Today, the site is widely understood to be the most photographed and written about Victorian house in the United States.

Built for William Carson (1825–1912), one of Northern California's first major lumber barons, the intricately detailed mansion took more than 100 men over two years to construct.

After failing to make a fortune in the mid-19th century California Gold Rush, Carson took to the forests of Northern California himself, felling shiploads of Redwood lumber bound for San Francisco. After a decade of working in the woods—and mining, when the seasons allowed—Carson formed the Dolbeer and Carson Lumber Company with John Dolbeer, who later invented the steam donkey engine that revolutionized the industry. By the 1880s, Carson's company was producing 15,000,000 board feet of lumber every year.

The Carson family sold the mansion in 1950 to the private Ingomar Club, which still uses the house and does not allow tours of the residence. If visitors were allowed inside the front doors, they would be treated to beautiful stained glass designs, plasterwork, and carved ornaments in various exotic woods.

Meticulously maintained, the property today is in virtually the same condition as when it was built. While it could easily join the National Register of Historic Places, the Ingomar Club carefully guards its privacy, refusing to allow any outside influence."

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/the-carson-mansion-eureka-california

Old Souls

On Friday night, we arrived fairly late at our hotel and then ended up staying up later because of all the novelties! Where was this, you ask? Well, the hotel was called Even and it is one of these new boutique hotels. This one is part of the IHG family. Our first indication that this was a hipster hotel was the parking lot which only had spots for compact cars. Now this caused much discussion among us. Was it intentional, poorly planned, limited space...? Regardless, it made for a tight parking spot. As we were trying to exit our car, the proximity sensor of the huge pick up next to us kept blaring, repeatedly startling us. As we walked to the entrance we noticed a lively deck with firepit--next indicator. The 2nd floor lobby was sleek and modern and multiple complimentary infused waters were offered.  And here was where we began to get excited by the amenities! They had a glass enclosed room with a ping pong table! Yes, we had to play even though it was 10:30 at night! And they offered games! Yes, we played Sequence both that night and in the morning over coffee. And the rooms are all even numbered. This hotel is defintely going for a certain vibe. Wellness is one, which, if not evident through the inspirational messages on the walls, was clear in the room which offered exercise equipment! This was a novel stay!

On Saturday we explored the Redwood National Park. Our national parks are awe-inspiring and this one was no exception! Immediately upon turning down the unpaved, narrow Howland Hill Rd, we were all looking up in amazement at the gigantic coastal redwoods all around us. We took a quick hike to Stout Grove where we felt reverential among these giants. It is humbling to think of how brief our lives are compared to these trees which have been around for hundreds or, even sometimes, thousands of years. We traversed south and drove through the Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway with another short hike through the Lady Bird Johnson Grove. This was a self guided trail with an interpretive brochure available. We learned some interesting information such as the redwoods' high water content and low resin make them less susceptible to forest fires. The heartwood can apparently be damaged and burned, but the tree can still adapt and live healthily. We saw several instances of this in various areas. What was remarkable to us was that we could see fire damage to some older trees but no other visible signs of fire in the area or on younger trees which meant they were damaged by forest fire a long time ago!

Cape Disappointment and Other Delights

The photo above is actually of Cannon Beach and we were far from disappointed on our trek up and down the coast (at least John and I were not). Upon arriving at the Pacific, we drove to Ecola State Park where we enjoyed the scenic vistas and walked along the beach. The rocks there were so interesting. They seemed like they could be volcanic- maybe. They were black and made up of smaller pieces all fused together. The water was cold when wading, but not unbearably so...like early June ocean water in New England. However, the surfing class there were all in wet suits so...

Part of visiting the Oregon coast was a walk down memory lane so we also stopped at Seaside, a place we had passed through a couple of times when the kids were young. I remembered the big expanse of beach, but did not remember the built up beachy town. Bleh-not my thing. To our amazement, the big expense of beach was taken up by what must have been over 100 volleyball nets for a big tournament. It was fun to walk among the practicing teams.

We continued north and crossed the Columbia over the Astoria- Megler bridge from Oregon to Washington. It is 4 miles in length and features the longest truss bridge section in the U.S. It was a bit nerve wracking for some while others in our party thoroughly enjoyed counting the seagulls surfing the air currents alongside the bridge. From there we stopped by Cape Disappointment so named because an explorer, John Meahy, in 1788 tried to find the entrance to the Columbia and failed. We jaunted out to the Bell's Overlook. The view of the Washington coastline was expansive and beautiful. We could see for miles. We learned that this area of the Washington coast is subject to winter storms that pack hurricane strength winds. The last big one was in 2007 where winds were reported at 140 mph. On the path we noticed that some of the trees (very tall in this area with lots of ferns growing underneath), were growing over another dead tree causing the roots to spread way out. We then drove to the Cape Disappointment lighthouse area. This looked out to where the Columbia and Pacific meet.  At the interpretive center, we chatted with one of the rangers and learned so much about the area. The mouth of the Columbia is one of the most hazardous waterways. It has a narrow mouth with sand bars and cross winds. No big ships can enter without a pilot that is specially trained to navigate the entry from the Pacific into the Columbia river. And even after the ships are through, they then need to get a different pilot onboard to navigate the river. There were two substantial, long jettys to help control the shifting sands. One is being restored by the Army Corp of Engineers. The work vehicles out on the jetty seemed so small, which really gave us a scale of the size of these jettys.  https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbia_Bar

Our last stop of the day was back over the bridge in Astoria, OR where we stopped for dinner at a local brewpub. We sat outside and enjoyed the view of the Columbia and the big cargo ships that were anchored there. We were supposing they would be heading back out to the ocean. On our way south now in search of some big trees tomorrow.

Camp 18

We departed Portland early and headed out to the coast on Rt 26. Breakfast was at Camp 18, a stop not to be missed! Look at the 85 foot ridge pole in the photo.  Yes, it is one giant tree trunk! While enjoying a hearty breakfast, one can also learn a little bit about the history of logging in the area. For instance, there was a hand- drawn map of one of the logging towns from 1937 until the 40s. It showed the school, the offices, the residences, and even the location of the outhouses. Many historic photos and tools decorate the walls. Outside the restaurant, there is some of the more large scale equipment. Fascinating. camp18restaurant.com

As we traveled through the mountains, we actually saw quite a bit of evidence that logging is still going strong. We passed many clear cut swaths, especially evident at the coast looking back. There does seem to be an effort at sustainability as we saw new plantings with signs designating the year they were planted. Still, the barren mountainsides do give you pause.

Onward to Mount Hood

After departing the falls, we had a scenic drive along the Columbia before heading south toward Mount Hood. As we approached, we drove through the "Fruit Loop" where we saw many orchards and fruit farms.  We drove up and up through the clouds to the Timberline Lodge and the majestic Mount Hood. At that elevation of around 6000 feet, we were at Mt Washington height and the mountain still towered above us!

Multnomah Falls

Today our rambles took us to the Columbia River Gorge area. We hiked up a mile to the top of Multnomah Falls with 11 switchbacks along the way-- but hey, who's counting?! At about 620 feet, it is the highest waterfall in Oregon and the U.S. Forest Service lists it as the 2nd year round waterfall in the country. No matter what, it is stunning sight.

The day began with Voodoo...

...donuts, that is. This donut shop has crazy looking donuts. The toppings are outrageous! That being said, they were nothing special in the taste department. We got the feeling this was a stop geared toward tourists, but we were glad to have checked it out.

...and became downright Peculiar

We ventured to the Northwest District to visit The Freakybuttrue Peculiarium and Museum, or the Peculiarium, for short.  (www.peculiarium.com)  It is part Ripley's Believe It or Not and part art exhibition. It is all fun though, for sure!  One could admire a framed carpet piece in use at the Portland International Airport from 1987 to 2015. Or sit on the lap of the Krampus, the anti-Santa. For the brave hearted, one could try out the Buried Alive Simulator. None of us were that courageous!

Later, we stumbled upon Ruby Jewel, where we could order individualized ice cream sandwiches with homemade ice cream and cookies. YUM! Adelaide had caramelized coffee ice cream in a chocolate chip cookie. Isaac had double chocolate in a chocolate cookie and I had coconut with chocolate and candied cherries in a Portland cookie (the everything cookie). 5 stars for this unique ice cream stop.

Adelaide and I were adventurous in the late afternoon. We tested out the BikeTown rentals. I preloaded my app and easily unlocked a couple of bikes. Getting to the green space next to the Willamette was not as easy. Neither of us were too keen to ride in the city and we ended up walking through some dicier areas. The Old Town part of the city is definitely a bit more gritty. We managed to find our way there eventually and had a fun ride. It is a popular riding, walking, and running trail. We returned our bike as easily as we unlocked them. As soon as we put the ulock back through the docking station, it registered our completed ride. This service makes it very convenient and easy.

Taking Time to Smell the Roses...

and other explorations!

Yesterday was a visit to Powell's, the iconic full block bookstore here in Portland. It is a bibliophile's dream come true and we all left with treasures! Adelaide found a groovy vintage shop across the street and acquired even more gems. We traversed the city and stopped at Deadstock coffee roasters for late afternoon refreshment. They offer an iced drink of sweet tea and coffee. It is unusual, but strangely addicting. If we find ourselves back in that area during store hours, we would definitely repeat the experience. Dinner was on the patio (sidewalk) of Deschutes Brewery  Portland Public House. This place was hopping! They had a soup of the moment on the menu. John joked with the server and asked him a couple times what the soup was since the moment had passed. Isaac was not amused! It is hard to be a teen out with the parents sometimes!

We are staying at a Residence Inn and they have such an inviting space in their courtyard. I have been taking my breakfast out there in the mornings and it has been a relaxing and pleasant way to begin the day.  Today Adelaide and I tackled the TriMet public transportation. We bought a day pass which allowed us on both the downtown streetcars and the light rail. To my surprise, we never once had our ticket checked, nor did anyone else. We traveled to Washington Park where we spent a couple of hours at the International Rose Test Garden. The roses were simply spectacular. Some fragrant, some not. Some large and showy, and some small and dainty. The colors abounded. In the afternoon, I swapped children and Isaac and I made our way to Ground Kontrol, a good old fashioned video arcade! We partnered during an Alien inspired game and had great fun. We played a few Namco games, some Star Wars games, and pinball. I played a game similar to Pacman called Ladybug in which parts of the walls can be levered open and I got high score! Isaac thinks it is because no one ever plays it. Sigh. I think he is probably correct. Our day ended with takeout Chinese in the courtyard with an innovative game of Catan. The lack of mosquitos and mild temps make outdoor activities quite pleasurable.  

Aug. 4: A Day in Seattle

Of all the days, this was one of the craziest.  In fact it was 25 hours long and filled with lots of details, some of which are here:  We had gone to bed early knowing we would be crossing from Montana through Idaho to Spokane Washington at 2 am.  There we detrained from our sleeper car #2730 and walked our luggage up several cars to our new home,  car #0730, destined for Seattle. While we waited for our new berths to be made up,  we all walked in the cool night air around the station, looking for the bakery or donut shop we smelled.  Adelaide wanted to climb the stone sculptures near the station, and inadvertently caught the attention of one of the more colorful members of the homeless neighborhood.  After declining his company, we returned to our new sleeper car to resume a few more hours of sleep.  We traversed the longest train tunnel (8 miles) during breakfast and pulled into Seattle by about 10:45.  

We checked our bags through to Portland (3.5 hours departing at 6:10 pm).  The King Street station has apparently undergone some remodeling and looks terrific.  We walked in search of donuts finally finding a "daily dozen" offering made-before-our-eyes mini donuts.  There was a devoted crowd surrounding Pike's Place and the adjacent markets.  We saw many shops - fresh blueberries, books, turkish taffy, and LOTS of flowers.    There was also an alley with its walls covered in discarded chewing gum!!

We took the famous monorail to the space needle.  There we got to pass through the Chihoulli exhibit while we were there.  We finally got up the space needle and enjoyed the expansive views.  Puget sound is really a unique location.   While up high we were treated to some close fly-by of the Blue Angels who happened to be doing an air show just for us.

We sat outside at a local restaurant in the lovely temperate afternoon and feasted on all kinds of unhealthy snacks which tasted SO good to us. We all agreed that train fare is a stretch from 5 star dining. Our last rail travel was that evening on the Cascades line to Portland. We gamed and marveled at the view of Mt Rainier. Our hotel in Portland is conveniently located just a few minute walk from Union Station. A good thing because we all tumbled into bed after our full day.

Good Morning Washington State

After a 2 a.m. wake up and transfer of cars that will bring us to Seattle (track work put those bound to Portland in a bus...an event we wanted to forego), we still awoke early enough to take in the beautiful views as we traveled through the mountains. We went through the longest train tunnel in North America which is 8 miles long and took 15 minutes to traverse.

Yesterday we traveled through Glacier National Park. That area is just stunning! At East Glacier, we saw the restaurant we visited 10 years ago on our family vacation where the kids were thrilled to watch the trains go by. This time around, we were the ones on the train!

Death of the Telegraph

Today finds us making our way through North Dakota and Montana. Unlike our previous trip on the California Zephyr or even earlier on this trip on the Lakeshore Limited, here we are noticing that the telegraph posts and lines have been taken down. We can see individual posts sometimes laying in ditches, but more commonly, there are stacks of them somewhat removed from the tracks.

Throughout North Dakota we have all been struck by the wide open spaces of the prairies and rolling hills. Houses and farms seem miles from each other.  We saw many oil and gas sites, even some jets of burning gas. In some of the more populated areas, we also observed many old, rusting out cars.  Some were in private yards and some of the larger collections were in more industrial areas.  

Yesterday's travel took us through Wisconsin. It was surprising how much swampy land there is. The route followed the Mississippi for many miles so we afforded some nice views.

Union Station in Chicago

We arrived via Amtrak's Lakeshore Limited from NYC.  The Amtrak lounge seemed so luxurious... with fancy coffee and private showers.  We all go clean and refreshed and hopped outside for deep dish pizza.  Ready to board the Empire Builder in 1 hour... destined for Seattle in about 48 hours.

Lakeshore Limited

We traveled up the scenic Hudson River from NYC to Albany. At Albany we were able to stretch our legs in the rustic yet open station where we grabbed some snacks. It was heavenly having a sleeper this time on the Lakeshore Limited. We all agreed that we awoke when the train would stop during the night. I guess we all lulled to sleep by train motion!

John awoke at 4:45 at the Cleveland stop where he saw the stadium all lit up despite the time. But we began our day in Indiana in the midst of fields and farms. The wide open spaces are such a contrast to the Greater Boston area.  And no matter driving or training, Gary, Indiana's industrial area is always surprising as it seems so large and unexpected after the agrarian towns coming from the east.

NYC

After learning about track work AGAIN between Boston and Albany (this happened 2 years ago and we were bussed this leg--offered again this year and declined), we took the Northeast Regional to New York City, where we had a whirlwind 24 hours in the city.  Our hotel was a short walk from Penn Station. Good thing too because the skies opened as soon as we arrived in our room. The 32nd floor afforded an incredible view of the lightning. During a break in the rain, we went out and saw many highlights including Times Square, the former site of the Mercury Theater, Central Park, St. Patrick's Cathedral, and Rockefeller Center. The next day we hopped on a tour bus to view the city above the fray. At Battery Park, we got a bum deal with some boat tickets that had us being transported way down on Water Street which would have put us in jeopardy of missing our train. So sadly Isaac did not get the close up of the Statue of Liberty. The good news is we caught our train!

Last Day in D.C.

After John finished up his work commitments, we set out to enjoy the capital. We enjoyed a walk along the mall, taking in the monuments (WWII above). We found ourselves by the National Museum of African American History & Culture. https://nmaahc.si.edu/

The history portion of the museum begins under the ground level and circles up. At the start, it explains the start of slavery. We wound our way to the civil rights era before calling it a day. This museum definitely needs another visit. There was so much to see and learn. It is very captivating.

We hopped on the metro for dinner in the GWU area. We had fun watching the people streaming to and from the metro stop there. John recollected a place where he had played darts during a previous visit so we rushed there for 1 and 3/4 games of darts before we had to depart to catch our flight. As we emerged from the pub, it was pouring rain. Thank goodness for the ease of uber use! The D.C. area is always so fun to visit. Much to see and do!

Mount Vernon

Tuesday's adventure was to Mount Vernon. Hats off to the WMATA for having a free shuttle service to Alexandria and helpful staff to help navigate your travels while they undertake platform work on the Metro. Today I traveled to Mount Vernon via the river on a Potomac River cruise. This was a fun way to travel, however, the cabin was so cold due to AC that I even moved to the outside deck in the drizzle just to stay warm! Still, the narration supplied lots of interesting tidbits and I enjoyed the views of the shoreline and the sightings of several ospreys.

The day was spent touring the mansion and walking the grounds, which were beautiful. Sweeping river views from the hillside, a lovely bowling green at the front of the house (kept kempt by scythe and a large stone rolled over the grass!), and walled kitchen gardens that I went gaga over.  I felt this day gave me a better insight to George Washington and made me appreciate him more as a person and not just an iconic figure. Mount Vernon itself was also a surprise. It was not constructed of stone as I had thought, but rather of pine. The wood was carved and painted with a technique using sand that gave the appearance of stone. Stone homes relayed the message of wealth. As you can see, it is undergoing restoration. The boards are actually original to the house.

All Work and All Play

Hopefully that balances out John and I as we find ourselves in the DC area. He is here working and I find the city as my oyster! Our family traveling has definitely gone through a shift as the kids have gotten older. The summer began with Adelaide and I camping with some of her friends. Then we took a whirlwind weekend road trip to Ohio to see 21 Pilots in concert in their home city of Columbus.

This trip kicked off with a visit to the National Gallery (Free! I love this about the DC museums, monuments, and libraries!). The last time I was here was 18 years ago pushing Nicholas in a stroller. We had no sooner found an interesting gallery when he erupted in a crying jag. No museum that day! But on this day, I enjoyed each minute whether it was studying Gilbert Stuart's amazing brush work on his portraits (he nailed the gauziness of men's kerchiefs) or actually giving physical start upon realizing the painting I was staring at was painted by Gloucester's own Fitz Henry Lane! 

So a little "eye spy" challenge. These two Gloucester inspired paintings by Winslow Homer were hanging on the corner walls next to each other. I was not the only admirer who kept looking back and forth between the two. What do YOU notice?

Our day was capped off by a dinner with our nephew, Michael, and his girlfriend, Molly. You realize how quickly the years pass when you are having an adult conversation with the same person who was a child---like yesterday--or so it seems in your mind! We had a great visit with them. They showed us their fantastic apartment with views of the National Cathedral! The highlight was meeting their new kitten, Zadie. Thanks Mike and Molly for making time for us!!

Taking the Long Way Home

Today, after dropping Adelaide off at camp in Rindge, NH, we decided to turn off the GPS and go exploring. Everyone should do this more often. You never know what you might discover!

After poking in and out of small towns and being rerouted out of a parade route in Fitchburg, we found ourselves in Sterling, MA. John remembered seeing gliders in the area during one of our many wonderful visits to Davis Farmland when the kids were young. Today we followed the airport signs and discovered the small Sterling Airport, home to the Greater Boston Glider Club. What a kick it was to see the gliders being towed up, released to circle around in the air currents, and then to swoop in for an almost silent landing. We also struck up a conversation with another bystander who mentioned that on the 2nd weekend in September, the airport hosted the free Sterling Fair. That might be a perfect pairing to an adventure in the Davis Farmland megamaze!

Our further ramblings brought us to the beautiful Wachusett Reservoir. This was fun to see because last year after dropping off Adelaide, we visited the fascinating Quabbin.  The Wachusett Reservoir was much larger than I would have thought.  Right outside the town of Clinton we found the Wachusett Dam--impressive and scenic. It was completed in 1905 and is purportedly the world's largest hand dug dam. We walked down the 191 stairs behind the dam where there is a lovely fountain and walking trails.

Our exploration ended in Maynard at the Pleasant Cafe where we had a leisurely dinner and enjoyed local-ish beers from their substantive beer menu. Nightshift is proving to be reliably good, no matter the type. Great fish tacos here, too.

This day was totally worth avoiding the major thoroughfares and finding the long way back home!