Today we were off to Plum Island, a place I have always wanted to visit but never had the chance to go. I really wanted to take them to Crane Beach, but it was only in the mid-60s so a hike and birding adventure we went. I had read online now is a great time of year to go anyway, crowds have gone, weather is perfect, and everything is pristine.
You follow the signs through Newburyport to Plum Island, and as soon as you are over the bridge you take your first right and at the end is the gatehouse. It was $5 for a car, no pets, and then you were in. Right at the gatehouse was an awesome place to park and go to the beach, but we wanted a walking trail today so we drove on. For the littles I highly recommend going to parking lot 4, where there are two loop trails - one to take you to the marshes and one to the dunes - that are about a mile or so total - all boardwalk, so it is fun for the kids to walk on. It wasn't until the very last bit of the second loop that James insisted on being carried. I think next year we should be in the clear.
We meandered through, when we came up to another couple looking at the birds - the boys both knew to be really quiet so we wouldn't scare the birds away for the bird watchers. James would say "tiptoe" over and over again. We had a snack, and Joel Andrew said: "Mommy, next time we go for a walk like this you should bring a lunch." Thanks, Joel. We carried on and there was activity, fresh air, learning and exhaustion. (I hope).
We even continued to learn our numbers with the signs that were all over the place. Joel is really interested in maps lately, so I could have done better to show him the number on the map and how it corresponds to where we were standing, but by the time I figured this out James was nearing done and we needed to get going.
Parking lot 4 is not even the tip of the island, which supposedly has great views of the Crane Estate, so we will be back for sure.
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