NH Beaches

Someone asked a question about Beaches in my last post - and since I am also supposed to be informative about what to do with kiddos, I thought I would repost my response here in a searchable post, so the following is some information about the beaches along NH's coast, from South to North:

(I forgot to mention Seabrook beach - this actually looked pretty nice when I ran by it..!)

You can't go wrong with Hampton Beach in terms of large flat expanses, and staying to the north side of the beach you can have good tide pooling there too.  Again, walk to food, bathrooms - but there is a definite "Hampton Beach Crowd" where you might feel uncomfortable if you are not all tattooed. Bring extra money and time for the arcades, there is also a pretty sweet playground for the littles, and some ok restaurants too though I would stick with the fried dough.

We went to North Beach in Hampton - right across from Cinnamon Rainbows.  This is good for weekday, and low tide only though, it has bathrooms, limited parking (metered), walking to lunch options, and only a short beach during high tide - expansive beach at low tide. At high tide the beach is completely swept away pretty much - so when you go to camp there, you will notice most people are crushed up against the rocks, this is normal and you should follow this rule.  There are a bunch of rocks at the end of the beach, leading the cement wall before the road. Kids love to explore this area. If it is low tide, to the utmost north of this beach there is a small tide pooling area as well. There are lifeguards here. But, again, parking can be limited on weekends…  The utmost north of the beach (where the parking lot, not just street parking is) there is also bathrooms and water fountains, a beach volleyball court, and cross the street to smoothies, wraps and ice cream.

North Hampton State Beach does not have lifeguards, but this is a locals favorite.  It is across from the Beach Plum which is pretty delicious and a must do if you are hitting the coast for the day - lobster rolls are amazing and people love the ice cream too. I am a fan of the fried clams.

Jenness beach has walking to food - no restrooms that I can think of, but parking is ok here, just expensive.  You would need to likely get a spot in some enterprising person's yard.  The public lot fills up quickly, but lots of people around have spots that they will make happen for a price - so on a really busy beach day I head here rather than fight for spots elsewhere.  This beach is much more expansive than North or North Hampton.

Wallis Sands Park - I have never been, but I hear this is a nice area - at a curve in the coast.  You pay by car here, and it is near a place where you can pick up lobsters on your way home.  They have bathrooms, not sure about lifeguards.  I think this one is expensive compared by the pay by hour place, but cheap if you are going for the whole day.  The boys and I have to check this out.

Odiorne Point State Park - this is at the Seacoast Science Center.  This is a rocky, tide pooling beach.  You pay by car, but there is an awesome playground, tide pooling will keep the littles busy for hours and the SSC is awesome!  There are also some hidden beaches going north from here, on your right after the entrance to the State Park - a parking area will be the next place on your right as you are heading north past Odiorne.  And, Portsmouth is a hop skip away.

Have fun!  It is my goal to run the entire coast this summer, I have so far done 10 miles…  I have a 5.8 mile stretch in the middle to go and may just forego the ends!  You can always, always just get on Ocean BLVD going south (or north) and stop at the one that looks good to you/has parking.

DONT FORGET - most of these beaches have stairs - so strollers/carts are tough.  Some places you can walk.  These beaches have some of the most aggressive sea gulls I have ever seen, so guard your food with your life.

Canobie Lake Park, brothers and girlfriends

Yesterday was our first time at Canobie Lake Park - my first impression - wow, this is so close and so clean, second - this is so expensive!

The boys had an epic time and it was really nice for us to get an outing day.  I miss the outing days terribly.  In fact, I started this post on Tuesday and now I am home, waiting to work for the 4th weekend, and I am super sad and miss my boys in general. Alas, here we are.  But we should still do Canobie Lake justice.

So, it was expensive, but we found $4 off coupons at McDonalds, which was nice - I got a $1 coffee and then $4 off so it was a negative $3 coffee.  The coupons only worked for adults though, so really not so hugely worth it.

Going on a Monday was nice.  We waited just a little bit for each ride and some we walked right on.  The biggest wait was the Ferris Wheel - which I am told is always the biggest.  We got that out of the way first and then enjoyed the varying rides - enough for children of all ages.

The park was super clean, in fact each time we went to a restroom there was someone there cleaning it. The food also did not look too bad either.  It has a nice location right on a lake - seriously, it would be a fun place to go to in the middle of the summer at night.  There is even an old ski lift that goes over all the rides - which I was a little scared to bring my wiggly littles on.

I can see ourselves coming back again and again until the boys are older - like high school older, and then maybe they will come back again and again and not want us there.  Take away moment of the day was watching Joel hold hands with Laurel in the park, then Laurel leaves and he holds hands with Maddie.  He is a lady killer I tell you.  Or just a friendly gentleman.  Hmmm.

Mayflower II

We are now visiting Ama and Grumpy for the week - it is nice to spend some summer days out here and currently we are battling about what to do tomorrow - do we do a day trip to the Vineyard, to Nantucket, to Provincetown?  Today everyone is on their way to the Cape while Mommy tends to the one work thing she needs to do this week...  bummer...  But, before work usurped my time, I got to go see "the" rock, and go on the Mayflower II with the boys. 

Plymouth Rock is smaller than everyone tells you - and there is a nice park ranger there to help you understand the history about it, but it is close to a main road and a marina area and if you have two very active boys ages 3 and 5 you cannot hear a word the park ranger is saying. I think my parents and husband might have learned.  To get here, you just go to downtown waterfront Plymouth, and park.  Walk to the boats, and you will see a large pavilion with the rock in it.  No need to pay, and no need to stand there more than five minutes, but I guess everyone should see it just once.

Just a few hundred feet away is the Mayflower II.  This is operated by the Plimoth Plantation people, it is one of their remote sites - and you can get package tickets to go to the other sites or just go to this one, whatever your choice.  It took us about 20 minutes, but that is mostly because James really thought it was a pirate ship and Joel Andrew was too shy to really chat with the roleplayers who were on board and neither were excited to read the panels leading up to the boat either - they wanted to get on, see the stuff and move along.  Which was fine with me. 

Strollers are certainly a no-go here and I am guessing in 5 years might be the more ideal time to get them really understanding and learning from their visit.  Though, I was impressed that Joel Andrew pointed out to James that it was not a pirate ship but a boat that the pilgrims came on.  Joel did ask the roleplayer what they ate on the boat, and he pulled out a biscuit which totally surprised them.  Mommy was surprised to hear these roleplayers are paid for their work - I admitted to the ticket taker that my museum has all volunteer roleplayers, to which he replied: "oh no, no, no, they are not accurate."  Yeah, buddy - we do what we can.

So, all in all a great visit but if you are careful with you dollars, and your kids are between 5-8 (that magical age where you still need to pay to get them in and they might not really truly be absorbing everything yet) - you may just do better to walk around outside, see the boat from the pier and visit the rock.  We are hoping for a visit back in a few years where we can really learn, interact and spend more than 15 minutes.

Now Mommy is off to do some work in Cohasset - and then what?  - And tomorrow - what will we all do to explore the south shore together?  Hmmm.

Ogunquit

Today on our drive home from Maine we stopped in Ogunquit.  This is something I have wanted to do for a while, and in an attempt to get all of these day trips that we need to do out of our system before Joel Andrew goes to kindergarten I insisted we do this trip today.  The ironic thing was that Joel Andrew wasn't feeling well so he stayed back and laid on the couch while Joel Husband worked from the lake, and James and Mommy and Ama and Grumpy went for an adventure by ourselves.

We highly recommend this trip.  We drove to the Perkins Cove area, and went right to Barnacle Billy's - which is a delicious seafood restaurant, albeit overpriced, but hey - you pay for the view and the history, etc.  We were delighted to find out that the restaurant had free valet parking, so we took advantage of that right away (other parking was $12-$15, I hear there might be a trolley system too - don't know how expensive that is).  So, our expensive kids meal was made up by the free parking for both Ama's and My's cars.

After lunch wen went for a walk on Marginal Way which is awesome.  Little kiddos can easily walk this path, slightly hilly but completely paved with lots of benches for breaks and scenic look-outs.  Unfortunately James is in a funny age.  He is too big to be strolled or carried, but he is too little to climb the rocks.  He saw all of the other ages doing both and wanted to do both…  The big kids on the rocks was really intriguing to him, but he was able to sometime get over it and enjoy the scenery with us anyway.

After our short work - and it wasn't very long because who knows when James would be done, and then we would have to walk the whole distance back - we got some ice cream which James proceeded to make a huge mess out of.  Grumpy almost had an attack, but it was awesome.  James loved every minute.

We walked the footbridge, we strolled around the shops in town and I bought a card of the footbridge to write a note for James' baby book.  All in all, a really nice day.  If we were to do it again I would look into the parking situation at the end of Marginal Way and make it so that we walked from the end to the restaurant and shopping, were able to have some fun and eat, and then walk back.  Looks like Ogunquit has lots of fun stuff including the Playhouse and a nice Art museum as well - I want to go more and more!

Plum Island - Parker River National Wildlife Refuge

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.

Swan Boats and Making Way for My Ducklings: Boston Public Garden and Common

We finally did it!  I have been waiting to do this since the day that Laura Walsh (Boone) got us the Make Way for Ducklings book for Joel Andrew when he was first born, and in it she inscribed that we are lucky to be New Englanders and we will surely get a trip to the Public Garden to ride the Swan Boats.  Today was the day, we did it!  And, not a moment too soon - do you know the Swan Boats close for the winter starting September 15?!  Starting after Labor Day the timing of them goes down to like 3 hours a day.  I am glad we got it in, otherwise we would need to wait another year.  And, perhaps I am getting a little freaked out about how fast my kiddos are growing already - but I wonder if another year they maybe too big?  The too tall thing on the kiddie ride at Funtown clearly has freaked me out.

I parked in the underground garage, what could be easier?  There was an elevator to get up and then we walked toward where I thought the swan boats were.  I mentioned to Joelly that he needed to keep his eyes peeled for the famous duck statues, and literally within the first minute we found them.  James was overjoyed, the happiest kid on the planet.  What seemed like thousands of passerbys all noticed this and pointed it out too. Joel had his usual quiet look about him, happy to have the experience but not really overly emotional about anything.  Sometimes I worry what is going on in his head.  He is plotting something I think.

In true to me form, I immediately freaked out that there would be a huge wait for the swan boats so I suggested we run there to buy tickets. Note to the reader, you do not get timed tickets, you just wait in line, get your tickets then get on.  We waited less than 5 minutes and went right on, front seats.  I was a little worried about my fidget midget James and how he was going to fall in somehow, but he did good.  Joel sat quietly and pointed out to me that he likes this kind of boat ride, not the log flume ride from Funtown (see post below).  Maybe he is more like me than I think.  The ride was lovely, we saw the duck island, saw turtles, people watched and enjoyed the beautiful day.

After this we walked around and the stroller again is on its last legs.  Whomever is on the skateboard in the back always wants to get on and off and the person in the front is laying there like a king shouting for more snacks, more this.  The stroller was certainly ideal in it's hayday - wouldn't have traded it for anything else when James was a baby and Joel LOVED the skateboard.  But now it is time to just make them walk.

I didn't make them walk today though as we walked, and walked.  After this we went through the Common and then to get lunch from the Farmer's Market in City Hall Plaza.  Now that summer is winding down there were hardly any places left and those that were were ironically from up by us in NH - ha!  I didn't think that one through!  So, then I walked the even longer way, passed my old old, old place of job (Harrison Gray Otis House on Beacon Hill) and up Charles Street.  We waited for a good 15 minutes for our sandwiches to be ready at a very over priced sandwich shop which was a bummer.  But they were good.  Word to the wise, if you do this trip - from Boston Common call Figs and order a pizza to go.  A five minute walk later, they will hand you your pizza outside and you are done.  There is also a - blanking on the name now, but can see the black and white logo - famous artisan pizza place all over Boston and even in Newburyport but I think that one shut down - anyway, I bet you you could have them deliver the pizza to you at the Common which would be even better!  Less dragging of kids in the hot sun and more time to play and enjoy!

We ran into an old college friend on the walk back to the Garden, she is ready to have her second boy - same age difference apart as my two.  I tried to hide the fear in my eyes for her and only exhibit that it is awesome...  when they get bigger...  She will be fine!  She is much more level headed and calmer than me anyways.  We ate lunch, grabbed a quick Carousel ride, and then were on our way home.  Beautiful day!

New York with James

I must admit, I am a little more infatuated with James now that we spent a whole wonderful weekend just the two of us in NY.  When I was a little girl I dreamed of one day walking through Central Park, holding hands with a boy - having him take me out to a nice dinner, and seeing the site of NY.  Well, my dreams came true this weekend - and everyone on Facebook knows it!

I do think I drove everyone a little nuts with constantly checking into every NY site we saw, complete with a photo update of my guy.  Though it looked like he ate his way through the city, he didn't really.  It just so happened that stopping meant snacking and photo taking.  Most of the day on Saturday Mommy was on the move.  If Mommy lived in NY, she would not have the weight problem she currently has.  I think yesterday I walked 8 miles.

But it all starts with Friday, showing up in the city and having a great time in the car ride down.  He napped for a few hours, then watched a movie for a few hours and then the last hour pointed out the cars, trucks, and bridge and tunnel.  Not a peep came out of this guy except for the 3rd minute in the tunnel - which like the car wash - was the minute he has had enough.  Unfortunately, it was the mid-town tunnel and it took more than 3 minutes to go through.  But, as soon as we were out, no problem.

We got to our hotel and he was the star.  I held him during check in and he rubbed my back and told me he loved me.  Like, seriously?  My little man, I love this guy so much.  After 5 hours in the car, he does this?  I can't believe it.  We checked in, and then immediately went to Grand Central where Mommy got her room wine, and we got some prepared foods to go.  You will never believe it, but I paid $4.80 for three SMALL plums.  But, walking through the market James saw a plum which is his new obsession, and how am I to deprive this sweet little guy of healthy fruit?  So, I get it for him and when she said it cost more than James' dinner, I freaked.  Ahh, NY.  We also of course got a Lindzer Torte and black and white cookie.  It is NY.  We had to.

Walking around the streets of NY the first 10 minutes was epic.  James was awe struck by all that was going on around him.  Every noise, he repeated his normal "What's that noise?" phrase, which I happily answered.  Back in the hotel room we ate dinner and then I put James to bed.  He wanted to stay up and chat, but lucky for me that it only took two stern: "Go NIGHT NIGHT"s before the kid actually did.  He was snoring within 30 seconds of my second scold.

The next morning I was terrified he would wake up at the crack, but he did not.  Finally, when I got up at 7:30, he was actually still snoozing.  When I came out from brushing my teeth He said in a groggy voice: "mommy?" and I said: "Jamesy?" and we repeated this 10 times and cuddled for 10 more minutes.  I love this guy.

We were off!  We walked to Times Square, bought James' first NYC bagel on the way - which for a carb-hating man, he loved.  He really did eat 1/2 of the bagel, munched on it our whole walk and subway ride (I know, ick) - I was thinking that maybe he doesn't hate carbs afterall, and maybe he just only saves it up for the really good carbs.  NY on a Saturday morning, early, is the best.  This was the best start of the day ever.  James and I had the street to ourself, and I was drinking my coffee and he was mesmerized by all there was to look at.

The subway was tough.  I don't know how NY Moms do it, but I was prepared.  I had my bag in one arm, kid in another, stroller folded and whipped through the turnstyle like a pro.  Actually, I ad 6 people - SIX - ask me for directions the whole day!  You can take the girl out of NY but you can't take the NY out of the girl it seems.  I looked like a pro, I guess!

James on the subway was a lot like James in the car wash or James in the Midtown Tunnel.  It was fun for exactly three minutes.  Then it was not fun.  But I kept him calm and we were there in a jiffy no problem.  Actually, it was quite amazing how wonderfully it worked out, almost no waiting for the train whatsoever.  Once on the platform, I was getting my camera out to take a photo of the big boy with the train in the background and he started walking towards the subway ditch.  After complete horror and panic hit me (we are not in Kansas anymore, people - this is not NH....) I swept him and my things up and off we went to visit Leander.

Leander and his parents (my camp friend and bridesmaid Emily and her awesome husband Michio) live in a ridiculously nice apartment on the lower west side.  Emily's words, not mine: "Our neighborhood is way cooler than us" - which is to mean only that their neighborhood is about as cool as you can get.  The Whitney is going up a block from their house, the highline starts around the corner from their house and there are trendy strollers everywhere.  Em and Michio are super cool for sure, and Leander is super stylin too! We got a tour of their pad and then all went off to explore the Highline, which I was really looking forward to.

And, it did not disappoint.  There were some great food stands (we had brisket and awesome homemade popsicles), garden everywhere you looked and lots of cool art installations.  We hung out in one area of the highline for a good 45 minutes, climbed on and off the benches and the boys got their exercise.  Then we went over to where a man was playing the Cello, really, really, well and James was in love.  He was entranced with the Cello and called it a Guitar? - He stood and watched the man and clapped when it was done, and of course tipped him too.  It was really fun to watch, I think he might be a musician yet!

Aunt Lauren joined us for a few minutes which was so nice for her to meet James!  I didn't realize it at the time, but it was the original after college NY trio for a few minutes too which was lovely.  I really miss living here.  I did say on the phone to my mom that I do miss living in NY and wish I could, but then once I need to do the first load of laundry I would remember why I don't...

After we said goodbye to Leander and his awesome parents - James and I walked the remainder of the highline to the end. He fell asleep in about 2 minutes, and I enjoyed the people watching and art watching.  I was struck by all the buildings that go right up to the highline, and only a few years ago were overlooking weeds and mess and now get this awesome thing right out their door.  I wonder how much their rent and costs skyrocketed!

James and I then began our epic walk around manhattan.  At one point it got hot.  Then it got crowded. Then Mommy got cranky.  People do not realize to let the woman with the carriage have the space that is the non-step part of the sidewalk.  This is critical in order to continue with your comfortable city walking stride.  Mark one of a tourist is to stop at every street corner.  Mark two is to not observe the road blocks ahead of you, and make room for them.  NYers saw me and my mostrosity of a carriage and stepped aside like it was no big deal.  Tourists, not so much.  I got really, really cranky at one point and totally ran over a woman's toes.  Whoops.  Though she was the one to blame!

Also to note and watch out for, the creepy people dressed up like fake disney characters.  They are everywhere and I did my best to shield James from them.  Creepy.

It was at this point that we got ourselves some fresh fruit and juices and found a nice place to sit in Central Park.  James also watched the violinist, who then insisted he try out the violin, which was awesome - the smile on his face was huge when he was playing.  James loved the saxophonist and asked to try that but I said no.  Although I was successful in shielding James from most of the creepy characters, at one point in the park he pointed out a big, creepy big bird that had a little, creepy elmo hanging off of him.  For the next ten minutes all I heard was: "Elmo big Bird - where Elmo Big Bird?" - all as I ran as far away from Elmo Big Bird as possible... After much confusion and getting lost, we finally found the zoo - which should have been easy to find but Central Park is not about signs.  I guess it ruins the nature feel?

The Zoo was a blast - and would have been even more exceptional had it not been crowded with 8,000 people.  Maybe I am spoiled or did not fully realize the impact of me going out in NYC, the first Saturday of the summer, after school has let out, and not to mention the most beautiful Saturday ever - maybe it was the police lining Central Park and telling me there had been many instances of theft particularly for people with baby carriages and things stowed below them - but I was on high alert.  The crowds were three people deep for each cage for the animals, and like a fool I let James out so he could squeeze to the window and see the animal.  The little guy would then go to walk to the next display, but I would be stuck a crowd or two away with the bulky stroller.  Some heart attacks were had for sure.  And, more feet were trampled with my stroller.  I haven't had the same issue anywhere else.  It was just nuts there.  We still had fun though.  We were on a hunt for the Polar Bear, when I nearly gave up because of complete frustration with the crowd and utter exhaustion - did I mention it was sunny, and I did not have water with me?  When, we finally saw him and James just sat down in front of the window and kept telling me about the bear.  So worth it.

The penguins are by far the most fun here, James was pressed up against the glass loving the tank until a penguin the size of him swam right by him.  It freaked the poor kid out.  I finally convinced him to go back to the glass, and when the penguin came by again same result.  I laughed at this and then James replied: "Penguin says Waddle Waddle" which I laughed more too - and then he began to scream, in the middle of the exhibit with hundreds of people everywhere, "Waddle Waddle" about 20 people looked at us, or him, and he forgot how scary the penguin was a second before.

The Children's Zoo of the Central Park Zoo was much less crowded but by the time we got to the petting area I realized I was not going to be fighting with the other kids and parents to get James to feed the sheep when James feeds sheep like every other week living in New England.  We seem to do this all the time.  So, it was time to go.

We got James a well-deserved Hot dog - street meat - from a really nice vendor across the park, and Mommy walked up Park Avenue, window shopping as James dosed.  By the time we made it back to the hotel we were both too exhausted, sweaty and sunkissed to even think about going out to eat.  I attempted to find a foodie place close by for take out or delivery, but gave up and room service was had.  It was - phenomenal.  We each had burgers and fries and sat on the bed and watched Madagascar in an effort to relive our visit to the Central Park Zoo.  James was snoring by 7:30, I watched Anthony Bourdain's Layover episode in NY and the next morning we walked to the best bagel place Anthony recommended - 10 blocks from the hotel.

By this point James was no longer phased with the loud noises and other people and was completely loving life in his carriage.  We sadly checked out of the hotel, and got in Mommy's car.  I was so surprised how I got us to Aunt Pat's (Auntie Grandmas) in Queens without needing direction help.  We had a very nice visit - for a 93 year old woman (if you ask her she would say she is basically 94 since she is in her 94th year and is closer to 94 at this point anyway), who had a stroke in April, she looks great.  James showed her some photos of our visit on the iPad, and she was amazed by the iPad in general - and then was amazed when I had him watch The Lorax so we could visit.

We walked to lunch, and I think the 15 minutes in the stroller sent James over the edge.  It was all over, NY had hit him like a ton of bricks and he was ready for a nap.  Little did he know that Aunt Pat is all about the long leisurely lunch.  She saw my struggle to keep him happy - he was generally a good guy but he was clearly exhausted, so we packed it up rather quickly and got in the car for home.

The ride home was not fun.  He maybe fighting a fever, but I think it was all the excitement of the past few days and the limited amount of solid napping.  This kid is used to 3 hours a day, and he barely got 1 hour in each day so I think he is just fried.  He was such a mess on the ride home though that when we hit New Haven I thought about taking him to the hospital.  Finally the kid fell asleep and when he woke up close to the border of Mass, he was a new man talking about the trucks and cars once more.

I loved my weekend with my little guy.  Except for the last incident, which was truly not his fault, he was the perfect travel buddy.  He loved NY and I can't wait to take him back again.  Though, I think Joelly gets to go next.  Saturday was truly one of my top ten all time favs.

Crane Beach, Appleton Farms and Fried Oysters

We were to go to the See Science Center today, but as it is school vacation week in NH, we decided to keep away.  So instead we visited some of the old places Mommy has worked - we went to Crane Beach first.  It is one of those incredibly beautiful blue sky days, but windy and cold.  You think it should be 65 degrees because the sky is so blue and the buds are on the trees, but in reality it is 45 and it feels like 20 because you are expecting it to be warm and it just isn't.  We still suited up and went to the beach anyway, and lasted a good twenty minutes before Mommy decided we should get to the car before we freeze.  For the record, there was only one other car in the parking lot when we got there - at Crane Beach!  It was amazing.

The boys picked up seashells of all shapes and sizes and I tried to teach them the difference between a snail shell, an oyster shell, a clam shell, the shell of a crab that is no longer with us.  Joel may have got something from this excursion?  Regardless, they laughed and ran and touched and dug and looked so I think it went well.  When we were leaving I showed Joel the sand dunes and told them they were called sand dunes and he responded: "Mommy, I didn't know that before.  Thank you for teaching me."  Nice!

We then journeyed onto Appleton Farms, walked around, saw the moo cows, smelled the farm, saw the choo-choo drive through the property (a huge hit) saw the tractors in motion (a huge hit for Joel, James was terrified), and just in general had a great time.  But, I let it go too far for too long and we went through a bit of craziness before we finally sat down to lunch.

I decided not to pack a lunch for this trip.  This weekend Cristel and Doug visited, and my little James sat in my lap and ate tons of every kind of cheese Cristel and Doug brought.  Blue cheese, yum.  Goat Cheese - his favorite.  All sorts was loving it all.  We joked he ate $20 of they cheese they brought...  So, today I took him to get fried clams from the Clam Box.  And, yep - he ate them, and the fried oysters, ate them all.  Good thing I got the plate!  He barely touched his hot dog, which his brother ended up eating.  Looks like either we are in a he-will-eat-anything-phase, or he is a true Hall.  I remember when Joel Andrew was so good at eating - though he would never try blue cheese and fried clams.  Joel Andrew would not even touch the pasta I made last night for dinner, it had mozzarella balls, mini-tomatoes and basil in it and a little olive oil and balsamic vinegar.  You would have thought the world was ending the way Joel reacting to this "evil" pasta.  Again, James and I ate it up.

Now I am hoping the both of them will nap, Mommy is tired and Daddy isn't coming home for four more days!

Field Farm, Wiliamstown

James was so jealous that Mommy and Joel Andrew had such an awesome time at Mommy's work last week, that Mommy brought James to Field Farm, in Williamstown this week.  It is another property owned by my job, The Trustees of Reservations.  I am kinda hoping that all my readers will become members of The Trustees, and help me to lobby that at least one of my children, in their cute little hat, should appear in their magazine or on their website.  How cute are they at these sites, really?

So, we were at the relay in Pittsfield, and James needed a nap.  He was not going to nap in our arms, we didn't have a stroller, or in the tent, so I decided to go for a ride, and he could sleep in the car.  I know, not very green of me - but this way I got to see one of my company's properties that I hadn't seen before.  So, I set out for Williamstown, and James pretty much passed out the second we pulled out of the lake site where the Relay was.

First I drove up Mount Greylock.  I assumed there would be beautiful vistas.  The GPC told me I could still get to Field Farm from the scenic road, but it wasn't until about 35 minutes in that I realized it was to get to the top, then turn around, then get to Field Farm.  So, I turned around in the middle of the road and missed the top of Mount Greylock, probably by only 15 minutes, but oh well.  James slept, it was a nice wooded and windy drive, all was good.

Then I was off to Field Farm, and I was surprised how close it was to Pittsfield.  It is literally right at the edge of Williamstown, so you are pretty close, and it is right off the major access road there.  It was a former private home, that is modern in design, and is now owned by The Trustees and has been converted into an Inn.  It is awesome.  So beautiful, you cannot begin to imagine.  The actual home with the inn itself is not the most impressive when you fist look on it, but that is because you literally pull into the back end of it.  Once you walk around, take in the gardens, and see the back of the house, you are amazed.  There is even a second house, called the Folly - see James in front of it below, which is super cool.  There are modern sculptures all over the grounds and it is super quiet.  There are even 4 miles of trails there, all marked really well (though of course we didn't do them, just the start of them) and a little picturesque pond.

I have dreams of renting the whole inn out on my 40th birthday and just having fun and friends and wine and good food.  This place is great.  James enjoyed just walking around and taking it all in.  Another place with expanse and he could walk and walk and walk and there would be no problem.

Originally, I had just plan to drive there, jump out while he was sleeping and take a few quick shots, then get in the car and drive back to the Relay, but he woke up when we arrived.  It was great though, because we had a great time discovering this place together.  I hope I get back there again soon, and not just for work!  I hear that inside is even more fantastic with Modern art everywhere.

Relay for Life

This weekend we drove out to Pittsfield, Mass to go to the Relay for Life.  This is a Williams family tradition, that is in honor of Joel Husband's grandfather, Morris, who passed away before I had the chance to meet him.  All of his kids, and their kids, and in some cases, their kids, get together for the weekend, camp out, and walk around a lake in Pittsfield to raise money for cancer research.  It is a nice time for the family to get together.  Though, for the past many years I have had no way of handling it.  Either too pregnant, with a baby, or had just given birth.  Joel Husband and Joel Andrew went last year, but they stayed in a hotel room.  Not this year though!

Joel Husband and Joel Andrew camped out with the rest of the family this time, and James and I went, but we slept at Papa Red's house just 10 minutes away with Nana.  Camping is just not our thing, yet.  So, this is all Pa's family that comes to this event, but because they all know Nana's parents, and Nana's parents are in town (and we stayed at Nana's parents house) - they were there too.  It was very nice for everyone to see the kids and vice versa.  But today we are suffering a bit from let down - from all of the attention to now please watch a Mickey before we go to a grocery store...

Pa has 6 siblings - 6!  They all have kids, in ages that range from 12 all the way up to 40.  And, most of them were there.  Joel met his cousin, Jose, for the first time this weekend and the two of them were having a ball.  For most of it, Pa was hanging out with Joel Andrew and Joel Andrew can still not get enough of Pa.

James Morris was of course a huge hit.  He danced the night and day away and blew kisses and just was the in general adorable self he is.  He would sit in the wagon, and you guessed it, throw things out and we would pick them up and he would throw them out again.  There was no sign that he even had any surgery just a day before.

It was a nice family time.  Rather than stay Saturday night, we put the kids to bed in the car and then promptly drove home at 7 pm.  They passed out and it was a nice quiet ride.  Joel Husband and I got to chat, and we listened to a live Jimmy Buffet concert.  Who knew a 3 hour drive with kids could be so pleasant.  They went right up to bed when we got home (I love carrying a sleepy child to bed, my favorite thing in the whole world).  And, now, we are faced with lots of laundry, unpacking, and getting ready to do for the week!