Recovery

I'm still in recovery from vacation. I had to renew my CPR certification yesterday, so that was a slight deviation, but we made it up with a trip to Nicholas restaurant, where I had the vegetarian mezza with lairan, a middle eastern yogurt drink. This afternoon I walked to the supermarket and picked up a Cabernet and a nice smoked pepper cheddar, which I am now enjoying.

Rose

Back Home

The few days I had at Mother and Father's flew by. Mr. Clean and his brood were there. The baby is beautiful, and I took every opportunity to "babysit". Baptist Nun was there and Big M and Little M came over every day. Robin and A.E. showed up Friday night, so all the siblings were together briefly for the first time in years.

I slept in the yard in a tent until it turned rainy. I slept at Big M's one night, and on the floor of the living room. My bed at home was welcome after all that.

We had lots of good meals, laughed until I stopped breathing playing Balderdash, had a picnic with extended family, and went to prayer meeting, where I had a wonderful chat with my old piano teacher.

SheWCBN took me to the Waffle House for breakfast and wonderful girl talk. We even stopped at a yard sale.

It was a pleasant trip "back home" and I'm happy as can be to be truly back home now.

Rose

Nostalgia

Every time I go back to Pennsylvania, I get a sort of fuzzy feeling when I see familiar things. This trip was no exception. I even saw a 17-year "locust" or cicada. Actually they were quite vocal at the campground. I was born in the year of the locusts, so this is their third trip for me. I went for a long tramp in the woods and drank in the musty familiar smell and got the insect bites to show for it. I walked through poison ivy without contracting it. I ate Middleswarth barbecue chips, scrapple, ring bologna, and lebanon bologna: some of my favorite junk foods. Little M made the familiar macaroni saddle with homemade mayonaise dressing. If you know what all that stuff is, you just might have grown up near me.

rc

Girls' Day

My cousin Gaia left the kids with a babysitter and we set out for a fun day. We shopped, went for a hike, got a bite to eat, and visited the family graves. But mostly we just talked. The best kind of day.

Rose

Little Buffalo State Park

A day at the pool was welcome after a week of activities. I relaxed in the shade while XBFRN darkened on an adjacent sunny patch of grass. For lunch, Dominic made me an unbelievable sandwich at Original Italian Pizza in Newport. I wrapped it up and had the rest for dinner before sitting on the grassy hill to watch the fireflies and bats come out.

Rose

Riding the Rails

I woke up early, feeling like a new person after a good rest. I took the subway to the Amtrak station, dodging early morning heat that must never have dissipated overnight. I relaxed in my seat with my iPod and drank in the scenery from my window seat as we passed town after scenic town with lovely bays full of sailboats. At Penn Station, I was part of a crowded mass of humanity, all looking for the right train platform. The train stopped in a cornfield in Pennsylvania; the conductor explained that there was an electrical problem, but we were only twenty minutes late.

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Boston

I dropped Robin and A.E. off at the airport, returned the rental car, took the train to my hostel to check in and store my luggage, and set out to explore the city. I walked through the park down Commonwealth Avenue, admiring the architecture and taking in the monuments. I especially enjoyed the inscriptions on the Women's Memorial. I lingered in the shade in the Public Garden, enjoying the cool beauty of the park. As I emerged from the Boston Common to see the Old State House, it started to get hot. I had left my water bottle at the cottage when I needed it the most.

I meandered slowly down the freedom trail, making the most of shady nooks, buying an apple in an outdoor market, and a bottle of juice in Fanieul Hall. I got swept up by the crowd in a huge outdoor market that seemed to be one-way only, and envied the children running through fountains in the park. By the time I reached the Italian neighborhood where Paul Revere's house is, I was wilting from the heat. I lingered in a souvenir shop for a while before heading straight for the subway station and back to the hostel.

Back at the hostel, I slept fourteen hours, rather the worse for my hot day, but having enjoyed the sights nonetheless.

Rose

Last Day

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We stayed at the cottage for our last day, swimming, playing on the swingsets, handwashing some laundry, and cleaning out the refrigerator. In the evening we went for one last walk in downtown sandwich and stopped at the Bean and Bagel for iced coffee and a muffin. A.E. could hardly tear herself away from the basket of children's books they had there, preferring it even to her chocolate muffin, or cupcake as she referred to it. A strange woman dug through the basket of newspapers to find a map of Cape Cod and inexplicably flexed her bicep at us in imitation.
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The Boat that Works

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Our grand plans for the Nantucket Ferry or whale watching seemed far too grand this near the end of a busy week. We settled on the Duckmobile instead. A restored U.S. military amphibious vehicle is the ride for a brief tour of town and the harbor, replete with corny jokes from the guide and quacking in unison at passersby. A.E. was enthralled, grinning broadly the entire time.
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Fancy Tea

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Today we went to storytime again. A.E. was bored by the story, but fascinated when Miss Mary brought the frog out to "pat". Froggie obliged by getting away and causing a scene.
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We went to the tea room at lunchtime for "fancy tea". We consumed a pot of something light and fruity known as Courtship Tea, accompanied by cheese, bread, fruit, and a spicy chutney.
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Following a tip, we made the drive to Wood's Hole, where we were told there was a free aquarium with a touching pool for kids. We did slightly more driving in circles than touches ocean life, and the touch pool turned out to be mostly full of seashells.
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For dinner, I had my much awaited Ipswich clams, which were somehow unsatisfying. We were happy to make it back to the cottage to swim and swing to our hearts' content.
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Mayflower II

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A.E., lured by the promise of going on a boat, was distinctly disappointed by the hot, crowded Mayflower, which simply sits at the harbor. She insisted, "I want to go on a boat that works!" We promised to make good on that later in the week.
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Plimouth Plantation

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On this hot day, we would have chosen the shade of the Wampanoag Village with the longhouses and cool clothing to the dusty, fenced Plimouth Plantation, where the women wore layers of quilted clothing to hoe corn. The view above is from the meeting house, where the downstairs housed the church and the upstairs housed the cannons. It seems that religion and violence were unseparable even then.
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Rose

Wampanoag Village

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the Native American ambassadors to the English immigrants at Plimouth Colony.
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Sandwich

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We went to the Thornton Burgess house for storytime. We got there early and explored a historic graveyard, where we watched a hawk hunting for breakfast, and rescued a Little Piggy from the Big Bad Wolf. We drank the sweet water from the public drinking fountain at the grist mill. Miss Mary delighted the children with one of Burgess' animal stories and then introduced the children to an albino garter snake, which delighted A.E.. She played in the pond, startling a frog with its protuberant eyes emerging from the green surface of the water.
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Banned

We took a drive down the Cape today, drinking in the quaint sights. We stopped at this cute beach. Before we were out of the car, I was approached by a teenage girl in red shorts who we had seen seated on the sidewalk on the way in.

"Do you have a pass?" she queried.

"Where do I get one?" I replied.

She began to give me directions before asking, "Are you a resident?"

"No." I answered.

The conversation changed from there. "This beach is for residents only."

We looked for a sign on the way out, but still didn't see one. This was our first taste of the real New England, but there was more to come.

Rose

to the Cape

Bleary-eyed after the red-eye from Portland, I napped at the baggage claim while waiting for Robin and A.E. to arrive. Their baggage arrived, and I pulled it from the conveyor and stacked it with my own. Finally, my tall, pigtailed sister, and sunny, towheaded niece came down the escalator. We caught the rental car shuttle, completed the check-in process, and found a gray Mustang waiting in the assigned spot. We took a rather scenic route to the Cape and checked into our cottage.
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A.E. had her Dora suitcase opened when we were barely inside, pulling out her Dora bathing suit. We were equally happy to dip in the pool for relief after a warm, busy day. We played on the swing set after our swim, then went for groceries, and went to bed.
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Rose

Ranunculus

Busy Packing

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Wow, I wasn't sure I'd ever be able to log onto Blogger again. I've been checking every day to no avail; but finally, here I am. I'm leaving tomorrow for Cape Cod with Robin and A.E., then a quick sightseeing tour on my own in Boston, and a train ride to Pennsylvania to visit XBFRN, my cousin Gaia, and my parents, where all the siblings will briefly be gathered.
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I loved the Sperry sandals that I got for vacation last year so much that they're already wearing out, so jc found me new ones in three colors. I should be able to write something more thrilling after such a long hiatus. I'm pretty sure I've thought of a few blog posts that I've been unable to write. If Blogger keeps working, maybe I'll find some inspiration before I leave.
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rc