Day 15

With all of the major history stops accomplished we decided to head to the Boston Children's Museum this day. We'd been there two years ago for a short time on our way to Cape Cod but we had the whole morning this day. We decided to take the later train and meet for breakfast at a Stars on Hingham Harbor near our park and it was delicious!

We made it into Boston just in time as the rain started that we expected all morning. Being inside all morning was definitely a good choice!  Our first stop of course was the climing structure! I do believe Brayden might be getting a bit too big for it, but he enjoyed it.

In fact, he is probably aging out of children's museums in general unfortunately. There are many attractions that he enjoys still, but so many that are too young. I suppose we'll have to move on to only science museums soon. Sad day.

We made it first to the native american exhibit of the different cultures that are in the area. We learned about Wampanoag, Passamaquoddy, Mashpee Wampanoag, Penobscot, Aqinnah Wampanoag, and Naragannsett. The kids had shifted from learning mode to play mode so they did some of the activities and moved on, but I stayed for awhile and read about all of them. I find their cultures, traditions, struggles, and modern day lives fascinating.

              

Of course everyone had to have a turn in the grocery store. No coveted register receipts at this one and it was only dominican food as the exhibit was "Boston Black" with all the different cultures represented, but the kids had a blast.  Brayden played the tin drum and a couple of computer games while Laney and Ryan worked in the salon.

   

I'm not sure how we'd missed this last time, but while we were waiting for the train earlier that morning a super nice lady with a puppy that had to see the kids mentioned there was an actual Japanese house inside the museum with tours so we made sure to make it there as soon as possible.  The house was more than 100 years old and had been given to the museum quite a few years ago. It had been reassembled in the traditional way without nails and set up as it might have been in Japan. The kitchen had been converted to a somewhat modern kitchen, but there were photographs of the original kitchen to compare.

The kids enjoyed looking at the bathroom and bedrooms the most. Our guide took a few moments to explain how the houses were built and how they could withstand the elements without nails. There were also many Japanese items on display the kids enjoyed comparing to their lives.

Next we let the kids loose playing basketball, powering things on bikes, examining bones, using microscopes, testing physics theories, playing with bubbles, using tools, and more. We watched a video about a full-time middle/high school in the area where kids were able to just create - so inspiring! So many of Ryan's days are spent this way and I hope she continues down that path making the crazy things she imagines.

After surveying the cafeteria at capacity, we decided to find another place close by. We ended up at Bee's Knees - a lovely eclectic mix of a grocery/cafe/smoothie/grill business that wanted us to feel like it was Florida with temps inside hovering above 85.

Once outside we finally had to deal with some real rain. I have been so surprised, yet too superstitious to mention anything about how we haven't really had to deal with rain issues as in years past. This wasn't terrible, just annoying as we were hoping for some sunshine as we headed to our next event - a whale watching tour.  We learned a lot about the whales on the way out through books on board and wonderful questions the kids came up with to ask one of the guides.

Once they found the whales we were treated to quite a show! There were two humpback whales breaching and slapping their pectoral fins for a solid 30 minutes as we all ooh-ed and aah-ed.

   

One of the naturalists would talk about the individual whale's characteristics and personality, their migration patterns and lives, as well as the threats they are facing. Before too long two other whales joined them exhibiting much of the same behavior while I snapped away. The kids enjoyed going back and forth to each side of the boat spying each one.

  

Little did I know, this behavior as well as the number of whales present was abnormal and had only been happening for about a week. It was absolutely the favorite part of my day seeing whales in the natural environment for the first time and to have such a wonderful display!

By the time we'd made it back to the dock, Ryan was getting grumpy-hungry so we walked to the Northside amid all the Italian Restaurants and picked one. The kids reluctantly tried fettucini and loved it while Grammie and I shared a shrimp dish that was divine.

Earlier the day before when we'd been walking through this area we'd noticed 75% of the people walking around with Mike's Pastries boxes. Once we walked by the store there was a line of at least 40 people out the store, packed seating inside, and people spilling over into the streets sitting on the sidewalk. We figured out the attraction as the kids spied a family eating a couple different kinds of cannoli. I ordered a one for us to share so they could taste it too. They liked it but definitely would have liked the chocolate covered and fruit-filled versions they'd seen earlier a lot better.

We caught the 8:00 train back to our little city talking about our day as we watched the lights of the city fade behind us. These days with Grammie are exhausting!

Day 11

Our site at this campground was set right next to a group of boy souts camping on several sites instead of the group camp area. The standard quiet hours are usually 10pm to 6am at most places. It was the boy scouts that woke me up at midnight. And not the scouts, the adults!!  I guess we just need to get deeper in the woods!

I had some writing and editing of pictures to finish, so I got up pretty early while there were bunnies, chipmunks and birds hopping hopefully all around me. Definitely a more acceptable kind of wildlife at our campsite! Once the kids were up we were out of there within 30 minutes again. We're getting pretty good at this!

We had a long drive again this morning so the kids watched "Night at the Museum" getting ready for our visit to New York in a week. Most of our drive was on mountain backroads which seems to be really affecting my shoulder. I've been trying to relax more when driving, but it sure is difficult on those winding roads! At some point we entered into New York, but I have no idea when as there was no sign!

Instead of going directly to the campground, the kids opted for a visit a little bit out of the way at Fly Creek Cider Mill. Their eyes lit up as we walked inside and were told they could sample everything that was out. They got to work trying salsas, dips, marinades, cheese, apples, peanut brittle and fudge. I limited them to one sample of fudge and they tried their hardest to negotiate for a purchase with our rendevous with Grammie coming up.

                                        

Next we went upstairs to learn just how their cider is made. It was super interesting for all of us as we've never even been close enough to a place we can pick apples in the fall. Their harvest is in just a month and the equipment they use is right there in the middle of the store all run with a water wheel and lots of belts. The engine is so old it still uses kerosene and was made by the company that eventually became John Deere.  They also use tractors they use from way back then for hauling and farm work.

Outside there were ducks to feed and of course once we saw it we just had to sample the cider float! The consensus was it was tasty, but a root beer float is much better.



Leaving Pennsylvania in the morning we traded the Allegheny Mountains for the Catskills at our campground on the eastern edge of the forest. The campground was huge with tons of people camping and in the day use area.

Once we were set up the kids were begging for food so they had a huge stack of pancakes and we headed to the beach area. Swimming without a lifeguard present was prohibited so we headed up a short trail to the view of the Mountain Hotel from the early 1900s. The journey there was difficult for the people fortunate enough to stay there but they were rewarded with spectacular views of the Hudson River Valley.

According to the information there, guests were awoken at sunrise to take in the view. I thought about hiking up there the next morning but with the strict bear warnings in the park, I was too chicken to go solo.  It will have to be added to my bucket list with Dave.

The kids looked at the view for all of 3.5 seconds and started to play, so we decided to head to the playground. They played for almost 2 hours! I guess the car ride was annoying for them too!  I'm not sure what they were playing but I heard horrible British accents in the production of a new science fiction movie I believe. They even acted out the deleted scenes and bloopers!

By the time they finished playing the sun was dropping behind the mountain so we sat and watched for a wonderful end to our day.

Until we got back to our campsite and Brayden couldn't find his glasses.  I did mention he is responsibility-challenged.  Luckily for him, Laney remembered seeing them at the top of the mountain so we raced back up there and grabbed them. The next time this happens, they will be duct taped to his head.