Day 8, 9, 10 Boston via Lexington, MA
Miles Traveled: 362
Screen Time: 1 hour per kid
Early Arrivals: 1
Rain on our parade: twice
Silver Linings: too many to count
Memories:
Grace: Clam chowder in a bread bowl. Reuniting with Jacob and Isabelle.
Therese: Spending time with Ruth. Relaxing at the ocean.
Danny: Tag with Jacob and Isabelle, fun books discovered at Hana's house and sleeping on the comfortable bed.
Gordon: Meeting the Weil cousins.
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While the Chandler family prepared breakfast, we broke camp in a hurry. We took time to enjoy a superb breakfast and hit the road before 9:30. We wanted to leave early as we had a very long drive ahead of us. The drive was supposed to be seven hours without any traffic and without any stops. We anticipate quite a bit of both. We assumed we would arrive after dinner.
My friend Ruth's sister Hana had very graciously offered to host our family in her beautiful, comfortable home.
We made good time and perhaps because we had been so well fed, we were able to drive much further than we anticipated before we made a stop. We even took the scenic route through the rolling hills and farmland of the New York countryside.
It became apparent that we would arrive well before the dinner hour. Ruth and her sister were visiting friends quite a distance away when we called to say were were on the front doorstep. A quick tutorial on the garage door and alarm codes and we were snug in our new home away from home.
I felt terrible that we had arrived so early but glad we could get ourselves presentable before meeting many members of Ruth's family. (Silver lining #1)
When the family arrived, a yummy, healthy dinner appeared as if by magic. I got to meet many of the family members I'd heard Ruth talk about and the kids were able to catch up with Jacob and Isabelle.
I can't imagine a nicer place to stay with good energy and a very kind host. We were comfortable and well rested during our entire stay.
If only Mother Nature had been as welcoming.
We had planned to spend Sunday in Boston exploring the city and soaking up some history. At first it looked like we were going to catch a break in the weather. But first we had an adventure in parking when we discovered that none of the convenient underground parking lots had enough clearance for our car's carrier. After irritating the local drivers (this was quite audibly apparent), we stumbled on a surface lot in China Town. As it turned out, we were only a couple blocks from the Boston Common which was just where we wanted to be. (Silver lining #2)
No sooner had we reached the visitors center than it began to pour. All the tourists on the Boston Common crammed themselves into the little visitors center. We had hoped to ride the Boston Ducks (amphibious vehicles) but they were sold out. We finally settled on the cheapest trolly tour as an alternative that would keep us reasonably dry.
Our driver was highly entertaining and informative. It is much more fun to be on the giving end of driver irritation. We disembarked at the Quincy Market and joined the rest of the population looking for lunch and someplace dry. We settled on a place boasting award winning clam chowder. The kids were thrilled with the concept of bread bowls. I got to relive a favorite Seinfeld episode as the cooks ordered the two women ahead of us to move along and demanded quick, concise ordering from Gordon and me.
Wow, the chowder was good. The kids were good as well. On a day no one would be blamed for complaining, they hung in there with good spirits. So we told them we'd reward them with a desert of their choice. They picked frozen yogurt that came, with any health benefits completely offset, with chocolate and sprinkle covered waffle cone bowls embedded with gummy bears and two huge scoops. I can't even bring myself to tell you how much they cost. We talked about how nice weather would have kept us from enjoying so much delicious food. (Silver lining #3)
The sun came out briefly and we did a bit of touring and finished our trolly ride. Our next stop was a barbecue hosted by Shawn Weil and his family and including a number of other Weil cousins.
Although the sun had come up, we stayed inside at the Weil's house as things were still a bit damp. It was wonderful to share conversation with family and to observe the kids, who had never met before, laughing and playing together. There were 12 Weils in one room. More than I've ever encountered before. While the kids watched Star Wars and simultaneously had pillow fights, we grownups enjoyed a relaxing and tasty dinner. Our Weil hosts surprised Danny with a birthday cake to top off the evening.
Much to our surprise, our day was not yet over. Ruth and the kids and more of her family were at another sisters house. There was more ice cream and more carefree kid play before we called it a day. I went home fat and happy and laden down with food and paper plates for the next camping adventure.
We fell asleep dreaming of tomorrow's sunny day at the beach.
BOOM CRASH!!! Grace's scrambled eggs flew into the air as lightening struck close enough to rattle the window panes. What had happened to our sunny beach day?
I was ready to give up, but Ruth and her kids arrived on schedule ready to make a quick visit to Walden Pond before we met with Grandma Lois' brother Paul and his partner Jean.
On the way to the pond, we ran through torrential rain to the Lexington Visitor's Center to see a movie about the Minute-man march and the origins of the Revolutionary War.
We were able to peek into Thoreau's replica house and take in the beautiful vista of Waldon Pond before heading on to our next activity. But before we left, we logged our first official injury. Danny stepped on a sharp rock or piece of glass and had a pretty impressive gash in his heel. The lifeguards sprang into action with latex gloves, distilled water and questions about Danny's exposure to blood born pathogens. They bandaged him up with a waterproof dressing and off he went. 
We dashed off to our lunch with Paul and Jean. They couldn't have been nicer and continuing the tradition of Massachusetts good eats, lunch was delicious. After getting to know each other and sharing stories of Grandma Lois, Jean gave each of the kids a memento of Lois'. She had a beautiful little garnet ring for Grace and a small pouch of foreign coins collected by Lois for Danny. Once again, we were so happy to have connected with family.
There's not much to say about a day at the beach, the kids first visit to the ocean. Pictures of sand creations, beach combing and tide pool exploration tell the whole story. Bliss.
After a quick shower we headed for one last dinner with Ruth and Jacob and Isabelle. Ruth and I relived our past days as neighbors by going grocery shopping together.
In a wink, our three days were over and it was time to say goodbye to our excellent hosts and dear friends and head out on our next adventure.
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