Friday, July 10, 2009

here in CT

Computer access is limited, and I have no way to upload photos, yet. I should work on this for next year. For now, I'm making do with random access to my in-laws PC.

It's Friday evening now, and the past days have been very busy.

Tree Climbing 101

Sunday, we hiked Beebe Woods out to the Punch Bowl. We didn't see any frogs but we did see a bird in its nest, and had a nice lunch at the 99 Restaurant.

Main Street, Woods Hole


Monday, our last real day on the Cape, was sunny but too cool to swim, I thought. We went to Woods Hole and had to deal with the parking situation (always difficult). We went to the WHOI Museum and had lunch, and pie, at Pie in the Sky, the scene of last year's infamous melt-down (mine, not one of the kids). Lunch was great, and the pies -- chocolate mousse and apple -- were fantastic. On the way back we stopped at Good Will Park because DD wanted to go on the swings.

Goodwill Park

It was quite warm by that time so I demanded that we have a quick swim before dinner, which took some doing -- once we got back to Mom's, the kids had to be pried out again. We headed for one last swim and the water wasn't even (that) cold. Monday evening my older sister came down to see us before we took off, and the two of us were up past 1AM... typical.

Tuesday was spent packing up, doing laundry, and cleaning Mom's house before we finally got out about 4:30PM, heading for CT in a huge thunderstorm. The rain was kind, though, letting up when we stopped to eat, and again when we arrived and were unpacking the car.

Wednesday morning DH arrived about 10AM, having flown in on the red eye, and I picked him up at the airport. He was surprisingly energetic for someone who had been up all night, so we ended up climbing Talcott Mountain in the cool sunshine.
At the base of the Heublein Tower


We failed to get new bug repellent for the hike, but the mosquitoes did not eat us alive. It was a great day for a hike, but clouds rolled in overnight and it poured later.

The view from the porch at the Mermaid Inn


Thursday morning DH and I headed to Mystic, for our annual overnight at the charming b&b, the Mermaid Inn of Mystic. We stopped for tastings (and gelato) at Heritage Trail Vineyard and then at Johnathon Edwards Winery. We had our usual incredible dinner at the S&P Oyster Company, discussing once again why we always go there when there are so many other restaurants around... but the S&P is reliably good and the views are unparalleled. After dinner we had coffee & dessert at the b&b, the fresh-baked cookies are divine.

This morning after our delectable 4-course breakfast we strolled through Mystic and enjoyed the Connecticut Academy of Fine Arts 98th Annual Juried Exhibition at the Mystic Arts Center. Then we headed out, picking up some fudge at Mystic Seaport's bake shop, before stopping at Maugle Sierra Vineyard for another tasting.

The Grounds at Maugle Sierra


This evening we took the kids to hear ABBAMania, a Hartford Symphony Orchestra summer pops concert out in Simsbury. The performers were terrific. It was fun, although the kids are a little too old to be uninhibited about dancing and enjoying themselves. They were thoroughly exhausted by the time we got them all into bed around 11PM.

And now here I am trying to remember all these details, hoping to be able to upload photos eventually.

Photos added 7/23.

1 comment:

nina said...

You give your family a wonderful summer vacation. Nothing could be better than all you describe here.