Another day of horse camp. Followed by another amazing evening with friends.
Roger and Jeanne, our beloved neighbors on Shore Ave, across the road from our old house on the Assabet River, probably saved my life when we lived there. They took over as grandparents to the girls, and I don't know if I have ever met better people. They are human jewels. Of course, we couldn't wait to spend some quality time with them.
Definitely, one of my favorite places on all of planet Earth: Jeanne's kitchen window. She sends me an updated photo of it every year at Christmas, usually with a view of the Christmas tree they keep on the dock. I have spent so many afternoons in this bay window at her generous table, sipping ginger ale and eating cookies and cakes and listening to Roger's and her good stories and wisdom. They were there for us from the first morning we moved in, until our house sold, days after we moved away. Jeanne was still going over with her key in the deep February blizzard, and keeping an eye on it after we had to get on the plane for ABQ.
You know when you read in storybooks about Grandmas who have a canoe or about whole families of ducks and geese and swans and things like that? I used to wonder where people would dream up those ideas like they were just in the back-yard or something. After living next to Roger and Jeanne, I know exactly where those ideas come from. No wonder our kids still aren't over moving away. Their whole little childhood was one giant idyllic real life storybook.
Roger pulled out one of his canoes for David and the girls while I had another good chat with Jeanne in the kitchen.
If we had stayed, this would be their life. In some ways, I'm sorry that it's not. (Obviously, not sorry enough... I still live in ABQ and we could move back in a minute, but we don't.)
When the yahoos got back from their canoe ride, Roger suggested a motor boat ride for everyone up the river to Lake Boon. Like the master boatman that he is, he grabbed oars just before we untied the boat from the dock. "Just in case." We had no idea that "just in case" was going to be a true story very soon.
When we were sitting in Roger and Jeanne's kitchen, David and I both noticed a plaque they have hanging on one of their cupboard doors. It says "Here lives an old fisherman and the catch of his life." (We learned that Roger had just given up his deep sea fishing hobby this past year because he isn't able to stand up on the boat when the ocean gets rough. We miss the fresh cod and haddock he used to bring to us.) These two are a testament to marriage and what it means to stick together through all of life's horrible things. They have certainly had their share of heart-ache and hardship. But they are two of the hardest workers I know and they don't give up when things get unbearable.
my catch
This is a blue heron just taking flight. We came around a bend and it was sitting in the marsh, still as a statue. It was so still, for a second, it didn't register to me that it was a real bird. If I had been paying more attention, I would have had time to get a great shot with my camera, but I didn't realize what I saw until it took off.
Right about here, we found out why Roger takes paddles, every time, even for just a little trip up the river. We were sailing along towards Lake Boon and Roger said "now, I need everyone to help me look for some wooden pylons that are buried under water right about... "HERE"... just as we hit one of them. He was going fast enough that the boat got high-centered right on top of one of the pylons. We couldn't go forward or backward. Paddling didn't do any good. The water was super deep. The shores were far away. We could not get anywhere! I have to admit, it was funny for a couple of minutes, but 20 and then 40 minutes into it, it was not funny anymore and we really didn't know if we were going to be able to rescue ourselves. I was ready to jump in and see if I could shove the boat from the side or something, but Harriet was super scared that I would get eaten by a snapping turtle. She was so upset and worried and crying. I loved that Jeanne was right there trying to help her know that it would be ok soon and she would laugh about her adventure one day. Finally, David and Roger were able to rock the boat enough and push it off. We were supposed to already be at the Hangen's for dinner. I texted them from the river to say we would be there as soon as we could. They were only cooking a New England lobster/clam bake for us!
This is how happy Harriet was to finally be boating freely again.
And Jeanne, always so good-natured, already laughing it off. Grace was never worried. She's always prepared for adventure (so she advertises.)
On the way home, we spotted the swan pair (we think maybe the same ones who lived there when we did), with their new crop of cygnets! Storybooks, I'm telling you, have nothing on an afternoon with Roger and Jeanne.
The Hangen's are another incredible New England Family. They live in a restored antique farmhouse in Stow and everything they do just seems full of hearty New England perfection. We finally made it to their house after our exciting boat ride and dinner was no exception to their legend. We sat in their enclosed porch at long tables with lobsters dumped all along the centers of the table and big bowls of butter to dip it in. Tona Hangen could be the subject of a story book too. I mean, she used to be my visiting teacher and one year, she brought me a beanie hat that she had HAND KNITTED for me for my birthday. And we aren't talking about a single color with a stripe- of course, it had an intricate pattern. Not to mention, she is a history professor, sings like an angel, mom to 4 amazing kids, and looks like a Hummel figurine. Let's not get started on Tona's perceived perfection. I know somewhere deep down she has a flaw, but no one has seen it yet. We had such a fun dinner with them and then ended the night in their wood fire hot tub. Thankfully, the mosquitoes ate me alive, or it would have been a little too perfect.
The next morning, David and I dropped the kids at the barn for an extra long day of camp. Rita said she would keep them afterward too. So, we took advantage of the long day alone and went into Boston for date day. When we lived there, we rarely went on dates since our kids were so little and getting a babysitter was difficult on many levels. I felt like I was cheating on the kids, going into Boston without them. I knew we were going to do things that they really wanted to do. We started with a Swan Boat Ride. Serious cheating!
Complete with nesting swans.
And a little family of ducks. Make Way For Ducklings...
Then, we decided we had to do one of the things that we never did while living there, you know, because it's always there... and so touristy... The Freedom Trail. We had seen parts of it before, but we had never walked it and seen everything.
We saw some incredible churches. King's Chapel was first.
I love the divided, assigned, pews. This would really put an end to the pew wars we have at church. David and I don't really care where we sit at church as long as we can see and hear and we get the sacrament tray before it goes through the yucky little kids who pass their boogers along with the tray. But, other people, well, let's just say that I have literally been RUN OUT of a pew at church in the recent past by a family who has apparently claimed it. FOREVER.
Sounds like a good corner.
Location of the first public school in the U.S. We are so lucky.
The Old State House
Super cool old Tavern. (Did the sign say it was the oldest in the country? Now I can't remember.)
Paul Revere's house. Even though we know the true story now - that he didn't make it to Concord and was captured... he was still a cool guy and his house is a great museum.
The Old North Church, from the front, this time. Last time, I just grabbed a glimpse of it from the back when we were eating dinner in the North End.
This time I went inside. They even have an assigned pew for strangers. How cool is that?
After seeing the church, we ate at an adorable little North End Italian cafe for lunch.
And this is what happens when Tyra Sturzenegger is your best childhood friend for too long. You get obsessed with old cool cemeteries and headstones. Most of the really old colonial ones in New England have this same skull and wings design. This whole cemetery (The Granary Burial Ground) was full of them. But they weren't exactly the same, each one unique.
And Paul Revere's grave.
Even though the awe factor is pretty high here, I still feel like I would only want to be here in the daylight. No creepy midnight graveyard runs for me.
After our long Freedom Trail walk, we got a bee in our bonnet about walking to the Lindt chocolate store. I remembered it being only a few blocks from Boston Public Garden, where we had parked. 20 blocks later... and we wished we had taken an uber. The chocolate selection was still worth it.
When we picked up the kids at the barn, they were SO JEALOUS we had been to Boston. I don't know why we thought we were going to get away with going without them. We had planned to spend our last day on Saturday, driving up to Maine. But, soon we realized that we'd be coming back to the city. One more day of horse camp of course.
