More Vineyard, More Vaughn

This morning we woke up to gloomy skies and a high likelihood that we'd see a lot of rain today. Everybody on the island was talking about how bad it was going to be - I think we got sprinkled on twice the entire day.



I still took Vaughn out for our morning stroll, as it was just windy, but the humidity actually made it a bit warmer than normal so that was nice. Stacie dressed her in a very fun outfit - her guitar onesie, rainbow leggings, a black tutu, a turquoise bow and ruby red sparkly Tom's shoes we'd bought her just the day before. She was a total rock-n-roll baby.

Not that she needed any help turning heads, but this outfit garnered her even more attention than usual. It was a hit. As I walked down Water Street, I came to a cafe that I hadn't noticed before, so I popped in. After greeting the other folks in the cafe and letting Vaughn receive her compliments, I browsed the selection of pastries, breakfast sandwiches and coffees and decided this was where breakfast was happening today.

I walked back to the hotel, where I saw Steven and Jim downstairs, so Vaughn and I hung out with them while we waited on Stacie. Once Stacie made it down, Steven and Jim split off as Steven had some work to do, and Stacie and I wanted to shop around the town a bit more. We walked down to the cafe, called Murdick's - it's also a chocolate and candy store - pop in and order some food and coffee. It was delicious, so if you're ever in the area, be sure to stop in and grab some breakfast.

Stacie and I walked around the island ducking into some shops that we hadn't made into the day before, and then we headed back to the hotel. At the hotel, we decide to take Vaughn up to the 4th floor porch to lay out a blanket so she can roll around and play while we look out over the harbor. When we get up there, we find Jim is already there, so we all just hang out and enjoy the now cool, but pleasant morning.

Here's Vaughn hanging out on the porch (due to requests, there will be a few more Vaughn photos in this post, and maybe even some from past days):



Here's Vaughn on the porch with Uncle Jim:



Eventually, Vaughn snuggled up and fell asleep on Stacie while she was rocking her. So, we spent most of the morning out there just chatting and enjoying the view.

Once Uncle Stevie was done with work and Vaughn had awoken from her nap, we all hopped in the car and headed to Oak Bluffs and Vineyard Haven. Vineyard Haven is the furthest away, though it's only about 20 minutes, so we cruised through Oak Bluffs to head to Vineyard Haven first; but we did see enough of Oak Bluffs to know we wanted to head back there a bit later.

In Vineyard Haven, our main goals was tracking down the Black Dog Tavern for lunch which was easy enough. It's literally right by the docks for the ferry we came in on. They had a chowder on the menu, so naturally I ordered it. It was okay, but not great. I'm starting to wonder if I've eaten so much chowder that the law of diminishing returns is causing me to be less impressed with my most recent chowders. Nevertheless, I have to put each where I think it belongs in the rankings, so:

1. River House, Portsmouth, NH
2. Atlantic, Edgartown, MA
3. Anthem, Boston, MA
4. Chesca's, Edgartown, MA
5. Black Dog Tavern, Vineyard Have, MA
6. The Newes From America Pub, Edgartown, MA
7. Legal Seafood, Boston, MA

After our rather late lunch it was now about 3.30PM, so we decided to hang out in Vineyard Haven until about 5.30 and then head to Oak Bluffs before it got too dark to see anything. We headed up a small hill to Main Street where a lot of little local shops are located and began popping in and out. It's so nice to just stop and meander a bit which is exactly what we were doing. There were some really nice shops there, though, and our favorite was a store that we decided was a cross between Anthropologie and Restoration Hardware - with maybe a touch of J. Crew, as it had some J. Crew-ish men's clothing. It was very cool, and with an unlimited supply of money, time and shipping options, much of that store would be on it's way to Chicago right now. It was called Midnight Farm.

We picked up a few goodies from Main Street in Vineyard Haven and then headed back down to Oak Bluffs. Oak Bluffs is a very interesting town - the only town on the island to be consciously planned with tourism specifically in mind. Not only that though, there are some very interesting homes there, cottages really, that all radiate in a circle out from a large central pavilion. I'll let Wikipedia explain:

"Some of the earliest visitors to the area that became Cottage City and later Oak Bluffs were Methodists, who gathered in the oak grove each summer for multi-day religious "camp meetings" held under large tents and in the open air. As families returned to the grove year after year, tents pitched on the ground gave way to tents pitched on wooden platforms and eventually to small wooden cottages. Small in scale and closely packed, the cottages grew more elaborate over time. Porches, balconies, elaborate door and window frames became common, as did complex wooden scrollwork affixed to the roof edges as decorative trim. The unique "Carpenter's Gothic" architectural style of the cottages was often accented by the owner's use of bright, multi-hue paint schemes, and gave the summer cottages a quaint, almost storybook look. Dubbed "gingerbread cottages," they became a tourist attraction in their own right in the late nineteenth century. So, too, did the Tabernacle: a circular, open-sided pavilion covered by a metal roof supported by tall wrought iron columns, erected in the late 1880s, which became a venue for services and community events. The campground's gingerbread cottages are cherished historic landmarks as well as very expensive real estate. Many are still family owned and passed on generation to generation. On April 5, 2005, the grounds and buildings in the Campground were designated a National Historic Landmark by the Secretary of the Interior."

Now, let me remind you that we were here at dusk. Actually, by the time we wandered the town a bit and made it to this part of Oak Bluffs, it was dark. The only light was from some random street lamps, and there was a church just off to the edge of the arrangement of cottages. It was deserted here. We were in town at the very end of tourist season, after all of the shops had closed and when many of the people remaining were probably somewhere eating dinner. Church bells started ringing, and not just ringing to announce the time. No the bells began playing slow, melodic music.

It was creepy. I felt like we were in the beginning of a horror movie. We decided it was time to head back to Edgartown. Safe, cozy, Edgartown.

We made it back fairly quickly as it's not a long trip, and we headed out to dinner. We decided to try a spot called Eleven North. It's brand new - only been open about 3 weeks - and unfortunately it showed. The atmosphere is really cool. It's not "island-y" at all. It was very modern and trendy, and we were really impressed...with that part of it.

Service unfortunately was pretty slow and pretty amateur. The food was mediocre. I don't know if I'm coming back to Martha's Vineyard, but I assume that if I do and if they're still here, they will have worked out their kinks by then. I want them, too, because they seem like good people that created a cool place, The best part of the evening was when the poor, under-trained waiter pronounced thyme, TH-yme when reciting the dessert special to us. Oh well, win some, lose some. We all enjoyed a nice evening together and that's all that matters.

Now as promised here's a few more pics of the trip.

Me after totally miscalculating the tide coming in, moving to dodge the tide, realizing that I had actually calculated just fine, but now that I attempted to dodge the tide I lost my balance and stepped in the ocean:



I have no idea why this picture is so small either.

Here's Vaughn playing with Uncle Stevie:

Here's Vaughn eating the sunglasses I just bought in Maine. The place was giving out free ice cream, so we shopped. They were cheap, but still I forgot that Vaughn is getting teeth so now they're scratched.

Well, that's all the pics I have easily accessible right now. Tonight is our last night in Martha's Vineyard. Tomorrow we head to the airport to go home, which will be an interesting journey in and of itself. We have a flight booked for 9AM, but there is no chance we're making it since the earliest ferry doesn't leave here until 6AM. So, we're going to head to the airport and hope we can get on the next flight out. This could get interesting...we're really winging it.

But we feel good about it all working out just fine. I'll probably write one more wrap up post about the trip (and specifically how winging it with a six month old goes) with some additional pics, but that all depends on how long it takes us to get home safe and sound in Chicago.

Oak Bluffs on Dwellable

Living on Island Time

Seeing as how we didn't have to pack up and head anywhere new today, Vaughn and I went for our normal jaunt out into the world this morning to give Stacie some time to get ready. We're staying in a hotel that is right off the water, but since we're on a pretty small island, that probably isn't too unique.

We walked down to the dock where we caught our fist glimpse of the beauty of this area in the daylight.



While we were down by the dock taking in the view, we met a nice elderly man and his beautiful Golden Retriever puppy. She was about a year old, and she definitely wanted to play with Vaughn and Vaughn with her. So, we let them have their moment, and then he went his way and we went ours.

On the way back up towards the hotel, which looks like this by the way:



So, on the way back, we meet two elderly ladies who want to give Vaughn some love. She soaks it in like the pro she is, and then one of the ladies tells me the bow on Vaughn's head is called a "gender band". My thought is that maybe we should call the jacket she's wearing a "gender covering" because it's very much a girl's jacket, but I don't say that. Instead I say "I've never heard that before" and we move on.

When we get to the hotel, I sit down on the huge front porch in one of the many white wooden rocking chairs, and we begin to rock. Vaughn is unusually content just sitting, so I'm happy to let her play with her shoe or the book that I carried in my pocket. After a while she starts to rub her eyes, so I put her up with her head on my shoulder and she passes out, all while I'm just rocking away and watching the locals on the street open up their shops and make deliveries.

A little while later, Uncle Stevie brings me some coffee and a pastry from the continental breakfast served inside the hotel. Then Stacie comes down and she, Steven, Jim and I sit there chatting while Vaughn is nestled into my shoulder.

It was a pretty perfect start to the morning.

Once Vaughn wakes up, we decide to go wander through Edgartown. It's fairly small, but there are several shops, galleries and restaurants, so we begin by ducking into an art gallery. Steven and Jim have been here before and they're looking for a particular painting done by a Chinese artist that they loved and wished they would've bought originally.

We attempt to pop into a gallery attached to the hotel, but it's closed. The sign says it should be open though. The woman working the front desk of the hotel assures us that it will probably open soon, but that sign is more of a suggestion. "You're on island time," she says.

I think I'm going to like Island Time.

After browsing the first gallery that was open, we duck into a second and continue to look for the piece. I'm particularly interested in this gallery because they have a huge area filled with antique maps. I love looking at maps, and in particular, I love looking at old maps. I am fascinated by what people thought places looked like.

Next we went into the Black Dog. Apparently this a famous brand of clothing, but I wasn't aware of it until today. I know, you're shocked, but I'm told we will start to see this everywhere now.

After picking up a couple of souvenirs we walked the rest of the block down to the water to take some pictures and then we made our way back up from the water and popped into an outfitter. Here we bought Vaughn a pair of Tom's that look like Dorothy's ruby slippers. They're amazing. We also bought a very cool Christmas ornament. I was very close to buying a very cool wooden watch, too. I still may go back and get it - I'm still contemplating.

We grabbed lunch at the Atlantic after a bit more walking. Stacie and I shared a burger that was really good, but naturally, I had to try some of their chowder. The updated chowder ranking will be at the end of the post because I may or may not have had another bowl of chowder later in the day.

The next couple of hours are pretty lame - for me anyway. I had to get some work done. I figured this would happen while Vaughn was napping, but she wasn't ready to nap for very long today. So, Stacie, Steven and Jim hung out on the 4th floor balcony overlooking the harbor while I tried to sort out some work issues.

Later in the afternoon we all went for a drive to the other side of the island. Martha's Vineyard is not huge by any means, but driving across it still takes some time. We left in time to make it over to Aquinnah to watch the sun set. On the way, we'd hoped to stop at Chillmark for some delicious chocolate, but it seems they have closed up shop for the winter. Not deterred we kept going to Menemsha where we stopped at the beach for a few minutes. We got out and took some pictures, and then we walked down to the ocean where I found some nice flat stones. So, I did what any sane person would do. I picked up the stones and skipped them across the water. Then just before we were going to head back up to the car, the tide caught me by surprise and I wound up with an extremely wet foot, sock and shoe. It was pretty sad.

After the quick detour we hop back on the road and finish the trip to Aquinnah. Here there are beautiful cliffs, a light house (our second of the trip if you're keeping score) and a great view to the west to watch the sun set.





At Aquinnah, we walk around take some pictures and then hop back in the car to make it back to Edgartown before it gets too dark. If you remember, it gets really, really dark on this island at night.

Back in Edgartown, we grabbed dinner at Chesca's, the restaurant attached to our hotel. I wasn't planning on getting another bowl of chowder, but their description made me believe that I needed to try it. As it turns out, I probably could've let this one pass. It was good, but didn't quite make the top half of the list.

After dinner, we put Vaughn to bed and then played Bridge with Steven and Jim. Since we don't have a monitor with us, we sat outside of our room in the hallway playing. Not a single person came by the whole time we were out there, and Vaughn slept soundly. So, despite having the worst cards in the world, I'll call it all a win.

Seriously, worst cards ever though.

Before I go, the updated Chowder Rankings:

1. River House, Portsmouth, NH
2. Atlantic, Edgartown, MA
3. Anthem, Boston, MA
4. Chesca's, Edgartown, MA
5. The Newes From America Pub, Edgartown, MA
6. Legal Seafood, Boston, MA

Aquinnah on Dwellable

Fenway and Ferries and Family, Oh My - oh and more cannolis

Today was our last day in Boston, and it was just as beautiful as the first two. Vaughn and I didn't get to take our morning stroll today because we had to pack up, and that is just a massive undertaking these days. I almost went to Home Depot to find some day laborers.

As soon as we did get packed up, we left our luggage with the doorman and headed to Copley Square. We wanted to see a church there that is the second oldest church in the city and one of great architectural acclaim. It was named the most significant building in the US in 1885 by the American Institute of Architects and it is the only building from that original list of significant buildings to still be included on AIA's list. It is Trinity Church.



Across from Trinity Church is another large church. I don't remember the name of it, but it is made of Puddingstone. Roxbury Puddingstone to be exact. While that sounds like a made up stone or worse a made up hero in a mystery novel, it's actually a stone. It's the state stone of Massachusetts as it's only found in two locales - Massachusetts and somewhere in England.



Doesn't she look delicious?

After visiting these two churches, we hopped back on the Green Line and visited a different kind of church.



I'm not a Red Sox fan, not one little bit, but I am a baseball fan. Fenway Park is the oldest Major League Baseball stadium in the US. It turned 100 years old this year - thus making it's first season of play 1912. I love taking ballpark tours. This is only my second one. The first was Wrigley Field - the second oldest MLB stadium, so it's possible I wouldn't love a tour of say, the Royals ballpark. I think I would though. I'd like to take a tour of every MLB park at some point in my life.

The Wrigley Tour was better than the Fenway tour to me, but I think that's simply because Wrigley goes a bit deeper into the history. I felt the Fenway tour was more, "let's walk around Fenway and you look at Fenway and occasionally we'll tell you stories". I really did enjoy seeing the Green Monster and being on top of the Green Monster. It was fun seeing the red seat where Ted Williams hit a 502 ft homerun - and hearing the story of the sleeping man that was surprised by it. He later asked a reporter how far away he had to sit to be out of Williams' range.

Hearing stories of the greatness of the early Red Sox being sold away to, mostly, the Yankees and hearing of burned out seats being left unrepaired for almost a decade was very entertaining, too. All of it was great. Definitely tour Fenway if you make it to Boston.



After touring Fenway, we were pretty hungry so we ducked into Bleacher Bar which is attached to the stadium in straightaway centerfield. It once served as the visiting team's batting cage and still has a rather large opening that you can sit in front of and see into Fenway. It's pretty cool to visit, but the food was basically ballpark food and not very good, so don't go for the meal.

We hopped back on the train after that with a plan of heading back to the North End, specifically Mike's Pastries and the Old North Church. We wanted to go back to the Old North Church because we realized we missed an opportunity to go down into the crypt which is supposed to be a great experience. Apparently, many Revolutionary War soldiers are buried down there. And we were headed back to Mike's because, well, the cannolis.

By the time we got back to the area, though, we realized we probably needed to start the next leg of our trip, so Stacie hopped off the train to go take care of Vaughn and get us cannolis for the road while I stayed on the train to head to the airport and pick up our rental car. At about 4PM, we were back together at the hotel, loaded up with luggage and headed to Martha's Vineyard.

Due to a fortunate happenstance, Stacie's uncles Steven and Jim were in the Northeast for various events - a Food Network Show where they got to meet some Food Network stars, a tour of beautiful homes in Rhode Island, and some work stuff. Since they were going to be here already, we coordinated to meet at Martha's Vineyard, so we were originally going to try to meet them at the ferry. Naturally, things got a bit complicated, so we just said that we'd meet at the hotel.

After sitting in traffic trying to free ourselves of Boston for about 45 minutes we were glad about this decision. Once we broke free we wound our way down through some beautiful country to the southeast Massachusetts coast line. We passed over rivers and through forests of trees that were setting the countryside on fire as they shed their summer green for winter's brown. We made it to the ferry, and though we hadn't made a reservation, we were fine to stand by for the 6.15PM ferry. Who shows up a few cars behind us? That's right - couldn't have done that if we had planned it.

Soon we all have our cars aboard the boat and we're upstairs catching up with Steven and Jim and looking forward to a great few days on the Vineyard. I carried Vaughn around the ship when she got restless, and once again, she made friends with nearly everyone including a beautiful dog, a little boy named Cole who insisted he was a big boy now, and pretty much everyone else she smiled for. That little girl is just a bright spot in many people's day and it couldn't make mine and Stacie's hearts fill any more full.

We're staying at the Vineyard Square hotel in Edgartown, and though it is very dark on the island at night, we can tell that we're going to have a fun time exploring this town and much of the isalnd. We already ventured out a little for dinner to a pub just across from our hotel called The Newes from America Pub. I know what you're wondering. Did I get the award winning chowda?

I did.

The newly updated Chowda Scoreboard standings are:

1. River House
2. Anthem
3. The Newes From America Pub
4. Legal Seafood

I hope that didn't ruin your fantasy chowda score-keeping week.

Boston on Dwellable

A Cold Sam Adams, Molly Molasses and Chowda

Hi from Boston!!!

This morning we woke up to another beautiful day in Bean Town. It was quite a bit cooler and pretty windy, but the sun was out and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. As we do most mornings, after Vaughn eats she and I go out to say hi to the world while Stacie gets ready. After Stacie was ready to go, we headed out for breakfast and to enjoy the day.



We headed over to the Fanueil Hall area again and ducked into one of the buildings there and found a huge food court with several bakeries and breakfast spots. There we grabbed a breakfast panini, some coffee and a pastry.

Our plan was to take a famous Boston Duck Tour, and our doorman at the hotel said the original tour left from the Museum of Science over in Cambridge. We wanted to visit Cambridge anyway - as Stacie says, Vaughn may want to go to Harvard someday so we should see it. Plus, we always prefer to check out the original version of whatever we're doing, so we headed to Cambridge. The route we decided on at first called for us to hop on the Green Line at Haymarket, but Vaughn passed out in the Ergo, as she's known to do, and we knew that getting on a train would wake her up. Though we live in Chicago, yesterday was Vaughn's very first experience riding a train. We couldn't tell if she was very excited or a little scared, but every time a train pulled up she got very animated. It was adorable, but the bottom line is she was definitely not sleeping through a train ride. So, since she needed a nap, we decided to walk to Cambridge. It took about 20 minutes, and it was pretty cold, but Vaughn got the rest she needed.

Soon we were at the Museum of Science, and we went inside to purchase tickets to the Duck Tour. It was about 11 at this point and the next tour didn't leave until noon, so it gave us a little time to check out the free areas of the museum.

Here we are waiting for the duck tour. The T-Rex was really excited about seeing the city.



The duck tour is great, and I highly recommend it if you get to Boston. They use old World War II amphibious vehicles to drive around the city, and then they drive right into the Charles River, taking a tour of the city from that vantage and then finish up back on land.

I also highly recommend the particular tour we took and if you can arrange it get Captain SuperSize as your tour guide. He was fantastic. First, he was very knowledgeable and engaging; secondly he was extremely entertaining; thirdly he wore a spandex superhero suit as part of his schtick and it was perfect. It was perfect for me anyway. He was the perfect mix of factual information, witty humor and just plain stupid humor. I couldn't have been more pleased.

Much of the tour on land was parts of the city we had already seen because we apparently put in two or three days worth of sightseeing into one yesterday. What can I say? We're pretty used to walking so we just kept walking.

Some of the highlights/fun aspects of the tour:

• Learned that the Union Oyster House in Boston is America's oldest restaurant
• Learned that John Adams defended the British soldiers that shot and killed five Bostonians during the Boston Massacre. The British soldiers were found not guilty as they were acting in self-defense. I love this part of our history. Before the American Revolution, the right to a fair trial and to act in your own defense were upheld even for our worst enemy at the time.
• Quote from our tour guide: "To your left, you'll see the Beantown Pub, the only place you can have a cold Sam Adams while looking at a cold Sam Adams...because, Sam Adams is buried just to your right..."
• Originally the land Boston sits on was a peninsula shaped like a frying pan. There was one way into and out of Boston via land - the Boston Neck. But over the years, hundreds of acres have been created through landfill creating the Boston we know today. Here is a site that shows the stages of how Boston has changed since the 1600s: http://www.iboston.org/rg/backbayImap.htm
• While we were on the Charles River, our guide took his "mandatory union break" and let some kids drive the duck. I thought that was pretty cool.
• The Statue of John Harvard at Harvard University is called the "Statue of Three Lies": first, it says John Harvard was a founder, he was not. Secondly it says it was founded in 1638. It was founded two years earlier. Lastly, and most egregious, the man is not John Harvard. No one knows what he looked like, so some Harvard student posed for the statue.
• We drove by Bunker Hill and Old Ironsides and also got a great view of the Old North Church as those awaiting the signal in Charlestown would have seen it.
• The golden dome of the Massachusetts State house was painted grey during World War II to camouflage it in the event of an attack on US soil.
• Our Duck's name is Molly Molasses. She's a beautiful brown duck and the second one that the tour company purchased. All of the ducks are named by Boston school children in regards to something related to Boston's history, and apparently the ones that named Molly had a morbid sense of humor. They named her after the Great Molasses Flood. I'm not even kidding. In 1919, a 2.3 million gallon tank of molasses exploded releasing a wave of molasses up to 15 feet high moving at 35 miles per hour into the streets of Boston, injuring 150 people and killing 21. Below is an image to prove I'm not making this up and also a Wikipedia page link (though I realize those two things don't actually prove anything, Matt, if you're reading this): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Molasses_Disaster

The tour was fun, informative, silly and entertaining. All things a good tour should be.

It was pretty chilly and Vaughn got a little restless as it ran for an hour and a half, but ultimately she fell asleep on Stacie and was a pretty good tour companion.

After the tour, we caught a cab back to the North End and decided to grab some Italian food for lunch. We went into a little place called Florentine Cafe that looked like it would be suitable for two weary tourists and a baby, and it did not disappoint. The food was delicious - I had a calzone and Stacie had linguine and meatballs. The staff were so friendly, and so were the fellow diners. Vaughn made friends with pretty much everyone in the place. At the end of our meal, one of the waiters was playing with Vaughn as she was smiling away, and he said that he really wants a baby but his girlfriend wasn't so sure. A few minutes later his girlfriend walked in, and he started using Vaughn to sell her on having a baby! Vaughn was putting on the charm, too, so it may have worked. 

I'm okay with not knowing.

After lunch, we walked over to Mike's Pastry because a man we had met who looked like he knew a thing or two about good cannolis told us that they were the best. He was right.

At this point, it was time for Vaughn to eat and take her afternoon nap, plus we both had a few work things we needed to knock out so we walked back to our hotel. Well, we must've really worn the punkin' out because she napped for 3 hours. So, we did some work. Then we ate our cannolis. Then we took naps. Then we were awakened by a hotel employee bringing us a free bottle of wine and a cheese plate - long story; the hotel had a service glitch, and this was their way of making it right. Mission accomplished.

Finally Vaughn woke up at 6PM. By this time it was a little too late for us to head out and see much more of the city, grab dinner and get her back for a bath and bedtime, so we just headed next door to Legal Seafood to get dinner. It was another very good meal with great staff that Vaughn made best friends with...I don't know what it is with people in Boston, but they are all about our baby girl. We don't have any illusions that our child is just that lovable - she is to us, but c'mon - but Bostonians are loving them some Vaughn. And she is eating it up.

Once again, I tried some chowder. I noticed on this menu though that they neither claimed their chowder had won an award nor spelled chowder "chowda". So, I thought they must be serious about their chowder. In the end, though, it so far is the third best chowder I've had out of three on this trip. If you're keeping score at home the running chowda ranking is:

1. River House, Portsmouth, NH
2. Anthem, Boston, MA
3. Legal Seafood, Boston, MA

Now Vaughn is put to bed, we're watching the Presidential Debate which seems right in this very historic area, and we're excited about our last day in Boston tomorrow before we head to Martha's Vineyard.

Goodnight Boston!

Boston on Dwellable

Freedom is Not Free, but Most of the Freedom Trail Is

This morning, I woke up in Boston, and it was pretty cool. It's fun to be in a new town, to be somewhere completely unknown. Especially when on my morning jaunt to entertain Vaughn while Stacie gets ready, I get to see this site just outside of my hotel:



If you follow me on Twitter, then you've seen most of the photos that I have access to already, but I like to put them on here anyway to spruce up the place. Plus I can go into a little more detail about them as well. As for this one, it was just a beautiful morning that needed to be captured.

We're staying in the North End neighborhood of Boston and it's turned out to be pretty perfect. We're right off a T stop, and there are sightseeing tours available right out of our hotel door not to mention plenty of restaurants nearby. It's definitely touristy, but we're definitely tourists so it works out.

After Stacie got ready to go, we headed out to get some coffee and a pastry for breakfast. We've found that we generally have to eat breakfast on the move to get much in before Vaughn has to eat again. Plus by the time we're moving out, it's basically her nap time, so Stacie wears her in the Ergo and she sleeps if she's not too distracted by the newness of all she's experiencing.

I decided that we should hit up the Freedom Trail because I really wanted to see as much of it as possible while we're here, plus it seemed like a good way to walk a lot of the city. In case you're unfamiliar, here is a map of the trail:



It's the red line that runs through the city and off the page to the north. For reference, we're staying next to Christopher Columbus Park and the Aquarium on the eastern side of this map, near the middle.

We headed out walking and made our way up to the Old North Church. I definitely wanted to see this famous site of the American Revolution, so the plan was to start there, and then walk south on the trail. On the way though, we walked up Salem Street which was an amazing little street filled with Italian restaurants, shops and bakeries. We loved the street, but ultimately were saddened when we realized that it would not be possible for us to eat at every restaurant and bakery.

Despite our disappointing realization, we trudged onward.

Soon, we found ourselves standing outside of the Old North Church, guarded by a man dressed in American  colonial garb. I asked the man what we had to do to go inside and he said, "Just go inside." That's it? No ticket, no line, nothing? Not bad.

We walked inside and found ourselves in a mostly white church building that looked like many old church buildings you've probably seen except the pews weren't really pews. There were individual, cubicle-like pews which we learned had to be purchased by early members of the church. They had high walls and since families owned them, they would often decorate them to suit their personal worshipping needs. The reason for this set up was due to the fact that it was impossible to heat a building of that size in those days and the high walled cubicles allowed families to bring in their own coal filled heating boxes and most of the heat would not escape the high walls during the service.

After we walked around for just a couple of moments, a young woman got up in front of the church and began to give us all the history lesson of the Old North Church. As she was speaking I found myself looking around and feeling in awe that I was standing where men had risked their lives by committing treason in order to provide what they hoped to be a better life to their heirs. The town was under command of the British army at this time, and the town was under a curfew. Merely being out at night meant Paul Revere was risking his life, as were the men who hung the lanterns in the church. They hung them only briefly - most likely less than minute - but that was all that was needed. The steeple of the Old North Church was the tallest building in that part of Boston and the lanterns were easily seen. Revere rode through the night to warn that the British army was crossing by sea and would be arriving shortly. The purpose of the British march was to capture ammunition that was being stockpiled by Colonial militias. Losing the element of surprise, the British instead found armed militias awaiting them and the first shot of the American Revolution was fired at Lexington, MA.

I looked up right as the guide was wrapping up and there I saw the Betsy Ross flag, the earliest version of the Stars and Stripes, and I got goosebumps - really got them. I just felt the weight of history in that place and it sent chills up and down my spine. It was awesome.



Next we followed the trail to Paul Revere's house. It's the oldest house in Boston, and it was once again amazing to be standing where such a great figure in our nation's history spent most of his days. It cost us $3.50 each to get in. That was the one and only place that cost us money to visit on the Freedom Trail - so far anyway.

After Revere's house, we had to head back to the hotel for a bit, but soon enough we were back on the trail. We knew we needed to get some lunch, so we headed over towards the Market area which also happened to be where our next stop was - Faneuil Hall - known as the birthplace of American freedom of speech. We ducked into a place called Anthem to eat, and it was very good. I got some chowder again because, well, I'm here so I feel like I should. It was good, but if I were ranking my chowder so far, River House would be first followed by Anthem's.

After proclaiming that the chowder I had in New Hampshire was superior to the chowder I had in Massachusetts, I found myself in a predicament.



I see why the Colonials were so anxious to get the British soldiers out of their city.

Following lunch and my escape from the clutches of the dirty redcoats, Vaughn napped, snuggled safely into the Ergo as Stacie and I continued down the Freedom Trail. We visited the site of the Boston Massacre that was used to stir up Colonial anger to the Crown; we saw the Old State House and then the Old South Meeting House, where Samuel Adams led a meeting that preceded the Boston Tea Party. Adams' secret phrase that set the act of rebellion in motion was "This meeting can do nothing more to save the country!"

We got off the trail for a moment to walk down Washington Street and pop into a couple of shops.One place we stopped at was an amazing old book store that looked exactly what an amazing old book store should look like - right up to the big orange cat curled up on a chair, napping the afternoon away.

After browsing through old books and maps, we cut over to Boston Common which is a beautiful park that sits below the current Massachusetts State House.  Thankfully we're used to walking around a city, but even so we decided that we could use a break and a park bench looking up at the State House was a good place to do that. As we sat, Vaughn woke up and naturally started to make friends with everyone walking by. After our rest, we headed up the steep hill to the State House.

You could only look at the State House, at least from what we could tell, but we weren't too interested in going inside anyway, so after snapping a few pics, we headed back down the hill to the Granury Cemetery. Buried here are Benjamin Franklin's parents, Paul Revere, John Hancock and Samuel Adams. It was an honor to pay our respects to these legendary figures.

Vaughn was done with the Ergo at this point, and hungry and since her last nap was so short, she was still in need of a good afternoon nap. So, I gathered her in my arms and we began the long haul back to our hotel. We passed a great statue of Benjamin Franklin on the way that was just outside the Old City Hall, so naturally we stopped to get some pictures. Then we turned east and promptly headed for the hotel.

After letting Vaughn eat and nap and getting some work done ourselves, we got on the T and took it to a nice shopping district. We spent the evening walking Newbury Street, ducking in and out of stores and eating cupcakes and drinking coffee. As the sun set, stores started closing, so we decided we should head back and grab dinner.

Our plan was to head back to Salem Street and enjoy some delicious Italian food, but when we got off the T near our hotel, rain had begun to fall, so we opted for staying closer to the hotel. We ate at a place called Granury Tavern. Stacie talked me out of the chowder - she's probably right when she says I should pace myself. So, I did. We both got a nice cold beer, shared a flat bread and a salad and then took our tired baby back to the room.

Sadly, it was 8:30 by this time and our room still had not received housekeeping service despite requesting it on our way out last time. We finally managed to get some clean towels and the trash taken out and Vaughn bathed and put down in the crib.

Now that I come to the end of our first full day in Boston I realize how much we packed in, and I'll be amazed if any of you actually read this whole thing, but the point is to document our trip so we can look back on it and enjoy it again. Hopefully, my two readers enjoy it as well, but if I'm longwinded and you don't find that enjoyable, I apologize.

Boston is turning out to be a city that gets my writing juices flowing.

Boston on Dwellable

Maine: Adirondack Chairs, American Flags and State Slogans

On the schedule for day two of our New England vacation was a nice breakfast at a quaint cafe in downtown Manchester and then off to Portsmouth, ME/NH for the day.

However, due to us completely underestimating the time that it takes to get out the door these days and a crazy amount of research on the area I did last night, we settled for Dunkin Donuts in the car and hurried to York, Maine instead.

York is the home to the Nubble Lighthouse, and I figured since we were going to be on the rocky New England coast, it was important that we see a lighthouse. The drive over to York to was beautiful - rocky outcrops, wide rivers, tall pines and the colorful descent of the many deciduous trees provided the perfect setting for our first real day of vacation.

As we were nearing I-95 to head north through Portsmouth and up to York, we realized that I-95 was a toll road. Since Vaughn was in the middle of her morning nap, we opted to dodge the toll, where she would undoubtedly wake up the minute I rolled down the window to see if the stranger at the window had any compliments for her. Instead, we hit US 1 and took the scenic route. It was fantastic, cruising through some small towns like Hampton, NH, where it just feels like a New England town.

Crossing into Maine from New Hampshire we noticed the sign: Welcome to Maine, Vactionland.

Soon we saw "Maine - Worth a Visit, Worth a Lifetime".

Then, quickly after that, "Maine - The Way Life Should Be".

Hey, Maine, we literally just drove into your state from another state to hang out here a while. You can stop selling us. Stacie and I found it pretty funny though and we started making up our own Maine slogans. "Maine - Come for the Chowder, Stay for the Slogans." "Maine - As Hard As It Is to Get Here, It's Harder to Leave. And it's real hard to get here, by the way."

Slogan time aside, we finally made it to York, ME, and to our great surprise, it was more than just a town with a lighthouse. This was a tourist trap. Streets were lined with shops that seemed to come straight out of a movie set; there was a Harvest Festival going on to celebrate the end of tourist season (whew...barely made it). We decided that maybe we didn't need to go to Portsmouth at all, rather we could just stay in York all day.

The Nubble Lighthouse was still our goal though, so we took our eyes off of the distractions of the little town and wound through wooded neighborhoods to the coast. As we drove, it seemed that everywhere you turned was an American Flag hanging from a porch, a pole or any other mechanism that was suitable for holding a flag. On every porch was at least two, but generally six or eight Adirondack chairs. It all was just right, exactly as it should be. Then we rounded a corner and saw our first lighthouse of the trip.

After taking a few pics, hitting the gift shop and enjoying the salty sea air, we quickly headed back into town. It was chilly and rain had been falling most of the morning, so we were looking forward to some warm, dry touristy shops filled with crap we don't need.

We've got a lot of pictures of this town, but they're not uploaded yet. As they are I'll come back and add to this post, but I'm sure you can picture the type of town in your mind - just think small New England town, winding along the rocky sea coast with tourist shops, restaurants and candy stores.

Actually, add an element to that. Add a tiny little amusement park. We took Vaughn over to see the little rides and the other little kids, and since we were there, despite the rain, we decided she should ride the carousel. Stacie took her up and held her there, and she absolutely loved it.

At this point, we were getting pretty tired of the rain and we knew that Vaughn was going to need to eat around three. Plus we were getting pretty hungry ourselves, so we decided to head down to Portsmouth after all. A friend from work had told me about a restaurant that he loved right in downtown, so we put that into Google Maps and headed south.

Upon landing in downtown Portsmouth, we realized we would have made a huge mistake by staying in York all day. York was fantastic, but Portsmouth was also fantastic, and it was bigger by about two or three times. We strolled into the restaurant, River House, and sat on their enclosed and heated patio. I got a lobster roll and their award winning seafood chowder. Both were fantastic. Stacie got the French Onion Soup and a salad, and it looked amazing as well.

We enjoyed our meal and then headed out the door to see the town. The shops were amazing and there was so much history - it really was the perfect mix of a town for Stacie and I. We bought some things at a kids store called Lively Kids. We had some dessert and coffee at a bakery called Popovers. We browsed through tourist stores, shoe stores, a fabric store, a paper and gifts store and probably several others.

Along the way though, we visited the Moffatt-Ladd House for obvious reasons (or non-obvious if you don't know Stacie's maiden name is Moffett.) The Moffatt-Ladd House was built in 1763 by John Moffatt a successful ship captain, merchant and land speculator. It would soon be occupied by William Whipple, one of New Hampshire's representatives to the Continental Congress and a signer of the Declaration of Independence. Upon returning to Portsmouth, Whipple planted some chestnuts he'd taken from Philadelphia to mark the momentous event. The tree still stands today.

We also, saw the Portsmouth North Church which was established in the 1600s and tried unsuccessfully to locate a building where George Washington had given a speech and where the Declaration of Independence was read aloud for the town. To be in this area of the country where it seems every building, every road traveled and every tree planted has an intimate connection with the founding of the United States is something that resonates deeply with me. I want every man, woman and child that had a hand in creating this country to get the moments of attention from me they deserve. I want them to know that I don't take their sacrifices for granted and that 236 years later, as that tree still stands, so does the country they built.

Soon it was time to leave New Hampshire and Maine and head down to Boston. I put NH and ME on the agenda for the trip mainly to check them off of a list of states visited. In the end, though, these two states are worth a visit. Maybe even worth a lifetime.

New Hampton on Dwellable

A New Look Thompson Family Vacation

This morning Stacie and I boarded a plane to head off on a week long vacation. It's something we've done several times in the past - probably not enough - but this time there was a twist. The newest Thompson joined us for our trip. At six and a half months old, Vaughn was headed out on her first break from the real world.

Granted her real world looks pretty sweet most of the time - eat, sleep, play, repeat - but it's all about perspective.

As I write this we are in Manchester, New Hampshire. We flew into Boston today, rented a car and drove north. We decided to take the first day and a half of our trip and take in the New England fall. Though we landed in Boston around 4.30 local time, it was pretty dark by the time we got the rental car, pulled off to feed Vaughn and buy some needed supplies and got on the highway. What we have seen of New England so far seems pretty, though.

This is our third trip taking Vaughn on airplane. The first was to Stacie's dad's 60th surprise birthday party. The second was to Austin and ultimately Brady to meet, almost literally, my entire family.

Traveling is very different from what it was 7 months ago, but it's different even from what it was 2 months ago and 4 months ago, too. Vaughn is so active now. She spent half of the flight trying to get the attention of the old woman reading behind us by smiling and squawking. She spent about 30 minutes napping and the rest being entertained by us. She also requires a lot of gear. Before you have a baby, you always see people lugging baby stuff with them and you assume they're just crazy and that they surely don't need all of that stuff. Now, we're lugging all that stuff, but I have yet to determine if we really need it all or if we're just crazy and are over-lugging.

She's such a great traveler, though, and it warms my heart to think of all the people that she makes smile throughout the day. At the airport while we're waiting to board, she's kicking, waving and smiling at everyone who so much as gives her a passing glance. And I see them smile back or literally walk over to talk to her which is her favorite. She always makes time for compliments.

I promise this travel blog of sorts won't turn into a documentary of Vaughn's every move, but since today was basically a travel day not much occurred that's very relevant to speak of. We'll have plenty of pictures to share also as we do actual interesting things, and I'll try to post them here. There are two things to note, though. First, I was amazed at the kindness of people today. I hate that I'm surprised by that, but I was. I wasn't expecting folks in Boston to be rude or anything like that. I really wasn't expecting anything at all to be honest. Maybe it's because we do have a baby with us, but people were exceptionally kind as we were traveling today, enough so that I felt compelled to give them a shout out here.

Secondly, after we got settled in our hotel near downtown Manchester, we decided to head out to grab dinner. It was already 8PM here, but we were hungry and wanted to check out the quaint Manchester downtown. There are a ton of local restaurants and shops, but somehow we wound up in a Mexican restaurant.

Mexican.

In New Hampshire.

The risk we were taking was not lost on us, but after walking the slight incline that felt like a major hill to get to the downtown I was nearing pass-out hungry. After peeking into several places and finding waits, I finally had to eat and I knew that tortilla chips and salsa would be quickly delivered to the table. So, in we went. And it was fine. Not great, not horrible, but once again the people in the restaurant, both staff and fellow diners, could not have been nicer. So, we'll call it a win.

Now we're nice and warm in the hotel. Vaughn's asleep in the hotel crib just a few feet away. Stacie is asleep next to me. Somehow, even vacationing in New Hampshire can feel like home.

So I Get On the Elevator This Morning

I'm followed by a man. A woman gets on before me.

“Floor 7, please.”

She presses the button. She’s so tiny I’m almost surprised she can reach it.

“6 please,” says the man who follows me in. I watch the man as he struggles to look comfortable. He’s carrying a soft briefcase in his right hand. His left hand holds one strap of a back pack on his left shoulder. He shuffles about, nervously, and I think maybe he’s going to a job interview. Then I notice he’s wearing jeans. They’re nice, but they’re still jeans.

Just then he abruptly steps to the back center of the elevator and turns to his left, leaning on the back wall of the elevator. He’s now facing the woman, but he’s looking down. Maybe he’s looking at her – she is pretty short – but it appears that he’s just nervously looking at the ground. He is carrying two bags. Maybe he’s up to something nefarious.

The elevator opens on the 4^th floor. The woman gets out, and the man immediately moves to the front of the elevator as the doors close.

Then he begins to wipe his hand up and down between the elevator buttons as though he’s cleaning them. He does this only for a moment as though he suddenly realizes that he’s being very strange. He wanders back to the back left corner of the elevator, avoiding eye contact with me as I’ve given up on pretending to not notice his strangeness.

We arrive at the 6^th floor. The doors open. He exits. As he goes, I almost tell him to have a nice day, but think better of it as I’m not sure what “nice” might mean to this nervous, two-bag carrying man.

As the doors close, I immediately realize the cause of his strange behavior. It envelopes me like a thick fog rolling off of Lake Michigan. I gasp for air, but air, clean crisp air, wants no part of this elevator car. I feel like the trip from floor 6 to floor 7 takes days. I’m on my knees pawing at the doors, begging them to open. When they finally do, I fall out onto the 7^th floor, tears of relief and pain intertwining as they wind their way down my cheeks to the old hardwood floor.

The doors close behind me, but the cloud has only partially gone with it. I fear that it will cling to me for the remainder of the day, attacking all who come near me. But as I walk down the hall I realize that it is slowly being left in my wake. I say a quick prayer for the next passenger to get on Car 4. They know not what awaits them.

I know that every time I step on an elevator from this day forward, I will not fear falling. I will not fear death. I will fear the entrapment of the Dutch Oven.