Our Trip to Beantown and Cape Cod (Post 1/3)

We were much overdue for a visit to the northeast. It had been over a decade since Dave and I met one another while living in Beantown and years since we had ventured back for a friend's law school graduation. We hadn't seen friends who live in/around there since our wedding! So back in January we planned a trip that incorporated several days in the city and nearly a week down on Cape Cod.

Dave had mile points that got us a chic upscale room at the Liberty Hotel on Beacon Hill for NADA! What had been the old Charles Street Jail had been transformed into a swanky (think W hotel) but kid friendly place. Cole thought the prison bars that remained in much of the hotel lobby and restaurants were super cool as was the artistic chocolate milk that came when we checked in. We were steps from so many familiar haunts and yet many things had changed. (Dave also had car rental points which landed us a sporty BMW to cruise around in.)

We strolled down to Fanueil Hall the first night and wandered through the busyness of the North End on a Friday night. Up early (as always) the next morning, I did a six mile loop down on the Esplanade, watching the rowers on the Charles River and enjoying the view of the Boston skyline from the Memorial Drive side while Dave and Cole had breakfast at the Paramount. We headed to our friends the Shanleys mid-day and thoroughly enjoyed an afternoon watching our kiddos play in the yard while their newest addition napped away. It was so wonderful to re-connect and catch up on our lives.

We headed back into the city and after a brief respite at the hotel, put on our walking shoes and made our way through the Public Gardens to Back Bay. After an absurd wait for a table (they lost our name) we did get a prime sidewalk table on Newbury Street to eat dinner and people watch. After a short walk at dusk admiring the brownstones down Commonwealth Avenue, we summoned a cab as our feet (and Cole) had had enough. A wee better wake-up time on Sunday but plenty of time to spare before we headed north to visit with the Brodings so we took Cole on the T over to Harvard Square. It was the perfect time to walk around the university, see the sights and peruse my favorite book store (no joke, Cole pulled an anatomy book with a skeleton on the cover off a shelf in the Harvard COOP bookstore and flipped through it).

After a quick bite to eat, we jumped in the beamer and headed to New Hampshire. The temperature rose rapidly as we drove inland, nearly 90 degrees upon arrival. It was a delight to chat away with Pete and Nancy as the kids doused themselves (and us) with water guns and sprinklers to escape the heat. We enjoyed a delicious GF meal that Nancy had so kindly taken to research and prepare. It was nearly dark when we finally said our good-byes and drove south.

We had been lucky with ample sunshine all weekend but Monday morning, the clouds rolled in. We took a leisurely morning to pack up before heading to our next destination, Cape Cod.

His 1st Fish....

On our second afternoon boating this year, ironically Mother's Day, Cole caught his first fish! We had docked up at Goodwins and the kids were fishing. After an entire summer last year learning the fundamentals with no success, Cole finally caught a Sunny using Gunnar's rod. He was so excited (as were the rest of us). We shall see if this is the beginning to a more productive catch-n-release season! GO COLE!

My little Super Hero..

It is interesting to watch Cole's fascination with specific shows, characters, particular books and games shift and change like the wind literally since he turned five back in December. When he was in the 2-4 year old range, I became more than familiar with every frame of the CARS movie, nearly every episode of Calliou, The Wonder Pets and Go Diego Go (and their opening jingles) and memorized the lines of many a monster or construction truck book.

Those days are in the past as it seems that Cole's focus on any one area of interest is super-ceded within weeks by some other. Earlier this year, he couldn't get enough of Wild Kratts and Jake and the Neverland Pirates. He wanted every book and DVD on them from the library. In a sudden shift, after watching ONE 10 minute segment of the kid's cartoon version of Avengers followed by the Super Hero Squad Show, he was hooked on Super Hero Power. Captain America and Iron Man are his favorites but he can tell you stats on Spiderman, Thor and Hulk too! He wanted his own shield so we fashioned one out of a Frisbee that he wears with duct tape on his back. He traipses around the house "playing" super heroes with his arsenal of super hero figurines (some are Gunnar's and others are new thanks to his knowing that he can earn things for being good over periods of time, *sigh*, need to revamp that previously used tool pronto) and using his powers to battle evil.

Swim lesson update...

I posted back a few months ago about Cole's swimming lessons. Much like me, Cole gets frustrated when he can't "master" something. Athletic type skills have come relatively easily for him but because swimming hasn't, for a few weeks back this winter, he would cry during swim lessons when he couldn't keep up with the other kids in his class or felt that he wasn't able to do what they were doing. His instructor worked with him individually and it built his confidence. This past spring session he has slowly begun to blossom. He still tires as he races to keep pace with the two girlies in his lane but you can tell he is determined and I love that.

The lake beckons as the water warms with our early hot weather this season, so I have no doubt I will be posting him splashing around off the boat this summer!

Below is a recent clip as they do arm circle drills during class.

Cole, swim lesson update-May 2012 from David Denham on Vimeo.