The plane coasted over the Atlantic and touched down past midnight Eastern in Boston. With luggages loaded in the trunk of my Volvo we zipped over the technicolored Leonard Zakim Memorial Bridge anchoring The Garden to the rest of the city and with the twinkling Boston skyline in the rearview mirror, we passed the Bunker Hill monument and up north with just enough time for some warm, melty grilled cheese sandwiches before bedtime. Welcome to Massachusetts.
Morning dawned just in time for the first adventure. After a quick breakfast of fruit, muffins and yogurt, we headed to Cambridge to take part in the MIT Spark program. The heavy spring rain did little to dampen the excitement as we raced towards the famed “Infinite Corridor” under the Great Dome to sign in for the day’s “classes.”
The instant you arrive at MIT, you know that you are in the coolest of places, surrounded by people who are fun and excited with the things they are learning and doing --- and doing them in the most unique ways possible! The weather prevented a walk across the Smoot Bridge, but there is always next time.
The classes were cool, and the lunch was awesome, but by the time the Spark program was over, it was time to grab a late dinner at the favorite Depot Pizza before going home to crash for day 2!
We awoke to yet another day of rain and Matt Noyce provided absolutely no hope of anything but rain, so we put sightseeing on hold and took the opportunity to head to Browns in Seabrook, NH for the traditional lunch of trays of seafood and onion rings. Although never empty, the crowd seemed tame when compared with the summer throng. Just as in the dog days of August, they came prepared with coolers and fun, and it was great to grab just a taste of summer on a cold March day.
After Browns, we took a quick trip to the Rockingham Park Mall before heading home for dinner.
March 15th.
Yes, yes, yes! It was raining yet again! Heavily too! The flowers are going to absolutely POP this spring from all of the rain. Downpour or not, it was Monday morning and time to begin the college tours. We waited until the rush hour passed and headed for Boston College http://www.bc.edu// for their tour. The campus was stunningly beautiful, inside and out, even with the rain. The library was a scene from Hogwarts and the boys were all cute! We ducked between the raindrops and then ran back to the car when the tour was finished.
Next we stopped quickly at the birthplace of John F. Kennedy our 35th President on Beals Street in Brookline, Massachusetts and then on our way to Papa Ginos for lunch. As luck would have it, we arrived in time for the debut of the first ever Papa Ginos line of burgers! They were as good as the manager said they would be, and now it will be a tough choice between our usual pizza or a burger!
After lunch, we headed over to Ceaco / Gamewright for a quick tour of the country’s second largest puzzle company, before running back home to see Shutter Island at “The Loop”. The rain and windstorm continued to howl as we headed up the highway and past the very flooded parking lot of the Woburn Showcase Cinema. We were very glad that we hadn’t decided on that theater, because there were cars in the lot submerged up past their doors.
Shutter Island is set on one of the islands off the coast of Boston and coincidentally some of the action takes place during the height of a hurricane scale storm very similar to the one going on outside of the theater.
We finally woke up to sunshine, and headed down to the Boston Common for a day of self-guided sightseeing. Cheers, across from the common was the first destination, followed by a trip to Harvard Square, food at Bartley’s Burger, shopping at Urban Outfitters, dessert at Mike's Pastry in the North End, sightseeing the Aquarium, the ferry ride to the USS Constitution ,strolling the Quincy Market and concluding at the T stop at Sullivan Square, we headed over to Salem, Massachusetts to see the “witches” and the curious shops which might be open. Since it is still too early for tourist season in this spooky seaside town, we stopped by the House of the Seven Gables, made famous by Nathaniel Hawthorne, for a quick picture and then headed home to relax for the next day’s fun. http://www.7gables.org/
March 17th.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day and time for another round of college tours. We donned our St. Patty’s tattoos and drove into Boston to catch the Emerson College Center Stage Tour and Information Session. We could tell immediately that the school was totally cool, and that it would be an honor and privilege to be enrolled there! The tour guides were great and once again the school was stunning. The dorm views overlooking the Boston Common were breathtaking, even in early spring before the leaves are on the trees. After Emerson, we grabbed a quick bite at D’Angelos at the food court and then retrieved the car from the garage to meet Jesse for her tour of Northeastern http://www.northeastern.edu/neuhome/index.php and Tufts http://www.tufts.edu/ after dinner at Jesse and Kevin’s in Medford, we returned home to plan for the next day.
Heading for Maine on a weekday morning seemed like a gift! We buzzed through the Hampton tolls, and across the Piscataqua Bridge in Portsmouth, NH and into Maine, passing through three states in a matter of minutes. We made a brief detour at the Stonewall Kitchen store and bakery for a quick cup of coffee and lemon squares and chicken salad. Everyone sampled the jams and other treats before settling on a few to take home. We need to return in the summer to see the stunning gardens again, which is an added bonus in the warm weather! We ducked off the highway and onto Route 1 and wiggled our way over to the coast and stopped at York beach to tease the waves. Shoes came off and laughter echoed off the rocky coast as the ocean tickled toes and splashed playfully as if coaxing us in for a game of tag.
Since Nubble Light was the key destination, we all piled back into the car for the short ride to the lighthouse. We climbed the rocks, danced with seagulls and took pictures from every angle. The sea was a stunning blue, as was the sky and it was even more beautiful after the gloomy days that preceded it. The fun gift shop will have to wait for a summer day, as the shopkeepers were elsewhere this early in the season. We then headed to Perkins Cove to hang around the quaint and quiet town.
Next stop, the Kittery Outlets http://www.thekitteryoutlets.com/ where there is guaranteed fun shopping at the Kittery Trading Post (complete with stuffed bears, moose and wood-carved Indian totems), and top brand stores along the strip. After a quick detour for ice cream the hunt for bargains and sophisticated shoes was on!
The afternoon was still young, so we headed back down south on 95 through New Hampshire and towards Salem, Massachusetts for another try at the shops there. With the car literally rocking to the sounds of Bedrock, we popped into the historic Hawthorn hotel for directions and then http://www.hawthornehotel.com/ parked near the Peabody Essex Museum http://www.pem.org/ and found a few stores that were still open. It was time for a quick bite to eat, so we ran into McDonald’s and ate in a room dedicated to Boston sports with Red Sox and Patriots gear encased in glass.
Hard to believe that the week flew by so quickly, we reluctantly took another ride into Boston to drop Alexis off at Logan Airport. His flight took off several hours before Kayla and Carol’s flight, so we wished him goodbye and told him to come back SOON, and then we headed back north to see if we could hook up with Julie.
We stopped briefly at the Bunker Hill Monument http://www.nps.gov/bost/historyculture/bhm.htm to see the site of the famous battle of Breeds Hill that was fought on June 17, 1775 during the opening days of the Revolutionary War. There were lots of folks out enjoying the sun and walking very cute dogs.
Carol, Kayla and Julie had lunch at the Teatone Chinese restaurant in Andover, and then headed up to Dunkin Donuts at the Andover center. Later they met Auntie Maureen for a brief hello and had a quick tour of the house.
Before we could blink, it was time to button up the suitcases and head back to Logan International Airport for the flight home. With homemade brownies and candies and treats from Market Basket in hand, the plane took off for Dallas and it was time for back to school, with spring break and the first of many college tours checked off the list.
