For years I kept journals -- in composition, spiral bound, and French graph paper books. This blog is an attempt to get back to writing and documenting the world around me using photos, newspaper headlines, and other articles.

Monday, October 27, 2014

Hyannis odds and ends

Last night I was trying to write and upload the photos really quickly so that I could get to the regular end of evening routine.  At first, Selim was helping me chose the pictures.  We had different opinions on which ones to post.  I liked the close up of his face with the Wampanoag statue's moccasin  foot.  He didn't, so my I went with this choice last night.  Today, I get to put up mine.



Speaking of feet, I took a couple more that he vetoed.  "Mom, not everybody likes to look at feet like you do."  Oh well.  I can put up two.  The JFK statue.




Or three.  It is a new polish for me.



I still took too long writing last night and trying to come up with some coherent post.  As it was, Selim fell asleep on the couch with one leg on my lap, waiting for a rub as I was closing up the computer.

There were a couple other pictures that I had wanted to add last night but just didn't have the time.  Maps and directions were an issue for me this trip.  I plugged in the wrong address into mapquest before heading out on Friday.  That led to Selim and I driving back and forth along a stretch of Ocean Ave looking for the hotel that was on Ocean Street.



Later I was telling Heather the address of the hotel and I said 112 instead of 119.  My room was number 19 and that was supposed to help me.  And there was one other mistake that turned my direction giving into a running joke, or "epic fail" as my Lovey Lamb would say.  I believe it was my insistence that there was a playground on a map that I saw that turned out to be non-existent.

It is good to know that I have passed on the map gene to my child.  He collected maps with much enthusiasm.  Every time we saw one of these cute boats, he would run to see what map was part of the display that he could take.





And of course, map reading was a family activity.  Nothing says a Stevenson family adventure like a good map consultation!



Totally off subject, I also liked the street lights.  If I could figure out a way to have them in my house and not look ridiculous, I would.  I've seen house size versions in some catalog, I'm sure.


Looking back over the weekend, it is hard to believe that we packed so much eating, visiting, sight seeing, and beach walking in under 48 hours.  We had two Thai dinners. One humongous breakfast.  A delicious cafe lunch and another at a fish house that had super sweet potato fries.  The only food picture I took was Selim's mac and cheese at the cafe on Saturday.  I loved how it came in such a grown up dish -- not some plastic, kid friendly bowl.



It was great to see Dad looking so well after his latest heart procedure.  I wasn't expecting him to look frail...but I was so happy to see him so peppy.  The advances of modern medicine are amazing to me.

I look forward to our next family gathering where we can talk some more, eat, and walk off the extra calories.  I'm raising my glass of fizzy water in salute to a great weekend and my wonderful traveling companion.  May we have many more adventures together.




Sunday, October 26, 2014

Weekend in Hyannis

The weather gods smiled on us this weekend.  We enjoyed Chamber of Commerce weather in Hyannis, MA after suffering through a week of Nor'easter wind and rain.  We had sun with temperatures in the upper 50's and low 60's -- perfect for outdoor sightseeing and walks on the beach.

This weekend had six major components -- eating, beach walking, museum visiting, family relating, photo documenting, and a boat ride.

Saturday morning, Selim and I woke up early enough to take a quick walk down the street to look at the boats in the harbor.  The ferries were going to Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard.  Some day it will be fun to go back to MV.  I can't remember going back since I left after the summer of 1984.  Although, if Heather lived there in 1989, I must have visited her.  I had a little memory rush as we walked and took pictures.  We did the requisite selfie:



And boat pictures.  I love reflections.





Continuing with the photo documenting theme: I took pictures of my favorite glass pieces that I saw at the Sandwich Glass Museum.




The boys did a great job in the Glass Museum.  There was a scavenger hunt that kept them occupied and moving from exhibit through exhibit.  They looked for the sitting hen, glass books, a key, Chinese tower, and lots more.  The hardest find was the smokeless bell that turned out to be not a regular bell at all.  And as I sit here typing, I can't remember what it was.

Anyway, the beach walks were fun.  How I missed documenting JT carrying the huge rock from one end of the beach, down the boardwalk and back to the car, I'll never know.  But I did get Selim photo-bombing the grandparents.






I got the boys digging a hole / shelter at Kalmus Beach.  They needed a few more hours of wall construction for the concept to turn into reality.  But it was a good start.




Amazing how the boys were happy in short sleeves, and us grown ups sported the layered look.  We were at the same beach, I promise.




We had to be careful where we stepped, as the horseshoe crabs had left their shells all over the sand.  It was a bit creepy, actually.





I got in my statue fix this morning.  Selim had studied the Wampanoag Tribe last year in school.  Who knew that we would find a statue of their Chief on Main Street?




 

Followed by JFK in the next block.




We continued the JFK theme with a boat ride out of the Harbor that took us in front of the Kennedy Compound.  It was so windy that my eyes were watering fiercely.  Blurry eyes!  I kept taking pictures, trusting that one or two would be in focus.  The boat rocking didn't assist my attempts at clear pictures.  What struck me was the size of the compound homes.  In my memory, the photos showed the beach was endless and the houses, massive.  In truth, there is a skimpy stretch of sand and the houses are modest compared to the nearby modern mansions.







We ended our family gathering at the Cape Cod Museum of Natural History.  It was the perfect size for the younger set.  I could have stayed in one of their comfy chairs, watching for papa and mama cardinal for a while longer, but the drive home loomed large.









Before we went our separate ways, we found out that Selim's wing span is about the size of an Osprey and Heather's the size of a heron.  We speculated that GL's would have been bigger than a chickadee.  I wasn't fast enough with my camera to get JT spreading his arms in front of the crow.  Recreating the moment was not an option for me.






A brief stop at the gift shop prolonged our stay by a few minutes.  Then it was on to group photos (a few cameras made it tough to know where to look), hugs, and waves goodbye.





Oh wait!  There's more...shark!!!!!!