Day Trip: Boston

Ages ago, I went to college in the picturesque little North Shore town of Wenham, MA, and I have to say that one of the many things I love about living now in Southern Maine is that we are so close to Boston. I love this city!

So of course when my sister and her husband came to visit a few weeks ago, we spent a day doing a few of our favorite things in Boston.

First stop, Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market. We shopped a little, walked around, and had some lunch at Bertucci's, where my sister is in love with the Silano pizza: chicken, broccoli, and white cream sauce. That is totally not my thing (a little icky to me), but I loved my more traditional Margherita pizza. So good :)

Next I made everyone walk to the North End so I could go to Mike's Pastry. 

Love. this. place. 

And I was so happy to introduce my girls to the wonder of walking in there and seeing all the cases of desserts. It's magical.

With our pastry boxes in hand we headed back through Faneuil Hall toward Park Street church, passing the Old State House, with the afternoon sun shining down on it. 

At Park Street Church we walked around in Granary Burying Ground and I admired all the beautiful gravestones, while my kids waited impatiently for me to take photo after photo of the haunting faces carved in stone. 

♥ Boston

Day Trip: Portland, Maine

A few weeks ago my sister and her husband came to visit from PA. I took a few days off while they were here (which I haven't done for so long!) and we had fun doing some exploring in Portland and Boston.

Today - more about our afternoon in Portland.

First stop, East End Beach, where we walked along the water, took a few family pics, and found lots of Maine sea glass - the real deal.

Bro-in-law skipping rocks!

Me + my girls :)

The world's best sister & brother-in-law + the girls

Next stop - Coffee By Design - a local coffee shop with an amazing commitment to quality and community, the kind of place you feel good about supporting -  to warm up with some warm drinks. Chai for me please :)

Then walking around the Old Port.

I'm still new to Maine, but every time I make a trip to Portland 

I love this little city more.

A Long Weekend In: Franklin, TN

We used to live just south of Franklin, TN, and my husband still has a studio there. Now he travels back and forth between Maine and Tennessee to do his work. So last week, a year after our move to Maine, we decided to take a trip back down south to visit friends and some of our favorite places. 

When we arrived at our hotel on the first evening of our trip, we spotted Wholy Crepe restaurant right across the street. So first thing the next morning we were all about having some crepes for breakfast. Both of the girls ordered crepe creations that were really more like dessert than breakfast, but we were on vacation!

After breakfast we headed over to Pinkerton Park near downtown Franklin, where we used to spend many afternoons when the girls were little. This park is the best for all ages! They have a large enclosed playground area called Tinkerbell Playground for young children, lots of swings and larger play structures, a very nice walking/running path all around the large park, lots of open field space to lay out a blanket, toss a ball, or just run around, and very importantly, nice bathrooms!

From Pinkerton Park we walked across the pedestrian bridge and over a few blocks to Franklin's historic Main Street.

We stopped to see the monument in the Square, honoring the men who fought in the Battle of Franklin during the Civil War, then headed down Main Street.

One of our favorite shops on Main Street was always the Main Street Toy Company. This time we only bought gum, but it's always a charming little shop to spend some time in. 

Next stop: Franklin Tea. My most favorite place on Main Street. Oh how I have missed Franklin Tea.

I love sniffing all the different varieties of tea.

 

I stocked up on my favorite Assam loose leaf tea and some other goodies, and left with the large size bag :)

The next morning after grabbing some breakfast we headed to Winstead Hill, a quiet little park with an easy walking trail. After walking the trail you can head up the hill to read about the men who fought here during the Battle of Franklin in the Civil War. 

 You can see all of Franklin from up here on the hill, and we stayed for while to just enjoy the view.

We had lunch at Logan's Roadhouse before we headed out to meet friends for the afternoon. The girls love this place mostly because you can eat peanuts out of the little bucket and throw the shells right on the floor.

 Emma enjoyed her southern sweet tea everywhere we went!

On our last day we went to the newly reopened Opry Mills. We hadn't been there for a long time before we moved because it was ruined in the May 2010 Nashville flood. New to us was the Lego store, so we stopped in to create our own little Lego figures and pick up a few building kits.

Last big stop of the trip was the Aquarium Restaurant in Opry Mills. We were so glad to see this restaurant back up and running. It is definitely worth a stop if you are visiting Nashville - enjoy an amazing aquarium while eating delicious food. You can't go wrong!

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See more crepes and good food from Wholy Crepe restaurant in Cool Springs here.

Find Main Street Toy Shoppe on Facebook here.

Find out more about Franklin Tea, and even order online here.

Learn about Winstead Hill here.

See all that Opry Mills has to offer here.

Discover the amazing Aquarium restaurant here.

Day Trip: Russell Orchards

10:35 am. We are bundled in the car on a chilly Fall morning, ready for the drive to Russell Orchards in Ipswich, MA. There are 7 of us going today, and the girls and I huddle together under a blanket in the back seat to keep warm.

11:54 am. We arrive in the very crowded parking lot. After snagging a great spot, we head toward the big barn. First stop - the bathrooms, a row of Port-A-Potties. They are smelly and not pleasant, but I'm thankful they have them at all.

Next stop: just inside the barn for cups of hot mulled apple cider to warm our hands. The men go stand in line to grab a bag of warm apple cider donuts, and we pay and head outside to enjoy them.

We walk past bins of both traditional and unusual pumpkins and gourds, and head over to a grassy area to sit down.

These apple cider donuts are the reason I come to this orchard, and will continue to come every Fall from now til eternity. They are warm and oily and not too sweet, but just right.

After eating our donuts, and with warm cider still in our hands, we board the hayride tractor that delivers us to the apple picking area of the orchard. We walk over to the little stand and buy 2 bags to stuff with as many apples as we can fit. 

We go first to the Honeycrisp rows, even though the lady at the stand has told us that Honeycrisps are pretty much done for the season. We're hoping to find just a few left on the trees. The pickings are pretty slim here, most of the trees are bare except for a few small greenish apples here and there. We're pretty bummed about this because last year the Honeycrisps right off the tree were the best part of the apple picking for us, so I make a mental note to mark my calendar for next year: "Must come during September."

After picking over the Honeycrisp trees, we head back toward the trees that are still in season.

The Galas prove to be the best finds for us this year - crunchy, tart-sweet apples, 10 times better than the imported grocery store Galas.

We fill our bags with Galas and a few McIntosh that are still hanging on the trees.

 

Emma and I head over to try the Gingercrisp apples, one we haven't heard of before. We don't like them much, at least not for snacking. They are mealy and very sweet. We speculate that maybe they are a baking apple, but at least now we know.

We decide to forego the hayride wagon and walk back to the barn, passing some geese heading for the pond as we approach the crowds around the entrance area.

We look around a little more in the barn store, get a few more donuts and a frozen apple pie to go, and pile back in the car to head home. This is the best Fall tradition.

See more photos from our trip on my Flickr stream here.

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Learn more about Russell Orchards here.

Day Trip: Harvard Museum of Natural History

10:25 am. We make our first stop of the day at Starbucks in the Kennebunk travel plaza along Interstate 95, 10 minutes from our house. We're off to a late start this morning, and we all need a little treat to start the trip, so we pick up coffee and tea and hit the road.

We arrive in Cambridge and find the Harvard Museum of Natural History without much trouble, and Siri efficiently leads us to a nearby Pilgrim Parking lot. From there we walk a short block and cross a busy street to enter Harvard Yard through the Johnston Gate, built in 1889.

It's hard not to be impressed walking through Harvard Yard. We love looking at all the old brick buildings, walking past students reading or talking on the lawn, under the shade of trees. Idyllic is the best word I can find for it. I feel like I could spend an entire day just marveling at the history of this place.

We leave Harvard Yard and walk in a crowd of students and visitors past the Science Center. I try to snap some pictures of the impressive Memorial Hall rising above the surrounding buildings. My family grumbles at me to keep up.

We arrive at the Museum of Natural History, pay the entrance fee, and grab a brochure with a map of the museum's rooms.

Our first stop is the large Minerals, Gems and Meteorites room. We walk past cases of amazing, vibrantly colored minerals and gems. I'm immediately surprised by how engaged my sometimes impatient 12-year-olds seem to be. 

The Arthropod room is filled with jars of intriguing specimens, and we linger for a while, wondering what it would be like to encounter some of these creatures alive. 

We are mesmerized by the Vertebrate Paleontology room, housing a breathtaking Kronosaurus skeleton that spans the entire back wall of the large room. We read the sign and learn that this creature was a 42-foot-long prehistoric marine reptile. 

The Great Mammal Hall is extraordinary in a place filled with the extraordinary. Huge mounted skeletons hang above our heads as we walk past more skeletons and mounted animals staring out at us from rows of striking, huge glass cases. We ascend a lovely old staircase at the back of the room to walk around the Bird Gallery on the balcony above.

On our way back toward the entrance we finally spot the last thing my daughters have been searching for: the big cats, fierce and formidable even mounted behind glass.

We spend a few minutes browsing around the gift shop, which is just as great as you would expect the museum at the Harvard Museum of Natural History to be. The girls each pick out a few little things to remember the trip, and we hurry down the stairs and out into the autumn afternoon with lunch on our minds.

We retrace our steps back through Harvard Yard, and out into Harvard Square in search of food.

The trusty iPhone has lead us to Mr. Bartley's Burgers, as the sign says, "A Harvard Landmark Since 1960.

We are seated at a small table in the middle of the equally small restaurant, arranged with tightly packed tables and chairs. I order The Democrat, a burger piled high with sauerkraut, Swiss cheese, and Russian dressing. Delicious. 

When we head up front to pay, we realize they only take cash (which we never carry). They have a little ATM in the back, so I squeeze my way past the tables and withdraw some cash, then make my way back up front to pay. Kind of annoying, but when you have burgers this good, I guess you can do things like that.

While I deal with the ATM situation, the rest of the family walks next door to the Harvard Book Store to browse. I meet up with them there, and since mumblings of discontent are surfacing, we don't stay long.

We walk back toward Harvard Yard, past another beautiful old gate. I still haven't had enough of the beautiful and the old around here, so I stop and grab a few more pictures. 

We have a quick look at the imposing exterior of Widener Library and the students bustling by, and by now we're all ready to call it a day.

Long shadows are starting to fall across the brick sidewalks as we make our way back to our car. 

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If you ever have the opportunity I highly recommend visiting the Harvard Museum of Natural History.

Find out more about Mr. Bartley's Burgers, including their menu, here.

You can read a little more about Harvard Yard and Harvard Square in a nice little write-up here, and if you might be interested, learn about the University's student-led historical tours here.