While exploring in the Shenandoah...
More Explorations without Leaving Home
The great thing about living where we do is that there is a never-ending array of places to explore. I thought about calling these 'adventures' instead of 'explorations' but mostly they are not adventuresome. Mostly just fun and interesting, which I'm all for, since an adventuresome trip with a toddler is generally ill-advised.
In recent days, we found ourselves walking around Dupont Circle and flummoxing the security at the Association for Microbiology. As unusual an occurrence as it may be, there is nothing at all illegal about a mother and child entering the building with a stroller and a space heater. Promise. And no, my husband doesn't work there. But the guy who wanted to buy the space heater from my ad on Craigslist does and I didn't mind dropping it off. I'm sure if anyone thinks about that for long, they'll decide it was exactly the kind of thing the grandfatherly security guards were supposed to stop at the door, but they were too busy being super friendly and charming to the baby girl.
After that little jaunt, we went and bid adieu to The Awakening down on Hains Point. Upon first seeing this monster rising from the ground, Ms Pickles responded with the only reasonable response: she shook her head and said, firmly, "no!" After a few daredevil boys climbed all over his head without being eaten alive, she hopped right to climbing, proving that if the other kids jump on a giant's head, she too will jump on a giant's head. The statue is being pulled up today for a relocation to National Harbor, where we might see it again in the future.
Saturday we decided to ferret out Brookside Gardens and Brookside Nature Center, all interconnected with the Wheaton Regional Park (map). The Nature Center was a hit with the knee-biter crowd and would be worth the drive for some good programming (even if I did disagree with the educator there as to whether or not the Red-eared slider turtle is a native to Maryland. It is not, which is neither here nor there, but they should know since it's on the poster in the playroom). We hiked 3/4 mile through the park, past the miniature train and carousel to the playground, which is a dreamscape of 1980's recreational design. Check out the Death Slide! The Flintstone car made with real 4x4 timbers and nails. Or the piece de resistance, the Pinata Pole! (The white stuff on the photo is toddler slime on the camera lens. Say it with me, ewwwww.) Although the park is showing its age and the fact that it was designed when there were only half as many tort lawyers, it was a huge hit with the kids. It has places to crawl around in and under, lots of steering wheels for maniacal toddler drivers, and this adorable little playhouse/lincoln log cabin.
Which, yes, Lilibet demanded we climb into with her. She 'took' this photo: I turned the LCD to her and when she pointed and said, "Mommy! Daddy!," I clicked.
Still to come, a recap of a tour of Unitarian history in Baltimore. Presidents Day itself ended up being a sick day, since half the family had fevers and just wanted to nap. We are all on the mend and not minding a few days of nappishness.
Portland, OR, with Chickens, Sturgeon, and Tortoises
It's halfway through September and I'm still in August. Maybe some small purpose for this blog is to help me slow down and appreciate all the damn busy stuff we do!
I never finished telling about the Oregon trip. And some of the BEST parts are still untold.
- We rented a house in SE Portland from the most wonderful family. They were away and left us a proud organic tomato garden (that we watered diligently), two prolific plum trees, and three chickens who gifted us eggs each day.
- The house was only a few blocks from a perfect coffee place with a great play corner and the Piccolo Park, where toddlers rule. Most days we'd walk to the park and let Lilibet get her yaya's out in the morning. We also got travel advice from the parents and generally recharged on these visits.
Continue reading "Portland, OR, with Chickens, Sturgeon, and Tortoises" »
The Oregon Coast
Travels are always made up of funny little stories. At the end, you look back to see if most of the stories were "ha ha" funny or "ouch" funny.
Some of the stories from this trip include:
NYC - Breaking the Seal
AKA Finding the Second Half of a Lost Week.
Last week was B's Spring Break from the university. And altho he had to work a gig in Las Vegas the first half of the week, we wanted to do something the second half. We again tilted at a trip to NYC. We are not far from NYC, so in theory this should be easy. My in-laws trundle up to visit family often enough without undue trauma. But each time we have tried, the venture has failed due to lack of ... something. I think we've been victim to a belief that it is closer and easier to get to than it is. Then we start pacing through the logistics and discover that we didn't plan for enough travel time, for the costs, for whatever.
Like all of its predecessors, this trip was almost canned as well. But we reprised it in the form of a simple overnight. Up on Thursday, back on Friday. Our motto (thank you, sanjay) remains "cheap and cheerful."
On the drive up, we jumped off I-95 for lunch in Philly. We knew Elisabeth would not hold up for a 5 hour drive without breaks, so we all took lunch at the Famous 4th Street Deli. The pickles!! OMG, I never thought I could be so happy with pickles. (Elisabeth did NOT appreciate her first intro to pickles. Not at all.) The BLT I got was the size of 5 BLT's and B's Reuben is documented here. We walked around and awed at the great murals all over Philly. It was a great stop and made the logistics of travelling with baby both easy and fun. Better than stopping at the rest stops on the turnpike and not much longer of a detour (at noon on a Thursday).
In NYC: We could afford one night in the funky 100 year old hotel B found. So long as we didn't mind toilets on the hall and not en suite (we did not mind.) or the crazy distracting wallpaper (we did not mind and Elisabeth loved it passionately.). Our window opened into a tiny air shaft/alley where guys were blow-torching something below and pigeons were making noises I had not heard from pigeons before. But it was clean and comfortable and quite possibly Elisabeth's favorite part of the trip.
Thursday night I went to the book launch for Yarn Harlot at FIT. 750 knitters in one room. I was kinda a poser there, since I barely finish anything and don't live up to Mike's nickname for me of "knitbot". But it was a lovely positive group of people, and a very funny speaker. It was especially moving when she started, looking reasonably awed by the group, then noticed her husband had come down as a surprise. Just a very cool experience. And all the participants scored free yarn!!
Other than that, it was just toodling around the East Village. We had a random Hungarian lady named Maxine sing and pantomime to Elisabeth on a street corner. Elisabeth's slowly dawning realization as she woke up from a nap in The Strand that those were ALL BOOKS! B giving Elisabeth a bottle while being tragically unhip in the Forbidden Planet. After drinks on Thursday, I scored a Little Tikes Workbench set out on the street. (Just the bench, not the toys.) B and Sanjay still can't believe I 1) saw it and 2) grabbed it and hauled it back to the hotel in the rain. But, dude, it's perfect! And I can totally get some toys for it off of eBay. Think of it as our souvenir from Elisabeth's first trip to NYC.
St Augustine, FL
This was my first trip in a long while. I think the last one was The Grand Canyon last spring, when I was a bit more pregnant than they permit on donkey rides. This trip was Elisabeth's first long stay and first flight.
St. Augustine, FL is fascinating. Like many (most?) folks, I expect Florida to be a mix of Disney tourists and retirees. St. Augustine is none of this. Situated on the northern coast, the city was a Spanish outpost for 200 years before the English took it over. Although the tourism trades heavily on this, the actual information for this first Spanish time period from 1565 to 1764 is skimpy. Sure, Then the city was burned by Sir Francis Drake and pillaged by pirates. There is an impressive fort (Castillo de San Marcos), a distinctly spanish colonial area of town, and some luscious architecture from this time period.
In 1763 the city officially became British and the capital of British East Florida and stood Loyalist against the Americans in the Revolutionary War. So, as time passed, the city (and the state of Florida) went back to the Spanish until the 1800's. Napoleon was running amok at home and Spain had though had other things on its mind, so Florida became a U.S. Territory and later a state. Barely 20 years later, the State ceded the Union in the Civil War... but we know how that ended.
By the 1850's things settled down a bit. Instead of wars and monarchs, change came via railroads and industrialists. Flagler built a railroad AND the destination at the end. The hotels he built are jaw-droppingly gorgeous and decadent. Since then horrible things have happened, like the arrival of the Ripley's Believe it or Not Museum, but still, the town is lovely. It remains mostly walkable with bungalows and live oaks full of resurrection fern and Spanish moss.
Bill loved the Lightener Museum which he described as mixing the V&A with Southern Gothic. We made it to the Alligator Farm where we got to see them feed the vultures and the gators. Gross and compelling and not your average zoo experience.
It was a good trip... I didn't plan to spend quite so much time at the local Target getting meds and supplies for the baby, but you just gotta roll with it. I missed the Lightener Museum because I was back at the room being sick as well. But I can see us returning... Just hopefully we'll leave the viruses behind next time.
Gators
New Year's vacation to FL wasn't what we planned for. Rotavirus. Nuff said. The details involve a bit more bodily function than the internet really needs.
But... we travel well, generally. We try at least. So not all was lost.
Alligators.... more photos soon.
