Showing posts with label Boston Trip 2010. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Boston Trip 2010. Show all posts

Sunday, August 15, 2010

Journey to Boston part 7

Well the party was over and it was time to leave and head for southern climes... home to Virginia.... The kids were heading back to work and everyone was anticipating getting back into the real wold! For us it was saying goodbye until we see the kids again and rejoining the ratrace.. bumper to bumper traffic... and the kids were anxious to get back to their offices and labs and their work cohorts....

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It's not that Lynn and I are really that dumb but we have been up to see the kids two times now and we neither of us know how to actually get from the interstate to their house... even yet.... I mean every time we would leave their house during the visit we'd go a different way it seemed.... and this time we came in a different way and so the actual trek to the interstate remains a mystery to us.... odd as that seems.... so Joshua yet again led us back to the I90 on his way to work....
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and we fell in line with the heavy 8:30 am Massachusetts traffic...destination Lititz, PA, an estimated 7 hours away!
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And no matter if you're coming or going... you're going to find yourself in a stop and go situation like this one..... that tie up and stopped traffic was 5 miles long!!!
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Thankfully now as we enter Connecticutt we have learned to bypass Hartford.... which is a lovely city but the roads are really in bad shape and too many switch overs.... say "taa taa" to Hartford..
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and before you know it you've slipped past the tip of New York and are getting your change out to pay the toll in New Jersey... which in my humble opinion has the nicest roads of all!!!
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After a tide -you- over- kind -of- lunch... you look forward to that welcome to
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sign because that leg of the trip always seems to be the longest..... but verily you do look up and there is the exit for St rt.501 south... to Lititz!!!
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501 is a straight shot due south through Amish country... quaint villages where the "plain" life is demonstrated and the farms are pristine.... this is such a respite from the fuss and fury of the interstate!!!
And about 25 miles later you come to Brubaker Road and you turn right and go about a mile til you come to the bed and breakfast sign for The Swiss Woods!!!! If you're fortunate you will arrive with plenty of day time left to spare because this place is a dream come true!!!!
Hidden away in Warwick County Pennsylvania is this delightful well kept secret....
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Owned and operated by Werner and Debbie, Swiss Woods is the ultimate in B&B's!
Werner , born in Switzerland is a master landscaper and gardener.... you'll find him tinkering around outside everyday.... and in the evening he must be an avid reader for he is a verifiable expert on history geography, and current events... a delight to talk to!!
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This visit we stayed in the Lugano Room

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I was thrilled they had Direct TV and I got to watch BBC America!!!!
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which opens out to the gardens...
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This is what we saw when we opened our door.....
and as we looked back....
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and as we stepped out into the lovely light...
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a perfect spot for our morning coffee!
As I casually strolled around the back of the inn...
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and these are just the areas up near the building... the outer gardens I left for you to investigste when you visit... but now let's go inside the inn...
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Being an early riser, I had a good hour before breakfast to just enjoy a leisurely cup of coffee and try out Debbie's homemade biscotti...
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Werner stopped in on his way outside to pop in some soothing classical music and so now I was conflicted about where to take my break...fast.... well I'll just take it progressivly...
The lovely window scapes bring the outdoors right in anyway....

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Lynn was perfectly content perusing Werner's abundant World war II tomes....
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the outdoors won out at last...
but I had barely finished my cup when the other guests started assembling so it was a lovely time to have a wee little chat and make some new friends!
Last year we met the most intriguing couple over breakfast....from Manhattan....delightfully engrossing conversation.... this year to my pure delight we shared breakfast with two couples from Nottingham, United Kingdom.... The Rowland's and the Singleton's.... best of friends who travel the world together.... have been for years and so engaging and open.... they humored me with all my giddiness and probably silly questions... but actually seemed to delight in my avid interest in England... and then Debbie started bringing in the food....

taking center stage was the baked egg and sausage omelette (souffle) flanked by fruit tray and cobbler....
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but not just any cobbler.... fresh picked blackberry and peach cobbler!!!
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Would you please pass the muffins???.a whole array of muffins, actually!
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What we expected to be an early rising, early breakfast and quick getaway developed into a cosy settling in around the breakfast table with merry new friends and tantalizing conversation and no one go away until mid morning... lovely!!

Saturday, August 14, 2010

Journey to Boston part 6

As the day dawned we knew it would be another swelteringly hot and humid one... but we were not swayed or dismayed.... we were on a road trip adventure someplace where not one of us had ever gone before.... to Cape Cod.....
Now everyone has their own ideas of what the Cape is like... my own ideas are very romanitized from old movies and picture post cards....depicting the allure of quaint New England cottages festooned in weathered shingles and sporting roses on their lintels.... well, I was right...almost..
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Another thing I told the kids that I must see was at least one lighthouse....
and I saw two....
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the first one was the Chatham lighthouse... which was a great thing, because while we were looking for the lighthouse we found a great stretch of beach that was public and we didnt have to pay an astronomical fee to park the car!!!
So yes, we expected to see beaches and finally we did in Chatham... ohn there were beaches all along the coast but they were private and inaccessible.
We did enjoy our public one... the kids actually got their feet wet!!!
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Uh, watch out there.. yeah, you best hang on to each other... we dont want any untoward accidents!!!
I was really captivated by another sight I had hoped to see... sailing ships because I had always read Moby Dick to my classes each year and even if I couldnt get to Nantucket I hoped to see a sailing ship... well I saw several...
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All shapes and sizes!
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and some near and far.. like this one near Martha's Vinyard!
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and there were other vessels of many kinds...
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Ah let's follow that one... it might be dinner!!!
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Yes, I expected there'd be food!
We found lunch at the Aqua Grille... a lovely open air restaurant on a marina...offering everything you could want in the seafood line...
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How about lobster sliders?
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Now Amanda had another surprise up her sleeve about dinner.... I had never really considered the possibility... I mean every year of my last several years when I taught my fourth graders from their weekly readers there would be at least one article all about Alvin I and Alvin II....
robotic submarines used for research by the scientific teams from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute.. located at the southern tip of Cape Cod....it was actually these robots that photographed the inside of the sunken Titanic which popularized the event so much and led to making of the film... and Woods Hole was the site of our other lighthouse and seascoast village hosting our dinner!!
Arriving right before sunset the sun cast its rosy glow!

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Another wide expanse of public beach offered up its crisp clear seafaring views....
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and Woods Hole provided just the quaint New England seaside village we'd been seeking...
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and docked along side the other vessels was a research ship from the Institute!
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and our final treat of the day.. dinner at the Monger

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my choice??
my favorite....
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seated by the window we watched the fog roll in while we waited to be served... just like an old movie, the fog horns blaring and ship's bells clanking in the distance... the perfect accompaniment for my
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fried sea scallops!!!! Yummy!
And then it was time to sail back home to Amanda's for our wonderful visit would soon be over... but there was always the lovely ride back to Roanoke!!

Friday's Fave 5

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