Smell How it Tastes: Summer Begins

Once again this year, we began our Summer with a fun get-away.

Thursday afternoon we headed North with Choi's, and spent the night in Beacon, NY. This got us half way to Boston, and gave us the excuse to visit Dia:Beacon (an amazing museum) on Friday morning.

The Richard Serra spirals were a favorite.

The town of Beacon is precious (and beautiful)- we grabbed some sandwiches to go in this little deli.

We drove through a TON of rain, and got to Concord just in time to pop into the visitors center before it closed.

Making our way down to the North Bridge (where the first shots of the Revolutionary War were fired - the "shot heard round the world"). Our little soldiers were already preparing for battle.

Andrew taking in the graveside of the two British soldiers which were left behind, and buried there.

An explanation of the fight.

Marching.

Ready to fight.

Trying to stay dry.

Taking it in.

The next day we drove down to Plymouth!

At the Plymouth Plantation visitor center.

Walking into the Wampanoag village.

Inside the Winter hut.

Checking out the Summer hut.

The Winter huts would be several miles inland.

Hard at work.

The mounds - they put fish under the mounds as a natural fertilizer for their vegetables.

Yep.

Arriving at the English village after a short walk along the water.

We learned a lot from the original settlers. This man was explaining how English towns were laid out.

These ladies were hard at work.

Walking up to the fort/chapel.

The motley crew.

Watching how the homes were built.

Preparing for battle.

It was very exciting.

They fought well, and won, of course.

Downtown Plymouth - so cute! We grabbed a quick lunch.

The Mayflower II - built in 1958, a replica of the original.

Buddies.

The fam!

Taking in Plymouth Rock.

There it is. Rumored to be the rock that the Mayflower passengers tied to when they came ashore - although original accounts give no record of this ;).

We didn't have this boys sweatshirt (back in the hotel), and it was a windy day. So he's now sporting some new Cape Cod gear.

That afternoon we made our way to downtown Boston!!

First stop was Old Ironside, the USS Constitution!

So fun to take it in.

Andrew had learned about this ship, and the War of 1812 this past year, so it was especially exciting for him!

Meeting up with dear friends, the Richters, for dinner! We got a prime table with our own TV for world cup viewing in our booth.

Medicine.

Andrew developed pneumonia, and mom was fighting a bad virus, so we found ourselves in a urgent care clinic Sunday morning.

We eventually made our way downtown, and found this horse in Boston Commons.

The State Capital.

Meeting up with the Choi's at Paul Revere's house.

Andrew couldn't believe he was standing at his actual front door.

Making our way to Old North Church.

Where Paul Revere's lanterns hung to warn the people of Boston that the British troops were marching toward Lexington and Concord.

Beautiful inside.

Inside one of the pew cubicals.

Boston Public Garden - Make Way for Ducklings!!

Precious.

Happy Father's Day to one incredibly dad.

The Cheers bar across the street.

We taxi'd back to Sommerville, and made it just in time for CTK's Sunday 4pm service. It was such a treat to attend this church plant that we've been praying for, and see our sweet friends serving so beautifully.

That evening we piled in cars, and made the 5-6 hour trek to Spring Lake, NJ for some relaxing days at the beach. It was a long, rough drive for this sick mama - I don't think it's ever felt better to crash in bed than when we rolled into that hotel room at 12:30am.