Pictures from Sunday 3/8/08

I am aware we haven't given a proper update in a while. We're now in Maryland with Ethan, just a few miles from DC. It's nice to have some chilled out time as NYC was verrrry busy, as we were only there for 2 1/2 days we obviously wanted to make the most of it. I'm going to do several posts because I can put more pictures in that way, so advance apologies for spamming your inboxes/RSS feeds.

First here are a select few pictures of the twins when they came over to Concord on Sunday. There are more on my flickr page at http://flickr.com/photos/alisoncownie/sets/7215606656327270/

(I've made a special set for USA photos, so I'll be aiming to get some more of my shots up there at some point) and on Oz's at http://flickr.com/photos/yearofoz

I already said about how we couldn't go to the lake so we ran around with the hose instead. The twins found a bucket and some brushes so they decided to clean the playhouse and polish it. Then they decided to clean and polish me. I was already all wet from when they sprayed me with the hose (apparently I was on fire), so I didn't mind. Probably the scrubbing was good exfoliation for my legs...

Perhaps Jason wants to be a fireman when he grows up

Doing a good job cleaning the playhouse, I think I'll train my toddlers to like cleaning too

Cleaning me...

...aaand "polishing".

So we're going to the Budweiser brewery on my birthday

What have we been up to in the past few days? Oddly when we're not rushing around sightseeing we tend to slow down completely, so while we've been chilling out more than in Brookline and therefore more time to blog, we've just become too lazy to do it!

On Saturday Tich and Lori were possibly coming over with the twins, so in the morning Maureen was running around writing shopping lists and shopping and tidying, and Boris was trying to mend the mower so he could cut the grass. We went to Burlington mall and got hideously lost going both there AND back. Having no map didn't really help matters. Probably it's good that Tich and Lori didn't make it over that day as we wouldn't have been there! On the way we took a wrong turning and ended up going south on the highway not north, then had to do a very convoluted turn-around. Then we got confused again and missed another turning and ended up coming to the mall from the opposite direction. On the way back we just got confused because the road was labelled north when actually it was going south, so we drove around for a bit getting even more lost before going basically back to the mall then guessing the way. Also it was raining quite torrentially by this point so we couldn't really see where we were going, apart from when a car went through a puddle when overtaking us, at which point it was like being under a tidal wave and we simply couldn't see anything at all for a scary 10 seconds.

Tich & Lori came over on Sunday instead. We were planning to go to the lake with the twins, but it was thundering so the water was shut (when they hear thunder they shut it for half an hour afterwards just in case lightning should miss all the tall trees around and strike the water and electrocute everyone in there). So we ran around the back yard with the hose instead. Oz has some pictures of me spraying the twins/getting sprayed by the twins. Possibly because I never got to run around anyone's back garden with a hose, it was very entertaining for me. 

Today we haven't been doing much of anything, apart from re-jigging some of the central part of our trip. Oz decided to read up on all the hostels we're staying in, at which point he discovered that we're booked into a hostel in Charleston, SC, whereas our train tickets take us to Charelston, WV. Not ideal. However with a little guidebook-reading and creative thinking, we've sorted it so we don't stay in Charleston at all, but go straight from DC to Cincinnati for three days, then from there to our next destination, Chicago. Oz phoned Amtrak so we have tickets, and we booked a Travelodge online (technically we're staying across the river in Kentucky, though the main body of Cincinnati is in Ohio, so that adds another state to our trip, which I am rather excited about). The timing is not ideal as we arrive in Cincinnati at 1am on the 14th August, stay overnight, then hop on the train again at 1am on the 16th. Still, our journeys on that leg were all long/at antisocial hours anyway.

Tomorrow Maureen's planning going a trip to a beach somewhere (it had a weird name and I can't remember it). Then on Wednesday we begin our journey across the USA on the train. I am excited!

PS - if anyone is desperate for us to bring them back anything in particular, please let us know. It might not be possible if you want a 5 foot tall scaled model of the Statue of Liberty - bear in mind we will be carrying everything ourselves on and off trains until we get to San Francisco - but once we get there we'll most likely be buying a suitcase to bring things back, so we can buy things there such as foodstuffs you can't get in the UK  or clothes that are dirt cheap over here, if you have any requests of that sort. Or if you are desperate for state/city-specific small things such as I *heart* NY hats then we can carry those too =)

So far the gift list is:

- Cool mug for Crin

- Bloomingdale's brown bags

- Bottle of Everclear for Ali (Texas - The only place that will legally sell it to us!)

- Pepperidge Farm goldfish (I love my cheesy snacks!)

- Baking chocolate, for brownies of course 

Proper update

So where did I get up to...

On Tuesday we went to the Boston Museum of Science. We didn't get to see a lightning show because the boys had to go home for their nap, but it was just as cool as I remembered. Oz and I stayed downtown and went to the cinema to see The Dark Knight. It was pretty good but I thought it was a bit unnecessarily long. My mind wandered at one point because there were lots of confusing things going on which I wasn't really following, then when I started paying attention again it made sense. So those bits of the film were obviously not needed. Also it was freezing cold in the cinema and even though I'd prepared for this and brought a longsleeved top I was STILL cold. Though I feel a bit foolish complaining about it now because it's really sticky and hot at the moment :P

Yesterday Tich drove us here when he went to work. Only Boris and the pets are here at the moment, as Maureen and the girls are in New Jersey returning the other two cousins who were here last week. So it's been nice and peaceful! Oz quickly adapted to driving on the right so we've been nipping about in the Subaru. Not too far afield, only about as far as Walden Pond.

We went to Gropius' house yesterday afternoon and had a private tour, because nobody else was there. That also was as good as I remembered it. We also went to the DeCordova museum and sculpture park and wandered around taking photos of all the sculptures before having a drink and brownie in the cafe. As Boris is a member, we got in free to that. We've also learned that everywhere here accepts our British university IDs, so we've been getting discounted entry at most places we visit. In the evening we went to the Colonial Inn for drinks on the porch and calamari before dinner. The lady serving us was quite frankly frightening and I think she might have been some sort of robot programmed to respond with "You're very welcome" to the words "Thanks," "Thank you," "Cheers" and probably anything else of the same sentiment. The other odd thing was that when they brought us bread, the basket also had some sort of cake in it as well as bread. I'm pretty sure it's not some weird American custom that you eat cake before every meal, so all in all I conclude that the Colonial is just strange.

Today Oz and I took Blackie (the large black labrador, supposedly 100% black lab but clearly with some other doggy genes in him) for a walk around a pond then through the woods where there's a trail with Thoreau quotations engraved in granite blocks every so often along the path. It was sooooo hot and very humid, and I got slobbered on quite a lot because when we let him off his leash Blackie decided that he wanted to carry it. But he is a very well-behaved doggie. This afternoon we went to Concord because Oz wanted to buy some new books, so we wandered for a short while then stopped for a drink. We were going to go to the lake this evening but now it's raining a little. I think we're going out for dinner, as there are no children around we can eat late and go to civilised places!

spider man, spider man

Just a quick one to say we're now in Concord chilling out. Proper update tomorrow!

xx Li

hangin' out with my gnomies

Time for a more comprehensive update...

We got to Heathrow surprisingly quickly on the Piccadilly line on Tuesday, though it felt like being a fish out of water when it went overground. We checked into the Yotel and spent a little while being fascinated by how compact and clever it all was, before showering then going to bed. 

Here is a lovely picture of Oz in the Yotel:

On Wednesday we awoke bright and early, and headed out to drop off our bags. We'd already checked in at 11am on Tuesday and re-seated ourselves. We put ourselves right at the back of the plane where the row was just two seats not three, so we wouldn't have to annoy any other hapless traveller when we wanted to use the loo. It also meant that we got served our food first (well I got mine first anyway because I got veggie meals... more on that in a minute...). Though we did get off the plane last we didn't have to queue too long at immigration. Anyway. After bag drop we went through security and had some breakfast in Costa. I really wanted one of those pot things with the fruit compote and yogurt and granola on top, but the only breakfasty things they had were pastries and muffins, so I had a panini and a giant cup of tea instead. I don't know why I'm writing about this in such detail because I'm sure you all know what it's like to hang about in airports, so anyway.

Spot our plane...

The flight itself was uneventful, though I wasn't too pleased with my vegetarian lunch. The main itself (vegetarian moussaka) was actually quite yummy, but for some reason I didn't get oat biscuits or butter, instead I got some rubbishy sunflower spread. For dessert I had fruit in jelly, where Oz had a yummy Rachel's organic creamy rice pudding thing. Apparently vegetarians can eat cheese but NO OTHER DAIRY NOT ON A PLANE NO YOU CAN'T. 

We were met at Logan by Boris and lots of children. Boris decided it would be "too boring" for us to get the T straight to Tich and Lori's, so he picked us up and attempted to kidnap us. We had a tasty dinner of chowder and other seafood (Crin said we had to try the chowder when we were in Concord). Austin came over for dinner too, then afterwards drove us to Tich and Lori's as it was in his direction. Then we went to sleeeep.

***

Yesterday we met the twins, who at first seemed a little bemused by us. We went to the zoo and saw all sorts of animals, though the kids seemed more impressed by the zoo car and the tractor and the horse merry-go-round (they have never been told that the merry-go-round moves if you put money in...). We stopped for a drink and when we were in the cafe the monsoon started. We thought it had stopped so decided to go back to the car, sadly we missed the short window of dryness and got absolutely soaked. I couldn't have been more wet if I'd jumped in a pond with all my clothes on. Still, we invented the new sport of air swimming, with added handicap of two three-year-olds and a buggy. On the way back some parts of the road were getting flooded, but we made it back ok and had some lunch. 

The munchkins at the zoo - Sammy at the back and Jason at the front.

Oz and I decided to go and explore Boston in the afternoon, so we jumped on the T (the Boston underground system, though most of it's not actually underground) and wandered around downtown. We had a Starbucks and the prices were exactly the same as in England... but in dollars not pounds. Sadly it started raining again, not quite as hard as in the morning but pretty close. As we only had a small umbrella for protection we naturally got soaked all over again. Fun times. (Well, it was pretty amusing I suppose.)

***

Today we wanted to explore some more. The thunderstorms were all over and it was a beautiful sunny and hot day. We started off at the Isabella Stuart Gardner museum, then T'd it to Harvard for lunch at a grill place. Then we went to the Harvard Museum of Natural History and saw lots of glass flowers and stuffed animals in cases and things. After that Oz wanted to find a shop that would sell him expensive jeans, so we went back downtown and walked across the Common to Newbury Street where there were lots of designer shops, including the one with the jeans. There was also a strong contender for the most disturbing shop ever. It basically had in it lots and lots of gnomes. I can't describe very well why it was so disturbing, perhaps you have to see it to believe it. Anwyay, Oz successfully bought jeans, then we headed back. We got a bit confused on the T because it's just weird. Sometimes you have to get a receipt and sometimes you just have to tap in with your Charlie Card like you do with Oyster in London, and at some stations you can change and some you can't, and you can buy tickets on board if you feel like it. We had to do this going inwards because the machine on the platform was broken, but the T man was very nice to us and let us on for free even though we had exact change, I think this is our first example of people loving the fact that we're English. He told us to tell people back home that we'd had something for free here, so there you go.

xx Li