Some trip highlights:
Monkeys
Rattled windows from brief earthquake
Ella’s three-stitches-in-the-forehead souvenir
Manuel Antonio National Park
Snorkeling (first time for Stew)
Huge iguanas and colorful birds everywhere
Lush rain forest green
Listening to jungle sounds
Undistracted playtime/exploring with children

Ice skating on the Frog Pond in downtown Boston on the Historic Boston Common. It is America’s oldest public park dating back to 1634. The Common is the ending point of Boston’s downtown park system, called the Emerald Necklace. The parks were designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, the man who designed New York’s Central Park. The Frog Pond becomes a reflecting pool in the spring and fall of each year and a wading pool for children in July and August.

We enjoyed an idyllic day skating with hot chocolate breaks.

A little collection of photos from our leaf adventures.

Vermont | New Hampshire | Walden Pond in Massachusetts

So fun to have the Plehns at our home. We enjoyed their company and our field trips together. People keep asking if we’re happy to have our home to ourselves again after the many guests. Not really. We’ve had so much fun and our guests have been so pleasant. Everyone showered and nobody clipped their toenails at the breakfast table. We welcome anyone to visit (or revisit).

Too short a visit from Sarah and Jeremy. Great to spend time with the cute couple. Jeremy found the lock on the bathroom useful as his new-found friend, Ella, would follow him around. “Jermy! Jermy! Where are you?”

Found a great trick-or-treat neighborhood down the street on Halloween. Most handed out full-size candy bars in the Plumb family fashion. We had an important pre-trick-or-treat briefing. “Now Ella, grab the Twix and Reeses.” Happy to report she did her job well.

Doug and Annette came to visit! How exciting to have them here in Boston. To get them started we ate at Regina’s, a famous pizzeria in Boston’s North End. A waitress told Mike not to take a picture of their brick oven (trade secret?), but one of the pizza guys said, “Get back here and take a shot.” He told her Mike was just taking a picture of the pizza.

City Search does a good job of describing Regina’s:

[ The Scene

Pie enthusiasts flock to this atmospheric little eatery, on the point of one of the North End’s narrow triangular blocks. Service runs to the slow and impersonal, but that never stops the hordes–area residents, pizza fanatics from the suburbs and in-the-know tourists–from lining up for the addictive specialties, or waiting for takeout in the cozy, cramped bar. Don’t skip the wait just because you can get a slice by the same name in Quincy Market; that takeaway outpost’s pizza disappoints in comparison to the goods offered at this location.

The Food

Go for the obvious: Thin-crust cheese pizza oozing with mozzarella and tangy tomato sauce, all surrounded by a pillowy crust, is a sure winner. Regina’s famous gas-fired brick ovens also churn out consistently satisfying specialty pies, including savory spinach-pesto and white clam varieties. Those hoping for a sweet finish are out of luck, as no dessert is served. ]

We had dessert at another North End spot–Trani–a place that injects ice cream into sundry pastries right in front of your eyes. Mmmm injected pastries.

Stewart loves Tennis!

Irish Music Festival in Canton, Ma. The talent we most sought were harpists and headliner Nancy Griffith. We were not disappointed with the plethora of talent found at the festival. Great music to get up and do a jig to.

I caught Becky cleaning my bathrooms while visiting. No Becky No! At least she had hired some slave labor to help her.

Liz and Mike swam, ran, and rode their first triathlon in Cape Cod. Atlantic white caps were daunting, but surprisingly warm thanks to the Gulf Stream. Such beautifully distracting scenery along the race–probably why we didn’t come in first. Ha! Or the fact that we were two of about a handful in a race of 800 people that had mountain bikes instead of sleek road bikes. “Passing on your left!” became comically familiar.

We were happy and thankful to have Becky and Jonah on the trip with us. Another first were the fried clams at the waterfront clam shack with relative Tom Jones. “Bellies of the clam” was supposed to be a selling point, but turned Liz’s belly over. She enjoyed nonetheless. Even Stew and Ella Sophia were poppin’ em like they was candy.

Ferry trip to the island of Nantucket. The island had a feeling of stepping back and away from Boston’s familiar hustle and bustle. Cobblestone streets, century-old storefronts, and an off season quiet combined to give us the feeling of going back a few generations. Sankaty Point was breathtaking. Grassy green fields contrasting with solid blue skies/ocean and white sand.

Beautiful beach day with cousins Christy and Eva who introduced us to Wingaersheek beach. Clear cool water, powdery soft sand, shore rocks to climb on and explore, long gently sloping sand bar, tide pools and a lighthouse in the distance makes this a perfect beach (especially with little ones). Great place to dig for clams. We even saw a man in full scuba gear diving for lobster near by.

Ella Sophia and her cousin Eva made us laugh by feeding each other snacks. Eva continued by force feeding Christy.