Portsmouth, New Hampshire

After leaving Fire Island we drove back to Suzanne and Matthew`s house so we could do some sight-seeing in the area as Ken had never been before.  After a long day of travel on the Monday we decided to do nothing on Tuesday.  Wednesday would be a New England day so we went to the very pretty town of Portsmouth.  It`s across an inlet of water from Maine and is about an hour away from Suzanne`s place.

When we first got to Portsmouth we drove around and around and around looking for street parking, finally gave up and parked in a parking garage.  The first stop was for lunch.  Ken wanted clam chowder and lobster.  He loved the clam chowder but wasn`t thrilled by his lobster sandwhich.

Next stop, well there wasn`t one exactly, we just decided to walk and explore, and have snacks and well generally enjoy the beautiful day.

Ken and Kate along the Strawberry Banke historic area.

Kate enjoying the flowers in the beautiful gardens.

Kate enjoying the boats.

 Trying to convince Kate that putting her feet in was enough.

Another view of some of the houses that make up the Strawberry Banke historic area.

 The church in the middle of Portsmouth.

Davis Park - Fire Island

Forgetting your camera... is well, it just STINKS!!!!!!!!  Suzanne didn't think to bring her camera because when I'm around, I'm the photographer and I forgot to bring my camera because it was on the book shelf in the front room of Suzanne's house, not in the room I was staying in, so when I re-packed by stuff to go to the beach I didn't even notice I was missing my camera! ARGH!!!!!!!!!  So the beach - weekend for us, week for the others remains photographically undocumented. 

The beach idea was Monica's, one of Suzanne's dear friends from her time in Queen's.  The plan was to rent a big beach house on Fire Island and fill it up with friends and their families.  Ken and I decided to do a half week - which fell on the first weekend.  I must say I was completely unprepared for how taken I would be with the physical landscape of the place which made forgetting the camera that much more frustrating.

Fire Island is a tiny strip of land just south of Long Island, NY.  There are several communities along fire island.  We stayed in Davis Park which was directly south of Patchogue - where Monica lives.  There are no cars in Davis Park and there was only one store (which had run out of disposable cameras) so we needed to carry everything we were bringing onto the ferry, and then onto the island and then onto the house.  Suzanne and Monica were both staying for the whole week so the amount of stuff that was brought - mostly food, was overwhelming to say the least.

On the island you walked everywhere - of course, and you walked on board walks that connected the ocean side of the island to the bay side of the island.  There were no roads, just board walks forming streets that ran north/south and east/west.  The houses were all along the board walks, and the houses were all built on stilts. At the end of each north/south board walk was the ocean, so you were never more than a two minute walk to the ocean.

I've haven't been to an ocean beach in a while.  I forgot about the noise, the power and the smell.  The ocean is amazing.  Kate and I did lots of wading, she loved the water and the beach.  Ken actually went swimming - or at least he was tossed around by all the waves.

It was a relaxing lovely time, which we shared with good people who shared lots of yummy food!  I have one image of the island which I borrowed from either Monica or Jill, I don't remember.  I don't suppose I'll ever go back, but who knows... never say never!

Before the Beach

We were leaving for the beach on Friday, August 13.  It was amazing to me  how much there was to do and organize before going - mostly for Suzanne, not for me.  So the Monday - Thursday before the beach I will simply call, getting ready for the beach.  We did laundry, shopping, packing, went to the library... but mostly we were close to home and not doing too much!  There were a few cute moments though...

Thomas reading the zoo book to the girls.

Isaac checking his email.

Isaac and Anna being silly together.

Joey being so cute with Kate.

Kate is 19 Months Old!

This was supposed to be the day that we photographed Anna and Kate in their matching Auntie Michelle dresses... supposed to be...

The New England Aquarium

On Saturday we were off to Boston.  Joey and Matthew stayed home to stain the deck, so Suzanne and I set off with Kate, Anna, Isaac and Thomas to see fish, lots of fish... and penguins!  The aquarium has a huge tank in the centre - several stories high.  There are ramps circling the tank with displays and other fish tanks as you walk up to the top.  The penguins were at the bottom.  Because it is all enclosed and there's really only one path to walk around going on a Saturday meant wall to wall people.  Other than the overwhelming crowds, the aquarium was great!

After we left the aquarium we walked over to a fun fountain and then we went to Quincy Market for some ice cream.

The See Science Center

Just a short drive from Suzanne's place in Nashua is the fun little city of Manchester, New Hampshire.  After a relaxing Thursday we decided to take the girls and go to the See Science Center - in Manchester.  Matthew had that particular Friday off so he had Joey, Issac was at camp and Thomas had a play date... yay for girl time.  The See Science Center is I think the smallest Science Center I've ever been to but it is the perfect size for a two year old and and 18 month old.  The girls enjoyed a number of different activities and displays but the big hit - BUBBLES!

Kate wouldn't stop to pose.

Anna was more than happy to pose!

And here, in all of their soapy glory, the girls enjoying the bubbles!

And, we're off!

Kate was so excited to go on an airplane.  Ken drove us to Buffalo where Kate and I then flew to Boston.  The flight is the perfect length of time - just over an hour.  Just as Kate was about to lose it and start screaming, we were landing!

The Science Centre - yay for Simcoe Day!

What to do on Simcoe Day?  It was such a disgustingly hot day, my vote was for an activity in an airconditioned space, so we went to the Science Centre.  There was also the draw of the Harry Potter exhibit which is set to close at the beginning of September.  So, off we went.

The Harry Potter exhibit was cool.  It was neat to see the props from the movies.  I enjoyed the costumes the most - just seeing the sizes of the clothing puts the actor's size in perspective which I found interesting.  Ken was most interested in the detail of all the props that were created.  And Kate of course loved the train - they had a model of the engine of the Hogwart's Express.  There was no picture taking allowed in the exhibit.

Next we were off to the children's area.  They need to expand this area.  It's an amazing play place, but in my opinion it just isn't large enough.

And as always, I feel the need to document that Kate falls asleep at the end of an outing.  She didn't even make it to the car this time.  She fell asleep in her stroller walking through the parking lot.