A Good Time Was Had by All

We had a wonderful Fourth of July weekend with S's parents. This was their first visit to our home, to Beantown and to New England, which made it fun for us to play tour guides.


As we had planned, we drove up to Freeport, ME on Friday. At the Welcome Center pit stop on the Maine border, we equipped ourselves with maps so the parents could orient themselves as to the sites and towns we were passing on I-95.

Our first stop in Freeport was the Harraseeket Lunch and Lobster. S and I split the fried combo basket of clams and scallops. At the recommendation of his younger sibling, Lil' Edgar, his parents both had their first lobster roll. We were all members of the clean plate club for that meal!



















The afternoon was filled with the requisite stop at L.L. Bean. I never knew that my father-in-law would get into the spirit quite so fully! He was the last to finish powershopping. Check out his oversized "manbag":




















With a full trunk and empty wallets, we made our way back south via the Cabela's in Scarborough. Again, much to my surprise, it was my father-in-law enjoying the shopping. He helped S pick out a new rod and reel, and purchased it for him for his upcoming birthday. A very thoughtful gift, and a memorable afternoon of male bonding. I'm sure that S will appreciate the memory of picking out this fishing equipment with his father as much as he will love using the new gear.

(Major commercial interlude here: For those of you diehard fisherfolks out there reading this blog who actually care about what he got, it's a Bass Professor Doug Hannon DH3000 WaveSpin spinning reel. Here are some of its impressive descriptors:

• Voted by "Field & Stream" Best of the Best - 2008
• Patented wave design eliminates tangles
• Skips from peak to peak on each wave and forces loops to lie down
• Lowered friction for 30% longer casts
• Works with both mono- and super-braid lines

And the rod is a Fenwick HMX 6.5-foot graphite spinning rod.)






Now...where was I?

Ah, yes, we also stopped again to see Lenny the Chocolate Moose. He lives a sheltered life of luxury compared to that of the Cabela's outdoor moose above.

Back closer to home, we supped at the Village Restaurant in Essex. I had the Seafood Provençe, while S and his mom enjoyed their "usuals"--haddock and crab cakes, respectively. I was concerned my father-in-law was gonna OD with his second lobster meal of the day, but everything turned out fine.
At home again, we had an early birthday celebration for S. His mom lovingly baked (and then toted all the way from South Carolina as her carry-on) her SC-State-Fair-award-winning pound cake. S coupled this with the chompy Turkey Hill Party Cake ice cream, and Poof!, an instant party it was!

Yes, as I´ve said before, S certainly is spoiled! I mean... it´s not even his real birthday yet!!


But, he´s also sweet and very appreciative, so it doesn´t all go to his head...well, at least not too often.


The next day we drove in to Boston and found FREE PARKING!!! I dropped off S and his parents at Faneuil Hall. He was able to secure same-day tickets for the 12noon Duck Boat Tour. Until then, using the free passes from the public library, we enjoyed part of the 10AM 90-minute "Heart of the Freedom Trail" walking tour given by our knowledgeable guide Matt, a volunteer with Boston by Foot. Check the website to see what we learned.


After a brief walk around Boston and an introductory ride on the T, Boston´s subway (the nation´s oldest, no doubt!),

















we were all glad to sit a spell and wait to board our amphibious vehicle:
S´s dad took a moment to send a text message to his pals back home.
















Our conducktor on the boat that day kept the parents in stitches with his witty banter along our route. Take the virtual tour yourself!
















Our brief cruise on the Charles River (amidst all of the boat parade traffic still trying to come ashore following the previous night´s fireworks display) was very nice, but we best enjoyed seeing our own reflection in the John Hancock Tower (which was designed by I.M. Pei) on Clarendon Street, across from the American landmark, Trinity Church Boston.
Concluding our time in the city was a jaunt over to "Little Italy" in Boston´s North End. We joined the line of 50 other obvious tourists at Mike´s Pastry on Hanover Street for our own little take-out box of hand-made cannoli. Ask my mother-in-law how great that was as her carry-on for the trip back home!














On our last evening together, we dined at The Black Cow restaurant in Hamilton, MA. Another great meal, my mother-in-law with her crab cakes, my father-in-law with his swordfish, S with his scallops, and me with my shrimp pasta.

We toured the ritzy upscale neighborhoods as we wound our way back home. My mother-in-law snapped this picture of us on the deck that S started stripping to make it look pretty for the parents´ visit.

(He eventually hired a professional to finish the job and to stain it. More photos to come of that in a future blog posting when "T.J. Decker" is done!)
We turned in relatively early that night, because S was on shuttle duty to Logan for a 6AM departure. Here is the tearful goodbye at the curb at 4:30AM (Notice the Mike´s Pastry box!):
It was well worth the short trip! Thanks for coming to visit, Martins!