Ireland Trip 2010

Waiting in the airport

4th of July Boston

Decided that it was time to do something big for 4th of July, and it turned out that we were in luck. One of the hugest 4th of July celebrations just happens to be on the banks of the Charles River in Boston. It's this all day event with live music and food and (of course) an enormous firework display.

We camped out early in the morning at a great spot under a willow-like tree. Met up with an eclectic group of friends (Becky - new friend I worked with in Nepal who happens to work in New Haven, CT; Becky's cousin and several friends; and fellow intern Aram along with his wife Natalie.) What a great time of relaxation and getting to know one another. We ate a delicious picnic lunch, read books, listened to music, talked about religion and politics and everything in between, and had a great 4th of July. Soooo hot though, and sooooo many people.

Before the fireworks even began, we were dazzled with this sunset...

And the fireworks...wow...couldn't get a photo that could show how awesome it was. We were right on the bank of the river and they shot off the fireworks from barges in the middle of the river, so they were actually directly above our heads! My parents were watching on tv and said it was even incredible from their living room. Yep, that good. :)

Hiking Mt. Tom

In the end of June a group of my fellow Emergency Medicine interns decided to get together and have a group hike. Mt. Tom is the "mountain" behind our house in Easthampton, and it has a ton of different trails to explore. We decided to make our way to the top. Unfortunately, Nathan had to work, but I brought Jackson along for the day. He loved it and everyone loved him! As it happens, this day was probably one of the most humid we've had all summer. Between the humidity, sunscreen, and bug spray, I was a sticky mess.

Interesting ruins of an old stone hotel, tucked back into the hillside. Nice pose from Nishan in the doorway.

Of course we had to climb to the top of tower... (4 of the EM guys...Matt, John, Nishan, & Tony)

But poor Jackson was so nervous and whimpering very loudly to make sure we didn't forget him. Silly boy. Overall, a great day. Hope to do it again sometime.

Darla's June Visit

We are obviously behind on our posts, but I guess it's better late than never. Fun times this summer, starting with our move across the country. Just after we arrived on this coast, one of the moms (Darla this time), was awesome enough to help us get all settled in. Of course, we had to fit in some fun and relaxation as well...
We enjoyed taking Darla to the little coffee shop/used bookstore in South Hadley and then walked around the beautiful campus at Mount Holyoke College.

On a previous visit, we had discovered the most awesome little bakery in Northampton called The Hungry Ghost, so we also had to take Darla there as well. When we went to buy our loaf of bread for a picnic, we were joined in the one-room bakery by a French woman and her 3 little French-speaking children. She told us that they walk to the bakery for fresh bread every day. So fun.

When we asked Darla what she wanted to make sure to do on this visit, she said Walden Pond! And we said...Sounds great! So we headed east to the peaceful, isolated pond and quickly discovered that it is actually an incredibly popular, crowded swimming hole. They have a replica of Thoreau's cabin and a little statue of him that everyone takes a silly picture with.
Further towards the pond (I would call it a lake), there is a memorial where the cabin actually stood, and a quote of Thoreau's that is surrounded by stones that people have brought from all over the world.
Interestingly, we learned that Ralph Waldo Emerson and the Alcott family (as in Louisa May) lived just down the road from Thoreau and they all knew eachother. Also down the road is Lexington & Concord and the end of Paul Revere's ride. Lots to see.

Cross Country Roadtrip Day #10

Good-bye Niagara Falls. You are beautiful. Just in case anyone is wondering...we are looking for any excuse to return. If you come and visit, we will take you there to see it too!
Unfortunately it was time for us to move on. Time to get to our new home and start setting up our household. Drove across the state of New York, taking a tiny detour through Buffalo to catch our last of the Great Lakes: Lake Erie. Then drove to the Hartford airport to pick up Darla! Hooray!! Time to move to Easthampton, Massachusetts.

Cross Country Roadtrip Day #9

Tourist day! Niagara Falls is absolutely incredible!! We were on the Canadian side and I would definitely recommend it over the American side (better views). So we had to do all the touristy things that must be done...boat tour, waterpark, golf, walking around the falls, and eating.
Started the morning with the ultimate "must-do" - we took the traditional Maid of the Mist boat tour around (and very close to) the falls.
Nathan was super excited about the American Falls...I think???
And I seemed to have some difficulties getting into my poncho.
We got really close to the American Falls first and Nathan almost got blown out of the boat. Very wet and windy. So much power.

Then we spun around underneath the Horseshoe Falls and I felt like I was going to get blown out. Much crazier than it is depicted in movies. Our heads were kind of soaked after all that.

Had to spend some time at North America's largest indoor waterpark after that. Hardly anyone there either, so we went down the 8 main slides repeatedly. What a work out walking up the tower of steps!
Next Nathan really wanted to play at Oak Hall Par 3 Golf Course. Beautiful grounds and clubhouse!


Look at that great shot off the first tee...
And how about those beautiful putts...

Unfortunately, by Hole 14 I was done...

So we ate some dinner and then enjoyed Horseshoe Falls at night once again.

Cross Country Roadtrip Day #8

Yet another long day of driving. Hermione started and ended the day curled up on a hotel bed.

Left Sault Ste. Marie and crossed the International Bridge into Ontario, Canada. What a dreary day!

Drove through hundreds of miles of moose country without spotting a moose! Drove along Lake Huron for awhile, but couldn't see much through the rainfall. Everything seemed so gray. Tried to stop and get coffee at a gas station, but they only had a half a pot of coffee that looked like the store worker had brought it in that day from home. Ate on the road b/c without stops the drive was going to be 10.5 hours. Eek. Wanted to take one of the ferries, but it only left twice per day and would have added another 2 hours to the day! Sooo, we drove and drove and the rain finally stopped when we were almost to Toronto. Drove through the city, but continued on to the Canadian town of Niagara Falls. Caught a look at Lake Ontario as we drove across one of the local bridges. It was so eerie when we arrived because there was low-hanging fog and we couldn't see the falls initially. It was also so silent and the still ponds poured into a rushing rapids and then just dumped off the edge of the world. We thought we were at the bottom of the falls, but we were actually at the top! Also illuminate the falls at night, which added to the creepy quality of the scene.

Both the animals were so needy and exhausted by the end of the day. They love Nathan!