Cape Cod

Skip wrapped up his meetings in Boston, and we met up back at the hotel and drove to Cape Cod. After walking around all day, the trio were starving, and we found our rental house and then found a delicious Italian restaurant. After a lot of stimuli overload, Grace was too tired to eat, but Lauren and George enjoyed some fantastic pizza. 

The next morning we explored Lighthouse Beach. We noted that the beach is closed for swimming, and parking spaces have a 20 minute parking limit. Unbeknownst to us, Lighthouse Beach, although beautiful, has a sad history, with several shark attack fatalities. Therefore, there is absolutely no swimming allowed. 

Those big signs below caution against swimming.  And, of course, George happens to be wearing a shark shirt which, in hindsight, probably isn't the best outfit for this particular beach or the Cape in general. 

We took a quick look, and we're glad we did because we gained an appreciation of the issues the Cape experiences with a seal overcrowding and a resulting shark problem.  

After our educational experience at Lighthouse Beach, we found the Chatham Bars Inn and had a great lunch while enjoying a breathtaking view. When we think back on this vacation, we will remember this lunch. Truly, one of our top ten dining experiences of all time. 

After lunch we went to Harding Beach. We explored, read, and played a little baseball.  

After a relaxing afternoon at the beach, we found a local grocery store, purchased some provisions and had a much needed meal at home. 

MIT and the Cape

We had a similar schedule on our second and final day in Boston, except that the day started with a lot of rain, which was a factor since we were mostly navigating via Lyft and on foot.

After breakfast, we packed and loaded the car. By then, the rain had mostly subsided, and we decided to go to MIT, rain or shine. Although it was still raining when we arrived, the rain subsided just in time for the tour. The MIT tour was also two hours long, and we absorbed a LOT of information about the campus and its policies. A couple of the more interesting policies are 1) grades are not assigned the first year (pass/fail feedback only), 2) majors cannot be chosen until the second year and 3) as part of the crewing team, it is possible to graduate as an official pirate. 

The crew voted to have lunch at Shake Shack again, and then we met Skip back at the hotel. His work is officially done, and he is taking the rest of the week off. We drove from Boston to Chatham, on the Cape, for the rest of the week. Everyone was exhausted from the tour so we checked into the rental and then headed out for pizza. 

We are ready for the vacation portion of the trip to begin.

Harvard + Fenway Park

On our first full day in Boston, Skip had to get up early and go to the office. We slept in a little, and then went downstairs for breakfast. After getting ready, we went to Cambridge to check out Harvard. 

At the girls' school, many students have Ivy aspirations. Naturally, they are curious and wanted to check out Harvard while we were three miles from the campus. Our tour guide was fantastic. She's a current student, and she gave us all of the historical information as well as the practical details.  

The tour concluded at Harvard Square, right next to Shake Shack, which was brilliant given how hungry the trio were after walking around for two hours. After burgers, they played a couple of games of fooseball (the Harvard Shake Shack is bigger than ours and has more amenities), and then we headed back to the hotel. 

The trio took a swim in the pool for a while to relax after all that walking and talking. Skip had a work outing at Fenway to see the Red Sox. Skip's boss was unable to attend, and gave his ticket to George. George was ecstatic! They stayed until the very end, with the Sox sadly losing in extra innings. 

While the boys were out, Lauren and Grace resumed swimming, and then we decided to order pizza (that never arrived) and watched the Harvard episode of Gilmore Girls. (We successfully raided the lobby for some frozen pizza and ice cream.)

They love life on the road!

The oldest dorm that proudly housed John Adams. 

Harvard Yard

Widener Library

Lowell House

Traveling to Boston

Skip travels to Boston often, and we were able to accompany him this week. We tagged along via frequent flyer miles and plan to take some tours while Skip is working.  

First up, the flight. The trio love the snacks, and the girls spent most of the time in the air reading. George just looked out the window and around the whole time. He loved all of the mechanics of the plane.  

We laid over in Baltimore, and Skip treated them all to pretzels at his favorite pretzel booth. Then we landed in Providence, Rhode Island, and drove about an hour into Boston. Lauren, Grace and George were like seasoned travelers, hauling their backpack and rolling suitcase through the airport with ease.  

We checked into the hotel and then ventured out on foot to get some dinner. We ended up having barbecue and watching the Bruins, like true Bostonians.  

George the Artist

William George has spent significant time lately teaching himself to draw. He has taken art classes after school and has been missing that week class. Grace showed him how to find drawing tutorials online so that he can continue to learn to draw.

We are loving the slower pace of summer and working on things we love.