Going Visiting

warning: This is a long post with lots of photos. You may want to grab something to drink & sit back & enjoy.

I decided to head to Massachusetts to visit relatives. My cousin owns his own business in Boston & was having an open house. He has a letter printing business & uses an old fashioned press. His press was turning 110 so he had a party for it.

I took only one boy with me & N was the lucky one. We stopped just as we entered Mass to use the restroom & put on cooler clothes. It had been lots colder in Maine when we left. I did not time my arrival well & spent two hours getting through Boston during rush hour driving a standard. Needless to say I was thrilled to get off the highway! The four hour drive took us about 6-1/2 hours instead. Not a great start to the weekend, but it did get better.

That night while chatting with my aunt & uncle we discussed how much N loves trains. I mean he loves trains. He eats, breaths, sleeps, talks, well, you get the picture. It just so happens that there is a new commuter train (well, new as in the last few years) that would take us in to Boston. My aunt & uncle suggested that N & I & my aunt ride it in while he drove in to meet us at South Station. This was a surprise for N & let's just say, it was a huge hit.

finally figured out what we were doing here & waiting for the train

the anticipation is getting to him

just before my camera batteries died, I was able to snap this photo

look at the sign in the upper right portion of the photo

the train is coming down the tracks at us

do you think he's happy?

N spent most of his trip doing this. I gave him my small point & shoot digital camera. Before it died later that day (story later) he took 70+ photos.

But the biggest highlight for this child was seeing the Acela Express sitting in South Station. How does he know about the Acela? We've been watching Extreme Trains on the History Channel for the last few months. We have most of the episodes saved to our DVR & one episode is about high speed trains & features the Acela. I'm pretty sure this was the highlight of his trip.

We were in Boston a bit early so we got the grand tour. Well, the grand tour of the South side at least. We did stop at Flour for a mid-morning snack. I ate a large blueberry muffin top. Oh.my.gosh! It was so very worth the calories. Trust me.

Shortly after our snack stop, we headed over to where my cousin has his shop (K street). It's in a converted factory & he is located in one rather smallish room on the fourth floor. Here is a photo of the letterpress he uses for all of his jobs (the majority are wedding invites):

Happy 110th Birthday!

My aunt, my cousin, & my son

It is an "old-fashioned" way of doing printing & type. I got a bit creative in some of my photos. I loved thinking about how old it all was & the history behind the cabinets the type is stored in, the type itself, and even the press.

getting a bit creative with some of my photos

We stayed about an hour or so at Goosefish Press before heading back to where my aunt & uncle live just outside Boston. We did stop to visit my grandfather for about an hour though. He lives in a nursing home on the way to my aunt & uncle's house. He turned 95 years old this past January. He can still walk but his memory isn't what it used to be. He didn't know who I was but knew that I was from Maine & so wanted to come home with me. I'm happy that he is doing so well but sad at the same time.

On the way back we stopped so that N could have a ride (or two) on the carousel.

This used to be part of Paragon Park - an amusement park right near the Atlantic Ocean. I remember my aunt taking me here when I was about N's age (or even younger). The carousel is the only thing left now. Condos now reside where the huge roller coaster once was located. The carousel fights to stay open & restore the horses but it is always there year after year.

N was pretty thrilled about this part of the day as well.

Here is one of the restored horses - just beautiful.

We headed back to the house for some downtime. My aunt & uncle live near the bay side of the town so my uncle took N there to throw some rocks and get out for a bit more. I helped my aunt negotiate some web related sites. I'm not sure who had more fun, N or me.

After this we took a ride to The Gut. It's a spot in town where big ships pass from the Boston Harbor area out to the Atlantic. No ships were going through today but it's always fun to go check it out. N got to ride in my uncle's convertible.

My little boy is growing up so fast!

Our last stop of the day was Fort Revere. This is always a fun place to wander around. There were even a couple youngsters there playing tag through the fort. N loved running around it & I even lost him once. My aunt stayed up in the parking lot & kept calling directions to us. "He's over there." "No, over there!" ;-)

N & I on top of Fort Revere

The view from the parking lot - love the double lighthouse

The Fort

We ended the day with pizza & chatting. It was a wonderful weekend. We headed home early the next day & missed all the traffic out of Boston. Yeah! I was so thankful we were able to just fly right through this time.

It was a wonderful weekend spent with some of my favorite relatives. Thanks again Aunt D. & Uncle J!