10th anniversary jam.

10 years of wedded bliss.

Griff and I celebrated by spending, almost a week, sans children in Boston and Maine. Madelyn and Sawyer (and Sadie) spent the week with grandparents. We certainly missed them but knew they were well cared for and we had a great time.

Day 1.

Flight to Boston. Dinner at Eastern Standard.

Our dinner at Eastern Standard was outstanding -- possibly one of the best I've ever had. The atmosphere was cool, the service was excellent, and our food was delicious. We had full tummies and passed on dessert. However, our server insisted we couldn't leave without dessert and she delivered  a dish of custard with raspberries and chocolate.

We stayed at the Sheraton Boston in the Back Bay. The hotel was within walking distance to Fenway, Commonwealth Avenue, Newbury Street, and T stations. Once we parked the car in the hotel garage on Sunday afternoon, we didn't get it back out until we'd checked out on Tuesday morning.

On a side note, it is so much easier traveling without children. Wink.

Day 2.

Fenway Park tour. Freedom Trail. Afternoon swimming at the hotel. Boston Red Sox game.

We had the 900A Fenway Park tour on Monday morning. It was the PERFECT way to start our day. Other than the grounds crew, we were almost the only people in the park. Fenway Park is such a neat stadium with so much history and so many preserved artifacts. Even if you're not a baseball aficionado, I would recommend the tour.

Standing on Yawkey Way.

Original grandstand seats.

View from atop the green monster.

Our ballpark tour wrapped up at 1000A. We walked back to the hotel, sunscreen-ed up, and headed north to the T station. We picked up the T near the convention center and rode up to North Station. Our plan was to follow the Freedom Trail from the north southward.

If you are the least bit interested in United States history, the Freedom Trail is such an incredible experience. The red brick path insures you don't get lost along the 2-1/2 mile walk. It wanders from point to point through the various neighborhoods. In the North End, I truly felt like I could envision it 250 years ago before our country gained its independence. And, the fact that the settlers built all these churches and homes and meeting houses without the use of modern construction tools constantly blew my mind.

Street's a little uneven.

We capped off day one by attending the Red Sox - Orioles baseball game. Talk about a fun place to watch a game. The fans are so devoted. We now consider ourselves Red Sox fans.

Oh, and I figured out we walked a half marathon, logging over 25K steps. Whoa!

Day 3.

Breakfast on Newbury Street. Drove to Camden, Maine. Lobster roll for lunch. Sunset schooner sail aboard the Appledore II.

We stayed at the Lord Camden Inn in Camden, Maine. It was right in the center of main street and across from the harbor. Our room was on the fourth floor and we had incredible views. Both mornings, I watched the sunrise over Penobscot Bay. And, I didn't even have to get out of bed for it!

View from our 4th floor balcony.

Our first evening in Camden, Griff really wanted to go on "an old people cruise". I was wanting to hold off until our second day but caved and we went that night. We booked a sunset cruise on Appledore II. While it's true we were the only people under 50, other than the crew, that didn't matter. It was a 2-hour sail from the harbor out to wherever the wind blows you and back. And, Griff got picked to help raise the main sail. Thank goodness for our youth!

Raising the main sail.

Returning to Camden Harbor.

Sunset over Penobscot Bay.

Day 4.

Run from Camden to Rockport (and back). Walked the Rockland Breakwater. Lobster roll for lunch, again. Low key pizza and salad dinner from Camden House of Pizza.

According to Fodor's Travel, the walk from Rockport to Camden is one of the prettiest in the world. We did it from Camden to Rockport, and back, and can agree that Fodor's Travel was not lying.

Rockport's harbor was much quieter than Camden's although it was still fairly early in the morning. We saw the remains of lime kilns that were used 200 years ago when Rockport lime was harvested, processed, and loaded into windjammers to be taken to Boston or wherever lime was needed in construction. What's cool is the trains would pull up above and behind these, dump in the lime, it would get processed in the kilns, and then loaded into windjammers docked directly in front of them to sail off to wherever. The railroad tracks are gone and the harbor has been changed. Now there's a gravel road instead of water right in front of these but still...so hard to imagine!

After our run, we cleaned up and went to Rockland to visit the Rockland Breakwater. It's a man-made granite pier, built in the 1800's, that is 7/8 of a mile long with the Rockland Harbor Light House at its far end. Due to tides, the breakwater is only "open" from 1100A-200P. The walk out is a little disorienting but nonetheless incredible.

The lighthouse is W A Y out there in the distance.

Day four's lobster roll came from a little roadside lobster shack called Claws. The line was long but the food was worth it. This was my favorite lobster roll of our trip.

My future's so bright, I've got to wear shades.

Lobster PILED high. Yum!

Day 5.

Drove to Portland, Maine. Visited Fort Williams and the Portland Harbor Light in Cape Elizabeth, Maine. This was awesome. Walked around the Old Port in Portland, Maine, and visited Harbor Fish Market. Almost got pooped on by seagulls but - HA HA! - they missed us. Dinner at Walter's.

I had heard about Portland Harbor Light but I wasn't familiar with Fort Williams. Holy cow. Fort Williams -- what's left of it, at least -- is so interesting. The remains of the batteries and bunkers for placing and sweeping mines during World War I are still present and accessible. And, the cliff walk was breathtaking. It's hard to imagine axis forces trying to get access to Portland during this time but I read on one of the plaques that a U-boat was intercepted in Casco Bay...which is just around the corner from Cape Elizabeth. It really brings the world wars so close to home.

Seriously. This state is so photogenic.

Beautiful day.

Day 6.

Drove back to Boston. Flight home...FIRST CLASS.

We had a very full trip, both with activities and fun. It was so nice to be alone together. I realize those two words are in opposition but whatever. I ain't no grammar expert.

It was nice returning home and getting back into our normal routine. Grammy and Grandad and Honey and Poppie obviously fed Madelyn and Sawyer because I swear they grew while we were gone. Thank you for making our trip possible...and for feeding the kids.

Griff, here's to 10 years and many more. Thank you for choo choo choosing me.

Big Cat

Guess who read this book to me the other night all by himself? That's right - Sawyer!

It's a sweet book about two kids and their big cat. But, it's even sweeter when it's being read to you by a sweet 5-year old who loves cats. He did a great job and melted my heart.

Sometimes, as the second child, the milestones don't get documented as thoroughly as they do with the first child. Well, consider this milestone documented.

Way to go, Sawyer!