Tuesday, June 30, 2015

CT with the family

Saturday DH flew in with the kids.  They came into Logan, and I decided the easiest way for us to connect was for me to take the bus from the Cape directly to the airport.  Various siblings offered to drive me, but that would've involved them driving to pick me up & then up to the airport, which just seemed like too much to me.

It all would've worked out fine if the bus hadn't died at South Station.  They said another bus would be along in in 5 minutes, but I know what those "5 minutes" become, so I got on the Silver Line to the airport -- which involved about a 10-minute walk through the maze that is South Station to get to the bus.  The family's flight arrived about a half-hour early, so they were already at the airport.  Then there was a fair amount of back and forth over where to connect, but I finally met them at the rental car depot, and from there we dealt with the maze that is Logan airport's central parking and finally, finally located the chapel where we attended a really lovely Mass.

And then we drove to Connecticut.  We stopped for dinner and by the time we finished it was raining, and DH drove the whole miserable way, for which I was very grateful.



Since then the weather has been gorgeous.  Sunday was saw a local production of Hair, and my poor mother-in-law is still scandalized by the nudity and I think somewhat perplexed as to why we are not. The kids were unfazed.  At this point in their young lives, they've seen it all, and the nudity wasn't aggressive or prolonged, although it was quite complete, as the entire cast strips down.  It was a great production, with phenomenal singing.  I enjoyed it and the opportunity it gave us to talk with the kids about the whole hippie lifestyle, which is not appealing to them.  DD is somewhat drawn to the hippie aesthetic -- the look, not the philosophy -- as am I, but you can borrow from the style without having to buy in to the philosophy.  I do it all the time.


Yesterday we hiked Talcott Mountain, as we do every year.  But this year DD and I took the blue trail down instead of the yellow trail, and it was a much more interesting and challenging hike.  The yellow trail is basically a walk up (and down) a long, sometimes steep hill.  The blue trail puts you into the woods and over the huge rocks.  Both are gorgeous but the blue trail had the advantage of being empty except for us.  The yellow trail had the advantage of leading us to a tiny bright orange salamander, which made my day -- this is the first time I've seen one in the wild anywhere in New England, something I had thought I would never do.

Today we had an exceptional tour of the Mark Twain house, led by a friend of my mother-in-law.  He was entertaining and so knowledgeable, and he gave us peaks at several rooms that aren't usually on the tour.  We were very late for our lunch reservation so we'll have to go back so I can get this:


This cat was the starting point for the bedtime stories Clemens told his daughters, and I would love to get a framed print of it.    Lunch was at The Pond House, and while the service was somewhat desultory and the soda completely flat, the food was outstanding and made up for whatever deficiencies came before it.  I had the grilled and chilled peach salad which was perfectly balanced and delicious.

After lunch we wandered around the gardens of Elizabeth Park, enjoying the absolutely perfect weather.





Meanwhile, back in Massachusetts, Mom is in rehab and on a nebulizer because she's having trouble breathing now and then.  She is compliant during her physical therapy sessions but then gets back into bed immediately and stays there for the rest of the day.  She doesn't want to do anything.  I don't think she has the energy to be bored. She tells me she's not having any pain, she just feels "kind of numb."  It's very sad.  She won't even go out in the wheelchair to see the beautiful flowers they have on the grounds.

panorama of Elizabeth Park's annual garden


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