Taking the morning nature walk on the road

This morning Kai and I decided to explore a nearby wildlife refuge. So instead of our usual morning amble around our neighborhood, picking up helicopters, trying to eat rocks, and splashing in puddles (Kai that is, not me), we drove about 4 miles to an area known as The Great Meadow. The very best thing of all about the Great Meadow is its public washroom (a.k.a. bathroom or restroom to my American audience ;-). Given my already walnut sized bladder and my recently acquired post-childbirth, not-kegeled-enough pelvic floor, this has become quite important and I have been missing Hawaii's beach park public lavatories - disgusting as they may be. But, I digress....this entry is supposed to be about a nature walk.

The Great Meadow really was wonderful. There are no dogs and no bikes allowed. Now, everyone knows I am a fan of both, but I did not miss their presence this morning. The place was very, very peaceful and quiet and there were few people there at 9 am. Kai and I shared the park with a painter who we stopped to chat with, and about 2 dozen Canadian geese, some birds and the tiniest painted turtle I have ever seen. Kai was enamored with the big geese and put up a bit of a struggle when I wouldn't let him walk over to make friends with them. Maybe I am an overprotective parent or maybe it is my own childhood memories of those bully birds hissing in my face and eating buttons off my jacket!

I returned to the refuge tonight for an evening run. There are so many fabulous trail running opportunities here. Now only if all those horse flies would kindly take a vacation somewhere else, anywhere else, it would be great! I guess I'll be saving the deep woods running for the cooler fall weather. After my run I climbed up the bird watching look out for a beautiful view of the marshlands and impending sunset. There is something about this area that really resonates with me. I think perhaps it is how similar the landscape is to where I grew up (Ontario, Canada). It is very different from my homes of the last 15 years (west coast, mountains/prairie and hawaii) but still very beautiful. It is actually pretty amazing how much beauty can be found in so many different areas and landscapes. I feel incredibly lucky to have experienced so many beautiful places. Makes it hard to decide where to finally grow our roots....

Kai and the Golden Chariot

Yesterday afternoon after his mega-nap Kai and I headed out for a bike ride to the nearby spray park. This is Kai's 3rd ride in his Golden Chariot. Each ride gets a little better. The first time we put him into his little cockpit he cried. But as soon as the wheels got rolling, he was intrigued. No tears on ride #2 and for ride #3 he lasted all the way to the spray park and back without complaint. Unfortunately his helmet fell over his eyes every time we hit a bump (which was frequent as roads and sidewalks around here are about as old as many of the homes). So we managed to take 30 minutes to travel about 3 miles (the gazillion pound steel beach cruiser didn't help). He certainly seemed relaxed about it all. I had stocked the chariot with books, toys and a sippy of H20 and at one point when I looked back to check on my little man, he had his nose in a book...such a studious little one!

Here is our set-up. This was taken post-spray park fun. Kai has his nose in a book again! Must be a good one!


Here is the spray park itself with our intrepid water lover heading over!

New England Mountain Biking

When Greg got home from school tonight I decided to leave the boys to handle dinner and bedtime on their own and headed off to explore a potential mountain biking area. I had read on the internet about Great Brook Farm. It was described as a "family centered" mountain biking and hiking area but it is close to where we live (about 8 miles away) so I decided to give it a try.

I arrived in the parking lot where two women were unloading their horses from their horse trailers, getting ready for a ride on the trails. It really must be alot of work to get out for a evening ride when you have to load up your horse and trailer! I'll have to remember that next time I complain that loading up the mountain bike is a pain in the butt!

I grabbed a trail map, hopped on my bike and got started. Initially the trails were pretty much what I expected: double track, very little in terms of grade, views of corn fields, marshes, horse pasture and I passed an occasional hiker. Then I rode over a wooden bridge and took a right turn onto a piece of single track. The nature of the trail immediately changed. The huge off camber and root covered boulder where I found myself caught me off guard and before I knew it I was having trouble pulling my foot out of my pedal and performed my first involuntary dismount of the summer (more to come I'm sure!) I got back up, gave my head a shake, and sharpened my senses, made lazy by the warm summer evening and cruisey trails. It was time to RIDE!

All the different regions where I have ridden my mountain bike have different terrain features. It quickly became obvious to me that in New England, roots and lots and lots of rock were going to be the challenge. I guess all the rocks for those pretty stone walls I keep writing about have got to come from somewhere! I popped out of the trail and continued along a double track. I passed another female cyclist riding a Specialized FS bike and accompanied by her yellow lab. We said our hellos as I passed and then I turned into the next single track trail head that I spied. As I was picking my way through the roots and rocks I heard the yellow lab huffing and puffing behind me; they had picked the same trail. My pace was faster b/c soon I couldn't hear them anymore. But, after dismounting a few times for technical challenges that I felt were beyond me tonight, I could hear them again. As I rode up to a very large rocky formation that looked rideable but I just wasn't sure, I decided to wait and see what the lady rider behind me would do. As I expected, she popped over it like it was nothing. I expressed my admiration and she explained that she rides these trails all the time and that it really wasn't that hard. Rather than trying it, I rode along behind her and we chatted. Good call as she told me about places to ride and invited me to join her for the rest of her ride. So, I followed her along some more sweet single track, with Sprocket, her dog, leading the way.

We parted ways when she decided that Sprocket was dehydrated (it was hot!) but she recommended another trail and gave me directions back to the parking lot (as well as her email address - we're going on another mountain bike date!!!) Of course I managed to get a little bit lost once she left and I was questioning my judgment in not following her all the way to the parking lot. But, I did make it back and was relieved to see the Blue Box waiting for me. I threw the Blur in and headed home. I'm pretty excited to have found a fun place for easy access, challenging rides. Best part of all about Great Brook Farm is that it is a working dairy farm and they sell their own ice cream! So, if I'm having trouble getting motivated for a work out....there is always ice cream :-).

The Cookie Dance

Today was another cool, not-very-summery sort of day so we decided that the smell of chocolate chip cookies in the oven would warm everyone up. Now if you're thinking "wow, they are really on top of things. One minute they're amongst a heap of boxes and the next they're baking cookies!" Not so fast. These cookies were of the pillsbury, pre-heat, plop and bake variety. Still pretty yummy though! The video below is proof that warm chocolate chip cookies really are one of the true pleasures in life!

Another Amazing Ride

Although we woke to a gray and rainy 4th of July I headed out on my bike this morning while Kai and Daddy headed to Target to get some stuff to set up the TV (the Tour de France starts tomorrow so Greg is motivated!!!!). This was the first arm warmer and vest ride that I've done in quite some time. I even pocketed the plastic-sauna-jacket just in case; I've seen what kind of downpours New England can dish up in the last few weeks. I decided to leave the knees at home which was a bit of a mistake as I was chilly enough to eat soup and hot chocolate by the time I got home.

Today I took a modified version of my route two weeks ago and headed North (?) toward Carlisle and then West (?) toward Concord and Acton. (I never really know what direction I'm going here. I'm missing those give away landmarks like Diamond Head and the Ko'olaus!) Last week's ride was a bit of a gong show starting off with a flat tire, running into highway a few too many times and nearly getting hit by a female cyclist who decided to turn around and go back the way she came, on the same side of the road that she was riding on. Can you say head on collision???? My nimble mountain biking skills (ha ha) got me out of that one.

So, back to today's ride. It just got better and better (and wetter and wetter.....;-) My friend Ryan asked me to take some photos of the rides I'm doing here but I forgot my camera today. Probably best that I did b/c I would have been stopping every five feet. I think I found some of the prettiest roads in NE today. My entire ride was shaded by a canopy of trees. Almost all of the roads were lined with rambling stone walls. Although Eastern Mass is heavily settled, the homes are generally well spaced and beautifully kept and I rode past farms, small cottages, mcmansions, ivy walled private schools, horse pastures, organic farm stands and even some honour stands! Although they were empty today. I guess even honour stands get the 4th of July off. It appears that 8:30 am is an early start and I had the roads mostly to myself. Group rides around here seem to start at 10:00 am. I am still on Hawaii time I guess so that seems ridiculously late to me. But I'm sure I'll appreciate it come the fall when the sun needs time to burn the frost from the roads. The legs seem to be getting a little fitter as I wasn't in excruciating pain after only an hour but I didn't venture too far given the nasty weather and my chilly legs. A highlight of today's ride was a deer, nonchalantly munching grass as I rode by.

I really have been overwhelmed by the serene and civilized beauty of this place. It gives the air of man and nature living in harmony. Of course, we know this isn't true. Nature has all but been obliterated here. Although every town seems to have a conservation area, they are all small and I doubt you could ever really, seriously get lost in the woods here. But the effort has been made to "keep it green" and mankind has managed to make her dent here appear innocuous and almost invited. Bull rushes brush up against schools and homes in a way that almost seems meant to be. I have even heard a bullfrog in one of these such places! And to give credit where credit is due the consciousness here is definitely of the green kind. There are composting facilities in most towns and the recycling is curbside pick up and comprehensive.

Now we're off to celebrate the 4th although it won't be the poolside hang out that we had planned but more of a cozy, fireside get together perhaps. All I know is I can't wait to eat the yummy strawberry shortcake we bought from Whole Foods, my new favorite store! I hear crib railings shaking so that is my cue to get off the computer and get a certain someone up!

More notes from the bike path

This morning, on my morning commute (this is Greg again), I saw 2 things I haven't yet seen on the Minuteman: a rollerblader wearing a helmet (a lacrosse helmet, no less - she must have been expecting a blind-sided hit at any moment!), and the aftermath of a biker/runner accident. While seeing a rollerblader with a full-face shield nearly blew me off my seat, I sadly presumed it would only be a matter of time before I saw a wreck/crash/or remnants thereof. Yesterday afternoon, in fact, I nearly plowed into an older man who was crossing the trail. I slammed on the brakes, which sent out a horrific screach, and I think I nearly scared the poor man half to death! As for this morning's accident, I was surprised to see it so early (it must have happened around 615am, as I passed the scene around 630am and there were already cops there). I would have expected most run-in's to occur in the afternoon.

Calling it a "scene" is really quite an exaggeration - a female jogger was sitting on the curb massaging her leg, while a male cyclist was nearby chatting with 2 cops. They seemed to be giving him a gentle lecture on why you shouldn't haul-ass through intersections. It seemed quite friendly and congenial all around (the runner didn't seem pissed, nor were the cops scowling) and I was tempted to stop for a chat myself.

This afternoon, at school, we had another math 'quiz'. For some reason, they don't call them 'exams' or 'tests' here at MIT. Everything is a 'quiz'. Perhaps its an attempt to downgrade the competitiveness that MIT has a reputation for. Their thinking must be: how can you get competitive about a QUIZ? You should enjoy taking the quizzes in much the same manner one enjoys a gentle tropical spa.
Well, today's quiz was about as un-spa-like as you can get. But I try not to get too worked up about it. The course is designed to get us Navy guys, who haven't cracked an academic book in, say, 13 years in my case, back into the academic swing of things. And hopefully I'll re-learn some of the math tools that we'll use later in the program.

More about life at MIT: Every morning, after I drop off my bike in my little office (which I share w/ 2 other people I hardly see), I trot across the street to the gym. After a quick clean up & change into something other than bib shorts (which I realize is a rare thing, eh Ryan?), I grab some lunch/snacks at a small deli near the gym, and trot back to the office. Crossing the street, however, suddenly becomes difficult as the first of a myriad of tour buses spew their tour groups right in front of the building I'm heading to, starting a rotation of photographs of each other that's impossible to avoid. So, somewhere in China, people are going to be looking at their beloved photo albums from their trip to the US and wonder "why couldn't that tall American just wait until after we were done taking our photo??"

The tour groups come fast and furious throughout the day. Some are led by students, who share insights into what life is REALLY like at MIT. One day, I dashed into a computer lab just as a group stopped by to discuss computing at MIT. Now, there are a lot of really smart computer folks at MIT, who utilize the immense computing power that is accessible in these labs, but I'm not one of them. I use the labs to look at e-mail and printout HW assignments for my classes. The computing power of MIT is wasted on me.

But tour groups don't know that. I can imagine some of them thinking, "wow, I wonder what amazing algorithms THAT geek is working on? I better check my credit card statement when I get home!" To add to the allure of massive computing competence, I make sure to squint at the sunlight, muss up my hair, and look haggard and distracted as I exit the lab, mumbling 'scuse me' to the biological entities that are in my way.

Enough for now - tomorrow is the 4th of July and we're going to spend the afternoon with our friends Kira and Zack and their sons Aidan and Logan. So Louise and I will miss the warzone that Kailua becomes during any fireworks festival (which is blessedly only July 4th and New Years). This New Years, we came home from a trip and thought it was raining on the windward side. But it wasn't - the smoke from the fireworks blocked out all the lights from view while we drove down the highway. But I digress.

Happy Birthday Canada!

Some in the US may know that today is Canadians' equivalent of the 4th of July. I have some great memories of Canada Days past, especially ones spent in Ottawa during my university years. Sadly, I don't have the energy for that anymore!!! But we did have a small Fennell family Canada Day celebration. Greg came home from school a little early today so we could take advantage of the last hour of the afternoon before we had to start the dinner and bedtime routine for Kai (which starts pretty early for our little night owl who hits the hay around 6 pm most nights). We headed to Bedford Farms Ice Cream, which we learned as we waited in line for our ice cream, was founded in 1880! I was tempted by the Raspberry Chip - raspberry ice cream with chocolate cups filled with raspberry sauce. But, I fulfilled my patriotic duty and ordered a scoop of strawberry and a scoop of vanilla so as to have red and white ice cream! Greg, free of such obligations, ordered Almond Joy. It was a yummy mixture of vanilla ice cream, almonds and chocolate chips. Kai was decked out in his red and whites and he joined in the fun, smooshing his little face right into the ice cream cup (he is not always patient enough to wait to be served by a spoon). Then we headed home for a healthy dinner. I know, I know, dessert before dinner, we're not setting a good example for our little sweet toofer. I remember growing up we enjoyed the odd day of dessert before dinner and I still turned out okay, eh?

There were no fireworks in celebration of Canada around here tonight. We'll have to wait until Friday's 4th celebrations for that. But we did get our own little show as yet ANOTHER thunder storm rolled in around 8:30 tonight complete with nature's own fireworks and a 20 minute power outage. Having just unpacked most of our living room knick knacks, we were surrounded by candles but there was not a match to be found. Fortunately, Greg did remember where some flashlights were stashed so he was able to get back to studying.

Well I best finish this post just in case the power goes out again. Happy 141st Canada!!!!