Get Comfortable - This Will Take a While

We finally have out Internet up and running. It didn't take this long to get the Internet fixed, but when the phone line was fixed, the computer crashed. Fortunately, life is starting to get back to normal.

First, I want to share our trip to New England. We spent 9 days there to celebrate my grandmother's birthday and to visit the area. Kris had never been, and I haven't been in probably 15 years. We spent our time in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Maine. We started our trip with a wonderful seafood meal. I, of course, ordered a hamburger. I'm such a Utahn.

We started our trip in Salem, MA, home of the famous witch trials. It was amazing to visit the place becauseI teach it. My family seemed to be impressed with my knowledge of the events. We saw the Salem Jail, the Witch House where they would inspect the accused, and of course the Old Salem Cemetery. It was wonderful to visit the place I teach about every year. I'm glad I'll have pictures to share with the students to make it more real to them.

Gloucester was another place I teach about occasionally. I'm sure most are familiar with the film The Perfect Storm, well the story takes place there. There were widows watches on all the houses along the coast and statues honoring those who have passed away at sea. There was a beautiful dock that we walked with a lighthouse on the shore. The dock was made of huge granite slabs. We went just as the sun was setting and the view was breathtaking.

We were able to follow the path from Lexington to Concord and see the route of Paul Revere during the Revolutionary War. I'm not much of a history buff and I'm sad to say, I know little about history, but as an English teacher it was also cool for me because Louisa May Alcott, the woman who wrote Little Women, spent much of her childhood in Concord. I got to see the house where she grew up and the stairs where she would write. We saw the North Bridge in Concord and many other sights important to our nation's history.

In Boston, Kyson really enjoyed the seals at the Aquarium, but we mainly saw historic sights. We saw Paul Revere's home and the North Church where Revere put the lights in the tower (One if by land, two if by sea). We saw the graves of Paul Revere, Samuel Adams, Franklin's parents, and a former grandmaster of the Masons. Because we walked the freedom trail, we got a wheelchair for my grandmother. She couldn't have walked all that. My grandma and Kyson got along well in their wheels.

I think Kyson's highlight was Hampton Beach in New Hampshire. Unfortunately it was sprinkling the day we went so we didn't get in our suits and enjoy the cool North Atlantic, but Kyson did. I wasn't planning on it, but he kept crawling back out to the water and playing in the sand. I've never seen him so excited. If you look closely at his picture, his tongue is out to the side.


Close to the end of our trip, we spent a day in Maine. We saw the famous Nubble Lighthouse in York and apparently it's one of the most photographed lighthouses in America. It was beautiful. Kyson also ate clam chowder in Maine - chunks and all - without throwing it up.

While we saw many beautiful sights and historic places, my favorite part of the trip was visiting cemeteries and finding my family. I visited my great grandparents on both my grandmother's and grandfather's side. I saw my grandfather's brother who was killed in France in WWII. I went to Woburn, MA where my ancestors founded and established the town. We went to cemeteries in Salem, NH; Woburn, MA; Methuen, MA; and Merrimack, NH. I even found dates for relatives that I didn't have before.I took many pictures of the graves in the old cemetery. I know Kyson will not remember any of this, but I'm grateful he has been able to visit the graves of his great-great grandparents. From the headstones of my ancestors, I also learned that I come from a long line of Masons which I found to be fascinating.

This is a short summary of our trip. I would write more, but I need to go to bed. I'll share more about the treasures I found in New Hampshire in the attic of my grandmother's house. I have many pictures to share.