We made another trek across the country this summer, but have agreed that we won’t be flying anywhere for a long time. As if all the restrictions (come on, do I really have to separate all of my toiletries??) and extra fees ($15 per checked in bag, each way) are not enough of an inconvenience, our airline changed our flights about four times. One time, when one of the flights got cancelled, they put us on an earlier flight that arrived later and had a 4-hour layover in Detroit! The frustrations around the travel arrangements were annoying enough, but traveling through the airport with two carry-ons and car seats in tow, then maneuvering on and off the planes with them, not to mention the 3 little girls, was enough to turn us off for a long time!
Despite the plane hassles, we had a good trip. We arrived just a bit late to my cousin Hallie’s high school graduation party on Saturday night. Isabella made immediate friends with my cousin Jesse’s little girl, Willa, and they ran all over Aunt Willow’s 5 acre lot. We had delicious shrimp cocktail and enchiladas for that affair, then settled the kids and ourselves down for the night on the creaking floors of their 200-year-old New England home.
The next morning, we got everything ready for Grandma’s surprise 80th birthday party. We set up the tables and champagne glasses under the tent, made the antipasto trays, and put the lasagnas, eggplant Parmesan, and chicken Parmesan into the oven. Willow made all of these things in advance! Pretty soon, Grandma’s friends from Connecticut arrived. When my parents brough Grandma and she saw what was going on, she immediately burst into tears. It was a great party, filled with memories, especially in the memory book that we put together. Everyone brought 1-2 pages of pictures, stories, and poems. Grandma spent most of the afternoon carefully reading each page.
The next morning, we took Elizabeth and Zak to the airport in Boston, leaving Isabella with my parents to spend the day in Newport. After the early morning airport dropoff, we took the girls to the New England Aquarium. They were feeding the loud and rowdy penguins just as we arrived. We made our way up the ramps and looked at all the smaller fish tanks, making our way to the top of the four-story tank where they were sending in divers to feed the fish. The girls loved it, at least until the end when Riona adamantly shouted out, upon coming to each new tank, “I don’t want to see this one right now!” We then walked over to Quincy Market, a huge stone hall that’s about the largest food court I’ve ever seen, and shared clam chowder in a bread bowl and a turkey wrap. We meandered around the Faneuil Hall area, watching a few street performers, then walked towards the harbor. The girls rode on a carousel, and we did the harbor walk, spying the grand hotels, ferry boats, and jellyfish in the water.
On Tuesday, it wasn’t pouring rain anymore as it had been early on Monday, so we headed over to South Shore Beach in Little Compton, the next town over from Willow’s house. We spent the day splashing in the waves, discovering the creatures in the small ponds, and boogie boarding, which I did mostly with Elias, but even Isabella tried it out a few times.
Wednesday, the rain returned, so we took the girls to the children’s museum in Providence with Willow’s $2 library coupons. They had a great time exploring, playing in the water works exhibit, with the blocks, and with a construction set. We then went home and watched Marley and Me, and had my parents and grandma over for our delicious dinner of fried flounder and steamers.
Thursday, the rain returned, so we decided to take grandma grocery shopping and to her favorite store, Savers. Grandma has Alzheimer’s and is very forgetful, so she had to argue with me over every item on the list, saying she had ten of them at home, but I finally coaxed her into shopping. We went out to lunch at Papa Gino’s Pizza, bought Isabella a “new” raincoat at Savers, and headed home. Grandma took a nap while I went to the fish market to pick up some scallops, halibut, and more steamers. I always like to eat as much seafood as I can when I visit Rhode Island! So that night we had a delicious meal of scallops, vegetables, and couscous.
On Friday, the sun came out, so we headed to Tiverton’s bay beach, full of rocks, periwinkle snails, hermit crabs, and even a couple of horseshoe crabs! The girls had a blast collecting all the little critters and putting them in the bucket while Willow and I had our usual child-rearing discussions under her flamboyant beach umbrella. Grandma loves the water, so everyone had a great day, topped off by our beer-battered halibut and (slightly overdone) steamers. Bruce and I even rode down the coast for an ice cream treat on the bikes that Dad keeps at Grandma’s.
Saturday was of course the only day of the week that started out with pure blue skies, and we were leaving! Dad and I squeezed in one last bike ride around the bay, and then we all walked down to the Coastal Roasters coffee shop by the water and enjoyed one last cup of joe before heading to the airport. And what a surprise! When we got there, they didn’t have an itinerary for us. But it all worked out in the end, and we arrived home too exhausted, save Mythili and Bruce, to even go look at the fireworks show.
Now we’re taking a few days off before partaking on another journey: a road trip to Tennessee and Kentucky on Thursday night. Finally, we can control our travels and are heading to someplace where, even if it rains, it’ll be hot!
