So much good stuff, part 1: Vacation

It's been so long since I've posted that it's hard to know where to begin, but I'll start with...

My vacations were AMAZING. (Pictures to come!) We went to New Hampshire for a weekend and went hiking at Flume Gorge, climbed through caves (R's absolute favorite part), played mini-golf, shopped for antiques, waded in a river, and had incredible food. We saw a black bear on the side of the road, which was thrilling and a little scary. (It was staring at us, and it was BIG.) Then, I had a week off at home with R and my mom. We went to the Museum of Science, the local pool, met up with A and my co-workers for a nice Restaurant Week lunch in Boston, and puttered around at home. We took my mom out for Chinese hot pot.

But, then, oh then (my heart flutters), we took a heavenly one-week vacation in Gloucester, MA. We rented a carriage house (which was absolutely beautiful, new, and comfortable) that was a short woodsy path away from a little cove, where we swam and explored and collected hermit crabs and green crabs and found tons of sea glass. We found an incredible state park (Halibut Point) in Rockport that borders the ocean and an old quarry, and A and R spent hours building a fort out of small chunks of granite while I watched the waves. We went there the day after Hurricane Earl came through, and the waves were absolutely breathtaking. We found the artists' colony section of Gloucester and ate dinner on the water, watching people walk up to the restaurant from their boats. We ate much ice cream. We found the local coffee shop and bought breakfast there every morning after we first tasted their scones. We walked to the nearest beach, and R learned to skip rocks on the water. We had friends come to visit many times, and we visited friends who live in Gloucester. We toured our friend's woodworking studio and went back to his house for an impromptu fish fry. His wife sent us home with the biggest cucumbers I have ever seen (they were the size - length and girth - of A's forearm).

It was a magical week, the perfect way to end the summer, and we're already planning to go again next year.