Maine meanderings amid fall foliage

On the last day of Fall Break, we headed north to explore the Maine coast. Dada’s marine ecology class spends a week each fall at Lubec, Maine, which is as far east as you can go in the United States. Mama and Caden came along, and we left a day early to check out some neat rocky intertidal sites near the University of Maine’s Darling Marine Center. The first stop on our drive north was the L.L. Bean stores in Freeport. We browsed the stores (there are several, each devoted to a different theme) and found some snow boots and a cozy hat for Caden. Caden liked the fish (they have trout in aquaria and ponds throughout the stores) and the kids’ sunglasses, and he really wanted to climb the giant statue of the classic L.L. Bean boot.

From Freeport, we followed Rte. 1 north to Damariscotta, a neat little town that was featuring massive (~400 lb) pumpkins carved and painted in all sorts of wacky ways. Caden’s favorite was the pumpkin snowman. We found our cabin at the Darling Center, where Caden discovered the vitamins we’d brought for him. He is sort of obsessed with his vitamins, which look and taste like gummi bears, and he is always asking for more than his morning allotment. Well, while we were shuttling things from the car and getting ready to head out to the beach, Caden managed to eat three vitamins. Little mischief maker! He got to watch the rest of the vitamins go into the trash.

We checked out two potential field sites that evening, Chamberlain and Pemaquid Point. Both sites have been extensively studied for many years. Chamberlain featured broad, flat intertidal reefs, neat tide pools, and lots of seastars. The more wave-protected areas at Chamberlain were absolutely covered with super-slippery knotted rockweed. Probably because he is lighter, Caden skated easily across the rockweed, whereas Mama and Dada slipped and slid. The rocky shore at Pemaquid was similar, but it also boasted one of the most famous lighthouses on the Maine coast and an adjacent restaurant where we enjoyed a decent—and very convenient—meal.

Pemaquid Point

On Tuesday, we continued north, ooh-ing and aah-ing at the beautiful leaves. We stopped in Camden, where we ate lunch at the Camden Deli, overlooking a waterfall and the boats in the harbor, much to Caden's excitement. The further north and east we drove, the wilder the scenery got, until we arrived at West Quoddy Station, our home for the next three nights. The station was used by the Coast Guard for over 50 years, and is now operated as a vacation rental. West Quoddy Station is less than a mile from West Quoddy Light, so the location provides really convenient access to both protected (just below the station) and exposed (at the lighthouse) rocky shores.

Caden was a huge hit with the students, and he really hammed it up around them, dancing, singing, and being his usual, adorable self. He is really excited about lighthouses right now, and he will tell you about the two lighthouses we saw during our trip to Maine: the one the students didn’t go to (Pemaquid Point) and the one the students went to (West Quoddy Head). West Quoddy Head also boasts a state park, and there are lots of neat hiking trails there. Dada was really excited to find out that one of the trails goes to a boardwalk loop across a bog that is virtually identical to the muskegs of Southeast Alaska. The most notable difference was the exciting addition of pitcher plants to the flora of Maine muskegs. We can't wait to go back there next year!

Fun at West Quoddy Light
Maine muskeg

California chestnuts and Fall friends

During the last week in September, we all headed to California, where Mama and Dada worked on their research projects and Caden was reunited with Cherrise, Ruby, and Scarlett at his California school. We were only there for four full days—Dada had to get back to teach in Massachusetts—but we had fun visiting with our Sonoma County friends. On our first morning at Bodega, we enjoyed a wonderful pre-fieldwork brunch with Susan, Bruce, and the Williams Lab. We also spent some time in Sebastopol, where we had fun exploring, for the first time, the site of Luther Burbank’s experimental farm. We also met up with Tessa, Brian, and Cormac at the Farmer’s Market, where we listened to bluegrass music and bought yummy tomatoes, peppers, onions, and tomatilloes to make fresh salsa.

The Saturday after our return from California, we headed up to Russell Orchards in Ipswich to pick apples. The place was pretty crazy—we weren’t the only ones enjoying a perfect fall day at the orchard—but we had a fun hayride out to the picking area and picked a peck of yummy apples. We especially liked the Cortland and Empire varieties. Caden loved the hayride and the apples. He had a great time sampling the different kinds of apples, and he even treated us to a performance of the apple tree song. The video clip below shows him singing the song in the orchard. For those of you who don’t speak 2-year-old, here’s a translation:

Way up high in the apple tree,
Two little apples smiled at me,
So I shook that tree as hard as I could.
Down came the apples, and mmm were they good!

"Mmmm, were they good!"

The following day, we drove south to Providence, where we met up with Heather, Jeremy, and Isaac at the zoo. It was a bit chilly and drizzly, but we all—and especially the little guys—had fun seeing the animals, including a quizzical crane, giraffes, monkeys, and, silliest of all, the anteater. Caden’s favorite night-time book right now is “Down By the Station,” which is a version of the traditional song set in a zoo. He was particularly interested in the animals from the book: elephants, flamingoes, seals, and kangaroos. After the zoo, we headed over to Heather, Jeremy, and Isaac’s new house for afternoon quiet time and a tasty dinner of farm-fresh stuffed peppers before driving back up to Swampscott.

Checking out the crazy crane

Hugs for Isaac

I a puzzlemaker!

Just before we left for California this summer, Dada found a set of eight 12-piece wooden jigsaw puzzles at the Magic Hat Thrift Shop in Marblehead. The puzzles each feature a different vehicle, and Caden loves them. Until a few weeks ago, Caden always wanted either Mama or Dada to help with the puzzles. However, on the 1st of September, Caden put his first one together by himself—a fire truck—and hasn’t looked back since. He will announce, “I a puzzlemaker!”, take each puzzle from its compartment, and put it together carefully. Right now, all eight of the puzzles are assembled on the train table in his play room.

We’ve had some fun events over the past few weeks. The month started with a Labor Day picnic at our house. Caden’s friends Summer, Mae Mae, Chelsea, and Savannah, and their parents (plus a few other lab folks) came by to enjoy good company, summertime foods, badminton, and homemade ice cream.

The following weekend, we drove to northwestern Maine, where we camped for two nights at beautiful Rangeley Lake. The water was swimmable, the bugs were much less fierce than we'd feared, and even the remnants of hurricane Hannah couldn’t dampen our enthusiasm. And one of the best parts about camping at Rangeley Lake State Park: free hot showers! Caden and Dada even took a shower together one evening. Other highlights of the trip included a fun hike along a stream and a meandering drive back along ridgelines, down river valleys, and through the Maine countryside.

Shortly after we returned from Maine, Dada flew west for a four-day trip to Santa Barbara. Dada came home early on the morning of the 13th, and we spent a day furiously making final preparations for Mama’s Cascade Lemonade booth at the Melrose Victorian fair. Caden had a great time at the fair on Sunday, playing with his toys, checking out the booths, and watching performances of local karate, dance, and music groups.

This past week, we’ve been settling into our routines, including teaching (Dada), data analysis (Mama), and playing at home and school (Caden). This Saturday was the annual Marine Science Center Open House, so the three of us spent most of the day at work. Caden even got to wear an official name tag with the title, “Future Marine Biologist.”

All eight puzzles

Making ice cream

Badminton antics

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Rangeley Lake sunset

Hiking in Maine

With Mama at Coos Canyon, Maine

Reading in camp

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Future marine biologist

All four grandparents at once!

We spent a wonderful week last month in Alaska! Ama and Adad flew up to join us at Nana and Boopa’s house in Petersburg. Caden loved his Alaska bedroom, the little table and stool where he ate his breakfast and lunch each day, the deer on the beach, and, perhaps most of all, being cuddled, played with, and entertained by four grandparents at once.

On August 7th, right after we landed in Petersburg, we headed down to Boopa’s boat so that Caden could say “hi.” Caden, who loves all things that go, was really excited to see both Boopa and the boat. He even got to go for a couple of boat rides later in the week, including a memorable one—he still talks about it—to visit the sea lions on the mid-channel buoy at the mouth of the narrows.

Dada’s Grammy and Grandpa—Caden also calls them Grammy and Grandpa—recently moved to Petersburg, and we visited them several times while we were there. Caden had so much fun playing with Grammy and Grandpa that he asked to go see them again and again.

On August 8th, Ama and Adad arrived. It was great fun to show them around Dada’s hometown and Miktof Island. Mama and Dada spent a memorable day on Boopa’s boat with them watching whales. Getting to watch (and listen to) group bubble-feeding by humpbacks was amazing! We all went “out the road” for an afternoon to go on a couple of hikes. And we ate lots of fresh, tasty fish.

Our last couple of weeks in California were a whirlwind! Mama had to wrap up her summer’s experiments, and Caden spent many hours in the lab, often playing on the floor of the lab while Mama counted tunicates and bryozoans. On the 26th, Caden said goodbye to Cherrise, Ruby, Scarlett, and Pup at his California school—he still talks about them virtually every day—and on the 27th we flew back to our “other” home in Massachusetts.





Four generations

Playing with Grammy and Grandpa

Nana loves Tuiui!

Caden leads the way

Whale watching

The viking ship

California school

California adventures: Camping, Train Town, and Caden’s first haircut

We’re playing blog catch-up now—we’re over a month behind—which is testament to how hard Dada and especially Mama worked during our time in California. We arrived at Bodega Marine Lab on July 16th and spent three weeks enjoying our old haunts in Sonoma County before heading north for a week in Alaska.

In California, we enjoyed spending time with friends and colleagues, and Caden brought home some really fun projects from his “California school,” including a bird feeder, lots of paintings and drawings, and some beautiful paper flowers that are decorating our dining room table. He spent workdays at the home of an acquaintance of ours who used to work at BML.

Last month, before we headed to Alaska, we escaped for a one-night camping trip to Humboldt Redwoods State Park. It was our first camping trip in almost two years—last summer’s move put a serious crimp in our camping schedule—and we re-discovered how nice it is to spend time sleeping under the trees and swimming in a river. The campground was a short walk from the Eel River, and Caden and Dada had fun trying to catch the little steelhead and minnows that would nibble at our feet while we waded in the river. Just before we packed up for the drive back, we headed down to the river again, where the sun was shining on the water. Mama and Dada tried to coax Caden in, but he was content to play in the sand while we swam. When we returned to the riverbank, Caden had a surprise for us. He said, “I made you a birthday!” and held out his bucket. He’d filled it with sand and planted sticks upright in the sand: his version of a birthday cake.

We also took Caden to Lonnie’s Barber Shop in Sebastopol for his first haircut! He seemed to appreciate all of the fuss, held very still, and was very excited to receive his lollypop reward at the end. Caden’s hair was becoming pretty crazy, especially when he woke up in the morning, but we held out for Lonnie’s because Dada knew that they were really good with little guys there, as both Owen and James can attest to.

A final adventure before heading to Alaska was a trip to Train Town in Sonoma. The centerpiece of Train Town is a scale-model railroad that passengers can ride on. We rode the little train through tunnels and past waterfalls to a scale-model town where we saw—as Caden will tell you—goats. It was a great outing for a train-loving two-year-old.

First haircut: before
and after!

In the barber chair

Eel River breakfast

Trying to catch minnows

Stitching party!

Train Town

No time to say goodbye

Before heading west to California, we enjoyed summer treats, outings, and the Fourth of July in Massachusetts. Caden finished his “Massachusetts school” for the year, and we hosted our friends Anne and Bonnie over the holiday weekend.

One of our weekend outings was to Russell Orchards, where we had fun picking late June strawberries and meeting some friendly sheep. Caden quickly became an adept strawberry picker, and we soon filled two pint containers. The strawberries made wonderful decorations for a Fourth of July flag cake—a tradition in Mama’s family—that we shared with Anne and Bonnie during their visit. On the fourth, we took the blue train into Boston, where we walked the Freedom Trail with Anne and Bonnie. Caden’s favorite part was the “statue” busker we met outside Faneuil Hall, though he was a bit shy when we got close to her.

The weekend before we left for California, Mama flew down to Washington, DC, to go to Amy’s wedding—a fun reunion with college friends—while Dada and Caden did projects around the house in preparation for our trip. The highlight of Caden’s weekend was finally getting to meet the ice cream man who drives by our Massachusetts house every day. Caden got a red popsicle, and he still talks about it a couple of weeks later.

Cheers!
I made pizza
The "statue" busker

The Girls in Washington, DC

Flag cake

At Old North Church