Long Weekend with My Parents

Last weekend, my parents flew in for a long weekend. I took Friday off work, and my parents and I wandered along the Commons and Beacon Hill and toured the JFK Presidential Library. It was the first trip to the library for all of us, and the mementos in the building were really interesting. Old pictures, letters, campaign materials, etc. Some of my favorite items were gifts from foreign leaders to Jackie Kennedy--lots of incredible jewelry.
Saturday, we drove through New Hampshire and along the coast of Maine. The wind off the water was cold and blustery, so we spent most of the afternoon in the car, looking at the big houses. We drove through Kennebunkport, past Former President Bush Sr.'s house. I didn't get a picture, but it sits on an outcropping of land, surrounded by water.
Sunday, we wandered around Lexington and Concord, stopping for orange-rind oatmeal cookies at Wilson Farms - probably the best cookies I've ever had. If you come visit us, remind us to stock some for you.
Chris and I had to work the following week, but my parents spent Monday driving the length of Cape Cod and then went the opposite direction to the Berkshires on Tuesday. It was a really fun visit, and I'm glad it will only be a few weeks until Christmas when we see them again.

Pictures of Fall

A rainstorm and wind have stripped many of the trees down to bare branches, but here are a few pictures I've snapped in the past few days.

A tree in Minute Man National Park

Shades of green in our backyard Vines over our garage

Flower Bed

Skunk vs. Greta

Nothing too exciting happening lately. Chris and I have been working, doing schoolwork and playing some racquetball on the weekend. Since that's not very interesting, I'll tell you the story of how Greta got sprayed by our friendly neighborhood skunk:

The night before we left for Seattle, I was making dinner in the kitchen, and Greta was running around in the backyard. While I was at the stove, I heard Greta bark and then some loud scuffling. I ran outside and dragged Greta to the porch, and she had the strangest acidic aura about her. The skunk who I suspect has been sleeping under our porch gave Greta a good spray. The worst part is that we had to drop her at the dogsitters early the next morning. I didn't have any tomato juice but gave her a bath with regular shampoo. That helped a little - we're lucky the dogsitter still took Greta the next day. When we got back from Seattle, Chris poured tomato juice all over her, and that finally got rid of the rest of the smell.

The Great Northwest

Life has been exciting so far this fall! The last weekend in September, Chris and I flew to Seattle and met Rob and Allison for an extended weekend. I was truly impressed by Seattle's natural beauty - blue mountains, blue water, blue sky. We drove our rental white PT Cruiser (as cool as you can get, huh?) to our hotel and then headed to Pike Street for the evening, with the first stop at the Fish Market. A lot of the ice tubs full of fish were being emptied, so we never saw the full force of the market. But I couldn't believe end-of-the day prices on incredible flower bouquets - ten dollars for what would sell at a florist for over fifty dollars.
Early Saturday morning, we headed north to Vancouver, British Columbia. The drive took a few hours. We checked into our hotel and walked the city. Some parts were meticulously maintained, but I was somewhat shocked by the number of homeless people on the streets, especially so close to the tourist districts. I read that the city is investigating how to manage the large homeless population in advance of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, but the city has to be careful not to tread on the rights of any of its citizens while they clean it up.
On Sunday, we drove to the base of Grouse Mountain (just a few miles outside the city) and did what the guidebook described as a "strenuous, monotonous hike." We hiked uphill for about a mile and a half to the "almost" peak - it made the view at the top seem earned. At the top is a sort of outdoors park with a grizzly bear enclosure, a small ski lift to the very peak. We could see all of Vancouver and out to the freightors in the water from where we stood. We took a gondola back down, visited the timberwolf preserve, stopped at a salmon hatchery and then headed back to our hotel. That night, we ended up watching some flamenco and tango dancers at a tucked-away cafe.
On Monday, we drove back past Seattle to Mount Rainier National Park, planning to do a 7 mile hike past waterfalls, over a suspension bridge to a glacier. It turns out the roads were washed out, so we did a different 7 mile hike through an old growth forest and along the river to a waterfall. The forest seemed like something out of a fairy tale--lots of moss and clingy green growth covered the trees and ground. I can tell you that we had several near sightings of sasquatch. The river running along the forest is fed by glacier water, lightening it the palest blue. One of the pictures below is of Chris and Rob standing in front of the roots of a fallen tree.

We had a low-key night in Seattle Monday night - we found a seafood/sushi restaurant on the water. Chris and I flew home early Tuesday morning, and Allison and Rob flew back later that afternoon.

Around the World for Work

I count myself extremely fortunate to work for a company that allows me to travel. Right now, I'm working to set up a new clinical trial that will involve hospitals around the world. We have never worked with three of the hospitals previously, so the director for my group and I traveled to each to "qualify" them for the study. This was my first visit to each of the countries.

We flew to Sydney, Australia first. I was able to steal a couple hours my first day to take the ferry across Sydney Harbor to Manly Beach. Australia is just emerging from winter, but several surfers still bobbed in the water. The next couple days were very busy for work, but the day before we left, Joy and I took a cab to Bondi Beach and walked a few miles along a beautiful coastal cliff walk that connects several small towns and beaches.

We next flew overnight via Malaysia to Amsterdam, arriving very early Sunday morning. Joy and I changed clothes and then took a train from the airport to downtown Central Station. I loved Amsterdam. It barely rained the entire day. We took a canal tour, toured the Van Gogh Museum and the Rijksmuseum Museum (lots of Rembrandts, including Night Watch) and spent hours walking along the streets, past the flower markets and Red Light District. I didn't realize how many canals circle through the city - I learned on our canal tour that the reason the houses are so narrow is that city residents were originally taxed on the width of their houses, irrespective of height.
Early Monday morning, Joy and I jumped on a train to Rotterdam to visit the next hospital. We didn't need to stay as long as expected, so on our way back to the airport, Joy and I stepped off the train in Den Haag (Hague), hoping to spend an hour or so at the Mauritshuis Museum, but it was closed for the day. So instead we ate lunch near the government buildings and then took a cab to the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. The Tribunal is continuing to prosecute alleged perpetrators of crimes committed during wars in former Yugoslavia (crimes against humanity). Joy and I sat in on two different trials, one with two defendents and the other with six. It was extremely interesting to be so close to the actual trials and to hear statements from both sides and the panel of three judges - just a pane of glass separated us from the coutroom.

Joy and I flew Monday night from Amsterdam to Barcelona for the last leg of our trip. We stayed near the old part of town and close to buildings by Antoni Gaudi, the famous architect. Our first day, we drove an hour north to Girona and spent the entire day at a hospital and also catching up with some work colleagues based in Barcelona. The next day was also a working day, but I was able to head downtown late afternoon. I walked through La Rambla, the main tourist strip, did some shopping in the Gothic part of town, walked through the Cathedral and arrived at Sagrada Familia, Gaudi's most famous building (church), too late to take a tour.

It was an amazing trip, but I was SO glad to arrive home this past Thursday to see Chris. Ten days is a long time to be away.

Back to Portsmouth

Chris and I spent Saturday night in Portsmouth, NH. In the past, we've visited for an afternoon and also driven through many times on our way to Portland, but this was our first full day and night. It was a beautiful Saturday. We ate lunch at the Red Hook Brewery, shopped at the Kittery Outlet Malls, walked along the beach and sunned ourselves on snaily, flat rocks. The ocean water was frigid! Afterwards, we went downtown for dinner. One of the Portsmouth restaurants has the best clam chowder I've ever tasted - the secret ingredient is chive oil.

Last Days of Summer

We've been trying to enjoy the last couple weekends and hot weather by visiting a nearby lake and lounging around the house. It is not to last. Chris starts school tomorrow - summer feels likes it's winding down. I'll be starting classes again the second week of September - I've decided to work very slowly to complete an MBA at the University of Massachusetts. I'll take one class this fall (in comparison to Chris who's taking four) to ease into the program and also to accommodate some upcoming work travel. The fall will be busy for us.