Like a mini-break, only less expensive
Dave took Columbus Day off which is a major coup. Usually he works through holiday's because, you know, he's a Scrooge. We got up to all sorts of excitement over the course of the three days, and by last evening, it felt like we'd gone away for a mini-vacation, except without all the traveling.
Saturday my parents came up and spent the day with us. Henry was so happy to see them. Salem is officially in full Halloween swing so after getting hot dogs from the Boston Hot Dog Co. on Washington Street, we made our way down the pedestrian mall and over to Pickering Wharf by way of the following: the roasted nut stand, the fried dough stand, the sausage stand, and the hot cider stand. Henry ran around Derby Wharf for a bit and then we headed home. My parents were looking to give us a break so they brought up dinner for us, which they then cooked (bbq'd steak tips, mashed potato, salad, apple crisp). It was all great.
On Sunday we drove down to Arena Farms in search of caramel apples. Dave waited in the apple line forever while Henry and I wandered around the pumpkin piles and the animal pens. Approximately thirty seconds after Dave got his hands on his caramel apple, the stick broke and the whole thing hit the ground. It was sad and hilarious all at the same time. He had the crowd's sympathy because the tell-tale thump of apple meeting ground was followed quickly by a chorus of groans and "oh no!"'s. I gave Dave mine and went back and got a new one. After Arena Farms we drove out to the Minuteman Trail in Concord. All the trees are changing color and there were lots of acorns to crunch on the ground. There was a guy firing off a musket while we were there. Flash nearly had a heart attack. She tucked tail and ran in the opposite direction.
Yesterday we drove up to Plum Island. It was Henry's first trip to an actual beach. Initially he wasn't a big fan of walking on the sand. He held onto Dave's hands for the first five or ten minutes, which is something he's never done before, until he got used to it. Then he was all over the place. He didn't get too close to the water, possibly because it was a very loud surf. On the return trip up the beach he caught sight of a young woman sunbathing. Henry stopped and stared at her for a very long time. She started waving and making eyes at him and that was pretty much all the encouragement he needed. He made a beeline for her and when we finally picked him up and carried him further towards the car, any time we'd put him down he'd do an about face and head back towards her. Smart kid. We stopped at Bob Lobster on the way out of town and got a fried fish sandwich and a lobster roll. Then we stopped at Dairy Queen, ostensibly for milk for Henry, but since we were there, we also walked away with a Peanut Buster Parfait and a chocolate dipped.