Cabot Vermont Fourth of July Parade - It's raining Cheese!

Bread and Puppet Theater leads off the Cabot Parade

Each Fourth of July, the agricultural community of Cabot, Vermont hosts a parade that is the embodiment of rural Vermont.   People in central Vermont know that this is a low-key parade in this quaint farming village, and that's exactly what attracts them to it. 

The parade starts at the Cabot Creamery on Main Street and doesn't pass much beyond the United Church of Cabot and village green about a half-mile down the street.  It's not long, but it really doesn't have to be.  After all, this is more of a social event for the locals in this community of 1,400.

As with many parades, the shining red fire engines from surrounding communities usher the parade participants down the main street.  It includes homemade floats, local farmers on their tractors, local ATV clubs and a handful of classic/antique cars and trucks.

We attend our fair share of parades and it's pretty common to see children along the parade route standing poised, bags at the ready, to scramble about collecting the sweet treats that are tossed to them from parade participants.  While a little bit of candy was tossed about, Cabot provided an added bonus - sample packets of Cabot cheese.   And why not, after all, you're standing in the middle of farm country, and the home of Cabot Creamery, the region's most popular cheese producer,so it only makes sense.

As an added bonus, High Ledge Farm, a small organic farm in Woodbury, Vermont, handed out plant seedlings.  We were the recipients of a Calendula plant and broccoli plant, and they were handing out other herb and vegetable seedlings as well.  I have to admit, we thought that was pretty cool.  Where else can you get cheese and vegetables handed to you at a parade?  Leave it to Vermont.

The Cabot truck tossing out cheese packets

Classic ladder truck in Cabot parade

If you're in Cabot, it is only natural to visit the Cabot store where you can take the tour and sample a large variety of Cabot cheeses and other snack items.  As usual, we walked away with a couple 8-ounce blocks of cheese from the gift shop.  My wife and son liked the Garlic & Herb, while I go for the standard Extra Sharp or Hunter's.

We didn't hang around for the chicken barbecue, church rummage sale and other festivities because we had to get home.  But if we're back in the area next July Fourth, you can bet we'll head back to Cabot and perhaps linger a bit longer beneath the rolling green hills and white clapboard houses, savoring this little piece of authentic Americana.

   

Niagara Falls

View of Horseshoe Falls from the Canadian side of the falls.

Like with most American's summer vacations typically include some kind of water-based activity.  While you might think that would have you jumping off a dock into a crystal clear lake or digging your toes into a sandy beach along the ocean, we opted for a different water attraction and shuffled off to Buffalo to visit the awe-inspiring Niagara Falls.

Maid of the Mist Approaching Horseshoe Falls

You hear time and time again that you should see the falls from the Canadian side and I often wondered why people always said that.  Now I know.  From the Canadian side of the falls, you get a head-on view of both Horseshoe Falls and Bridal Veil Falls.  If you're on the U.S. side you are basically standing above the falls and can't quite get a sense of how large the falls are.

Maid of the Mist Beneath Bridal Veil Falls

We departed our hotel in Buffalo, passports in hand, around 8:30 a.m. heading north to the border.  We crossed the Peace Bridge and waited in line to clear Canadian Customs.  We arrived about ten of nine and there were only 2 or 3 lanes open.  Based upon the traffic, we figured we'd be in line about 15-20 minutes.  But promptly at 9 a.m. the other lanes opened one right after another, and in a matter of seconds there were about 10 lanes open with cars maneuvering for position as if someone just waved the green flag at a NASCAR race.  We were through in about 10 minutes.  I guess that's a tip for the future.  If you wait until 9 a.m. the bottleneck opens up and you can clear customs more quickly.

If you haven't been to Niagara Falls, Canada, you may not realize how "touristy" it is - with a zillion hotels, casinos, and "tourist trap" attractions like Ripley's Believe it of Not, Guinness Book of World Records, House of Frankenstein, Criminal's Hall of Fame, the Upside Down House and a plethora of places - too lengthy to list here.  There was even the Louis Tussaud's Waxworks that made me wonder if the good Madame in London had a rogue nephew who made his way to Niagara Falls to get his share of the wax museum market.

Bridal Veil Falls From Maid of the Mist

Horseshoe Falls from Maid of the Mist

We found a parking place right on Niagara Parkway, the road that overlooks the falls, paying $15 for 3 hours.  We figured it was worth paying extra to be across the street from the falls.  After walking along Niagara Parkway with 5,000 of our closest friends, from all over the world, we decided to take the Maid of the Mist tour to get up close and personal with the falls.  The trips run from both the Canadian and U.S. sides.  Since we just a stone's throw away on the Canadian side, we just walked to the other end of Niagara Parkway and boarded there. 

The line for Maid of the Mist looked long from afar, but the boat must have a large carrying capacity, so we didn't have to wait for more than 10 minutes.  We paid about $19.75 (CDN) for each adult and $12.65 (CDN) for Ashton.  This gets you each a blue Maid of the Mist poncho, made from materials that resembled the plastic that goes over your dry cleaning, with a hood and arm holes. 

We immediately went to the upper deck of the boat so we could get the best view and get the full effect of the mighty falls.  First, the boat goes by Bridal Veil Falls and that's pretty neat, but as we get closer to Horseshoe Falls, it feels like you've just entered a downpour as the mist and water from the falls rain down on you.  This was well worth the price, just to feel the power of the falls and see it from the perspective of the river's surface.

After braving the Maid of the Mist, we headed back to the car and were on our way back to the U.S. side for a different perspective.

Ashton & Bethany at Cave of the Winds

We crossed the Rainbow Bridge, right next to Bridal Veil Falls, and were welcomed by U.S. Customs.  The officer who checked us out was very pleasant and we got into a discussion about Maine.  He said his girlfriend has been trying to get him to go and he asked me a bunch of questions about the state, periodically glancing at his computer screen, presumably while he was making sure we weren't on some terrorist watch list.

In my opinion, your best bet in the U.S. is to skip the parking area right next to the bridge and cross over to Goat Island, about a half mile up the road.  We paid $10 for all-day parking in Niagara Falls State Park.  We ate a picnic lunch surrounded by seagulls in the picnic area next to the parking lot, then bought our ticket to Cave of the Winds - which as we were told, isn't a cave at all.  What it is, is a series of walkways that go right up to the edge of Bridal Veil Falls.

Looking up at Bridal Veil Falls and the Hurricane Deck

One thing is for sure.  If you decide to do Cave of the Winds, be prepared to get wet.  We went prepared, with Keen's, shorts, t-shirts and raincoat that we wore under the yellow plastic poncho they provide.  Even with that, the bottom of my shorts go soaked and water was running down my arm to my torso because I had to hold the poncho hood in place on my head, so water was getting in around my sleeves.  Fortunately, we had a change of clothes in the car.  On the plus side, they issue you a pair of Cave of the Winds sandals as a souvenir. They also give you a plastic bag to put your own footwear in so it doesn't get soaked.  The price was $11 for adults and $8 for kids 6-12.


After changing into dry clothes, we took the trolley ride around the park.  Frankly it was not all that interesting.  Before we left we went to the viewing area above Horseshoe Falls.  While you couldn't see the falls head-on, it was an interesting prespective.

Horseshoe Falls from the U.S. side

Maid of the Mist approaching Horseshoe Falls on U.S. Side

Although it was a long ride to the far side of New York State, it was a fun trip.  I would definitely recommend that anyone visit the falls, being sure to view them from both countries.  I'll be following up this post shortly with a couple other adventures during our road trip to Niagara, so stay tuned.
 
A couple of critical notes.  The Americans didn't seem to be quite as customer-friendly as the Canadians.  The Canadians who worked at these attractions seemed upbeat, friendly and chatty.  On the American side, the employees seemed a bit begrudged, like they couldn't wait to get the day over with so they could stop dealing with tourists. Also, the pathway from the bottom of the elevator to the Cave of the Winds is a bit malodorous and dotted with seagull droppings because it appears the seagulls live in the rocks above the walkway between the falls.

A Day in Boothbay Harbor

Church in Boothbay Harbor

The coastal community of Boothbay Harbor is a tourist Mecca in the summer, so rather than waiting for the season to kick into high gear, we decided to visit a couple days before the first day of summer.

Upon arrival in Boothbay, we made our way to the Maine State Aquarium.  It was a bit difficult to find due to the meandering roads around Boothbay, and when we arrived the parking lot was packed.  As it turned out our trip coincided with the first race of the lobster boat race series that takes place each year in fishing villages up and down the Maine coast, so spectators were lining the shoreline in front of the aquarium.

Two-toned lobster

Touch tank at the Maine State Aquarium

The aquarium is not very large, but has a number of tanks with marine life native to Maine coastal waters.  My favorite was the two-toned lobster.

There were two touch tanks where you could pick up crabs, sand dollars, scallops, and sea urchins.  When Bethany picked up the scallop, we watched as it began to close its shell, then all of the sudden it squirted a stream of water right at Ashton, soaking his t-shirt.

The cost was $5 for adults and $3 for children 3-12.  You probably wouldn't spend more than 45 minutes there unless perhaps you listened to one of the staff talks.  When we arrived a number of people were listening to an educational program about lobsters, but we didn't join in.

After departing the aquarium, we stopped by the Beach Cove Inn around noon to see if by some chance our room was ready, and it was, so they let us check in.

Front of the Beach Cove Inn

We carried our stuff up one flight of stairs to the deluxe rooms overlooking the lake - Yes, I said lake.  While the hotel is in Boothbay, it is about a mile away from the hustle and bustle of the harbor area, on a lake that appears to once have been an inlet before the road to Southport Island separated it from the ocean.

View from our deck at the Beach Cove Inn

The view from the deck reminded me more of an inland lodge than a hotel in an oceanside community.

Although the inn had been around for a few years, it was quiet and comfortable thanks to some upgrades, including new paint and new beds.

Our room was huge.  It had two queen size beds, a sleeper sofa, flat screen TV, refrigerator, microwave and a big deck.  Even with all this furniture, you could have added another bed or two and not been crowded.  It was one of the largest rooms I'd seen in a long time and for the price, $99.00 + tax, it was a great value.

It has an outdoor, heated pool that my son used twice, and with a little coaxing, got me to join him the second time.  Actually the water temperature was pretty comfortable once you got use to it.

They also have canoes and rowboats you can borrow at no cost, to paddle along the lake, which we did Sunday morning.

Orne's Candy Store

After lunch on the deck of our room, we headed into town to poke around, making sure to stop at Orne's Candy Store right in the heart of the village.  Here, my wife and son picked up some rock candy, while I contemplated the chocolates - opting not to succumb to the temptation.

At 3 o'clock we boarded the sightseeing boat Novelty, operated by Balmy Day Cruises, for an hour-long harbor tour.   The price was $16 for adults and $8 for children 3-11.  It was a warm, breezy day, so we opted for a seat on the open upper deck.  The tour included periodic commentary from the captain as we cruised passed Burnt Island Light.  If you have time and are looking for an interestnig experience, the Maine Department of Marine Resources does a Living Lighthouse Program that shows what the life of a lighthouse keeper was like in the 1950s.  You are transported out to the island, meet the keeper and his family and participate in educational programs related to the marine life and floral and fauna on the island.

For dinner on Saturday night we went to the Lobster Dock.  It's the kind of casual place where the menu is hanging on the side of the building and you place your order at a take out window.  We chose a seat on the deck overlooking the harbor and our dinner was delivered right to our table.  They had a combination of seafood and land food, so we all had a nice meal before heading back to the hotel.

The next day we took a ride around Southport Island, making a stop at an off-the-beaten-path restaurant called Oliver's.  It was a new place overlooking the appropriately named Cozy Harbor that is quintessential Maine.

Our overnight in Boothbay Harbor was a relaxing escape.  And while it was only 50 miles away, it seemed like another world. 

Ashton on the Novelty

Burnt Island Lighthouse

Ashton and Bethany on the hotel deck

View of Cozy Harbor from the dock at Oliver's Restaurant

Willowbrook Historic Village - Newfield, Maine

Store at 19th Century Willowbrook Village

After more than a week of rain, it was time to get out of the house.  We were brainstorming about where to go, but it seemed as though we had done just about everything there was to do in New England.  Then Bethany came across 19th Century Willowbrook Village in Newfield, Maine.  We've known about it for years, but decided it would be a good day trip.  It was about an hour from Greene, in the southwestern part of the state.  An area that lacks the heavy tourist crowd one finds along the coast or even in the more recognized inland areas like Sebago Lake, Bethel and Rangeley. 

It's a rural area of the state, only about 30 miles from Portland and about 10 miles to the New Hampshire border, dotted with small villages.  It seems like these communities have been seemingly forgotten by the masses, but I don't think that's truly the case.  There are many lakes in the area like Lake Arrowhead, Little Ossipee Pond, Square Pond, Great East Lake, Mousam Lake, and Wilson Lake, to name a few, with camps where it is likely that families from in-state and out-of-state make summertime memories.

I'm sure the towns in the area have a history much like Newfield, that was once home to a thriving carriage and sleigh making industry.  Today, it's a place where your family can step back in time and spend a couple hours learning about life in the mid-19th Century.

We drove there along Maine Route 11 and just about the time when we thought we were in the middle of nowhere, we saw the sign directing us to Willowbrook.  As you come over the rise a cluster of 25 buildings surrounding a mill pond lay before you and you think you might have just wandered into a Norman Rockwell painting.

The welcome center is a neatly kept three-story, white clapboard house and attached barn with a well-manicured lawn that gently slopes down to the mill pond.  This is the Amos Straw Country Store which offers penny candy, Maine crafts and other gifts and souvenirs. We bought our tickets and headed straight for the attached barn.  A video providing the back story on Willowbrook is available for those interested, but we were with a 10-year-old who was more interested in exploring the buildings in person than sitting and watching a video about them.

Milk Delivery Carriage

 The barn had several exhibits including creamery, laundry, spinning and weaving, corn broom shop, shoe making, harness making and the Furber Pump Company.  Apparently, Mr. Furber was the guy who invented the manual well pump that took the place of lowering a bucket into the well to get water.  An actual Furber Pump is on the front lawn of the Amos Country Store and kids and adults alike are welcome to test it out.

Milk bottles in the Durgin Barn

There were three floors in the barn.  Upstairs were old bicycles, sleds and sleighs.  The basement of the barn had a wide array of antique machinery that would have been used on the farm during the day.  One of the biggest machines was a horse treadmill that could be hooked up to other machinery.  As the horse walked it operated the machines.

When we arrived, Asthon got a little brochure called the "Passport Through Time" and an ink stamp.  At various exhibits throughout the museum, there were educational tidbits and hands-on interactive exhibits.  As he visited these exhibits, he could stamp the Passport and at the end of the tour he turned it in for a small gift. 

1849 Concord Stagecoach

From this barn, it was off to the Carriage House with 25 restored carriages, wagons and sleighs, including a wagon used by a salesman who sold housewares.  But the pride and joy of the collection is the 1849 Concord Stagecoach.  This beautiful stagecoach used to carry passengers from Bath to Small Point, Maine prior to the Civil War, about a 15-mile trek down the Phippsburg peninsula.

Armitage Herschell Carousel

When you go to Willowbrook, be sure to go when the historic Armitage Herschell Carousel is running.  Apparently it is one of the oldest in the country and for an additional cost, Ashton and I went for a spin.  It was a little different because rather than the horses going up and down, it kind of felt like they were galloping along.  There is an interesting story about how this carousel came to be at Willowbrook, but I don't want to spoil it, so you'll have to visit yourself to find out more.

One Room Schoolhouse

For the next hour or so we visited the rest of the buildings which had many interesting exhibits related to carpentry, gas-powered equipment, printing, logging, cider mill, maple sugaring, haying and a cooperage, among other things.

The last stop was the the schoolhouse where the museum staff offered a program on what it would have been like to go to school around the turn of the century.  Boys sat on the right and girls sat on the left and the teacher had a switch that was used for discipline.  On the wall was a discipline chart showing how many lashes a child would get for breaking the rules.  One of the biggest offenses was picking on the girls.  That would get you 10 lashes - so be nice.

Footbridge to the carpenter's shop

 After having toured the grounds, we took a break at the Sandwich Shop and Ice Cream Parlor where you can get a full lunch, a snack and, or a dish or cone of ice cream.  While Ashton and Bethany enjoyed a bowl of ice cream, I refreshed myself with a root beer float. 

It was a fun day and well worth the trip.  The cost was $12 per adult and $5 for children 6-12.  We also took advantage of the AAA discount that saved $1.00 off per adult.  The carousel ride added $3.00 each, but it was worth the added expense.  We spent about 2 to 2-1/2 hours there and that was without reading every display and probably passing by other displays more quickly than we should have.

While sitting at the picnic table in the shade of a huge oak tree overlooking the village, Ashton summed up the visit by saying, "I thought this was going to be lame, but it turned out to be awesome."

View of the Amos Straw Country Store and Band Stand.

Bicycling the Papermill Road in Lisbon, Maine

Trail sign at the entrance to the Papermill Road Trail on Route 196 in Lisbon.

Springtime has bloomed in Maine and it's the perfect time to dust off the frame, pump up the tires and strap on the helmet for some casual exploring of many bicycle trails that dot the landscape.  While this post only features one ride, our family has already determined that we will be seeking out new places to ride throughout the state, and probably outside the state too.

The Papermill Road Trail in Lisbon was a great start for the season.  We accessed this paved path from the parking lot at the corner of Route 196 and Frost Hills Road, which also happens to be the boat launch at the confluence of the Androscoggin and Sabattus Rivers, so if you like paddling, this is a good place to put in to explore the Androscoggin.

The trail runs along side the Sabattus River for nearly 3/4 of a mile through mostly hard woods.  The first part of the trail had a slight incline, but there was only one place my son got off of his bike and walked it, and that was only for about 25 yards.  Along the way are granite benches for those looking for a quiet place to relax and reflect.

Rock hopping in the Sabattus River.

About half way up the trail on the left were a couple of well worn paths down to the Sabattus River.  The river is pretty shallow as it runs across flat rocks and a riverbed full of boulders.  This is a great place to make a game of hopping from rock to rock in the middle of the river, working your way from East bank to the West bank and back.  There was also a neat rock formation that had likely been worn away over centuries of spring thaws.

Rock shelf worn by the river

About 2/3rds the way up the trail are signs identifying the remains of the old mill that once stood along the river banks, but Ashton wasn't interested in stopping to learn more, so I can't give you any insight about that.

The first leg of the trail ended at the Lisbon Community School on Mill Street.  On this particular day there was a 5k fundraising run/walk, so the school grounds and the second leg of the bike path were quite busy.  The second leg of the trail meandered through rolling grass pastures that spread across the landscape like a beautiful green carpet.  Each leg of the trail was about .75 miles, so the round trip was about 3 miles.

The ride back down the trail from the school was all downhill, so we coasted along with little effort.  My squeaky brakes warned pedestrians of our approach and we slowly eased by people en route back to the car.

It was a great little ride for our first outing, and has us looking forward to the next bicycling adventure.

Battleship Cove

A couple years ago, while scouring the Internet for something fun to do in New England that we hadn't already done, we came across an attraction in Fall River, Massachusetts called Battleship Cove.  Their brochure boasts the world's largest naval ship exhibit, and sure enough they lived up to their promise.  You could tour four old naval vessels including the battleship Massachusetts, destroyer Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr., the submarine Lionfish, and a missile corvette Hiddensee.

Apparently, the name Fall River was derived from the Wampanoag word Quequechan which means "falling river."  I assume that since Fall River is easier to pronounce than Quequechan, the name stuck.  What was once a thriving textile mill city is now blossoming as a tourist destination, and one of its star attractions is Battleship Cove.

We arrived early on Monday, Patriot's Day, and found a parking spot right away.  From the parking lot we could see the battleship U.S.S. Massachusetts whose towering gray mass rose ominously from the harbor.  We paid our $35.50 entrance fee for two adults and one child (thanks to some $2 off coupons my wife found in a brochure rack) and headed for the gangplank of this floating piece of history.

Ashton standing below the 16" guns.

Once on the deck, you are immediately struck by the size of the 16 inch guns and the enormity of the ship.  As I was taking pictures, my son urged me along, like any 10-year-old boy intrigued by what lies below the deck of this massive vessel.   Ok, I admit it.  I wanted to get inside too.

Mess deck on the U.S.S. Massachusetts

The tours are self-guided, so we went to the first entrance we could find to go below deck.  One of the first rooms we came to was the mess deck.  Given that this ship would have a crew of about 2,000, I'm sure the guys who worked here kept extremely busy.

Barber Shop on U.S.S. Massachusetts

For nearly two hours, we explored every nook and cranny on this ship.  I was fascinated by the number of services on board.  We saw a print shop, shoe shop, clothing shop, laundry, and barber shop, among others.  The thing that surprised me most was the size of the barber shop.  I believe there were six barber chairs in it.  I grew up in Montpelier, Vermont and the most barber chairs I ever saw in one place in that town of 8,000 was three.

On the bridge of the U.S.S Massachusetts

We continued wandering aimlessly from deck to deck, going up ladders and down ladders.  And when we thought we'd seen all of the ship, we discovered another place we hadn't yet explored.

Eventually we wound our way back up to the deck and out into the fresh air because we were supposed to meet some friends who were on their way back from Mystic, Connecticut.  After hooking up with them, we opted to check out the submarine.

If the battleship was the sprawling university, the submarine was the one-room schoolhouse.  When operational, it was manned by a crew of 85, and I'll be darned if I could figure out how that many people fit on this sub. 

It didn't take us long to go through this and then it was on to the Hiddensee.  One thing that struck us while touring this ship was that instructions were written in both English and Russian.  This puzzled us until we found out that this vessel was built in St. Petersburg, Russia for the East German Navy.  It was decommissioned in 1991 and somehow got recommissioned in the U.S.  Okay, I'm still puzzled, but at least we know why it had Russian writing.

Shells in U.S.S. Massachusetts

We had a picnic lunch at Fall River Heritage State Park, overlooking Battleship Cove before touring the last vessel, the U.S.S. Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr.

By about two-o'clock we called it a day.  Had we spent time reading the exhibits more carefully, this could easily have been a full day affair.  They also run a show entitled "The Pearl Harbor Experience" on an outdoor screen that includes sound effects, giving you the feeling of experiencing the invasion first-hand.

On the way out, we let the kids take a ride on the old Fall River Carousel, an antique ride that was built by the Philadelphia Toboggan Company.  For one dollar, you can ride one of the four dozen wooden horses on this beautiful piece of historic entertainment.

Fall River Carousel

View of Fall River from Battleship Cove

As we left Battleship Cove, we drove past the Old Colony & Fall River Railroad Museum and the Marine Museum at Fall River, giving us at least two reasons to perhaps visit another day.

Boston Museum of Science

One of the nice things about living in Maine is that we're not very far from Boston.  And one of the nice things about Boston is that there are many things for families to enjoy.  About three years ago we did the New England Aquarium through which my son, who was about 7 at the time, set a land-speed record visiting.  I don't think we were in there more than 20 minutes before we exited to stand in line at the IMAX theater where we watched one of those 3-D shows.  We spent about $120 for the aquarium, movie and parking, making me think it might have been cheaper and we could have entertained ourselves longer if we'd gone to Atlantic City and played Roulette.  During that same trip we wandered through Faneuil Hall and did the observation deck at the to of the Prudential Skywalk Observatory.

This time around we went to the Boston Museum of Science.  My son's now 10 and he is much more interested in science and some of the other cool stuff in this very worthwhile attraction.  This time around we spent about $100 including museum admission, IMAX movie and lunch, and we were there for about four hours.

It was a Sunday morning, the day before the 2013 Boston Marathon.  We arrived around 9:30 a.m., found a parking place in the parking garage about 50 feet from the entrance to the museum, and didn't have to wait in line to pay admission.  We figured since most people tend to start on the first floor and work their way up, we would start at the top and work our way down.  On the top floor, we practically had the place to ourselves.

Ashton liked the Science in the Park exhibit best, which presented the essentials of physics, but through fun, interactive exhibits.  His favorite display was the bed of nails.  In this exhibit, you lie on a plastic bed and when someone pushes the button, about 1,000 nails rise up through the plastic, so you are literally lying on a bed of nails.  Ashton was very excited to try it out, but only after dad, the Guinea Pig, did it first. However once he did it he went back and tried it a couple more times.

Ashton lying on a bed of nails.

The Light House exhibit was not about lighthouses, but about light and how it refracts, reflects, etc.  There was a neat exhibit where you could sit on a stool and see your self in a wall full of mirrors based upon how the mirrors were angled.  I shot the photo below from directly over Ashton's head and left wondering what it would be like to have quadruplets, eight times over.

Ashton's reflection in 32 mirrors.

We laid in a replica of a space capsule from the Apollo missions and stood in a big tube, which looked like a big test tube, to experience what 78 mph winds would be like in a hurricane.

Ground Control to Major Ashton.

Dorothy and Toto would be proud.

After exploring three floors of exhibits, it was off to the IMAX movie called Journey Into Amazing Caves, that showed cavers exploring regular caves, ice caves and underwater caves in search of new micro-organisms that they hope could some day help cure disease.

We ate lunch at the Riverview Cafe in the museum where you could find pretty much anything you wanted to eat.  I don't like the term "Something for everybody" because I often think that it really means "nothing special for anyone", but this place had a good variety of foods.  My wife and I split a Southwest chicken wrap, but you could get burgers, fries, pizza, spaghetti, PB&J, Mexican, Starbuck's coffee, salads and many other things.  And for what we got, I didn't think $28.50 was bad for lunch for three.

After the museum, we boarded the Boston Duck Tour for a 75 minute tour with Guido Gondolier at the wheel - or is it helm?  It's an interesting tour as you pass by many historical and modern-day landmarks and end up boating about in Back Bay, where Ashton (and other kids) got to drive the duck.  The tour was about $90 for the three of us, but it's a nice way to see the sites of Boston and think about other places we might visit on a future trip to the city.

Riders disembarking after the tour with Guido in the striped shirt.

We found that with the museum, IMAX movie and Duck Boat tour, we filled up our day pretty well and we went back to the hotel for a dip in the indoor pool and to rest our weary bones in preparation for day two - our trip to Battleship Cove.  Stay tuned for this.

P.S.  We stayed at the Comfort Inn in Danvers which is about half hour north of downtown Boston.  If you ever find yourself in Danvers and want a good pizza, check out Captain Pizza in Middleton.  They serve very excellent Greek style pizza.