The One With The Summer Recap

 

Today is that day I always dread, but know is coming. Today is that last Sunday before the first day of school. Ugh.

But, it is the perfect time to reflect on the past year take a glimpse at what we were able to accomplish this summer.  And, to be honest, it was an amazing summer:

Here is a list of what we did:

TRIPS

Cape Cod (three times)

Canada (for a week)

Hershey Park (for four nights)

FUN STUFF

Horribles Parade

Boston Trolley Ride At Night

Father's Day Brunch

Bri's 16th party

Oldies Night 

Emmie Paint Night

PLAYS

All Heaven Broke Loose (Carlos's play)

CONCERT

Ed Sheeran

MOVIES

Flash

No Hard Feelings

Asteroid City

Indian Jones and the Dial of Destiny

Oppenheimer

Mission Impossible 7

VISITS

Good Harbor Beach twice

Swamp Walk

New Walk (in Danvers) 

 
CLASSES

Bri and Kiff took Writer's Course

Bri took Driver's Ed

Band Camp

PROJECTS

Garage!!!

Fix side walkway

Plant in front of pool

Fix swing set to turn into a reading nook

Clean out bedroom and hall

 

Overall, it was quite a summer!!!

The One With Hersey Park

 

 

Today we spent the entire day at Hershey Park as part of our Hershey visit. It was a ton of fun. Emmie and I went on some rides, but the kids went on most.

 

Perhaps the most interesting - and exciting - part of the day was the fact that we had identified which ride Emmie and I went on that caused us to avoid roller coasters for the rest of our lives (at least for now). It was the Wild Mouse. It was still in operation. Bri and Kiff decided to be brave and go on it. Bri needed some little coaxing. In the end, they both loved the ride. But they also found out why we may not have liked it so much. Interestingly, Emmie and I found out that the ride is their highest category of thrill ride - this is something we did not know in 2004 when we went on it. Perhaps if we did, we would have avoided it.

 

The other rides we went on were:

1. The Dry Gulch Railroad - it was cute but short.

2. The Comet - this is a classic roller coaster that Bri and Kiff went on and liked

3. The Monorail - a short ride that goes out of the park. It usually has a long line, but moves fast and is a relaxing ride after walking all day. 

4. Reese's Cupfusion - similar to the Toy Story ride in Disney. You are on the hunt for "bad candy" (aka candy not made by Hersheys). It was cute, but nowhere worth the nearly two hour wait.

5. The scrambler - Bri, Kiff, and I went on this. It was a very fast scrambler ride

6. Twin turnpike Speedway - we all went on this ride. It was a tradition ride cars ride in the park.

7. Tilt-a-whirl - An awesome tilting ride....very much like traditional tilt-a-whirls

8.The Howler - Bri, Kiff, and I went on this. it was designed to be like a Tea-Cup in the air...but they shut off the motion part for our ride.

9. Cocoa Cruiser - mini coaster that Kiff and Bri went on. It was a long wait and Kiff said it wasn't worth it. But they had fun.

10. Frontier Flyers - Kiff and Bri shared a flyer on this ride. Bri learned not to be on the inside of it.

3. Music express - Bri and Kiff went on this ride like the Himalaya at Santa's Village...good ride

The One With Oppenheimer

 

 

Today, we saw the movie Oppenheimer. It is one that I had been looking forward to for some time...and one that was on my list of must sees.

And needless to say, it did not disappoint. Of course, Kiff insisted we see it in the IMAX theater. While it was worth it - spectacle wise - seat wise it was a little tight.

 But, that was the only complaint. The movie was simply magnificent. It really had two stories going on - Oppenheimer creating the atomic bomb with the other scientists as part of the Manhattan Project and Oppenheimer defending himself from Lewis Strauss, later on, during the height of the second red scare.

 It was a little long, but did not drag, and really showed the power of what was happening at the time. It is definitely not just a movie, but the embodiment of an important piece of history.

The One With Good Harbor Beach

 

 

Today, we decided to do something a little different. We actually decided to have a Beach Day.

Emmie has wanted to go to a Gloucester Beach for the past few years - mainly as a way to de stress - so we decided to do that today. First, when I think of North Shore beaches, I often think of ones that are rocky. But this one had the sand found like most Cape Cod beaches. It also had a small island to the left of the beach....one I would have loved to explore when I was a kid. The beach was wide, which was amazing. And you were allowed to play with different balls (we brought a football) on the beach. Amazing!!!

We spent about two hours there. We checked out the water - it was cold. Someone was surfing....which for the first time ever looked interesting to me. And the lifeguards were on the beach working on different things (including moving a large log).

After our stay, Kiff got the most expensive smoothie ever. We also went to Essex Seafood and got clam strips (well, I got chicken fingers). What a great way to end the day.