What Summer Feels Like

A Vacation to Remember

For our first anniversary, Warren and I decided to plan a trip instead of exchanging gifts. We thought it would be cooler to experience something we would remember forever than just to buy material things. We chose Chatham, Cape Cod as a destination, and WOW, it turned out to be incredible! We found our inn in the Select Registry that we got on our honeymoon and it did not disappoint. It was beautiful, peaceful and had every amenity we could want. They had some of the gorgeous blue hydrangeas that grow so abundantly all over the Cape and I couldn't help taking a million pictures of them. Our room was beautiful and we enjoyed resting there at night watching a DVD from the inn's library. It was a great way to get back our energy after all our day's activities. They had a lovely pool where we sat and read our books, and a huge lawn where we sat to drink our evening tea. Chatham is a lovely and quiet town...I'll have to thank Lloyd for recommending it.

Two of our most momentous experiences included a 4 hour guided kayak tour and a whale watch. The kayak tour was led by an awesome guy by the name of Dick Hilmer, who we regarded as a sort of Indiana Jones of the ocean. :) He was incredibly knowledgeable about the sandbars and the wildlife, not to mention his considerable kayaking skills. He's an ecologist and in addition to his kayaking he teaches 7th grade Earth Science and works with local watermen to help them to be environmentally responsible. He knew the location and time of day/tide to find some seals, and we were thrilled by repeated sightings of them popping their whiskery faces up to look at us. At one point we watched a group of around 10 adults gamboling in the water. I would have been happy at that, but then to top it off, a baby broke away from the group and followed us determinedly for 10-20 minutes, coming right up to us and even trying to climb up onto one of the kayaks, allowing us to get a fantastic look at him! It was a priceless experience. We stopped a few times throughout the journey to explore islands or go swimming or just take a rest. It was a major workout but a glorious way to exercise and get to know the beautiful nature of the area.

The whale watch left out of Provincetown, so we drove up that morning and walked around the town a bit first. It took us about 45 minutes to get out to a part of the ocean where we first spotted some humpback whales, and it was incredible to see their flippers and tails and glimpses of their colossal backs. But then we got REALLY lucky and found about 6-8 whales feeding. They were diving down, blowing their bubble nets and coming up in groups to take huge mouthfuls of water filled with krill. It was easy to spot where they would surface because the bubbles were a lighter color than the rest of the water, and HUGE crowds of birds would zoom over to the spot in hopes of catching some fish for themselves. They even tried to grab them out of the whales' mouths. We got such a thrilling, close view of the whales' heads and looked right into their mouths. To come so close to these incredible wild animals is a life-changing experience that you never forget. I have possibly never felt so in awe of this Earth as I was for those hours. It was just amazing.

Here are just a couple of the many photos we took on the trip. More can be found on our Flickr page, as well as some whale videos.

An Update

A blissful month of summer vacation has passed. I am trying to savor every minute of it! Today was my last day of teaching at summer band. Tim, the teacher who conducts the bands, was feeling ill today so I stayed after my lessons to direct the 4 bands so that he could go home. It was quite hot on stage and with the effort of conducting about 10 scores with zero preparation, I was working up a sweat! It went well, though, and I enjoyed hearing the full instrumentation since I usually work just with the clarinets. I kind of enjoy the spontaneity of teaching, when situations come up like they did today and you have to run with them. I am always such a planner, and sometimes it's very refreshing to wing it and be able to feel confident about what I'm doing. The jazz band rehearsal was particularly fun and they did a great job. As usual I feel a little sad to say goodbye. I guess I'll get used to it over many years of children coming and going, but I hope I always retain the sense of joy and pride and curiosity that I feel for them now.

I had a fun day last weekend with Heidi. We made mimosas and had brunch in her little garden and spent the day at Island Beach State Park and Seaside.

Warren and I are getting ready to take off to the Cape for a few days as soon as his program is over on Sunday. Hooray! I hope it will be a relaxing and adventurous time.

Another Trip to the Bronx Zoo

Yeah, I know, I never stop talking about this place, but Jess and Pete had never been so I took them there yesterday. It was a beautiful day and more crowded than usual..I actually prefer going on a more overcast day when there are barely any people. But it was very fun, and I got a free ticket due to some Bank of America promotional thing. Nice! Here are a couple of the cooler pictures:

Gorgeous Day

Yesterday was fantastic weather, high 70s, warm and a bit breezy, and we decided we wanted to do something in Bucks County where we could really enjoy being outdoors. We looked at a couple wineries and places to kayak online and ended up closer to Princeton where we went kayaking along the canal. It was SO beautiful. We had a picnic in a little meadow and then kayaked for a couple of hours, enjoying the fantastic water, shady trees and nice scenery. We saw a Great Blue heron flying overhead, a bunch of turtles, and one gigantic spider on the riverbank. It was so relaxing and a good workout at the same time. When we have a house where we have room to store them, we've decided we want to get a couple kayaks. We really enjoyed using them on our honeymoon as well. Afterwards we had a bit of wine while we strolled along the canal road and stopped by a farm market on the way home. It was the best way to spend such a beautiful day. We hope to go back again sometime this summer.

A Lovely List

Here is what I have done or plan to do over my spring break!

1. Visit Melissa in Washington D.C.

2. Go to lunch and a museum in the city with Carm and Lloyd

3. Go to Sally Lunn for tea and scones with Mitch

4. See Don Giovanni at the Met with Julia

5. Spend one day lying on the couch watching tv

6. Enjoy dinner and game night with Jess and Pete

7. Make a trip to the mall

8. Play with the kitty

Now THAT is the kind of week I would like to have more often! However, it would put quite a dent in the bank account. :)

A Trip to Washington DC

As soon as my spring break began on Thursday afternoon, Warren brought me to the airport and I traveled down to Washington to visit my friend Melissa. She has been living there for about a year and has been wanting me to come visit for some time. Last weekend seemed perfect since Warren was very busy anyway with Holy Week rehearsals and opera rehearsals. It was a fantastic trip from beginning to end. I walked out of Reagan airport to find a plethora of cabs waiting and easily got one for the short trip to Melissa's apartment in Glover Park. As our drive began I was immediately struck by the greenery and flowers everywhere. It was so beautiful. We drove by the Mall and I had beautiful views of the Potomac, Jefferson and Lincoln memorials and the Monument. My cabbie pointed out the Vice President's home and the various embassies along the way. It was an exciting glimpse of adventures to come. We spent 3 days walking all over, seeing the sights that we were most interested in- 3 to 5 miles a day! We went to some lovely restaurants and did some relaxing girly things like mani/pedis and a bit of shopping. It was great to have the time to talk and see these beautiful things with Melissa. It is such a gorgeous, clean and friendly city. To see so many reminders of our history and the people who have shaped it is so awe-inspiring. I have a clear idea of some things I want to see again or for the first time when I go back. I plan to bring Warren sometime soon. There are a number of romantic looking inns or (probably cheaper) regular hotels and many activities I already have in mind. While we were there Melissa brought me to a shop she likes where a local man takes photos around the city and I bought one to hang in the apartment of the Jefferson Memorial from across the Tidal Basin framed by a cherry tree. I find myself looking at it frequently and remembering this lovely trip. Thanks, Melissa, for a wonderful weekend!!