Vacate: (v) to leave; go away.

I've been down to the CT shoreline and up to the Boston area over the last week for photography shoots, but in all 3 instances, the sessions won't be put up on the blog... So, instead, I bring you 4th of July happenings from our family's perspective.

We spent a wonderful day on Friday down at Mystic Seaport, with all 3 of our kids, plus our little friend Lo, who came along for Nora. It was bright and clear, with blue, blue skies and warm sun. How refreshing after the overabundance of rain over the past many weeks! We had a great day, taking in all the sights, participating in all the scheduled activities, and enjoying the oceanside.

Because of the holiday, the Seaport staff had lots of interesting activities for children. The only problem was that some of them were occurring simultaneously. It was a good lesson for the kids in figuring out priorities. Some decisions had to be made by all 4 of them as to which was the most exciting. Fortunately, they agreed, and picked some great places to go...

Learning how to make lanyards at the town green gazebo:









Tying nautical knots:
















Peeking into the Oyster House:







This was a fun presentation-- a re-enactment of an historic Coast Guard rescue. The following happened when the crew warned of a loud cannon blast. "FIRE IN THE HOLE!"





Watching a documentary on the restoration of the ship 'Charles W. Morgan.' This one makes me smile-- Can you tell that these kids don't have a TV? :) They were enthralled...




'Love these old buildings:


















We were able to tour the Charles W. Morgan, which is the last wooden whaling ship. Mystic is a fully-working seaport, and we were able to go up onto this 40-foot high structure to see the work in progress...

...Which provided us with this beautiful view towards downtown Mystic:

The Shanty Man was serenading us aboard Chas. W:









So there was an old-fashioned game of tug-of-war on the town green. The kids pleaded for both Paul and I to take turns helping them out. I mean, we wouldn't want to disappoint them or anything. I won't say which side won, but if you see my kids around, feel free to ask them. :)

Just some cute kids we saw hanging around:


A certain young history buff was hanging on every word of the crastmen at each exhibit.















We walked into this barn and Joel yells out, "Captain Ahab!!!" I was all, "Joel, shhh, that's not at Mystic. That's Moby Dick." --

'Um, yeah, I know, Mom-- Look up.'

Oh. Right. Thanks for that. :) Yup, he's getting to the age where he thinks he knows more than me. And I'm starting to wonder myself. I can't imagine where he gets it from. Not like I ever thought I knew more than my parents...




I know this is a mammoth post, so I'll finish off the rest of our adventures in another journal entry. Which I will sneak peek right here: A few days later, we traveled to Harkness for the evening. It was a certain little boy's first time at the beach! Can you tell he thoroughly enjoyed himself?

"But more wonderful than the lore of old men and the lore of books is the secret lore of ocean."

-H.P. L.