Summer Week 3 {Airplane Week} : Sit in an Airplane

Apparently our local airport has “Cruise Nights” – a night when you can go see old cars . . .  so we went. Partly to check out the cars . . .

But mostly to check out the airport . . . since it is Airplane Week . . .

And it is a great little airport with a control tower, an old helicopter and lots of planes on the other side of the fence.

Imagine our surprise when the DJ came up to us as Cole was dancing and asked if we thought Colton would like to SIT in an old airplane from World War II.  We were so amazed and thrilled.

Our new friend Steve unlocked the gate, walked us by a dozen planes and showed us his airplane, a two seater he flew here from Florida . . .

Isn’t she a happy looking plane?

And what a happy little guy who got to explore a real airplane during airplane week.

We had a wonderful Airplane Week!

Happy Flying Colton!

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40 for 40 {Experience 23} : Time Travel

My love of history has grown over time.  In high school I found it mildly interesting.  In college I enjoyed it more.  Living on the North Shore of Boston increased my interest in local history and traveling brought new perspectives and new interests.  Cry Innocent certainly began a journey of learning history in a whole new way and tutoring it has really helped me understand history on a deeper level.  Moving to Texas made me miss history.  Andrew and I would drive to “historic downtowns” in little towns outside Houston and were always disappointed.  We missed New England.

So returning to Massachusetts, it has been a goal to get to Plimouth Plantation, and we finally did (with our Groupon coupons).

It was a wonderful day traveling through time and many different places.

We began in a Wompanoag village

 

We traveled by the water

And up to a seventeenth century English village

We loved exploring the village and the houses

We then headed to the Mayflower II

And Plymouth Rock

It was a great day where we learned and laughed and really loved watching our little guy explore whole new worlds  . . . with us.  Good days.

 

 

 

 

 

 

40 for 40 {Experience 20} : Walking in Salem

I love Salem, Massachusetts.  This building is the Custom House, built in 1810.  Nathaniel Hawthorne worked here in the 1840’s and the opening of The Scarlet Letter is in this building.  It overlooks Salem’s port . . . I was sad there was a truck parked out here when I visited . . . the walk out to the little light was a favorite of mine when I lived in Salem.

 

I lived in Salem from 1996 – 2002 in two different homes.  I loved them . . . welcome to my Winter Street place

 

Then I moved to closer to the ocean to this sweet little place (this is where Andrew picked me up on our first date) . . .

So I love Salem because I lived there, because I worked there.  Because it is a city on the ocean and a city of history.

I think you would like it too . . .

So you know that I asked Heidi to come visit for my fortieth birthday and that we performed together in Cry Innocent. So what I really wanted to do was to visit Salem with Heidi, and I loved every second of it.

Here is Heidi in front of the Friendship.  It came into the harbor while we were working together in Salem.

The streets were filled with people.

We stopped at Bridget Bishop’s stone

And we did it . . . we snuck in the back door of Old Town Hall

 

We were both struck by the smell and it transported us back.  We snuck up the back stairwell

We peeked through the door as the audience voted on whether or not to hang this generations Bridget Bishop.  So many memories with my dear friend.

Thank you, Heidi, for peeking with me through the window of our past . . .

It was a beautiful view.

 

 

 

 

40 for 40 Interruption : Cry Innocent

For four years of my life I was part of Cry Innocent, a live performance, interactive trial based on the manuscripts of a witch trial in Salem in 1692.  For at least three shows a day a cast of four men and four women would play various roles of historical characters.

The trial begins on the streets of Salem with an arrest.

Constable (Tony) arrests Bridget Bishop (Bekah)

Performances ran three times a day with a cast that rotated through the roles.  Here I am playing Bridget and apparently interacting with a very sweet faced little boy, though I am sure I was not being kind . . .

I also loved playing sisters with my friend Heidi.  Here Lori and Heidi are cracking the audience up . . .

No digital pictures when these pics were taken, I love that you can see three different characters in this picture . . .

Sarah Shattuck (Jenni) testifies against  Bridget Bishop while the Constable (Nate) observes

Each show would have five cast members.  Here is a show from 1997 (despite the ’87 mark)  . . .

Here are a couple of the Cry Innocent Casts that I had the privilege being a part of, I was the production manager of these two casts . . .

I loved being a part of this show and am grateful for years spent doing historic theater in a town that I love.

 

 

Holocaust Memorial

Today we went into Boston to meet up with one of Liza’s students who was visiting from her class in Uganda. We walked through the Holocaust memorial. It is really unbelievable to think about what took place during that time. The memorial has 6 towers, each with a million serial numbers of those killed in the concentration camps. May we be compassionate of those around us and always willing to stand up for people who are in need.

Our Town

Tonight we went for a walk around our Town. We stopped by the Wenham Museum which is just down the street from us. It’s a sweet little place with historical toys, a great toy train setup in the basement and a variety of exhibits throughout the year.

We found this mysterious stone in front of the Wenham Town Hall. We’re not sure what it’s for, but I’m sure someone will know the story behind it and why it’s there. We’ll update this post if we find out.

Boston Light

This is one of my favorite images of the day . . . it was such a great day, hence I dedicated a full post to it.  This is Boston Light on Little Brewster Island.  I was intrigued to learn that the little house on the left is lived in by Sally Snowman, a single woman in her 40’s who has lived out here since 2003.  That is a woman with an adventurous spirit.  We loved adventuring around the Boston Harbor Islands today.

A New Day

Today I met a local legend, “The Train Man.”  Reggie Smith bought a home in Wenham, Massachusetts in 1953.  He raised his children there and served the community in numerous ways.  Most recently he was responsible for numerous model trains at the Wenham Museum.  Today my Mom purchased Mr. Smith’s home just around the corner from the Sharpteam.  It was a great day.  Meeting Mr. Smith was a joy for today.  Having Mimi and Skip around the corner will be a joy in the years ahead.

The staircase at the new house.

History Through the Eyes of the Future

They have read the Declaration of Independence at this site on July 4 since 1777 (it was read on July 14, 1776).  This year the Sharpteam was in Boston.  We went on a Boston by Foot tour and thoroughly enjoyed this day celebrating freedom on the Freedom Trail.  We are celebrating summer by being local tourists.  We are celebrating history by learning more about it.

Quiz for our history buff friends (also the way patriots were determined in the War of 1812).  Do you know what is on top of Fanueil Hall in Boston?

Love knowing more about our history, our city, and our world.  Love sharing it with Cole and Andrew!

Appreciation of History and Love for Boston

Boston is one of my all time favorite cities. This 4th of July we took a walking tour of Boston and saw some of the countries very beginnings. I couldn’t help but feel a sense of patriotism and appreciation for those who spoke and led and helped form what are now the freedoms I am able to enjoy today. And I am incredibly appreciative of those who work to preserve these parts of our history. And for those who have vision to repurpose the old with the new, but still maintain the integrity of what once was. I love Boston.