Vacation 2016, The Adams Family

After sleeping in (a rarity for the Cruz family), we had breakfast at Margie's Dream, another diner in Manchester, before hitting the road.  

We took a short detour to Quincy, MA, to see the homes of John, Abigail, and John Quincy. Their homes clear grew fancier over time as they became more successful.

A late lunch was had at Wood's Seafood in Plymouth, MA where we feasted on lobster rolls and fried shrimp. 

The highlight of Plymouth was the Mayflower II, a replica of the original ship that transported the Pilgrims from England.

We had the chance to talk to a "real" Pilgrim who survived the journey and the brutal winter, and we were able to go below deck to learn about how the Pilgrims lived aboard the ship

Plymouth is NOT where the Mayflower first landed.  They first stopped in what is now Provincetown Harbor in Cape Cod.  Nonetheless, we had to check out Plymouth Rock (or at least a portion of it), which is housed underneath a Roman-style portico.

After checking into our hotel in Cape Cod, we drove to see our first Cape Cod Baseball League game.  The Cape is home to a summer wooden bat league featuring the best college players in America.  One out of every six major leaguers played on the Cape.

We practically sat in the dugout as we watched the hometown Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox defeat the Harwich Mariners.

The game breezed along in just two hours, so Ava was able to take a quick dip in the indoor pool at our hotel before heading to bed.

Tune in tomorrow for more Cape Cod adventures.

Vacation 2016, Putting The "Tour" In "Tourist"

After surviving a red-eye flight from LA to Boston and a snafu with a rental car company which shall remain nameless we were pretty much running on empty.  Our first stop was the Red Arrow Diner in Manchester, New Hampshire, a favorite of politicians and celebrities during presidential primary season.  We had a stupendous breakfast, Ava got to sit in the same seat used by President Obama, and her breakfast was served on a souvenir frisbee.

Driving two plus hours north to Waterbury, Vermont (Vermont being our third state of the day and fourth in twelve hours), we visited the world famous Ben & Jerry's factory.  The tour was enlightening and amusing, and included large samples served in the original lab used by Ben and Jerry.

Driving through the beautiful green hills (mountains?) of Vermont, we eventually came to Cabot cheese, where cheese is made 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  We had to wear blue booties over our shoes as we toured the active plant operations, and had the chance to see almost the entirety of the cheese making process.  The bad news is that we weren't allowed to take photos inside the factory, but the good news is that we found some new favorites - Ava particularly enjoyed the smoked bacon cheddar. 

For a late lunch, we stopped at the Threepenny Taproom in Montpelier - the state capital where we also saw the quaint downtown area and the beautiful statehouse. 

All this driving afforded Ava an opportunity for some much needed sleep.

Heading back to Manchester we were able to check into our hotel room, which overlooked the stadium for the New Hampshire Fisher Cats (the AA team for the Toronto Blue Jays).

We watched the game itself from inside the stadium with our friends Jen and Rob.  Although the Fisher Cats lost, there were plenty of exciting plays and we were able to celebrate Star Wars night with the team mascot, Fungo.  

We ended our night by watching the thrilling fireworks show from our hotel room.

Well, it's time for bed, but more adventures await us tomorrow as we head back south to Massachusetts.  

So Long Third Grade!

Ava's final trimester as a third grader at Brywood was filled with learning, fun, and new activities.  She was lucky to have Mrs. Gillette as her teacher before Mrs. Gillette retired.  We enjoyed seeing all the wonderful projects Ava did in the classroom at open house.

 

While Abby volunteers at school once a week, Chris doesn't get to see the inside of the classroom often so it was a real treat to see the kids read some of their favorite stories and reports during Author's Tea.  Ava helped with her friend Elyse's story, and read one of her own.

Chris and Ava spent their usual night outside (with roughly four hours of sleep) during the Brywood Dads' campout.

Ava and Catherine celebrated field day by wearing the same shirt and being on the same gray team.

Ava's hard work and great attitude earned her a teacher's choice award and the class spirit award.

Alas, all good things must come to an end, and Ava had to say goodbye to Mrs. Gillette.  Next year Ava will move on up to fourth grade and join the "upper graders" where she'll have the opportunity to play violin.

Kids in Space

Ava's life is more than just sports, Girl Scouts, and junk food.  She loves science - whether it's animals and plant life or earth and space science.  She even wrote a paper this year about the earth's crust.  This past weekend, Ava got a chance to visit the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), the home of NASA's Deep Space Network and robotic spacecraft.

One of the highlights was Mission Control (or the Center of the Universe) where scientists and engineers communicate with spacecraft throughout our solar system.  On July 4, Mission Control will be buzzing as everyone waits in anticipation of Juno's arrival at Jupiter after a five year journey.

JPL is known for its work on the Mars Exploration Rovers and the Curiosity rover.  Ava saw mockups both large and small, and even had a rover crawl over her.

Throughout the day we learned about deep space, the search for exoplanets, dark matter, and had the chance to take part in interactive experiments and play with some of the exhibits. 

For anyone in Southern California with an interest in science and space, Ava highly recommends the JPL open house.

Sporty Spice

Retiring from gymnastics has given Ava more time for other extracurricular activities, and allowed her to spend time on new sports, as well as focusing on some of her old sports.

Ava has always participated in her school's Jog-A-Thon, but this year she joined the inaugural season of the Blazing Blue Jays running club and completed over 26.2 miles of running, finishing her last mile with her team on the OC Marathon course, and earning an OC Kids Marathon medal.

Ava has been able to spend more time on tennis, working on her technique, and goofing around, too.

Ava continues to play soccer and her skills have taken a big leap.  The Icebreakers were champions of the spring season - losing just one game - and added a spring tournament medal to their trophy cabinet with a 2-1 come from behind win in the final game.

Earlier this year we spent a weekend in Big Bear skiing with her buddy Josh. 

When she's not participating in sports, Ava spends plenty of time watching sports with family and friends, including being able to parade around Angel Stadium with her Brownie troop.