This past weekend myself, my aunt Patti and uncle Matt, my other uncle Mike and my two cousins Alyssa and Hannah were treated to an all expenses paid trip- courtesy of Grandma Donna- to New England where Mike, Alyssa, and Hannah live. It was a great weekend filled with whale watching, softball and baseball, awesome New England/Bostonian food, and family that I haven't seen in quite some time.
The last time I saw my cousins Alyssa and Hannah was 14 years ago. I was twelve, Alyssa was six, and Hannah had just been born. I remember trying to hold Hannah and all she did was cry. Being as I was a too cool for school twelve year-old and Alyssa only being six I don't think we interacted much. How the times have changed. In the 14 years since we last saw each other they've grown into two beautiful, smart, intrepid young women.
Alyssa is an International Relations major at Tufts University. She recently went on a trip to Pakistan and India and met with and interviewed officials from both countries nuclear arms programs. After undergrad she plans to go to medical school. To put it into perspective my nineteenth year of life was spent getting into trouble with the law twice for underage drinking and growing out my hair. That girl is wicked smaht, as they say in New England.
Hannah is going to be going into her freshman year of high school in the fall and is now the reigning jock of the family. We got to watch her play in a softball tournament this past weekend and her team "mercy-ruled" a couple of other teams. This is where Hannah's team was beating the other team so badly that the other coach got down on his knees and begged Hannah's coach for mercy. It was quite a scene.
One of the highlights of the weekend was going whale watching. Our tour guide was scientist named Leah who was doing research on the whales in the region. If you ever get the chance to go on one I highly recommend it. Seeing the animals up close is impressive to say the least. We also got lucky and got to see a super pod of Atlantic White Fin Dolphins. There were a couple hundred animals in the super pod and they looked like they were having a good time out in the ocean jumping around and riding the wake of the boat. It's going to be a dark day for humanity when those things develop opposable thumbs.
The best part of being on a whale watching tour is seeing the entire boat turn into a group of eager third graders. We all want to be the first one to spot a whale. We all want to get a great picture. We all want Leah to see that we did a good job. And when some animals are finally spotted things get kind of crazy.
"Lookoverthereablowhole!Yousaid"blowhole"!Ohyeahawesome!Isthatahumpbackwhale?Coolthetailcameoutofthewaterhe'sgoingdown!Waitarethosedolphins?ThoseAREdolphins!YEAHDOLPHINS!They'replayingwiththeboat!Iwannapetone!Iwannarideone!Thatwouldbesocool!There'sanotherwhaleoverthere!YESmorewhales!What'shisname?Sedge?HISEDGE!Areyouhungry?Ibethe'sreallyhungry!He'sgoingdownagain?HemustbeREALLYhungry!
And that was just Grandma Donna and Patti. But seriously, it is pretty exhilarating to see the animals in the wild.
Sunday we all watched the Brewers get embarrassed by the Red Sox at Fenway. The Brewers gave up six runs in the first and by then it was over. I kept talking about the train making a turn to Comeback City but apparently that stop had been removed from the schedule. After the game we got some pasta and dessert at a small restaurant in the North End. (If you've never driven in Boston I don't recommend it. I'm pretty sure the road system was designed by a four year-old with a crayon taped to his hand. He scribbled all over some blank wall and another guy nodded and said, "It's just crazy enough to work. All right boys, let's make it happen!" I'm glad all I had to do was sit back and take in the scenery.) I also had my first cannoli and it was beyond delicious. It's well known I have a massive sweet tooth and I was not disappointed. A nice big sugar bomb to round out the weekend was just what I needed. After dessert we said our goodbyes and went our separate ways. A bittersweet end to a great weekend. Thank you Grandma, Patti, Matt, Mike, Alyssa, and Hannah.
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