Vacation Week

Not a lot accomplished off the to-do list on Monday other than a load of laundry, an emptying of the dishwasher and looking in on our friend's cats while they were away on vacation, but a great vacation day! Headed over to the field house around 9:30 for a run out through the Commons and Coleman Farm, looping back through on the Landing singletrack. A crisp bright breezy morning, with pussywillows blooming roadside, trout lily leaves coming up in the sunlight along the Coleman Farm singletrack, two painted turtled sunning themselves in one of the ponds, a few phoebes flitting about and a lot of birdsong. Just sort of lollygagged along. (8.35 miles)

Then for the afternoon, it was off on an exploration with Mom and Dad, down to Scarborough Marsh to see if we could find the glossy ibis. We walked out and back on the Eastern Trail, with one loon, a pair of common mergansers, numerous egrets, both Snowy and Great, and a few flocks of ibis further out in the marsh grasses. It was high tide. I wonder if there would have been better viewing at low tide? It would have been cool to see the ibis up close but either way, it was a nice, if breezy, afternoon to be outside. (2.5 miles walked)

The glossy ibis look like little dots out amidst the brown marsh grasses

Of course, on the way home, we stopped at The Dairy Corner, because, well, duh, ice cream! Plus the logo looked like it had been created in the 70s, and the sign boasted 70 flavors, so of course we had to stop 😂😉😋 Definitely more reasonably sized portions, and not quite as rich and creamy as the Fielder's Choice ice cream, but always fun to try out a new ice cream spot! A fun way to wrap up the afternoon. 

Work days on Tuesday and Wednesday, so not much of excitement. Did get out for an afternoon walk out on the powerlines and over Mt. A. on Wednesday with Ryan. The sun is warm, but as I feel like has been the theme these past few months, man, that breeze is strong and chilly! Sam was at Mom and Dad's for the afternoon and had walked downtown for gelato. I guess it is turning into a rather ice-creamy vacation😂 😋🍦(2.5 miles walked)

Off from work on Thursday, but also trying to get some things crossed off the to-do list before we headed south for a visit with Irene and Dana, so headed out reasonably early for a run on the powerlines. Nice morning. (7.0 miles)

A rather leisurely almost 10 am start on Friday, out on the roads in Georgetown with Ryan. Not quite sure how it was possible, but it was windy in literally every direction on the loop we ran. What is up with that?! Definitely very spring-like down in MA, with magnolia, azaleas and what I think were black cherry all in bloom, with that vibrant bright early spring green emerging throughout the landscape. (5.0 miles)

Once we got showered up after our run, we headed over to Newburyport for a delicious fried food and beer lunch along the water before heading out for a walk. The wind was whipping quite strongly and so we aborted our plan to walk along the river and instead took an off-shoot of the riverwalk on a neat little stretch of rail trail. Although just over a mile in distance, the path offered up some neat gardens and sculptures as well as the chance to stop and have a beer at the Riverwalk Brewery en-route. I mean, go out for a walk, end up at a brewery, sounds about right, right?! 😂🍻 (2.6 miles walked)

Beer stop!

And of course, before heading home, we stopped for ice cream. Because, vacation, people! 😉😆😎 Turned into a really fun afternoon out and about!

Saturday morning, I headed out onto the roads for a solo run. Not quite as windy as Friday, thank goodness! Cool, with bright sunshine and lots of birdsong. (8.0 miles)

Then after helping Irene and Dana get their outside patio furniture out and setting up some shelves that had been delivered for Dana's lego collection, we had a yummy lunch of eggs, pancakes and bacon before heading home. It was a fun visit and really nice to see Irene and Dana!

After getting things unpacked, we headed over to the Heath for a short walk. Nice to get out and stretch the legs after the drive. (1.0 miles walked)

Then Sunday morning, it was time to get the long run done! Headed out around 8:00 and ran a mix of cart paths, Cathance and powerlines. Cool and bright. Woods were fairly quiet, with only a pair of bluebirds seen and a multitude of swallows flitting about the birdhouses along the dump ponds, and still not a whole lot of greenery yet, although some early leaves from the false lily of the valley are beginning to poke up on the forest floor. Felt decent and happy to wrap up the week with a good run. (16.0 miles)