Vacation Part 2: Wingaersheek Beach

We found the greatest beach on the planet while on vacation. In Gloucester, MA (pronounced: Glosster) is Wingaersheek Beach. Why is it the greatest?

:: NO waves! Honest to goodness. NO waves.

:: Super clean.

:: Incredibly shallow at low tide. As in, your kids won't even get waist deep.

:: With water so shallow, the water temp is quite comfortable.

:: Plenty of tidepools and rock formations to explore.

:: At low tide the beach goes on and on and on and on...

:: At low tide you can walk a MILE into the ocean. No. Joke.

I could have spent all week at this beach. Who am I kidding? I could spend the rest of my LIFE on this beach. It was perfect.

 Notice the people much farther out than us. All just standing around.

The line of people on the beach marks the end of the beach at high tide. At low tide is just goes on and on and on. It's incredible.

The calmest water you could ever dream of.

 

 

 

Note how far away the light house is. This was taken during our first day at the beach and the tide was already coming back in.

This was taken the second day at the beach. We were there AT low tide. We walked THAT much farther out to take the picture of the light house with the same settings as the previous picture.

The shore line can be seen in the background. Just follow the trees. All those little dots are people on the beach behind the high tide line. That's how far we walked out at low tide. At high tide all of it is completely under water. It was so crazy.

Cole had a bit of a "George Bluth" thing going on.

Vacation Part 3: Miller State Park

I'm skipping Part 2 for now because I realized ALL of those pictures were on Cole's phone, not the actual camera. So, here we are at Part 3: Miller State Park. Cole stumbled on to this little gem via Google and read that it had a fire lookout tower that guests could climb. The sentimental part of me, which is a BIG part of me, suddenly realized we HAD to go. My very best childhood friend's mother worked in a fire lookout tower the summer between her freshman and sophomore years of college. She is, hands down, the coolest, most interesting person I have ever had the pleasure of knowing, so I definitely had to check this out.

We hiked 1.4 miles and increased our elevation by 800 feet to the summit of Pack Monadnock. It was steep and very rocky and at times a little nerve wracking since the boys still can't fully comprehend everything that could go wrong on a hike like this. BUT, it was amazing! As if I didn't already think I have the most amazing children on the planet, this hike just proved what tough little cookies they are. The boys never complained, did not whine, did not once ask to be carried. They were totally, 110% into it. I can't get over how incredible they were. There's no way most 4- and 5-year-olds would have/could have done this like they did. I think Cole and I are doing something right to instill this confidence and determination in them.

There were spots that were really, really steep. And, yes, I was wearing a skirt.

I'm protecting them from the ledge. We were on a cliff.

I could have stared off in the distance all day long. It was so beautiful.

A few parts were nice and easy.

Some were a little trickier to keep your balance.

Sliding down the side on their hienies.

Top of the fire tower.

View from the fire tower.

Cole and Eli descending the tower.

At the summit

Resting at the summit.

That skyline is Boston...55 miles away from Miller State Park.

When we made it back to the parking lot, the boys were so proud of themselves. They had truly climbed a mountain. I was proud, too. They had hiked 2.8 miles, had an elevation change of 1600 feet (not counting all the little changes on the trail), and finished in under 3 hours. We were keeping pace with groups of adults. It was VERY impressive. Ian now has the bug. He wants to climb mountains all the time. So does Eli.

We all shared a round of high-fives. And, I was happy to tell the boys, "That's something to be proud of. That's a true accomplishment."

Vacation Part 1: Niagara Falls

We just got back from our summer vacation. It was nice to be on vacation, but I'm kind of sad that it's over. I don't have any more traveling to look forward to this summer. :-(

Anyway, the main point of this vacation was to go to Cole's cousin's wedding in New Hampshire. That's a long, LOOOOOOONG drive from home, so we broke it up a bit on the way out with a trip to Niagara Falls. We went to the Canadian side which is apparently the best way to see Niagara Falls. I don't know this for sure because I never looked from the American side. What I do know is that what I saw was amazing.

We stayed at the Fallsview Marriott, and I would definitely recommend it to a friend...or stranger. We somehow got a room upgrade to a High-Floor, Fallsview room and it was incredible. We were on the 20th floor and the mist from the falls was rising up higher than our windows.

 Horseshoe Falls

Bridal Veil

Down the incline rail...

Activity 1: "Journey Behind the Falls"

A series of tunnels have been built under Niagara Falls. You can walk through the tunnels and stand about 6 feet behind the water rushing over the falls.

Big gusts of wind blow the water into the tunnels.

Eli was not a fan, but the rest of us thought it was pretty darn cool.

But the best part of the "Journey Behind the Falls" was the observation deck.

All I can say is, "Wow!"

Then we went to take a look at the falls at lake-level.

They were soooo excited to be at Niagara Falls.

We rode the boat, The Hornblower, around the base of the falls.

(Maid of the Mist serves the American side, and the Hornblower serves the Canadian side.)

Everyone looked like garden gnomes.

Once we got really close to Horseshoe Falls, Eli was over it. We waited inside for Cole and Ian. I was a little bummed because getting drenched is part of the experience, and we only got sprayed by Bridal Veil, the little falls. But when you're four-years-old, I'm sure it's pretty freaky.

And, of course, like any good tourist attraction, the boat tour ended and you were routed through a gift shop. Each of the boys chose a shirt. Eli's declares, "Proud Canadian." We sort of tried to direct him toward another choice, but really, what does it matter? He loves it.

Up next...Vacation Part 2: The Most Incredible Beach for Families in the Continental U.S.