Parker's Maple Barn Year 2

 

Oscar Night!  Samantha takes a cue from Beyonce, Madonna, and Lady Gaga by rocking the "no pants" with my ballet slippers look. Elliot finds her best red carpet gear.  Both gals purses are by Stuart Weitzman. 

And now, this is not really from Parker's, but from Island Java in the Bahamas.   I felt I needed to make up for the picture of Sammy in just her diaper.  Plus, these donuts were amazing!  And now for the previously scheduled post:

It's maple sugar season.  Our annual pilgrimage to a sugar shack and big breakfast.  The CJos found us Parker's Maple Barn last year, and only over an hour outside of Boston into New Hampshire, it's a winner.  Our girls still get up so early, we just planned to wake, jump in the van and be there when they opened at 7:30 am (otherwise there are very long lines).  The reality was, we woke, then decided, maybe a quick shower, and oh yeah we should get directions, and pack up all the sleepover gear (we had Alex & Zoe with us) and then hit the road!  Oh wait, Ben wants coffee.  Stop at Starbucks 1:  doesn't open until 7AM.  Drive on.  Stop at Starbucks 2:  Open.  And Oh. My. God.  My 9 year old niece and nephew have an order for Starbucks "steamed milk with caramel".  We wait in the car while Ben goes in.  I have to dig around to find an outlet so the 'tweens can plug in their laptop.  Elliot asks if we are at the maple barn:  we have not even left Cambridge.  Ben comes to the car with a drink carrier FULL of lattes.  6 of them.  2 adult ones and 4 kiddie drinks in little kiddie Starbucks cups.  Are you kidding me?  But we are happy to learn that the little kiddie steamed milks in their little cute kid cups are about half the price of those organic chocolate milk boxes we have been getting for the girls.  So there.  I guess my 3 and 2 year olds now have their own orders at Starbucks too.  Ben puts the car in drive.  Elliot spills her cocoa down her front, but "that's ok!" and then Ben notices the van is out of gas.  We pull into the gas station.  Anyone keeping track out there?  This is our THIRD stop and we have not even left Cambridge. 

But right, this was supposed to be about Parker's Maple Barn.  It was worth the trip.  The breakfast is awesome (though, surprisingly, the pancakes are not great - which is fine)  Note to me next year:  get the French Toast - deep fried.  They have it and it looked awesome.  Also, if one nephew asks for a cinnamon roll, order one for the niece too to avoid disappointment. 

Walking back from the sugar shack, and toward the gift shop and a year's worth of maple syrup, we found a stack of these boxes.  Good lord, what are bacon jugs?  So many connotations. 

Bahamian Vacation 2010

Last year we went to Chicago in February and vowed we would go somewhere warm this year.  On a little-researched whim, we went to the Bahamas.  We had a fantastic time, just the four of us in our deluxe tiny bedroom in the sky.  No vacation is without its price, figuratively and literally.  On the figurative side, as most of our adventures start, the price came in the form of being covered in puke yet again on an airplane.  Actually 4 times, spread across 2 flights.  While Sammy was getting her airsick on, Elliot made no less than 7 trips to the airport potty in a 2 hour flight.  Pretty impressive.  Upon arrival, we felt justified in our steady diet of 2 pina coladas by the pool a day.  We also learned some things about the Bahamas.  Grand Bahama Island is actually further north than Miami, and it is much hotter there than it is in say, Boston, this time of year, its not exactly sweltering.  That dingy sweatshirt I brought sure got a lot of wear.

Our Lucaya, Grand Bahama Island

The view from our room. 

Elliot saw the scary mannequin head and asked to have her hair braided.  Sitting on a crate in front of Subway.  She sat there for 40 minutes.  She spent that long tantrumming in our room running from us brushing her hair just an hour before.  Turned out to be the best investment ever ($2 per braid, yikes!) - we didn't have to do her hair for the rest of the trip and it lasted 6 days.  Who can do this for us in Cambridge?

Swimming in the hot tub.  It was freezing a couple of days.  And for a couple of days it felt like we rented a private island with a full staff and no other people.  Then a big conference descended on the place and it was hopping (and still, sometimes cold).  We made fast friends with a toddler from .... Somerville!  Just 1 T stop away from us.  How random.  

Samantha dipping her Tetakki tuna roll in Apple Ponzu sauce.  On one hand it is a little gross that we took our girls out to fancy sushi date night with us, on the other hand, I am proud of us for choosing to eat there b.c Ben & I would like it instead of the touristy family joint that might have been more suitable for families.  The good side of us being on this deserted island is that the restaurant wasn't crowded, so were happy for the business and didn't seem to mind feeding toddlers on their porcelain dishes.  

Playing Go Fish in the lobby of the deserted Manor House.  The next day:  on to see the dolphins!

Exuma the dolphin we pet and kissed.

Crybaby and China Doll, I am talking about the birds.

Hunting for conch on the beach

Samantha seems a little too at ease here.

This is us, traveling light.

This is our return flight:  our little yellow bucket was not used at all on this leg.  You can hate us again.