The Great Escape

Remember when I told you JO's parents are cooler than us.  Well, here's some more proof- they rented a lake house on Back Lake in upstate New Hampshire for Labor Day weekend (well they were there for the entire week but us working folk could only go for the weekend.)

The drive up took close to six hours with traffic, but it was totally worth it.  The house was right on the lake, with a huge deck, and a great layout.  We did some light hiking, sat on the rocks in a river and had a spontaneous picnic, went swimming and boating, and relaxed, relaxed, relaxed.  It was really a super fun weekend and reminded me that if I wasn't a city person I would be a lake person.

Maybe I need a lake house...or a small puppy :-)

Slumbrew Trivia

On Monday, I came home exhausted, having survived the first day of school for teachers.  I think this day can be harder than the actual first day of school because you have to absorb so much information so quickly.  Everything seems last minute and there isn't time to breath.  Our good friend from Oregon was still in town for one last night and we decided the only cure for school exhaustion was to go out and enjoy the city.

We headed over to the Slumbrew Brewery in Boynton Yards for dinner and some draft Happy Sol.  We all enjoyed our dinners and I have to say the antipasto salad hit the spot.  We were having such a good time that we ended up staying for trivia.

It was so nice to spend the night before the kids arrived actually doing something.  So often I stay at home, anticipating the first day, and trying to relax to no avail.  Even after 16 first days they are still challenging and it was nice to take my mind of off things for a bit!

The Kendall Waterfront

The end of summer coincided with August's "Super Moon."  I really wanted to see the moon rising over the Boston skyline and so a walk along the Charles River was necessary.

I was thinking we would walk along the Charles River behind MIT's Stata Center but we had to run an unexpected errand to pick up a new air mattress so we found ourselves at the Galleria Mall.  We were on a bit of a schedule so we didn't have time to double back to our original plan.  JO suggested we leave our car and walk along the river behind the mall.  I'm so glad we did!

We discovered the "Kendall Waterfront."  The street, we're still unsure of what road we were actually on, has several restaurants with awesome patios on the right, and sweeping views of the Boston Skyline to the left.  Boats are docked along the shore and there is a nice walking path.

We walked around a bit before picking a patio for a drink.  We picked ArtBar since their patio was not crowded and featured couches and arm chairs (my favorite)!  We enjoyed the view and took several pictures, none of which captured the true awesomeness of the Super Moon rising over Boston.

We talked about how even though summer was ending we would still have time for lots of adventures, and maybe some repeats since I feel the need to come back to these patios before it gets too cold!