20,000 Giveaway

After starting this blog it took us 13 months to reach 10,000 hits. An amazing feat to be sure! Even more amazing, though, is that less than 3 months later the hits have almost doubled to 20,000!!! We're all astounded and so happy you're enjoying this adventure right along with us. In honor of this milestone, and to say thank you, we're having another giveaway!!

I'm sure you all saw the post where the kids and I went to Epcot to meet Ridley Pearson and have him sign our copies of his newest book in the Kingdom Keepers series, "The Return, Disney At Last". Well, we picked up a copy and had it signed for one of our readers too!!

If you'd like a chance to win the autographed copy you see above, all you have to do is this:

- In the comments section below tell us one thing you'd like to know more about while we're in New England.  That's it! One post per person please. Next Wednesday I'll enter all the names in the Random Name Picker and announce the winner!

I would say next Friday, but we'll be heading north at that time, so you'll have your weekly update a little early. :-) Where north? I guess you'll just have to tune in to see! I'll give you a few hints, though. It involves a national park, a treasure, and an orphan with red hair.

See you on Wednesday!

- Jen

Graveyards and Lighthouses

Oddly enough, it seems the theme of this week has been graveyards. We began by visiting Salem, Massachusetts last weekend. Now I know what you're thinking... the name "Salem" immediately conjures images of witches, but there is so much more to this coastal town!

First of all, it boasts a rich maritime history and is full of beautiful historic buildings. Here are a few examples to give you an idea.

Weathervanes are everywhere in New England!

You can find places like Ye Olde Pepper Candy Companie, which has been continuously operating in Salem since 1806. It claims "the first candies to be sold commercially in America".

The story goes that the Spencer family of Salem was left destitute after a ship wreck. Their neighbors donated supplies and sugar because Mary Spencer was a confectioner. Her creation, Gibralters, a hard pillow-mint like candy, was a hit and helped saved the family. Gibralters became known far and wide and even author, Nathaniel Hawthorne, wrote about them in his novel, The House of Seven Gables.  As you can see here, they are still sold wrapped in white paper just as they were originally. Apparently they were a favorite of sea-faring men because they stayed fresh indefinitely. Be sure to follow the links because the history is described in more detail on the website.

After keeping the business in family hands for several generations, the Spencer family decided to return to England and sold their business to the George W Pepper Companie in the 1830's. It has remained in continuous operation with them since. Another original confection sold by the George W Pepper Companie, whose recipe hasn't changed since the 1800's, are Black Jacks. They are blackstrap molasses stick candies and if you like molasses (which I do), you'll love them! They even still hand-cut each stick. This candy is said to have been created by John Pepper, confectioner and friend of the Spencer family.

Author Nathaniel Hawthorne was born in Salem, Masachusetts and several of his works center around the town. As mentioned above, The House of Seven Gables, is one of those novels and you can visit the actual mansion just across the street from the candy shop.

From there you can walk to the Salem Maritime National Historic site.

Also within walking distance is the Salem Witch Trials Memorial. It's located next to the cemetery where many of Nathaniel Hawthorne's ancestors are buried.

Surrounding the wall to the graveyard you can find stone benches with the names of all who were convicted and executed in the trials. It's fascinating and sobering to read each one.

And on the ground quotes from the trials are chiseled.

Tours are given but you can also walk through the graveyard on your own. Call me weird, but I love looking at old headstones. There's so much to learn and imagine from their inscriptions. This graveyard has an air of mystery and intrigue and it reminded me of the opening title sequence of "Mystery!" on PBS, a show I used to watch as a kid. 

This headstone belonged to Captain Richard More, a Mayflower Pilgrim.

A member of Nathaniel Hawthorne's family.

The fact that the twisted trees in the middle of the graveyard are still missing their leaves adds to the ambiance...

Salem also has a Witch Museum but we didn't have time to go in.

Later in the week we tried visiting some historic places here in York, Maine, but it seems that we're here in the "in-between season" when businesses aren't quite open to the public for the summer yet. I'm working on trying to join some school tours, so we'll see how that goes. In the meantime we visited the graveyard in the center of town. See what I mean about this week having a graveyard theme?

York is a very old town as far as American towns go, so we were able to see some very old headstones. There are also several plaques that tell you a bit about events that occurred here, which is just what we were after. This one describes the Raid on York in 1692, also known as the Candlemass Massacre. That is the same year the Salem Witch Trials took place and the house across the street from us was built.  

The headstones of that period are beautifully carved with angels and pictures of all sorts. I found it interesting that the headstones from the 1700's are in better condition than the ones from the 1800's. Different stone, maybe?

You can't see the picture at the top of this one very well, but it's similar to the Ghastlies fabric line by Alexander Henry. You can do a search for that name and see a lot of fun images of what the line looks like. I wonder if they got their inspiration from headstones?

This gentleman was a Revolutionary War Patriot.

According to the tour guide in Salem, fences were erected in the 1800's around certain family plots to distinguish them as more prominent than other families. I think this was probably more for the living than the dead....

York also has a newer cemetery not far away and I saw many beautiful headstones and monuments... and a few familiar surnames. 

The church next to the graveyard chimes it's bells several times a day and we can hear them from the house we're staying in. I can only say that it adds to the small town, historic feeling of this place. I love it!

We also saw our first lighthouse this week! We drove out to The Nubble Lighthouse on Cape Neddick, which is less than 10 minutes away. The kids and I are reading "The Secret Keepers" by Trenton Lee Stewart and the lighthouse described in that book sounds very similar to this one. After seeing it the kids were inspired to come up with all kinds of imaginative theories about it. It was a lot of fun. Hopefully we'll be seeing many more lighthouses while we're here.  

You know there's a fisherman/woman nearby when you see this!

There are some side trips on the horizon, so be sure to stay tuned and keep those recommendations coming! We appreciate each and every one. Thank you!

- Jen

Exploring New England

Isn't it amazing what a difference two weeks can make? Take these two pictures, for example. The first was taken the day after we arrived. Note the snow in the background. The second, which is the same plant, was taken today. There's no denying that Spring is upon us!

Two weeks has also made all the difference in how we're feeling. When we arrived we were all sick and, thankfully, we're almost back to normal now.  Last weekend, while we were still on the mend, we decided to take it easy and explore the nearby area. Massachusetts is only about half an hour away from us so we decided to head down for lunch. Being a child of the 80's, I was a big fan of New Kids on the Block. So when the show Wahlburgers aired, I was curious and watched a few episodes. Little did I know that my kids would latch on to it and become fans! When they requested that we visit the Wahlburgers flagship restaurant in Hingham, we happily obliged. I can see why Alma (The matriarch of the Wahlburg family) is always shown snacking on the fries! They were really good and we all had a fun visiting.

After lunch, we drove through Rhode Island (So sad the pictures seem to have disappeared!) to see where my ancestors lived and to check it off our list. We also passed a few other historic landmarks in Massachusetts that we want to go back and explore, like Adams National Historical Park. It's amazing how much history is concentrated in the New England area. The churches and graveyards alone are worthy of a tour!

The next day we drove through New Hampshire and saw places that still had snow drifts and frozen lakes. It was amazing! Other than this year (when we were away) I don't remember the lakes near us in Washington ever freezing over.

In January New England begins what is called "sugaring season". This means the sap of the maple trees begins to run and producers tap the trees so they can boil it into maple syrup. The end of March is about the time temperatures begin to warm up, and with that, sugaring season ends. To mark the occasion Maine holds "Maple Sunday". Sadly, we arrived one week later so we missed it, but the good people of York pointed me in the direction of some sugar houses less than a few hours away that were still boiling and giving tours. So on Tuesday I packed the kids into the car and drove to Parkers Maple Barn in Mason, New Hampshire. According to the locals, Mason is the childhood home of Uncle Sam. New Englanders drive hours to visit Parkers Maple Barn for tours and to eat at their restaurant.

We joined students from a local elementary school for the tour which was fun because they asked a lot of good questions. We were told that the maple trees need to be a certain circumference before they can be tapped.

They drill a hole, or several depending on the size, in the trunk of the tree and then insert a tap with a hook on it. The hook is for hanging the bucket so it doesn't get knocked over. A little roof is added to the top to keep out snow and debris and they empty the buckets as many times as needed.

Demonstrating how the tap is inserted.

See how the sap looks clear? That's what it looks like before it's been boiled into syrup.

The kids used measuring sticks to estimate how much sap there was in this bin. What you see here has probably all been boiled down by now.

Can you believe around 40 gallons of sap is needed to make 1 gallon of syrup, depending on the sugar content?! The sugar levels are higher at the beginning of sugaring season so it takes less time to boil down and the syrup is a higher quality (Grade A). Then as the season progresses, the sap needs to be boiled longer, resulting in darker syrups with different nuances in flavor (Grade B and C). We were told that during the height of sugaring season, the sugar houses are filled with sweet steam and a sweet-smelling mist hovers over the valleys because of all the boiling going on.

Different colors for different grades of syrup.

We were also surprised to learn that many of the people in Mason have partnered with Parkers Maple Barn and they let them tap their trees in return for syrup at the end of the season. Sounds like a sweet deal to me! We've noticed that much throughout New England people and businesses are very eco and sustainability minded.

There's a bit more that goes into the process of making maple syrup but that's the basic idea. It was really interesting. Afterward we stopped at the restaurant for breakfast- complete with syrup tapped and produced on-site! Delicious! There are all kinds of maple products available in their shop. 

On our way home we stopped at the Brookline covered bridge, built in 1769.  New England is known for their covered bridges so I'm glad we were able to see one.

From what we've experienced so far, Maine is a beautiful state. People have been really friendly and have a great sense of humor. I don't know if it's because they're just happy the sun is finally out, but it's wonderful to experience. At the grocery store people smile. They make room for each other and I frequently walk past people just chatting as old friends. They make eye contact and sincerely wish you a good day.

You can see one "Mainers" sense of humor and love of home in this redwork project.  It was on display at a participating shop for the Maine Shop Hop, which is going on this month. The employees at Knight's Quilt Shop in Ogunquit were happy to inform me that aside from lobster, Maine is also known for Moxie soda, whoopie pies, and potatoes. Then they gave me tips for places we need to visit while we're here. See? Friendly!

Around Ogunquit and York, businesses are in the process of "shaking off the snow" as one local described it. We've been watching "closed for the season" signs slowly disappear as hotels air out and reopen. This is a new thing for us because Seattle never closes.

I can't wait to explore more! My only fear is that we won't have enough time to do everything we want to do. If that happens, then I guess we'll just have to plan to come back one day. That's part of the fun of this adventure. We just keep discovering new places we want to return to. The more we see, the more we want to see! America is amazing that way.

Wishing you all a wonderful Easter weekend!

- Jen