Lovely Friends

Oh wow. What gifts friends are. And how loving my lovely gifts happen to be. Rachel, Dana, and Laura all flew up here at the same time! I picked them up in Boston where we did some shopping and bookstoring then drove to my cute house in Kittery, Maine. In the mornin, we woke up to the sun and oatmeal banana pancakes. :) We drove up the coast and climbed around an old fort then hopped around the cliffs of Nubble Lighthouse near York Beach. Then we stopped through adorable Newburyport for our picnic veggie lunch (with seagulls) and, of course, for coffee from an elderly Austrian lady- the name of her bakery is Greta's Great Grains.
Next stop was Salem, Massachusetts (home of the witch trials). There, we passed plenty of witch museums and toured the House of Seven Gables, where Nathaniel Hawthorne set his so named book. Our Boston-accented tour guide lead us through secret passageways and narrow staircases. Dinner at the odd. The next morning, we baked Buttermilk scones for breakfast and took to exploring Portsmouth. Poor Dana was sick, so she read and napped. We crossed the old old draw bridge into the old town and shopped and explored a bit. I showed them around Strawbery Banke and we got to go into the Antheneum (an old and awesome library that I have always wanted to get into). We retrieved Dana, made lunch, talked about the Bible, then went to a movie downtown at the old and beautiful Portsmouth Music Hall. We watched a very elegant film about Queen Victoria when she was young. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKs3yIZolsM.
Oh Oh after that, we ate at a restaurant that Dana deemed her favorite restaurant she had ever been to. :) So I was very glad to introduce her to it.

On Sunday we went to my church (which I love) together and then took Laura to the airpuerto. :( We BARELY got her there in time! Oh geeeze- she was so calm though- I was impressed. After we kissed her cheeks and sent her off, Dana and Rachel and I did what other than go to the Harry Potter Expedition at the Boston Museum. That was, indeed, an interesting experience- especially since I have not read the books and have only seen one movie. So I was a real life trivia game for Dana and Rachel while we walked through the exhibit. Then we watched a guy make lightning. After that we stayed at the homey apartment of Rachel's friend, who is a student minister at M.I.T. They made us a yummy and we had fun conversation and I got to take a bath in a beatiful bathtub! I was happy. In the mornin, we gave Rachel big hugs good-bye and then Dana and I set out for a Starbucks (they are rare finds here in Dunkin Land). Then we drove around Andover, Lowell, Concord (as in the Battle of Lexington and Concord), and Walden Pond (As in Henry David Thoreau). People were walking around and playing ice hockey on Walden Pond! isn't that cool! I just think that's so cool. Dana and I had some good good car talks and then I said bye-bye to her in the late afternoon.

HOW WONDERFULLY REFRESHING and ALTOGETHER MARVELOUS IT WAS FOR US TO ALL BE TOGETHER AGAIN! I love you, Girls! Thank you so so much. -Heather