Thanksgiving weekend in Boston

We arrived in Boston on the afternoon of Thanksgiving, its 185 miles from our home in New York so a perfect weekend get away. We stayed in a hotel in the Back Bay area, an area famous for its Victorian type homes and architecture.

We enjoyed a Thanksgiving dinner in Capitol Grill, a local steak type restaurant. During this meal we entered the 'entertain your child with an iPad club' keeping a restless Ethan happy with his favourite episode of Bugs Bunny. It became apparent on the walk to and from the restaurant that when people warned us it was going to be cold in Boston they weren't kidding! And very randomly, Matt received am email the following day from a lady from the EY London office who had been in the same restaurant that night and had seen us leaving.

On Friday we set off along 'The Freedom Trail'. This is a 2.5mile walk of Boston which is mapped out by a red brick (or paint in places) trail making it very easy to follow. It covers 16 nationally significant historic sites. It's s great way to see the city, take in some history in a very easy way. Especially if you're Ethan getting carried around by Mummy in a sling! 

About 2hours into a walk, we saw some Boston Bruins fans heading to the game. Realising we were right next to the TD Garden stadium and feeling very cold we went to the Box office and managed to get some tickets. So we watched Boston Bruins beat the New York Rangers 3-2. It was our second ice hockey game and reiterated my view as being my favourite American sport (baseball - too long, basket ball - average, American football - yet to full understand), its fast and easier to understand, plus they have some full on fights which adds to the excitement levels. It was Ethan's first game and he managed to sit through it reasonably well once he understood he couldn't spend the whole game climbing the stadium stairs. He learnt to clap along to the 'lets go Bruins' chant and flirt with the girl sitting behind us. By the third session he was overtired and the noise got too much for him but on the whole we we impressed by how well he coped.

That night we went to a nice Italian restaurant close to our hotel. It is owned and run by an Indian chef which made for a good mix of flavours, I had a pasta 'Indian Fusion Masala Pasta' which was delicious, Matt and Ethan kept it traditional with spaghetti bolognaise. The night was made slightly more interesting by the man at the table behind us passing out and what can only be described as an impressive response time from the emergency services (ladies, an added advantage over here is that the fire service often attend the same calls as ambulances!).

On Saturday we went to the Aquarium. Ethan decided to take his nap in the sling five minutes before we arrived so Matt and I walked round the marina area while he slept. It was such a beautiful aspect of the city and amazing how peaceful it was. In the Aquarium we saw three different types of penguins, seals and some large rays which Ethan was able to touch. A fantastic day out that Ethan really enjoyed. We finished the day with dinner in a local pizza restaurant.

On Sunday we went for a quick drive around Harvard before setting off home. A terrible journey home, 6 hours spent in the car instead of the 3 it should take (that's the Thanksgiving traffic we were warned about!) Ethan only slept for 45 of those 360 minutes so it felt even longer! Relieved to get home and after putting Ethan to bed have just enjoyed a takeaway, well the cupboards were bare!

Some photos from the weekend are below. We had a lovely time and would recommend it as a tag on to a trip out here.

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An afternoon in the Library

Today I finally discovered what the deal is with Libraries here. This afternoon's Newcomer Club playgroup arranged to meet in the Library as the weather was damp. 'Strange I thought, not sure Ethan will be up for quiet time in a Library'.

How mistaken could I be.

They had a two storey special Children's library. Full of thousands of children's books. A small playroom at the back whether Ethan played with the trains. Some computers with special children's software. A puppet stand with puppets where some older children kindly put on a show for Ethan (he liked the Moose). Tables to do jigsaws on. Overall a very impressive set up full of children spending time on a damp afternoon and will definitely visit again.

Oh, and I forgot the highlight of the visit for Ethan. A disabled access ramp about 15m long connecting two floors which Ethan and his new friend Nolan spent most of their time crawling up and down!

Happy Thanksgiving!

So, today is Thanksgiving. It's the biggest holiday in the USA, bigger than Christmas and people do as we would in the UK at Christmas, get together with families and enjoy a big meal together.

We have chosen to travel to Boston for the weekend (a 3hr drive away), apparently travel is a complete nightmare so wish us luck on the roads!

But what is the history behind Thanksgiving, in an effort to educate me and you, I did some research. I thought 'Thanksgiving history for kids' was probably pitching at the right level and after putting that into Google I discovered...

Celebrate on: Fourth Thursday in November

Thanksgiving Day is the fourth Thursday in November, but many Americans take a day of vacation on the following Friday to make a four-day weekend, during which they may travel long distances to visit family and friends.
The holiday dates back to 1621, the year after the Puritans arrived in Massachusetts, determined to practice their dissenting religion without interference. After a rough winter, in which about half of them died, they turned for help to neighboring Indians, who taught them how to plant corn and other crops. The next fall's bountiful harvest inspired the Pilgrims to give thanks by holding a feast.
The Thanksgiving feast became a national tradition — not only because so many other Americans have found prosperity but also because the Pilgrims' sacrifices for their freedom still captivate the imagination.
To this day, Thanksgiving dinner almost always includes some of the foods served at the first feast: roast turkey, cranberry sauce, potatoes, pumpkin pie. Before the meal begins, families or friends usually pause to give thanks for their blessings, including the joy of being united for the occasion.

The Friday following Thanksgiving is known as 'Black Friday'. This is the biggest shopping day in the year and shops have crazy sales, often opening on the evening of Thanksgiving and staying open all night. It sounds very similar to our Boxing Day sales at home albeit on a much grander scale.

So, Happy Thanksgiving everyone. Will update you on our Boston trip next week.

First NY haircut for Ethan

So we've all had our haircuts in NY now. Today we took Ethan to a local kids hairdressers called 'Fun Cuts for Kids'. Children get to sit in fun cars, or watch cartoons. Their website says 'There are so many fun distractions children may not want to leave when their haircut is over'. I'll let you decide from the photos whether we had that problem with Ethan!

Learner drivers again

Although you can drive in NY on your UK licence, once you become resident or buy a car, you need to get your NY Drivers Licence. So today we went to the DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles), filled in forms, passed our written tests and got our learner permits.

Now we just have to undertake a 5hour driving course and do a road test. Lucky us! Although apparently you can do the road test in your own vehicle which is good. The rear parking camera will certainly make things a lot easier!

Look what's covered in our driving licence theory!

Making friends

I know a number of people have been curious about how I would make friends out here. So I thought I'd explain how you go about it.

- Newcomers Clubs - local organisations that are set up for new people moving to an area. I have joined our local one and been added to a weekly playgroup of Mums all with children a similar age to Ethan.

- Expat group - there is a local expat group which we have also joined. They organise monthly coffee mornings and ladies nights out and I have also arranged a play date with another Mum through there.

- The YMCA - we are now doing three classes there and tomorrow I have a play date with a lady I met while we watched our children swim;

- Family contacts - on Tuesday I went to Manhattan to meet Mum's friend's daughter in law for coffee. We had a lovely morning and hopefully her and her husband will be joining is for lunch in the New Year. On Sunday we have some old friends of Ann and Phil's (inlaws) coming to lunch. They are also currently in New York on a secondment.

- meetup.com - put in your area and tells you all the local groups. I joined a couple of parenting/mum type ones and have just put in a request to join a new playgroup when the 'term' starts in January.

- Putting yourself out there - ok so it's a LONG time since I was in the dating game but it feels a little like that. You meet someone you click with. You ask for their number. You arrange a play date!

First visitors

On Saturday Mum and Dad left after a week staying with us. We had a lovely week and managed to squeeze in lots of activities.

They arrived late on Friday night, we had a nice quiet weekend letting them get over jet lag and took them to the local diner for breakfast. The diner is a 24hour diner and is becoming a firm favourite for breakfast (omelattes, breakfast burritos etc.). They enjoyed it so much we had another visit there on their last day. This was the morning after a trip to our favourite Italian family restaurant (which also supplied takeaway pizzas a couple of times that week) so they were certainly well fed during their stay.

On Monday Ethan and I took them for a day in Manhattan. We first headed for the 9/11 memorial which was very humbling. They have created two large pools, one in the footprint of the North Tower one in the footprint of the South Tower. Seeing the c3,000 names engraved in stone was emotional (especially the lady whose name was accompanied by 'and her unborn child'). 

After this we headed up to 5th avenue, not to shop but to watch the Veterans Day parade. Then we walked up to Central Park where we had a house and carriage ride (very much a tourist rip off but quite a good way to see some of park). Then we walked to Times Square and back to Grand Central where we met a family friend so Mum could deliver his toothpaste from the UK. It was a fun day and a good way of giving Mum and Dad a feel for the city. Lots and lots of walking, well apart from Ethan who got carried round in the sling all day!

On Tuesday I took advantage of having help with Ethan and had my hair done. As you can imagine Ethan free time is pretty much non existent now so when visitors come to stay will be taking advantage.

Wednesday saw Dad fly to Bermuda and Mum and I hit the shops after a class with Ethan. Woodbury Common Premium Outlets is an hour drive away but worth a trip for the day with some great discounts. On Thursday we had an Ethan focused day, a couple of classes and him catching up on some sleep.

On Friday we took Ethan swimming and then went up to Greenwich, Connecticut for some lunch. Greenwich is a lovely place, very upmarket, almost Bond Street like, with a nice feel to it. Mum later discovered that it has a high concentration of hedge funds. In the evening they looked after Ethan while Matt and I went out for dinner trying a new local Italian which served rather tasty cocktails.

Overall we had a lovely week and Ethan enjoyed having family to stay. Looking forward to all our visitors in 2014!

Supplies!

Went to a local shop which stocks UK products, the end result and $40 later!

A follow up interview with Bruno

The first interview with Bruno had such positive feedback we've managed to secure some more time in his diary for a follow up.

Q - How are you enjoying your new home?

It's good thanks. It took me a while to settle in, it's quite different. I've had to have a special collar put on that beeps when I go to the edge of the garden and then gives me a shock when I don't respond. That made me jump at first but now I know what the beep means. And I've not escaped (yet)! Now I like chilling in the garden and all the new smells.

Q - How was your journey?

It was ok. I was in a crate and it was a bit scary on the plane. Daddy got into a row with a man who banged my crate on purpose when he came to pick me up. That made me chuckle! I was very pleased to see him.

Q - How are you enjoying your morning runs?

It's good. I like running alongside Ethan in his buggy. Although it can be hard work pulling Mummy up the hills!

Q - How are you and Ethan getting along?

Really well. He's got really good at stroking me and he likes my ears. He also tries to feed me from the highchair when Mummy's not looking! 

Q - What's your favorite thing about living in the US?

I like the different animals, seeing deer is quite funny on our morning runs. They look at me funny! I also like Ethan's new chair, I like sitting in it and looking out the window. I've been told off now though so I only do it when no ones looking!

The YMCA (not the dance!)

So a number of people will have heard me reference the YMCA so I thought I'd explain more about it. We have joined the Rye YMCA on a family membership. Their mission statement is 'The Rye YMCA is a family orientated community service organisation which welcomes all people and promotes positive values through programs that build spirit, mind and body'. It's a non profit organisation and is actually staffed by a large number of volunteers alongside paid employees. The best comparison to the UK is probably like a public leisure centre but one that draws a much more diverse range of people and seems to put a lot more back into the community. In fact their website states that 

'Most importantly, the Y works to ensure that our programs and services remain accessible to all through a variety of on-going philanthropic endeavors. Our primary cause is to strengthen the foundation of community through a focus on three areas: youth development, healthy living, and social responsibility. At the Rye Y, no one is turned away because of an inability to pay. Thanks to the generosity of donors, fundraising special events, grants, foundations, and hundreds of volunteers, the Rye Y delivers free, subsidized or sponsored programs and services to thousands of Sound Shore residents each year, ensuring the availability of the Y’s benefits to those most in need'

So what do we do at the YMCA? For me, it's where I'll exercise (on top of the morning runs). I have already tried a couple of classes and so far am very much enjoying them. They have a 'Child Watch' service where I can leave Ethan for a small fee while I use the facilities. Even better, once he's been there a few times I can use the 'Tot Drop' service and leave him for up to two hours while I go off site. As you can imagine without any other form of childcare help this will be very useful, if only to go and eat cake and read a book! Matt can also use it, although he has joined a gym in the city, he plans on using the 'Y' (what the locals refer to it as) at the weekends.

And how about Ethan? This is where it gets really good. We have managed to get into all the classes we requested (they operate a ballot system each term). So on a Sunday Matt can take him to his swim class and on a Wednesday I'll take him to a gym class. Both these classes are free under our family membership. On a Thursday we've got a place on the 'Rock Your World' music class, this one is not a freebie but is substantially less than some of the other music sessions around (I assume it must be subsidised). (So people don't get confused we're also doing other swim classes which I do with him on a Friday at a place called Aqua Tots).

So basically the Y is where Ethan and I will probably spend a fair amount of time. So far everyone there is really friendly and it is a really nice place to spend time.

Trip into the city

Today we went into Manhattan. My cousin Steve and wife Emma were over in the city for a long weekend so we went and met them for lunch at Grand Central Station. After this Matt took us and showed us his office. In the UK Partners don't have offices but here they do. Some photos of Daddy showing Ethan what he does attached.