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Ken and Leslie came to visit this week! Like me, Ken likes to keep busy with fun activities during vacation, so we were happy to oblige. After they arrived on Monday, Brian picked them up and they settled in, went grocery shopping, picked up a mountain bike for the week, took a short nap, and then went to Crossroads and on to the Red Sox game.

On Tuesday we all went to Maudslay State Park for some exercise. Despite our different paths and speeds, we managed to end up at the car at the same time. Then it was off to work for me, and up to the mountains for Ken, Leslie and Brian to check out a waterfall and take a hike. Brian said “we’re going up there!” and Leslie thought he was kidding!

But they did get to see the waterfall.

And made it down the steep sections too.

On Wednesday Ken and Brian went for a bike ride, then we all went to the afternoon Sox game. We were excited to have box seats close to the field.

Unfortunately, the game was spoiled by terrible weather and even worse play. We suffered through walks, hit batsmen, and wild pitches and were then rewarded with a downpour. During the 3rd rain delay, we decided that the amount we’d paid for the tickets did not warrant staying any longer, so we headed to Redbones to dry out, fill up on BBQ, and hang out with Dan and Nate.

Thursday was a relatively quiet day. Ken went mountain biking at Maudslay while the rest of us caught up on work.

But, it was also racing day! We had signed up for the St. Peter’s Fiesta 5K race! We enjoyed a scenic misty drive down to Cape Ann, through Essex and into Gloucester, and had no problems finding parking near the festivities at St. Peter’s Square. One local we passed commented, “You can’t tell the townies from the carnies!” so you can image the mood around the place. We inhaled the smell of the ocean (ok, it smelled like fish) and got to run past the Gorton’s plant (mmm, fish sticks). Although we were initially a little concerned about the cool temps and the rain, it turned out to be the perfect weather for an early summer race, and we all had a great time!


Although we were not racing for time, we still had to check out the results this morning.

We had one more surprise on Friday – surfing! My buddy Brian Hone agreed to take Ken out to catch some waves.

The water (61 degrees) was evidently warmer than the air temp (60 degrees), and it was still overcast, but Ken was undeterred.

After that it was time to do laundry, pack, have lunch at the Grog and play more Apples to Apples before saying goodbye. Slinky is particularly sad – he’s wandering the guest room wondering where those nice people went who gave him such wonderful scritches and let him sleep in their bed.