Dad’s Perspective: Bye-Bye Summer 2005
By Jonathan White, Triplet Dad
Originally printed in November, 2005

Well, summer is over and fall is here.  Cool, crisp mornings followed by warm 
afternoons and mosquito-less nights.  The crew recently turned four and while 
nothing is easy, we’re now able to do more and more with them.  Experiencing 
things with them for the first time is what it’s all about.

The first half of the summer was a slower pace for us; Jillian broke her leg and 
was in a cast until the end of July, so we ended up doing all the things we planned 
for the whole summer in only a couple of weeks.  You may have heard of speed dating.  
Well this was speed vacationing.

There were things we’ll do again and some we’ll avoid like the plague.  Some of 
the good stuff: 

We finally took the crew to the ocean.  We found a small beach area in Duxbury where 
the kids could get their feet wet, pick up shells and seaweed, and even watch Dad 
help land a striped bass.  (All right, the bass wasn’t all that exciting; a kid on 
the bridge caught it.  I just handed it up to him.  Someday, I’ll go fishing again.)

We also spent a night up in Stowe, Vermont at the Hob Knob Inn on Mountain Road.  
We couldn’t have picked a better place.  The owner is a retired first grade teacher 
who loved having the kids around.  She had a 12-week old puppy that the kids thought 
they could take home with them.  Breakfast was cooked to order, as we were one of 
only a handful of guests while we were there.  The drive up was much longer than I 
remembered; I think we were able to pass five exits in a row once without having to 
stop for a potty break!  We’ll definitely go back (once the kids forget about the long ride).

Southwick’s Zoo in Mendon is a place we’ve been to each summer, but as the kids get 
older, it gets better and better.  It was a bit hectic at first; each child had to 
see “their” animal before we could start on seeing all the animals, but we survived.  
One of the tricks we’ve learned is to bring your own cracked corn for the deer forest.  
We had quite the herd of deer to watch while we ate our lunch.

The New England Aquarium was also a hit.  The kids were amazed with the jelly exhibit 
and the sharks, but the crowning event of the day, and possibly the summer, was picking 
up starfish in the tide pool exhibit.  Now, if only they had bathrooms elsewhere 
besides the first floor.  It was definitely a pricey trip if you’re only going once a 
year.  Admission would have been $60 for the five of us and parking was $29.  We ended 
up buying a membership for $80 which includes free admission for the family for a year 
and discount parking for $14.  Now, we have to go back at least once more this year to 
realize the savings.

Of the things we discovered not to do, only one stands out: bowling.  The bowling 
itself was fine.  I took full advantage of the bumpers.  The kids were great once 
they got into the whole wait-your-turn thing.  It was the birthday party that started 
during the last few frames.  There should have been some type of warning.  First, the 
lights go out.  That’s just one of those unexpected things that really please 4-year 
olds.  Not.  Next, add some incredibly loud dance music.  Then, throw in the disco 
lights.  Just awesome!  Now the kids are lying in the lane in the center of the rotating 
colored lights spinning around enough to get nauseous.  Yeah, just my idea of a fun 
afternoon – distracted, nauseous kids.

With all the fun we had, I’m now looking forward to apple picking, pumpkin carving, 
Christmas, and sledding.