First Field Trip

Last week was not only our first week of school, it was also our first field trip of the year.  On Friday the kids and I hopped on a jetBlue flight up to Boston for a little adventure and family time.  First stop was Newburry Port, MA to catch up with my cousin Nikki, her kids, and my Aunt Frannie.  Nikki and her husband have a boat down at the docks so we spent the afternoon hanging out on the water while the kids jumped off the boat for a refreshing swim.

This water's not too cold after all!

 
The next day James and I left the girls behind to attend Rendezvous 13 in North Andover, MA.  This is really the reason we came up to Massachusetts.  James is an avid fingerboarder and this is the place to be to practice your tricks, purchase new gear, and meet with other professional fingerboard enthusiasts.  The event was well organized and well worth our while (at least that's how James felt about it!).  I was impressed with my son's skills and was very glad we were able to make this happen for him.  I think it might be the highlight of his year (second only to getting a Mac Book of course). 

We chose Sunday as our travel day back to Florida. Looking back, this was unwise as it is still summer up North and Orlando is a very popular destination.  The first flight we waited for was full, as was the second and third. We got the hint after that and decided to get a hotel in Boston and try again the next day.  Being the homeschoolers that we are, this inconvenience turned into an opportunity to see the city.  We took the train into the center of town and began to walk around.  We had seen a video on early Boston the day before we left; however, it was brief and did not include much detail. We wondered around looking at the beautiful old buildings not really knowing or understanding what we were seeing.  Being a Sunday evening, most things were closed and we were on our own.  We did manage to find Boston Commons and checked out at least one old cemetery.  Pretty cool stuff. 

Monday morning we checked in for our first flight to JFK which was supposed to allow us more flights down to Orlando.  After a minor snafu at security (James had an unknown water bottle in his bag and I got stopped for a random screening) we made it onto the flight with seconds to spare.  The next flight did not go as well. Everything from JFK to Orlando (or any other city in Florida was full).  A friendly gate agent suggested we try LaGuardia so off we went to find a cab.  I was nervous doing this all alone with the kids but I also knew that every experience is a learning opportunity.  We got to LGA in time for a flight taking us to Sarasota, FL.  Not the city we were hoping for, but at least we'd be in the right state.  Once in Florida, we rented a car and headed to Orlando. 

Whew!  What an adventure!  The kids took it all in stride and I think their ability to cope with change, disappointment, discomfort, etc. is good thing in the long run. What's most important is that God was in the details and delivered us safely back home.