Back from Mass!

No, not a mass at a church....I am the GrimmWITCH:) Korny:)

Mr. G and I wanted to get away on the cheap just for a few days and our anniversary was coming up anyway (July 23rd was 4 years). We went to Massachusetts for four days...or planned to.

Our plans for day 1 were foiled when the Estate lawyer needed us to run around and do stuff for the closing of my late mother-in-law's home. This experience has been a difficult one from day 1 for poor Mr. G, and the town in which she lived made it very difficult. The town's requirements were insane (as we heard time and time again from different workers we hired for different jobs in the home). Phewy to you, Rutherford!

When we finally did get up to Mass. it was after 8 pm and the day was wasted:(

We visited quite a few places. One really great stop was the New England Aquarium in Boston. This was a spot I visited when i vacationed in Boston with my parents and sister. It has an amazing floor plan, with most of the exhibits spiralling around one massive cylyndrical tank in the center...maybe 24 some odd feet in diameter.

Pic pilfered from the New England Aquarium

These little guys are playing in the massive pool that forms the base of the aquarium. A bunch of them jumped into the water and took off swimming - they looked like they were flying under water. You can see the bottom of the central tank in the background.

The sea horse below is a species that blends in by mingling with the sea weed it looks like.

Neon green anemonies glow in the background as fish chase eachother in this tank.

This giant puffer lives in the massive tank...I think I remember it having somthing like 200,000 gallons of water in it constantly being filtered.

The guy below, Issac, is one of the seals that lives at the aquarium. I was splashing around playfully the entire time we were there.

This peachy - red jelly fish looks like it's made of some pretty frilly fabric.

When we were done with the aquarium we went to eat at Todd English's Kingfish Hall Restaurant in Quincy Market in Boston.

Mr. G had perfectly cooked steak and a delicious crab cake...excuse the poor phone pic.

My lobster and corn chowder was so good I actually said WOW involuntarily before I could stop myself.

After that we walked around Boston and did some exploring. Mr. G caught a pic of the Paul Revere statue.

Later on in the week we went on a late night tour of Bostons legendary spook spots in the Ghosts and Gravestones tour trolly. Sounds KoRny, but it was immensely informative. The people who work the tour are very knowledgeable. One of the most important things to me when I indulge in my cornier side is to be respected. Jumping out at me, grabbing at me, checking out my boobies (not that I'm a hot mama or anything, but it has happened), not cool. These people were wonderful! Respectful, and what I found most endearing, great with and sensitive to the young children who came on the tour. The two well behaved boys were not too young.

On another day we took a trip to Hammond Castle Museum in Gloucester, MA.

John Hammond Jr., the former owner, was an inventor with a pension for collecting anything medieval or reminiscent of the time. Here is an exterior shot.

The castle is pretty much on the water, and I spent most of my time outside viciously inhailing the sweet smell of the sea as if it were laced with drugs.

Just a few pics of the more remarkable areas in the castle. One shot I don't have here is a pic of the indoor pool...awesome...here's a link though.

Below is a shot of the great hall. There was a cute, but massive group of middle schoolers there that I kept dodging...don't really like being around any large groups of children but my own.

This chair in the great hall...I suppose then, a thrown, was so beautiful.

We also went to Salem, although I have no pics of that (thanks alot, Mr. G, you pain you:)

I love Salem...yeah, it's got all the witch stuff (I actually identify unclassifyable pagan, but I do have a lot of beliefs that overlap with Wicca) but again, it's really all about the sea proximity. So beautiful! And a great place to bring kids.

Pic pilfered from usatourism.com

One of Mr. G's favorite visits was to the Higgins Museum in Worcester. The collection of weapons, armor, and other related items was compiled by the late steel tycoon John Woodman Higgins (I wonder if he knew Mr. Hammond...I imagine they would have been great friends).

Some of the weapons were rare versions of concepts that never took off like this gun/shield combo.

Another of the more unusual items was this doggie armor. The collection is second in size in this country only to the Met's weapons and armor wing and is far more varied.

Our last visit of the vacation, or so we thought, was a stop at Lizzie's house in Fall River, MA...

There I am outside waiting for a tour.

This is a pretty much exact replica of the couch where Lizzie Borden's father was found murdered. Mr. G and I posed for a pic on it later. Morbid, yes. If you're offended please skip to the bottom. I'd say I was sorry but I think you're being too sensitive and I'm a bad liar:)

This was the spot where her step mother was found.

This was Lizzie's room.

Here's my homegirl Living Dead Doll Lizzie in Lizzie's room... well, not really mine, mine was still in /jersey, but you understand...

We were driving home when we decided to stop in Mystic, Conn for fudge and food. Here's a gaggle of phone shots.

We got delicious food at the Sea View Snack Bar

Crab cake...yum!

Scallops and Calamari!

And saddly, I did no knitting:(