Massachusetts weekend

On Saturday Ty and I drove to Concord, MA for our marathon weekend, and boy was it ever a marathon! We had enough time to get to our B&B - the North Bridge Inn - unpack, go on a short walk in town and grab a snack before heading to Susie's college roommate's house for a huge meal with all the runners and most of the cheerleaders. We slept in Sunday morning and then enjoyed breakfast at the inn before heading out for our own history/tourist agenda.

The North Bridge Inn

First, Tyler and I walked to the Old Cemetery where we saw graves of the original families in Concord as well as American Revolution soldiers and the grandfather of Ralph Waldo Emerson, the Rev. William Emerson. Next we walked to the Sleepy Hollow cemetery which is where Author's Ridge is located: resting place of Alcott, Emerson, Thoreau, and Hawthorne. What an amazing cemetery! It really felt like a beautiful forested park.

Thoreau

Hawthorne

Alcott

Emerson

North Bridge

We drove to the North Bridge to see where the "shot heard 'round the world" was fired. Ty had been there before with his dad during a previous marathon adventure, but it was my first time. Since it was Patriot's Day weekend there were interpreters and re-enactors everywhere and a lot of neat talks going on. We left North Bridge and drove the Battle Road to the main visitors center where we watched a really neat multi-media presentation on the Battles of Lexington and Concord. We also stopped by the spot where Paul Revere was arrested (here we also saw Kate doing a training run - she was so fast she blurred right by us!) and at the Hartwell Tavern along the Battle Road.

Our next stop was the Colonial Inn for a really good lunch before heading back out to walk down Main Street and to check out the Concord Museum. For someone running a marathon the next day Tyler was sure putting a lot of mileage on his legs! But, you can't take a history buff to Concord on Patriot's Day and expect him just to sit around at the hotel!

While I took a much needed nap Ty went with Susie and friends to Lexington for a short, historic drive. Talk about packing a lot into one day! That night Tyler prepared for the marathon and then we both slept pretty well.

Monday morning the runners were all escorted to the race around 6:30AM and Dennis and I checked out at 7:30 to get in position for watching the race. We picked up Gabe on our way into town and parked at Kate's house where we also met Susie's friends. We positioned ourselves in Cleveland Circle and soon cousins Anna and Rachel joined the viewing party! We loved watching the elite runners fly by us, but of course waiting for Matt, Ty and Susie was the most suspenseful! Kate and Bob kept us updated via the internet on their phones while I got text messages from the BAA and my sister. Matt came flying by first with Tyler about 15 minutes or so behind him. They both had crossed the finish line safely when we saw Susie coming in strong. All three runners looked great as they ran by and we, the paparazzi, got lots of good photos!

SuperMatt: 2:51:24

3:10:31 - re-qualifying by 28 seconds!

Mama Bear finished at 4:07:55

We knew that it would be a while for the boys to hook up with Susie and for the three of them to make their way to Kate's house, and we couldn't cross the street to get to Kate's house yet, so the whole cheering section packed up and walked to Applebee's for lunch and a much needed potty-break. Around 5 or so we all met back at Kate's house, the runners took showers, and then we departed for dinner at Gabe's.

Tyler and I couldn't hang out long because we had a 10PM Wal-Mart deadline! I ordered our crib several weeks ago on sale but we had to pick it up by today or else they would ship it back to the warehouse. As Tyler didn't like my driving (he says I ride the clutch) he decided to take over driving duties as we sped to Littleton, NH, making it to Wally World by the skin of our teeth. We were home by 11:30 and in bed within seconds from the long day and weekend. Tyler earned all the sleep he got last night plus some extra nap time today!

The morning came early though as I had an 8:30AM doctor's appointment to check on Baby A. A problem was suspected so I was scheduled for an ultrasound later in the day. Tyler went to track practice in the meantime where he did not run, thank goodness, but biked alongside his kids who were all excited to hear his tales of the marathon. At 1PM the ultrasound was done showing that everything was fine after all, although they will re-check things again on May 4 at what I am calling the "anti-anatomy" screening. (We do NOT want to find out the sex of the baby, but this would be the appointment should we have wanted to.) We did get to see the baby however and that was really neat. I felt certain that last Wednesday I was feeling the baby move and it was confirmed today. The baby's little feet are jabbing the left side of my belly!

Back home we took a power nap and awoke to an orchard delivery (our apple trees and raspberry and blueberry bushes are all here!) and a fun visit from cousin Katie. We are both looking forward to the next several relaxing days of spring break!

There are a lot more pictures of the weekend here. As the other photographers email me their pics I'll add them to this album.