Concord, Mass – We spend a lot of time at Walden Pond in the summer (all the benefits of the beach, without the $20 parking), but we do not often take advantage of this natural resource in the off-season. A half-day…
Boston Harbor Islands
Boston, Mass – Most people don’t know that Boston has its own island paradise, just a 30-minute boat ride from Long Wharf. The Boston Harbor is sprinkled with 34 islands, eight of which make up the Boston Harbor Islands “national…
America’s Stonehenge
Salem, New Hampshire – Today was the day of the annual summer cookout at MIL’s retirement community. Believe it or not, this is not a particularly exciting event for the twins. But their presence is ardently requested, so Daddio came…
Middlesex Fells Reservation
Winchester, Mass – We still have one kid in a cast (albeit a waterproof one) and one parent with a deadline hanging over her head (albeit a less stressful one), so it still does not feel like summer is in…
Children’s Eternal Rainforest
Monteverde, Costa Rica – The Bosque Eterno de los Niños, or Children’s Eternal Rainforest, started back in 1987, when a fifth-grade class in Sweden decided to raise money to protect the rainforest. They did the typical fundraisers–puppet shows, bake sales…
Ecocentro Danaus
La Fortuna, Costa Rica – There must be hundreds of Mariposarios in Costa Rica. It seems that every town has a butterfly house, where you can witness the life cycle from caterpillar to chrysalis to butterfly. Last year we went…
Quintessential Finland
Porkkala, Finland – We were looking for a mini-adventure with the twins – something close to home but still special. A neighbor had told us that this peninsula jutting into the Gulf of Finland is a beautiful place. We didn’t…
Nature Boys
Kirkkonummi, Finland – Have you been wondering what we have been up to? Daddio and I have been busy hanging out in archives, conducting interviews and treating people to expensive, tax-deductible meals. The twins have been attending an English-language daycare…
Maple Sugar Madness
Topsfield, Massachusetts – Our friends A and J are really good at involving their kids in outdoor activities, like farm visits and nature walks. Last summer, they talked us into going blueberry picking, which I never would have dared, but…
Arenal Observatory Lodge
Arenal Volcano National Park, Costa Rica – The grandparents and the twins went on an adventure today, completing a 2km hike from from Arenal Observatory Lodge to a refreshing 20-foot waterfall. The boys walked almost the whole way, until it…