July 13-14, Brett & Dave's North Reading

 Wednesday, July 13

We head into Springfield this morning and find the LA Fitness right next to the Basketball Hall of Fame.  I know this is our Hall of Fame trip, but…we were here once before and all I remember is a lot of VERY large basketball shoes.

We work out and shower, then swing by the Dr. Suess Sculpture Garden, which is a nice small park amidst museums.  A Dr. Suess museum is due to open next year.

Horton and Friends

The Grinch

Ted G and The Cat in the Hat

The Lorax

Ted Geisel (Dr. Seuss) is from Arlington.

We take the Mass Pike east and decide to stop for lunch in Worcester.  Trip Advisor gave high marks to a place called Miss Massachusetts Diner, so we head there…with so many turns that Greg was questioning my sanity.  We finally found it in an area of town that we wouldn’t feel comfortable leaving the Trek!  So we hop on 290 and at a later exit we have lunch at a place called Chip Shots (next to a golf course).  They advertise wood smoked beef brisket, so we go for it and are a little disappointed, as it is kind of chewy and bland.  Oh well…..  on to Brett’s.

Brett has a student this afternoon, so we head to the North Reading library for an hour or so before pulling into Lowell Drive!  Brett had just finished mowing the yard, which looked great!  Their grass is so fine and soft compared to our tough Texas stuff.

We have a great visit with Brett and  do take-out sushi for a nice dinner.  That’s something we rarely (if ever?) have on the road and it tastes great.  Dave had a Church vestry event, so didn’t arrive home till we had hit the hay!

Nice comfy bed and AC is very luxurious!

July 14, Thursday

We see Dave at Breakfast and have a bit of a visit before he is off to work.  Brett has graciously arranged to day off, so we pitch in to get some yard work done this morning.   Trimming, spraying, edging, fixing a loose stair and a few other things on Brett & Dave’s To-Do list.

We have tuna for lunch on Brett’s superb homemade wheat sourdough bread,  get cleaned up and do a few things to get ready for tonight’s dinner which will include brother Garth and his wife Kathy.  Unfortunately, Carolyn isn’t feeling well and can’t make it.

G&K arrive about 4:00 and we do some catching up and wait for Dave to get home and make cocktails, as he is THE barmaster.  Martinis and gimlets supreme.  Dave grills some chicken and steaks –yum and we have roasted sweet potatoes and a great salad.  More visiting and we take a photo for Kathy’s facebook page (she asked if it was ok to take a cake to an event with a piece missing and someone told her to put flowers in the empty spot and no one would notice). I'll try to get a copy for here....

Fun time, but some people have to work tomorrow, so G&K take off and the rest of us go to bed – and sleep well, thanks Dave.