03 July 2010

40 feet, 86 degrees and 8 hours: Part 4

Ready for action!



How does this life jacket go on?



I love this photo.



Having a ball.

40 feet, 86 degrees and 8 hours: Part 3





40 feet, 86 degrees and 8 hours: Part 2

The Poulter/Melzer family at sea (well, really, at river).



40 feet, 86 degrees and 8 hours: Part 1

After a chance meeting at Whole Foods several months ago, Craig recently reconnected with an old friend from high school who had been living in Asia and recently moved back to Boston. After some facebook back-and-forth, we were invited to enjoy a pre-4th of July boat cruise on the Charles River with Jung and a few of his friends and family. In years past, Craig and I have precariously navigated inflatable rafts on the Charles to enjoy the July 4th fireworks display. Secure in our knowledge that we would not be making a similar trek this year with Maceo, we thought an afternoon cruise on a real boat sounded fun. Little did we know that the "real" boat would be a 40 foot vessel equip with a legitimate kitchen, dining room, 2 bedrooms, a full bathroom and seats for 20ish!

The weather was prefect: crystal clear, 86 degrees and sunny. We got a ride to the Quincy Marina where the boat was docked. By noon we were ready to pull out of the marina, coolers packed with snacks, lunch fixin's, and plenty of cold drinks. Only around 6pm did we discover that dinner would be on the hibachi grill: fillet mignon and sushi-grade salmon (did I mention one of the passengers was a sushi chef?)! Needless to say, it was an afternoon and evening to remember. One particularly cool element was floating under the Zakim Bridge and waiting for our turn to pass through the locks for entrance into the river. See photos for a visual. Once we passed through the locks, we anchored 100 yards downriver from the Mass Ave bridge and about 200 yards from the barge where the fireworks originate.

We initially thought we'd be able to hang out for about 3-4 hours and then need to take a dingy to shore once Maceo started to melt down. Apparently Maceo realized that this was a once in a lifetime opportunity (well, hopefully at least twice) and was an INCREDIBLE passenger. In a total of nearly 7 hours on the boat, he didn't cry once and only offered about 4 squeaks of sleepy protest (despite resisting all naps and MAYBE sleeping a total of 45 minutes). More on sleep challenges/solutions in a different post.

In concert with recent posts that Maceo seems to be a water baby, apparently he is also a boat baby. While he did not get into contact with the water of the Charles (for obvious reasons), he did spend a good chunk of time watching the sky line and the waves and seeming as happy as a clam as the the boat bobbed away (and occasionally rocked back and forth with some real vigor). At about 7:15pm, we reluctantly got on the dingy and headed to shore where we jumped off, snugged Maceo into the Ergo Baby carrier, make a quick stop at JP Licks on Newbury Street for a cool and creamy treat, and walked to the Mass Ave T stop to head home. I could go on an on, but I think the photos speak for themselves.

The views of the Boston skyline and waterfront were incredible and the entire experience was a real treat. Thanks go out to Jung and his family for graciously including us in such a memorable adventure. While it took Craig and I a collective total of 72 years to enjoy such an exciting luxury, Maceo managed to experience it at just 6.5 months.





Summer Lovin'



Keeping Cool in the Baby Pool