And, finally ... Fri, 8/19/22

Yup, we appreciated having a vehicle to travel back and forth while in the Boston area. It was our decision to stay in a hotel close to our brother's home, but the Dedham Hilton Hotel didn't have a complimentary buffet breakfast (cheap). We discovered a cute café on the way between hotel and their house in Westwood: Muffin House Cafe. Oh yeah, they served some really delish goodies.

Jimmy and I and Nannie and Bubba had two more days to spend with the family. 😊Wednesday dawned cloudy with a chance of (much needed) rain, but if any drops fell, I didn't see them.  Clouds meant cooler temps, too, which was okay with us.

The younger generation was working or at summer camp, so it was just the six old farts that got to play.  We decided to visit a place called World's End, basically a hiking area in Hingham, MA.  A peninsula jutting into Hingham Bay, World's End is comprised of 400+ acres of spoon-shaped hills (called drumlins) formed by glaciers, so we had plenty of space to roam.  Saw a number of birds, too, beginning with the Egret above.

Just like where Jimmy and I live, World's End had very little level ground -- it was either up or down.  But we enjoyed the views of the bays and boats.  It being a week day, we didn't encounter too many others.  I imagine the trails might be crowded on weekends.  

I love this picture of Rus and Anne walking down toward the water.  Now 80, they've been married since 1971.  You do the math.  You have to admire these two (and we do) who have had a number of health issues in the past six years ... they're still getting Out and About.  And also they have two of the nicest "kids." 

We walked and talked, by two and threes, changing it up frequently.  This mama turkey and her brood hightailed it up a hill when they saw us.  She had either four or five young'uns.

We wondered if we'd get rained on -- check that sky! -- but the rain held off.  I wore an over-shirt, but shed that as I started up one of those hills.   

Anne and Nannie leading the way at this point.  At a low place, a boggy area, I put on my shirt again, 'cause I got bit by skeeters.  The park was home to so many stately, old trees, some even had name tags telling us who they were:  Black Oak, Tulip Tree, Hophornbeam, etc.  This is a very idyllic coastal park.

Looking north across the bay was Boston's scenic skyline.

We had quite a few steps on our fitbits by the time we returned to the car for our picnic lunch.  We were hungry!  After leaving World's End (very enjoyable), we drove a short way to Nantasket Beach, and a complete change of weather -- windy and chilly.  There's Massachusetts Bay above, with a fairly decent surf.  In fact, we saw a couple of surfers (in wet suits, of course, brrrr).

Dinner this evening was simple:  Anne ordered pizzas, the guys picked 'em up, and we gobbled up slice after slice.  We didn't stay too long, we were tired and returned to the hotel.  Tomorrow is another day!  

* * * * *

Thursday dawned a warm, blue-sky day.  In our peregrinations about the area, we discovered another delightful breakfast spot, below.  Brother, Rus, joined us this morning.  Isn't the name cute?

We preferred sitting outside, though the sun grew hot.  Jimmy has his back to the camera, Rus is at left, and Nannie and Bubba are in the shade.

When Rus and Anne asked us what we wanted to do during our time with them, we said, "We want to spend time with y'all and hug your necks." We didn't need to be entertained or "see" Boston -- we'd done that years ago.  So, the six of us spent considerable time at the kitchen table, chatting and teasing and laughing.  But, we're Nykvist's, and we can only sit so long, and then we go.

Rus and Bubba opted out, but the rest of us decided to take the "walking tour" of Dedham, one of the oldest towns in Mass, first settled by colonists in 1635.  The boundaries of the town stretched to the Rhode Island border at that time, but it's considerably smaller now.  The town has quite a history, worth a read in Google.

Prominent in Dedham is the Unitarian Universalist Church, above.  Doesn't it look just like a New England church should?  We met the Pastor on our walk and she graciously offered to let us tour the inside, below.

On the left are the front and back of the church.  Sorry about the clarity.  On the right are two shots of the floor.  The grate, at top, is for heating (with stairs to below!), and the bottom pic shows the wide pine floorboards.  A lovely old church, with a good feeling about it.

The homes in the historical section of Dedham post signs of the year they were built.  The house above was erected in 1798.  The beauty below, 1801.  Well maintained and sturdy, they must have been well-built!  They're typical of homes in the area.  We saw lots more, but you get the idea.

Next was the old cemetery, dating from 1636, above and below.  I didn't see any stones from those long-ago years, though that's not to say there aren't any; I'm sure the dates would've worn slap off by now.  We did see some very old dates, as in 1700's.

Look at the gorgeous former jail, above, originally constructed in 1816.  It's larger than it looks.  This building has been turned into condos!  Wouldn't it be a hoot to have a condo here?

Finally, we ducked into the Dedham Historical Society and Museum, a beautiful brick building on High Street.  Inside we found a number of artifacts, like an iron Paul Revere bell cast in 1796, and an ancient round box containing spices.  Quite a few pieces of Dedham Pottery (reproductions) were on display and even some for sale.  All of us have a number of bunnies and plates.  We didn't see everything, not nearly, but it wants more time and cooler temps.  Regardless, t'was a nice afternoon walk-about.

This evening -- our last evening -- was kind of special.  Dinner was at Bubbling Brook, just a mile or two from Rus and Anne's Westwood home.  Nephew, Jon, worked there during summers when he was a teenager.  It was a kid's hangout, but families came in droves for fried clams and/or ice cream (or both).  It's a summer place, and we've all tried the ice cream flavors over the years.  And so we met there again tonight, the six oldsters, plus Kris (missing Rob) and her two young'uns, Kyle and Anna, and big Jon, glowing in the sunlight at the end of the table.  Lauren, and the two kids, Will and Lizzie, were at the Cape.  Around the table, beginning with Rus, Jimmy, Kristen, Nannie, and Jon.  Then Bubba, Kyle, Anna, and Anne.  Fun times.

We said our heartfelt goodbyes, not many tears, grateful to have these past few days together.  Too many years slide by without seeing one another, we say, so maybe we can do this next year somewhere else, maybe.  Let's make it happen.  Thanks to all of you for a truly happy visit.  Love you all much.

That's it, then.  At the airport, we parted from Nannie and Bubba who flew home American, while we climbed aboard another JetBlue plane bound for SMF (Sacramento).  Our shuttle lady was waiting for us, thank goodness, and we hit the doorstep at 10pm Friday.  Lasting almost four weeks, our three-part trip is over, and what a grand trip it was!

Up, up, and away, Mon, 8/15/22

 

Iceland lived up to our expectations, it did not disappoint!  Small island country, big with scenery ... all sort of picturesque sights.  Even an erupting volcano.  I captured the real-time photo below from our hotel TV.  At no time was our little foursome threatened.  We couldn't even see it from anywhere we traveled, but we did see a brownish haze to the southern sky as we returned to Reykjavik from Snæfellsnes peninsula yesterday.  If we'd had the right gear, the time and, let's face it, the energy, we could've hiked two (strenuous) hours up to the volcano, but we had none of the above.  No matter, Jimmy and I, Nannie and Bubba, we had a wonderful stay in Iceland.  Now we were flying to Boston for the third phase of our trip.

As we rode on the shuttle bus to Keflavik airport 6:30ish Monday morning, I saw the smoke plume from Fagradalsfjall's eruption.  This was as close as we got to the volcano.  Speaking of buses, did you know Iceland has no trains?  True.  Big yellow buses are well-used in Reykjavik, smaller ones, as well.  I'm not sure about towns or wee villages.  No trains.  Interesting. 

Island people were friendly.  Seemed as though everyone spoke English.  Talking to a young man, he told me that learning English in school is mandatory beginning at age 12.  Two years later, all young folks must take yet another language in school.  I wish that was an option when I was growing up, or 40 years later, when Matt started school.

The Kroner was 10-1 (or 1-10?).  If an item cost 7990 Kroner, it translates to roughly $79 USD, which made pricing something fairly easy.  Just not cheap by any stretch of the imagination!

So, we were off, back to the US.  The four of us were seated randomly on Icelandair.  Bubba was lucky to be in a window seat; the rest of us were in aisle seats.  Me?  I was stuck in the back by the toilet.  I hope to never be that unlucky again!

Much of the airspace was clear, and -- wonder of wonders -- we flew over southern Greenland with no cloud cover!  Bubba shared his pics with me.  So awesome.  Check 'em out, below.

Icebergs.

Glacier.

Glacier and pack ice.

Nannie rented a car, and we jammed eight good-sized bags in it plus us four!  She ferried us to Westwood, MA (near Boston), no problems, and our family reunion began.  Brother, Rus, and his wife, Anne; nephew Jon, wife, Lauren and two kids, Will and Lizzie; niece, Kristen, husband Rob, two big kids, Kyle and Anna.  Oh, it was grand to see the family -- it had been six years since we were last together!  Sorry Matt and Jen and Evie couldn't attend, since Evie's first day of Kindergarten was today!

A hamburger/hot dog cookout was held at Kristen's home that first night.  Random photos below.

Rus and Nannie.  Rus is the oldest.  He's the guy who was at death's door six years ago.  Glad he slammed the door in death's face!  I'm two years younger than Rus.  Nannie is seven years younger'n me.

One of two big dogs.  This one is Maggie.

Kyle's dog.

Bubba petting the other dog, "Rusty."

Jon's dog.

 Will and Lizzie (10 and 8, I think).

Jon, Anne, Kris (with her back to camera), Rus and Lizzie.

Family visiting. 💗💗

Haha, Jon hoisting this 80-lb dog!  Maggie.

The next day the six retired people went for a hike on Fuller Brook Trail in Wellsley.  We enjoyed a very pleasant walk on an ADA-compliant, stone-dust path along the shallow, drought-stricken Fuller and Caroline Brooks.  Yes, Massachusetts (at least this part) is experiencing a drought.  For me and Jimmy, that meant it was like home.  Sorry.

"The Three Studs" 😉

Jimmy, Rus, Bubba.

Posies along the way.

Anne, Jimmy and I continued on to the Sudbury Aqueduct path ... kinda like a rails-to-trails path, only this carried water, not trains, for almost 100 years.  It was constructed between 1875 and 1878 and now serves as a continuation of the Wellsley trail system.  The others stayed behind in the shade.  I did NOT need my overshirt.

You know photos are required when family gets together.  L-R:  Bubba, Nannie, Jimmy, Rus, and me on their farmer's porch.  Anne took the pic.  The other one with Rus taking the pic turned out fuzzy.

Tuesday evening's picture!  I used the self timer on a tripod.  You should see the outtakes, but the family would kill me if I posted them.  Back row:  Rob, Anna, Jimmy, Kyle, Jon, Kris, and Bubba.  Front row:  Rus, Nannie, me, and Anne.  Maggie the photo-bomber!

Plenty of hugs, lots of laughter, and back-and-forth yakkety-yak as we played catch-up, filling in the blanks for the past six years.  Kyle and Anna both have summer jobs.  He'll be a senior this year, Anna in tenth grade.  They were little kids when we last saw them.  Dang.

We have two more days to spend with each other.  We will fill them happily.

Snæfellsnes, Sun, 8/14/22

 

Sunday!  Our final full day in this magical land ... and our last private tour.  We were picked up by Andres of Mercury Grail Travel as scheduled at 10am (wish it had been earlier), for the fairly long drive into the heart of the Snæfellsnes peninsula -- not Snuffleupagus as we initially called it, haha --  on Iceland's West Coast.  We'd heard such good things about this area of Iceland, its dramatic landscapes, moss-covered lava fields, waterfalls, sheer cliffs, all crowned by Snæfellsjökull -- the glacier-topped volcano.

We thought the drive through the peninsula was pretty neat with its varied landscapes, as you can see in my pictures.  The ever-changing scenery kept us glued to the car windows.

And sometimes we'd come upon these moonscapes of solidified lava.

Cotton grass in the foreground, a farmhouse in the back, lorded over by a red cinder cone.

Pinnacles and Peaks,

blue skies peeking out.

Everywhere in Iceland we saw fields of marshmallows!

Or perhaps they're hay bales?

Check out this waterfall!  Cars in the parking lot mean people are stopping by to walk up to a bridge over the water.  Each cascade is prettier than the last.

We've arrived at the tiny Black Church in Búðir, aka the very photogenic Búðakirkja!  As we were getting out of the car, a busload of tourists followed us in.  The church and a hotel is all that remains of a village ... there's history if you want to Google it.  Búðir sits within the Búðahraun lava field, where we four migrated after taking church pics.  Here was an expansive environment of torn-up earth grown over with grassy flora.

It's a very unique place with jagged rock formations and sinkholes, a jumbled mess of rocks.  130 different plant species can be found and we saw many.  Birds, too.  We walked lightly over the paths, such as they were, minding our feet that we didn't slip into a sinkhole.  Was there water at the bottom?  How deep?  This place was just a ... hard to find the adjective, but I guess the closest I can get is, wonder.  We could've hiked oer these grassy fields all day. 

We heard its call before we saw it.  I'd describe it if I could, but it was strange sound.  We saw two adults, one obviously a mama with a few young'uns.  Ptarmigan!  A first for me, I think.  Very cool.

Brown sand and black rocks make for darker camera shading, but this is Nannie's "I am here!" photo.  As we neared the ocean, sand appeared and flora disappeared. 

Lots of elements in this pic!  Yes, there's a cemetery beside the church.  What you can't see is the wind whipping through our hair. 

Andres recommended a lunch stop at Samkomhusid in Arnarstapi for some yummy Icelandic home cooking. We enjoyed our meat soup (lamb, it's served all over the country), with warm bread straight from the oven, and served by smiling women.  Nice stop.  I sat near a window, too bad about the spider in the window (outside) spoiling my view! 

If you stood on this side of the statue, the wind took your breath away.  If you stood on the lee side, you missed the face of Bárður Snæfellsás - the Protector of the Snæfellsnes peninsula.  You know there's a saga about this, too, if you choose to Google it.

After lunch, we made our way to Hellnar (not far from Arnarstapi).  Hellnar was among the largest of ancient fishing villages beneath the Snæfellsjökull ice cap, and there's not much left of Hellnar today. After a short walk down a hill, we were rewarded with this view of the remarkable basalt rock formation known as Valasnös ... and caves.  We didn't walk down into the caves, but others have (above).  Using binocs, we watched birds fly into the big  cave on the right.

It wasn't a far piece to get to Djúpalónssandur Black Beach with its muddled piles of lava and fantastic huge mossy towers.  We clambered down the footpath to the rocky beach, admiring all that we saw.   I wish I could show you a long shot -- the entire area was wild.

At the arch was a marvelous view of Snæfellsjökull.  I could see it from my perch, but camera man wasn't in the correct spot to capture me, the arch and the glacier.  So, just trust me on this one.

But you CAN see Snæfellsjökull above!  It's a 700,000-year-old glacier atop a volcano at the tip of the peninsula, and it's famous for being featured in Jules Verne's novel "Journey to the Center of the Earth."  We had quite a view of the glacier from the Black Beach.  The mountain is actually called 'Snæfell' (Snowy Mountain), though the 'jökull' (glacier) is often added to help distinguish it from other mountains of the same name.

I'm sorry to say that for the first time in recorded history, Snæfellsjökull had no snow or ice at its peak in August 2012, causing concern among locals that climate change is threatening the nature of the mountain.  By now, I'm sure everyone is convinced climate change is threatening our planet.

(Many rock formations on and around Snæfellsjökull are said to be trolls petrified by sunlight or else homes of the hidden people.  Hmmmm ....)

Icelanders dote on elves and trolls -- probably because they live with so many outlandish sights like these. Only an elf or a troll could live in these rocks.

One of two freshwater lagoons -- these lagoons are held in high esteem by locals because they're thought to possess healing properties. 

 

Imagine yourself standing close to the water, but not too close, and hearing the soft clackety-clack whoosh as the waves sweep in over the rocks and then retreat, over and over.  It's a good sound, maybe even a healing sound.  These glistening pebbles that make up the beach are known as Djúpalónsperlur, or “pearls of the deep lagoon.”

We left Djúpalónssandur Black Beach reluctantly.  I swear we could've spent all afternoon cruising the beach and rocks.  Nannie and Bubba hiking up the hill.

Iceland has so many waterfalls, most of them named and all of them grand, so here's another one, but I'm not sure of its name.  That might not matter.

These dudes were standing by the edge of the road.

Waiting for the cars to pass so they could cross?

As the afternoon wore on and we started looking at our watches, we ended our tour with Kirkjufell, or "Church Mountain." Standing tall above the small fishing town of Grundarfjörður, this is apparently the most photographed mountain in Iceland, one of the top 10 most beautiful mountains in the world, and yet most recognized as being “Arrow Head Mountain” on Game of Thrones. Search me, I don't remember seeing it in the series, so maybe I need to rewatch it? 😀 Maybe not.

At its base is Kirkjufellsfoss (waterfall), a really pretty cascade.  You wouldn't believe how many people were milling around with cameras and phones and tripods, all aiming to get a pic of the falls and the mountain, like I did in the pic above this one.  I wasn't aware of any special significance, I just really liked what I saw.

I'll end the long day with Nannie and me filling our water bottles from the side of a mountain.  Mind you, this was not as easy as it looks.  The rocks beneath our feet were slick and the cascading drops did not fall in a straight line!  Nannie got a soaking.  I'll tell you true, Iceland has the purest, best drinking water in the world.

Positively.  Wonderful.  Day.  We didn't get back to our hotel till (can't recall exactly) seven or so in the evening.  Dinner was Skyr yogurt and popcorn again, delicious and nutritious.  Jimmy and I eyeballed our luggage and said, "whew, okay, let's do this."  Our flights out of Reykjavik on Icelandair tomorrow are early, we'll catch a 6am shuttle.  See you tomorrow.