Blogs from Brewster, Massachusetts, United States, North America

Brewster, Cape Cod, Massachussetts, 15 juillet Le tout petit État du Rhode Island mérite que l'on s'y arrête, que vous soyez amateur d'architecture et d'histoire, de voile ou de musique. C'est à Newport, petite ville de 25 000 habitants joliment installée sur l'île Aquidneck au coeur de la baie de Narragansett, que l'on peut profiter de toutes ces merveilles. Après des débuts mouvementés lors de la Guerre d'indépendance américaine, Newport fut un lieu de villégiature huppé dès la fin du dix-neuvième siècle et les richissimes familles qui venaient ici passer quelques semaines estivales ont fait bâtir de véritables châteaux, les "mansions". Les magnats du rail comme les Vanderbilt ou du charbon comme les Berwind n'ont pas lésiné sur les moyens et la promenade le long de Bellevue avenue nous dévoile des dizaines de ces magnifiques manoirs ... read more

We said goodbye to High Brewster and all of Andrew's relatives. A little reluctant to leave the cape, we opted to visit The Cape Cod Museum of Natural History before setting off to the airport. There was enough information available to be interesting for adults, but most of the museum's focus appeared to be directed at children. There was a "summer sleuth group" of kids working hard at decyphering clues. There was a hands-on room (Oliver enjoyed putting his feet in the sandbox) and an aquarium where a volunteer helped children touch starfish (she called them "sea stars") and other local aquatic creatures. Oliver loved looking at the turtles and the striped bass.... read more

Yesterday, Sara and John's son, Sam, arrived. While young (17), he works hard to make sure everyone's happy. I like having the young man around. Last night, Andrew's brother, Zach, also arrived to High Brewster. It's always nice having Zach with us, and Andrew was especially happy to see his older brother. Early this afternoon, Andrew, Zach, Sam, Chris and Lizzie went back to the beach. I decided Oliver and I had enough fun in the sand, so we stayed behind with Sara and Colleen. John went for a long (13.5 mile) run, and Paul did more metal detecting. Sara is very handy in the kitchen and makes delicious meals and treats, so when she mentioned baking pies for all, I jumped at the chance to help. Colleen took my little babe (photos below of their ... read more

Andrew and I spent some time before dinner reading on reclining chairs, overlooking the lake, listening to ground squirrels run on the grass around us. Sara made fantastic fajitas and black bean & corn salad for dinner. After dinner, Andrew's second cousins invited us out to the Wood Shed. We thought they were inviting us out back or something, perhaps to chop wood for the numerous fireplaces. Andrew did, too. Joey clarified; the Wood Shed is a bar down the road. I've been to a bar once before, and it was for my sister's wedding weekend. For a moment, I thought of ways to deny their invitation. Then, I realized, these are Andrew's cousins (whom he hasn't gotten to see in a decade). Besides, I've been working hard at being a little more flexible in my ... read more

As we prepared to leave Denver for Cape Cod, I finally got around to reading the guide book I'd borrowed from my mother-in-law, Colleen. I cracked open the page to Brewster, Massachusetts, where we'd be staying for the Shattuck family reunion (Andrew's dad's father's side of the family). I read that the small town was named for Elder William Brewster. I knew that name. Apparently, he was on board the Mayflower on the famous pilgrimage to America. That's when it hit me; on my father's side of the family, I was told, there's an ancestor that was on board the Mayflower. I called my dad and emailed my uncle. Sure enough, according to my Uncle Dan's research (and his cousin, George Myers), one of our ancestors was William Brewster. How exciting! As it turns out, Oliver ... read more