The Mulburn Inn - a lovely B&B...

I also wanted to share with everyone a bit about the beautiful 'Bed & Breakfast' where we stayed for one night - The Mulburn Inn.  This lovely home was built in 1908 as a 'summer cottage' for a family that was connected with the Woolworth's.  We stayed in the Jefferson Room and it was large and very comfortable.  It's said that Joe DiMaggio and Marilyn Monroe stayed in this room.  Other well-known people who visited the Inn are Cary Grant and Barbara Hutton, the Rockefeller's, and Thomas Edison.

As we arrived, Mary, the current owner and innkeeper, took us on a tour of the house, telling us all about the history.  We found it quite interesting.  The next morning, she served us a most delicious breakfast and we chatted more with her.  There are 7 rooms in this B&B and each one of them is unique.  I've included some pictures below:

The Mulburn Inn

Porches wrap completely around the Inn

The main living room

Perfect little nook for reading

'Family room' with TV

Dining Room

Thomas Edison gave the Inn this early model of an electric stove

The Jefferson Room

Famous guests of the Inn and Jefferson Room

Beautiful stained glass window on the stair landing

If you ever get a chance to visit The Mulburn Inn, we can highly recommend it!

The Marvelous Boston Public Library...

I know that not everyone considers a visit to a library as part of the highlights of their vacation, but I do.  If I can visit a local library, I always make time to do so.  I enjoy seeing how other parts of the country present their collections to their patrons, and I also like to stop and chat with the library staff when I can.  As I was looking at a Boston map to see what was near the hotel where my husband and I were staying, lo and behold, the Central Branch of the Boston Public Library.  Yahoo!

I spent most of a morning walking around that library and taking pictures of some of the beautiful sculptures, murals, and other architectural features that caught my eye.  There are two buildings, one filled with art and murals, the other much more modern (built in the 1970's and recently updated, according to the librarians I spoke with).  See what you think.  The library offers art and architecture tours frequently, but I just wandered around at will.

The first pictures are of the older section of the library, ending with a shot of the courtyard between the two buildings.

The following pictures are of the 'new' side of the BPL.  The second picture is a sculpture on the wall as you enter from the old building to the new.  It's made out of books!  I also was quite fond of the staircase with 'the plot thickens' on the stairs!

Yes, I think I could definitely spend a day or a week in this great library!  There's also several coffee shops and all kinds of other amenities for library patrons or passing visitors.

The Boston Public Garden and a few other fun spots...

I had a very nice time in Boston recently.  My husband was at a work conference and I spent a lot of two days walking all over Back Bay.  Yesterday, I featured a few pictures of the Boston Public Garden.  Today, I want to share a few more of that location and also a couple of other spots that took my fancy.  I learned that the Boston Public Garden was established in 1837 and was the first public botanical garden in the US.  It was so lovely!  I enjoyed the flowers and blooming trees.  We don't have too many tulips and daffodils this far south and I loved their colors.  The pond, the swan boats, the winding trails - so, so pretty.  Hope you enjoy them too.

I'll also add a couple of other locations I found on my long, long walk.  I didn't go in to the Harry Potter Store, but I should have.  I did visit the Trident Booksellers and Cafe - a very nice little independent with a coffee shop included. 

I took a bunch more pictures of the beautiful churches that were on practically every corner.  I know that I only scratched the surface of what was available in Boston, but I thoroughly enjoyed walking and exploring the streets that I did.  Perhaps another trip is in order at some point.  

Tuesday - First Chapter - First Paragraph - Make Way For Ducklings

Each Tuesday, Diane at Bibliophile By the Sea shares the first part of a book that she is reading or thinking about reading.  This week I'm sharing:  Make Way For Ducklings by Robert McCloskey. Awarded the Caldecott Medal for the most distinguished American picture book for children in 1941, it has since become a favorite of millions.  I remember reading this book when I was a little girl and I read it my daughter as well.  I loved getting to visit Boston recently and seeing the Boston Public Garden.  See what you think:

     Mr. and Mrs. Mallard were looking for a place to live.  But every time Mr. Mallard saw what looked like a nice place, Mrs. Mallard said it was no good.  There were sure to be foxes in the woods or turtles in the water, and she was not going to raise a family where there might be foxes or turtles.  So they flew on and on.
     When they got to Boston, they felt too tired to fly any further.  There was a nice pond in the Public Garden, with a little island on it.  'The very place to spend the night,' quacked Mr. Mallard.  So down they flapped.

Blurb:

Mrs. Mallard was sure that the pond in the Boston Public Gardens would be a perfect place for her and her eight ducklings to live.  The problem was how to get them there through the busy streets of Boston.  But with a little help from the Boston police, Mrs. Mallard and Jack, Kack, Lack, Nack, Ouack, Pack, and Quack arrive safely at their new home.

-------------------------------------------------------

Here's a few more pictures for your viewing pleasure:

Boston Public Gardens - Pond and Swan Boats

Make Way For Ducklings Sculpture

Robert McCloskey Tribute

Kay and Nan together again after almost 20 years...

The very first thing I wanted to share about my recent trip to the East Coast was the time spent with my dear friend, Nan, who writes at Letters from a Hill Farm.  We met about 20 years ago on a book site that no longer exists.  We (and a few others - including Les from Prairie Horizons) progressed through various means of communication over the years.  We've shared our love of reading, our trials and tribulations, tips and help in raising our kids, joys, sorrows, and much, much love.  I consider Nan one of my closest friends, even though this trip was only the 2nd time I've met her face-to-face.  Nan and her family came to Texas in 1998 and we met at a bookstore in downtown Austin.  This time was in her part of the world.

My husband and I planned our trip so that I could attend Malice Domestic 29 and so that he could go to a work conference in Boston.  I knew I had to visit Nan and her family because they live only a few short hours from that part of the world.  It was a wonderful time together.  We visited for less than 24 hours, but so many hugs, words, and smiles were shared.  I'm delighted that we were able to take this trip.  Here are some pictures:

Nan, Kay and Hazel Nina (Nan's granddaughter)

Hazel Nina - so full of energy and joy - Raya, the cat in the background

Lucy (held by Tom, Nan's husband) - also full of energy and joy

Nan and Tom's donkey and sheep

Ate some great pancakes with lots of maple syrup here for dinner - Yum!

The weather was rainy and misty/foggy, but there was sunshine in our hearts.

If you go to Nan's blog here, you can see more pictures of our visit.  I'll be showing some Boston pictures later this week and on Friday, I'll tell about the wonderful Bed and Breakfast where we stayed.  Next week - Malice Domestic 29 - all week long!!

A great spring trip...back next week with details!!

Hello everyone!  Yes, I'll be back next week with details of a great trip I recently took.  Lots to share.  Here's a taste of where I ventured...(hint - east of where I usually wander about).

I've been to the Malice Domestic 29 Convention - fans and authors and the Agatha's (mystery awards) held in Bethesda, Maryland.  I've been to Boston.  I've visited a dear, dear friend in New Hampshire - Nan at Letters from a Hill Farm!  And then I returned to Texas with not only a respiratory crud thing (travelling is a 'petri dish' of germs), but have a tooth problem and our refrigerator 'died' while we were gone (a yucky mess!).  Plus, our air travel home was fraught with problems.  Sigh.  I'm still managing those issues.

Hope to have several upcoming posts about the mystery convention (it was great!), but also a look at where I ventured in Boston.  The picture is 'Make Way For Ducklings' at the Boston Public Garden.    I'll tell a bit about our New Hampshire visit (too short).  We'll see what I can come up with.

I'll leave you with a picture of what's been trekking or rather 'slithering' across my front yard (can you see the snake skin?).  Yes, it's from a rattlesnake.  Yay for Texas in spring!  Ha!  See you soon!