For those who are following the story of the [explosion in Danvers](http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2006/11/22/explosion_rocks_danvers_several_hurt_none_seriously/), our Beverly apartment is about two miles away from the site, as the crow flies. My workplace in Peabody, [CBD](http://www.christianbook.com/), is about three miles away. No one in the Wood household felt or heard the explosion at 2:45 this morning, probably because we live in the basement, or possibly because, as new parents, our bodies needed the extra sleep much more than they needed to wake up and find out what had happened. Still, I’m pretty amazed that we didn’t notice it, since there are reports from people as far north as New Hampshire who felt the explosion.

In any case, stay tuned to [Boston.com](http://boston.com/) for more details.

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The RCMP

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Last weekend, Becky, Catherine and I went to see the [Topsfield Fair](http://www.topsfieldfair.org/) Parade. Our friend Beth lives in downtown Topsfield, right on the parade route, so we hung out with her on her front porch and watched the parade go by. There was a [troop](http://prwdot.org/gallery2/v/events/2006/topsfield_fair_parade/P1120895.JPG.html) from the [RCMP](http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/), lots of [Fire Trucks](http://prwdot.org/gallery2/v/events/2006/topsfield_fair_parade/P1120901.JPG.html), [campaigning politicians](http://prwdot.org/gallery2/v/events/2006/topsfield_fair_parade/P1120947.JPG.html), and even a [special celebrity guest](http://prwdot.org/gallery2/v/events/2006/topsfield_fair_parade/P1120950.JPG.html)! And yes, there was a [walking Boston baked bean](http://prwdot.org/gallery2/v/events/2006/topsfield_fair_parade/P1120968.JPG.html). You can see all the pics [here](http://prwdot.org/gallery2/v/events/2006/topsfield_fair_parade/).

If you are interested in purchasing a copy of the Salem News in Beverly you may want to stay away from this paperbox:

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Don’t say that they didn’t give you fair warning!

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But if you are in the market for a new snake, the price seems pretty reasonable!

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Update: I should add that although these pictures are new, I spotted this on the newspaper box several years ago, before anyone had ever heard of Snakes on a Plane!

Becky, Catherine and I went to the [Museum of Science](http://prwdot.org/gallery2/v/travels/2006/museum_of_science/) today, mostly for free. We had some free passes left over from the Star Wars exhibit, so that got us into the exhibit halls for free. We parked at the Cambridgeside Galleria for $3.99, so that was a good deal, and it was just $3 to cross the Tobin Bridge. $8 for lunch at Taco Bell on the way down, and $24 for dinner at the California Pizza Kitchen on the way back, so that’s less than $40 for a very nice day in the city.

It was nice to wander the exhibit halls with no particular agenda in mind. We covered pretty much the entire building, and we got to see a few shows, including the always fun lightning show, and the entertaining ‘mind games and optical illusions’ show.

We didn’t go to the [BodyWorlds](http://www.mos.org/bodyworlds) exhibit today, though it is something we are interested in seeing… it will be around through January, though, so we still have time. It is a bit pricey at $24 per ticket, or $16 if you go in the evening, but from what I’ve heard, it’s worth it.

Also, we took one of the cutest photos of Catherine while we were in Boston. She is wearing a dress made especially for her by [Michelle](http://mikao.blogspot.com/). Are you ready? Here it is!

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You can see all of today’s photos [here](http://prwdot.org/gallery2/v/travels/2006/museum_of_science/).

This past weekend was the [Gloucester Schooner Festival](http://www.capeannvacations.com/schooner/). Since we were all up in Townsend for the weekend, we missed it… or did we? In fact, due to the rain on Sunday, many of the events were postponed to Labor Day! So on Monday, Becky, Catherine and I headed up to [Gloucester](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gloucester%2C_Massachusetts) to take in the events.

First, we watched the Parade of Sail, where a bevy of lovely schooners sailed past the Fisherman’s Statue to the delight of onlookers. The event was emceed by a hilarious old fellow, who had plenty of knowledge and color commentary about each ship as it went past.

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[See all the pics from the Parade of Sail](http://prwdot.org/gallery2/v/events/2006/gloucester_schooner_festival/parade_of_sail/).

After the Parade, there was a demonstration by the [US Coast Guard](http://www.uscg.mil/uscg.shtm) of an air-sea rescue. A helicopter dropped a swimmer into the water, and then simulated a “rescue”, lowering itself very close to the surface of the water, and then dropping a rescue swimmer in. He used a loop attached to a line to hoist the “victim” up into the helicopter. Quite impressive.

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[See all of the rescue demonstration pics here](http://prwdot.org/gallery2/v/events/2006/gloucester_schooner_festival/rescue_demonstration/).

Finally, we boarded a shuttle boat to visit the [USS Doyle](http://www.doyle.navy.mil/), a Navy Fast Frigate that was docked offshore in Gloucester for the weekend. Besides being a fun boat ride out, it was extremely cool to get to tour a working military vessel.

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[See all of the Doyle pics here](http://prwdot.org/gallery2/v/events/2006/gloucester_schooner_festival/uss_doyle/).

Catherine handled the whole day pretty well. She actually slept through our entire tour of the Doyle, just as she did on the [Friendship](http://prwdot.org/2006/08/29/long-hill-and-the-friendship/)!

It seems as though we’re starting to make a habit out of this visiting ships thing… but time and time again, it turns out to be one of the most interesting and fun things to do, and we’ve never had to pay to get on board any of the ships we’ve visited!

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Long Hill

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Saturday was a day of spontaneous decisions. The first led us to a morning stroll at the Trustees of Reservations’ Long Hill. I’ve known about this site for years but had never gone over to see it. Located right here in Beverly, it turned out to be an unexpected retreat from city life. We wandered the grounds of the mansion checking out the flowers and views and taking some photos (of course).

Feeling a bit peckish we ended up at the Beverly Panera for lunch. We had our laptop on hand and while surfing we saw that the Friendship was docked in Newburyport and was offering free tours.

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On the Friendship

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Then and there we made the quick decision to head up to Newburyport for the afternoon. It turned out to be a great choice. We found a place to park fairly easily and joined the throngs of locals and tourists on the public wharf. I always enjoy activities like this but Catherine didn’t realize that going on her first tall ship was such an exciting event; She slept through the whole thing! See all the seaworthy pictures here.