Cool Things

This last month has been busy with all my travels, but I'm finally home again and wanted to share some of the cool things I've done recently. There are a bunch!

First, about a month ago, Colin and I decided to take advantage of our Mass Audubon membership and go hiking through some of their preserves. The first one we explored was the Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary. When we arrived, the receptionist at the visitor's center commented that we should have brought bird seed so we could feed the birds out of our hands. We laughed, not believing that was a thing that really happened. When we stumbled across a leftover pile of bird seed on the trail, though, we decided to try it:

Guess what: it really happens! Bird taking off from Colin's hand.

Bird nibbling from my hand.

We'll definitely be going back, and next time we'll remember our bird seed!

The next cool thing came about as part of my work trip to Albany. I was not expecting much from the trip and was really not excited about going since I had just returned from Philadelphia two days before and was leaving for St. Louis two days later. But, as they say, the fun is in the journey, not the destination. I knew I'd be flying on a small plane from Boston to Albany, but I wasn't expecting one quite this small!

How I flew from Boston to Albany: Cessna 402

Hello, Cessna! This little nine-seater flew us from Boston to Albany and back. Our luggage had to be stowed in the nose or wing of the aircraft because there was no room on the plane for anything except what you could hold in your lap. Needless to say, we didn't get any peanuts or soda, and there wasn't a "fasten seatbelt sign" because it wasn't physically possible to stand up inside. But the day was clear, and the plane flew low, so I had wonderful views for the quick one-hour trip to New York. This was the neatest flight I've ever taken!

View from the airplane

If I'd stretched, I probably could have flown the plane myself. I was impressed with how smooth the flight was, given how tiny the plane was. Landing, in fact, was way smoother in this little plane than in the big 737s--you feel like you just float down to Earth. It was fun to get a glimpse into what it must have been like for Mom to fly (even smaller) Cessnas when she was younger.

View from my seat. Thanks for a smooth flight, pilot!

My next destination was St. Louis, where tons of old family friends came together to celebrate at my bridal shower. Rebecca, who was nearly eight months pregnant, couldn't come, but Grandmother and Grandaddy did. Check out our three generations of Coppinger/Santoro women!

Mom, me, and Grandmother -- just missing Rebecca.

Well, little did we know that the next day we would have four generations of Coppinger/Santoro/Melley women, since Rebecca's babies decided to arrive a little early. Just the week before, I had been in Philadelphia for Rebecca's baby shower, where Colin and I presented her with Make Way for Ducklings to help build the twins' library. We had laughed about this inscription, noting that when they were older they would realize we had given it to them before they were born. Since they decided to be born in March instead of April, they may never guess!

"To the Melley twins with love from your Boston aunt and uncle! Love, Aunt Claire and Uncle Colin, March 2016"

So, hooray, I'm now an aunt to an adorable little girl and boy! Can't wait to meet them!

But in the meantime, I jetted off to California for the wedding of my best friend from college. That was an exciting, jam-packed trip of its own, with lots of impressive photo-ops (think redwoods and lizards and the Golden Gate Bridge), so I'll make that a post of its own.