“They have lots of animals, but they’re not great animals,”- Tim Sullivan helping Brad Morbeck weigh the merits of accompanying us to Old Sturbridge Village versus staying at Casa Sullivan and playing video games.
Friday, August 18-
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BRAD! The day we’ve all so impatiently waited for these many months has finally arrived! Today Brad Morbeck is officially FIVE YEARS OLD! For the second time in as many years he greets his new age by awakening in a tent: we can now legitimately call this pastime an “annual” event. All clouds have a somewhat fuschia lining, however: He no longer can be heralded as “Rutledge’s Fastest Four Year Old”.
FILE PHOTO FROM 1999
I wake up early and hike down to the lakeshore to get in some early morning paddling and shutterbugging. The mist is absolutely beautiful rising off the surface of Wilson Pond and I paddle upstream through a thicket of lily pads and other green stuff which slows me down. I get a few really artsy shots which would probably look nice printed on velvet.
When I return, we eat breakfast in high style, al fresco. The ubiquitous “Lucky Charms” come out again to the delight of all and we cook eggs and toast for the rest of us. The smaller bike riders among us spend as great deal of time rushing up and down our little campsite dirt road while the sucker adults dismantle the tents and roll up the sleeping bags. We finally get packed up and decide to clear out of our clearings but not out of the State Park completely. We take the vehicles up to the main parking lot and embark on another major hike up the mountain. We return to “Carpenter’s Rocks” from the other direction and have a good trip up the trail, the little boys again mesmerized by the presence of Mrs. Sullivan.
Brad and Matt find an interesting pile of rocks stacked up either by some ancient civilization of native peoples or by some other mysterious passerby. If we could “read rocks”, we could decipher this possibly urgent message.
We get to the top and I am rather surprised by the “sheer drop” nature of the cliff. We were here yesterday but I guess I never went really close enough to the edge to actually notice.
When we get back down the hill the boys all engage in various hijinks while we “check out”, most notably sequestering themselves in foxhole-looking rock enclosures around the trunks of trees.
We go back down to the beach to retrieve the canoe and decide to venture back to Southbridge for lunch.
We follow the Sullivans back and get heavily detoured by an accident along the sneaky shortcut road. We finally get back and the boys start the serious business of playing with toys, toys, toys. The Sullivan’s house at 64 Poplar is a veritable cornucopia of good things for small people of the male persuasion to play with. Months after our return Gabe and Ben were both asking to “go back on vacation”, a euphemism for going back to the Sullivan’s house. Tim and Matt have a Sony Playstation (or something like that) so Brad is mesmerized as well.
Rick and I go out to the take-out place and bring back Italian hoagies for lunch (I think they might still call them “grinders” up here). We again pass by the large monument to Benjamin L. Morbeck, the supermarket known as “The Big Bunny Market.”
Joan graciously agrees to stay home with the little boys for naptime as the three remaining Morbecks and two Sullivans (Rick and Matt) head over to Old Sturbridge Village to see the sights.
Our somewhat faithful companion on this trip, “The ever persistent drizzle” meets up with us at OSV but we still have a nice time traipsing around the 19th century living history museum. Rick’s a celebrity when we get to the blacksmith’s shop, his former smithy friends greeting him profusely when we arrive. They let Brad come back behind the rope and pump the bellows to stoke up the fire a bit- now that’s entertainment! We have pleasant time walking around and vow to return the next day, as our ticket is good for Friday AND Saturday.
Rick takes the boys back to Southbridge while Sally and I jump out to do some last minute shopping. We head east on Rt. 20 to find a supermarket, where we get some steaks and birthday cake for the evening festivities. I’m also intent on finding a software copy of “Microsoft Baseball”, as Tim has touted its virtues to Brad. Walmart doesn’t have it but someone suggests we might find it at the Auburn Mall. We take a whirlwind trip to Auburn (just outside of Worcester) and I run in and get “Backyard Baseball” instead. I finally find a copy of MS BB at a “Staples” on the way down Rt. 12. Auburn is MUCH farther then we we led to believe by the guy at the WalMart but we still get home at a reasonable time.
Not a single Morbeck boy has missed his wonderful parents whatsoever, being all completely immersed in various boy like pursuits. We have a terrific birthday feast and Brad opens his presents after dinner.
To celebrate the “Harry Potter” craze Sally wraps up a wire clothes hanger to give to Brad as one of his gifts (a literary reference to Harry’s sole birthday gift one year). The joke backfires as Brad starts to cry, not understanding the deeply comic nature of the gaily wrapped offering. After having the irony explained to him about four times he gradually warms up to the whole idea, even to the point of planning Mommy’s surprise birthday present nine months hence.
It has been quite a fun filled (and tiring) day so we all head off to sleep. Newly minted Five Year Old sleeps up in the guest room while the rest of us Morbecks spend a comfortable night on our sleeping pads down in the living room.
