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Balt and More
Apr. 27th, 2025 07:21 pmFor Erica's school break, we fist spent six nights in Baltimore, meeting up with my parents there. Then for the second half, Julie flew back to Boston for some focus time, while I took a road trip with Erica and my parents back to Cleveland and spent a few extra days working there.
Was a really great trip. Erica, Julie, and I got in a side-trip to DC with Melissa, Erica got a chance to see the National Portrait Gallery. We got a return trip to Clavel in Baltimore and the new Edwins location at Nighttown in Cleveland. Julie and Erica and I got in a side-trip to DC with just Melissa, visited the National Portrait Gallery and Botanical Garden. Went swimming with the kids in the hotel pool. Seeing Erica swim really amplified Simon's interest in getting in the water. The weather in Baltimore was great, and it's such a lovely city.
Had a nice visit to Cleveland, too. Erica did a bunch of fun activities with my parents. We got in a visit to West Side Market and to the new Edwins location at Nighttown (very sad that left Shaker Square, but at least the Nighttown site is seeing someone make good use of it). There's a new cafe in Shaker Square, and at the very least it's a big step up from Bigby. It's a nice place to hang out! I walked in and the manager there recognized me because he was in the same sixth grade class.
And then on the national stage, things have just been scary and nuts! The administration rendering people to Salvadoran concentration camps in direct contravention of court orders. A 9-0 SCOTUS ruling against the administration, which the administration is defying and lying about. The administration trying to coerce more SDNY prosecutors into denouncing the now spiked case against Eric Adams, resulting in more resignations. (Just letting Adams off scott-free, as in fact happened, is not enough for the administration's pro-corruption agenda.) Tariffs were backed off to levels that are at the very least the most consequential change in trade policy and tax policy within the last many decades. And I'm probably 37 even more consequential things.
I finished reading Princess Academy to Erica and thought it was really good (the real superpower is education all along). Started reading the first Percy Jackson and the Olympians book, The Lightning Thief as her next bedtime-reading selection. We've also been watching the new Anne of Green Gables anime adaptation, Anne Shirley, together. It's really charming, Erica is enjoying it a lot.
On my own, I'm watching the last season of The Handmaid's Tale and I started watching The Bear.
Erica has been excited about a potential family trip to Japan, which I have penciled in for next year. Erica's been studying Japanese on Duolingo for the last number of weeks. (I'm well aware of the limitations of Duolingo, but she's having fun with it, and it seems a decent taste of a lot of aspects of language learning.) Erica got us to write some cards for my host parents, my host mom wrote back and sent Erica some really adorable picture books, which should be great kana practice (and are fortunately/unfortunately probably just about right for my current reading level).
Local election season seems to have started in Somerville, the primary for a contested mayoral election is in September. Current at-large city councilor Jake Wilson came to my door today canvassing in person. He's probably my favorite of the candidates at this point.
Was a really great trip. Erica, Julie, and I got in a side-trip to DC with Melissa, Erica got a chance to see the National Portrait Gallery. We got a return trip to Clavel in Baltimore and the new Edwins location at Nighttown in Cleveland. Julie and Erica and I got in a side-trip to DC with just Melissa, visited the National Portrait Gallery and Botanical Garden. Went swimming with the kids in the hotel pool. Seeing Erica swim really amplified Simon's interest in getting in the water. The weather in Baltimore was great, and it's such a lovely city.
Had a nice visit to Cleveland, too. Erica did a bunch of fun activities with my parents. We got in a visit to West Side Market and to the new Edwins location at Nighttown (very sad that left Shaker Square, but at least the Nighttown site is seeing someone make good use of it). There's a new cafe in Shaker Square, and at the very least it's a big step up from Bigby. It's a nice place to hang out! I walked in and the manager there recognized me because he was in the same sixth grade class.
And then on the national stage, things have just been scary and nuts! The administration rendering people to Salvadoran concentration camps in direct contravention of court orders. A 9-0 SCOTUS ruling against the administration, which the administration is defying and lying about. The administration trying to coerce more SDNY prosecutors into denouncing the now spiked case against Eric Adams, resulting in more resignations. (Just letting Adams off scott-free, as in fact happened, is not enough for the administration's pro-corruption agenda.) Tariffs were backed off to levels that are at the very least the most consequential change in trade policy and tax policy within the last many decades. And I'm probably 37 even more consequential things.
I finished reading Princess Academy to Erica and thought it was really good (the real superpower is education all along). Started reading the first Percy Jackson and the Olympians book, The Lightning Thief as her next bedtime-reading selection. We've also been watching the new Anne of Green Gables anime adaptation, Anne Shirley, together. It's really charming, Erica is enjoying it a lot.
On my own, I'm watching the last season of The Handmaid's Tale and I started watching The Bear.
Erica has been excited about a potential family trip to Japan, which I have penciled in for next year. Erica's been studying Japanese on Duolingo for the last number of weeks. (I'm well aware of the limitations of Duolingo, but she's having fun with it, and it seems a decent taste of a lot of aspects of language learning.) Erica got us to write some cards for my host parents, my host mom wrote back and sent Erica some really adorable picture books, which should be great kana practice (and are fortunately/unfortunately probably just about right for my current reading level).
Local election season seems to have started in Somerville, the primary for a contested mayoral election is in September. Current at-large city councilor Jake Wilson came to my door today canvassing in person. He's probably my favorite of the candidates at this point.
