Playing Hooky

Last Thursday Eben and I skipped work to spend the day with his friend Simon (it's a huge feat to get Eben to miss work during the week, so you know Simon is extra special!). He was visiting us from Scotland following this semester's med school finals. It was really great to meet him since I've been hearing for the last two and a half years that Simon is one of Eben's 'favorite people in the whole world!' He lived up to his reputation and was a wonderfully fun and kind person.


We had a great time showing him around. We took the canoe to Walden Pond in Concord and went for a paddle. While crossing the pond we enjoyed the sunshine and the surprisingly clear water (I guess it's not warm enough for most algae just yet). We visited the site of Emerson's house where he wrote 'On Walden Pond'.
I usually go to Walden in the summer for a swim, but have never been there this time of year and it was disorienting to the see the forest pre-leaves. Leaves or no, it's really a beautiful spot for canoeing, hiking, bird watching, swimming, reading, or just relaxing outside the city and now that we've bought a year pass, we can go more often.
Speaking of swimming, the boys went in; I did not! The water was probably around 50 degrees and there was a hearty wind that day. Since I was wearing my sweatshirt and had a towel over my legs while in the canoe, I decided that swimming was not a good idea for me! Don't get me wrong, it was a beautiful day, but it would have become quite unpleasant for me and my companions had I gone in the water. I'm happy to report there were no cases of hypothermia and that we spent the rest of the afternoon hiking around the pond.