It's only day 2 and we have to leave--bummer! We were just getting acclimated and figuring things out! But we still had all of Sunday to make the most of our time here in the great city of Boston and wow, what a great city it is--so clean, friendly, uncrowded, and fun! New York has some serious competition for my #1 most favorite city ever and the kids too!
We got up pretty early, loaded the luggage in the car, and checked out which confused the kids because we weren't leaving yet. We headed to breakfast at a nearby Panera--I know I am crazy to go to Panera in this city filled with amazing restaurants but sometimes you just have to eat. We headed to the Whale Watch tour boat and got in line to board our vessel. We scored some awesome seats and enjoyed the view as headed out of Boston Harbor.
Unfortunately, not everyone was enjoying their voyage out to the whales. We had hit some pretty big swells and over 50% of the boat was sea sick so the captain decided to turn us around and head back in. "NO WHALES FOR YOU" he said. We were all really disappointed but deterimined to make the most of our day. We headed back to Quincy Market for a quick bite and then onto a Freedom Trail Walking Tour leaving from Boston Common with a costumed Colonial reenactor playing Barzillai Lew--so cool! Check out the real guy on wikipedia and don't judge me for using this source.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barzillai_Lew
We learned so much on this short journey--about 90 minutes. The kids were always at the front close to our guide asking and answering question after question making Mama so proud! Our guide was super--he took us to the Old State House--site of the Boston Massacre, lots of very old churches which acted as meeting places and even arsenals, the Park Church grave yard which is the final resting spot for 4 Signers, Paul Revere, and Ben Franklin's parents. We started the whole journey at Boston Common--the oldest park in the country which used to be the site of Puritan justice. We finished our trip at Freinul Hall--I know I am messing up the spelling but I am super tired. It was the place of many of America's greatest speeches and holds a great deal of history.
We ended our Journey to Boston with a visit to Cheers--the place where everyone knows your name for a quick bite before heading back to NYC.
Ryan navigated for me all the way home and took about 54 pictures of himself making funny faces--what a sweet guy! Christa fell asleep hugging her new Ukelele. No attached garages here so she had to wake up and roll her suitcase down the sidewalk to our apartment but she was a trooper. They both were great! We had a fun family adventure together to a wonderful city that is so clean, super friendly, so conscious of keeping its history alive, and just a lot of fun! We will be back but next time we will bring Tyler!
Just reading this. Want to say that the one time I went whale watching--off the Pacific coast--I missed most of the whales because I was throwing up in the bathroom. Eventually gave up and threw up over the side. Then saw whale. But the captain may have been doing the right thing there.
ReplyDeleteAlso--love wikipedia! Use it all the live long day, and even in class! (Just teach students to check the sources of that source, and never to cite it.)