Boston

After leaving Connecticut, we headed North to spend a few days in Massachusetts. We stayed at the legendary Normandy Farms campground and it did not disappoint! This was a true camping resort and was definitely the nicest place we’ve stayed while on this trip. Highlights for the kids were the bike track and RC car racetrack. We were also finally able to swim again! We are definitely not accustomed to pools opening after Memorial Day so we were thrilled to have access to an indoor pool.

Of course, the main attraction was Boston and we spent a day exploring the city. (If you haven’t already, check out Colin’s post about riding the trains!) We made it into the city and began our day with a walk on the Freedom Trail.

We started at the Old North Church, making our way toward Paul Revere’s house. We spent some time reading grave markers at Copps Hill Burying Ground before following the trail some more. And then we realized we were going the wrong way! That’s what happens when you put me in charge of the map. To make up for the extra walking, we stopped in a corner bakery for a sweet pick-me-up.

Kids get funny ideas and for some reason, Colin and Haddie had formed a fascination around eclairs. I don’t know where it started but they had never tried one and were both so excited to find them at this bakery in Boston’s North End. Speaking of, this area of Boston is really charming. It looked like a movie set, with all it’s colorful shop fronts, brick sidewalks and blooming flower boxes.

We were able to tour Paul Revere’s house and continue our Freedom Trail walk to the Old State House, where the Declaration of Independence was read aloud from the balcony to Bostonians for the first time. (Now, it also serves as a stop for the T, Boston’s subway system!)

We found Boston to be easily walkable and the city held some nice surprises like this unique carousel near the water front. Instead of horses, the kids got to choose from foxes, squirrels, fish and butterflies.

After grabbing some lunch at Faneuil Hall Marketplace, it was time to take a guided tour on one of Boston’s famous duck boats. The duck boats can traverse land and water, making for an unforgettable way to see the city.

We spent about an hour driving the city before splashing into the Charles River for a 20 minute harbor cruise. With one day in Boston, the tour and our awesome guide helped fill in the gaps.

The last planned activity was a visit to the Boston Tea Party museum. Now, I don’t remember a lot from when my family visited Boston when I was very young, but I definitely remember joining the revolution and throwing “tea” into the harbor!

The museum has an adjoining tearoom (coincidentally named Abigail’s!), where we could sample some of the teas that were destroyed that fateful night in 1773.

All that treasonous tea-throwing sure works up an appetite and we were able to find some pizza to appease the tired masses.

I had been feeling pretty good about navigating us into the city that morning but for some reason, I gave no thought to the trip back! Once we paid the check, I checked the train times and saw that the next train was leaving in 15 minutes so we grabbed hands and hustled to the nearest station. We ran in, took a wrong turn, and missed our train by less than a minute. Talk about disappointing! And to make matters worse, the next train was not for another 90 minutes. It was such a sad situation, that an employee offered us $20 to get the kids ice cream! We opted instead to have them burn off some energy at a nearby green space and it ended up being a nice way to end the day.

Lesson learned!