Day 12: Boston

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After eating some yummy bagels which we picked up yesterday on the Freedom Trail, we grabbed the shuttle to the Wonderland metro station. The people of Boston are so nice, the shuttle drivers always have a smile and are very courteous. It reminds me a lot of the charm in west TX.

After 3 different subway connections, we finally made it to Harvard. Once again, the flowers were spectacular. The trees had these beautiful white blossoms and there were delicate purple flowers everywhere. School was out so the campus was very quiet. The kids were not very happy taking pictures in front of Mr. Harvard. (I guess we've trained them well. Future Texas Tech Red Raiders here). Unfortunately, for some reason the 3G connection was not working on campus, so we ended up getting lost trying to find a restaurant. But while we were lost, we stumbled across a few interesting sights, such as the engineering building, a rather large art installation made out of backpacks, and the tree where Washington was handed command of the Union troops during the Revolution. Finally, we found the nicest college Freshman who taught us a little about life on the Harvard campus and was also nice enough to walk us across campus to a burger joint that Harvard is famous for called Bartley's.

Bartley's was eclectic. It had signs and bumper stickers all over the walls with various odd sayings. The tables were crammed together with professors and students and never stayed empty long. When we left, there was a waiting line down the sidewalk. "Viagra", "iPod", "Sarah Palin", and "Arnold Schwarzenegger" were a few of the burgers on the menu, along with various other politically charged names. Upon ordering you burger, the waitress went up to the grill and shouted the order out. Lets just say "Viagra" and "iPod" were the hits. The kids were given paper hats to color and they were able to talk as loud as they wanted because of the constant buzz of sound and energy filling the room. The only problem was the lack of restrooms in the restaurant and the waitress said we could either buy something at the doughnut store around the corner or use the public restaurants in the square. When she told us "Good luck finding a restroom", we decided to head back to the Freedom Trail before the kids needed a bathroom break.

Back at the Freedom Trail, we meandered through the city seeing history and the cultural of the city blur into one glorious afternoon. Not only did we get to see Fenauil Hall Marketplace, Paul Revere's House (not worth the cost to look at), and the Old North Church (where 2 lanterns were hung signaling the British were coming by sea/river), but we also got to walk past a movie set, and a farmers market. On the trail, we also walked through the Italian section of the city, and through a major shopping and market area. We followed the trail over the Charles River and could see the site of the Battle of Bunker Hill in the distance before finding the U.S.S. Constituition, aka Old Ironclad, which was the navy's first battle ship. After this, the girls turned in their Junior Ranger books at the visitor center and took the Junior Ranger oath to preserve and protect national parks. The Ranger later told me that Brecklyn was the youngest Junior Ranger he has ever had recite the Junior Ranger Oath. There was a crowd forming behind us watching the scene it was so cute. It was getting late in the day by this point, and Alex was sleeping, so we decided to forgo the tour of the Constitution, but Jason got to read an interesting guide on the dry docks, which were the first of their kind built. We also got to see a modern ship in the dry dock, and it was kind of surreal to see such a large ship balancing on concrete blocks.

Then we took the ferry back over the river and caught the metro back to Wonderland. After a dinner of pb&j bagels, chips, apples, and whoppers in our hotel room, we all relaxed and watched "Hole in the Wall." My summary of the show is if you can break your way through the wall you have the game beat.

Tomorrow we are flying back to Houston. This wasn't something we planned, but it just seems like the right time because we have seen everything we came to see on our Freedom Tour, our destination and hotel choices are becoming limited, and we would like to save our last week of vacation for our next adventure 😊. Boston is a wonderful city to be in at this time of the year, but apparently everyone thinks so as well--this has driven the price of lodging up quite a bit since we began. In fact, the decision was made just this morning, and we booked the return flight on our shuttle ride to the subway--thanks to the saved Rapid Reward award tickets. We'll be leaving on the 10:15 am flight with a stop in Chicago (When else can you get NY and Chicago pizza in the same week?). It has been a great trip, and we will return home with a lot of new knowledge, understanding of other cultures, and dreams of our next adventure. Jason will be typing up a summary/analysis of our trip including must sees in each city and a cost break down.

Hope you all enjoyed reading our blog and Happy Traveling.

Jessica

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Comments

[Jeanie]

Enjoyed reading all about your adventures. Have a safe trip home. I know you had a great time. I am sure the kids will sleep well after all they have done.