Our New England Adventure - Part I

We decided to take a little bit different vacation this year. Not our normal beach trip... and it was deemed 'our greatest adventure yet' by Bennett as we were taking off on our first leg of our flight :) If you'd like some details, I'm going to give 'em to ya! I'm going to break it up into 3 post - one for each of our major stops.


We began our New England Adventure in Boston. We flew in on July 11 and went straight to our hotel (which was the Hampton Inn Crosstown near Boston Medical Center). This hotel was not the ideal hotel for sight-seeing in Boston (live and learn, right?) When we booked this hotel, they touted their shuttle service. When we arrived, they had discontinued their shuttle service. SO.... we took lots of cabs!

Here is Bennett in his first ever cab ride. He was most impressed with the tv in the back of the seats. Oh, and he wore his seat belt every time :)

We had a quick dinner at Abe & Louie's and then took out for a little sight-seeing of the things that were nearby. We came upon the Old South Church (we were knew we wanted to see the Old North Church, but the Old South Church was a little bit of a surprise.)

I will ever forget it - Bennett got his notebook out and wanted to write down every word that was engraved on the building. So cute. 

Note: He didn't do this ever again :)

Day 2 - July 12

We hopped onto the Old Towne Trolley at our hotel and rode all the way to Fenway Park. Bennett was on the Red Sox team this Spring, which was the inspiration for our trip. Here are a few pictures...

The best thing about our tour was going on top of the 'Green Monster' and getting to go out in front of it on the field. AWESOME! Oh, and it was hot. Really hot.

After a quick lunch (and cool down/rehydration) we jumped back on the Trolley and headed to Faneuil Hall, Paul Revere's house, and Old North Church. Bennett really enjoyed each stop - not that we really stopped and read many of the plaques along the way, but he still was interested. There was a great little talk at Faneuil Hall, detailing the important meetings that have taken place there throughout history. Paul Revere's house was so fascinating - so tiny! Old North Church was beautiful - and we loved seeing the box pews that were rented. 

Day 3 -July 13. 

The pictures above and below are from Day 3 (I can't get this paragraph to move up...)

We jumped on the Trolley again from our hotel (did you know that you get the 2nd day free??) and headed straight for the USS Constitution (photos above). We were the first group tour of the day and had a super tour guide named Kiki. We loved exploring the ship and we got a bonus 'behind the scenes' tour when everyone else left. Bennett hung back to ask Kiki about the lower deck and Kiki took us down there! We also got to tour the officers' and Captain's quarters. Did you know that the Captain got his own toilet? You can guess how cool Bennett thought that was :)

After the Constitution we went to Cheers (and tried to explain what it was all about to Bennett, but I think we failed). The food was great! We then headed to the Public Gardens to find the ducks and the Swan Boats (from Make Way for Ducklings, one of our favorite books). Did you know that those big swan boats are peddle powered? They are!

Then we took the subway (a little scary, but just because we had NO idea what we were doing :) up to Harvard. What a beautiful campus! Bennett and I are sitting on the steps of the library in the next to the last pic below. I think that it will be cool to show people that picture in 10 years when he starts his freshman year there ;) He says he's not going that far away from me. I tell him I'll follow him...

After Harvard (and a stop at Baskin Robbins for ice cream) we went to the Boston Aquarium. Bennett LOVED it. He stood and watched the penguins for at least 15 minutes. I just stood back and watched him (last picture). He also really enjoyed the touch tank where you could touch real sharks and rays. Super cool. 

It started to rain while we were in the Aquarium, which really cooled things down. It was really hot in Boston while we were there (like, hotter than at home!) The main difference was that when you could find some shade, it was tolerable. Anyway, after the rain let up a little we ran to Legal's for some great seafood. We made Bennett skip the chicken fingers this time :) Delish!

Our Favorites:

Brad: Seeing all of the historical sites

Amy: The behind-the-scenes tour on the USS Constitution

Bennett: Fenway Park (all of it), the Constitution (all of it), and the Aquarium (the touch tank and the Penguins - watch them poop!)

Coming soon... Part 2 :)