Rainy Day in Beantown

 Day 6 was supposed to begin with a whale-watching tour.  The forecast was not favorable, but we were hoping that our tour would be over by the time the worst of it arrived.  We boarded the boat and headed out to see the whales.  After about forty minutes of feeling like we were on an episode of Deadliest Catch, the captain determined that conditions were too bad for us to continue, so we turned around and headed back to the dock. I was a little disappointed that our plans fell through, but I was happy that the captain put safety first.  We did get a free boat ride out of it, so it wasn't a total loss. The weather ended up getting much worse.  It was rainy and cold.  So cold in fact that we all bought souvenir sweatshirts to wear over our clothes.

 Our whale watching tour getting canceled left us with more time on our hands than anticipated.  We decided to visit the Boston Tea Party Ships and Museum because it was a (mostly) inside attraction.  This experience was much more involved than I realized.  There were live actors, high-quality holographic images, and surprises at every turn.  We did have to go outside to get on the ship and to throw the tea into the harbor.  We learned that it was rainy and cold on the night of the actual tea party, and it was rainy and cold during our visit so I guess the weather just added an element of authenticity to the whole experience.

 After our tour was over we grabbed hot chocolate and cookies at Abigail's Tea Room (which is part of the museum).  The weather was really bad at this point, so we killed some time playing the old-timey games that were on the tables.

 It was early afternoon and we hadn't had a proper meal.  I knew exactly where I wanted to eat.  My sister Hannah and niece Ava visited Boston in November and just raved about Fire&Ice, so that was our destination.  This place was really neat.  It's like a build-your-own-stir-fry place.  You put ingredients and sauces into bowls and then take it to a large Mongolian Wok where it is cooked before your eyes.  The experience was really unique, and the kids loved it. 

 After our meal, we went to the Museum of Fine Arts with a very specific goal in mind.  The whole reason that we decided to visit Boston in the first place is that because for years Olivia has been going on about wanting to see the Liberty Bowl.  Not the Liberty BELL, the Liberty BOWL.  There was no way we were leaving Boston without seeing it.  There was tons of great art to see at the museum, and we saw as much of it as we could.  I have included pictures of some of my favorite pieces.

Freedom Trail and Pops

The better part of day 5 was spent seeing the sights along the Freedom Trail.  For hours we followed the red brick path around the city.  Some of the highlights were Boston Common, the Granary Burial Ground, Faneuil Hall / Quincy Market, and Old North Church.  We saw the graves of John Hancock, Samuel Adams, and Paul Revere at the burial ground and we had lunch at Cheers at Quincy Market.   I was worried that Cheers would be too touristy and not have good food, but it was actually one of the best meals of our entire trip.  The trail ended with the USS Constitution and the Bunker Hill Memorial.  We climbed the 294 steps to the top of the memorial- it was exhausting, but the view was nice.  Once we finished the trail we took a water taxi back to the downtown area and then the T (subway) back to our hotel to clean up for a big night out. 

Later that evening Mel, the kids, and I attended a performance of the Boston Pops. This is something that we were all looking forward to.  The orchestra played for about 45 minutes, took an intermission, and then resumed joined by actress and special guest Jane Lynch who sang "The American Songbook".  The songs included numerous tunes from the time when Mel was young.  It was such an enjoyable evening.  Brian did not attend with us.  This night happened to be game 7 of the Stanley Cup and Boston's hockey team was vying for the championship (and the game was in Boston).  Brian wanted to go to a sports bar and watch the game with the locals, so that's what he did instead.  Unfortunately, Boston lost.  Still, he enjoyed the experience. 

Rooting for the Home Team

After spending the morning and early afternoon in Plymouth, we arrived in Boston in time to attend a Red Sox game at Fenway Park.  I'm not a Red Sox fan, but I was excited to see a game in this historical place.  We ate hot dogs, rooted for the home team, and had a good time in general- even though the Sox lost. 

Plymouth

 While in New England we spent a morning in Plymouth, Massachusetts (state 28).  We visited Plymouth Rock and then the Pilgrim Hall Museum.  The kids love it when museums have scavenger hunts, and the Pilgrim Hall Museum had a good one.  The kids spent there time there fact-finding so that they could receive a prize.  I had another mission.  My cousin Pam does genealogy and she can trace our family back to a father/daughter pair, Stephen and Constance Hopkins on the Mayflower.   If the research is accurate, Constance is my 11x great grandmother, and Stephen is my 12x great grandfather.  One of the artifacts at the museum is a beaver hat attributed to Constance Hopkins, so I was particularly keen to see it.  They had many other interesting items on display at the museum including a piece of the Plymouth Rock that you could touch.  I enjoyed this opportunity to learn about the history of our country and our personal family history.