Last day

Today we went into the business area of Boston. The city is pretty small so I guess you'd say this is where the downtown is. We went into the Boston Library and looked around, and saw where the Boston Marathon ends.

Once again, we went on the T and headed to the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum. We watched a short film on his life then toured through the museum. One of the neatest things for E was seeing this piece of the Berlin Wall:



We grabbed lunch at Half Time Pizza right next to our hotel, then headed to Logan Airport for the trip home.

Duck tour

We debated all week whether to take a Duck Tour and finally took the plunge today (literally!) We hopped on the duck at the Science Museum and rode all over Boston, finishing with a cruise along the Charles River.

After the tour we took the T to Brookline. B and I watched a show on The Travel Channel ("Man vs. Food")about Eagle's Deli, a deli in Brookline that features a 5-pound burger as a challenge (along with 20 pieces of bacon, 20 pieces of American cheese, 5 pounds of fries, 1 deli pickle, and a fountain soda). We didn't tackle the challenge, but did have a good lunch there. B was so set on traveling out to the deli all week that I'm glad we had time to do it. I think it made his Boston experience complete.


B must have been so overwhelmed (or tired) after lunch that he wanted to chill in our hotel room. With explicit instructions not to leave, and armed with my cell phone just in case, we left him in the hotel while we took E and L to the USS Constitution. The ship was closed Monday when we were on the Freedom Trail so we were hoping to find time later in the week to come back. It was dark inside the ship, but Andy got a lot of nice "scenery" type pictures of it. Here are some of the cannons on the main deck.

A pleasant surprise, coming back we realized that we could ride the T's boat. Kind of cool to have a public transportation system that includes subways, buses and boats. When we got back to the room, B was snuggled up in the bed, playing his Nintendo DS - happy as a clam.

Tonight we went to Cheers and Quincy Market for dinner. The owners purchased the actual "Cheers" TV show set and built the bar around it. This is the second Cheers location in Boston. The first, by the state capitol, was used for the outside shot of the "Cheers" TV show, but looked nothing like the TV show on the inside.

A bit of brew

Our first stop today was the Samuel Adams Brewery. Andy and I wanted to tour this on our honeymoon 21 years ago, but when we got off the T the neighborhood was kind of scary and we couldn't even figure out where the tour began. Boy, how things change.

The neighborhood is spruced up and the tour was first class and totally professional. The kids were given root beer in the complimentary tasting room and Andy and I got to try a few Sam Adams' beers. Andy and the kids are standing in front of hops the tour guide says were brought over from Germany and planted.

From there, we took the T out to Revere Beach. The girls agreed that riding the T all over Boston was their favorite part of vacation.

We didn't our swimsuits with us, but we waded out into the Atlantic Ocean. That was a first for the kids. The beach is beautiful.


We stopped at the Boston Science Museum in the afternoon, then went into the Italian neighborhood for dinner at Regina Pizzeria.

We walked back to the hotel through Quincy Market and the kids had some ice cream.

Quincy, Mass. & the Red Sox

Today we took the T south of Boston to Quincy, birthplace and home of John Adams and John Quincy Adams. We walked all over Quincy and L earned a Junior Ranger badge from the National Park Service for filling out five pages of a booklet about the Adams' houses. The one pictured above was John Adams' "retirement home" but he was elected president while they were living in the house so it hardly counts as retirement. He was living there at the time of his death.

We were exhausted when we got back to the hotel, but Andy wanted to see if we could go to a Red Sox game. We found some tickets through a broker online (about $12 each, I think) so we bought them. We were really high up in the bleachers (though they were actual seats) and it was really windy. B said the ballgame was his favorite thing during the entire vacation. He likes watching ballgames, but I think the cotton candy he got had a lot to do with Fenway Park being his favorite vacation stop.

L wasn't sure who to root for (we were amid a huge amount of serious Red Sox fans so I suggested she cheer for the home team) so she just clapped and yelled when everyone around her did. She was dancing and cheering - what a funny kid.



The Red Sox beat the Kansas City Royals 13-9. We let after the sixth inning because we were cold ... and really, really tired.

Freedom Trail

Today we hit the Freedom Trail which connects the historical sites throughout Boston's downtown area. We visited the Boston State Capitol and walked around a bit, visited Paul Revere's House, Faneuil Hall, Old North Church. This is one of my favorite pictures, with the kids posing like the statue of Samuel Adams in front of Faneuil Hall. They said they would die of embarrassment if I used it as the Christmas card picture.

Andy, B and E climbed up the steps to the top of the Bunker Hill Monument. Here's B after the climb:

I had to lie down on the ground in order to get Andy, E and B in the photo with the top of the monument. They all thought that was pretty funny. I did get a few weird looks, but then I noticed other people doing it too. Hmm.

We took the T out to Harvard and walked around there. L bought a hot pink (suprise!) hooded Harvard sweatshirt. We had lunch at Mr. Bartley's Burger Cottage, apparently a Harvard landmark. Who knew? Both the Wall Street Journal and the Boston Globe named the restaurant's burgers the best in the nation. I wouldn't necessarily agree with that, but they were good. Here we are at the Burger Cottage:


We also visited MIT and walked around on campus a bit until it started to rain. Then it was back on the T. Oh, and today was L's 9th birthday!!

Hello, Beantown!

We arrived in Boston this afternoon. We took a T ride to the hotel then walked over to Boston Common, which was established in 1634 and is America's oldest public park. L and B had fun playing in a wading pool (called the Frog Pond) at the Common.


While in Boston Common, we also rode the famous Swan Boats. The price was right - $2.75 for me and Andy; $1.50 for each kid. The park has high school students hired to pedal the boats like bicycles so we sat back and enjoyed the ride. We even spotted a turtle, lots of ducks and a couple of swans.

Package for L

L ran to the porch this morning when she heard the mailman drop off a package. Sure enough, it was her presents from Aunt Cindy and Grandma. She opened it up (commenting that Cindy uses a lot of tape!) and found a new pink wardrobe and some scented nail polishes.

She put on one of the outfits, posed a few times and ran out to play with her friends.

Early birthday

L has been a little upset that she'll be spending her birthday on vacation. She already had a small neighborhood party and today she got her present - a light pink Nintendo DS Lite. She's been wanting one for a loooong time.

The expander

B and I headed up to the orthodontist's office this afternoon so he could get his expander put in. Before they could install it, the doctor had to first remove a chip of a baby tooth. B has been pulling and tugging at the chip for weeks trying to get it out before his appointment, to no avail. The doctor also decided to "wiggle" B's other remaining baby tooth and "wiggled" it enough to pull that out, too. Obviously, that was his plan and he said B did great. They put the teeth in a little plastic treasure chest to bring home - his last shot at getting some money from the tooth fairy.

The hygienist showed me how to turn the key in B's expander so it will widen the roof of his mouth. We have to turn it 20 times before his next appointment in mid-August. B left the appointment with a Popsicle - pretty sweet. She said he should eat soft foods for tonight. She was naming off soup, mashed potatoes and I said, "He was hoping you'd say White Castles." She said, "Oh, that's a must." I think B has a new best friend.

Softball party

Tonight was the end-of-the-year party for L's softball team. Her coach hosted a cookout at his house. The girls were each given awards the coach created. L received the "Magnificent Mascots" award for always bringing stuffed animals to the games to serve as mascots. L seemed much more interested in playing with the stuff animals at the games than in the actual game itself so we're thinking this may have been her last year of softball.

Any way, L had fun with her former teammates, playing basketball in the back yard and tossing around water balloons.

Wet and wild

Today L invited her friends from the block over for an hour of water fun. They tossed water balloons at each other, squirted the hose all over the yard and ran through our sprinkler. And although it wasn't an official birthday party, apparently L made sure her friends knew it was "close" to her birthday and they brought her gifts. She was so excited to have her friends playing here. Usually, she's on Elmwood Avenue, riding her bike and seeing who is out to play.


After about an hour, we decided to walk the girls over to the pool (and to turn off our water!) Only one of the girls was able to come to the pool with us, but L had lots of fun playing with her.

Yu-Gi-Oh across the country

B's friend L called again today and they decided to Skype each other and play Yu-Gi-Oh. It was pretty funny, playing cards via computer. I had to get a pic of B, talking with L through the computer, drinking his root beer from Door County and snacking on BBQ chips. He couldn't have been more content.

Making a buck

This afternoon B had his friend, I, over. They had a plan to sell lemonade. Once they got started in the kitchen, however, they decided it would be best to sell lemonade for 50 cents, make fresh-squeezed lime-aid and sell that for 75 cents and a combo of the two to sell for $1. They were doing a bang-up business. Here's one of the many happy customers:

For a cut of the action, E played her clarinet to attract a few more customers. That's the theory, any way. In all, they made $17.50. Not bad for a couple of hours in the sun. B and I were surprised when I brought the phone into the yard to have them chat with L, who was calling from his grandparents' home in South Carolina, on the speaker. It was the first they had heard from him since L's family moved to Ohio.

Shhh

It's hard to resist taking pics of the kids when they're sleeping. They're so relaxed and angelic looking.

Cupcakes!

A few days late, but E made cupcakes for my birthday today. She told me to leave the kitchen and she decorated them all by herself. What a sweet girl!

Sears ... er, Willis Tower

Mom and Cindy drove up last night and early this morning we headed to the LaGrange craft show with L and E. The only thing on my shopping list were car coasters like the ones I bought last year, but the lady with the car coaster booth was nowhere to be found. Cindy got a few cute ceramic mushrooms to put in her yard.

This afternoon, Mom and Cindy went to the pool with B and L. Afterward, we drove downtown so they could go up in the Sears, I mean, Willis Tower. B and L went along. E went Andy and me to see Andy's new office. Then, Andy, E and I got some drinks at Dunkin' Donuts and sat in Daley Plaza watching the people pass by. We even saw a wedding party leave the Methodist Church across the street and take some pics on the Picasso.



Tonight we drove over to Brown Cow in Forest Park for some ice cream - Mom's treat. Here's L with her humongous ice cream cone.

Making dinner

Tonight we volunteered to make dinner for a church family that recently welcomed a new baby boy. I made Baked Chicken Fajitas and L whipped up some mini corn muffins.

Suck it up

Before leaving Door County yesterday, B wanted us to stop by an orchard so he could get his souvenir. He chose a 12-pack of Baumeister root beer. He stuffed most of them in the fridge and has had at least two (that I know of) today already.