The boys were very excited to try something new, Jane was bummed out, she loves the long drives, but we just didn't have the three weeks to dedicate to the trip this year.
We headed out bright and early on Wednesday, July 27th flying from MSP to BOS. The flight went well and as soon as we landed, we split up. Jane and I grabbed the subway to MIT for a tour and Mark and the other kids went to Fenway Park for a Red Sox game(Thomas' favorite team). Dustin Pedroia even hit a home run for him!
It was HOT and their seats were in the sun, so they were pretty spent by the time we met back up for dinner. MIT is a beautiful campus that sits right across the Charles River from downtown Boston.
Thursday was a day of sightseeing in Boston. A ride on the duck boats, walking the Freedom Trail, Old North Church("one if by land, two if by sea"), the USS Constitution(Old Iron Sides), the Cassin Young and so many more historical sights along the way. I think I could spend days in Boston!
Friday was a day everyone was so excited for. We went to one of our favorite places in the whole country, Rockport, MA and it did not disappoint! We left Boston on the train in the rain, but by the time we arrived and hour later the sun was peaking out and brought a gorgeous day. We had to follow our traditions and ate lunch at Top Dog Hotdogs....delicious. Then dessert at the The Ice Cream Store....more delicious!
We took the train back to Boston and it dropped us at North Station which is in the heart of Little Italy. We picked the restaurant with the longest line, that way we knew the food would be worth it!! Being a Friday night, the people watching was great and helped pass the time. The kids had fun just going crazy ordering anything they wanted, usually I'm telling them to order off the kids menu and "nothing extra"! The food delivered....fantastic. I think we licked our plates. One mishap that will be apparant in future photos was the extremely hot red sauce that hit my chin and gave me a nice burn.
Saturday morning the girls and I Uber'd it to Harvard for our second college tour of the trip, while the boys packed up the hotel room and picked up our rental car. We had been to Harvard a couple of years back, but didn't take the "official" tour, so we learned many interesting things about the oldest university in the United States. To me the most interesting thing was that the admissions office is looking more for interesting students that will give something to the world in the future along with "nice" students, way more than students with a specific GPA or test score. They pride themselves in being forward thinking.
The boys met us in Harvard Square and we hit the highway for Rhode Island where we are renting a house for a week. We arrived in Narragansett around 4:00 p.m. The area is filled with tiny coastal towns. We went to dinner on the Harbor where I got the first of many lobster rolls to come!
The night ended with a trip to the grocery store for supplies and a movie at the house. Great start to the week!
Side note: you may see way more pics of Ted than anyone else. That is because he is the only one that allows us to take any! Thomas is very against all pictures and the girls need to proof anything we take! So, because he is easy, he gets the limelight.
