Boston, Mass: A Report, part two

Another major reason for our trip to Massachusetts was to visit my brother, Elliott, and his family. They lived briefly here in Mesa and we hadn't seen them since they moved away more than a year ago. We had such a fun time staying at their house. My kids were in heaven with their cousins, and I was in heaven sitting on the couch talking to Ginger. Man alive, we miss those guys!

While the cousins were in school, though, we headed into the big city.

Our first time into Boston we parked our rental car in the North End and walked to Faneuil Hall, where we picked up the Freedom Trail. We didn't walk the whole thing (it's pretty long for little kid legs), but we did see the Old North Church (plus the neat printing shop next door), the Paul Revere House, the Old State House (in the picture up top), and Boston Commons. We made a few stops in between to get pastries at Mike's Pastry and a lobster roll for Mike at a restaurant in the North End called Pauli's.

On our second day in the city, we took the commuter train from my brother's town. It was nice not to have to worry about navigating the freeways or parking the car. Boston is very pedestrian friendly and a car really isn't needed. (We were grateful for cousin Henry's stroller, though!)

We arrived right at lunch time, so we headed to the Quincy Market (just across from Faneuil Hall) to get something to eat. It is one giant food court, and I think all six of us chose food from a different vendor. We ate on the steps before heading to the aquarium.

The aquarium was a big hit. Mike purchased City Passes, which included tickets to a few different museums/sites. We loved the penguins at the aquarium and the huge sea turtles. The jelly fish were pretty spectucular, too. (But the rest of the fish gave me the creeps.)

We rode the subway to the Museum of Fine Art. It is on the North Eastern University campus. Mabel and I loved it. The others, not so much. Mabel soaked in as much as she could, and then we hopped back on the subway to the Science Museum.

After a long day, we stopped for ice cream and then caught the late train back to Littleton. Some of us were deliriously silly the entire ride home.