Day 4 in London

It’s game day! Keagan, so excited that it was finally here, was singing the Man United song in the shower this morning, complete with feet stomping and what I can only imagine fist pumps.

Today’s game against West Ham was in London Stadium in the middle of Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and was a destination on its own - even without the game. I loved the shopping area, the live music, the street performers, the pubs, and restaurants that you can’t miss when leaving the train station. 

We “tailgated”, which is not an English thing because we were the only ones drinking in the park next to the river but adopted by these forward thinking lads to save money on beer, with Wes’s friend from Scotland Yard and his mates. Not a female was spotted as far as the eye could see. This is the only place I have ever been where there was no line for the ladies’ restroom. I didn’t get the memo that females don’t attend matches in England.

Keagan couldn’t wear his colors, couldn’t cheer for his favorite player, or even clap for his beloved team; the security is very strict when you sit among the supporters of the opposing team. However, he was giddy with excitement! He said, “I’m finally watching my team in person. I’ve watched them for years on tv, YouTube, and Instagram and today I get to see them, really see them!”

This! This is why we do Christmas experiences. 

I think I might have bruises on my arm from Keagan clutching me with each new update during the pregame. 

And, no, Evan isn’t high. Why can’t he take a decent photo with a smile? I blame my dad and grandmother. 

Unfortunately, the Bubbles beat us 0-2. This made for a sad day indeed. Then it got sadder when the boys learned our next adventure included Christmas lights. 

We took the train to Hyde Park for Winter Wonderland, but I didn’t care to pay a penny to enter the glorified county fair. I may be on vacation, but I can do the tilt a whirl in my own country. We decided to eat instead because you can’t go wrong with food. During the quest to find dinner, our adventure with Christmas lights began. 

I feel like London may be more diverse than New York City. Never have I heard so many languages or seen so many different types of people. Now I know how the current non-white prime minister represents the people. 

The streets were packed with last minute shoppers. We spotted one man enter the underground with a pair of scissors. I was alarmed, especially when he sat next to Keagan, until I realized he was trying to quickly wrap a present. 

We eventually found a stellar Italian restaurant in Mayfair and ordered calzones. It was delish! Because we also ordered dessert, we didn’t get to see our Lebanese corner shop owner tonight. 

We made it out past dark until almost 1900 tonight. We are living on the wild side now. Watch out, London! 

Final Day

It has been nine days since we left home. Eight nights in hotels. Eight days of constant moving, walking. We’re ready to be home! Our last day, though, began at Union Station, where we picked up a train that took us to Harlem and then the Bronx. 

By the time we picked up Keagan’s second breakfast (he’s eaten so much food this week!), Evan was ready to check out of his NSLC conference. He was filled with so many stories, experiences, and eye-opening encounters. It was a wonderful week for him. The first thing he said to us, though, was, “I’m sleep deprived.” 

Keagan is not sleep deprived, but both boys fell asleep on the subway. 

We traveled from one end of the city to the other to find Battery Park and catch the ferry to Liberty Island. 

My years long awaited trip to see The Statue of Liberty had finally arrived! 

We had tickets to climb all 1900 steps to the crown. It was almost too much for me; I considered turning around when the spiral staircase became tight and looked like this. Then the wind started to blow and I could feel the tower sway. I could hear a young boy crying and thought I just might, too. Keagan was running up the stairs like a billy goat. Evan was bent down at the knees crouching trying to avoid hitting his head. 

But I pressed on and we made it to the highest point, the crown! What a feat! What a view!

We took the ferry to Ellis Island. I was captivated by the stories of our nation’s earliest immigrants and the hardships they faced. 

I loved the Ellis Island museum, but Evan was done at this point. I came out of the museum to see this. 

We walked over 68 miles this week. We have no traction left on the souls of our shoes. We miss the Southern hospitality of home. We want to sleep in our own beds. We miss the dog and cat. But WHAT A WEEK! We saw and did more than this blog can possibly document. We are forever changed by what we saw on the streets of these two great cities, what we learned in the museums and historical sites, and what we experienced with such diverse people. 

Our next vacay takes us to Peru. Travel. See the world. It will change you! I promise.

Boston Day 3

Our last full day in Boston; the only place (except maybe Colorado) where you can take deep breaths and get high with the locals while taking a simple stroll through the city. Seriously, no one seems the least bit bothered by the use of marijuana.

We began our day at historic Fenway with a stadium tour. 

It was 1:00 at this point in the day, and Keagan was already asking for a nap. This whole week has mirrored life traveling with a 14 month old - frequent needs to both eat and sleep. I told my 14 YEAR old, “We’re only in Boston once. Pretend to have fun and maybe go to sleep before midnight.” My nocturnal teen can’t comprehend that cause/effect relationship. He wants to know when we get back on the four hour Amtrak train. 

Next up was the aquarium at the harbor. There were way too many people for this to be enjoyable. I swallowed my own advice “to have fun” and suggested we move on to something without toddlers in the midst.

So we took a harbor cruise. This was by far more enjoyable, for me anyway. Keagan fell asleep before we left the port. 

John Hancock’s building - the second oldest building in town behind Paul Revere’s house

USS Cassin Young

USS Constitution “Old Ironsides”

Boston Harbor

At this point, the boys were ready to go back to the hotel. I could have grabbed a “soooda” and people watched in the park while taking deep breaths. Nobody was up for that kind of fun, so I made them take one more picture. 

I love this city - the architecture, the history, the cleanliness, the food. I was only thrown for a loop with the abrasiveness of the locals; there is no warm Southern hospitality here!

Tomorrow Keagan’s dream of taking his four nap on a swaying train comes true!

Boston Day 2

I think I should get a credit for US History after today’s tours, guided walks, and experiences. There were so many facts and nuggets of info shared by our docents that I can’t possibly remember it all, but I loved the idea of experiencing history in the midst of a modern, thriving city. In this regard, Boston is as close as the US gets to Europe’s rich history.

We started our day with a guided walking tour of the Freedom Trail. 

(Site of Boston Massacre)

(Christ’s Church) 

We returned to Faneuil Hall for chawda. It made no difference it was 87 degrees and I have a heat rash on both legs because Nor’Easterns don’t know how to use AC. I was eating hot chowda. 

It was everything I dreamed but enough. 

Then we jumped on the trolley to tour the far reaches of the city - in case we missed anything on the walking tour. 

Keagan fell asleep on the trolley 

and begged for a longer nap in the hotel, but I stopped at Starbucks, paid $6 for caffeine, and said, “Keep up, Big Guy, we’ve got Paul Revere to see.” 

We made the short walk to his house, and we toured it in five minutes because, we’ll, it doesn’t take long to see three rooms. He was also a bell maker, and we got to see one he made! (The teacher in me was a tad bit giddy to see it.)

We left Paul’s house and headed to Little Eatly, the Italian corner of Boston, and there in broad daylight I finally heard my first Bostonian Italian. It was just like the movies with the accent, the greasy hair, and the unbuttoned shirt. I’m sure he just left his mom’s basement and left his cross necklace on the bureau.

The day was still young, so we walked to the public park and took the swan boat for a ride. I loved this part of Boston!

We ended our day at Cheers for beer and potato skins. 

Tomorrow? Who knows? There’s still Italian food to be eaten, baseball games, and war ships to be explored. 

NYC Day 2

Evan texted us this morning; he received a gift from a foreign exchange student at Fordham learning English. He reports his roommate is “good” and he’s having fun. 

Here he is for opening ceremonies. 

Wes, Keagan, and I spent the morning at The Natural History Museum. 

Then we rented bikes and rode the perimeter of Central Park. You would never know we were in the middle of a huge city! We picnicked on hotdogs from a stand and fruit popsicles. 

My butt is bruised from the bike seat and my legs are jelly. Fat girls should ride more often. Tomorrow should be fun waking up. 

Our evening adventures took us to Angelo’s Pizza, Top of the Rock and Times Square. 

Twelve hours later and none of us can move.