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. 

Boston

We mastered the unorganized mode of transportation that the US calls train travel. While nothing like the German system, the train was very clean and comfortable. We all enjoyed our four hour ride through Connecticut and Rhode Island. Upon arrival to Boston, we headed straight for the harbor and had a lobster roll in the Seaport neighborhood. 

After our real late lunch, we toured the Boston Tea Party boat and museum. It was a cute and highly interactive educational stop. Keagan disguised his appearance to “keep safe from the Tories” with turkey feathers. 

Wes threw tea in the harbor. 

We ended the day at Faneuil Hall for a quick dessert. 

Tomorrow’s plan is to learn more history and hopefully survive the warm weather without consistent use of AC. 

NYC Day 4

I’m finally used to the horns honking, the bad smells, and the diverse people, and of course it means we have reached our last full day in the city. We took the subway to the 9/11 Memorial and Museum. Because we were stationed in Germany when it happened, there are several aspects of that day in history that I missed for not being on American soil. I was transfixed by the museum. It was so well done! 

This tree was found in Ground Zero in 2001 charred and damaged, but it was uprooted and sent to a nursery. Once it recovered, it was transplanted at the 9/11 memorial.  It still carries the scars of the violence but serves as a symbol of hope and resiliency. 

From here, we took the subway to Coney Island. I was a bit skeptical of Brooklyn as the train got closer to the stop, but it ended up being a quaint and fun place. Think Virginia Beach-esque. If it hadn’t started to rain, we would have stayed a bit longer soaking up the sun and riding amusement park rides at Luna Park.

Speaking of rain. We had a few drops fall on us during our Big Bus Night tour. The rain fell like pellets anytime the speed increased above 5 mph. Luckily, the traffic was so bad, we rarely got that fast for too long. I wouldn’t have minded being soaked if our tour guide was actually any good, but he pointed out Macy’s and the Addidas store. I wanted history and facts; I can see the names of the stores on the buildings. Keagan was none too happy to be wet, chilly, and sitting on the top of a bus. I wish I had pics but I couldn’t risk drowning my phone. 

Tomorrow we are Amtrakking to Boston.

NYC Day 3

We started our third day in the Big Apple at Madison Square Garden. Keagan would have loved the tour even more if the arena had the basketball court down,  but it was prepped for a concert instead. 

After a quick sandwich, we headed to The Music Box theatre  to see “ Dear Evan Hansen.” This is the part of the trip Keagan has dreaded (art, music...they just aren’t his thing), but ten minutes into the show, he turned and whispered, “This is good, Mom.” Good does not do it justice; it was fantastic! Just fantastic! It will be the highlight of the trip for me.

We then walked through Times Square and ran into the Naked Cowboy and some naked girls. Keagan didn’t bat an eye; he just kept on walking. 

To clear our eyes, we walked to St. Patrick’s Cathedral. It was stunning!  

Across the street was the Atlas sculpture. 

And to make my blood boil, we just had to walk to Trump Tower.

Meanwhile, Evan is either loving his time at Fordham and can’t find  the time to text us or he’s hating it and doesn’t want to admit it was all a mistake. Tonight his two word text to me was written in Spanish, and since he uses Spanish only when he’s in a good mood, I’m going to believe he’s having the time of his life.

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.