The Cradle of Liberty

How could we come all of the way to Philadelphia and not visit Boston? That is what I kept asking myself as we planned our 3 month stay.

We couldn't!

Boston was the hub of the Revolution. It's where so many pivotal events in our early American history took place. It is the self-proclaimed "Cradle of Liberty." Besides we really wanted to say that we've been to Boston in the fall. Isn't that like one of those bucket list things everyone has to do?

We worked it out so that Rusty had Friday off, but even with the extra day there still wasn't enough time to really "do" Boston. But we did get to have a fun family weekend get-away and now we can add Connecticut and Rhode Island to our list of states we've driven through :)

So are you ready for the picture blitz??

Here we go...

It is a long drive (6 hours) to Boston, so we didn't get in until noon. We spent 1/2 day on Friday at Plymouth. While we were there we visited the Mayflower II which is a replica of the original Mayflower. On board we met Susanna White, Dorothy (?? unsure of the name, but she is the maid for the Carver family), and the captain's first mate John Clarke (spelled with an e). This was rather fun in that my maiden name is White and Susanna's husbands name was William- which is a long time family name. Are we related? Possibly. And of course my husbands family is Clarke (with an e). Are we related? Most likely not as his family has discovered that his great grandfather most likely changed his name from Wahl to Clarke. But either way it was like finding kindred spirits.

We tried out the "bunks" and explored the ship. We had spent the previous week studying the Mayflower and the Pilgrims so the kids were all prepped. Of course the one thing they most wanted to see is the portion of the ship used for toilet facilities- why is it that this is so intriguing to children??? It is interesting to see the ships actual dimensions, but it is hard to really appreciate the hardship and sacrifice of these early pilgrims without all of the cargo and passengers on board. It was a real eye-opener talking with Susanna who traveled with her husband and 5 year old son while in the late stages of pregnancy and then lost her husband that

first winter. She said her son was so bored during the trip that he slept most of the time. I can't even imagine what this trip must have been like. Knowing how quickly my kids get bored and motion sick I don't even want to imagine. Susanna also informed us that because the ship was

just a cargo ship there really weren't any rooms or bunks and families simply built their own "accommodations" out of whatever they could acquire. putting all four of our kids on what was the typical space allotted gave us a bit of appreciation for the tight quarters "enjoyed" during this voyage.

While in Plymouth we saw "the rock" (which was basically just a rock inscribed with the date 1620) and we visited the Pilgrim Hall Museum. This museum is very well done and would have been perfect if Katelyn wasn't in melt down mode. Luckily Rusty took Kate out and sat with her while I enjoyed the museum with the other kids. I felt bad that he didn't get to see the sights, but there was just no way to do anything with Kate. The museum has a great scavenger hunt they give to the kids to help them look for and appreciate what they are seeing. It is so amazing to look at items that have been around since the pilgrims... I know there are those of you who have been to Europe that say, "That's nothing a mere 300+ years." But the story of the pilgrims has always seemed more like a distant fairytale and to see things they owned and used was awesome- I'm a history nerd.

After seeing a bit of Plymouth we drove to Quincy- parked the car and took the train into Boston. The hotel we were staying at charges $32/day for parking and evidently that is typical of most parking in the area- if you can find any. We opted for the $8/day parking and the $1.70 train ride, and the bonus -kids ride free. Besides the kids were thrilled. They were especially excited when we went underground. The regular passengers though it was amusing to see how much enjoyment their daily commute was giving a few tourists. As the novelty of riding the train wore off the kids then took to standing in the aisle and playing "Jello."

After checking into our hotel we took the train to the Museum of Science and used our passes to explore the displays. Luckily it was the museums late night so we had time to see a bit of the museum.

The next day we hit the road. There is a red brick trail in Boston that tourists can follow to see most of the historic sites in the city. I believe it's a 2.5 mile path and it took us the entire day to hit the majority of the sites.

One of the first stops was the graveyard where many of the early Bostonians are buried including Paul Revere, Ben Franklin's parents, and others I can't remember. However the one that my kids were most insistent on seeking out was the headstone of Mother Goose (I'm glad to know we have our priorities in place ;). We had basically given up our search and we were heading out when Lauren spied it.

Kate and Ben setting the clock.

The sight of the Boston Massacre- I didn't realize my children's "violent" poses until after the photo-op was passed, so forgive their making light of what should be something very solemn and serious. :) It just goes to show that children see the world in their own way and in spite of all our efforts life is still about "fun" for them. I hope that it stays that way.

One of the highlights of the trip was our evening of shopping for souvenirs and enjoying ice cream (of course). We usually don't buy souvenirs so this was a special treat. Lauren bought a pair of earrings, Dallin bought a Jacob's Ladder, Kate a pink squirmy, Ben a package of plastic Revolutionary War soldiers (which have seen a great deal of action in the last month).