Boston

The first time the kids were in Boston was in September 2016 when we stayed in Cape Cod for a week on a vacation with Paul's parents. The two things we did in Boston on that trip were the Boston Tea Party Ships and Museum and the Museum of Science. Yesterday morning after another delicious breakfast at the hotel (the best breakfast I've ever seen at a hotel), we listened to our pastor's sermon on the lukewarm church in Laodicea as we drove into Boston. Our first top was a visit to the USS Constitution (Old Ironsides) and Bunker Hill. We attended a program that Paul really enjoyed about the battle of Bunker Hill, and then the five of us climbed the 294 steps up the monument. We went in a visitor center, museum, and also the USS Cassin before leaving that area. The kids each earned two Junior Ranger badges as prior to coming here they had completed the Boston African American book, so they also received those badges. We then drove to Quincy to have a guided tour of the three homes that comprise the Adams National Historical Park. We learned more about John Adams, Abigail Adams, John Quincy Adams, and other members of their family during the two-hour tour. In preparation for this trip we had listened to a biography about John Adams. We also watched the movie at the visitor's center, and the kids each earned another badge. This park was the 89th National Park that the kids have earned a Junior Ranger badge at in person. They have earned around 150 badges each, but the rest were earned online or through the mail. Although including this park in our trip meant I had to eliminate two others because of the fact that many parks are no longer open seven days a week, I think I made the right call in this instance.

We had dinner at Red Robin, which is the only restaurant where Nadia still orders from the children's menu.  The Red Robin was located in a large mall in Braintree; in our area, malls are pretty empty and a thing of the past, but we've noticed more than one mall on this trip that still looks to be thriving. After we ate, we drove back into Boston to walk through the Boston Lights: A Lantern Experience at the Franklin Park Zoo before driving to our hotel. Nadia has slept on either an air mattress or a sofa bed every night so far on this trip, but last night at a Comfort Inn our suite had three queen beds. Her bed was actually in a separate room. We will be spending today in Boston and Salem and then driving to Providence. We have had to add more air to one tire twice over the last few days. Hopefully that tire won't give us any major grief before we can properly address the situation back at home. We haven't heard anything from our neighbors, so we assume no news is good news regarding our three pets.  We miss them and look forward to being reunited with them on Wednesday!