Our first destination was Boston, MA. We had to stop in Dallas and St. Louis to get there by plane. Eli did amazing while traveling and slept on the last flight, which was over three hours. Phew, I was hoping it would go that way.
We made it to the hotel, unpacked, and got ready to get some food. We planned to head down to the North End, which is known for Italian restaurants and awesome pastries. Getting there was a little bit of a challenge, and we were all running on empty so we ended up getting pizza and having dinner in the park. It was great! The weather was nice and I think Eli always enjoys eating unrestrained. He gobbled that pizza up!
Eating pizza in the park on our first night in Boston
As we were walking through the city, Eli started to notice all the pigeons that were gathered around the crowds waiting for food. He kept saying "Ooh, ahh." We also passed by Old City Hall. It was basically across the street from our hotel, The Omni. In front of Old City Hall they have a statue of a donkey. Clearly political, but I'm not sure of the story surrounding it. All I know is that Eli absolutely LOVED this donkey and once he saw it he wouldn't stop saying "Hehaw, hehaw." He even learned to say Donkey on this trip.
Donkey Love!
The second day we didn't have much planned. We grabbed bagels for breakfast and headed to a nearby park to eat and play. One thing that surprised me about the city was the amount of homeless people. Another thing, the squirrels were very courageous! They just came right up to us while we were eating breakfast. I gave them a little piece of Eli's bagel he didn't eat and Eli thought it was so funny. He started throwing his perfectly good pieces of bagel to them so we had to stop feeding them. So cute to see those little squirrels eating a bagel.
Exploring the streets of Boston. Old cobblestone roads.
Eli went on his first boat ride while we were at the park. It was a large paddle boat shaped like a swan and we paddled around Swan Lake. There were a good amount of ducks, geese, and two swans. Yes, only two swans at Swan lake. Hmmm. I think Eli enjoyed it. He was somewhat cranky a. because it was hot! and b. he was tired from the previous days travel.
Above: Looking at the bridge overhead. Below: Pointing out the ducks on the pond
Our third day in Boston was just me and Eli. The whole reason we were in Boston was for JR's work. He was attending a conference there. Eli and I had the day to ourselves so we decided to go to the Boston Children's Museum. Our hotel was very centrally located because everything seemed to only be about a mile away. We said goodbye to Daddy, got dressed, grabbed breakfast, and stopped in the shade to chow down. I think Eli really loved being in the city. He enjoyed watching the people go by, traffic go by, and birds go by. While we were stopped eating breakfast, Eli heard this loud beeping. He kept looking around to see what it was and I pointed out to him that it was the crosswalk countdown. A digital sign that tells you how much time you have left to cross the street (not that local residents pay much attention, it's mostly for the tourists). So each time he heard the beeps, we would start counting down to zero. He kept asking to do it over and over.
Eating on the go!
We got to the museum shortly after it opened. The museum was awesome! Eli had such a blast. He kept going from room to room like he was on fire! They had a specific place for three years old and under. Eli found some farm animals and carried them around from spot to spot mooing and singing E-I-E-I-O for about a half and hour. We explored all three floors. They had a water room, bubble room, construction room, dance floor, class room, etc. This was the best museum I've been to for kids!
Above and Below: Playing in the treehouse
Below: The beloved farm animals!
Below: The view from inside the Children's Museum
Eli playing in the classroom
Eli playing in the kitchen, a really nice kitchen theme from Arthur
More farm animals
After JR got done for the day, we went to the North End for dinner. This time we found a nice place to eat dinner and after we went to Mike's Pastries for cannoli's and cappachino. They were having a festival down there and while we were eating dinner there was a marching band playing in the street. Eli liked that.
Passed out after a busy morning at the museum
We had so much fun at the museum that we went back the next day. That afternoon we got to spend a little more time with JR because he wasn't feeling so well and skipped out on portions of the conference. After some rest and relaxation, JR suggested that we try going to dinner at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse. It made me a little nervous taking Eli there because it is a high class restaurant and people go to have a nice dinner, not listen to a toddler yell. JR called them ahead of time to ask if they get many kids in there and they were quite welcoming of us. Eli did awesome there! I brought plenty of things for him to play with at the table. He ate a little bit. We were in and out pretty quick for that type of restaurant. It was a delicious meal! A belated birthday dinner for JR.
Day 2 at the museum. He found the pig, we never did find the cow.
Above: This was in the classroom. Really neat magnetic
gears you can move anywhere to make them work together.
Eli got frustrated trying to figure these out.
After dinner, we stopped to see the donkey again. It was actually right outside the restaurant.
Wednesday was our last day in Boston. We packed up in the morning and checked out. After grabbing breakfast, we headed to the New England Aquarium for a morning of sea life. It was really cool right away! As we were waiting outside for the ticket box to open, we had the stroller parked in front a huge harbor seal tank. They were swimming right by as Eli was eating his bagel. He loved watching them. So did I! We got there as soon as they opened so we watched the penguins eat breakfast. They had so many beautiful fish! They had a huge tank 23 feet deep, 40 feet wide, that holds 200,000 gallons of salt water. I thought the coolest creatures in there were the Green Sea Turtles and the Sand Tiger Sharks. What Eli loved the most were the little statues of penguins and turtles that they had around the aquarium on the benches. He wanted to sit next to them the whole time.
Checking out all the cool fish!
After a quick visit to the gift shop, where Eli walked away with an octopus and a stuffed penguin, we headed outside in search of a harbor tour. Eli liked being on the boat. It was pretty tough to make it through the whole tour. It was 90 minutes long, hot, hot, hot. The only thing that offered relief was sitting on the deck and in the shade. Of course, there is no such thing as sitting still with Eli around. He had a lot of fun running around inside the boat. It kept making me nervous though because they had stairs there and also if he were to run on the deck, there were slots in which he could fall through into the ocean! Not fun. Needless to say, it was neat to hear the history of the harbor but I was relieved when it was over.
By this point we were hungry and hot and in search of somewhere to eat lunch. On our way, Eli fell asleep. He slept through our entire lunch. We headed back to the hotel to get our bags and headed to the train station.
Eli had a lot of firsts this day. First day at an aquarium. First day on a boat on the ocean. First day on a train. Phew! This day was the most exhausting of them all. And I know I already mentioned it was hot the whole day. But, despite all this, Eli did amazingly well! I was so proud of my little boy. I felt like I could have had a tantrum or two at times but he kept on going. We took the train to NYC (three plus hours). Eli did well on the train, I had plenty of things to keep him occupied. When we came to our stop, I was relieved to get moving and get to New Jersey.
To be continued.....
1 comment:
I want to go to Boston now! hehe. So glad Eli was a good little boy!! That's the best feeling for mommy.
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