Boston

Kevin and I went to Boston on Lillian's birthday! Sorry Lillian! We tried to make the morning special with a big pancake breakfast and then we went to Panda Express for lunch. She loves Chinese food. Then we dropped her off at my parents and she had a fun time at the zoo with Grandma Sherri and Papa Dave. Thanks Mom and Dad!

Kevin had a conference in Boston so I decided to tag along. Todd (Kevin's brother) and Mick came a few days later and joined us in Boston. Kevin and I flew into Providence R.I. and spent the night. The next day we went on a drive down to Newport, R.I. where I found like 5 of my dream houses. The homes were absolutely beautiful and right on the beach. I could definitely live there.

We took a drive around R.I. and it didn't take a very long time, it is tiny! Now I know why it is called the Ocean State. Wherever we went we were near the ocean, I loved it! Then we drove up to Massachusetts and drove out on Cape Cod. It was beautiful. I realized how dry Utah is. There were so many trees, everywhere. Kevin felt a little closed in. He kept saying, "There are no open spaces," and I would say, "Yes there are, they are just covered in trees." I loved how lush and green it was. We went to Hyannis Port and no we did not run into any of the Kennedy's. We had lunch and I had the best clam chowder in my life. It was so rich and creamy yum! It was also probably like 2000 calories but I was on vacation so who don't cares?!

After we left the Cape (that's what the locals call it) we drove up to Plymouth as in Plymouth Rock where the Mayflower landed. It was a cute little town with a replica of the Mayflower (that's it behind me). The actual rock was under construction so we didn't really see it. After Plymouth we headed to Concord and Lexington.

The towns of Concord and Lexington are famous for being the site of the Battle of Concord and Lexington where the Revolutionary War began. Concord is also the town where a lot of transcendentalists lived prior to and after the Civil War. People such as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Louisa May Alcott, and Nathaniel Hawthorne. Sorry for the history lesson but I can't help myself!


This is at the site where the Battle of Concord took place. It was so amazing to actually be there.
Concord is one of my favorite places in Massachusetts. I could definitely live there too. It is an adorable little village with a lot of open space and more of a rural feel. I kept telling Kevin to look at this house or that house. These two were my favorites.

The next day Kevin had a class for his conference and then after we drove up to Salem where the witch trials took place. Cute town but honestly a little creepy. When went to the Salem Witch museum and I got a little freaked out.

Then we headed up to Marblehead. Marblehead is famous for a naval fort and for the fishing. It is right on the ocean and it is also beautiful. We spent a long time just walking up and down the beach looking for shells and watching the boats. The beach was covered in shells, in fact that was all it was, shells no sand.
This ship was in the harbor in Marblehead. It was huge!! Kevin had to make a game so he started playing baseball with the umbrella and some rocks. I think it was because he couldn't get the Red Sox off his mind the whole time we were there that he started playing baseball. Well the umbrella broke and so he had to wade into the cold water and get it out. Brr!

The next morning we went and picked up Todd and Mick from the airport. They took the red eye out to Boston so they were a little sleepy but that didn't stop them. We walked the entire Freedom Trail all around Boston. They have this red line that is painted and you follow the red line to see all of Boston's historical attractions. It was so much walking but we saw a lot of really cool things. Poor Mick was like 4 1/2 months pregnant and we dragged her everywhere with us.

First we went to the Boston Common which is a huge park right in the middle of the city. They have these swan boats where you can take a little ride around the pond in the park.After our boat ride we walked around the Common.

We saw a huge statue of George Washington. While in Boston I was reading 1776 by David McCullough. I think every American should read that book. It was a very powerful. After reading it can see that the Lord definitely had a hand in the founding of our country. We came very close many, many times to losing the Revolutionary War. I gained a greater admiration and respect for George Washington.

This is a monument to Robert Gould Shaw and to all of the African Americans who served in the Civil War. Shaw was a commander of an all African American regiment in the Civil War. He is the man from the movie, Glory.

This is a statue of Samuel Adams in front of Fanueil Hall. Adams was a cousin to John Adams and he was also the leader of the Sons of Liberty. He also was instrumental in organizing the Boston Tea Party (I know, I know more history).
This is Fanueil Hall. This is a meetinghouse where important issues of our country such as independence, abolition, women's suffrage, etc. were debated.

This is Kevin and I inside of Fanueil Hall.

This is a statue of Paul Revere and then a picture of his house. His house is the oldest standing structure in Boston, pretty cool.

This is the monument of the Battle of Bunker Hill. It is on top of the actual. Hill. Kevin and Todd climbed the 300+ steps to the top. Mick and I didn't really want to climb 300+ steps after climbing up a huge hill after we had already hiked around Boston, so we sat on a bench and waited.

That night Kevin and I went to a fancy dinner at a seafood restaurant in Boston with some of his colleagues. It was my first time having lobster and I am definitely a fan. It was even better because we didn't have to pay for it!!

The next day Kevin had to go to his conference and Todd and Mick and I hit the town. We were hoping people didn't think Todd was with his two wives, we are from Utah after all. We walked all over another part of Boston. Mick and I found the cutest bags at this little shop where you can pick the fabric and style you want and they custom make them for you. They were also a little pricey but very cute. Well we didn't get them and I still am thinking about it, which means I should have bought it. Maybe for Christmas?

We also went and had lunch on the top floor of the Prudential tower. I am scared of heights so I was a little nervous but we did get a beautiful view of Boston. And yes, that would be Fenway Park on the left, the highlight of Kevin and Todd's trip to Boston.

Since the Prudential Tower is so close to Fenway Park, or so it looked on the top floor, we decided to walk there and have a look around. It was actually really far away and it took us a while to get there but Todd was determined. We hadn't seen him walk so fast on the entire trip until we were headed to Fenway Park. We did go see Fenway without Kevin, Sorry Kev! But we went to the game the next night so I think it was okay.

That night we had to show Todd and Mick Concord because we loved it so much. It was such a beautiful night. Did I mention I really love Concord.

That night for dinner we went to a Thai restaurant in Harvard Square. I had never had Thai food and it was really good, a little spicy, but still good. There were a lot of food firsts for me on this trip. Lobster, Thai food, who knows what's next?

On the last day Kevin had to go to his conference so Todd, Mick and I went shopping around Boston. Poor Todd, shopping with two women who love to shop, he's a saint. Thankfully he had the Red Sox game to look forward to.

And Finally..... the RED SOX!!!!! When Kevin and I got to our hotel we were on the 17th floor. The first thing Kevin says to me was to come and look out the window. So I went and he said, "see that CITGO sign? You can see that from Fenway Park!" Going to a Red Sox game at Fenway Park is #2 on his life list of things he wants to do. Second only to golfing St. Andrews in Scotland. I was reassured there is a separate life list for things like marriage and kids. Going to this game was not only the highlight of the trip, it was one of the highlights of his life, so it was a pretty big deal.

We had to go and get outfitted with Red Sox gear from the offical Red Sox store. You wouldn't believe the stuff they had in that store. Then we took a walk down Yawkey Way. They close the entire street before every game. It was a huge, crazy party. Red Sox fans are die hards. I've seen Fever Pitch so I knew there were some worshippers of the team, but it seems like all of Boston is in love with the Red Sox.

Mick and I got these huge hot dogs called monster dogs. It was a funny because Kevin and Todd got these little foot long hot dogs and then Mick and I come with these gigantic monster dogs. We totally out ate our husbands. Remember, I'm on vacation so calories don't count.

The game was so much more fun than I thought it would be. I've been to MLB games before, but never one like this. Our seats were in Center Field and we had a great view of the game. We had home runs and we even had a semi-clothed streaker run across the field with security guards running after him. It was hilarious. The Red Sox beat the Devil Rays so it was even more fun to be there. I loved the game so much I even bought a Red Sox shirt. After the game we rode the subway home and just a little advice for those who in the future may also do this, throw your concept of personal space out the window. Crowded doesn't even begin to describe it.

The next morning we took Todd and Mick to the Logan airport and Kevin and I drove down to Rhode Island to catch our flight back home. We had a great trip but we really missed our girls. I couldn't wait to see them!!!

On our way back we had some time to kill so we went to Foxboro and saw Gillette Stadium where the Patriots play. I love the Patriots and I love Tom Brady even more, get better soon Tom! We didn't see Tom or Coach Bill but it was pretty cool.

We also drove down to Newport and looked at our dream houses again. Aren't they beautiful? Maybe someday.

Thanks again Mom and Dad for watching the girls. We had a great time and we couldn't have down it without you!