Boston

On Saturday, my family went to Boston. We were planning to do something fun with all six of us. Originally, the plan was to go to the Bronx Zoo. Then we made a backup plan in the event of rain, because none of us wanted to be in the Bronx Zoo in the rain. We kept checking the weather, and Friday morning the forecast for the Bronx Zoo for Saturday was 90* and 50% chance of strong thunderstorms. So we made the decision to head east to Boston to visit the New England Aquarium.

We all piled into Mom & Dad's new Highlander on Saturday morning. The only adult who would fit in the third seat was my brother in law Andy. So he and Syd sat in the way back, mom sat in the middle, Dad drove, and Laura & I switched back and forth from the front seat to the middle. Boston is about three hours east of Mom & Dad's.

Our first stop was the Aquarium. The seals are outside, next to the ticket counter. We bought our tickets and made our way inside. First we had to pose for the souvenir picture, and then we could go through the Aquarium. It was packed, and pretty hot in the building. There were also a lot of pregnant women. My sister and I were joking about that. I know a lot of people having babies in the next few months. I think it's the Recession- people couldn't afford to go out so they entertained themselves at home.

The Aquarium has a penguin exhibit. We really enjoyed that. Here is a cute picture that Andy took of a pair of penguins. Erich would have enjoyed the penguins, he probably would have stood there all day watching them.

The main attraction of the Aquarium is this huge round ocean tank. It is in the center of the building, and there are ramps that wind around it. You walk up the ramps, and at different levels you see different things. When you get to the top, you can look down into the tank. We saw all kinds of fish. Brightly colored fish, camouflaged fish, small fish, big fish. There were sharks as well. One of the sharks had a big wound in one side. Syd said it had been in a fight with the shark that had all the teeth. In all likelihood, she's right. When she first saw the sharks, she screamed and was very upset. Once she realized the sharks could not get to her, she enjoyed watching them swim around the tank. We saw giant turtles and stingrays too. On each floor of the Aquarium, there are smaller exhibits on the walls. One of these had seahorses, which were pretty neat.

The Aquarium was nice, but I do think the one in Newport (just across the river from Cincinnati) has more . It seems more spread out, where in Boston almost everything was in the one tank. But we enjoyed it.

The Aquarium sits on the wharf, and it was a pleasant walk along the wharf. The buildings have been beautifully redone. They were a nice touch of old and new. There were a lot of boats in the harbor, including some yachts. Sydney wanted to go on the yachts to explore them, and we had a hard time explaining to her why she couldn't just walk onto the boats. It was hot in Boston, about 80*, but there was a nice occasional breeze off the ocean. It started as a bright, sunny day, but by the time we were headed home, it was overcast and looked like it would rain any minute.

From the Aquarium, we walked to Quincy Market. It was not really close by, but it wasn't too long of a walk. Boston has a lot of cobblestone areas, and both my parents were having a hard time walking on those. Fortunately, the cobblestones are framed by large, flat pieces of concrete, so my parents were able to walk on those. We went to Cheers for lunch. Not the original one, this was 'The Replica'. Mom & I always enjoyed watching Cheers. As a Hanover grad, I seem to enjoy it even more. Woody Harrellson graduated from Hanover, my Alma Mater. And he had the writers make his character from Hanover, IN as a tribute. Although I will say, the real Hanover is not quite as podunk as Woody makes it out to be. Close, but not quite as bad. The menu was cutesy. Dad had "Rebecca's Fish & Chips". Mom had Carla's pasta. You get the idea. But it was good. I had a simple grilled chicken sandwich, which was pretty tasty. After we ate, we went to the Gift Shop (there is always a gift shop!). Our only purchase was a onesie for the new baby which said 'Even I don't know my name'. This of course, was a joke, as my sister and BIL have not settled on a name yet for Baby Boy. So far, everyone is calling him 'No Name'. (Syd was showing me her picture album, and there was the sonogram picture. I asked her who that was, and she said 'My baby brother'. I asked what his name was, and she said 'he doesn't have one'.)

After Cheers we walked back through Quincy Market for a bit. There was a band competition going on, and it was crowded. Laura & Andy walked into a couple of stores. We sat down for a few minutes, and all of a sudden, we heard a fife and drum. We looked up, and there were two men dressed in Revolutionary War garb; one playing the fife and one the drum. They stopped in the middle of the courtyard and stood there. People took their picture, and went up to have their picture taken with them. Syd & Andy had their picture taken with the two men. I was getting overcome by the heat (pesky fibro!), so I wasn't thinking well enough to go and get a picture with them.

We started walking back towards the parking garage, and we passed the horse and carriages that were lined up. Syd wanted to take one, so mom treated us kids (Laura, Andy, Syd, & I). It was actually quite pleasant. We got to see a couple of blocks in the city. The driver told us what we were seeing. But the funniest part was Sydney. She was waving to people on the street. She was waving like a princess. I told her I felt like I was in a parade, and Sydney said "I feel like Cinderelly!" She pointed out that we had a white horse and carriage, just like Cinderelly. To her, it was a magical event.

We walked back along the wharf, enjoying the sites. There was a woman standing by the road, dressed in a white ball gown. At first we thought perhaps she was a bride, but she was far too young to be a bride. She was a beautiful young latina teenager. She had a crown, and a wand in her hand. I suspect it was her Quinceñera. Sydney looked at her in awe. Later, Sydney told people she saw a princess.

I know, as a Yankees fan, you will not expect me to say this. But Boston was really pleasant. We were all surprised at how easy it was to get to the Aquarium. The city was clean. New York always has this dingy look to it. And you see trash on the streets. We didn't see that in Boston. Maybe other parts of the city are like that, but the Wharf district and even Quincy Market, were very clean and nice. The parts of the city we saw were a beautiful comforting blend of old and new. We all agreed we would like to go back, and maybe spend a couple of days there. No worries though, I'm still a Yankees fan!