Day five of the road trip, day five as the solo parent traveling with two kids. Officially READY for Jake to get here. Travelling with the kids is fun, and totally worth all the extra work, but it is a lot of work. Plus I was ready for some adult conversation.
The kids and I got up and out of the hotel early so we could meet Jake in the city. I took the girls on the subway for the first time… that was an experience. People who do this on the regular are probably not very impressed, but I got us to downtown Boston via the subway and didn’t lose anyone, so I’m pretty pleased with myself.
Boston Commons
We got off the subway, grabbed two very large coffees, and headed to Boston Commons to meet Jake. This seemed like a great plan – it’s the start of the freedom trail and boats a cute playground to pass time waiting for him.
The major wrinkle in my plan was the public bathrooms being closed until 10am, did not plan for that. Again one of my small humans waited until they were practically leaking to inform me they needed to use the restroom.
Cue mad dash across the commons to find a bathroom. McDonald’s was the lucky winner, and access only cost me three muffins.
Jake eventually arrived. ANOTHER PARENT YES PLEASE. We let the kids play watch squirrels while we chatted for a bit, then eventually we tightened the hoods on our raincoats (because of course, it was raining) and headed off to walk the freedom trail. It was a little chillier than I had dressed the kids for, windy and rainy. Plus they don’t give a hoot about historical landmarks. It was not a winning recipe.
Boston Freedom Trail
Both girls were oddly fascinated by the headstones at the Granary Burial Grounds. Abby wanted us to read each one. “Here lies Mrs.Old Time Anna. Wife to Old Time John. Died age 23” Abby was particularly into that…. Olivia was actually super fascinated listening to (eavesdropping?) tour group operators that were giving out a lot more information than her question weary parents.
Another high point of the “tour” was stopping in a super fancy hotel to sneak into their public restrooms. Olivia greeted everyone in the hotel with “Bonjour” because that’s the fanciest word she knows.
Things went south quickly after that though. Abby just straight refused to walk, so we ended up with her on our shoulders the rest of the morning. Olivia was cold and miserable. They were very vocal about these things.
Quincy Market
We attempted to grab lunch at Quincy Market, but it was so mobbed that getting through there with two kids and not being able to find any indoor seating made it impossible. We decided to call our losses and headed back towards the train station. Boston seems pretty cool but it’s probably best experienced with older kids or none at all. I’m guessing it’s also more enjoyable when one is dressed correctly for the weather. Oh well.
USS Constitution and Museum
We eventually made it back to the car and drove over to the USS Constitution and Museum. We hadn’t planned on going there (theme of this trip), but the rain was killing a lot of our backup plans and it was on the way to our next hotel so we figured why not.
Turns out it’s another NPS site, and it was really freaking cool. Jake and I have explored the Battleship Museum and USS Wisconsin in Virginia Beach, and we’ve toured the battleship in Wilmington, NC so this was a cool one to add to the list. We even got a small break from the rain down below deck and in the museum. The kids were much more excited about our afternoon explorations, although they were still pretty over being wet.
We left around four and tried to head out of the city. HA. Maybe it’s just me but Boston traffic was an unexpected beast. Jake is still exclaiming over the road that wasn’t where it was supposed to be and the inaccuracy of the navigation system. It was not my favorite part of the trip. Boston drivers are…. Aggressively terrible. Me and Odell (the minivan) would much rather drive a dirt road any day.
Arriving in Gloucester, Mass
Upon arrival to our hotel for the night I had to quell back some minor feelings of disappointment. Our hotel was right on the beach, with a gorgeous view. And it’s 50 degrees and POURING. So. No porch sitting. No beach exploring. Just watching the moody ocean from inside the glass.
Now I love myself a moody ocean, but it didn’t bode well for the planned whale watching tour the next morning. Which… did not end up happening.
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