Saturday Update:

I guess it's actually not an update since I didn't have much of a post on Friday when we got here, but nonetheless...

We spent a full day in Boston yesterday, and have a great time, as well as getting some pretty good exercise.

We did the Freedom Trail, which is a pretty cool walk through the heart of Boston from Boston Common all the way up to the site of the USS Constitution at the Navy Yard. It's 2.5 miles or so up, so the round trip is roughly 5 miles.

Since the FR guys took the time to write a concise summary of what it entails, I'll include it here:

The Freedom Trail is a 2.5 mile red-brick walking trail that leads you to 16 nationally significant historic sites, every one an authentic American treasure. Preserved and dedicated by the citizens of Boston in 1958, when the wrecking ball threatened, the Freedom Trail today is a unique collection of museums, churches, meeting houses, burying grounds, parks, a ship, and historic markers that tell the story of the American Revolution and beyond.

This was a great way to round out our early American History tour we've been on since getting to Charleston a couple of weeks ago. Michelle and I were reminded again, however, at our lack of historical information, but we made due, and it was good for all of us to be exposed to the area.

We saw Paul Revere's home, plus the "one if by land, two if by sea" North Church, as well as the place he rode from to warn the Americans. We took the advice of a local and had lunch at Umburto's, which was a great little Pizza joint...lots of food for $12.

The girls really enjoyed the USS Constitution museum, lots of hands on stuff, and they spent more than an hour inside learning and experiencing it. We took a walk-on tour of a WWII destroyer that had been destroyed, and I really liked seeing that. We chose not to wait for the USS Constitution tour since the trip through the line and security would likely take more than an hour.

Overall, it was cool to see all that the Freedom Trail had to offer, and to see the heart of Boston. For at least a short time, I think Michelle and I could get used to the weekend lifestyle you can enjoy in the big city...

We're going to head over to Harvard (Hahvad) Square this morning for the big Oktoberfest celebration. This is a big shopping area and park, and they have a parade, vendors, kids activities, and bands. Should be a fairly non-touristy way to see the area and enjoy a fall-time activity. We'll report back on that later.

Sunday Update:

Today was a fun, but interesting day...

As expected, we headed into Harvard Square this morning, which in itself was a bit of a challenge. Those who live in the big city would understand this, but it took us like an hour to find a place to park, and we ended up with about a mile walk. Not too bad, really, and we were fortunate that Sunday's have street-side parking for free, so it's all good, but it was a challenge.

The Oktoberfest celebration was pretty cool, and had a lot to offer. We looked around a bit and paid way too much for lunch, but found the booths cool to look at. There was a parade, that featured Click and Clack (the guys from Car Talk (NPR)) as the Grand Marshalls. Those of you that know me know that I'm a pretty staunch conservative, so being in ultra-liberal Boston already had my guards up, but when I realized we were watching a "green" parade, oh man...how much fun was that? ;-> It was supposed to be a parade celebrating alternative technologies, but from what I saw it was more of an anti-shaving/anti-bra/anti-George Bush extravaganza. Needless to say, we were a bit out of our element. It was great exposure for the girls though, and I celebrate these folks' right to hate our President and hold signs condemning our country. I may not agree with the premise, but am happy we live in a country where it's legal to disagree with the country.

We had our fill of Harvard Square, and headed over to the Children's Museum of Boston, which was really cool. The girls actually closed the place down with about 2.5 hours in there, and they didn't even finish it all. Lots and lots of interactive stuff there, and they loved it. Peanut and I enjoyed some time out on the boardwalk getting lots of attention for him, and enjoying an absolutely beautiful Fall day.

All in all, a great day was had by all.

Monday Update:

Today was a great day, we enjoyed some great time with our friends, the Giacometti's and they did a great job showing us the area where they live, the North Shore, up in Essex, MA. The coast line here and the little towns are simply stunning, as well as the beaches and little shops and restaurants. Michelle absolutely loved the area, and can't wait to get back.

We also took the opportunity to sample the local food, and we had a nice helping of fried clams and Chowdah. Good stuff, probably the best in the country.

We'll look forward to another visit in the North Mass area and hopefully up into Maine at some point. What a great area of the country!

Faith's blog:
Yesterday I went to Boston. I heard that they had a tea party, I also heard it wasn’t pleasant. Just joking. The Boston Tea Party was when the British came on boat to America with tons of tea on their boat which they were making the people of America pay tax for, so we threw all the tea in the ocean and left no tea. There was a lot of tea. Boston was cool. Tea anyone?

Kenzie's blog:
“Follow the yellow brick road!” But instead, it’s red! We got to follow the Freedom Trail. It’s a red brick line on the ground that runs all over Boston. It includes historic sites like Paul Revere’s house, the Old North Church, a few graveyards and my favorite . . . the U.S.S. Constitution! We didn’t actually get to go inside it but we got to go inside a really cool museum. First, you get to take a test on being a sailor. Then, you got to sleep, eat and work on a ship. It was really fun!

Photos

Boston, MA

Video: