I love love love going up to visit my bestie in Boston and hearing that New England accent! She has 3 beautiful children, Morgan (4), Maddie (3) and Jack (10 months). We had such a great time and the weather was perfect...mid 70's in the day upper 50's at night! We flew in on Saturday afternoon and hung out at their house. They just recently moved into this beautiful 1920's home in Quincy (pronounced Quin-zee) with this huge double lot full of trees, but best of all are the GORGEOUS original hardwood floors throughout the whole entire house!
On Sunday, we got up and headed into Boston to catch the ferry to Georges Island. This is one of numerous islands out in the harbor that you can tour.
History:
At the time of Euro-American colonization, Georges Island was composed of two drumlins, rising out of the bay like other nearby islands. The island was used for agriculture for 200 years until 1825 when the U.S. Government acquired it for coastal defense.
Over the next 20 years the island was dramatically altered, and one of the country's finest forts was built. Dedicated in 1847, Fort Warren's defensive design was virtually obsolete upon completion. However, the fort served as a training ground, patrol point, and Civil War prison that gained a favorable reputation for the humane treatment of its Confederate prisoners. After 100 years of military use, the fort was decommissioned in 1947 and acquired by the Metropolitan District Commission for historic preservation and recreation in 1958.
To this day, in the fort's dark corridors, the legend lives on of "The Lady in Black," the ghost of a Confederate prisoner's wife who is said to have been sentenced to death for aiding in an escape and hanged in a black robe made from the fort's mess hall drapes
Since we had to wait for the ferry, we took the kids to the nearby carousel and playground. They had a blast. We then caught the ferry over to Georges Island where we climbed trees, rocks and forts! We came back across the ferry and took a little detour through Quincy Market and Faneuil (pronounce Fan-yule) Hall. This is a touristy outdoor shopping center with lots of unique little shops and eateries. We then headed to the North End (which is the area of Boston known for all their Italian Restaurants). Since we were such a big party (4 adults and 6 kids) and since it was Labor Day weekend we had a little trouble finding a spot big enough to fit all of us! We enjoyed a yummy delicious meal of homemade pastas and sauces! We left there and started heading back to the vehicles, but had to make a detour to a Italian Gelato Shop. WAAAAAYYYY better than any Coldstone!
On Monday we got up and made our way to Tougas Farm, an apple orchard in one of Boston's suburbs. We got to ride a wagon out to the orchards and pick/eat all different kinds of apples. We tried: Early Fugis, McIntosh, Courtlands, Golden Delicious and maybe a few other types. Even Kinley and Jack got to get in on the action! After snackin' on apples and a quick bite for lunch, we headed back home. The grown-ups (plus Kinley) went to Fenway Park to watch the Red Sox vs. Rays game. Although our Rays did less than stellar (read: they were slaughtered), it was an awesome stadium with so much history. We found the Red Sox fans very friendly. Even though they trail us by 5 or so games, I think our common hatred of the NYY plus the fact that we had the cutest little "Baby Ray" at the stadium kept the harassment at a minimum (or it could be the fact that we got crushed by them).
We got up early Tuesday morning and headed to the airport for our flight back home. The trip was way too short, but we had a great visit. We will definitely be planning another trip up there again when Kinley is a bit older so we can do more of the historical tours!
1 comment:
I got repremanded for not leaving a comment on this post. So after re-reading I have decided that Bawsten sounds like a delightfully wonderful town and it has officially been added to the Riffel "Cities to Visit" list!
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