We arrived into Logan airport at 6AM after our "red eye" flight. A couple travel plan errors/lessons- 1) 6AM in Boston is really 3AM to a West coast family; 2) Take the book from daughter so that she does not read it instead of sleeping; 3) If taking a "red eye" make sure you have a place to go until 3PM (check in at hotel). Hotel was nice enough to feed us the continental breakfast and hold our luggage, but could not offer us early check in!! We decided to venture into downtown Boston- "The T station is about 1/2 mile from here" so we decided walk to the T and be the super nerd tourist family.
First sign that you are a super nerd tourist family is that you believe the lady at the front desk that it is only a 1/2 mile to the T and venture out not sure if you are even headed in the correct direction. Oh yeah - did I mention yet that it is raining?! At any rate we found the T station - then had to ask help on how to buy the tickets and which train to downtown Boston.
Well we made it to downtown. T station dropped us off right where Filene's basement used to be - Filenes is now closed and will be turned into condos - another historic building and tradition bites it and becomes a condo - AARGH. Is this progress? As we emerged from the T station K is already complaining that her feet are cold and have blisters - she needs socks (Crocs without socs in the rain apparently gives one child a blister- other child is fine- how odd). So hoping to put the whining at bay about cold blistered feet - as we are headed up some random ally - I see a store that says "Socks Galore". At first I am thinking that there is some divine intervention a sock store while your child is whining that she needs socks - WOW!! I state to T - we need to go in here - he looks at me oddly - "K needs some socks - and this is a sock store- isn't that amazing?" He looks at me oddly again. We go in-there is a bunch of t-shirts, sunglasses, Boston souveneirs, stockings, colored contact lenses, cell phones with obscure plans.... In the very back are a few pairs of socks - the girls are trying to choose a pair of socks - I notice a sign saying must have ticket to go upstairs- I look up the stairs and well - lets just say I hurried the girls along in their sock choice making as upstairs appeared a little shady at best. As I am paying, a man cuts in line in front of me and an old lady (buying fish net stockings?) and throws down his ticket and 10 bucks. I do not know nor do I want to know what 10 bucks buys you upstairs - but I am now the object of many jokes of my husband's such as do you need any socks? Do you want to find a sock store? So we began our Boston touring with a whole bunch of naive and only a bit of sleep!
At the end of the alley - was Boston Common - beautiful park - only saw the edge as it was beginning to really pour rain. After taking pictures of what we thought was the Old North Church (then realizing it was Park Street Church-once again super nerd tourist family) we noticed the State House - it was free to go in and tour and it was dry.
It was really cool - we saw where the house of representatives meet, the state senators, as well as the governor's office. In addition it is decorated with stained glass windows
and historical art work all throughout. Free tour guides throughout tell stories about the art, the rooms, and the building. You can join and leave a tour anytime - lots of interesting facts not only about Massachusetts, but our country as well. Surprisingly the girls were very interested and it was exactly what I was hoping for with this part of the vacation - to have them exposed to our country's history.
That took about 2 hours - only about 3 hours left until we can check in. T suggests we go to Faneuil Hall marketplace. I am tired and hungry and would agree to most anything. It of course is quite far from where we are- and we need to navigate to it on surface streets that run every which way - I like those nice neat cities where streets run north/south and east/west and are numbered. There is no semblance of order to Boston streets. I realize it is part of the charm and history of te city. So we walk, and walk, and walk, and walk (super nerd tourist family only did one circle and it was right when we left the state house). We finally make it, by this time I am not sure who is the grumpiest and whiniest - me or the girls. We go to Quincy market - the mother of all food courts and I am forced to decide in my fatigued state on a meal that I hope will provide enough energy to get me back to the hotel. We are fed and decide we can head back to the hotel.
Navigating the T - we find a Blue Line T station and decide we can take the blue line to the Orange line then switch to the Green line which then goes to the Red line - the Red line being the one we need for our hotel. Those of you familiar with the T will know that super nerd tourist family strikes again - you would never need to switch 2 times to get to the train you need. At any rate, we just missed an Orange line train and then waited and waited for the next. Finally the loudspeaker announces that there has been a medical emergency and the next Orange line train is delayed. The locals all still are waiting - we figure it must come along in a bit since no one is doing anything to leave the underground sweat hole. After about 4 more trains worth of people show up and are also waiting for the next Orange line train and people are breathing my air - we decide to look closer at the train map- and figure out if we had stayed on the Blue line and rode it one more stop - we could have reached the Green line from the Blue line. So we venture back to the Blue line - hoping 1) that the medical emergency is not affecting the entire train system and 2) the girls won't notice we are back tracking (which A realizes and asks "Are we lost") They get upset when they think we are lost - so when we are - we always pretend we aren't !! At any rate we make it to where the Green line is - to our dismay we realize there is more than one Green line - bless that nice man who helped us figure out which Green line we needed (we actually could have taken any as they all went to the stop we needed).
We make it back to North Quincy Station it is pouring rain. Luckily I remember I have the hotel phone number in cell phone calls (I had called last week to see about an early check in). I call and they can send a shuttle to pick us up - "go to were the buses pick up". We of course go to the opposite end that we are supposed to be at for the bus pick up spot.
But we make it back to the hotel - we are able to check in an hour early - yahooo. We get to our room - Best Western reserved via Costco Travel - definitely not the Hyatt - but hey it is in our price range and at this point - I would have taken a bunk bed at the YWCA. AHHHH SLEEEEPPPP!! Now just if K & A would sleep - which they finally do once I threaten to lay on them if they don't shut up and go to sleep!
I wake at about 7:30PM (local time) and figure I better wake everyone up and we should eat, otherwise everyone will be up at midnight hungry. Turns out waking a pre-teen can get ugly. Finally everyone gets up and we head to a Cathay Pacific which is 2 blocks away. It is polynesian restaurant with foo-foo cocktails -bliss!! We over order - in the words of A - "This is like a feast". Stomachs full - everyone happy - we head back to the hotel for some TV (is there a limit to how many times a kid can watch a rerun of the Suite Life of Zach and Cody?). Back to sleep for the night and hopes of being on EST when we wake.
Considering the circumstances (no sleep and rain) it was a pretty fun day. The girls were real troopers. If my parent's had tried to drag me all over Boston on that little sleep - I must admit - I would have been a way bigger whiner.
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