The Boston Staycation

Castle Island

A short drive down the Mass Turnpike leads us to Boston Harbor and a fort that dates back to storing the Stamps from the infamous "Stamp Act." Parking is a premium, so we parked along the boardwalk and walked to the fort. Unfortunately, they only give tours of the fort on weekends. We decided to take part of the Harbor Walk instead and enjoyed a beautiful day with a strong sea breeze. Sullivan's is a small restaurant located at the base of the fort. It got progressively busier, so we did not stay for lunch. The line was seriously into the parking lot. People in business attire, swimsuits, and walking clothes all wanted to eat there. We will have to find a better time to go back. We are going to take the kids' scooters and Audrey's tricycle.

Revere Beach

Also a short drive down the Mass Turnpike, but with a turn North past Logan airport, is the nation's oldest public beach. The beach was long and uncrowded, the parking was free, and the bathhouses were clean. We found some clams (or whatever they are) that were intact and the size of my hand. The actual beach more closely resembled Stewart Beach on Galveston than Wingersheek Beach outside of Gloucester further North on the New England coast. We decided to visit Revere Beach because they were throwing an end of summer party. We could have swam for hours except for the chilly 70F temperature and the breeze and the clouds. I decided these people must keep track of when the hot days end around here.

Boston Common

We made another trip down to Boston Common to meet some friends from San Antonio. This time we rode successfully navigated the T. The kids all had fun on the T; Ainsley made many friends with the various young ladies that sat next to her. We cannot wait to head back up there to ice skate this winter.

Cambridge Common

We did not ride the T to Cambridge because we would have taken the T one stop past Boston Common, switched trains, and then gone back West. There has to be a better way to get to Cambridge because the parking is crazy expensive up here. I will never complain about Houston and San Antonio down town again. We did drive and walk through some parts of Harvard. We met a friend from San Antonio at the Cambridge Common playground. It was redone in the last five years, and is an incredibly fun park. There is a small water feature and so many interesting things to play, climb, slide, and swing on. The kids played there for over 3 hours. Audrey picked that morning to go without shoes. That was interesting. I asked her to grab her flippies as we walked out the door. When I got in the car, I asked if everyone had on shoes. They said everyone did. When we got out of the car at the parking garage, I asked Audrey where her flippies were. I carried her on my back down one flight of stairs and on to the side walk. I tested the side walk, and it was not hot, so I made her walk barefoot the entire 4 blocks to the park. Every time we changed streets, I checked to make sure it wasn't hot, but I was not about to carry her that far. (She wears a 5T now-that's too big to be carried.) She has not forgotten her shoes since then. I'd read that Ben Affleck likes to take his kid(s) there, but he wasn't there that day.

Old Sturbridge Village

An hour drive West on the Mass Turnpike takes you to a living museum called Old Sturbridge Village. They offer a military discount on family memberships that cost only a few dollars more than the price of paying for my children to get in for one day. We visited on a Saturday with some new friends because it was the Redcoats and Rebels Revolutionary War Encampment. This was a New England version of a Renaissance Fair. We watched the mock battle, but some narration would have been nice, or a brochure explaining what we were watching. Still it was fun. The kids tried doing laundry old school style and doing musket drills. We were there about 6 hours and did not see everything there was to see and do. This Fall they offer days where you can help with their harvest, have some Halloween fun, eat Thanksgiving dinner there, and even take a sleigh ride in the snow.

Lake Cochituate

This is pronounced "Lake Kichitate" Everything up here is either an old English name or Native American. Neither one is very easy to pronounce. Worcester is "wooster", but instead of an "ou" sound, as in "You" it is an "oo" sound, as in "book." Gloucester is "glosster". I think.

Lake Cochituate is a beautifully wooded lake with a small beachfront entry. The water there is not particularly clear and the sand is not particularly beautiful, but it's a fun place to play with a bunch of friends when it's hot outside. It is a short drive West out Route 9, a section of which is the Spanish-American War highway. How old does a road have to be to pay homage to the veterans of the Spanish-American War?

Natick Mall

There is a beautiful mall less than a mile away from this lake. A Neiman Marcus, Nordstroms, American Girl Store, and Lego Store are just a few stores located here. We thought this mall was upscale. Then we went to the mall the opposite direction on Route 9, in Chesnut Hill, near Brookline. This mall had Bloomingdales, Bloomingdale Men and Home, Kate Spade, and Barney's New York. This is what they must consider upscale in Boston. The Natick mall, out in the burbs must be for the masses.

Downtown Boston

On our way back from Castle Island, we drove through a section of downtown Boston. On some streets, the crowd was so dense and the buildings were so tall that I thought I was in New York City. I cannot figure out if they were all on their lunch break, if they were tourists just walking around.

Money

The money that people spend up here amazes me. Everything is expensive, but people run around in expensive clothes, driving nice cars, eating out at expensive restaurants. It costs us $30 to feed our family at McDonald's and close to $60 if we sit down somewhere. That's why we stick to Bill's Pizza in Newton. It may cost $30, but it is actual food and not 70% plastic like McDonald's is. Plus it's Jim Krazinski's favorite pizza. Another example is the preschool tuition for 2 days a week: it would cost more than my nephew Connor's full time day care costs in Texas.


Misc activities

Each week we visit the Needham library to make sure it's not too quiet there. And we drive to playgrounds and splash pads all over Boston. Neil took Zach mountain biking for the first time ever, and I hiked the same spot with the kids another day, at nearby Cuttler Park. Sydney saw a snake. We hiked with Neil in Caryl Park in Dover, where we got lost and ended up walking past huge, house-size mounds of old trash. We were supposed to be climbing a hill that had views of down town. Obviously that did not work out, so we will head back there in a few weeks when it is not 90F outside. We still need to hit the arboretum and a few other outdoor places before it gets too cold.

Kayaking down the Charles River is incredibly popular here, but we are waiting until next summer to do that so that Audrey will be a little older.

Just like in Fayetteville, I miss having a swimming pool to spend the afternoon at when it's so hot. The city pool here in Needham is pretty fun, but was very expensive unless you bought your membership back in April. We considered it then, but decided not to because the only picture we could find of the pool was of a lake with a concrete wall in it. It did not look very promising, which is unfortunate because there is a lap pool, a beachfront entry, and a deep end with some diving boards. It's a mystery why they don't put pictures of that on the website.

We tried to sign up for bus service today. Apparently Sydney is the only one who qualifies for free bus service. We live less than two miles, as the crow flies, from the elementary school, so I would have to pay $740 each school year for Zach and Ainsley to ride the bus. The city of Needham is so concerned with the environment that they arrange their trash system, through financial disincentives, to promote recycling. And yet, the cost to ride the bus is so prohibitive, that there are many students who will ride in a car each day. That makes such little sense. This might just be another example of people spending money like it grows on trees. The people who put their kids in private schools have to pay for bus service on top of their tuition as well.

Dedham

There is a nearby town that we visit each week for their farmer's market. I love to buy the fresh fish. It's been caught that morning and tastes so fresh and un-fishy. They also have a great outdoor shopping area with an LLBean store, which I cannot wait to visit. Their movie theater has crystal chandeliers and a very upscale restaurant. The closest bowling alley is located there as well. It's sign has a ginormous panel of silver faux-sequins that shimmer in the light. You not only have to be 6 to bowl there, but no one under 21 is allowed after 6 PM. Apparently this is the place to be for young single adults who like to bowl in their metrosexual outfits. Bowling gets made fun of on the Simpson's all the time, but these kids make it cool. Or someone wants them to think they do. Neil took the kids to this mall to do some school shopping last week. Sydney and Ainsley were excited to get skinny jeans and "jeggings" from Justice. Jeggings are jeans that are really leggings so that you can wear boots over them without having to figure out what to do with your pants leg inside the boot. I keep trying to convince them that they should wait to wear anything more than walking shorts or capri pants to school because once it's cold, it's going to stay cold for a long time.


More Misc

The kids enjoy riding bikes and scooters in the neighborhood each evening. Sometimes they throw a football or play soccer in the yard. I enjoy having someone who comes to cut the yard. Except for when they show up at 7am. Even Zach was yelling, "Why are they cutting the yard by my window right now? I'm in bed." Neil has been incredibly busy the past few weeks, but I think that was to make up for the easy month he had in July.

My favorite things to buy in Boston are fresh fish, Trader Joe's frozen gnocchi, and pre-sliced apples from Cost-Co. And fish and chips from Legal Sea Food. Yum. I love Boston.