Sunday with the Sea Creatures

Finally, Aunt Wende let us sleep in a little bit on Sunday morning.  We didn't have to meet for breakfast until 10:00 am - a few more hours would have been nice, but we'll take 10:00 am.  After dinner at Durgin Park in the Faneuil Hall Market Place, along with some shopping and watching some street acts...

 and a stop at Hard Rock Boston after ALL of our city walking...we NEEDED the extra sleep. Durgin Park restaurant and its recipes go back to pre-revolutionary days, 1742.

After breakfast it was off to the New England Aquarium.  Thank goodness Uncle Patrick is a member as we got to go straight inside to the front of a VERY long line. The aquarium sits at the end of a working wharf that was about 3 blocks from our hotel.

We all immediately fell in love with these penguins - and spent quite a bit of time watching them from 3 different levels.  A few of them we kinda got to know - almost gave them names.

We also fell in love with the seals - actually got "kissed" by one during an IMAX movie..."Under the Sea".

They have a HUGE 4-story cylinder tank that you can walk around from the bottom to the top, circling it all the way.  The most famous inhabitant of that tank is Myrtle the Turtle.  She is 600 pounds - and they believe between 75-80 years old.  Myrtle swam past us quite a few times, Sarah got this great picture of her as she swam by.  She is named Myrtle as she was rescued from Myrtle Beach more than 40 years ago.

We even got to like this very interesting creature...the sea dragon.

Remember those penguins we fell in love with?  Well, Aunt Wende said we needed to watch the movie "Mr. Poppers Penguins"...guess what was on HBO that night when we got home.  Yep!  Sometimes, life just works :-) 

Saturday Afternoon: Destination Boston

Hopped on a trolley and drove past the original "Cheers", Aunt Wende said people her age will know about "Cheers".  Then we went past the Boston Public Gardens, a huge park and green space in the middle of the city.  It is known for its "Swan Boats" that are 100 years old this year.

We got close enough to see the famous ducklings in "Make Way for Ducklings", a children's book that was published in 1941 and took place in and around the Boston Public Gardens.

We hopped off our trolley at the Prudential Center - had a quick lunch among all of the amazing shops and then took the elevator to the 50th floor - the Skywalk Observatory.  I got some amazing pictures. 

 You could see all of downtown, the Charles River, sail boats, ships, the Atlantic Ocean, Salem, Massachusettes and on less-hazy days - New Hampshire.

We hopped back on the trolley to get to our next stop - The Old State House.  This building was the center of Boston ’s civic life in the 18th century and the scene of some of the most dramatic chapters in the lead-up to the American Revolution. Within these walls, Samuel Adams, James Otis, John Hancock, and John Adams debated the future of the British colonies. Just outside the building, five men were among the first casualties of the battle for independence, in what would later be known as the Boston Massacre. The Declaration of Independence was proclaimed from the balcony to the citizens of Boston in 1776 - and that was just in the first years of its existence. 

Next stop, Granary Burial Ground.  There are over 5,000 people buried here, but only a little over 2,000 headstones.  Since funerals were expensive in the 1700 and 1800s, many families used one grave and headstone to bury entire families - up to 20 people per grave.

The graveyard is in the middle of the city, surrounded by buildings - yet it is unusually quiet.  The graves are SO old, with unusual carvings on them.

 Apparently, my pre-school teacher lied to me...Mother Goose IS dead.

 We were in Paul Revere's house, we saw where he got his horse for his famous ride, we saw the North Church where the lanterns were hung to tell him if the British were coming by land or sea...and now we see his grave.

Learning lots, seeing lots and loving Boston just a little bit more each minute.

Saturday Morning: Destination Boston

Check in at Hilton Boston Downtown - Financial District

Visit Paul Revere House in the North End

Walk to Little Italy for a short snack break for pastries at the famous Mike's - our yummy cannolis.

Tour Old Ironside...the USS Constitution, the world's oldest commissioned warship afloat.

It was an extra special visit as Sarah's brother, Brad, is in the Navy.  (Go Navy!)  But, today we are at the helm.  It was amazing just to hold this wheel of this history-changing ship.

Full Saturday morning - now onto the afternoon!

Lob"stah" and Mussels

Friday evening, after getting our lobster from the docks - it was time to eat them.  However, at Aunt Wende's, everyone has to put their own lobster in the pot of steam - house rule.  So, I made Sarah go first.

Then, it was my turn

Before we could eat anything - we had to clean the mussels we were going to eat.  First rule, if they don't close while you are scrubbing them that means they are dead - throw them away.  You can't eat mussels or lobsters if they are already dead when you start to cook them.  Aunt Wende says the second rule is to see the first rule - it's that important.  We must have done it right - we were all living on Saturday morning.

Finally - it was time to grab our crackers to crack our lobster shells and eat our delicious lobster with melted butter and lots of paper towels.

Technical Difficulties

Our beautiful hotel's very secure business center, is giving us some technical difficulties in posting our pictures.  So, Aunt Wende said we will get caught up tonight when we return to Rhode Island.  But - here is a little teaser...

Checked in yesterday morning here...

...the Hilton Downtown Boston - Financial District.

We went to dinner at Durgin Park - too difficult to describe in this blog posting - more to follow.

After walking around after dinner, Aunt Wende thought we needed a little cooling down here...

yea - that was fun.  Loving Boston!

Lobster Off-the-Boats and Summer "Cottages"

 Since we were at the docks in Newport - we decided to get dinner for that night - fresh lobster of course.  The small lobster boats pull up outside this doorway, put their lobsters in these crates then the dock workers weigh them, pay them and we eat them.  Aunt Wende brought a cooler - so they packed it full of the live lobsters and mussels and we were off to visit some "cottages".

This is the summer "cottage" we toured, The Breakers.  It was built by the Vanderbilts (Gloria Vanderbilts family) with their family fortune they made from building railroads in the late 1800s.  This was their summer cottage, which they spent only 8-10 weeks in per year during the hot summer months.  There are many "cottages" you can visit in Newport - but we just had time for one.

Can you imagine cleaning this house?  They had 33 bedrooms just for the staff!

It seems you could make a LOT of money building railroads.  This was their formal dining room.  

The children that lived here during the summer months used to slide down this staircase on trays from the kitchen - nice playground.

Yea - this is definitely a dream house...and we'll just keep dreaming.

Sailing...

9:00 am Friday morning - and we are heading to Bowen's Wharf in Newport, Rhode Island...about 25 minutes from Aunt Wende's house.  It's a commercial wharf that makes you feel like you are back in the 1700 or 1800s..

First on the list,  going sailing in the "Sailing Capital of the World" on this boat - the Adirondack II. This sail boat is a classic Pilot Schooner that worked the coast of New England throughout the 19th century.

We had a great spot in the sailboat - right by the captain...who was a VERY interesting man.  He has been a private captain on yachts, sails private boats for clients in the Caribbean in the winter and sails in Newport during the summer and fall as Rhode Island is his home.

We sailed past islands, a 19th Century military fort, beautiful old lighthouse, huge mansions and beautiful coastline.  After sailing, it was time for lunch.

Aunt Wende took us to the Clark Cooke House, which was built in the 18th- century.  We ate in this room - with the walls opened wide to the wharf outside - yep - that's water and the dock.  Another "first" to check-off our list - our first lobster rolls for lunch.  Grandma Donna - we ate one for you!

Capital City and Ghosts

We arrived in Rhode Island and headed straight to dinner.  The view from our table was of the state capital.  If it looks like the National Capital building, it was the same architect who designed it.

Sarah made me sit by the window on the flight from Chicago to Providence, however I only kept the window shade open on take-off and landing.   I preferred to keep my mind on things INSIDE the plane, rather than 32,000 feet below me.

After dinner we made our way up to the "East Side" to Roger Williams Park.  The park has a great view of downtown Providence.

Here's city-girl Sarah...

                     






                 ...and here is city-girl...me.  One big difference we have learned already - there is A LOT more going on in downtown Providence than in downtown Huntington or Ft. Wayne.






We came up to Roger Williams Park as it was the starting point for our ghost tour last night.  Dillon, our tour guide was very animated and was a wonderful story-teller.  We got to hear lots of history along with unusual "happenings" that have been reported in certain homes and buildings over the last couple hundred years.  Boo!

We Are On Our Way

OK - It's early, we are in the car, we are dressed and we are smiling because we are heading to the airport.

Sarah was a great help at the airport, as I have only flown in small private planes.  However, she should have given me a little bit of a warning before we got to security as I had to get patted down for a very specific reason.  Sarah says to ask me about it...I'll tell some of you - but not here in an open forum!




We made it to Chicago's O'Hara Airport in about 2 minutes - thanks to the time zone change.

We had a very long lay-over in Chicago, but we pre-planned our entertainment.  Uh-huh - the most talked about book right now - hey, a girls gotta keep up on current items and events.

Next stop, Providence, Rhode Island!

Join Us!

Sarah and I are off to New England on Thursday to take my Aunt Wende up on an offer that she has been promising me for years...to fly out with a friend for some sightseeing and spoiling that only Aunts and Grandmas can get away with without feeling guilty.  We are busy packing and busy telling our families not to miss us too much...

There's Bo...

...and Roxy...








and of course...Bella with the electric eyes.

Our human-families might miss us a little bit too...

but we are hoping to come back with lots stories about adventures, new things we saw and learned and maybe an answer to the question..."Is New England really that different from the Mid-West?"...hmmm

So, please join us "virtually" as we travel to Rhode Island and Boston, Massachusetts. We're glad you're coming with us!

Now, back to packing.