A Week in Boston: Part 1

We decided that if we spending the money to take the kids all the way to Boston then we wanted to spend enough time there to really enjoy it.  The timing of the marathon worked well because it was spring break for the kids.  That gave us an extra day to spend although they still missed four days of school.  I tried to ignore all the notes coming home telling me the kids needed to be at school every day this month since they were reviewing for end of level tests.  I rationalized it by telling myself we would be visiting lots of historical sights in Boston.

Our first day in Boston was Saturday.  First we headed to the expo to pick up our race packets.  It was a nightmare trying to push a stroller in there.  There were so many people you couldn't even walk.  The line to buy the Adidas gear wound around the building so many times it must have been a mile long.  By the time we had bought the gear we wanted I just wanted to get out of the building.  It was giving me a headache to be trying to deal with the kids in the middle of all those people.  I didn't even buy the jacket this year because I thought it was an ugly color.  These t-shirts were my favorite find at the expo.

That afternoon Jason took Andrew and Jared to a Red Sox game.  I decided that Nancy and I would take the younger kids to do something else.  Nancy's not a baseball fan and although I like baseball I don't really care to watch games when I don't like either of the teams.  Besides, the tickets were way too expensive to spend the game trying to deal with a toddler instead of watching it.  Last time we went to a game at Fenway Park we had a pole right in front of our seat that blocked half our view of the field.  This time I made sure not to buy tickets that said "obstructed view" but Jason sent me this picture during the game.

Apparently the only tickets available for people from out of town are right behind the poles.  Jared had the Red Sox for his team jersey a couple years ago so I had him bring his hat.  I guess he's got too much of his dad and grandpa in him though because he refused to wear it.  I think they might have cheered for the Red Sox a little though.

While the boys were at the game, Nancy, Kaitlyn, Skyler and I went to the aquarium.  Skyler loved watching the big sea turtles and all the fish. But that was nothing compared to his excitement when he saw the sea otters and seals.  He could have spent hours outside watching them!  Here are the kids at the top of the huge aquarium.

We enjoyed fabulous Italian food in the North End.  I love this picture of Kaitlyn on our way back to the metro with the city in the background.

Sunday was Easter.  It didn't seem much like Easter since we were away from home.  The kids were sad not to have the traditional bunny rolls and dyed eggs for breakfast.  The Easter Bunny managed to find them and bring some bags full of candy to the hotel.

We wanted to go to church on Sunday but I found out from a friend it was stake conference that Sunday in Boston.   We got ready as quickly as we could due to the fact that we were still feeling a little jet lag.  We got on the subway and thought we would make it just in time to church.  That was until we got off the subway and were feeling a little disoriented.  We thought it was a building we had been to last time we were in Boston but as we started walking nothing looked familiar.  Now we were late and trying to walk fast in church shoes.  We realized we must be going the wrong way and turned around.  We finally found the street the church was on but couldn't see numbers on the buildings and had to take a guess which way to go.  Our guess was wrong.  A quarter mile later or so we figured we must have gone the wrong way and turned around again.  The later we got the more we tried to hurry but to my dismay I started to feel a blister on my heel.  By the time we finally saw the church (which was not the building we went to before) we were half an hour late and the building was packed.  People were sitting in the hallways anywhere they could find to sit.  Someone started gathering up some extra chairs from around the building and we were able to squeeze in at the back.  The meeting was wonderful though with lots of music and amazing talks about the Savior and the atonement.  It was the only part of the day that really felt like Easter.  We wanted to go walk around Harvard a bit after church but with blisters on our feet from the walk to the church, Nancy, Kaitlyn and I walked back to the subway in bare feet and then just went back to the hotel to get more comfortable shoes.  I managed to corner the kids just long enough to get one picture in their Easter outfits.

Later in the afternoon we walked a couple blocks from the hotel to the finish line to try to take a few pictures.  It was crazy with so many people there trying to get pictures.  We were trying to meet up with a group of runners from Utah for a newspaper picture but kept losing everyone in the crowd.  Here's the best shot we could get.

We headed to dinner at the pre-race pasta dinner the marathon puts on with our friends and training partners, Missy Allred and her son Thatcher and his wife, Sara.  I shouldn't have been surprised to get there and see the line winding around and down several city blocks.  I didn't want to spend the evening before the race standing on my feet and we almost left and found somewhere else to eat.  I figured it was at least a couple hours wait but the volunteers were telling us it would only be 45 minutes so we decided to stick it out. They were actually right and the line moved fairly quickly.  The biggest hold up was the bag check, another increased security measure that added to the inconvenience.  It was a little chilly and the Allred's weren't dressed warm enough.  We were all grateful when we finally got inside. After dinner there was just enough time to get back to the hotel and get everything arranged for the morning.

After Jason and I left for the race, Nancy and the kids met up with Sara a few blocks from the hotel to watch the race.  Sara had saved them a nice spot to watch.  The weather was perfect for spectating even though it got a little too warm for the runners.  They enjoyed watching the elite runners.  Shortly after Jason and I finished they headed back to the hotel to meet us.  We decided it was the easiest meeting place.  I felt bad the kids didn't get to see any more of the race though.  Sometimes they don't really get a sense of how fast Jason and I are when they don't stick around and see how many runners come in behind us.  By the time the kids got back to the hotel all they wanted to do was swim.   A little later when Skyler was napping we convinced Andrew and Jared to walk back down to the course with us.  Runners were still coming in but with all the security we couldn't get anywhere close to the finish for a picture.

That night we went to a sea food restaurant to celebrate.  You can't get any better fresh sea food than in Boston!

Tuesday we walked the Freedom Trail.  We decided to just walk from the hotel to Boston Common where the trail starts.  Later we regretted that but first thing in the morning when we were feeling fresh it didn't seem too bad.  Actually, it wasn't that early in the morning.  We slept in a bit trying to recover and didn't get out as early as we had planned.

It was one of the few really nice days we had during the week.  It was a good thing since we were outside all day doing a lot of walking.  The kids loved following the red line that started in the park.  They were really concerned about not stepping off the line.

Here we are at the state capitol building at the beginning of the Freedom Trail.  At this point the kids are all smiling and cooperating somewhat for a picture.  The rest of the day it seemed like at least one child didn't want to stop for a picture so most of the pictures I got that day didn't turn out that well.  I guess you'll just have to take my word for it that we really walked the whole trail.  Some of the highlights were the graves of Samuel Adams, John Hancock and Mother Goose, clam chowder for lunch at Faniel Hall, Mike's Pastries in the the North End, Paul Revere's house and the kids couldn't wait to see the church where the lanterns were hung to warn that the British were coming.  So I did include a picture of our stop to eat the yummy cannolis from Mike's Pastries just to show that Jason didn't even want to cooperate for pictures.

By the time we got to the North End it was late afternoon and we were all getting tired.  My legs were really starting to hurt and feel the marathon the day before.  We had already walked a couple miles from the hotel and the longest stretch of the walk lay ahead of us to Bunker Hill monument and the USS Constitution.  All the water bottles were empty, it was getting pretty warm and everyone was thirsty.  Andrew was determined we had to get to Bunker Hill early enough that they were still letting people climb to the top.  We ended up attempting to walk fast but the walk seemed forever, my legs were screaming at me, and I don't think I was the only one feeling this way at this point.  We made it just in time to make the last climb to the top.  We were going to carry Skyler to the top but they wouldn't let us leave the stroller at the bottom unattended so I ended up staying down with Skyler.  They said I could go up after everyone else but the 294 steps to the top didn't sound appealing at that point so I ended up skipping the climb.  The kids and Jason wouldn't give me a break the rest of the trip teasing me about being a wimp for not climbing to the top.  To be honest it wasn't the climb up I was worried about it was the climb down. You know what I mean if you've ever run a marathon.

The last stop for the day was the USS Constitution.  I think this was a favorite of the day for the kids.  They really enjoyed seeing the old battleship.

Unfortunately there wasn't a subway line close to where the trail ended so we had a fairly long walk back to the North End.  We met with some friends of ours for dinner that were in town for the marathon and finally made it back to the hotel late to crash in bed after a long day.  Maybe the day after the marathon isn't the best day for the Freedom Trail...

I intended to make the week one long post but since I've been working on this for weeks and can't seem to get it finished keep posted for Part 2.