Boston--woke up, ate our breakfast, loaded and headed out to see Concord and Lexington. These turned out to be favorites for both me and Bryan! I would definitely come back and stay here in Concord! We went and saw the bridge where the first shots of the revolutionary war were fired. They have an actual board from that bridge in the visitor center there. A second visitor center of battle road was the most amazing one we have been to. They did this fabulous multi media presentation on the opening of the war and it was incredible and informative at the same time. It is a MUST do in my book!! We saw the road Paul Revere road on and was even captured on after he gave the famous signal 1 if by land, 2 if by sea and took off on horse to warn John Hancock and Samuel Adams that they were coming for them. (The British took the faster sea route). You can also see Paul Revere's house in Boston and he is buried in the cemetery there along with Samuel Adams and "Mother Goose" who raised 20 kids. Also, Benjamin Franklin's parents. But over in Concord we saw the homes of Ralph Waldo Emerson and Louisa May Alcott. Abby bought the book "Little Women" at the visitor center, now she will have something to read on the long drive home. The visitor center also had 1 of the 4 cannons that had been smuggled out of Boston and that the Redcoats were coming to confiscate. After seeing these things we headed back into Boston.
We did the historical walking tour through Boston that is a must do for everyone. who makes it this far north. We saw the site of the Boston Massacre and the boston tea party. Annie made us run to the harbor so she could throw tea in it. Bryan dropped us off since there was no place to park, but when we got there, her tea wasn't in her fanny pack...she had left it in the car....poor girl....she was very sad about that. Side note: While we continue to make fun of Annie and her fanny pack....it is awesome. We always give her stuff to hold for us because we always have it with us and her hands are free. After the tour we went to the market and let the kids all pick where and what they wanted to eat out of all the vendor choices. Everyone was happy.
After Boston we headed to Maine. Ever since Annie did her 5th grade state report on Maine she has been obsessed. She thinks it is the best state ever! We probably didn't help that at all by taking her there in July. It was gorgeous! Annie was ecstatic! And, we got to meet Leslie, who has worked with Bryan for the last 18 months but whom we had never met in person. She met us at a lighthouse in Cape Elizabeth. It was beautiful and the perfect place to meet up. The lighthouse is the oldest still working lighthouse. It was commissioned by George Washington. 8 miles from there a ship was shot down by a German u-boat in WWII. It was fabulous to meet up with Leslie and to see her two cute kids....even if her poor 2 year old DJ got car sick as they pulled into the parking lot and threw up all over himself and the car. She even had her 2 month old baby Rachel with her that my kids just adored. I know it is not easy getting out of the house with kids and Leslie was such a trooper for meeting up with us for a few hours. She bought new clothes at goodwill for her son and joined us for dinner in town. But first we grabbed food at the lighthouse from a food truck that has award winning lobster rolls. Bryan says it was amazing!! We also tried Moxie (a maine state pop--I can see why it didn't make it nationally, but it was great to try it.) I don't love fish or fishy things, so I tried the BMT (basil, mozzarella, tomato, with a balsamic glaze on cibatta) One of the best things I have eaten on our entire trip!!
The kids then decided they just had to swim in the ocean in Maine. So they all changed into their swimsuits and jumped in. James was first in, Abby second, but Annie definitely stayed in the longest!! She is our fish for sure! It was just such a beautiful day. The weather and scenery were perfect.
One funny story: When Annie did her report on Maine she looked up real estate and found her "dream home" For a cool 1.6 million she could buy it and live there and she looked at it often and showed it to anyone who cared to see it. She really really wanted to go see her house in person, so we took a small detour and drove to 19 Tiger Lily Lane, Cape Elizabeth, Maine. The home was just as she knew it would be. The only problem...there was a woman outside. Annie actually got out of the car and told her her story and asked if she could take a photo. She thought it was funny and said of course.
Annie of course had to buy multiple souvenirs from her favorite state...hat, shirt, ornament, ring, postcard, key ring, After her quick shopping trip we grabbed dinner at Gilbert's Chowder house. Bryan really needed to eat a fresh, whole Lobster, and Maine was just the place to do it. He said it was fabulous! As was the chowder. The kids got away with eating chicken fingers and hot dog. After this full day we drove to Vermont for the night.
We have finally reached the northern most and eastern most point in our whole trip. Only 4 days left and so much still to do--sacred grove, hill cumorah pagent, Kirtland, Niagra Falls, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Oklahoma City. All that and the miles and miles to get back home. Wish us luck!
The kids then decided they just had to swim in the ocean in Maine. So they all changed into their swimsuits and jumped in. James was first in, Abby second, but Annie definitely stayed in the longest!! She is our fish for sure! It was just such a beautiful day. The weather and scenery were perfect.
One funny story: When Annie did her report on Maine she looked up real estate and found her "dream home" For a cool 1.6 million she could buy it and live there and she looked at it often and showed it to anyone who cared to see it. She really really wanted to go see her house in person, so we took a small detour and drove to 19 Tiger Lily Lane, Cape Elizabeth, Maine. The home was just as she knew it would be. The only problem...there was a woman outside. Annie actually got out of the car and told her her story and asked if she could take a photo. She thought it was funny and said of course.
Annie of course had to buy multiple souvenirs from her favorite state...hat, shirt, ornament, ring, postcard, key ring, After her quick shopping trip we grabbed dinner at Gilbert's Chowder house. Bryan really needed to eat a fresh, whole Lobster, and Maine was just the place to do it. He said it was fabulous! As was the chowder. The kids got away with eating chicken fingers and hot dog. After this full day we drove to Vermont for the night.
We have finally reached the northern most and eastern most point in our whole trip. Only 4 days left and so much still to do--sacred grove, hill cumorah pagent, Kirtland, Niagra Falls, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Oklahoma City. All that and the miles and miles to get back home. Wish us luck!