Five whole days without internet access! I survived!
As the stock markets were collapsing (and recovering!) here in New York, I've been in Boston with the family doing some sightseeing and brother-in-law visiting. The weather has been glorious, and the trees in New England are beautiful right now.
So Boston is a lovely city--who knew? I'd only been through it a couple of times, but had never spent a day there. For anyone interested, they have a great science museum overlooking the Charles River--you can also catch the Duck Tours there for an overview of the city. We saw lots of interesting Revolutionary War-related sites, but my daughters were most fascinated by the following:
Salem Witch Trials
Salem is only about 40 minutes away from downtown Boston and worth the trip, especially in October. Several museums have renactments of the trials and the kiddos were transfixed with the whole story, especially the hangings. My youngest is giving a show and tell presentation on it this week. Hopefully she'll skip the part about the dude who was crushed by stones.
Boston Ghosts and Gravestones Tour
This riding/walking tour took us through some of the city's burial grounds (at night) and recalls ghoulish events, murders, and ghost stories like the molasses disaster , a haunted hotel , and hauntings at a library where they have a book bound in human skin. Yuck.
When my daughters' teachers ask what they saw in Boston, I hope that they mention the Freedom Trail and Paul Revere's house, but most likely they will talk about the Boston Strangler and what happens when an executioner uses more or less than 13 knots in a hangman's noose (you don't want to know.)
Okay, so yeah. My daughters like creepy stories.
I'm half expecting a call from the school today.
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15 comments:
Wow, it sounds fascinating! And I'm impressed your kids find it so, what with how young they still are. But it sounds like you gave them a diverse experience to round it out. :)
That does sound really neat. I spent a couple days in Boston while in college but we didn't do anything nearly as cool as that. I have a cousin there and hope to visit if we're ever back stateside.
Janna--My kids are good travelers, but I also prep them for any trip like that with books and information beforehand. It's all in the sell!
Melanie--Boston is a great town for college-aged kids. I'm sure you got a good tour of the city's pubs.
I was there a couple years ago, went to the Isabella Stewart Gardner museum, Quincy Market, very nice town. They must've had some serious Red Sox fever going on there this weekend?
Yes I did. :) We also went to the Cape.
joanne--Yes, Sox fans were excited. And they made it quite clear that Yankee fans weren't welcome in their town.
They seem to have a bit of a one-sided rivalry going on.
I like the Cardinals, followed by the Mets, but both have been a let-down this season.
Too cool- the Salem Witch Trials fascinate me!
Sounds like a great trip, with all of you getting to do/see something you were interested in. No jet lag?
Angie--No jet! We drove from NY, just like the Griswolds.
We had to make a stop in Southampton anyway, so we took the ferry over. I thought my kids might think that was neat, but all I got was a ::yawn::.
Well, I thought it was neat.
Wendy - I'm currently reading, "The Lace Reader" which takes place in and around Salem. Very interesting book with some good witch back stories. You should check it out! Glad you had a good time. Boston is such a great town! Did you hear much about Elizabeth Proctor? I think I mentioned that she's a distant relative of my husband, Chuck.
Boston is a nice place to visit but the driving is horrible. I was just there for a friend's wedding and got lost multiple times even with my GPS. The roads are very confusing. I wish they had laid it out more like here in NY where everything is a grid.
The duck tours are a lot of fun! If you ever get a chance, check it out.
Debbie--Thanks for the book recommendation. I did remember that your husband was related to Elizabeth Proctor. Things didn't turn out so well for her poor husband. She was the one who was pregnant in jail, right?
Aaron--The driving was terrible! Traffic wasn't so bad, but the layout for the roads is crazy. I'm good with directions (seriously, I'm like a homing pigeon) and I got turned around a few times.
I LOVE the Freedom Trail! And Salem has one of the cheesiest ever with exhibits, complete with animatronics, bad lighting, and over-wrought dialogue. Hope you didn't miss THAT....
Sounds like a good trip!
Brian--What IS it with the animatronics in Salem? Especially the HUGE WINGED SATAN in the Salem Witch Museum!
That is EXACTLY the exhibit I'm talking about! Well played!
(and sorry for the garbled post above...)
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