When we heard that Austen's class was scheduled to walk the Freedom Trail in Boston, we volunteered to chaperone the trip... all of us. Although it must be a little horrifying to be a 12 year old with your whole family schlepping around on your 6th grade field trip, he was a real sport about it. Austen has a super nice class and it was great to share the experience with all of them.
The day was "raw" as we say here in New England. It was gray, rainy, windy and 40 degrees. The trip started and ended at the Bunker Hill Monument in Charlestown. We crossed the Charles River Bridge into Boston and visited the Old North Church ("one if by sea, two if by land") , Paul Revere's house, Old South Meeting House (home of the Tea Debate which led to the Boston Tea Party) & had lunch in Faneuil Hall. The kids re-enacted the Tea Debate which was amazing! We ended up back at the Bunker Hill Monument about 6 hours after we started. We were freezing and some of us had super curly hair (me and the girls!) but we had a blast. I couldn't believe how great the kids all were in less that perfect weather conditions! If you are coming to New England for any reason, go spend a day in Boston. It's got great history, shopping, food and culture.
Bunker Hill is important to us for a few reasons. Gerry's mother's mother was a Breed of Marblehead, MA. Breed's Hill abuts Bunker Hill and was part of the famous Battle of Bunker Hill during the Revolutionary War. Austen's middle name is Breed to carry the family name, and his Auntie Kristin is Kristin Breed.
About 25 years ago *gasp* I was on a bus with several high school classmates and several more French exchange students on a field trip to Boston which included a visit to Bunker Hill. That's where I met my best girlfriend Laurel. She and I have shared more than I'll ever reveal during our friendship.
So, that's where we ended up on Friday night after the field trip... Laurel's house in Andover.
She and her most adorable son Beckett were nice enough to let us crash and warm up after our field trip adventure with Austen and his class!
Here's a cutie picture of Beckett. Laurel adopted him from Ethiopia almost a year ago. He'll be 2 in July and will be welcoming a baby brother when Laurel gets the call, hopefully around Christmas time!
8 comments:
What a coincidence! We're going to be heading to Boston next week, so I'm checking out your links. Thanks!
And congrats to your friend, Laurel! :)
Hey Teresa! That is so awesome! I hope you guys have an amazing time! It's really a fun city. Let me know if you need any more info, and I'm dying to hear about it when you get back!!! xxoo Heather
That sounded like loads of fun and Beckett is super cute :)
Wonderful that the whole family went! I love Boston, it's so rich with history and so much more.
My father grew up in the Boston area, so we grew up visiting the area every year...ah-those were the days.
Thanks, Heather! We'll have about a couple of days in the city proper, so I'd like to hit the highlights. The kids would be tickled to see where the Boston Tea Party event all started, and I think Paul Revere's house will be of interest to them too. So much history is on the east coast that even just walking down the cobbled streets is a treat. That's pretty much how we feel when we go to Philadelphia. :)
It's very cool that Bunker Hill has personal family meaning for you guys! That brings history so much more to life.
We're looking forward to doing birding outside Boston and hope it won't be too cold and windy to go to Cape Cod.
Gosh, Teresa! You'll be so close to here! We're about 2 1/2 hours North of Boston! I'll be thinking of you as I stir up oodles of bubble for an upcoming show!
Have a blast! The Cape will be great. BTW, there's also an amazing Children's Museum & Aquarium in Beantown. You could fill your days quickly~ :)
The Bunker Hill connection is all in-law! lol! I'm from the other side of the Mayflower! :)
C~G! You need to come back to New England!:) It is great, you're right! I'm still watching the snow melt, but I heard the birds for the first time this am and I decided that I'm going to make it!:)
Aw, this looks like so much fun! I've been to Boston a few times and LOVED it but didn't get to do all the fun things that you guys did since it was mostly business (so lots of eating!) =)
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