WE’RE BACK!
Well, we actually arrived back over 4 months ago, but the holidays + never-ending colds/flu + toddler shenanigans = who has time for a blog post?
Life is finally slowing down…a little…so I finally get to relive our adventures in New England!
First off – New England was as amazing as I hoped it would be!!!
A rare sighting on our trip ~ Vibrant autumn leaves!
And yes, we survived our first extended vacation with our 23 month old…
by the skin of our teeth!
HIGH FIVES ALL AROUND!!!
Mommy and Daddy…I hope you took a nap earlier today!
Everything now seems like such a blur because road tripping with a squirmy, curious, fussy toddler takes things to a whole new mind spinning level!
And like I said in my previous posts, I’m going to share the good and the bad…and the ugly…of our trip…
So let’s just kick things off with LESSON #1:
- Do NOT take the red eye with a toddler!
Surely he will fall asleep after enjoying his warm beverage…
My hubby and I thought it would be the ideal scenario: Bring the car seat on the plane, strap toddler in said car seat into extra seat we purchased, watch as toddler miraculously falls asleep and wakes the next morning refreshed and happy. Right?
WRONG!
This is how it went down:
- We let squirmy Sam get the wiggles out while waiting for our flight to arrive.
- We boarded the plane around 8:40pm, and hubby expertly strapped the car seat into the seat we purchased and inserted Sam.
- The first hour of the flight Sam was content – he even slept a little!
- By around 10:00pm, the LOUD fussies started.
- “Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!”
- Our 4 hour 30 minute flight to Boston seemed like a 10 hour flight!
- “Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!”
- We took turns sitting next to Sam trying to console him to no avail.
- “Here’s your sippy cup.”
- Content for a few minutes.
- “Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!”
- “Mommy is right here Sam! I’m sitting next to you!”
- “Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!”
- Hubby took over and removed Sam from car seat.
- The squirmies began. Sam could not get comfortable, and arms and legs were flailing around.
- Finally…almost 30 minutes before we landed in Boston (from Long Beach, CA), Sam fell asleep.
- Hubby put Sam back in car seat.
- Zzzzz!
Dead tired, we finally landed and let everyone on the plane exit before we even attempted to remove Sam from the car seat.
So now we’ve arrived and gotten our rental car.
Visions of soft pillows and cozy blankets filled our heads as we drove to the Inn at Longwood Medical at 5:00am.
“Your room isn’t ready.”
{Insert sad face}
LESSON #2:
Do not take the red eye because your hotel room is NOT guaranteed first thing in the morning!
“When will it be ready?”
“Around 3:00pm.”
{Insert bigger sad face}
The hotel concierge gave Sam a complimentary hotel teddy bear and did everything to help us.
“You can hang out at the hotel restaurant until your room is ready.”
So with those final words, we dragged our tired bodies and stroller to the restaurant and grabbed a seat in the very back as our makeshift hotel room.
We left our luggage in the car and took turns going to the car and changing there into fresh clothes.
It was a muggy day, so we were both glad we packed shorts and tees.
There was a Dunkin Donuts in the main food court, so we decided to meander over there, have coffee and breakfast sandwiches and map out our day.
Did you know that Dunkin Donuts is like the Starbucks of the east coast?!
We decided to do the “Freedom Trail Tour” at 10:30am since we didn’t want to waste away our day in the restaurant, but before leaving the hotel for our tour, we checked back to see if a room had opened.
“Oh yes, your room is ready!”
But we didn’t go to the room.
We decided to forge ahead and get our day started, so off we went to find the Boston subway, otherwise known as the “T”, to take us to Faneuil Hall, the starting point of the Freedom Trail Tour.
Needing some quick directions, we asked a random girl, “What train takes us to Faneuil Hall?”
“Well, one train takes you one way. And the other train takes you the other way.”
“Ummm…thanks?”
We realized we weren’t the only sleep deprived people.
Nevertheless, we were able to figure out the “T” on our own and miraculously made it to Faneuil Hall with enough time to relax and chat with our tour mates and guide.
Our guide was informative, entertaining, and did I mention…dressed in period attire?
This is what happens when you don’t sleep on your flight!
For $12.00/person, the Freedom Trail Tour takes you on a stroll that highlights 11 historic sites including Faneuil Hall, site of the Boston Massacre, the Old State House, Boston Common, Granary Burying Ground, and the site of the first public school.
I highly recommend this tour if you ever visit Boston!
The tour ended in the Boston Common, so since we were in the area, we decided to explore the Boston Public Garden and enjoy a leisurely stroll through this gorgeous park.
Somebody liked the ducks!
“Make Way for the Ducklings” statues. Our l’tl guy loved it!
By the time we explored the garden, fatigue had set in, and we were ready to return to our hotel for a well deserved nap before heading out to Fenway Park for a Red Sox game!
First Fenway dog!
It was a fun night even though the Red Sox lost.
And that’s a wrap!
And just like that, our first day in Boston was over, and day two of our New England adventure was on the horizon.
After arriving back to the hotel, we fell asleep as soon as our heads hit the pillows!
Filling my passport with family, travel and bliss 