Boston is Awesome!

On the first day heading to Boston, we thought it was more important to hit New Hampshire and Maine than it was to settle and relax at the hotel, so we drove the extra hour or so up through New Hampshire, caught a quick cache at a rest stop then continued on to Maine. The first cache we looked for in Maine was at another rest stop, thinking it would be easy to find, but it wasn't. After spending 30 minutes with no luck, we decided to go a little futher into the state. It's lucky that we did, because when we finally found a relatively easy find, we discovered that the cache was hidden at a wharf that John Hancock (signer of the Declaration of Independence...) owned... which, to us, seemed really, really cool and very appropriate. Come to find out, John Hancock owned a lot of things... in fact, most of Boston, it seems. So, it wasn't as cool as we thought, but we still got a little thrill out of the find.




Entering New Hampshire



Entering Maine



Entering Massachusetts



What a great find in Maine!


After satisfying our geocaching urges, we went back to Boston and finally checked into our hotel. We were thinking of eating dinner in Maine, but it was only 3:00 and we weren't hungry, so by the time we got to Boston, we were famished. Asking the hotel manager where to go, she suggested Legal Sea Food. Supposedly, this is a pretty popular local chain that should be on everyones "to-do" list when visiting Boston. I'm sure it's all about what you order, but I wasn't too impressed with my meal. The fish was perfectly cooked, but the ravioli and veggies it was mixed with seemed like it was just thrown together with very little thought into complementary flavors... ok, I'm probably being a little picky, but at $30 entrees I was expecting a lot more. The rest of the family enjoyed their meals, however, so who am I to judge.

Ellen enjoyed the lobster (yes, you heard right),
but what kid doesn't like to play with their food!?!

Ethan with his stuffed shrimp...which he discovered was very "rich".

In the morning, we drove over to my high school buddy's (and one of my groomsmen from our wedding) house. He and his family have been living in Boston for a while now. He and his wife actually graduated from MIT!!! (Yes, they is smart...) Tom, my buddy, suggested that we park at his house and take the subway downtown. This was a great idea! Tom had to work on Friday, but his wonderful wife, Laura, walked us to the subway and gave us all kinds of advice. We even introduced her to geocaching and hit a cool one only 400 feet from her house!!! On top of all this good fortune, we got to ride a subway... one of the items on our "to-do" list. The kids loved riding in the subway!

Their first ride on the subway!

After getting to the Boston Commons, a park in downtown, we decided that we were a bit hungry for lunch. So, on a whim, we decided to hit Cheers, you know, the bar/pub/restauraunt that inspired the TV series... We loved it! The food was good, the ambiance was perfect, and the prices were reasonable. I felt so much better about eating in Boston. I was a bit concerned after the Legal Sea Food experience.

Where Everybody Knows Your Name!

We then went back to the park and found the Freedom Trail tour guide. Ruth ran off to get tickets across the street... when she got there, she realized that the tickets were $2 cheaper per ticket if you buy them online. So, with the help of the iPhone, we did just that. We showed the tour guide the e-mail verifying payment, and he was satisfied... I love technology!!! This tour would turn out to be our second favorite thing to do in Boston. Our tour guide was "Doc" Prescott, one of the 3 freedom riders that doesn't get mentioned as much as Paul Revere... even though, come to find out, he was the only one to actually make it to Concord to warn the Patriots... in fact, Paul Reveere was captured and upon being interrogated, spilled everything, giving the Redcoats all the Patriots' secrets! In fact, he was so forthcoming that they thought he was lying and didn't follow up with any of the leads... maybe that was part of 'ol Paul's plan... Anway, this tour was awesome!!! Having walked for several hours by this time, we were a bit tired. We took the subway back to my friend's and actually hung out with them for some good reminiscing.




Gravesite of James Otis,
the actual man that coined the phrase "taxation without representation"




Legend has it that this is the headstone of  "Mother Goose"

With our tour guide, Doc, at the end of the Freedom Trail

Yesterday, we had planned on getting up a little earlier than we did, but when we finally got around, we drove to Tom and Laura's again, where they fixed us an awesome breakfast. Tom then drove us to a wharf to catch a ferry out to Georges Island. This island is part of the National Park Service. We finally got to see the ocean/harbor! The ferry ride was fun. With the day turning out to be a warm one, it felt nice to have the cool wind in our faces as we rode out into the harbor. Upon getting there, we toured the fort (Fort Warren) for quite some time. It was very pleasant. We thought it was cool that we could just explore at our leisure, climbing in and out of dark rooms and tunnels... though the protective parents in Ruth and me had a few skipped heart beats at a few seemingly dangerous areas that the kids were climbing. This day was turning out to be much more relaxing than the previous. There's something about looking out at the ocean that calms the mind. The kids got to put their feet into the ocean and collect some cool rocks & shells while Ruth and I sat and watched, soaking up some sun... Oh, and we got to do a quick Virtual Cache.

At Fort Warren on Georges Island



Kids playing in the water (Boston Harbor)

We took the ferry back and walked a short distance to the North End, a famous "Little Italy" like area of Boston. This area is very quaint! The roads are narrow, the building are brick, and there's music everywhere. With the advice of our friend Jolene back in Indiana, we walked to La Famiglia Giorgio's... This would end up being our absolute favorite part of Boston! The food and service was incredible!!! We all ate about a third of our meal and were stuffed. I can't say enough about this place, prices were reasonable, taste was incredible, service was excellent, and we will be getting at least a second and possibly a third meal out of the deal!!! If you ever visit Boston, this place should be on the top of your list of things to do. After dinner we walked the block to go to another famous place, Mike's Pastry. We had to get something here, even though none of us felt like eating anything. Ruth picked up a "Lobster Tail" and a few other things that we have yet to eat.

After taking a taxi back to my friends, another one of our "to-do" things, we socialized for a little bit and took off to get some sleep.