Saturday, April 24 2010 - Boston, Massachusetts, Part I

We were up and about a lot earlier than usual, so we decided to make the most of it and head into Boston to see a little bit of the city. While there are plenty of historical things to see, we realized that we have yet to figure out the magic formula of translating interesting historical sites into elements of interest for our kids. Thus, rather than take a stroll down the Freedom Trail (or any appreciable portion of it), we headed to someplace that might be interesting enough to hold their attention - Faneuil Hall.

Downtown Boston was about a 20-minute drive from our hotel in Bedford, MA. The website for Faneuil Hall had provided directions to a parking garage, which is where we headed. Fortunately, Gena remembered *before* we pulled into the parking garage that our clearance is a bit reduced, thanks to the car top carrier we're sporting. So I began looking for an alternate parking option. Amazingly, we found a metered parking spot right on the street nearby. More amazing still, we found ourselves accidentally within a block of the National Park office for historical Boston, and about three blocks from Faneuil Hall itself.

As I came out of the National Park office with a map, there was a tour group across the street, with a guide dressed in full colonial garb, explaining some important historical event that transpired on that portion of sidewalk. Some sort of massacre or other. I thought the kids would be interested in the man's lively talk and information, but they weren't. Not even the funny hat was enough to snag their interest. So we headed off.

Fanueil Hall is a fairly large outdoor and indoor market complex. Lots of small and not-so-small shops and dining establishments. There's a fairly cheesy rip-off reproduction of the Cheers set, and other sorts of stalls and actual stores to choose from. We walked around for a while, grabbed a bite to eat a couple of blocks away, and snapped some photos. The kids were particularly enamored with statues, so we have pictures of them with statues. Of course, my efforts to explain the historical and political significance of the people the statues commemorate was widely lost on the kids. I suppose this is good practice for their teen years.

We headed back to our hotel around 3pm to freshen up before our dinner with Gena's cousin, Emily. I'll make a post about that when I can upload those pictures.