Hello gang! I've been away far too long letting mom do these blogs, but after the crazy time I had in Boston last week, I decided to put my trains and trucks to the side and let you all know that dad is on his way to turning me into a history buff!! I wonder how much money that can make me when I grow up??!!
Mom could only hang out for the first day, b/c the rest of the time she had to take classes for her job or something. I'm too young to know the details. Anyway, that meant dad had planned that day out to the MINUTE to make sure the fam got to see as much of Boston as possible. And good ol' dad even told us he figured out a shortcut so that we wouldn't have to pay out the nose for parking and still be close to all the sights & sounds! We left the hotel at 10am...and we finally parked our car at 12pm...dad's shortcut having apparently blown up in his face, as I heard him yelling about having to pay $45 for parking and saving no time. Dad said it was okay though, b/c we got to see a lot of Boston by car. :-)
Finally out of the car, we first stopped at the Public Garden so that I could run around. I'm a dude, but I'm gonna go ahead and say it....the park was pretty!! There was no trash on the walkways anywhere - soooo different than in Chicago!! That said, I was off and running...with my dad behind me of course. I couldn't believe all the wildlife! There were ducks and swan and fish and squirrels....my goodness the squirrels!! They were everywhere! And they weren't like the squirrels I was used to back in Ohio - you know, that scurry away at the faintest of movements. No, these guys just didn't give a rip! As dad's Boston friend, Mike, told us "these squirrels aren't normal." I became entranced by them; I watched intently as one was playing in the grass. It then noticed me and came closer. I gave a little yelp but kept watching. Then it came closer. I yelped a little louder and looked towards mom & dad for reassurance. Then the squirrel moved suddenly and was right next to me. I lost it and started crying and flailing my arms and stomping my feet scared to DEATH. Not sure why, but my parents were laughing hysterically, saying they wish they could've taken a picture of it. As for me, I never felt safe around a squirrel for the rest of the trip. 
To prepare me for Boston, dad bought me a book called Make Way for Ducklings! Apparently it is a classic for children and was adopted by Boston as the city's official children's book (the book takes place in Boston's Public Garden). So when we got to the Public Garden I was so excited to see the Make Way for Ducklings bridge and the island they lived on and the statue of Mrs. Mallard and her ducklings, Jack, Kack, Lack, Mack, Nack, Ouack, Pack, and Quack!
If you are looking at the above picture and think I generally staying put and listening to mom & dad, then you are sadly mistaken. A more appropriate picture is this one as we entered Boston Common:
I could not be contained. I was running to ponds. Then to puddles. Oh look a bench! ...And is that a tree??! That thing is huge!
I was everywhere. Mom though corralled me for long enough to take a semi-decent picture next to a frog statue which sits guarding.....duh, the frog pond!
After leaving the park, I crashed in the stroller and don't know what happened. But dad insisted I include this picture of him and Mike in front of John Hancock's grave. I'm told this guy had something important to do with signing some document. It all goes over my head, but it sounded interesting when dad was explaining it!
I woke up just in time to have some pizza and do some more walking (and show everybody how big I am....."Hudson is THIIIIIIIIIIIISSSSSS big!!!!")
Next we went to see Beacon Hill, one of the oldest parts of Boston, and definitely the wealthiest. My dad showed me around and said "son, these houses are all built in the Federal style; circa 1800-1850. Can you say Fed-er-al? And these small streets were originally alley-ways for back entrances to mansions for the kitchen workers and people such as The Help."
It was a lot to take in! In fact, it got to be too much: too much walking, too much picture-taking, too much of dad's facts....that I literally (and quite deliberately) laid down face first on the Boston sidewalk!
It's not that I was tired or cranky. I found it amusing to be honest. I couldn't believe I was walking about with all this history around me!!!
The next few days were all with dad, while mom took classes back at the hotel. Our first stop was to Concord....and everybody knows it is Concord's Old North Bridge where the Rebels first fired on the British and officially started the Revolutionary War!! And in honor of my great grandma Dee Dee, dad also took me to see the graves of Louisa May Alcott (that's her grave in the picture), Nathaniel Hawthorne, Henry David Thoreau, and Ralph Waldo Emerson!
My Dee Dee loves her graveyards! We also drove to Quincy, where we saw the homes of Presidents John Adams and John Quincy Adams. Here's me loitering in front of Peace Field (John Adams' grand home).
And here I am in front of John Adams' birthplace! I was just so excited that my dad took time out of his day to take me to all these places!!
Back at Mike's house, dad learned that Mike lives right next to Forest Hill Cemetary.....another awesome graveyard. So dad took me along and got pictures me in front everyone's favorite Revolutionary doctor.....Dr. Joseph Warren! Don't make me tell you about him! He also got me stylin in front of Francis Cabot Lowell's grave as well (you know, the guy that started the American Industrial Revolution, duh!).
I'm with Dee Dee, I love graveyards too! I only wish mom could've been there to enjoy it with me & dad. Maybe next time...
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