Boston

Ben goes to Boston once a month for work, and since Heidi lives there and I've always wanted to go to Boston I really wanted to tag along on a trip! But this idea started when I was 8 months pregnant, so once Davis was born and old enough to travel we made it happen! I'm so glad we did- it was so fun!

We left on a Friday night after work, Davis was a dreamboat on the flight! He was so sweet and happy and everyone commented on how cute and good he was. I wouldn't normally classify Davis as an "easy" baby- but on this trip he was! He was content and sweet and smiled and slept in the Ergo a lot. We got to our hotel in Cambridge at like 2 am and were completely exhausted. We crashed and met up with Heidi the next morning! We had a yummy lunch (it took us until lunch time to really get going) and then we started on foot seeing the sites of Boston!

One of my favorite places in Boston was easily the Public Garden. It is so beautiful! And they had tulips in bloom everywhere, which are one of my favorite flowers. And this is where the famous "Make Way for Ducklings" statues are (and where the book takes place). That is one of my boys favorite books, so we certainly had to stop and see the ducks!

I also loved the State House. It's also in "Make Way for Ducklings", but since the pictures are all pencil sketches in black and white, I just assumed it was white/gray marble like most state capitols. It was such a fun surprise to see the gold dome and red brick!

We did most of the freedom trail. Heidi is the best tour guide. She took us to all the big sites and had a few interesting facts about each one. We stopped at the cemetery that has John Hancock's grave, along with the Franklin family (although Ben Franklin isn't buried there) and Mother Goose. Hudson really latched on to the concept that Mother Goose is buried there and it's the #2 thing on his list for when he visits Boston (#1 is the Public Garden, obvs). We walked all the way to the North End and saw amazing and beautiful sites along the way.  This one was Ben's favorite- the Old State House. This is the balcony from which the Declaration of Independence was read for the first time. The reenact that every year on July 4th. It's also the site of the Boston Massacre.

We stopped at Heidi's favorite pastry shop and loaded up on pastries (I think Ben picked four to sample) and stopped on a random park bench to enjoy them. Then Heidi did something hilarious and we started laughing super hard (very common when we are together)- and Ben took some pictures mid hysterical laughter. One of my favorite things about being with my sister. 

We met El (my cousin who also lives in Boston) for dinner in the North End at a yummy Italian place. And then we stopped in a charming little dessert shop after. It's a good thing we walked like 10 miles (no kidding- we had FitBit track it) that day!

After a slow Sunday morning in Boston, we headed out to Portsmouth, NH. This little town was so charming! I loved seeing these old churches all over New England. They are so charming and beautiful, I'm so glad they've been preserved. Also, having never been to New England I wanted to be able to see as many states as I could- although Heidi denied me when I said, "Maine is only 13 miles away! Let's go!"

Monday Ben had to actually work, so Heidi and I explored on our own. We went out to Newport, RI (that's three states if anyone is counting) to do a mansion tour. We toured the Breakers, which was the Vanderbilt's summer cottage and it was amazing! 

That night we met Ben back in Boston right in the harbor to have lobster rolls (okay, Ben and Heidi had lobsters, I might have had a hamburger.)

Tuesday was fun as well! We stopped in Heidi's office so I could meet everyone and she could show Davis around. Davis loved spending time with his aunt. In fact, he's been a bad sleeper in general since he was born, but in Boston he started sleeping six hours stretches at night! It was amazing! I hoped it would continue once we were home, but it didn't. Heidi came to visit Utah a week later and he went back to sleeping great again while she was here- so obviously Aunt Heidi is the common factor and we wish she'd just move to Utah already! Back to Tuesday- we wandered around Beacon Hill and did a little shopping before meeting up with Ben for dinner downtown again. El and Heidi's roommate Lauren joined us and we had a grand time!

Wednesday morning we went out to see Walden Pond. It's beautiful! I loved it there! We walked around the whole pond and basically had the whole place to ourselves!

Then we flew home! Davis was a little sweetheart on the flight again and charmed everyone around us. We had a really terrific trip- I loved spending time on the East Coast and mostly seeing my sister.