Massachusetts was nothing short of an adventure. Colter got sprayed in the eye with hydraulic oil and we had to use tweezers to pull something out behind Tessa’s ear. With those fun adventures, we still had time to sight-see which included Copp’s Hill burying ground, Bunker HIll Monument, Freedom Trail, and Navy ships. We also fit in a whale watching harbor tour.
On our way from Maine, we stopped one night at a Walmart in New Hampshire, on our way to Massachusetts. When we went to raise the jacks the next morning they wouldn’t come up into travel mode. Troubleshooting was our first try at getting them up. When that didn’t work, Colter decided to manually release the jacks. He crawled under the RV on his back to release the jack. When he turned the knob on the very first jack a clear liquid shot right into his face. He quickly sat up and I grabbed some water so he could rinse his eyes out. I called my optometrist brother to see if we needed to do anything else. He said that Colter should be fine with just rinsing out his eyes. We were really happy to hear the good news.
So Colter kept working on the jacks to get the other three jacks into travel mode. Then we were off to our next state. Massachusetts.
There are so many sights to see around Boston, Massachusetts because of the vast history that happened here. You have to go along the Freedom Trail if you go to Boston. This trail links 16 historical sights, via red brick markers, that were monumental in the history of the United States. The path is 2.5 miles and includes the following landmarks:
Boston Common
Massachusetts State House
Park Street Church
Granary Burying Ground
King’s Chapel and Burying Ground
Benjamin Franklin statue
Old Corner Bookstore
Old South Meeting House
Old State House
Site of the Boston Massacre
Faneuil Hall (this is where you can find the Freedom Trail Visitor’s Center)
Paul Revere House
Old North Church
Copp’s Hill Burying Ground
USS Constituion
Bunker Hill Monument
Fort Point / Boston Children’s Museum
Our family personally didn’t make it to all the stops on the Freedom Trail but one of our favorites was Bunker Hill Monument. Here you can climb all 294 steps to look out of the top over the city. All five of us made it up, including our little three year old. It was so interesting to read the history of the battle that was fought on these grounds.
Another favorite place was Paul Revere’s house and the Old North Church. There are stories told here about Paul Revere and the Old Church that you just have to be in that area to experience the spirit of the history that occurred in that place. We didn’t pay to go into either of the buildings but just being on the street was exciting.
The ships were amazing. It was so fun to be able to tour the USS Constitution, go up and down the stairs/ladders, see how they all lived on the ship and had their roles and responsibilities. The visitors’ center does a great job of teaching you how ships were built and allows you to explore more into history. Our girls favorite part of the center was playing in the hammocks. If you are lucky, you may even pass a sailor or two and grab a quick picture!
Faneuil Hall Marketplace is essentially a large shopping mall with places to eat. We visited one of the Cheer’s Restaurant (this is the show that I apparently fell asleep watching when I was little) and had some more clam chowder but this time it was in a bread bowl. It was so yummy!
While we were in Boston, we had to have some Boston Clam chowder. Legal Oysteria was the closest stop on our way from Bunker Hill to the laundromat so we ordered some soup to go. All I have to say is that the traffic is crazy in Boston. I ran into the restaurant while Colter drove around with the girls and then he waited for a quick moment outside the front door of the restaurant while I jumped back in the car, then we were off.
If you like the water and animals, a Boston Harbor Cruise should be on your list while you are in town. We went whale watching and it was amazing. These whales are huge and it is really neat to see them breach the surface. It is like an aquatic version of “Where is Waldo.” The boats are large so you don’t feel the waves as much but I still got a little sea-sick, so every once in a while, I went outside and sat on the deck to get some fresh air.
It was one night when we were coming back from Boston to our campsite, at Lorraine Park Campground, when Tessa said she had a bump behind her ear. When I pulled her hair out of the way and pushed the back of her ear forward I saw a black dot. Upon further examination it was not just a black bump but a tick. Yuck. I went to fetch my tweezers and some rubbing alcohol then I grabbed the end of that little bug and started to yank. It was hard and I couldn’t get it to move. I didn’t want it’s body to break in half or squish it so I let Colter try to get it out of the skin behind Tessa’s ear. At this point Tessa was crying because it hurt when the tick was being pulled out. Fortunately, Colter kept after it and eventually pulled the whole bug out.
After the tick was pulled out, we alcoholed the spot and kept it really clean for the next few days. It must have gotten on her when she was playing in the park. It had a couple of days to get pretty far into her skin.
Lorraine Park Campground was a great spot for us to stay while we were visiting Boston. It has a dump station, bathrooms and a place to fill up fresh water. There were a lot of trees for shade and a little lake that was a short hike from our camping spot. In our campsite, there were little acorns everywhere. Colter showed the girls how to use a slingshot. We spent a whole morning flinging those acorns at the trees.
All of it was an experience but the girls couldn’t miss the Fort Point / Boston Children’s Museum. The climbing walls, building blocks, water features and the contractors corners were all a ton of fun for them. These girls are great at keeping themselves entertained but a children’s museum takes it to an entirely new level and the Boston Children’s Museum did not disappoint.
Massachusetts was so much fun. We only explored the Boston area and barely touched the surface of all the things you can do in Boston. Learning more about our history of the United States was incredible and being in the spot where it all happened brings the stories to life. We are proud to be Americans and are so grateful for those who fought for freedom.
Our next stop was Rhode Island.