We went to Boston and Maine last year over Labor Day weekend, but Boston happened to be where Josh’s ICMA City Manager conference was this year. Josh got to go for free – including hotel, so we only had to pay for my flight. I am glad Payson and I went because we met up with some friends of ours from our Kansas days, and we met new friends. Both couples have little boys younger than Payson, so it was fun to see Payson interact with them. Before the conference we went to Cape Cod. We drove to the end of the cape, and saw the ocean around us. It was really pretty. We then got some delicious clam chowder, and other seafood. We walked down to the ocean, and touched the freezing water, and then to finish our day in Cape Cod we went on a little hike/walk with Payson.
While in Boston we ate at lots of good restaurants, went on lots of walks around the Boston Gardens and Boston Common, and did a few things around the Back Bay area where Josh’s conference was. His conference was on the same street (Boylston) where the Boston Bombing happened. One church had lots of ribbons tied to their fence. We think it was because of the Boston bombing. Payson did get to ride his first carousal ever. He wasn’t terribly impressed with it, but I don’t think he hated it either.
One of the days, Payson and I were on our own during the day, so after having brunch with Josh we decided to walk the opposite way of where our hotel was. We ran into the Boston Red Sox Fenway Park stadium. We heard it was a cool stadium because it is the most original stadium of all of them. We also found the Fenway Gardens, and Payson had fun running in and out the garden pathways.
We also went to the historical Boston Public Library, and saw some really old and rare books. The library also had old puppets. They were neat. Across the street from the library is the famous Trinity Church. I would have loved to see the inside, but I was told it cost money, so we ended up not going in. That night we met up with our new friends and got some more seafood!! Payson was pretty good this particular night at the restaurant, however, he decided to grab the water pitcher behind me, and knock it on the floor. Luckily, there wasn’t a ton of water in it, and I don’t think too many people saw. I’m sure most of you know, that 19 month olds and sit down nice restaurants are always an adventure!! By the end of the week, Payson was done with eating out, and so was I- even though it was nice not to cook and clean up!!
One night we met up with our friends for dinner in Little Italy. Payson was super tired because he didn’t take much of a nap that day. One thing that calmed him down during dinner was our serenade. The three little boys were fascinated by the accordion. We also had the best canole at a pastry shop in Little Italy.
The conference ended Wednesday, so Josh took Thursday and Friday off of work. We rented a car and went to Acadia National Park in Maine. On our way to Maine we stopped in Salem, MA. We saw parts of historical Salem, but chose not to pay for any of the museums. The building in the pictures is the old Custom House. We saw the graveyard with graves dating back into the 1700s. Next to the graveyard was the Salem Witch trials memorial of those who lost their lives because they were accused of witchcraft.
Maine was beautiful because the leaves were changing colors, and it was neat to see the ocean from the top of a mountain! We also saw the clearest lake we have ever seen. There were a lot of artists painting pictures of the lake. One part of the area has a land bridge during low-tide, so we walked on it, and saw the ocean on both sides of us!! Josh also surprised Payson and I with a hotel room that had it’s own hot tub. Since the hotel pool area did not have a Jacuzzi, we were excited to go warm up in our own hotel hot tub after we went swimming!
The rest of these pictures are from Saturday back in Boston. The trip was good, but longer than most of our other trips, so I was ready to sleep in my own bed, and not have Payson wake up all night long. He did sleep better after we got home!
