Road Trippin' 2013- Massachusetts or Bust

 I grew up with great family Road Trips. We went on one family vacation where we flew before I went to college, but other than that it was road trips all the way. I have always wanted to go to Boston, and New England, and we had to make sure to squeeze it in while we were home in the States for a while!! Anything we can do to help teach American History to the kids as well is high on our list, as I'm not sure the extent of American History lessons they will get overseas.  I am also a firm believer that road trips are not  only full of great fun and adventure-
but they build good life skills too! 

This was a happy moment, we'll let you imagine the whining and bickering that also came along with this journey! ha. Porter is such a good big brother and stuck it out between these two cuties who gave him a run for his money on both sides! We even survived over 2 1/2 hours stuck going nowhere in Manhattan trying to get over the George Washington Bridge. ugh.  These cuties were really so good though, for everything we put them through!

We took the long way around, in order to hit Patti's Pierogis in Fall River, MA! It was featured on DDD on the Food Network, and we are huge suckers for a good Pierogi!! They were delicious! My favorite I think were the Mac 'n Cheese ones. Yum!

With our little crew we hit more of the outdoor/ further out of town sites that gave us a little more flexibility with having to take a guided tour, etc. this time around. There is so much to see in the Boston area that we just scraped the surface. Another trip, perhaps when the kids will be a little better at sitting still will definitely be in order!! Noah and I both love history though, so it was really a win-win no matter which way we went! 

We first decided to hit Concord and Lexington, and it was a great choice! The visitors centers were terrific, and there was tons of exploring outdoors on the paths and trails for the boys!

 Getting a lay of the land at the Old North Bridge Visitor's Center

 Checking out the Bridge where the
"Shots Heard Round the World" were fired!

AND, drumroll please…..

We got the FIRST EVER picture of all three boys looking and smiling directly at the camera!!!!!

In front of a great historical sight no less!!!
Nothing less than a miracle!!

The Minute-Man Statue

 Exploring the bridge itself...

 The 1836 Memorial, 

the first casualties of the American Revolution occurred at the bridge.

Of course I needed to stop by the
 home of Louisa May Alcott as well, 

Orchard House

this is where Little Women is set 

 the marker where the British captured Paul Revere on his Midnight ride

 Lexington Battle Green, complete with costumed Colonist

 Of course the boys enjoyed a little "reverent" wiggle room. It really is such a beautiful park now. So crazy to think of what once happened on that field.

 Although there are so many more downtown things to see and tours to take, the one thing we made sure to hit was of course the Old North Church! I must say, I was kind of impressed with how squished into the city it was. I don't know what I was expecting, as it is a very old church in an old part of town- but anyway- to get a great shot of the whole thing from the front was pretty tricky! (and they were doing some renovations so just got the top). 

It was awesome to see though, and completed the check mark for our one and only "must-see" item!

Porter is always such a good sport to pose for all my pictures, one day the other two might be more cooperative? 

This is them by the large Paul Revere Statue with the Old North Church in the background that you can barely see. Sorry, the sunshine was just too much for the white rooftop!

 The next big stop was Plymouth Rock!

Apparently it was much bigger at some point? but, hey- still pretty awesome

 This is one of my favorite pics of the trip. It is taken just to the right of the actual rock itself, and the boys are overlooking the landing site where the pilgrims would have come ashore. Ronan had begged for this telescope early on in the trip, but it came in quite handy as we went along! 

Love these cute brothers, who also seem to love the water. The ocean seems to be quite calming for our little crew. They could just hang out by the water all day long!

 Plymouth Rock closeup

 Next on the Agenda was Peacefield. 

The Estate of John Adams, lies just outside of Boston. 

I have to admit, I've been super intrigued with John and Abigail Adams, ever since we watched the HBO miniseries "John Adams"! 

It was really a beautiful place, I can see why it was called Peacefield. 

 Now, it wasn't quite as big or grand of an estate overall compared to Mt. Vernon or Monticello,  but I thought it was lovely. Still definitely a fancy farm for those days! 

 Loved these amazing gardens!

 (and I sadly didn't get any pics of the beautiful pond in the back)

The Carriage House was also beautiful

 A little off the beaten path, and poor John Adams doesn't ever get the same kind of cred I don't think that the other Founding Fathers do sometimes, so it wasn't very busy:  

BUT it was definitely a stop I would recommend to anyone! It was beautiful!

The last main thing on our agenda for this trip was to hit the BEACH!!

and we did... several of them.

We were staying at the north end of the city, so we chose to explore Cape Ann instead of Cape Cod this go round. I'm sure either is just amazing though. It was so beautiful, and the boys were in HEAVEN! We have never been to this part of New England before, and I can totally see now why it is  so popular among so many. It was so fantastic!!! 

The only downfall we had was not really being prepared for full beach days full of swim trunks and beach gear. For some reason I had gotten in my head  that it was New England, and still not quite full summer yet, so I was thinking it might still be pretty cold. I thought we would just like to walk along and see the coast.  Now, the water was still probably a bit chilly but we definitely could have spent more days at the beach alone, and it would have been wonderful. Next time I will be more prepared. 

As it was though, we ended up spending far more time playing at the beach than I thought we would and it was probably the favorite thing of all of us. We just rolled up our pants and went at it anyway! 

We hit several beaches as we explored, and each time we like the next one better than the last!

In the end, we decided though that our favorite for this trip was Wingaersheek Beach. It had it all!

Rocks,  to climb on, tide pools to explore, good parking, beautiful lighthouse views (and when the tide is low you can walk across the bay to it) and amazing beach houses that I now have a healthy desire to retire in one day! Unfortunately one of these babies will run us like 4 million dollars- but hey. A girl can dream right?

 Happy Boys.

This was a day that family vacations were made for. 

No fuss, no stress. But calm and peaceful happiness. 

All of my boys were happy and sweet, and having a terrific time. 

All of that equals Mommy getting a little slice of Heaven too. Enjoying the moment. 

Nothing can compare. Love my little family so much.

 We were at FSI for Noah to learn Japanese during this time, and it is extremely difficult to get vacation days while in training. We had to squeeze this trip in when we had a holiday weekend, but it was so fun and I'm so glad we decided to go! Can't wait to go back and see more! A highlight of our year, for sure!