Grab the keys, git in the cah!

Day 12:

We awoke indoors with big beds and floors with carpet which felt a little strange, sharing a bathroom, and not starting a fire first thing. We found a restaurant that served breakfast in popovers at a streetside cafe a short walk from our hotel. It was a beautiful morning and we could have explored Portsmouth all day. We remembered while eating breakfast that we had made popovers while we were spending time at home during the pandemic. These tasted familiar so we must have done something right. Sam also learned who his teacher was for 4th grade and was very excited to discover many of his friends were going to be in his class. Our day wasn’t to be spent in Portsmouth so it was another town going on the list for an east coast return. We instead had a day planned for Boston. So, after a refreshing breakfast and morning walk, we packed up and headed back on the road. Or as tiny Sammy used to say, “Grab the keys, git in the cah!” in his toddler Boston accent, no one ever understood how or why he obtained that but it was adorable.

Our first stop was the USS Constitution. The area was a bit confusing as there are a couple of entrances. There is a museum with artifacts at one end of the shipyard which you can enter for a cash donation – Sam had to use the bathroom, Jeff was parking and had all of our cash, so we headed to the next spot at the other end of the yard, the security checkpoint.  There was a confusing bunch of teenagers? 20 year olds? (I’m terrible at guessing ages) who were funny, possibly just sarcastic, running this checkpoint but we were in a hurry to find a bathroom with no time for banter. We ran through quickly and got Sam to the restroom. Inside this building, I learned a lot about the USS Jamestown, the first US ship to be changed from a war vessel to a humanitarian ship when the British were overtaxing the Irish forcing them to give their crops and livestock as payment. The Irish began to live solely off of potatoes, their most plentiful crop, and what remained after taxation. When the potato blight hit, the small efforts by the British to open soup kitchens, etc. were like a drop in the bucket for the starving Irish. The people of Boston caught wind of what was happening and began putting money together for supplies and food to be sent. As more and more people heard, more sympathy and funds were gathered. The USS Jamestown carried 800 tons of supplies and food to County Cork in March 1847. And it didn’t stop there, the ship continued aid until the crisis was over and brought back many refugees with each trip. The vessel became a symbol of humanitarianism.

In this building, we were also taught about different jobs in the shipyard, like welding and ropemaking. The USS Constitution, Old Ironsides, is the oldest military vessel in the US. We were able to learn about this ship as well as the making of the chains at this facility. We toured the USS Constitution and viewed the USS Cassin Young, with the enormous anchors and cannons. We had some long discussions about how much we wanted to fit into this trip and how to balance seeing all that we wanted to see versus allowing ourselves to really soak up and enjoy those things we were going there for, and maybe even relax a little – it is a vacation after all.  Our original plan included an extra loop with more cities that we cut out. We made a conscious decision to cut some of Boston so that we could come back and really see the city, instead of trying to get it all in, in a day (or two as we had initially planned). Plus, Boston is pricey. We preferred to stay outside the city, which meant drive time in and out. We knew we were going to run out of time to do the Freedom Trail and Fenway on this trip.  Our objectives this time were to hit the USS Constitution, MIT, and Boston Common/the Public Garden (and at least view Fenway, because of course we had to at least SEE it).

So, the next stop was MIT. It is Ben’s dream to eventually go to MIT and become an astrophysicist. We went to the bookstore and felt like it was kind of amazing – I mean it’s a bookstore, with MIT recommendations (also the bathroom door handles had nanotechnology that resterilized itself every few seconds – incredible!), but we weren’t really seeing MIT. Ben was tentative and I could tell it was a combination of nerves and embarrassment, so Jeff and I had to take over. We stopped in at admissions and got a map and some advice from the nice ladies there on what buildings we could go into and what we were looking at. We walked around campus for a bit and then a rain storm hit. It went from a few sprinkles to pouring sheets of rain within minutes and we were running for cover. All our best adventures seem to go this way.  Last summer we were at the bottom of Bryce Canyon when a storm hit and we had to run through the rain, splashing red mud to the top because it can dangerous when it floods (we were safe, it had just started to rain). It was exciting and fun as we raced each other over the paths. The same thing happened in Mammoth Cave National Park. We found ourselves running again, this time across campus looking for a dry place to find our bearings. We ended up under an overhang figuring out our next steps, cutting through a building we weren’t supposed to be in that some students and a professor let us through because we were drenched, and driving around in the car for a bit before we went back to our same parking spot, eating some sandwiches, and checking out the student center. We visited all the bookstores on campus. We saw a kid practicing piano, and others just chatting over homework, we peeked in on some art projects and spotted some nerdy sci-fi posters. All the bike lane signs had bikers with helmets painted on and Google is right across the street. Ben was so happy and comfortable. He was so excited and it was fabulous. It was the first time I remember him being totally embarrassed by his parents.

Sam wanted to drive past Harvard so we did and the campus was a little underwhelming. It was pretty, but just not what we expected. It was almost game time at Fenway so most everything was blocked off. It was like a big party down there, vendors yelling “hot dogs! Get ya hot dogs hea!” and people walking around all in blue and red. We drove in, did a U-turn, and set out for Boston Public Garden. It was an incredibly tranquil, lovely place in the middle of the city. We visited the iconic bridge over the lake, the elms and willows, the musicians, the swan boats, the eccentric landscaping, statues, the carousel, and of course visited Robert McCloskey’s Ducklings. We illegally played catch on the lawn (we didn’t realize we weren’t supposed to until we were leaving). We stepped across the street and ran into Edgar Allen Poe with his raven and dragging along that heavy beating heart.

We left Boston both tired and wanting more. We definitely will be back. We likely will do a cities tour out east at some point without the car topper making us feel uncomfortable about parking. On this night we headed to our hotel in Westport, Massachusetts. Jeff ran into a couple in the hotel elevator who used to live in Westport and come back every year to visit. They recommended a restaurant to us. It was close to closing time so we hurried back out to Bittersweet Farms. When we arrived, the restaurant was closed, but it had a tavern on the lower level serving for a little while longer and willing to seat us. It was quite possibly the best meal of our trip. Our waitress was such a treat. She was chatty and wanted to learn all about us. She shared tips with us about the area and great places to eat. We learned that the owner of the restaurant owned most of the establishments in the town, including our hotel. She said she and her husband used to own a restaurant themselves until repairs became too pricey and they semiretired. She talked baseball, the Sox were playing, they just got Hosmer – a player we saw come up through the Royals. Both teams are awful this year. Again. It was easy and fun. She made us laugh telling us about the feud between the people of Boston and those from New York and New Jersey and when they come in acting like they own the place… she knew we weren’t them right off. I had the best fish tacos I’ve ever eaten. I may have been hungry. It may have been the atmosphere, but they were so good. Ben decided we should eat at more taverns after that. Sam agreed. Jeff always gets the good inside scoop. He says women 30 years old than him are his people – they kind of are. After the meal, we hit the hotel pool and hot tub. They were warm and inviting after a long day and the boys thoroughly enjoyed an empty pool area to practice their cannonballs.

Share this post: on Twitter on Facebook on Google+