Boston

Oh man I love Boston!  This was my second time visiting this beautiful city.

The first time was many years ago when Tom and I were engaged for the first time.

I joined his family on a trip to Boston and New York.  

On the flight over, somewhere over Ohio, Tom proposed.  

He handed me a ring box and popped the question.  

I was shocked, said yes, and then 5 weeks later I got cold feet and called it off.

We went our separate ways and 2 years later we got back together and got married.

That is the very short and easy rendition.

Anyway enough of our crazy courtship- 

 back to Boston...

Our first stop was a tour of Fenway Park.  I admit I was not too excited about this
going in, but I came out ready to cheer on the Red Sox.  I was reeled right in with all the history of
baseball and the city of Boston.  

I love this shot of all the kids in varying degrees of cooperation over taking another dang photo.

This is our tour guide Brian the #1 fan of the Red Sox 

and baseball history buff.  Brian was a great story teller and the bonus

 was his great authentic Boston accent.  

He could convert a baseball atheist into a believer. 

Perched on the  "Green Monsta" if you want to say it like a true Bostonian

In a sea of green, sits a single red chair in the right field bleachers. 

It is Seat 21 in Row 37 of Section 42.  

It is known as the red seat, and marks the spot where Ted Williams hit the longest 

home run in Fenway's 84-year history.

After Fenway, we then headed over to Harvard Square in Cambridge.

Our niece, Lori Wood, led the charge.  She has actually attended Harvard.

The first time I ever met the cute and incredibly bright Lori, was on our visit 20 years ago in her Harvard dorm room.

A rub on John Harvard's boot brings good luck.

 Too many germs for Meg--so just a picture with a pretty fall tree will do.

I love all these kids and it was so much fun being with all of them.

We stopped for a couple hours to let the kids run around in the Boston Common.
I don't know where Sherri and Jill got all their extra energy from but they joined the kids in
a game of ultimate frisbee.  

We ran into some missionaries in the park.  One of them had just arrived in Boston that day.

Bonnie was checking to see if he recognized her son Rock from the missionary training center

in Mexico City, but no luck.

Summer loved this public art project
called "Play Me, I'm Yours."

For a month in the fall, 75 of these colorful, fun pianos were placed all over Boston.

They keep a tarp next to them, with a sign asking to "Please cover me up if it is raining."
What an awesome idea.

I did keep my eye on the dark hoodie man coming Summer's way

We took up a whole trolley to tour the city and had the funniest driver.  Serious drive-by comedy.
He loved what he did and he was good at it.

Old Iron Sides 

And there is our trolley reflection

This was my favorite stop on the freedom trail.
Look at how beautiful this grave yard is.  I love graveyards and find them anything but creepy.

This is where Paul Revere, Samuel Adams and Benjamin Franklin's parents are buried.

Faneuil Hall

From this balcony the Declaration of Independence was read for the first time to a
fired up and ready to fight Boston crowd.

Make way for Ducklings -

 One of our kid's favorite bedtime books is set in Boston.
We caught a glimpse of it from our tour bus.

I had to take a picture of this.

It felt like the good ole days seeing a coin-operated horse and pay phone.  

Now onto NYC where we spent the last 3 days of our trip.