Dave suggested taking the the boat from Hingham into Boston over the three day Thanksgiving
Weekend. We had a blast pretending to be tourists.
Boarding the boat
Hingham shipyard
The boat was decorated for Christmas!
All smiles as we wait for the boat to leave...
Unfortunately we got the regular boat, not the smoother catamaran, and Eva and I felt a tiny bit queasy....
It really wasn't that bad.. We were just being silly.
After a 30 minute ride, we arrived in Boston. We explored and did lots of walking...
The tree at Quincy Marketplace/Faneuil Hall
We walked through Fanueil Hall, looking at all of the yummy food stands, and got hungrier by the minute. There were so many choices.
After careful consideration of the many choices, we each picked out a little snack...and enjoyed it in the big rotunda area.
We had to stop at the 'press a penny' machine.
We did a bit of Christmas shopping and browsing.
Next we explored some of the other floors of Faneuil Hall and learned a lot about its history. We sat through a 20 minute presentation in the courtroom where Daniel Webster, our town's founder, had once stood.
The 13 Colonies
After all of the history talk, the kids were getting antsy to get to the new carousel on the Rose Kennedy Greenway.
On the way there, we stopped to watch the street performers at Quincy Market.
Hooray, the sun came out!
Finally we made it to the carousel. The animals were so unique! My favorites were the grasshopper and the lobster.
The kids were lucky enough to be first in line and each one got the animal they had hoped for.
Liam scrambled to the whale...
Eva happily chose the fox, and Amanda rode the owl.
After some shopping and browsing, we went looking for a place to eat lunch. Along the way, a monk approached us and gave each of the kids a red string bracelet with a bell. I explained to them that the man was spreading peace.
I told them that anytime they felt like fighting, they should ring their bell to remind themselves to be peaceful. Liam really took it seriously!! Even this morning the girls were arguing about something and Liam began frantically waving his wrist around, jangling the tiny bell.
We made our way to the North End. No, we didn't ride in the carriage. I just thought it was neat.
The North End has some of the most beautiful side streets.....
.....And authentic Italian restaurants.
We had lunch in the North End at one of the restaurants Dave used to go to when he worked in that area.
Unfortunately I hadn't been there since before I learned of my dairy/egg allergies....and didn't know that 99% of the menu was homemade pasta with eggs in it! What a disappointment.
The waiter was awesome and suggested a chicken and spinach dish instead, which was mighty tasty (and healthy!)
Lasagna, chicken parm, spaghetti bolognese, and chicken/sausage cacciatore...oh my! Everyone enjoyed sharing and sampling.
Before leaving the North End, we stopped at Mike's Bakery and let the kids each pick out a fancy treat.
We stopped briefly to let the kids burn off some calories at the playground, and then made our way back to the Aquarium's IMAX Theatre. We got there just in time to see Sharks in 3D.
It was my first time seeing a 3D movie at the theatre and it was amazing!! We learned a lot about Great White Sharks.
Finally it was time to make our way back to the boat dock. While waiting to board, the kids happily ate their treats.
On the ride back to Hingham, we got the catamaran! We all did Mad Libs and add-on drawings and before we knew it, the ride was over.
We stopped for pizza at Poopsie's...and made our way home. What a day!
It turned out to be so much fun that we may just end up making it an annual tradition.
