Boston Surprises

We just came back from our annual trip to Boston for New Years. We go every year for their First Night celebration and an assortment of other activities including pool time at the hotel, at least one stop at the Museum of Science and lunch at Pizzeria Regina in the North End. This year we added some new meals at Boston landmarks including a lunch at Durgin Park, a dinner at Hammersley's Bistro (one of Betsy's favorite restaurants and we even had an opportunity to chat with Gordon Hammersley) and a breakfast at The Paramount on Beacon Hill. It was also pretty thrilling to be in town when the Pats took the Giants to claim their historic place in NFL history with a 16-0 regular season.

What surprised us this year was the kids' interest in some new activities. First was the Freedom Trail. Sammy and I had recently watched the movie 1776 - the film version of the Broadway show which details the events leading up to July 4, 1776 and the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Consequently, he was able to relate to many of the landmarks and was excited about linking what he learned in the movie with things that we were actually seeing. It was a cold day and Molly did a lot of complaining (soothed with a hot chocolate stop at Starbucks), but Sammy was loving it.

The next surprise was a special CSI exhibit at the Museum of Science. It was very well done and walks you through an interactive investigation of a crime through forensics which requires you to solve the mystery of a murder. A couple of years ago Sammy was very into detective work, but this time it was Molly that fully embraced it, even getting past her anxieties about death to solve the puzzle (the victim's ex-wife did the dirty deed).

Although the kids do like interactive museums, we decided to expose them to some art as well and took them to one of our favorites, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. Again, while Molly complained most of the time, Sammy really got into it, piecing together things he has learned in school over the past couple of years as well as having a general appreciation for all of the different types of art presented.

The last and perhaps most meaningful surprise was this morning. Before going back to work I had a chat with Molly about all of the things we did and asked her which she liked the most. We went through the very long list of activities and restaurants. Her favorite activity - which wasn't even on the list we came up with - truly warmed my heart. On Saturday night we went to Hammersley's with our family friend Jeanne who is one of my mother-in-law's oldest friends. It was about a 15 minute walk from our hotel and while Jeanne and Betsy strolled and chatted behind us, Sammy, Molly and I had a great time holding hands, telling jokes and riddles, and generally fooling around. It was the first time in a while that I was able to leave behind anything that was on my mind and just completely enjoy my kids. This was what Molly declared as her favorite activity and I nearly cried when she told me that.

A nice way to start the new year!