Travelling with kids and just YOU!: 11/01/2012

Well, since we had made no arrangements to travel this summer due to my husband working at the Orpheum Theater here, we decided to make it a staycation. However, we were delighted to hear that my husband's bestfriend was getting married in New Hampshire. We have never really stayed in NH. We have only driven through it to get to Maine. So, we quickly made arrangements to fly into Boston and rent a car and drive up to New Hampshire for the wedding (it was only a 2hr 20min drive north).


Our vacation stay in N.H. Really cool and rustic!


Our friend's wedding in Freedom, N.H.


The pond

The party begins in the barn! So cool!

The great thing was our timing! We coincidentally went the same time as one of my older son's best friend. The same friends that we met up with last year in Boston (they are Bostonians transplanted to California). We decided to stay at the Residence Inn at Cambridge, MA. In my previous blog, you will see that we stayed at a Residence Inn in Washington, D.C. Because my husband travels so much for work, we had a nice elite status and they gave us a very commodious room with 2 bedrooms each with its own bathroom. Now, most families don't typically get a 2 bedroom apartment-size hotel room with full kitchen.We were very lucky and loved it! I have always said how a kitchen, when one has children, will always make life so much easier.

We flew to Boston in JetBlue. It was a pretty full flight, but I have to say, this airline gave a lot more snacks than most other airlines. Of course, you could always purchase a meal. The movies had to be purchased, but with individual tv monitors, the kids were happy with the children's channels. It is a lot easier, I have to admit, travelling with older children. Mine are now 11 y.o. and 8 y.o. and they are well-seasoned travellers after having to travel everywhere as little babies.

Our arrangement, since we only had 3 days in Boston before heading up to the wedding, was to visit Old Sturbridge Village and then Higgins Armor Museum. Both are in or near Worcester, MA.Sturbridge Village is one of the country’s oldest and largest living history museums, depicting early New England life from 1790-1840 with historians in costume, antique buildings, water-powered mills, and a working farm. Visitors can view antiques, meet heritage breed animals, and enjoy hands-on crafts. The kids had a great time as they could run around and not worry about cars! Each home, store, barn had historians dressed in the time of New England life and would share stories about the building they were representing. The children had the opportunity to watch people spin wool and dye it. They played baseball with the rules from the 1700's. There was a river ride and actually saw the sawmill pond in action as well as the Cardi machine which as powered by water. There was a big summer storm coming so we quickly headed to the Village "visitor's center" and was pleasantly surprised by all the activities for children. The adults had some down time and the kids played more. Bathroom stops were there and the air conditioned building felt very good. After the rain subsided, we visited the gift shop and found a lot of great history books for the kids.

The next day was a trip to Higgins Armory Museum. This place is definitely a great place for young boys. In fact, the hubbies enjoyed it as well. It was quite interesting for me, too. We purchased for the kids a blank shield in which they had an opportunity to decorate it according to the anatomy of a shield. It was a lot of fun. This whole museum was very fascinating. The "talk" about the weaponry was ok. I have to say that the speaker was very knowledgeable, but I think he could have curtailed it a bit more for children. It was also long for a 7 y.o. Great for the adults though and fascinating. This gift shop was incredible. I normally can't stand the gift shops since I have to say "no" 100x, but this one had me going.

At the Visitor Center (Old Sturbridge)


Higgin's Armor Museum

Lots of hands-on activities (Armor Museum)


Sebi and Ava pose

Then it was off to New Hampshire. Freedom, NH was our destination for the wedding. I didn't really know what to expect and it was completely breathtaking! Freedom was about 2 hr and 20 minutes from Boston and a very easy drive. There wasn't much in Freedom and we were forewarned that we get our groceries in Ossippee, which was about 30 minutes prior to reaching Freedom. We had a lovely vacation home that was built via mortise and tenon. The interior was renovated for modern conveniences; however, the structure remained the same. There was one post office with maybe 3 parking spots, maybe 2 B&B's, a sawmill pond, a fire station, and a lot of history. We were completely off the grid (which I have to say was quite nice). The only time we had wifi was if we were in the vacation home or someone else's home.

Old dishwasher

I was happy to have known about the bad deer tick issue this year. NH has a lot of forestry and therefore, deer and therefore, ticks. Every local had the Off Deep Woods spray. Fortunately, I was told by the bride early on to prepare for the ticks as I had 2 children under 12 y.o. I went to REI and they guided me to this application (lotion form) using the sponge attached to the bottle called Ultrathon Insect Repellant. They swore this was the bomb for deer ticks. Since I knew I wouldn't be able to keep an eye on my 2 boys every single minute while they were running around, I purchased it. It was the best thing ever!!! I know about the hazards with Deet, but I also know the hazards with deer tick and I was willing to take my chance. My oldest son gets mosquito bites that make him swell up....a lot! During the time we were there and the boys were outside every single minute and into the evening near water and bushes, etc, we did not get one bug bite of any kind!!! I was a happy mother. Would I use it here in California? Probably not, but in NH and all the hiking and running around with the humid weather....definitely! In fact, when we went back to Boston proper after the wedding, my oldest son got a few mosquito bites which caused the bite to swell and ended up taking benadryl. Sigh. So, 2 thumbs up for this Ultrathon Insect Repellant.

The wedding was beautiful. My husband was the best man and we had a grand time. We met up with friends from Ohio that we haven't seen in ages. It was fun to see their boys.


The Buckingham's


It was Greg's Bday and we celebrated in Portsmouth, ME.

Back in Boston we immediately reserved our seats for a Duck Tour through Boston. We tried getting on these last summer, but we didn't make it because they were sold out early in the morning. So, this year we reserved them a couple days ahead online. It was a great ride on these amphibious military vehicles. The driver was hilarious (theater major) and his knowledge of history was well worth the ride. My oldest son had a chance to drive the duck in the Charles River.

Trinity Church

Our duck in the building (reflection)


The Family on the Duck.

JFK's Residence in Boston


He's cool driving the Duck!

Land and Water

We also visited the Boston Public where the Swan Boats were only $2.75/adults and $1.50/kids.

I had read them Robert McClosky's "Make Way for Ducklings" when they were younger and they also know the story of "The Trumpet Swan" which references Boston. I highly recommend this wonderful and relaxing ride in the Swan Boats. We did a quick stop at Remington's across from the Commons. A stop we used to make when we were performing in the theater. They open late and the atmosphere is casual and great for families. Lovely lunch and then off to see the Prudential Building. Along the way we stopped at the Trinity Church. It's a beautiful church where the stained glass windows have been refurbished ($1 million budget for refurbishing).