Who's Got the Paine? Summer 2011

Ahhh....Bob Fosse and Gwen Verdon in Damn Yankees!!! However, our pain wasn't the same. Our oldest's friend's father is a Bostonian although they now live in the West Coast. We met up with the Paine family during our historic Freedom Trail. We have done this before but not with our youngest so we met up at the Science Museum. Again, public transportation has access to everything everywhere. We took the "T" to the museum and met up with them. It is a fun museum for the kids. It wasn't too crowded so the kids had a great time. A lot of hands-on activities for the kids.

Then it was off to the Freedom Trail. While walking to the Boston Commons, Bart gave all of us a great perspective/tour of the sights as well as his memories growing up in Boston. Below is a picture of the oldest street in Boston. Yes, that is cobblestone. Very cool, eh?

Once we were near the State House, we found a great site that gives you descriptions of the Freedom Trail. One could click on any site, pending on where you wanted to start or skip, and all the history and information would be available on your smartphone. We started at the Old State House in Beacon Hill. The Freedom Trail can be a short walk or a very long walk. We took the long journey and made sure there were bathroom stops and plenty of water in the hot weather. Note: Boston does not have a lot of public bathrooms. You will have to seek these bathrooms out. I think someone would do well to make a book of public restrooms in Boston proper. Throughout the Freedom Trail there are great historic sites. We visited the cemetary of famous people i.e. Ben Franklin, Paul Revere, etc.

State House on Beacon Hill

Kids had a great time here reading the headstones

Then we headed to Little Italy where the Old North Church is located. It is a beautiful church and interesting seating boxes. The kids enjoyed seeing where Theodore Roosevelt sat in the Old North Church. Of course, we had dinner in the North End where there was pasta after pasta restaurants. Perfect because our kids love pasta with butter and cheese. By the end of the day, they were all beat! Great day for all. If you're ever in the North End, you can also visit the oldest restaurant...Union Bay Oyster House!

Taking a rest from a long hot day!

Old North Church in North End

Theodore Roosevelt sat here.

Paul Revere's house. Is anyone home?

One of our favorite stops each we visit Boston is our drive up to Gloucester in Cape Ann. It has a lot of quaint shops, beaches, and a light house which is a state park as well. Just follow the road around Cape Ann and you'll bump into a lot of various sites that you can casually choose to stop. We typically stop in the town of Gloucester first as it has a nice little beach and lots of parking. Then we loop around from East to West. We promised our youngest that he can have lobster. He was a happy camper when he got to choose his lobster from the traps. They were all laid out in the cover. Fun times!

Gloucester, MA

Halibut Point State Park

We found some inuktuks!

Happy Boy!

What great fun we all had!!! This can be a day trip (all day) or you can spend the night in a quaint B&B or hotel near the water. Lots of things to do and very family friendly!!!

Gotta Dance!!!!

I know it's been a while since I posted. Unfortunately, we got caught during Hurricane Irene when trying to get back to the West Coast and amidst delayed flights, flooding, etc, I lost my timing in my posts. I promise I will catch up. I know some of you are reading my posts for when you travel with children.

This particular post is just to celebrate DANCE! Dance is my passion. It has given me many opportunities in the world of theater. These photos are some of my previous students who are all doing their own dance now. They slip occasionally to my dance class and it's always great to see them. So, I hope you all enjoy these photos. They were taken by my niece who just graduated from College in photography.

 

Happy Birthday Greg!

After our long trip to Cape Ann, we woke up the next day to celebrate my husband's birthday. He wanted to continue the Freedom Trail and head to Charlesyard. My husband loves history and our boys seem to share the same passion. First we went to the New England Aquarium which was less than a 10 minute train ride for us from our hotel. The boys had a really great time and had a chance to "pet" the bonnethead stingrays and sharks. It was all very fun for them. As we walked out of the Aquarium hoping to reserve our seats for the Duckboat ride around Boston, we found they were sold out for the rest of the day. However, when one door closes, another opens. One of Greg's best friends came down from Maine to visit him. LaVoid and his wife, Cat, drove down and we met up later that day. In the meantime, while waiting for LaVoid and Cat, we decided to take the ferry (which was free because of the Charlie card) to see the USS Constitution.

We were hungry when we arrived at Charlesyard. Lo and behold.........a food truck!!!! This truck was called "Go Fish" and it had delicious seafood. We had lunch on the docks and then walked to the USS Constitution museum. It was a great museum with a wonderful tour. After about 1.5 hours, we headed back to the Aquarium to meet with up LaVoid and Cat.

 



 














One of the things I learned in Boston.........no public restrooms are readily available. With kids, this can be tough. Not even a Starbuck's will have a public restroom. Since we were at the Dunkin' Donuts (yep, again for some ice coffee) and they had a bathroom, we all used it. After our snack, we took the train to Harvard Square and walked around campus. It was a great time for Greg and LaVoid to catch up and my boys to talk off Aunt Cat's ears off. After a few hours, we were hungry again. All the walking made us very hungry.








Cat decided to head to Wagumama's. It was a great place for healthy Asian/fusion food. Wonderful atmosphere although I am sure during the school year it's a lot louder. We celebrated Greg's birthday there and then off to Sweets for cupcakes. It was a divine cupcake bakery. We were all getting very tired at the end of the day and decided to head back since LaVoid and Cat had to drive back to Maine. It was humid and looked like rain. So we ended the day and headed back to our hotel. It was a fun day for all of us!

Off to Massachusetts, yes we're off......

Does anyone know the musical? Well, it's "Little Women, The Musical" starring the fabulous Sutton Foster who was in my husband's company when he was working on "Young Frankenstein".

So, we were off to Boston to take the kids on an educational vacation. The last time we were here was when we only had one child and he was not even 2 y.o. yet. I remember living in Brookline for over 3 mos and truly enjoying the neighborhood and its parks. Once again, we were lucky to have had good friends, Bob & Jeff, nearby who lent us their car whenever we wanted. Yes, this is the Bob & Jeff that are in NYC now! They are doing great with Jeff's relocation as Assistant Clinical Professor at Rutgers University.

Tobin Bridge in Boston, MA.

Bunker Hill

We drove up to Boston and it took us about 4 hours. It was a great ride as we did NOT allow the boys to have any DS's! Yes, we were that brave! We really wanted them to see the scenery and how it differed from the West Coast. They are old enough to note the differences. It was a little struggle initially to keep them from whining about not have their DS's, but we persevered and it was great! They started enjoying the views and asking questions. Fortunately, my husband is the historian and had great stories for them all.

As usual, being a family, we enjoy hotels that offer free breakfasts with our stay. We love the Embassy Suites and we used TripAdvisor as a way to review the hotels in Boston. We found one near the Logan Airport and all the reviews stated you couldn't hear the planes. They were correct! We couldn't hear them at all. The Embassy Suites at the Logan Airport was perfect!!!! The only con was the fact that you couldn't park your car yourself. There was valet parking only, but after seeing the facility, we understood why. They were all very gracious and made sure we understood the parking policy. We knew this ahead of time because of TripAdvisor and their reviews. There was an indoor pool and a very large dining area. The MTA (Boston's subway system) was a quick walk through a lovely park. We were about a 15 minutes train ride away from the Commons. The train station was immaculate and children 10 and under are free. My husband and I purchased a Charlie Card for $15/each for 7 days. This got us on all trains, buses and certain ferries. You can't beat that price.

We arrived around dinner time and so once settled, we took the kids on the train and headed to the Commons. We walked briefly through the park and headed to Chinatown. My husband and I have worked at the Wang Theater when we were in Miss Saigon and we remembered a great restaurant called Penang's. It's Malaysian food and since my boys' comfort is rice, we headed straight to Penang's. They were very accommodating and we had a very delicious meal. All four of us were happy. We decided to head back to the hotel for a quick swim and on the way back, my eldest kept saying, "I can't believe there are more Dunkin' Donuts than Starbuck's here!" Yes, Dunkin' Donuts and their lovely coffee and my boys' new found dessert place (Boston Creme donuts were their faves). I personally love their coffee.

Our plan was to go back to some of the places we visited when we were in Boston the first time with our oldest son. So, we drove up to Cape Ann. This place is truly idyllic. It was about an hour and a half to Glaucester. From there you can drive in either direction around the Cape. Our boys only know the West Coast beaches and because it was a hot day, we decided to go to the beach so the kids can stretch and play a bit. As they were heading to the waters, we would hear, "Ouch, ooch, ouch, yow! Mom? There are a lot of rocks at this beach." My West Coast boys seem to think that all beaches have stretches of sand.

 

Halibut Point State Park

After Glaucester, our youngest wanted lobster. He has been wanting lobster since.....well, since forever. He has had some, but not where one is caught live and immediately cooked for him. I know, I know my Asian friends. What Asian doesn't get to catch their food while live and cook it so it's fresh? Ha, ha, ha. Well, we haven't had a lobster caught from the ocean and cooked in front of him. On our way to find lobster, we decided to quickly take a hike through Halibut Point State Park.

Visitor Center (bathrooms too!)

This was another place we had visited years ago and it was exactly the same. The quarry is gorgeous and the hike to the ocean and its tidepools were fun for everyone. We even found some inukshuks! Our boys love stacking rocks and making their mark.

Leaving Halibut Point State Park, led us right to the Lobster Pool diner/stand in Ipswich Bay. It looked like a house that was turned into a lobster house. Our youngest picked his lobster from the water and they cooked it! Boy, was he a happy boy. I would say the prices were tourist prices, but the casual beach ambience was worth it. The backyard opened up to the bay and the water were right there. There were picnic tables on the lovely large lawn area and everyone had their lobster or lobster rolls. Now, our oldest doesn't like seafood. Good thing the menu also had hamburgers and hot dogs. He enjoyed his hot dog while my husband and I devoured our lobster rolls. I didn't realize the prices were that high until I was back in Edgewater, NJ and purchased lobsters at the Fairway Market in Fort Lee for half the price we paid up in Ipswich Bay. Our friend, Bob, who is Boston native, said the lobsters in Ipswich Bay were truly the best!!! Whether it was or not, we aren't sure, but it made us feel better so it was worth it.

 

We headed back home as the sun was setting. It was a beautiful day and a gorgeous drive.

Here's a trivia question: Do you know where to find the room that Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone?

See the yellow portion of the building at the top? The room to the right where the shades are half drawn.

Summer 2011 Week 3

Staying in Edgewater, NJ has been such a great place for the kids. We are less than 5 miles from Port Authority in NYC and it takes us only 20 minutes by bus to get into the city. The NJ Transit is a great. We would have to say that all public transportation here has been superb. You can go online and look at the NJ Transit for their schedule. The bus stop was a block away from my sister's place. Here is the link: http://www.njtransit.com/hp/hp_servlet.srv?hdnPageAction=HomePageTo 
Children 7 and under are free on the bus. You can go to the website to determine how much it costs for older kids and yourself since it's based on zones. Really easy to figure out and when in doubt ask the bus driver. They are really nice and are there to help. On the weekends, the NJTransit is free for all children as long as there is a paying adult. The bus drivers carry change, but it is so much easier when you get into Port Authority to purchase your bus tickets or passes at the machines. The machines take cash or credit/debit cards.

 We went into town to visit Times Square since my boys seemed to have forgotten some of it from our last trip. I can tell you what they DID remember.................Toys R Us! I have to admit, it's a great store. The ferris wheel in the store and all the great toys are really a treat to the eyes. Maybe I'm just a kid at heart.















 





Midweek we had the wonderful opportunity to see my friend, AnnBritt, conduct the musical "Billy Elliot, The Musical". The boys were very excited to see her conduct. We filled them in on the historical facts and of course, the "grown up" language that was normal for that community. The boys really enjoyed it!!! We typically get front mezzanine seats in the Broadway Theater houses. I think it's a better view for everything that happens on stage. At the advice of our friend, Jeffrey, we used BroadwayBox.com to purchase tickets at a discount. We love TKTS, but with children, it's a tough day to stand in that line for so long only to have a slight possibility of getting tickets and getting more than 1 ticket side by side (criticial for families with younger children). Broadwaybox allows you to purchase tickets ahead of time and you get a discount for your seats. Great site and I think you should check it out www.broadwaybox.com.

Summer 2011 Week 2

We are very fortunate to have a lot of friends in NYC. The weather was incredibly hot and humid here and it was tough for us Californians who are not used to the humidity. My girlfriend, AnnBritt, has two lovely boys who are just a year under my two boys. We decided to meet up in Central Park at a Waterplay area. My boys were so excited. Since it had been so hot, they were energized to know there was a waterpark at Central Park (CP).

We met up on CPWest and 70th. We walked into the park and had a snack/breakfast at Le Pain Quotidien, mid-Park at 69th Street. You have to walk into the park to find it. Delicious croissants and real lemonade!!! Everyone was very happy. Then off to Adventure Playground. It was closer to 67th, but really a nice little walk with the kids on a beautiful Sunday. We slapped the sunscreen on and let the boys go. My boys liked having their Keens because they didn't slip climbing on these concrete structures that were wet from the water features there. They had a blast and Annbritt and I had a chance to catch up! It was a great day for all!!!

After all that playing, boys were ready for a snack and so off to the ice cream truck. They seemed to enjoy it...who wouldn't? Fabien loved his Spiderman Popsicle!!! Is it because his dad works for Spiderman, The Musical????