Gloucester & Boston

Homesickness

On our drives around cities, one of our recurring conversations is, “Would you like to live here?” For most cities, Maya has plans of living there someday in the distant future, her future. Particularly on these coastal towns. Yesterday, as we drove past Boston I was speaking in a more present tense than ambiguous future. It was still tongue-in-cheek, but I really loved the town of Plymouth. It felt right. So I’m certain my tone changed a little. After a while, the three of us realized that Ben was quietly crying in the backseat. When we noticed, he exploded into tears crying that he wanted to go home.

I think we’re all missing home a little bit, each in our own way. Maya misses her space to sing alone in her room, her violin, her piano, most of all her friends. Ben misses all things familiar, his friends Luke and Abe, and a stable bedtime (though he doesn’t verbalize that part). Sara misses her own space and privacy. I miss my bed and, honestly, cooking in my own kitchen.

​We are now over halfway home. We have some major adventures ahead of us, though. And despite those feelings above we are very excited for things to come.

Gloucester

my uncle Bob and aunt Mary live in Gloucester Massachusetts. It is a beautiful touristy town overlooking the sea. Their house is tucked away about a block from the ocean with a private pond and beautiful decks. We spent a couple nights with them and then they left letting us use their house for a couple more. It has been our homebase to explore the ocean, Boston, and Plymouth.

​My cousin Matt, their son, was here for the first two days also. We had a wonderful time swimming in the very very cold ocean. I think I saw icebergs, Matt said the water was unbelievably warm.

My aunt MaryEllen, uncle Richard, aunt Beth, and uncle John all joined us for a day in Gloucester. We had lunch, chatted about all sorts of things, but best of all, we went sea glass hunting. The kids found quite a lot, with help from the adults.

Boston

Boston was very historic and very hot. Somehow the hot weather returned to us. We didn’t let that stop Estelle and we hiked the freedom Trail. It’s a trail inlaid into the sidewalks around the historic sites in Boston. It’s made up of red bricks so it’s easy to follow.

We saw several sites along the Freedom Trail. We saw the Boston massacre site, the Boston Common, the state hall, and Benjamin Franklin’s glass harmonica. That last one has a story Sara can tell you; for me the pain is too fresh. We stopped halfway through and watched the World Cup at the oldest tavern in Boston.

I think the kids’ favorite was the USS constitution. It is the oldest floating ship in the U.S. Navy. They were clearly sailors aboard, though they were doing crowd control, not sailing.

Next, we took a ferry back to the beginning of the trail and saw Boston from the water. Being on the water has always been my kids favorite parts of the days.

We ended our day with a Broadway musical In the historic Boston opera House. Aladdin. It did not disappoint!

Plimoth

We traveled back in time to Plimoth Plantation. (In Plymouth, MA) Permanently set in 1629, the final year the pilgrims held their property in common. The plantation hires actors to play the real people who lived in the community. You can ask questions and interact with them and they stay in character. It was very engaging. Afterwards, we walked along the modern day harbor.