We joined my family in Boston to celebrate my parents' 50th wedding anniversary.
We stayed at the Hilton Boston Faneuil Hall. It was a great location. The first night, we headed to a classic Boston Irish Pub next door for dinner: Mr. Dooley's.
Tuesday was our Freedom Trail Tour. Our niece studied the American Revolution in school so this was very exciting. We booked a private tour. It was 3 1/2 hours with our own guide.
It was hot. Everyone did very well and we covered a lot of ground, but we were tired by the end of the tour. We had previously made reservations at Legal Sea Foods near the Aquarium for my parents, Glenn and I. It was a terrific meal. My mom had her first lobster roll.
That night, my sister and brother-in-law went to the Red Sox. We asked the kids what they wanted to do. Our nephew really wanted to ride the subway to dinner. I was very unsure of how busy it would be so we made a plan to ride the subway one station and then go to dinner at McDonald's. It was fun. The only hiccup was that only my niece could figure out how to scan the cards.
Wednesday was the reason we were in Boston: the Aquarium Whale Watch. This whole trip started with my Dad's wish to take our niece and nephew whale watching. We had an incredible day. We hung out with a fin whale at the surface for about 20 - 30 minutes. Even the naturalist was surprised by how long the whale hung out. Turns out the whale was pooping. Then, we saw several humpback whales. It was awesome.
We also took a couple hours exploring the Aquarium. Petting sting rays in the touch tank was a highlight. We had a great dinner at Bostonia Public House.
Thursday we headed to the Franklin Park Zoo. We unknowingly entered at the back of the zoo and it appeared deserted. It was so weird. No animals were out yet. Things got better as we made our way to the front. The gorilla exhibit was awesome.
We had set up a private meet and greet with a red panda for my parents and the grandkids. They said it was very cool. For dinner, we headed to the North End to meet up with Laurie and Kate at a classic Italian restaurant - La Famiglia Giorgio. The food was great. Then, we went to a pastry shop for gluten free canolis.
Friday, my family headed home and we switched to the Fairmont Copley Plaza. We had a great lunch at the bar at Atlantic Fish and did a little bar crawl down the street. We had a light dinner in the club lounge and went to bed early.
Saturday, we headed to Fenway. We met Laurie and Kate at Sweet Cheeks for some barbeque. Then, Laurie has access to this special club with lots of memorabilia and nice tables to sit.
We got to visit a little longer until we headed to our seats about 3:30 pm. We had great seats along left field. We were in the shade the whole time. The game was pretty brutal for the Red Sox with the exception of a fun rally at the bottom of the 7th.
We walked back to the hotel. We got back around 9 pm.
On Sunday, I worked until noon. We had a nice brunch at Lucie. Then we wondered down Newberry Street - a cute street with restaurants and shops. We had some sangria and a cheese plate at a cute wine bar and then ice cream at JP Licks. We were back to the hotel around 4 pm. We had happy hour in the lounge and then watched TV.
On Monday, We hung out at the hotel until noon. We took a Lyft to the docks to board the Fast Ferry to Provincetown. It was great. Smooth ride. We saw the fin whale again and a humpback breeching. Our bed and breakfast - Queen Vic - is super cute and comfy.
We walked up Commercial Street. My favorite bar was Harbor Lounge. A very small, simple lounge with good cocktails. We had a great dinner at Mezzatarean. Reminded us a lot of Turkey. We walked back and did a little people watching on a bench in front of the library.
Tuesday - We had our breakfast in bed from the B&B and then walked down to the coffee shop for some cold brew coffee. I had read about some sand dune tours. We walked to the office and were able to get right on the 11 am tour. It was a great tour. We were in a large SUV with a group of 3. Thankfully, Glenn volunteered to sit in the way back since the other three weren't going to do it. It was a very informative tour.
We got back and went to Provincetown Brewing for some nachos and beers. Then, we went to the Lobster Pot. Glenn got steamed clams and I got a hot lobster roll. I had to head back to work so Glenn enjoyed the backyard. We went to Red Inn for happy hour. They have a great view of the waterfront.
We headed back toward our B&B. We had dinner at the Local - a hot dog and a burger. We walked down to the gelato shop. Glenn tried pumpkin pie gelato with whipped cream gelato. He said it was very good. We enjoyed sitting in front of the B&B and headed to bed early.
Wednesday morning we had our breakfast in bed. Glenn walked down to get a cold brew. We checked out around 10:30 am. We visited the Portuguese bakery. The fishermen who started the village were Portuguese. Then, we went to Mayflower Inn so I could try the Portuguese kale soup. It was pretty good. They use kale and a spicy sausage similar to a chorizo. Lunch was a lovely waterfront table at Ross Grill. We had great oysters. I had a French dip and Glenn had a oyster po'boy. Glenn got a soft serve. Then, we headed back to the B&B to grab our things. We headed to the dock and waited for the ferry.
We took the 3 pm fast ferry. No whales this time. Taxis were waiting at the dock so we followed a guy to his taxi around 4:50 pm We were in the lounge by 5:30 pm. Yay for Sky Priority status and pre-check. Overall, a great trip. I'd definitely go back to Provincetown, but I think I'd like to see a few more East Coast seaside towns first.
