Boston Family Vacation

We are in Boston for our first family SUMMER vacation. Nathan did most of the planning in the early winter. Together we both threw out cities as ideas and areas we visited in past business travel or childhood family vacations. We chose a Boston family vacation. It’s a place neither of us have traveled to as adults and offers an array of experiences for our whole family. 

Boston has the family vacation combination of rich history, food, harbor, sporting events and museums our kids ranging in ages 6-18 would love we thought. Hunter leaves for college in early July for summer school and football workouts so a summer vacation we felt would give us much-needed family time ahead of the move and change. Summer vacation takes Nathan a lot of coordination in his work to be gone. We couldn’t have done it without his dad, helpful employees and contractors. (Thank you!)We’ve spent three nights here. It’s been much more than we could have planned for and Boston is a city we would definitely return to. There is so much more history to learn from, amazing food choices at an array of restaurants, culture, variety in things to do and it’s clean. We have used public transportation and haven’t had to drive in the traffic but I wouldn’t want to commute in Boston!

Boston has many family friendly areas to visit and stay in but we chose downtown at a Marriott to use our Marriott points. Three cheers for “free” lodging. We would definitely stay here again. Nathan, being the detailed planner he is, did research and the location and room has been a great family vacation set-up. The only thing I did was book transportation. Flying into Boston was much more affordable than I expected from Bismarck and then I found a deal on a rental car, actually a mini-van to hold our “stuff” and crew. (Ironically, the band Boston played in Bismarck the night before our early morning flight. They were on our flight to Minneapolis!)

Today we are venturing to pick up a rental van, packing up and headed to Cape Cod for the “quiet” (as Elizabeth calls it) portion of the final few days of our family vacation. But Boston has surprised me. I’ve visited many American cities, most metropolitan ones actually and Boston is right at the top of my favorites after only three days. 

It helped that the Red Sox won in ten innings over the White Sox. And that the weather has been perfect with highs in the 70’sF and no rain. But also there are little glimpses of the cities we’ve seen that I say, “I could spend another week here!”Last night at dinner, Anika asked her routine end-of-the-day questions she asks us at home. Read about the 4 Daily Questions to ask your kids and spouse here. Everyone had different foods that were their favorites, moments and places we’ve visited and no one had a “worst” moment except Elizabeth falling when she slipped on the bubbles on the floor at the Boston Children’s Museum. Anika’s Q & A is a good indicator Boston was the right choice for us this summer.

I have too many pictures to share in one post but plan to share more about our outings and activities in another post for anyone interested in a future Boston family vacation. Here are a few more iPhone snaps.
An evening view from our Marriott Custom House hotel! Elizabeth found pure joy in running through the fountains on our way back from dinner on our first night. The New England Aquarium for any ages is a great stop but Anika says this is her favorite place. She also dreams of being a future veterinarian. She would volunteer to move into the aquarium to work!As a lifelong Minnesota Twins fan, I feel guilty admitting this next statement. The Boston Red Sox had the BEST professional sports atmosphere as a fan I’ve seen. We wore Ortiz jerseys as it is his last season and he started with the Twins. Hunter has been a fan since he was a little boy. Fenway Park, the seats, the people cheering, the singing, the cheering, the food. It was really fun for us. And you don’t even have to be a baseball fan to enjoy it. Just ask Anika and Elizabeth.Hunter said his favorite meal so far wasn’t all the fresh seafood. Instead it was “brunch” at Mike’s Pastry. I would come back to Boston for a week just for Mike’s Pastry! I would order a different kind of cannoli every day. My first one was Pistaschio. Next up I will order Espresso.Here we are on the trolley in route to the Boston Tea Party Museum. Thanks Boston for a family, fun-filled vacation. Now we’re off to unwind for our first-ever Cape Cod adventure!

What’s your favorite American city to visit? Ahead of this trip, I would have said Chicago, Seattle, Washington D.C. and Austin, Texas. Now Boston is added to my list!