Our Boston Trip
We left on Tuesday the 6th for Boston. We had a lovely, peaceful drive to Boston. Since Ashleigh was still recovering from her 10 day stomach bug (if we had only known it was going to be 10 days, not the 12 hours everyone else’s was!) she slept through Maryland, Delaware, and New Jersey. She didn’t wake up until we hit the 6:30 traffic on the Cross Bronyx Expressway! She was awake through most of New York, but was back asleep before we hit Connecticut, slept through all of Massachusets, incluidng being carried into the hotel in Worchester.
After an eventful night of crazy hotel hijinks we enjoyed breakfast while our car was towed to the local VW dealership. The valet managed to de-program the car and activated the immobilizer. The car and keys had to be reprogrammed. A few hours late we arrived in Boston to find out we were at the wrong convention center! Oops…Finally we made it to the right place and Wes was able to set up! We arrived around 1:30, which is nap time, and Ashleigh was not allowed in the convention center to set up. So, she and I waited in the lobby and read books for an hour and a half while Wes got everything set up.
We had a relaxing afternoon in the hotel room, and then ventured around Chinatown. Our hotel was three blocks from Chinatown. We had a lovely dinner and ventured back to the hotel. Wednesday Ashleigh and I went to visit Wes at the Convention Center and then went back to the hotel for a nap. On Thursday evening Wes wanted me to venture to the hotel where he was video taping a talk given by one of the John’s Hopkins Physicians, but the thought of taking Ashleigh on the subway, with 2 transfers, at dinner time terrified me. So after he got back to the hotel we ventured to dinner.
Friday was our fun day, Ashleigh and I took the “T” to the New England Aquarium. Wes was even able to take a long lunch and meet us. We had lunch at the Legal Seafood across the street from the aquarium where Ashleigh discovered her love for oyster crackers. I already shared about the aquarium, so I tell you again 
Ashleigh loved the idea of riding the train, but the noise was not much fun. As soon as the first train approached she covered her ears and didn’t take her hands off her ears until we were back above ground. She was also quite disappointed that she did not require a ticket. So, I had to give her the reciept, which she proudly claimed as her ticket! What a kid!
We headed back to the hotel to change our clothes. That evening we had dinner reservations with Wes’s division at Sauciety, the restaurant at the Westin Watefront Hotel, which was next door to the convention center. We had planned to visit the Children’s Museum before dinner, but Ashleigh fell asleep (see sleeping photo in gallery) on the shuttle bus on the way to the convention center. We decided to let her sleep, and we went after dinner. Target sponsored $1 admission on Fridays after 5 PM, and since we got there an hour before closing, they already had their registers shut down and didn’t charge us!
Ashleigh had a BLAST at the Children’s Museum. We first entered an area where there were tons of golf balls, and fun tracks to let the balls follow. Ashleigh LOVED this, however, it was so crowded, after a few minutes, we moved on. We explored the Wild West area, where Ashleigh learned about animal branding, and got to ride some “horses.” We then moved on to weaving.
Once we were done in the Wild West, we moved on to Arthur’s world. Ashleigh got to visit his school, his campground, his kitchen, and his airplane. In the kitchen, they had real appliances they cut down to “kid size”. Ashleigh made us a great meal of pizza and shish kebabs! Once we ushered her on to the next area (remember, we only had an hour!) she was hooked. The next area was the construction zone. I thought for sure we’d be through there and back downstairs in no time. Boy was I wrong!! Ashleigh took one look at the construction trucks and was hooked. She drove them up the hills and down the hills. Through the tunnels and over bridges. She walked around the entire area and found a crane. I showed her how to use the wheels to raise and lower and move the block we placed in the crane. She had a blast playing construction worker!! We were finally able to coax her into the “building trailor”. She and Wes had a great time with the blocks, building, and then knocking down.
When it was time to go she was very upset. She did not want to leave the trucks behind. We went to the gift shop to see what we could find, but they didn’t sell any trucks. We told her that we would make sure she got some for Christmas. We decided it was a perfect Uncle Ted gift. Uncles are good for buying trucks, right?
Saturday Wes broke down his booth as soon as the exhibition hall closed, so we didn’t have to do that Sunday morning. We had a nice evening on the town. We had planned to see some sights, but it was very windy, so we decided to visit Faneuil Hall to do a little shopping and have dinner. I’m sure it would have been a lovely place in July, but on a windy November night, we did not want to be outdoors! We decided to eat at Cheers, as it was the only place that seemed to fit our budget 
I wanted to visit the Beacon Hill location, since that was the origional, and the one the show was based after, but there wasn’t much else to do in that area of town. We actually were not planning on eating at the Cheers af Faneuil Hall, and if you’re thinking about it, don’t bother! The food was nothing special, the service was mediocre, and they cram you in there like sardines. We should have just eaten in the food court! But, it was a nice family meal, and that is what was important.
Ashleigh had a blast in Boston and was very sad to leave. She was very excited to go visit Grandma and Grandpa on the way home and get to pick up Laci though, so that made up for it. If you ask her she will tell you all about riding the “T” and how we had to take two trains (to get to the aquarium). She still loves her Penguin, Cracker, though we’re waiting for that love affair to die down. As a 2 year old she goes through phases where each toy is her favorite and then that toy goes to the backseat. We have never had the fascination with a single toy like most of our friend’s children seem to have. But, that’s ok, it keeps life interesting!
Here are some of the photos, enjoy!!
