Jon's visit - Off to Boston

 9th - Grandpa and I are driving halfway to Abilene to get Jon.  Once we have retrieved him, the drive back is filled with storm cloud wonder.  At one point, we even get off the road to watch the lightning strikes all around us.  It's so pretty in an eerie, almost frightening way.  Are we going into it or following it?

The rest of the day is devoted to packing and preparing for tomorrow's flight.

10th -   It's up, up, and away.  We have a VERY early morning flight.  Fortunately, all goes well and we are in Boston before we know it.

Step one, take the shuttle into town and then walk.  Walk.  Walk.  Al the way to the clipper ship office and get checked in along with dropping off our luggage.

Now to go see Boston and get some food.  Making a beeline to Faneuil Hall affords us the opportunity to scope out various foods until we land on one particular booth.

Jon finds an upper area to sit and eat and I notice this grouping of signs on the wall.  All are authentic from various times in history.

As we leave the building, right outside the door, in the courtyard, multiple tables are set up for impromptu al fresco chess games.

Jon asks me to play and when the laughter subsides, his disappointment is allayed upon the arrival of another person looking for a chess match.  Yay!

Now --- onto the Freedom Trail and the 1st top is at one of my favorite churches.  Technically called, The Old South Meeting House,  I simply adore the stark white of it and the individual family areas.

As we arrive at the Old City Hall, we take a few minutes to enjoy the Benjamin Franklin statue.

Rounding the next corner brings us to another of the churches.  This time it is King's Chapel and then onto the Granary Burying Ground.

While I have been here several times, I have not taken the time to locate some of the graves from our history.  Always on the lookout for Mother Goose's grave and attempting to stay out of the way from all the student tour groups, it takes us awhile to locate all the ones on my list.

John Hancock Memorial, Paul Revere, and Samuel Adams are soon captured in the camera and we can move on.  Oh, I got a couple of Jon on the search as well.

Continuing on our way, we are soon at the Boston Common and the Common Frog Pond.  Have I seen these before?  I'm not sure.

Near the edge of the park is another monument that is new to me - the Soldiers and Sailors Monument.

Next to the Common is the Public Garden.  We take some time walking through it and I am simply in love with it.

As we sit and enjoy the respite from walking - the local ducks are quite curious about us.  Do we ever wonder if they are thinking, "Oh, look at the one with red hair."

The swan boat rides look pretty soothing as well.  Perhaps next trip.

Well, it appears that the rest of the Freedom Trail will need to be explored later.  Back Bay is the new destination.  I'm a bit shocked.  I never figured Jon as a high end shopper.  Oh, well -- off we go.  Along the way I spot the Emmanuel Church of Boston and love the way it looks in the late afternoon light.  I'd really like to explore it, but that is not an option.  Again, perhaps another trip.

After zipping through several stores, I want ice cream.  I know there is a Ben and Jerry's here somewhere and it doesn't take too long to find it.  Yum.

The day is passing quickly.  We start our trek back to the ship and I actually make Jon stop and do a "I am in Boston" picture.  Yay me.  One for posterity.

Dinner.  Food.  I'm starving and ready to eat.  Legal Sea Foods is right near our ship.  We put our name on the list and take a seat outside.  Lobster, it's what's for dinner.  Oh so very good.  Jon tries a sample platter and loves most of the flavors.  What a great way to end the day, sitting along the bay, eating dinner outside, and relaxing completely.  Nice.

As we walk back to the dock, a quick peek at the aquarium harbor seals.  I love that we can see these without actually going into the building.  What a win.

Time to board the ship.  Oh the view.  YES!  This is one of the reasons I love staying onboard for my hotel room.

Showing Jon around the ship lets me act like I know what I'm doing.

Camera, camera.  My eyes are looking everywhere at once.  Even the moon had decided to participate tonight.  I'm in love.

When I return from my bay basking, I discover that Jon has his 3D pen out and is entertaining the crew.  Soon everyone gathers around and wants a try at it.

It's a great way to end the day and, yawn, I am beat.  Bed time.  Tomorrow is another day.

11th -  We wake up to rain.  I am thrilled that the day will be cooler than yesterday, but Jon has brought a pair of shoes with holes in the bottom.  What?  Now he has wet feet -- this probably doesn't bode well for our day.  After racing through puddles, we find breakfast and then grab a train to Cambridge.  We are off to Harvard and MIT.  As we arrive at Harvard, we are searching for the admissions office and make the obligatory stop at the statue of John Harvard that is not John Harvard.

We find that we have to walk over to the Radcliffe campus which is where the Harvard admissions office is.  ???  I know.  Once there, we pick up some brochures, ask a few questions and determine that Jon would not like it here.  Onto MIT.

That means another quick train ride over to the campus.  Yes, we are still in Cambridge, but a little too far to walk.

We love the campus.  Both of us.  The admissions office is incredibly helpful.  Seriously.  Jon is comfortable enough to just keep asking one question after another and we leave with hope in our hearts.  This place is a perfect fit for him.

As we are walking back to the train, I spot this building that looks like it should have come right out of Dr. Seuss.  Crazy, right?

Okay, the college morning is over.  Now what?  Besides sleeping in the subway and playing on escalators.

How about Chinatown?  This is Jon's request for the next stop.  He has heard about a 3D machine out in the public but has no idea where.

 We wander for awhile and then decide on lunch.

Locating a Japanese restaurant (yes, in Chinatown) our appetites are soon satiated.  I've thoroughly enjoyed my soup but Jon's adventure ended with his mouth a bit on fire.

One more stop for Boba tea and we are out of Chinatown.  No 3D machine.

As we are walking back, the Boston Tea Party Ships and Museum appear right before our very eyes.

I am intrigued and check into taking one of the harbor tours on these ships.  My ultra frugal grandson feels they are too expensive and thus we walk away - straight into the museum.

We peruse all the merchandise for awhile and finally wind up in the tea aisle.  Jon finds some teas that he thinks Grandpa would like, but I get more of a kick out of just knowing what the exact teas were that went overboard.

While in the museum, Jon mentions that he would like to find some new shoes so we do a quick google search and are rerouted towards Academy Sports.

As we walk, these funky LARGE balls are spotted in and outside a window.

At some point, I realize that we are heading straight back to Chinatown.  What?  We round the last corner and are being directed right through the gates again.  Crap.  I'm sure some store in here has taken the name Academy and my GPS just picked them.  Yep.  Great.  Time to turn around.

As we make our U-turn, Jon notices a small exhibit in the walkway.  He turns and walks towards it while I wait for the light to change.  When he returns, he informs me that THAT was the 3D printer.  What?  Let's go back.  I want to see it also.

It is building a chicken and spits one out for free upon completion.  However, there is an older man who looks like he might have a coronary if we are there long enough to receive it.  Jon says there is at least another hour before it will be ready and so off we go.  A quick glance back shows us that the old guy has now moved a chair directly in front of the machine and has hung a bag on the ejection slot.  He REALLY wants this chicken.

Okay, I have once again located shoe stores.  DOWNTOWN.

After the amazing race to get here, Jon decides he doesn't need shoes after all.  I may lose my mind.  Okay - now he wants to return to Back Bay.  The Harry Potter store is once again calling his name.

We walk out empty handed and return to the comic book store for an hour or so.  Without phone power, I locate a corner in the store where I can talk with my daughter while Jon makes the incredibly hard decision of which book to buy.

Finally.  The souvenir has been selected.  Now, for some dinner.  Grandpa and I had dinner at Cafeteria Boston on our last trip here.  Lo and behold, it has appeared in my path once again and I grab the chance.  One amazing salad later, we are again heading back to the ship.

The walk back seems daunting tonight and Jon has decided that he loves the subway.  "Can we take it back please?"  Yeppers.

It's a beautiful night and the harbor is gorgeous.  As we arrive on the ship, we discover that the other ship had a bit of an issue getting back today and is now being towed into dock.  It's great evening entertainment and a relaxing way to end the day.

12th -  Good morning!  It is our last day and I am up early to get pictures of the sunrise.  Yep, I was lazy yesterday and today?  Well I got up super early and still missed it.  Ugh.  However, even a little late is still spectacular.  Agree?

Time to dress, pack, and take subways and shuttles to the airport.  Our little excursion is at an end and it's time to fly.

Upon our arrival back in Dallas, Grandpa treats us to dinner out at Thai Opal.  Happiness in a 16 year old is fun to see.  That's it --- Jen picks Jon up in the morning and this session is kaput.  I had fun Jon, hope you did too.