Boston - A city of firsts

Day 2 in Boston started at a glacial pace. A table full of hot coffee, freshly squeezed juices and breakfast goodies rolled in at 8:45. Once the kids were fed and settled (read: iPad) - robe clad and with coffee in hand I got back into bed where I stayed for a couple of hours. As Mel would say - it was glorious.

In the afternoon we found our way to a playground, hot dog stand and Children’s museum, in that order - all excellent. The highlight was the guided ‘duck tour’ of Boston. The tour was aboard an amphibian vehicle that began on land and then entered the river. As one of the earliest American settlements, Boston, through the lens of American history, is the city of “firsts”. First park, first University, first subway, etc. And, as our new Bostonian friend told us - Boston takes that very seriously; Boston IS New England. We ended the day wandering Boston Common with ice cream and cookies.

Wednesday we travelled via high speed ferry to Provincetown, Cape Cod for a beach day. The beach was remote (by urbanite standards) and linked to the town by an unpredictable ‘bus’ that seemed operated by volunteers and ran on island time. The Americans looked very prepared for their beach day - tents, chairs, toys and coolers. We were not and the kids ate most of their snacks on the ferry. So the beach time was only a few hours and then we caught the unpredictable bus to Provincetown. The kids both fell asleep! So, Mel and I were treated to a relatively private drive around cape cod with adult contemporary radio in the background. Weird but enjoyable. The highlight of the day was the town itself. Provincetown is charming and fun and a gay Mecca. Everyone wanted to stay but we had tickets for the 7:30 ferry to Boston for a final night and one last lazy room service morning. It was a very special and memorable 3 days.

Don't look back; a new day is breakin' (lyrics from a Boston’s song)Read more