Columbus Day

We celebrated Columbus Day by taking the kids to Boston for a little history lesson aboard a pink/purple (the color is up for debate) "Duck Tour." It was really cool! We got to drive around the financial district and see where the Boston Cream Pie was invented, where they read the Declaration of Independence for the very first time (and still do every Fourth of July), the Old North Church where Paul Revere looked for one or two lanterns, and we enjoyed the view from the Charles River as we rode around near the Science Museum. The driver let both of the kids drive the duck for a little while once we were on the river and he even talked about the cost of BU tuition!!! (I'm sure Nana and Papa would have appreciated the conversation). One of the greatest parts of the experience, for me anyway, was the comparison of the city before and after the "Big Dig". I knew I wasn't imagining it!!! The city was a little but ugly when I was there for school. It's gorgeous now with parks everywhere you look and the traffic contained underground. I noticed a significant reduction in the amount of honking that used to drive me crazy.

After we rode the Duck Tour, we went to Faneuil Hall and walked through that building which, believe it or not, after 4 years of college in Boston I had never done. After that, we walked through the Holocaust Memorial and answered some tough questions for Justin. It's very hard to shield your kids from tough realities when they're smart enough to read the words on the monuments! I was in luck with Annalise because I focused simply on the idea that "some people treated some other people very unfairly a long time ago and this is a reminder to us never to do that again."

We watched some street performers and Justin's favorite was a guy who strapped himself into a straight jacket, covered himself with 75 feet of rope, hung himself upside down by his ankles, and managed to get out of it all. In his routine, he mentioned several times how he had the best job in the world and I quickly let Justin know that he was KIDDING and that Justin probably shouldn't turn to this guy for career advice!!!

And what perfect day ends with anything other than sushi? My wonderful husband treated me to some delicious sushi near the Prudential Center and the kids were treated to a taxi ride (with a TV in the backseat) which they enjoyed almost as much as I enjoyed the sushi. Just for reference, Taka Sushi in San Diego still beats the socks out of any sushi restaurant we've tried since being on the East Coast. (And there's no hope for New England Mexican food...).

We took a quick detour on our way home to find Uncle Bryan for a hug and we felt like real locals since we found his place without even getting lost once!