Boston--last day

Thursday, June 17

8:00 a.m. Our last trip to the awesome hotel pool.  Nobody there at first, but then a wonderful older couple from Pennsylvania came in and bonded with the kids.  They largely ignored me and just talked to the kids the whole time, which was perfect.  I love people who talk to my kids.  What a great education!  Noah chatted away with them for a long time, and by the end, the woman had pulled him up onto her lap in the hot tub.  They talked about baseball, history, her childhood growing up with her brother, and lots of other things.  We all got out of the pool and rode the elevator together, and the woman finally said something to me as she was leaving.  She said, "They're good kids."  I could tell she truly meant it, and it made my day. 

We picked up in the room and packed our stuff.  Didn't eat any official breakfast, just snacked.  Mike got done with his half day of work, and we checked out of the hotel and walked to the subway.

We walked to the Cheers bar, and nobody knew my name. Noah said, "I don't see what the big deal is about this place."  It wasn't a big deal to me either, because I never liked that show, but Mike liked it.  I wonder how long that will remain a tourist attraction now that the show is over, and the next generation doesn't even know what it is.

We walked all through Boston Common and ate at a quick, cheap, restaurant called Boloco, where we had good burritos and smoothies.  Then we walked to the Public Garden to ride the swan boats.  I really wanted to do that on our last trip to Boston, because "Make Way for Ducklings" was one of our favorite books. It was neat to get to do it this time, even though we don't read that book much anymore.  Riding the swan boat was very peaceful and relaxing.  Here we are going under the smallest suspension bridge in the world:

We saw ducks and swans, and the best part was that there were ducklings all over the pond.

We rode the subway back to the hotel to pick up our luggage,

and took a taxi to the airport.

When we got on the plane, Mike and the kids sat in one row, and I sat in the row behind them.  I thought it would be a nice little mini vacation for me, but no.  The other two people in my row flirted with each other the entire time.  It was amusing and awkward and painful to listen to.  I tried to read, but I couldn't block them out.  As the plane landed, he got her phone number.  Meanwhile, the kids turned their barf bags into hats:

Our flight out of Chicago was late. We walked by this stage, and Sarah immediately jumped onto it and started a performance.  Notice how filthy she is.  I'm not sure how that happened.

Made it to Peoria about half an hour late, and then waited another half an hour for our one checked bag to appear.  There was a jam in the baggage unloading system.  This definitely marked the official end of the vacation.  When we got home, there was unpacking, laundry, grocery run, tired bickering kids, and a wild angry cat.

Overall, it was a great trip.  Everywhere we went, even in the subway tunnels, the city was clean and most people were nice.  I learned more about American history this week than I did in 16 years of formal education.  I thought it would be interesting, but I didn't expect to be emotionally moved.  Standing right there where America was born made me appreciate the courage of our forefathers, and I think for the first time, I realized that I'm proud to be an American.

I'm also proud of my kids.  They were extremely maddening at times, but for the most part, it was a joy to travel with them.