Boston Finale!

This is the last post for Boston...Finally, I know it's taken me forever, but here it is. I can't remember which day this was but it was just Kalli, Steve and I. We went to the Boston Gardens(?) where they have these lovely swan paddle boats. It was fun to go. There were a few live swans and some ducks that kept chasing each other around the pond. We also saw a family of turtles and some ballerinas in a photo shoot. A very eventful time. We joined a class at the statue of George Washington...I think it was George... and we learned a lot about him from this class.
This is me on our lovely swan boat tour. Ignore how awful I look...It was humid and hot walking around!
This lovely picture is from our whale watching tour. As you can see it looks awfully cold right. I'm so smart and thought...I'll be ok without a jacket. I froze and quickly learned my lesson that you should always take a jacket with you. Because it was so foggy when we went, we saw no whales! We really couldn't see much because of the fog, but it was still a fun experience! Walking on the boat was an adventure and I feel like I might understand what it's like to be drunk! I thought I was walking straight but I was far from it! There was a family on our tour and oh my heck were they prepared for a sighting. There were like 5 of them and each had these monstrous cameras. It was pretty funny to watch them!

Random

So, mom emailed us a copy of Grandma Bertha's journal and I was reading it today. It's been pretty awesome. I was only 4 1/2 when she passed away. I have a few memories here and there of her but not many. It's been fun to read about her life. So far she writes a lot about canning at the cannery and being with family. It also makes me feel a little better about my own journal writing...or lack of it. There are many entries where she comments on how fast the time goes between entries, but she keeps trying to do better. I guess I need to do better now. Anyway, I've really enjoyed reading about life through her eyes and getting to know her a little better through her entries.

And I know, I still need to finish the stinking Boston trip. I sure have dragged it out enough....I'm getting there, I just wanted to write about this and then I'll catch up!

Maine!

Well, I'm finally finishing up Boston...only this post deals with Maine! And the pictures are out of order. We ended the day at Bob's Clam Hut. I had my first basket of fish and chips....and it wad pretty good. I also tried some lobster soup....it was good but I don't know how often I would have it!

This is at the Portland Observatory which was closed. It was opening for the season the week after we left, kind of a bummer!

This is an attempt at the jumping pictures...Let's just say that Kiersty is a much better photographer than I am, which is why I didn't post the pictures I took of her attempting the same...

I took lots of pictures of the ocean. I love watching it crash on the rocks! I think that out of all the places we went Maine, was one of my favorite. It is so beautiful there. I wish we could have explored some more. We did find a great outlet mall and shopped through a really amazing rainstorm!

Uh....

So, I realize that I kind of lost steam in the middle of my Boston trip...but I'm still here! I'll finish someday for all those who are just waiting in agony! Now I'm really behind because I have another trip to blog about...I just can't catch a break here!

The Mansions....

So there is a group of homes...mansions that have been preserved and are open to the public to see. We saw three of them, The Breakers, Rosecliff, and Marble House. Unfortunately, you can't take pictures inside so I just have a few shots of the outside and one of just a mansion we passed on the Cliff walk. We saw The Breakers mansion first and it kinda ruined the rest of them. I mean, they're all amazing but the Breakers is CRAZY! It really is just amazing how much time and money went into this house that was a 'summer cottage'. The whole house is just busy, wall to wall, there is something covering every inch of the house. The whole point of these summer cottages was to have these amazing balls, so each house had some sort of ball room. They also had like a type of patio that had like french doors that opened up around the ball room so people could stay in the ball room or go on the patio but the ocean breeze could come in a cool off the ball room. I liked that idea. But back to the house and it's craziness...The study had walls that were painted to look like leather walls and one of the room had platinum panels. Those walls will never tarnish, and would cost a fortune now to have. The kitchen...I loved it, it was so big and there was so much room to cook, probably because the staff was cooking for so many people usually. But I'd love to cook in a kitchen with that much room to move about! Now, out of the three houses we looked at, The Breakers was amazing, but I'd never want to live there, it's just too much. I like things a little more simple! Marble House was pretty amazing in that there were so many different kinds of marble used. Some rooms were kind of ugly in my opinion and I felt sorry for her kids. This lady had 2 sons and 1 daughter. She wanted her daughter to marry a duke so she pretty much dictated this girls life for her, how she sat, what her room looked like, who she married...not fun. Her sons almost seemed forgotten. They had very small rooms in the corner of the house and always had a nanny. Rosecliff, was a much smaller house, compared to the Breakers and Marble House. I like it though. It wasn't quite as extravagant and just looked a little more like a home. And they had this exhibit of wedding dresses throughout the tour that was fun. It was really interesting to see the different styles through the years.

This was just a pretty tree, and it looked perfect for sitting and taking pictures so...naturally, I sat and took a picture!

This is a great mystery of Newport. No one knows what this structure is exactly. Some think it's an old windmill, but it just stand there. So of course we had to see it! It is pretty interesting to go and speculate what it could be, but no one knows....da da dummm! We did a few other sights and ate dinner at a fun little pub/restaurant and then drove back to Boston. We did try and see the coast but it was a little too dark by the time we got there to really see much. I did love Rhode Island, definitely one of my favorite days!

Newport

This is Newport, Rhode Island. I have to say this was one of my favorite days. It was cold but the drive here was pretty great, and I just really loved the town. This is where we started our day. Those houses are at the start of the Cliff Walk. You can walk on a trail that takes you in front of the houses and along the ocean. As you can see, it was a really gray day so the ocean blended in really well with the sky, but I still loved it!

Now this is just a classic picture! I can really see Andrew coming out in the expression Dad is making. Dad likes to make lots of faces any time we try to take a picture...This was a great shot! Dad loved the ocean. He would just stop and stare out on the water while we walked along. I think if it weren't so darn cold up there, he'd love to live near the ocean. I can understand the love of the ocean though. This was only like my 3rd time being near an ocean, and I love it. It's just so amazing to watch the water. Kalli said that the other times they had seen the water it was so peaceful but that day, it was crashing on the rocks. I think sometimes you forget just how powerful that water can be. I remember the first time I swam in the ocean, it was so awesome until that current takes you under longer than you plan. When I put it like that, I'm not really sure why I love the ocean that much...

Here are some other shots of us walking along the Cliff Walk. There were a couple places where you could walk out on the rocks, as you can see, we did walk out. I would hate to lose my balance out there, that was a bit scary!

We stayed on this trail for like 1 or 2 miles, I can't remember. We were on our way to see the Mansions. I'll save those for another day. They were pretty spectacular. I can't imagine living in some of those houses....more on that later!

Walden Pond

I know all these pictures are kind of small, but I just have so many and this was an easier way to share them! Sunday after Kalli and Steve's Stake Conference, we packed a picnic and headed out to Walden Pond. Let me just tell you that we picked a heck of a day to go on a picnic. It was pretty darn cold. If you can see Mom in the pictures you can tell she was cold. She was wearing a down coat, sweaters, a scarf, a nice wool hat and mittens! We gave her a hard time because she

was always cold. But truthfully, I was also quite cold that day! Walden Pond is BEAUTIFUL! I don't know that my pictures really do it justice. We walked around the pond to the site of Henry David Thoreau's cabin. All of these houses we went to visit, were pretty amazing...because they were so small!

I wish that I could take some of the scenery I saw on this trip home with me. I'd love to be able to spend more time at some of these places. The pond was so peaceful and I can only imagine what it would look like in the fall.

After Walden Pond, we drove through the Minuteman National Park and stopped at some of the historical sites along the way. Then we got to Lexington and stopped at the Lexington Battle Green. There is a burial monument here where all those who were slain in battle are buried. I didn't get a picture of that. These pictures are all from the Battle Green. There was a nice man who works for the city I believe. He dresses up all revolutionary style and people can just talk to him about the city, about the history, or just whatever they want to...He was very informative though!