As the biggest Celtics fan, today is probably what Michael has been looking forward to most: BOSTON. And it did not disappoint!

Sheer exhaustion kept us in bed until 9, but we rallied and were up and out of the room by 10am. The late check out worked out perfectly, because we could have everything packed and ready to go but didn’t have to take it to car. To maximize the day, we grabbed breakfast on the go from Dunkin’ Donuts (fear the day with a fully caffeinated Mom after a large frozen coffee) and off we went!

We are staying across the street from TD Garden (Home of the Celtics), so off we went to explore the ProShop and see all things Celtics. As we approached, there were green and white balloons with people dressed in green and white everywhere. We realized it was the dedication ceremony of the new team sponsor Amicus Insurance. Now we could care less about the sponsor but Holy Moly! The 2024 NBA Championship Trophy sure got our attention! (I hope these people don’t mind being a part of our adventure blog 🤣)

And then we went into the Boston ProShop. The store is predominantly Celtics gear with some Bruins as well. And when we say Celtics gear, we mean EVERYTHING Celtics!

Celtics Earrings? ☑️

Celtics Golf Balls? ☑️

Celtics Shoes? ☑️

Celtics Pet Gear? ☑️

And this guy couldn’t be happier!

After we left TD Gardens, we grabbed an Uber (to maximize time) and headed for the heart of Boston and all things treasonous!😁

The Boston Tea Party is one of the best stories of the American Revolution. It was flashy and bold and gave a big old FIE to the King!Unsure what Fie is? Take you whole open hand ✋🏼 , put your thumb on your nose and wave you fingers. In Colonial times, it was a way a to show disgust or outrage. (I apologize now to the boys’ teachers when they do this to be funny this year 😉)

When I was younger, I went to the Boston Tea Party ship with my parents and cousin and loved throwing the “tea” in the harbor. So we decided to do the same with the boys.

The Museum does a really nice job of giving the build up to the Tea Party and the taxation frustrations of the Colonies. Plus, we got to be characters in the town meeting and shout “Huzzah” or stomp your feet when you liked or appreciated something, or to hiss/shout Fie! when you did not. Of course, Mike and I were fully into this and even the boys were laughingly participating.

First, we heard from Mrs. Parker, and then Sam Adams (but not his cousin, from Boston 😂) spoke to rally the meeting to plan the revolt. We shouted Huzzah! and Fie! We shook our fists and stomped our feet – Go forth in treason!!!

Then we went on to their ship – We listened to our guide and shouted Huzzah (even my boys were voluntarily shouting) at the right times. It was cheesy and fun!

I am going to assume no one was claustraphobic at this time because there was not a lot of room in the cargo area. And these ceilings were about 3-4 inches higher than they were at the time 😬

The boys were awesome to play along with their mom ♥️

The final part of the tour was inside the museum with a few movies/presentation about the pressure faced by those who supported the Rebels, a re-enactment of the letters between England and the colonies, and the “shot heard round the world” at the Battles of Lexington and Concord. These were incredibly well made, and would be a great way to start a study of the American Revolution. The museum also has the Robinson Chest. The last known chest to remain from the Boston Tea Party! Legend says that Mr. Robinson found the box in a cove and took it home and hid it in his cellar during the Revolutionary War. After the War, it was displayed and brought out to tell children of the courage of the colonies. Then it became a doll house, a home for kittens, and even had a game board carved in the bottom. They said each of the families’ children would take the box to school show and tells 😊Eventually a member of the family realized the significance of the box and donated it to the museum, who, after verification of age and authenticity, now display.

We loved the museum and even the boys said they had fun 😀

The architecture of the buildings in Boston is incredible. They don’t think a thing in the world about knocking out a piece or part to make it stand out. It was so different that Leo has decided that maybe architecture is what he may want to do. He even started looking up licensing for architects 🤷🏻‍♀️

We then went to find a little more history along the Freedom Trail which runs all through Boston.

The boys love Raising Canes so we stopped in and grabbed it for lunch since Mom’s Cafe is serving dinner tonight at the Warwick, Rhode Island location.

We took an indirect route out of town to stop by a few more famous Boston locations: Boston Public Library, JFK School of Government at Harvard and Harvard itself… The boys said it looked a lot less nerdy than they expected 🤣 We will definitely be back to Boston!

Here we go…. State #47

For the next 3 nights, we are in one location. The boys told us that their favorite parts of vacation are when we are still. Of course, that’s probably because we always do Griswold vacations. If they did “still” vacations, they would want Griswold. Anyway, to balance our trip and compromise a bit, we will be still for 3 nights in Rhode Island. However, it will be a platform to go all around it. On the way to our AirBnB, we passed the largest cemetery we’d ever seen… Lincoln Park Cemetery in Warwick, Rhode Island is one of the largest Jewish cemeteries in the country with over 20,000 graves.

Here we are – home for 3 full nights in Warwick, Rhode Island. We have a lagoon beside us and the water across the street.

The beaches up here are very different than what we are used to… rocky not shelly, and no real waves to speak of, but it is still beautiful. There is a state park at the end of the road, so boys took a run to check it out (after Mike and I already checked when we went to grocery store 😉)

Mom’s cafe was open for dinner tonight serving our vacation favorite of Fajitas and rumor has it that crock pot stew beef and rice is on the menu for tomorrow night 😁And at the request of my boys, we had a pitcher of Mom’s sweet tea (not sweetened tea that they try to pass off up North 😉)

We enjoyed a lazy night of watching TV and relaxing. We found a station showing ’80s TV and we introduced the boys to the awesomeness of The A Team! Leo finally put his Lego set together… and it was what else? Capt America!🇺🇸♥️

And we got an update from Rachael on the puppies ♥️