The Hulsebus Family Dream continues as we woke up in Boston, MA. The only bummer of this part of the trip is that Cindi had to leave the rest of us to work on a last minute Get Motivated opportunity in Canada. Saskatoon, Winnepeg, Edmonton and Toronto to be exact. There are a couple ways to look at this..
1. This means I become Mr. Everything including Dad, Teacher, Cook, Discipliner, Rewarder, Driver, Shopper, Navigator, Event Planner, Cleaner, Story Reader, Referee, Clothes Washer, "it's time to change your underwear" Reminderer, etc. This can appear to be a bit overwhelming!
OR
2. This means I have an opportunity to do exactly what this trip is all about... spending TIME with my family (minus Cindi)! What a great opportunity to just hang out with my boys!
Number 1 can't be avoided but I choose number 2. What an awesome opportunity to just hang out with my kids.
Well it didn't start off all that easy. After watching USC beat Oregon decisively in a WM parking lot in Salem, MA (No we didn't see any witches) and catching some sleep, we left in the dark to drive Cindi to her "first flight out" plane to Canada. (Actually she had to fly to Orlando for a 5 hour layover, then Denver, then to Saskatoon... crazy!). I got her off ok and was feeling pretty good about getting in and out of the Boston airport safely. Sometimes airports can be challenging considering there are yellow height limit signs posted everywhere and our motorhome scrapes it's antena at 12'6". I found this out in downtown Chicago. (You'll have to read the Chicago blog for the details.) So with 3 kids still sleeping I exited Logan International Airport and decided to head South on I-90. I saw a sign that said 13'9" so I figured I was "good to go" into the tunnel that goes under the Boston Harbor. I somewhat calmly cruised up to the toll booth to pay something like 8 bucks (what a ripoff) when the toll booth girl said, "do you have a propane tank on board?" I have to admit I hesitated for just a second... thinking... how should I really answer this one. Unfortunately, for those who know me well, if there is one thing about me that holds true it is that I'm honest, sometimes too honest. Once I said "yes" I knew I was in trouble. She nonchalanly stated, "I'm sorry but you can't go through the tunnel." I thought, "What? That sucks!" Then I replied, as I starred only at the opening of the tunnel, "OK were do I turn around?" She said, "Idunnknow." ...Nice... She called her supervisor, then she said I'd need to deal with the Boston Police. Great... Cindi's been gone for 15 minutes, the kids haven't even woken up yet and I got the police after me. Well the flashing lights arrived which, in some way, was a bit of a relief. There supposed to "Protect and Serve" so I figured this was their chance to "serve me right out of this mess" and somehow figure out how to turn me around. I should mention that I'm towing a "pull car," a Saturn Vue and I CAN'T back up. I should also mention that even if I did have to unhook the Saturn there is only one driver in the family now... me! Tanner can ride a motorcycle but at 12 years old he can't help back us out of this disaster. In addition, I should also, also mention that I asked the girl for my eight bucks back considering I wasn't allowed into the tunnel. She insisted, "I can't." WHAT???!!! I can't go through the tunnel but I still have to pay. WHAT the "beep!" She said it was useless but that she could have her supervisor come over an tell me the same thing. What does Charlie Brown says, "UUGH?!" Man... I go off on tangents explaining things sometimes, don't I? Well the cop comes over and he doesn't know what to do, so he just says, "follow me. I'm going to have to give you a police escort through the tunnel." With lights fully on, he and another cop car, one in front and one back blocking traffic, slowly escort me through the rather lengthy tunnel under the Boston Harbor then up safely to ground level. Fortuneately my propane tank didn't exploded... I guess I had to pay the eight bucks anyway. Whatever.
After parking the rig (the 40' Monaco Diplomat) at a WM in Quincy we unhooked and headed into Boston for a Sunday tour. There is an amazing amount of history in this town. The boys and I stopped first at the US National Park office in the heart of the city. We, actually I, decided it would be a good idea if we all completed another Junior Ranger Book and got another badge. The book lead us on the Freedom Trail Walking Tour. We visited many sites including (OK, here comes the history lesson):
Old State House - Built in 1713, this historic landmark served as a merchants' exchange as well as the seat of colonial and state governments. In 1761 James Otis opposed the Writs of Assistance here, inspiring John Adams to state "then and there the child independence was born." A cobblestone circle beneath its balcony marks the site of the 1770 Boston Massacre when British soldiers fired into a crowd of Bostonians. Fugitive slave Crispus Attucks was among the five victims who died that day.
Old South Meeting House - The event that sealed Old South's place in history is one of the key events that sparked the Revolution-The Boston Tea Party. On the night of December 16, 1773 over 5,000 angry colonists gathered at Old South to protest a tax on tea. After hours of debate, Samuel Adams gave the secret signal that launched the Boston Tea Party. The Sons of Liberty, disguised as Indians, raced to Griffin's Wharf and dumped 342 chests of tea into Boston Harbor.
Faneuil Hall - This old market building, first built in 1742, sits at the site of the old town dock. Town meetings, held here between 1764 and 1774, heard Samuel Adams and others lead cries of protest against the imposition of taxes on the colonies. The building was enlarged in 1806. Frederick Douglass, William Lloyd Garrison, and Lucy Stone brought their struggles for freedom here in the 19th century. Market stalls on the first floor service shoppers much as they did in Paul Revere's day. One of the most famous parts of the building is the original grasshopper weathervane.
Paul Revere's House - This is the oldest house in downtown Boston. Built in 1680, it was owned and occupied by Paul Revere and his family most of the time from 1770 to 1800.
Old North Church - Built in 1723, Christ Church is better known as "Old North." It is Boston's oldest church building and still an active Episcopal Church. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow memorialized Old North's role at the start of the Revolutionary War in his poem, "The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere." On the night of April 18, 1775, sexton Robert Newman hung two lanterns in the steeple to warn Charlestown patriots of the advance of British soldiers. The church, a beautiful example of Georgian architecture, houses America's oldest maiden peal of bells and the first bust of George Washington. For movie fans, the original National Treasure (one of our family favorites) featured this building at the end of the movie.
It was a long day full of historical sites and a little football throwing (Sterling takes a football with him almost everywhere) in Boston Commons Park. I've been to the bar "Cheers" before so we passed on that one. I'm a little disappointed though that I didn't get to take the kids past MIT (Massachushetts Institute of Technology) where my Grandpa Hulsebus (my dad's dad) worked on his Master's Degree back during the Depression. We can't see it all. Then back "home" to WM to crash.
