Harborfest

No sooner had I expressed my love of Philadelphia than Boston put on a fabulous Saturday of its own. Figures.

Natalia noticed that I was in a crummy mood last night (this was even before we found a mouse living and pooping in our kitchen) and asked what was wrong. I complained that it was July 4th weekend and we had nothing planned--which, I added, was my own fault, since I wait until the last second to do anything, and I never want to spend any money. She smiled and offered to do some research about fun family things we could do without breaking the bank. That put me in a better mood (until the whole mouse incident, anyway).

So today we found ourselves in downtown Boston celebrating Harborfest. It was a sparkling day in the city; warm, blue skies, street performers and musicians everywhere.

We took the Green Line into Boylston and then walked through the Common and Downtown Crossing on our way to City Hall Plaza. We got a late start on the day, so by the time we were approaching the concrete eyesore seat of city government, the younger set was already clamoring for lunch. Happily we were able to find a shady spot on the plaza and thus avoid any food-related meltdowns.

Enjoying a tasty lunch and some live music.

Re-energized, we meandered towards Faneuil Hall. Harborfest had brought a lot of activity into the city--we passed a ton of people dressed in 18th century clothing, some Redcoats among them. (It was a hot day to be a Redcoat.) Faneuil Hall was especially crowded with jugglers, singers, and other street performers to watch. I also realized that this was Andres' and Celia's first time here, so there was a lot to look at and make sense of.

Thankfully, no arrests were made.

His clear reverence for Red Auerbach made me very proud.

Being that we were at Harborfest, a trip to the harbor (or at least the water) seemed in order. We crossed the Greenway and ended up at Long Wharf. A lot of other families had the same idea, so here again the atmosphere was festive and vibrant, as befits the 4th of July weekend. Celia had a little snack while Natalia and Andres went closer to the water. They found a small water park, and he kicked off his shoes and splashed around a bit. He came back showing off his American spirit.

Captain America.

Long Wharf was breezy enough that we could have stayed there all afternoon. However, we knew we were on borrowed time before heat and fatigue rendered our kids into sweaty puddles of disaster, and we had a ways to go before we were back at our car. So we put Celia back in the stroller and crossed the Greenway again (and took a quick break so that Andres could ride a carousel), walked back through Faneuil Hall, and then meandered around the block to the Government Center T station (turns out that Boston is not a very accessible city for parents with kids in strollers or, I imagine, people in wheelchairs).

On the carousel.

Yup--we all felt like this at the end of the trip.

Celia was asleep before we even paid our fare. Three trains passed us by before the D train finally came, and then we all settled in for the return voyage. Andres acknowledged that he was tired (a rare occurrence) but mustered enough strength to look out the window for the first few stops. But before long he, too, was sleeping, allowing Natalia and I a few silent minutes before we arrived back at Eliot.