Buffalo NY, Maine, Boston Massachusetts

The Falls 

 Upstate New York -Buffalo - We spent a week there visiting with my Cousin Kathy who I haven't seen in years.   It was a blessing to connect while exploring Niagara Falls together.  I loved hearing that New York accent that I remember my Mom and grandma having. Everyone calls their mom, mah, and they call soda "pop."

My mom's house 

Platters 

We went to North Tonawanda where my mom grew up and we saw her home as a child. I also found Platters Chocolates which is a chocolate shop in  North Tonawanda that makes mouth watering Orange Chocolate. My Aunts from New York would send my sister brother and I huge chocolate bunnies every Easter from this store.As I smelled the sweet chocolate aroma It felt like I was being transported to my childhood. It also helped the kids  make a tangible connection  to their grandma who they never were fortunate enough to meet.

Niagara 

Niagara Falls 

Maine-

Wes and I enjoyed early morning Coffee at a cute little coffee shop Called Breaking New Grounds that overlooked the Ocean.  Maine is known for Blueberries and Wes ordered the blueberry coffee each morning. Yum.  We went and walked around Kennebunkport Maine with the family. It was very busy. It happened to be Columbus day weekend as well as a Canadian Holiday, so it was bumper to bumper traffic.  One of the days Wes and the kids all went Surfing in the Ocean in Wells. The water was super cold, but it was  beautiful day. The leaves where very colorful . The kids and I went on a walk that overlooked the Ocean it was called Marginal way. The shore line was rugged and we walked down to the waters edge and watched the waves crash against the rocks. We also had a super yummy breakfast at a place called Cafe  Amore. They had amazing S'mores Hot Chocolate and Beef Brisket . While in Maine we had our first birtday in the RV .. Lacey turned 7 ! We went to see one of our favorite comedians ,Tim Hawkins in concert. We also got some apple pie and opened presents and decorated the RV , it was a blast.

 

State House

~Boston Massachusetts/ Cape Cod

 We had a very educational time in Boston. The first day we were there we went  on the “Freedom Trail” . As we walked the streets of Boston our eyes and ears were  filled with our Countries history. We started at Boston Common the oldest park in the United states , we didn't linger very long there because it was cold and windy and we knew that the trial was 5 miles round trip. We stopped at the Massachusetts State House, one of the most famous  public building in the U.S. The architecture of the building is beautiful and it has a golden Dome on the top. Next we joined the worship service at Park Street Church , built in 1809 and a key supporter of the abolitionists movement . The next  stop captivated all of us, The Granary Burying Grounds where John Hancock, Paul Revere, Samuel Adams,the parents of Benjamin Franklin and the grave marker for all those killed in the Boston Massacre, along with over 2,000 other tomb stones. Ally and Shelby recited The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere poem in front of his tomb. Something they never thought they would be able to do while memorizing it.

Paul Revere Tomb

John Hancock Tomb

We stopped at Kings Chapel and Burying ground , which is Boston’s oldest cemetery . There the first women to come off the Mayflower is buried as well as Boston’s first governor.  I enjoyed the stop at the Benjamin Franklin Statue in front of the Boston Latin School which is the oldest public school. I imagine the education of that day was very different from what most public school children receive today.  From there the road took us to the Old Corner Bookstore where  Henry Longfellow, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Ralph Emerson, John Whittier, Louisa Alcott and others books’ where published. We all thought it was strange that the bookstore has turned into a chipolte restaurant. Next stop was the Old South Meeting house where Samuel Adams is said to have given the sons of Liberty the signal to destroy the British tea. Suddenly the Boston Tea Party we have studied so many times became much more real. 

Old South Meeting House 

Old Corner Book Store 

Old North Church

Next was the Old State House where the Declaration of Independence was first read to the people.  We walked past the site where the Boston Massacre took place and then to Faneuil Hall where the sons of Liberty declared their fight against Britain's oppression.  We were all excited to finally make it to Paul Revere’s home where he left in the middle of the night to ride off to Lexington.  It was interesting to learn that he had 16 children and they all grew up in that home.  Finally we got to the Old North Church the oldest church in Boston and of course where the One if by Land and two if by sea from Longfellow’s poem came from . We got to look up and see where the two Lanterns were hung to signify that the British were traveling across the river “by Sea” .

Home of Paul Revere 

USS Constitution 

We had to go back a second day to get to the last two sites because it was too late,although it was well worth the effort.  We climbed to the top of the Bunker Hill Monument all 294 wet slippery steps. The wind and rain came wiping in through the small windows in the tower. Last of the Freedom Trail was the USS Constitution the oldest commissioned warship still afloat. This was a very interesting to me because my brother Paul recently was chosen to be The Sailor of the Year for the U.S Navy Reserves and lived on the ship for a week.  

Bunker Hill Monument 

We also visited the Mayflower II which is a replica of the Mayflower that took the pilgrims over to  America. All the people working on board are in full costume and in full character.

Mayflower II

Visiting the Plimouth Plantation was interesting, seeing what life was like for the pilgrims as well as the indians at that time.  The homes of the pilgrims where very rugged. Dirt floors, hay roofs and crud walls made of mud. Unfortunately the indian portion of the exhibit was done poorly, we were all laughing as the “indian women” , who didn’t even look like an indian would drape her animal skin over her head so she could looked at her iphone.

Lexington 

Plymouth Rock 

 Since we stayed on Cape Cod we went walking on the beach a couple of times. The sand was soft and beautiful and Mayflower Beach during low tide  was about a ¼ of a mile walk to the waters edge, that is a lot of sand. Most of the time we spent there was rainy freezing and wet so we didn’t spend too much time in the water.

Mayflower Beach Cape Cod MA