With summer quickly coming to a close (*sob*), we decided to take one last trip before we said goodbye to my favorite season. After kicking around a few ideas, we finally settled on a long weekend in Boston.  Like every other vacation we’ve ever gone on, we didn’t get on the road quite as early as we’d like on Friday, but we still managed to get up to Boston by mid-afternoon. After quickly checking into our hotel*, dropping off our gear and hoping on the T, we made it to the New England Aquarium by 4.

Now, I’m not a huge lover of aquariums in general, but I could have spent a good hour watching the rays go by and petting them.  Luckily the Bean felt the same way!

After the Aquarium and a few meltdowns on our way out through the Gift Shop (really bad move on our part), we were able to walk to Quincy Market and have an amazing dinner. If you love food and have never been to Quincy Market, you have to fix that ASAP.

Saturday we took our time moving in the morning and then headed up to Gloucester for a whale watching trip.  Now, I had heard from friends how sea sick they and their kids got on the boat, so I was not taking any chances. I had Dramamine, Sea Bands, ginger gum and some drops you could put behind your ears. Are you supposed to use them all together? I have no idea- nor did I care. We were not puking. Period.

This trip was awesome in the truest sense of the world. There is nothing more amazing then to be floating in the ocean and have a whale- this giant creature you had no idea was right under you- surface 5 feet from your boat.  I admit, I got all teary eyed on a couple of occasions while we were out there.  We had a gorgeous, calm day and a wonderful guide who talked us through everything we saw. At the end of the afternoon we saw 7 humpback whales and 2 minke whales.

If you have never gone on a whale watching trip, you really need to add it to your life list. You won’t be disappointed.

5 hours on a boat was a bit much for the kids, but we brought coloring books, the DS and lots and lots of snacks, so they managed just fine.

Sunday we met up with some family in the area to see some of the more historical sights, like the Bunker Hill Monument. Which we decided to climb. In flip flops. There were 294 steps- my legs have just stopped hurting.  From there we walked down to see some of the war ships in the Charlestown Navy Yard. Scorch was thrilled with this outing- the Bean, not so much. So I didn’t soak up as much history as I would have liked- but I did get a good workout between the stair climbing and the kid chasing.

All in all, it was an amazing trip! It was so much fun for the 4 of us to get away and play tourist for a while. I wish I could say it made giving up on summer easier, but that would be a lie. I’m going to fight the changing seasons for a while longer, I think.