Boston Bound

The great part of having a big car is that you can take lots of people on a field trip.
I know the van is filthy but it is winter in New England. Part of the problem is that usually we have a roof rack and a Thule on top, not conducive to automatic car washes.
In readiness to go to the big city, Erik took the paraphernalia off the roof. We knew for sure that we weren't going to fit in a parking garage with all that on top.

Off to the Aquarium in Boston we went with 2 adults and 10 kids. If you are going to go to the big city, you might as well sell out the bus, every seat was full.

Alas, I had to recruit a friend to drive over the Tobin Bridge because I had a panic attack last summer in Louisville, KY going over a bridge. It was scary and completely out of my control.

I was thrilled to have company and I can report she is an excellent city driver. We made it to Boston with no problems.

BUT.....guess what? 12 passenger vans do not fit in Bostonian parking garages. We went up to one and got out and looked. Nope, not gonna fit. Backed up into traffic. Tried another garage, then another.....we caused quite a scene. Okay, no choice but to look for on street parking in downtown Boston at 9:50 am with a 12 passenger van. Not so easy to parallel park, right?

God is good, we came around a corner and there it was. A metered space on the end, just waiting for us. We had less than a 5 minute walk to the Aquarium. We bundled up and hustled over. It was raw and windy right on the water. Hats and mittens were a must.

Now you get to see all the pictures of our wonderful time at the Aquarium.

Then at the end, you will learn why no trip is allowed adventurous immunity.

Touch tank. Kloey's favorite. Trey, not so sure.

Cartwright has a winner smile.

I could get lost in those eyes. LOVE him.

We brought a friend along. She proved to be an
invaluable extra pair of hands.

Big kids, little kids, some in between.

I made them pose on the deck right after we went to the IMAX 3D Whales and Dolphins. We had never been to a 3D show before. Poor Micah FREAKED out and eventually buried his face in my chest and went to sleep. When he woke up, he said, "Me not like that."

Part of the field trip was a class on penguins
provided by an educator.

This is the part I love about homeschooling.
Everyone gets to participate, even 2 and 3 year olds.

Cora is a bit taller than an Emperor penguin.

Wanted their picture sitting on the dolphins.

The Shark.
Love the reflection of the kids looking.

By the end of the afternoon, one of our 3 year olds was all done. She made herself comfy while we were all looking at the big tank. She did great in spite of battling ear infections. But when you're done, you are done!

At the end of a great day, not ONE but TWO parking tickets.

Thus the adventure.

One ticket was legimate. We missed the meter by 5 minutes. How do they do that? The other ticket was because apparently you can only park on any given street for two hours in Boston. There was a tiny little written line on the meter about that.

I doth protest.

Recap? Parking garage that we didn't fit into: $35. Parking tickets: $50. Not bad.

So worth the trip. The kids did well and I am very happy to be at the mobile stage again.

Where will go we next...