DAY THREE-- Part 1 Concord, Massachusetts

I cannot say enough good things about our short time in the Boston area.  It is definitely a place I'd love to go back to and explore in more detail.  

Our first stop of the day was the Old North Bridge and the Minute Man monument in Concord.  This is where American Minute Men faced off with British soldiers shortly after the skirmish at Lexington and the Americans had their first victory.  So that was really cool to be there on the restored bridge where it happened.  

But also, it was genuinely one of the most beautiful, peaceful places I've ever been.  We got there quite early in the morning, (jet lag) so no one else was there.  

We had the place to ourselves.

And did I mention how beautiful it was?  I would love to have just sat there for hours and pondered and prayed.

Very nearby is "Manse House"-- the cradle of Transcendentalism.  It was where great thinkers of the day-- Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne-- would get together and discuss and write.  I mean, seriously!  I can totally see why the setting was conducive to higher thinking.

Faith and Cannon are a fun pair to have in the middle of the family.  They definitely do not have "middle child" energy.  Rather they are quite the dynamic duo.

A little photoshoot-- I think they were inspired by the stunning surroundings.

It was also really fun to have Faith with us.  Between her nursing school classes and work schedule and serious boyfriend, we don't see much of her these days.  

Cute little Greta found little nature souvenirs at lots of our visits.  These were shells from the river bank.

At the Minute Man National Historic Park Visitors' Center, we watched a well done presentation about  the events of that first day and battle, April 19, 1775 -- the beginning of the American Revolutionary War.

I nearly lost my mind in excitement for our next visit.  Louisa May Alcott's Orchard House.  This was where Little Women was written.  It was based on her life and her and her three sisters.  I LOVE LITTLE WOMEN!!!!!  I first saw the 1994 movie adaptation with Winona Ryder when I was a senior in high school and it had a huge impact on me.  

It was just so darn CUTE!!!!!  I just wanted to live there and have my children call me "Marmee".  

How cool is this?  

Here is her father's school that was built right by Orchard House-- The Concord School of Philosophy.

I would have loved to have been there with my four girls, but I was glad to have Faith and Greta there.  And I appreciated that the boys knew how much I was enjoying being there and taking the rather lengthy tour, and they didn't complain at all.  

We briefly stopped by Lexington Green where the actual  "Shot heard 'round the World"  was fired off --no one knows who fired 1st.  

DAY TWO-- Philadelphia Take Two

 

Thanks to jet lag, we got an early start to our day two.  

The first stop of the day literally brought tears to Faith's eyes.

Do you know what it is yet?  

There was music playing as they ran up the stairs...

The Rocky steps!!

The Skeeters

This is a very lovely scene in Philadelphia.  And there are probably lots of lovely scenes in Philadelphia.  But we didn't see very many of them.  Most of what we saw as we drove around was... not lovely.  I'm sorry to be so harsh on the City of Brotherly Love, but there it is.  Sadly, and especially around the historic sights, the whole city felt pretty run down and not very safe.  There were lots of homeless people on the streets and the smell of weed permeated the air wherever we went.  

 

 One of the fun parts of the city to me was listening to the soundtrack of Disney's The Happiest Millionaire.  This is my very favorite childhood movie and it is set in Philadelphia in 1916.  We drove through neighborhood the family it was based on lived.  

The Philadelphia Temple

Skeeter LOVE

Foxy LOVE

This was a fun thing-- we strolled down the oldest continuously inhabited street in America. 

And it was SOOO CUTE!!!! 

 

 

 Yours truly at the Betsy Ross House

Some historians believe she is mistakenly credited with sewing the first American flag.  

We pay them no mind. 

Although Benjamin Franklin was born in Boston, he chose to make Philadelphia his home.  So his name is everywhere and he's basically the patron saint of Philadelphia.  This was a cool instrument he invented.  I don't remember the name of it and don't feel like looking it up.  How is that for truth in reporting?

Skeeter-ing in the place where Ben Franklin's 1st Philadelphia home stood.

Then it was time for one of our longer drives.  We started out for Boston and arrived about 5 1/2 hours later. 

 

But on the way we stopped by the Hartford, Connecticut Temple.  After some of the less desirable scenes we witnessed in Philadelphia, we were all big fans of Connecticut.  It was really nice and pretty and safe and it smelled great.  So for the picture, instead of saying "Smile!", we all sang "Connecticut!!" and wouldn't you know if made for a great picture!   

I can't remember why the three of us were sitting on the floor outside our hotel room, waiting for the boys to come up with the key, but I do remember that we were inappropriately joking that we were homeless, complete with paper bag containing strong drink.  And in our tiredness we thought taking a picture of our condition would be funny.  As I type this, I realize it's not funny.  But I do still think Greta's complete fail on trying to look sad is funny. And clearly, I cannot distinguish between sad and mad with my facial expressions.  Faith understood the assignment.

The kiddos got along remarkably well throughout the trip (all things considered).  However, shortly after this picture was taken, there was a rather intense disagreement (that turned violent) between two of the children at the hotel pool. It was ugly and there were tears.  I shall not say who was involved, but they are in this picture and it was the two that one might expect to be past such shenanigans.  But a good night's sleep soothed spirits and injuries.  

DAY ONE-- Philadelphia, The City of Brotherly Love

It begins!

EARLY morning flight to Philadelphia.  It was uneventful (in a good way).  

We arrived in Philly at 12:30, picked up the rental and made our way to our hotel.  Let me say before I really begin recounting the trip.  Three cheers for Abe and his MASTER planning of the whole thing.  He worked so hard on it and it paid off big time for us.  Hip, Hip, HUZZAH!

First stop-- Philly Cheesesteaks at Sonny's.  I will be honest and say I could probably live my whole life and never eat another cheesesteak and be perfectly happy.  But Cannon and Abe were thrilled with the whole experience and I love that for them.  

 

Not surprisingly, and very much in Fox family style, we took an OBNOXIOUS amount of family photos in front of significant landmarks.  Thanks to year of consistent training, the children are quick to comply, knowing that resistance is futile and cooperation is the fastest way to make it stop.  What kind of life lessons does this teach?  Certainly not those so beautifully illustrated in the founding of this great nation.  But alas, it does make for some really great photos. 

Here we are in Congress Hall-- the room where George Washington and John Adams were inaugurated  as President.  It is where the U.S. Congress first met (not Continental Congress-- for all you history buffs out there)

There were mixed reviews of  Dave the Historic Park Ranger's tour.  I was a fan.

Congresswoman Faith

Congressman Cannon

Congressman George

Congressman Peter

Congresswoman Faith

In one of the museums we had a good laugh when Faith reenacted one of her favorite childhood games.  She resumed her character of "Elizabeth Airfeather"-- a revolutionary girl she made up (based off a character in the kids' cartoon Liberty's Kids) whose mother still lives in England.  And with a quill pen (that Bethany and Elinor got in Nauvoo when they were quite young), Faith would speak aloud in a terrible British accent while scribbling a letter home to her mother.  HERE is the return of Elizabeth Airfeather.

Outside of Independence Hall.  This day was really the only one of the nine-day trip that was uncomfortably hot and muggy.  The rest of the time we seriously lucked out with the weather.  I think Abe must have somehow planned that as well.

Our George with George Washington.   As you can imagine, there were lots of photo-ops for George with George.

You might ask, "What is happening here?  What is the meaning of this?"  

And I would have to answer, "I'm not really sure".  But it happened over and over and became a thing for the kids to do at the sites.  They called this their "skeeter" picture.  It is my understanding that they are mischievous mosquitos.  I didn't completely understand it, but it was funny to us and it was a running theme through the trip and I was happy they were getting along and amusing themselves.  Stay tuned for more Skeeters.  

Likewise, when on a U.S. History trip, Abe found many photo-ops with Abraham Lincoln. 

The Liberty Bell, with it's original home, Independence Hall, behind.

To be honest, by this point in the day we were feeling rather silly from being hot and tired(the 3 am wake up call was brutal).  We really tried to be on good behavior for most parts of the trip, but this was a lower point.  Perhaps you can sense that.

Skeeter at the Liberty Bell

Independence Hall is just really impressive.  To quote Hamilton (which was pretty much the overall soundtrack of the trip), we were in the "room where it happened".  

This is where both the "Declaration of Independence" and the "Constitution" were debated and signed.  

There is a large room upstairs in Independence Hall and this piano-forte kicked off my taking pictures of all the musical instruments we saw. 

Don't worry, we snapped Skeeter photos as discreetly and quickly as possible.  

Abe and the kids loved the rooftop pool at the hotel.