Boston Rocks

There is so much to see and do, it should be fun & exciting…if you have planned your visit.

I have to chalk this trip up to “How NOT to visit BOSTON“.  A wonderful opportunity to experience lack of planning in action.  A solid list of Don’t’s.  The CARDINAL SINS OF TRAVELING…all in ONE trip!

DON’T:

• Pack for the entire family the night before without checking the weather  (this paved the way for the other disasters)
• Assume lodging is comfortable and QUIET (I’ve never had this problem until now!!)
• Think lodging will be available during the Boston Marathon
• Believe the subway is easy to figure out
• Think you can “wing it” in a city like Boston

Instead, Do This:

• Check to see if lodging is comfortable (and quiet…but HOW do you check that??)
• Have a lodging back up plan in place
• Study the subway lines to know where to go
• Make a list of the “Don’t Miss These” places, and make them a priority
• Have sanity, confidence, & rational thinking

This trip was a great example of how lack of planning can create “I wish we were home” type statements…which for me is like a traveling death sentence.

Why was this trip was not our favorite?  Partly because of the cold April weather and mostly because this was the least prepared I have ever been for travel in my life.

I was off my game.

It may have been because of last year’s bombing at the Boston Marathon, or maybe the unexpected cold weather in Spring…I’m not sure, but I was in SLOW MOTION!    It was weird.

Loud Lodging “Near” Boston

First of all, I rolled the dice to save money with lodging, using Airbnb.com for the first time, and choosing a small condo outside of Boston Proper, in Jamaica Plain. I booked months ahead of time.   The condo was charming and a great choice to save money by taking the “T” (subway) into town instead of dealing with pricey parking and LOTS of traffic.  All that was true and money saving.

But…it was loud for our family.  It was ON a main street with traffic noise 24/7,  we didn’t sleep much.  By the 2nd day (out of 8 nights), it was like pulling teeth just to get out of bed…much less go walking for 15+ miles each day in the freezing cold to see Boston.  At 2 AM I was surfing the net to find a different place to stay…but everything was $500+ per night because of the Boston Marathon.  Lesson Learned.

How Not to Pack for Cold Weather

Add 35-45 degree weather with freezing winds…and our family dressed for 65 degree weather (MY FAULT-I KNOOWW) then looking for/at those brass signs “of historical importance” becomes not so important.

Hot chocolate, warm feet and pasta become important.

So, we get to see many Italian restaurants in North End, which we could find, instead of the site of the Boston Tea Party or the Tour of Fenway Park.  We DID get to Fenway park, where we bought $35/each hats because of freezing weather for which we were under-dressed, (And a whopping $150 off budget with one purchase). But, the tour was sold out.

This describes our typical day of this visit:

• Get up tired from nooo sleep, dreaming of getting hit by the numerous busses that pass by each hour
• Dress the kids with pants on pants, shirts on shirts, while they grumble, tired & hungry
• Eat out because our “budget condo” has a vegetarian kitchen…
• Walk to the “T”, trying to find Fenway Park and get lost.
• Ask for directions, get lost. Walk all the way around Fenway Park to find the “tour gate”, which, btw, was RIGHT next to the “T” doors.
• Miss our chance to go on the Fenway Park tour because of for said “Walk AROUND the OUTSIDE of Fenway Park”
• Take the wrong “T” train, get lost, ask for directions, realize the directions are wrong
• Have Pasta, Thank Goodness we could find THAT!
• Get home, exhausted, to another night of no sleep.  “Yay.” whispers my daughter…

Boston Subway… Jake drops his new hat… it was gone in a flash. 🙁
For the Fenway Park Tours, fyi, noon is a popular time, so try for 11 or 1:00.  They leave on the hour, so plan for that.

Just to keep the positive of Boston positive, I separate what worked during our trip to a different post in this post 3 Days in Boston with Family.

If you have any questions about this trip, let me know.  🙂

What is your favorite place to visit in Boston?